Post Comment Love 21-23 October 2016

Welcome back to another Post Comment Love and I'm convinced that Friday's come around the quickest of any weekday. It's not so bad though as Fridays bring a chance to catch up with all of you lovely lot, and that can never be a bad thing. If you're new here then #PoCoLo is a friendly linky where you can link up any post you've published in the previous week that needs some extra love.

This week for me has been a busy one and started with celebrating my in-law's golden wedding anniversary with a scrumptious afternoon tea. And it was there that my photo this week was taken. The acorn looked quite forlorn on the steps, but I couldn't help but notice that it matched the straps on my favourite shoes of the moment. And then I noticed the patina and texture of the steps and I knew my phone camera would be out.

It struck me that in one moment I'd switched from being an advocate of looking up to being one for looking down too!  So maybe now I'm just an advocate for looking all around us and enjoying what we see by really looking. Who knows, but it's not a bad place to start.

Something new, coming soon...

We don't have a #BloggerShowcase this week but Morgan and I do have something up our sleeves which we'll reveal soon. There's something familiar and there's something new too, and we're hoping you'll get involved because it should be fun. I know that's a bit cloak and dagger but pop back next week to find out more.

An InLinkz Link-up

Let's talk Bamboo flooring

Now, if I said Bamboo flooring to you,  I've got a good idea what you might think. In fact it might be close to my first thoughts. Something like this maybe:

Thinking about it more I couldn't see any reason why bamboo couldn't be used for flooring, as I know it's a tremendously versatile material. I mean I have a couple of summer dresses made from bamboo, and instead of the stiff, hard fabric you'd imagine they are unbelievably soft. And remember those bamboo beach mats that were an essential holiday item? Well they're flexible and light too aren't they. 

So until I looked into this more, and browsed around the Ambient Bamboo Flooring site, I'd assumed that bamboo flooring would be a soft floor covering. It turns out I couldn't have been more wrong, as they are said to be three times harder than traditional wood floors, but with the same look and feel. 

The stranded flooring is so resilient because of the way it's made.  The bamboo strands are torn apart and then fused together using intense heat and pressure. And the strength increases if the strands are laid in a cross pattern, which makes sense even to my non technical brain.

So if it's strong, what does it look like?

That was the next question forming in my head. And no doubt yours. But I was pleasantly surprised there too. There's plenty of examples on their site and even as I was beginning to expect to be surprised, I was. 

It can be installed over many types of existing flooring, including concrete. And as bamboo's a fast grower - I can vouch for that if it's anything like the bamboo in my garden - the plants regrow in less than ten years, which is fast compared to seventy years for comparable hardwoods. It starts to make you think doesn't it?

So having not heard of Bamboo floorings before, suddenly I've found myself intrigued by it and wondering why it's not in use more. And then I thought, maybe it is and we just don't know it...

This is a collaborative post but all views and opinions are my own.

Let's talk mirrored bathroom cabinets

I'm a fan of having a mirrored cabinet in a bathroom, and today I thought I'd share my reasons why:

1. To hide clutter

I love the minimalist look, but while I think it looks great, I like to have my things and stuff around me too. Where I'm most successful at achieving the minimalist nirvana is in our bathrooms. There is admittedly less opportunity for stuff in these rooms, but even so I have very little on show here. 

In our main bathroom there's some display shelves in a shallow alcove with a couple of candles and a vase with some beaded twigs, a box of tissues and a couple of bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Alongside the sink there's a liquid soap dispenser on a small tray, with a nail brush and a flannel. 

Storage is a small cupboard, under the alcove shelves which contains the cleaning materials. We also have three stacking wicker baskets for loo rolls and to store toiletries and towels under the sink. But the saviour for our clutter is the bathroom cabinet which stores the things we need everyday, but it's all kept out of sight - and that's just how I like it.

I know I'm never going to reach minimalist status in any other room in the house, but in the bathroom with clever storage it's much easier.

2. To add a stylish feature

The decor in our bathrooms is purposefully plain, with both tiled throughout. For me it has to be a white bathroom suite, I've taken out too many avocado suites in my time (three, if you're wondering!) and so to avoid being boring, bathrooms need a statement feature. An illuminated mirrored bathroom cabinet would provide a great feature.

I've been looking at the Pebble Grey cabinets and the Sorrel cabinet (pictured on the right below) is the one that's most like my mirrored bathroom cabinet. I wanted the softer corners to mirror, sorry no pun intended, the curve of the shower and sink.

SAVANNAH LED ILLUMINATED BATHROOM CABINET

SANDY LED ILLUMINATED BATHROOM CABINET

SORREL ILLUMINATED BATHROOM CABINET

Photo credit, all images Pebble Grey

3. To give the illusion of space

Our bathrooms aren't called our smallest room for nothing are they? And in my house, that's true - they're economical with the space and it's planned to make the best of the space we have available. Adding a mirror helps give the illusion of space as it reflects light around the room. 

So, what tips do you have for keeping your bathroom clutter free?

This is a collaborative post but all views and opinions are my own.