Return of the Blogger

Hi all!  I hope you had a wonderful summer - not that it is completely over.  I had an amazing time in New Brunswick as usual and took a break from everything - including blogging.  But I am back re-energized and pumped and ready to get started on this place.

And oh, the projects we'll do!

To be honest, it is a little overwhelming.  Every room I am in, I look around thinking about how much there is to do.  Everything is unpacked and furniture is mostly set, but now I have to make the big decisions, ugh.  I don't really want to paint anything because they did such an incredible job, but some of the colours are just not me.

And I can't decide where to put which art.

And I want new art.

And new furniture.

And new rugs, lights, linens, shelves - you name it.

And my husband thinks everything is perfect just the way it is. Sigh.

The one decision I finally made was on the counter stools for the kitchen.  At first, we weren't going to get stools, and got some low bookcases to put under the overhang.  But they just didn't work for me, so I brought them up to the playroom (where they fit perfectly - hooray!) and started on the long road of deliberations.  Money being a definite hindrance (getting the stool of my dreams would have an easy decision!) I brought home several options before deciding on these bad boys from Bouclair.

 Holy awful colour - usually my iPhone is great but these are terrible... oh well.

These were the previous contenders (more bad pics):

Cheapies from Target - I think they were $20.  You could tell.
They would work maybe for a kids' playroom, but they didn't match the calibre of the kitchen.

Another contender from Bouclair - who knew they had so many stools?
These were just ok, and they had a bigger footprint.  And they were too white.

Anyway, big thanks to my Instagram friends for helping me out with that decision!

The glass cabinet kind of crowds them on the side... I would like to put some walnut floating shelves there instead... I think... there is really nowhere for display in this place.

All that being said, I love, love, love this house.  I think all these projects are more difficult for me to act on cause I don't want to mess it up!  The paint is perfect, I don't want to ruin it, but I don't love the colour.  There is nowhere to display my pottery and tchotchkes, but I don't want to work against the minimalism of the house.  I know that we bought it, I have to live here, etc. but it feels like a complete self-contained work of art, and anything I do to it will be something that future owners will be wailing about as they try to restore the aesthetic of the house, like people who live in Craftsman houses, or something.

Gosh, I really depend too much on external approval, don't I?  Why am I worrying about future owners of the house?  Or design snobs who will shudder at my every post?  Where do I get these wacky ideas??  Sometimes you just need to write something down to see how stupid it is.  And then post it for the everyone to read. :)

Bathroom mural ideas

The other day Jen at Rambling Renovators posted a link to a mural she liked that led me to the Canadian website anewall.com.  What an awesome site!  They specialize in historic, and I assume royalty-free prints for your home in large sizes, including wall mural decals.  I could lose myself for hours on their site, and their blog, but when I came across this painting above in the wall mural section, my imagination went a bit crazy.

A Dreamy Bathroom

These are my colours - muted blues, greys, a hint of green, and cream.  While I would be thrilled to have this on just about any wall of my house, for some reason it got me thinking bathrooms - perhaps because I could imagine lounging in a soaker tub gazing out enormous (but well-insulated) windows looking over a stormy sea like the one pictured.  What?  You don't have daydreams like that?  Weird.

Anyway, I spent much too much time flitting about the web, collecting items for my dream bath.  Of course the room is enormous, because to me the epitome of luxury is a huge bathroom (that and a walk-in closet).  I ended up with so many ideas I had to do a couple of boards.

Go with the Design Flow

Here's the funny thing: these boards looked WAY less alike in my head as I was doing them than they ended up. I started out with two completely different people in mind, but when I look at them together I sort of did the same room twice.  Not sure if that means I have a distinct style, or that I have no imagination. :)

Also, neither room looks quite like the ideal image I had in my head when I saw the painting.  It could be that this is where mood boards don't quite capture the essence of a room.  However, I also think that this is true to life in any design - you start with a concept and in fleshing it out you adapt it to the things you find and the pieces available, and it sort of modulates along the way.  I quite love how both the rooms represented above turned out! 

What do you think?  Is it better to stick more closely to an original idea - staying absolutely true to it - or to let the design take on a life of its own during the process - at the risk of losing the original thread?  I guess it would depend on the client, and the level of attachment they or you have to the original plan, or aspect of the plan.  Oh the things I waste my time thinking about...

PS. I have sources for all the stuff if you are interested.  Recognize the Turkish towels and hooks in the second board?  They are from Emma's bathroom on The Marion House Book!

I Heart The Latest Covet Garden

 

The latest issue of Covet Garden features Jenn Hannotte, a Toronto designer I have long admired for her pared-down funky interiors.  She recently moved to a new Victorian house and I have been waiting for a glimpse of her newly decorated digs!  Thankfully, Covet Garden provided for me. :)

That rug in her kitchen is gorgeous.  She mixes modern and traditional so well, and every knick knack is chosen and showcased deliberately.  I wish I could do it as easily!  Mind you - this is all styled-up for the magazine, I wonder how it normally looks. :)  As always, Jodi Pudge goes a fantastic job with her light, bright, clean photography.  Someday I would like to see my place through the eyes of such a photographer, wouldn't you?

Basement Update: The Carpet

Nothing terribly exciting to report folks, but I DID make my way up to Highway 400 and Langstaff to pick my carpet for the basement.  Our sample piece that we had kept to show the insurance people and contractors had been thrown away - a fact I discovered as I rushed downstairs to get it on my way out the door.  Oops.  No biggie, I grabbed some heavy duty scissors, pliers and screwdrivers (leverage) and yanked and slashed a piece from the stairs.  I guess we're doing the stairs.

The designer I met with pulled this one (above) out almost before I had shown her the old one.  I liked that it was a bit darker (the old one shown spots super easily) and had a tighter weave.  I am hoping the tighter weave conducts the heat from the in-floor heating a little better than the plusher one did.  I looked through a handful of other samples, but this one worked for me.  I was also distracted by grilling her about her background and how she got into interior design (she had a background in marketing and no formal schooling).  Sadly, there were no extra samples to bring with me, but I left feeling pleased.

Of course about 11:30 pm last night I couldn't sleep worrying that it was too dark, too grey, too muddy.  I only had my iPhone photos, and around midnight I got out of bed, went down and interrupted the DVD Chris was watching to check the photos against the pictures of the former finished basement.  He was less than impressed.  Then today I sent my mom the iPhone photos and she reassured me that it would look fine and reminded me to trust in myself.

Jeepers, how long will it take before I get to be confident in my own decisions, and not always second guess them?  Or is that simply my nature?  The bigger the commitment, the more I stress (just ask my husband). Anyway, I put together a bit of a moodboard on Olioboard with the new carpet and a new paint colour, plus a few new accessories to go with the 'warm, cozy' vibe I was hoping the new carpet would bring.

The carpet here is a screen grab from the manufacturer website, which (incorrectly I hope) shows the colour I picked as being much darker than I had in my photos.  But maybe if I add lots of textures (anyone want to get me some Mongolian fur pillows for Christmas?  Or maybe I'll try the fake ones from Amazon...and yowza, that throw from Anthro!) and a beautiful warm kilim carpet it will make the place more of a cozy den.  I have my darker David Hannan painting (similar to the one pictured here) and the sepia photos of Prague from an old calendar that I framed.  And Dad made me a gorgeous full length mahogany-framed mirror (or rather made it for himself and I stole it) ... But... I just liked how the light carpet reflected the light from the pot lights and made it feel less like a basement.  SIGH.  Stupid tree.

Amazing how I have no problem making other people's decor and design decisions, but am completely stymied by my own.  Never-the-less, there are supposedly people coming tomorrow to start fixing the drywall, so maybe it will be done in time for the in-laws after all!  The sooner the damn carpet is in, the less time I will have to stress about it.

Italian Inventions by Emily Isles

I am always intrigued by the places people find their inspiration.  I saw these lovely posters of Italian Inventions by Scottish artist and illustrator Emily Isles and couldn't help but wonder how she came to draw them.  Apparently she practiced graphic design in both Australia and Italy, and has a passion for all things Italian.  Go figure!  They are available for purchase here, and I think they would look nice framed simply in a study, family room, or even in a playroom.  I so envy people who are able to design and illustrate - instead of searching for that perfect image, you just create it!

Maine cottage inspiration exercise

After posting about this beautiful cottage in Maine the other day, I started trying to identify for myself what exactly it was about it that so appealed to me.  I go through this exercise every now and then (usually during a pause after a flurry of pinning) to try to articulate the elements of the design and decor that I would like to emulate in my home.  There are many, many things to love about it this place - which would I like to try to bring in to my decor and which would I like to modify for something more 'me'?  

For example, I do really love the easy, uninterrupted flow of white.  I feel like it unified the space in a very free way - anything goes with white, right?  I find I really crave the reflective brightness that a white canvas provides.  It's like a calm mind. (Or so I would imagine... don't they stick you in white padded rooms?)

I love the french linen slipcovers, but I need furniture I can snuggle in to - especially by the wood stove.  I like the lines and look of the two occasional chairs in the inspiration photos, but they don't want to make me curl up with a cup of tea. (I'd be upstairs on that bed, staring at that incredible view and daydreaming, thankyouverymuch.)  

I managed to jot down a few elements that I would like to keep in mind for my place, and I thought I would share in case you also fell in love with this style.  Please add any others you found in the comments!

Then I went over to one of my many dealers of online crack, Olioboard, to take a stab at putting something together myself.  I love that you can play around endlessly in this programme, and add in things you find online when they don't have what you are looking for in their library of images.  It always makes for an approximate rendition of a room - a very rough sketch based on what they have in their database - but I think the exercise of pulling in some elements and removing others is really instructive.

But what about actually hauling out the wallet and trying to recreate it IRL*?  Where do you start, what do you look for? Thank heavens for online shopping - these lovelies should be on their way to my front door as we speak.  (I wish.)

Here are a few things that jumped out at me:
1. Nautical Chart for Blue Hill Bay Maine ca. 1950's ($20 on eBay) - beautiful on the wall, useful when in a boat in Blue Hill Bay, and only 20 bones - what more could you ask for?
2. Ektorp Ikea sofa ($599) with Bemz Rosendal Pure Washed Linen cover ($669) - I love this line of casual linen covers that Bemz does, and this is seating a could really sink into (I should know, I am currently glued in one, but sadly not with that cover.)
3. White Kelly Chair ($99 at Elte) - such a pretty chair that looks so light and unobtrusive in the white colour, with an antique feel in the caned seat and bent wood frame.
4. Knox Lanterns ($48 - $100 at Crate & Barrel) - these look so East Coast, and they would bring in some darker colour without looking out of place.  Plus, this place just screams for candle light!
5. Handcrafted Red Oak Flooring (Real or Engineered Hardwood from Mirage Floors) - hardwood is a must, I like the beachy feel of this treatment.
6. Modern Weave Round Basket ($15 at West Elm) - baskets provide more natural textures and help contain clutter and messes that would otherwise diminish the space.
7. Lavato Ungaretti coverlet ($453 for Queen size blanket at Au Lit Fine Linens) - if I am imaginary shopping, I might as well indulge a little!  Quilted coverlets again have a bit of visual texture, a kind of antique/timeless feel, and will keep out the chill on those windy Maine nights.
8. Boston Functional Library Light ($465 at Elte) - I like the zap, the ping, the snap of the darker wall sconces. (I am trying to avoid the word pop, is it working?).  Again the modern yet industrial yet antique look is perfect.  (Can something look modern and antique? I have to go to bed...)

So now I know what to put on my shopping list (kind of want that chart), and maybe which things to take down and put away for a future decor whim.  Do you guys ever do exercises like this?  Or do I need to join some sort of support group...  I have so many.... it would be hard to schedule another.

*That means 'In Real Life' Mom.  Cool people like me say it all the time.

Dreamiest Dream House: Cottage in Maine

Based on the number of times I have seen the above image on Pinterest, I am sure many of you have already seen this gorgeous cottage in Maine featured on Remodelista, but I love it SOOOOO much I have to post it for you.  Honestly, I know I say this a lot, but this might be the most perfect house I have ever seen.  :)

The house sits right on Martinsville Bay in Maine - so close to the shore, in fact, that the first order of business was ensuring that the high tides stopped flooding the basement.  It was originally a general store, later converted into a home in the 1930's.  The current owners, Fiona and Tony Hooper, were given a copy of the diaries of the two ladies who lived there for so long by their realtor - how neat is that?

The architect Sheila Narusawa overhauled the interior, and I especially love the white ship lap that runs throughout everything.  Her niece Justine Hand took these bright and airy photographs, and wrote the most beautiful post about her experience at the cottage and its history on her lovely blog designskool.  (Her blog is absolutely perfect - you should really go take a look!)

The windows, the view, the white, the ship lap, the lights, the KITCHEN, the bedroom.... I could go on and on and on....  This is OFFICIALLY my dream home.

Princess Margaret Welcome Home Sweepstakes sneak peek

Last night I had the pleasure of visiting my future home in Oakville.  I know, I never thought I would move to Oakville either, but when I saw this lovely home designed by Lynda Reeves, I was suddenly won over by suburban life.  The funny thing is, I have never actually met Lynda, but she clearly designed the place with me in mind.  The earthy neutrals, marble kitchen, linen drapes, and ethnic-inspired accessories were all right up my alley.  The way she and her design team combined them with those large black modern doors and windows, the sleek floor-to-ceiling patio doors that fold open onto the terrace, and the exquisite landscaping clearly reflected my love of combining modern and well-worn aesthetics.  I love that she gave me an AGA stove, although I have absolutely no idea how I will whip up my mac and cheese on it... No detail was overlooked in this place, and I really appreciate it Lynda.

You can go ahead and buy a ticket for the lottery if you want - in fact you really should, because it is in support of the amazing Princess Margaret Hospital - but I am pretty sure I have this one all sewn up.  I made sure to rub Renee's arm raw.  She is an amazing good luck charm (just ask Aleksandra below, who won the massive 3D HD LG flatscreen tv just by standing next to her).

My horrible iPhone pics don't really do it justice, believe it or not.  You can find out more about my home HERE, including the names of all the amazing suppliers who provided materials for the house pro bono and the design team that met needs I didn't even know I HAD until now (sadly, there is no going back...).  There is a virtual tour online, but I really recommend going out to see it yourself.  I mean, of course I'll have a house-warming party, but you should probably check it out sober too.

Thanks so much to the lovely folks at House & Home for the good time and blogger reunion.  And the ride home - that was awesome too. :)

Sailing Style Decor Inspiration by Tricia Foley

I mentioned that my parents have a library of home design books - I wish I had time to read through more of them.  Definitely one of my favourite ones is this Sailing Style by New York Designer Tricia Foley.  Although it is a good ten years old, I think it is fresh and timeless, much like the nautical style it describes.  Instead of being packed with perfectly styled images of Nantucket homes, Foley focuses on the essential components of nautical style - white sails, rope, worn brass, maps, and weather vanes - and fills the book with beautiful photos depicting the mood and romance of living by the sea.  The photography by Michael Skott is amazing and captures the fresh salt air, natural textures, and timeworn simplicity of the style.  I highly recommend it for anyone looking for inspiration!  I took some photos of a few of my favourite spreads - sorry about the inconsistent quality (and the rock is just there to hold the pages flat!).

Beautiful cozy reading room (or is there a TV off camera?) love the simple framing of the prints.

Not sure I would keep the enormous dead fish on my wall... but the rest is divine!  Love the oars in the corner.

Gotta love the white slipcovers, and that coffee table...

Beautiful bed, and I love the clean, spare bedding of a blue gingham sheet and single white pillow.

Old quilts and iron beds - and an open window.  Heaven.

Love the styling, green colour, and well-worn feel of this bookcase.

Shells.  Cream everything. So simple, so pretty.

What a great painting and chair, and beautiful barometer on the wall.

Hurricane lamp, chalkboard, bottle/vase - this could be in any magazine today.

GREAT blanket and bed.  I always used to make my bed this way as a kid, with an old white coverlet.

Pretty weather-worn cedar shingles.

Not a bad spot for a bite of lunch! (bet it gets windy though).

Not your typical white kitchen, but how about those open shelves, brass fixtures, and that stone sink??

White and worn cedar.  And look at the curved garden bench.

That curved and panelled breezeway makes me want to weep.  Not to mention the shingles, the windows, the door, the VIEW...

What I wouldn't do for a pantry... I can already hear the squeak of those drawers...

The back section of the book also includes more inspiring resources, stores, magazines, and designers specializing in this nautical style.  If you see this book anywhere - nab it!  My only problem is trying to figure out how to incorporate this style into my house in the city - far away from salt water of any kind...not sure my neighbours would appreciate a lobster trap in the front garden... :)