Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Christmas Projects Past.

I'm starting to think about getting started on my Christmas decorating! We are supposed to get a significant snowfall tomorrow so I'm assuming it may put me in the spirit.

I'm also going to take the opportunity to go through my decorations and do a bit of a purge. I used to go a little wild when decorating and now I enjoy a more restrained approach so a lot of things haven't been used for the last few years. Someone (my mom?) may be getting some new decorations!

Last night a took a look back at some of the decorating and projects I've shared, here on Modern Jane. Let's have a peek at some of those, shall we?










I also came across this photo and it made me a little sad. That was our one and only Christmas with the Zorb. Any readers remember the Zorb? That was such a pretty tree.


How about you? Anyone started their Christmas decorating yet? 

You may notice things look a little different around here. Needing a change, I had my blog design revamped by Designer Blogs. It feels so clean and simple. Hope you like it!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

MacAusland's Wool Blankets.

I had a few inquiries about the blankets we used on the beds in the bunk room so I thought I'd do a post about them.


A while back, House and Home magazine did a spread on wool blankets and I remember being shocked at the prices listed on the blankets. While I wouldn't disagree that the featured blankets were beautiful, I wasn't prepared to fork out that kind of money. I knew that we had a wool mill, here on the island, and decided to look into the product and the prices.

MacAusland's Woolen Mills is a family owned business located in western PEI. I first checked out their website and while they offered some good information, I decided I might as well take a trip out to the mill and see it for myself. I was on summer break (ah, the life of teacher!) and decided to make a day of it.

The sign at the entrance. The mill is actually called MacAusland's Woolen Mill.


Guests are welcome to walk around and see how the wool and blankets come to be. I took the opportunity to snoop around for a bit. It was dark, dusty, loud and totally cool. 






I also learned a few things. The family owned mill first operated as a sawmill beginning in 1870, then began producing woolen yarn in 1902 and blankets in 1932. That means it's been in the family over the course of three centuries! Located in western PEI, it now operates as the only mill in Atlantic Canada, and one of the few in North America, that produces 100% virgin wool blankets.


I was totally impressed with the whole process and found the blankets to be something to treasure, upon seeing them in person. I was also pleased to see that the blankets were really quite affordable and decided I definitely wanted to go that route for the bunks.


I first purchased the blankets in the twin size in Light Gray. Once I got them home, I realized that I had made a mistake and should have chosen the Dark Gray. They didn't have any in stock but make them custom and they were ready for me within a little over a month. I didn't mind waiting.


Just to answer a few questions that were asked..

How much were the blankets?
I paid $76 each for the twin size. See the pricing guide here.

Are the blankets available in other colors or sizes?
There are a lot of different options. See a list of products here.

Are the blankets soft?
Yes, in a way. They are extremely soft considering they are made with wool. However, I did layer a soft fleece blanket underneath each of them.

Does the mill ship?
They certainly do but are not set up for online ordering. You have to call or email directly to place your order. See contact information here.

*I was not compensated for this post. I simply love sharing products I love and supporting local businesses.



Monday, November 17, 2014

Bunk Room Reveal.


I suppose this post was a long time coming! It seems like forever ago that I started  talking about the trials and tribulations of the bunk room. For some reason, I just didn't get around to blogging about it. Or about anything else for that matter! Just to back track a little, here is a little background on the room. 

We needed a functional room for the kids when they come up on the weekend. The room also had to be super functional to make use of the small space. We came up with a few must haves for the tiny room:
  • Must fit two beds.
  • Easy to keep clean and organized.
  • Space for storage. This house doesn't have a linen closet or a coat closet.
Let's take a peek back at what it looked like in the beginning.

We stripped off the hideous yellow floral wallpaper, only to discover the walls were in terrible condition underneath. This led to a whole lot of plastering and then the inevitable decision to cover the walls in paintable wallpaper.

Next, Steph built out the wall and started framing for the bunk beds. 
I'll share more on this process in another post. 

 We wallpapered the walls in a paintable beadboard paper and gave it all a coat of BM Chantilly Lace.

It all started to come together from there. We are pretty happy about how it turned out and so far it's been easy to keep tidy and organized! 

The whole process of getting this room to where it is now was a challenging one. We ran into lots of problems along the way. We had just finished the big bathroom reno and perhaps we assumed this one was going to be a walk in the park. We definitely thought wrong.. although, I suppose even time has passed that we've almost forgotten:)

It's not a very big room but we certainly made use of it all. Knowing traditional bunk beds were going to take up too much room, Steph came up with the idea of  "floating" bunks. They take up very little space and provide the more modern look we wanted for the space.


There was enough space under the bottom bunk to slide a row of baskets underneath. These have been great for storing backpack on the weekend instead of having them on the floor. We also added sconces to the wall above each bed for reading in bed at night.


The bunks are of course my favorite part of the room and the ladder is no exception. Steph welded that one afternoon and it suits the bunks perfectly. A man of many talents!


The little armoire was from Ikea, years ago. I gave it a couple of coats of white trim paint and it fit perfectly in the space between the bunks and the wall. It acts as my linen closet with lots of space for towels, sheets and extra blankets. 



I put a couple of felt baskets on top that basically hold little odds and ends that I pick up.. we are a family of clutter bugs! The felt is great for pulling on and off without scratching the paint. We also cut down an Ikea floating shelf to fit and put up a few decor items.


This little sunny corner of the room holds a basket of teddies, throws and slippers. The hanging planter is an Etsy find that I absolutely adore. That door that you see is the closet door and it's actually a decent size closet (for an old house) and holds our winter jackets, extra toiletries, and other junk I can't seem to part with.




We wanted to keep the bedding simple. I like the streamlined, almost military look of the tucked-in bedding and the fact that they are somewhat easy to make. We ordered the blankets from MacAusland's Woolen Mills, here on PEI, and they are beautiful and warm. We will certainly have them forever. Of course, I had to add some fun pillows but they usually end up on the floor!


The antique gold light fixture was gifted to us from my aunt and uncle the last time we visited them in Montreal. They had been hanging on to it because it had hung in my uncle's childhood bedroom but didn't have a spot for it in their home. They said I could have it, if I promised to use it somewhere in my own home. We found the perfect spot!


There you have it! I hope you liked the tour of our little bunk room. I would like to add a cozy rug for the floor and somehow include an accent color in the room (mustard yellow) but for now, it's fine. Actually, it was officially the last untouched room in the house. Time to start all over again?

Even Beaufort likes it!

Sources:

Paint - Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
Blankets - MacAusland's Woolen Mills (Dark Gray)
Striped Sheets, metal basket, wicker baskets - Target
Felt baskets - Walmart
Wall Sconces - Ikea
Roman shade fabric - Tonic Living
Hanging planter - The Vintage Loop