Displaying posts labeled "Support"

I have been searching for the perfect rug to change up my living room with the New Year coming. I had gotten a bit tired of the polished white and modern area rug that had been gracing my floor for the past six years. As a Minnesota resident, I had been struggling to find what I was looking for in terms of a contemporary rug. I wanted a hand knotted rug on a larger scale, as my living space is large. My furniture is inspired by modern Nordic decor and I have white walls. I was hoping for a contemporary rug with cool, blue colors but I was open to different pops of color.

Initially I visited the rug department at Macy’s and Gabbert’s. The stores had some nice pieces but I was not overly impressed with the lack of selection in terms of colorful contemporary rugs, and they did not have the best variety. I had very high and particular expectations of what I wanted and envisioned for my room, but was unable to find exactly what I was looking for. I was recommended by an online forum to check out a Minneapolis luxury hand knotted rugs store called Cyrus Artisan Rugs. I live in Edina, which is a suburb just south of Minneapolis, so it was an easy trip for me to make one Saturday afternoon.

The moment I showed up at Cyrus Rugs, I was both surprised and impressed at the size of the showroom and huge variety within. A lovely woman, Alison, was extremely helpful and provided me with a ton of knowledge regarding different brands and different materials. I explained what I was looking for and she showed me some colorful contemporary rugs in from the Vintage Reserve Collection, including the VC-3 design and the PT-8 design. I really found both rugs to be beautiful, but I ultimately settled on the Cyrus Artisan AK-4 design in the chocolate brown palette.

The rug is hand knotted in India from wool and silk with a stunning floral motif. The orange and gold accents spice up the brown color scheme and add character to the soft rug.

Overall, I am so pleased with my purchase, my new living room look, and I highly recommend Cyrus Artisan Rugs in Minneapolis, MN to my friends all the time. If you are in the market for a high-quality artisan rug, Cyrus Rugs has a truly impressive selection ranging from traditional and contemporary rugs to tribal pieces and transitional carpets.

Here a few of my favorite pieces:

Some other points to note:
– Cyrus Rugs is based out of Minneapolis, MN, but it also has a large online rug store with beautiful, realistic images of its inventory.
– They allow clients to customize a programmed area rug, and give the specialists unique rug specifications to create a representation of your dream design.
– The showroom has a large selection of antique and semi-antique rugs from around the world.

*** This post was written by a guest writer ***

It’s the final piece of jewelry for a room. The last layer that brings a space to life. It’s an expression of who we are and what we love. It’s the art we put on our walls and one of the most common questions I get asked by friends and readers is “Where do I get affordable art for my walls?”

Arte Limited is an Italian gallery that sells exclusive art prints, photographs and contemporary art at an affordable price.

“All our art is created by the artists we represent. Our artists are credited and own the copyright to their own works. On behalf of our artists we sell their works printed in limited editions that we produce in-house.”

So when Arte Limited approached us to review their prints Kim and I jumped at the chance. We loved what we saw on the website. So much so it was difficult to choose which works we wanted. Decisions made, the prints were sent swiftly and safely to our doors. It was love at first sight when I opened the mailing tube. You’ll have to wait to see what we chose. Our art prints are at the framers. I’ll just say that Kim went down the black and white illustration route and I fell for some super colourful photography. I’ll be sure to pop up pictures when they are up on my walls.

This post is in partnership with Arte Limited.

Anyone else out there with no Christmas mojo? I’m at a loss this year when it comes to how and what and why bother. Thank goodness for Freedom who have come up with the cutest little videos to help and inspire! Lisa Tilse, designer, crafter, and maker from the red thread has gift wrapping nailed with simple and stylish solutions. I’m already folding gift bags for presents I haven’t even bought yet. Lisa you are so clever!

Stylist Eliza Ashe shows us how to set two simple but super Christmas tables after the jump. I’m loving the coastal theme, just perfect for an Aussie Christmas.

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Freedom.

With the warm weather my garden is shooting away. I swear I can almost see the plants growing. Up until now my backyard has been a little hit and miss. A cutting stuck in here. An overgrown houseplant liberated into a garden bed there. It’s time to get serious. It’s time to channel my inner gardener. My husband and I don’t want to be weekend slaves to the lawn mower. We are lucky to have old brick pavers but as they were once a driveway they cut through the space with surgical precision. It all needs a little softening. We would love rambling groundcovers or meandering paths of crushed granite. Perhaps vines and stands of bamboo. Definitely overgrown. Somewhere shady to sit. Maybe we’ll break up the paving into a checkerboard of plants and bricks and gravel. Something graphic but still casual with space for a veggie bed. I’ve started collecting inspiration. Here are a few ideas from two of my favourite Australian landscape designers… Eckersley Garden Architecture and Brendan Moar. I can see a trip to my garden centre very soon.

Eckersley Garden Architecture

Brendan Moar

 With over 200 years of horticultural heritage, Hayes Garden World attracts over a million visitors a year. Set in picturesque Ambleside in the UK, the centre stocks an extensive variety of interior design, and garden features.

Oneflare.com has just launched an Australian-first design inspiration tool called Oneflare Scrapbooks, to help Aussies design and build their perfect home. It’s an exciting new tool that helps people find and collect inspiring photos of their favourite home design, ideas and improvements.

To celebrate the launch, Oneflare are giving away 12 iPad Airs valued at $598 plus a $200 Oneflare voucher that can be spent on any of the hundreds of services through oneflare.com. A cleaner, a removalist, a gardener or even an interior designer – the list goes on!

Enter the draw, simply visit Oneflare Scrapbooks here, and click on your favourite image, share it on Facebook and tell us in 25 words or less why you like the image! Don’t forget to also ‘like’ the Oneflare Facebook page here.

With Oneflare Scrapbooks, you can now start planning the look of your dream home, and find the right trade professional to build it – all on one website. It’s essentially like a Pinterest for home design that is powered by over 37,000 qualified Australian home service businesses, guaranteed by Oneflare. And of course, just like finding a local service on Oneflare, it’s easy to use, and totally free!

Why use Oneflare Scrapbooks?

• Be inspired: You can pin images of your favourite design ideas from the web or their own device to their personal Scrapbooks account

• It’s social: You can share, like and comment on other people’s pictures and scrapbooks

• Connect to design experts: You have access to thousands of design/building/renovation experts who can collaborate with you to plan your dream home

• It’s transparent: Scrapbooks allows businesses to upload their portfolios. You also have access to past customer reviews and recommendations to you know how good they are.

• Save time and money: From inspiration through to choosing suppliers – the entire process takes place through the Oneflare site, taking the hassle out of planning any home improvement project.

What is Oneflare?

Oneflare.com is Australia’s fastest growing local services marketplace that connects Australians with over 37,000 businesses across Australia. Oneflare helps you find reputable local businesses, who are fairly priced – saving you time and money. All service providers are checked for licences, insurance and qualifications so you know they are reliable and trustworthy. Our key feature is our Oneflare Guarantee. Should something go wrong with your job, we’ll pay up to $500 to send another Oneflare business to repair your job and set things right.

How does it work?

1. Post a job you need done (posting a job is totally free)

2. You receive five competitive quotes from local businesses interested in your work, along with their full business profile, verification status and past customer reviews.

3. You simply hire the best!

Brought to you by OneFlare