A few months ago I told you how The Man knocked my socks off with a scavenger hunt for our first anniversary.

One of the elements was this awesome giant letter ‘a’ that he’d made by the woodwork teacher from the school where he worked. I’d been umming and aahing about where to put it – it would look so cool as a wall feature but, well, we’re running out of walls!

Normally when I talk about giving something a quick coat of paint, I really mean painstaking preparation and several coats of paint. Happily, in this case I was able to just slap on a single coat of paint as I liked being able to still see the grain.

My cheerful oversized typography now adds a playful touch to the back of my office door (sorry for the dodgy photo, the room is so small it’s hard to get a wider shot that still captures the whole letter). It makes me smile every time I look up at it from my desk.

Today’s Rethink & Reuse is somewhat selfish. You see, I have a type drawer that I bought to display some family photos at our wedding. I absolutely love it, but apart from a brief stint as an advent calendar two Christmases ago, I’m actually at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it now.

Here are what some clever folks are repurposing theirs for:

Jewellery rack | Tonya Staab

Shadow box | Apartment Therapy

Shadow box | Design*Sponge

Craft supply storage | 26 Letters

Memento coffee table | Zween

These are all great ideas, but I already have jewellery storage and a coffee table, prefer my craft supplies to be kept out of sight and I don’t really have many tiny mementos for a memory box. I would LOVE to hear your suggestions of what I could do with my cool – but currently useless – type drawer.

I’ve wanted a shaggy white rug for the lounge for ages but, well, there was always something else that we needed to pay for (isn’t that always the way?). But when The Man spotted this baby online at an irresistable price (do I have him trained well or what?) we jumped at the chance.

Of course, you always worry whether online purchases will look as good in person but in this case we didn’t need to be concerned. It looks great and is sooo lovely when you’re sitting at the couch in bare feet. It really ties the room together as a nice cosy space and as an unexpected bonus it also works to make the coffee table stand out as a feature.

For some reason I don’t have a photo of the kitchen with the old light (oh yeah, could be because I didn’t like it so I always cropped it out).

But I do have a photo of the same fixture elsewhere in the house. Because when we moved in every. single. fitting. in the house was the same boring builder’s special that you see above.

Ah, I love how pendant lights work to define a space so much more than the ceiling-mounted variety. The industrial brushed metal finish of the Ikea light we chose ties in perfectly with the cabinet handles, and at just fifteen bucks it was a very cheap tweak to the room.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank The Man for installing it for me. x

I discovered Brisbane-based Paper Boat Press at Bowerbird Bazaar recently and I’ve since seen their beautiful ceramics popping up all over the place, such as in my fave magazine Real Living and even at Anthropologie with an exclusive collection. There’s a broad range of products including jewellery,  Christmas decorations, reusable tags, poetry books and prints, but all in Kylie’s Johnson’s signature style.

I’m pretty damn excited to watch the list of Akimbo stockists keep growing.

The latest is a real life bricks and mortar store in Hawthorn, Victoria. Kids Style Hub is the Melbourne destintation for stylish kids’ fashion and lifestyle accessories, all by independent Australian and New Zealand designers. It’s more than just shopping though, there’s also a cafe, gallery and party room.

Pop in and say hello to Nicole and the team and get some help with your Christmas shopping. But if you’re not in Melbourne, never fear! The online shop is launching soon.

Light fittings are often overlooked but they really can take a good room and make it look a lot more resolved. We have been sloooooowwwwly replacing these shoddy light fittings in our joint. We’ve just done the lounge and dining and here’s what it looks like now:

Cool huh? I love the texture and warmth they add.

I love low-hanging lights but because of our low ceilings, this is actually as low as we could hang the pendant in the lounge area without The Man’s head banging into it. But if we hung the one in the dining area at the same height it would sit awkwardly between the laundry door the ceiling beam. I wanted to hang it low and centred over the table, but it wasn’t worth the expense of moving the socket, so we looped the cords and hung it from the beam instead.

We were wracking our brains for weeks trying to figure out a way to loop it through so that it would stay there. The guy at the hardware store suggested adhesive cord managers but that was complete fail. I don’t know why it took me so long but I finally I worked out that we could use fishing line to attach the pendant’s inner metal frame to the cup hook in the beam. Success!

Here are the before and afters, starting with the dining area:

And the lounge…

I’d had my eye on these babies for the longest time but never quite had the budget for them, then I spotted them for like 60% off at Beacon so I quickly snapped them up. You’ve gotta love a project like that!

I’m excited to announce that Akimbo will be selling at its first kids’ market, Mathilda’s Market. It’s in late November so it’s perfect to come and do all your Christmas shopping for your children, nieces and nephews (as well as plenty to spoil yourself!).

Christmas Mathilda’s Market Adelaide
Saturday 26 November 2011
The Burnside Ballroom
Corner Greenhill & Portrush Roads, Tusmore
9am to 1pm

It’s not just in Adelaide, though. There are markets all over Australia:

Brisbane – Saturday 19 November

Perth – Sunday 13 November

Melbourne – Sunday 27 November

Hobart – Sunday 6 November

Sydney – Sunday 4 December

Canberra – Sunday 20 November

See full details of times and locations.

Put it in your diary and I hope to see some of you there!

Today I have an exciting first for Atypical Type A: we have a guest blogger! Without further ado, please welcome Susi from Arcadian Lighting.

Hi, I’m Susi, a writer from Arcadian Lighting, a website and blog about décor and lighting fixture trends. I’m so lucky to be a guest blogger here at Atypical Type A today. I’m writing about unexpected decorative accessories that can add charm and style to any room. Whether the accessory is unexpected or the location is unexpected, unique decorative objects and accessories make a space feel personal. Enjoy!

Framing a single beautiful object, like a feather, can be an unexpected decorative accessory for the wall.

Love the unexpected mix of rustic and contemporary in this stool. The top converts to a deep tray that could work as an ice bucket as well—now that’s unexpected!

Adding natural elements is a popular design tip. A few driftwood votive candle holders that look like bundles of white asparagus would be unexpected replacement for a lamp on a bookshelf or bedside table.

Animals are another big trend in design accessories right now. Look for animals from unexpected materials like driftwood for something more unique and rustic.

Sometimes the accessory is traditional but the placement is unexpected. A vintage portrait in the kitchen or bathroom is charming but atypical.

Wall art that doubles as coat hooks or coat hooks that double as wall art? These leaves are charming for a mudroom or foyer wall.

An unexpected accessory in the kitchen is a large mirror, but it works well in the room. Mirrors expand whatever space they are in, and in a kitchen they add a nice reflective sparkle. Reflected in that mirror is an unexpected kitchen light, a swing arm lamp, attached to the wall above the sink.

Vintage toys and collectibles are unexpected decorative accessories outside a kid’s room or a playroom. They add a bit of whimsy and make for great conversation starters. And this table lamp looks like it’s one-of-a-kind!

Unexpected accessories are the perfect way to give your home an eclectic, personal touch. Discover more interesting design ideas and unique lighting fixtures to add to your home today at Arcadian Lighting! (Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

I almost fell off my chair when I saw how beautiful the first shot is. Thanks, Susi, for inspiring us to look outside the conventional decor ideas.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I commissioned a piece from Kyleigh’s Papercuts for The Man for our first wedding anniversary and I adore it so much I had to give her some more love with a feature post.

Kyleigh hand cuts each piece from a single sheet of paper and they can be delivered either unframed or in one of her signature awesome transparent frames. She has plenty of ready-made designs featuring song lyrics in her shop or you can commission one with your own wording, such as a favourite quote or details of a birth or marriage.