priorities

Hello lovelies! I have been missing reading your blogs, seeing what you've been up to, just too busy. Too busy for anything these days, it seems.

I've made a decision about this blog.

Pinterest has become my "place" to tag inspiration, so from now on I will only be posting here when I've been working on a project or a clients home, or get the time to put together a colour post for you (I have six or seven half-finished colour posts waiting for photos already, lol!). I'll still be blogging, just less frequently - hope you'll still pop by from time to time...

I'm putting the darlings first, and any time I manage to steal away from work will be given to them. Please say you understand. x am

geometry + kitchen

What happens when you take a gently curving space and apply sharp angles and linear elements?

this.

Not something you usually see in a kitchen.

The tiles remind me of graph paper :) Although this may not be quite my own style, I love the uniqueness of this space, and the purity of the design. Tres chic!

I going full speed on a design for a current client, and the good news is that they have agreed to allow me to post photos! This couple, and their children, relocate almost yearly for work. They have a permanent home, but spend the majority of time living in these "temporary" ones. The frequent moves mean that they are forever trying to settle themselves and their belongings into a new space, and sometimes it becomes a little jumbled. I am going to help them purchase a few new pieces and create a cohesive look throughout their home, without investing too much into a rental space. This design requires some really creative solutions, because it not only needs to work in this home, but they need to be able to adapt it to their next one, as well. By next week I should have some before photos and finalized plans to share with you :)

Have a great day! am x

a Queen's summer home

It's Victoria Day in Canada, which celebrate's Queen Victoria's (England) birthday. We view this as the unofficial start of summer round here, and have celebrated all weekend out on the deck with friends, and it got me wondering where the Queen spent her summer days.....

When I think cottage towering pine trees, lakes and cedar lined rooms spring to mind. Muskoka. The Queen, apparently, had designs on something a wee bit grander. Somehow I can't imagine our wet dogs, popsicle-toting children and margarita maker fitting in at The Osborne House!

I actually love this garden area, below. Imagine how wonderful that lavender smells!

venturing inside....

This room, while being madly over-the-top, appeals to my colour loving side. If you could simplify the furnishings, and the lighting, and the details (everything, really !!), 

the way canary yellow is used here is spectacular..

Slightly different from your dream cottage?!!

Hope you are all having a lovely day... we're off for the first boat ride of the season, picnic lunch in tow - x

yea or nay: chintz

for anyone who remembers the eighties, chintz may be a dirty word. I remember wearing a Laura Ashley dress and pearls as my sister's maid of honour, and my mother fretting because my hair was black, and half shaved, and I refused to remove my nose ring :) It was a moment. I despised the sweetness of those oversized florals back then, and never thought there would be a day where I would be embracing them. But lately, in clean hues, when used with restraint, a floral chintz is looking rather fresh. It started a few month's back, with Anna Spiro's pink curtains, (shown below), then  I saw a fabulous post last week over at I Suwannee featuring Carleton Varney, and began wandering around the house, looking for a spot to tuck some in!

If you'd like to bask in this vibe, a room wrapped in large florals is a brave leap into pattern and colour. Love the idea of using this as an alternative to tile for a backsplash in the kitchen - so pretty!

Not quite ready for wallpaper? Curtains require less of a commitment....

and pillows are simpler again.

(these aren't all chintz, exactly, but you get the idea :)

A patterned chair is a perfect exclamation point to a space.

and if a chair isn't quite enough, then perhaps something larger?

Small bits of chintz can be layered in with smaller pieces.....fabric on a frame? Do that all the time!

Although this is a little over-the-top, I do like the idea of an upholstered/wallpapered lack table...hmmm...

I think the key is to to avoid pairing chintz with country/shabby anything, because it is already such a "sweet" look.  It's the juxtaposition of chintz against clean lined-furnishings and hard surfaces such as mirror, metal and glass that make it modern. 

What do you think of chintz? Could you see any of this in your own space?

photo links:  tile  settee blue rug  ZsaZsa Bellagio  YSL living HamptonsShowhouseGreen wallpaper  porcelain dish  retro layers   yellow sofa  House Beautiful  Albert Hadley  gallery wall  canvas  curtains&lantern  white sofa pillows  Blue curtains  white&gold settee blue pillows  retro chair  floral chair  brown floral chair  black floral chair Cush and Nooks  dining  fabric tablecloth 

DIY: textile art

Remember when I showed you that pic of that mudcloth I found for a steal on ebay? Well, it arrived in the mail last week. Yesterday I built the frame and this morning it was stapled and placed in it's new home above the mantle. I'm in love!

It needs more layering, of course, and it has to be hung properly - currently it is sitting on a lucite box used to try out the height! But don't you just love it?!! I have been searching for three years for the right piece to hang in this spot, and there is a great sense of satisfaction at having finally found it. The walls are finally white, we found a sofa last week that D and I both like for this room, and so progress is being made, SLOWLY! Why is it my that projects round here move at a snails pace? Like the barefoot cobbler's children, I suppose :)

I'm off to source fabrics today for a client, it's a perfect day for driving with the wind in your hair.... hope the sun is shining where you are, as well - x am

console craving

Found this yesterday via the Marcus Design blog. I don't usually re-blog, but this console and the vignette is one of the best things I've seen in a while.

Those lions are outdoor statues! The owner literally placed a sheet of plexiglass on top and voila - one of a kind gorgeousness. I love that their rustic patina was left alone, it allows them to blend into the walls enough that they are subtle, and I like pieces that make me look twice. Placing two large gold vases filled with branches directly on top of each lion keeps the eye moving up vertically. The urn, stool and art add up to perfect symmetry, while the small dish on the right keeps the grouping from being too static. This ticks every box for me - unique, interesting, perfectly scaled and upcycled decor. I usually try to do my own thing, but this is one look I may have to steal :)  You?

how the colour of your sofa can enlarge your room

Space is the ultimate luxury. I forget where I read that, but it's true. It doesn't matter how large your home is, it seems most of us are trying to create the feel of spaciousness within them. So today I'm going to show you how the colour of your sofa can make you room feel larger.

Lets' just consider the sofa for a moment - averaging 8 feet long, 40 inches deep, and 36" high, this space hog takes up over a hundred square feet in your room.  Crazy right? For that reason the sofa usually becomes the focal point of the room. But what if you would like something else to be the focal point - say, the fireplace?

How do you make the largest piece of furniture in the space unobtrusive?
Colour. Here's the top-secret trick - are you ready?!!!

 If there is a strong contrast between your sofa colour and your walls, the size of the sofa will be emphasized, and the space will seem smaller - BUT, if your sofa should blend into your walls or your floor it will visually disappear.

That doesn't mean they have to be the same colour, but similar VALUE (value = the darkness or lightness of a colour, a post on that is in the works :)

For example, here are two sides of the same room - the orange upholstery provides a huge contrast, while the leaf green blends in seamlessly to the peacock walls.

Let's look at a few high contrast spaces first so you can see how the sofa dominates the room.

In a few other spaces the floor grounds the sofa, and it becomes part of a larger whole....

Some examples of the sofa/wall colour combination.....isn't it amazing to see a red sofa settle so comfortably into a room?

Layering the walls, floor AND large pieces in the same tones creates a positively enormous room!

Especially when they are all done in white :)

There you go - one of my best tricks for creating a spacious living room, lovelies!
Would you try this in your own space? x am



photo links: 1  2  3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10  11   12   12   13   14 

sunburst gallery wall

If one is good, then eleven is perfection, no?







Had a crazy, busy weekend, and now a crazy, busy week - when it rains it pours... hope you are all having as great a spring season as I am :) The posts may be a bit sparse in the upcoming weeks as blogging slide further down the priority list, sorry.... I miss you!! am x

bring in the flamingo...

Spring always brings on a desire for lively colour and a bit a whimsy. Its time to throw open the windows and revel in the sunshine, yes? This year it's all about pink, peach and everything in between. So what do you get when you mix lush warm colour and a tad of kitsch? Flamingos, dah-lings :)

So much pretty, right?!! And how sweet is this wee vintage table? I'd love to put this beside the bath piled up with towels...wonder how D would feel about that :)

Off to begin a design for some new clients - working on creating a cohesive feel in a large rental home that they will be living in short-term with a collection of collected furniture :) It's going to be a fantastic challenge, and I'm so excited to begin! Have a happy wednesday, loves - x



photo links: photo waterside words art linen background draper vignette dress body painting wallpaper fabric girl photo close up pair retro close-up tulip vignette painted patterned white pillow painting water art watercolour photo feathers water-colour grey pottery pottery Set of 2 Art Glass pottery Set of Three framed photo Hotel Sign photo blue background vintage book plate asian inspired print Watercolor purples painting mineral watercolour+pen and ink watercolour Pillow Fabric lake french pillow pottery tray wood tray salt and pepper table