Happy Valentine's Day! Bonne St. Valentin!

February 13, 2014

Well, rather than send you all a candy heart or roses (which really isn't my style), I'm going to give you some design inspiration for Valentine's Day. And the theme is "Red is Best" - one of my favourite kid's books, by the way, by Canadian author Kathy Stinson (thanks to my sister for introducing it to us).

Source: www.kathystinson.com

I'm currently in the process of de-cluttering my office space and have decided to get rid of my tear sheets (thousands of them, I assure you) by scanning them and saving electronically. With so many online resources for cataloguing my inspiration, like Pinterest and Houzz to name a couple of my favourites (psst...follow me!), I have decided to go digital. Well, mostly; there are still some versions of the print magazine I cannot live without.

Anyway, I digress as usual. In the process of going through my tear sheets I found a lot of red (which didn't surprise me) and it inspired me to share these images with you for some Valentine's Day inspiration. Every room should have a little red, and these examples show how much life red can add to a room. So, have a great Valentine's Day and remember "Red is Best".

Source: Blueprint Magazine

Source: Style at Home, May 2012

Source: House Beautiful, March 2011

Source: Homes & Gardens, October 2010

Things I don't seem to tire of...

July 31, 2012

Over the years, I have started many collections and am drawn repeatedly to the same things. That's not to say I don't also like trends. There is definitely a time and place for trends in most designed spaces. But, there are always the things that are comforting and reliable and that I will always love in a space. At least I have for the last 10 odd years. I thought I would share a few of the things I never seem to tire of...

Jade-ite Dishes (Oh. and salt and pepper shakers too!)

Mixing patterns - adds such a dynamic quality to a space.

Small cabinets with doors and latches

(and, in case you don't already know - GREEN)

Old Suitcases

Drawers, especially metal ones

And chalkboard paint

Our wall in our kitchen is blackboard paint and we truly use it all the time. Most of the time it looks a bit of a mess, but I think it still looks okay this way. My husband and I use it for our brainstorming sessions about furniture design, kitchen layout (that's his chicken scratch way of writing "kitchen" by the way - it really doesn't say kill) and lists. Those are the preliminary drawings for the side tables we collaborated on (see entry Build up to Built-ins).

Thanks for having a look...check back soon!

What does "adult" design or decorating mean to you?

April 17, 2012

My husband and I bought this piece over the weekend (Kijiji - a steal at $250!). It's a well made and practical piece as it stores a tonne - as you can see from the beginnings of my "propping" (yes, I sometimes "prop" my house). However, the reason I'm writing about it is because of something my husband said: "I love it, but it makes me feel like such an adult". And I totally know what he means, as I'm sure many of you do. What's funny is that my neighbour said the same thing to me a couple of days ago about her kitchen. She has just renovated it and put a different, funky knob on every cabinet because she didn't want it to be too adult.

It's not that we aren't adults - we all have kids, own houses and vehicles, hold down steady jobs (I'm getting overwhelmed with adult here!). It's just that some things FEEL adult. I think adult-feeling design is when things feel intentional and cohesive - we aren't just using the hand-me-downs and hodge-podge street finds anymore (although this is still one of my favourite ways to acquire furniture). Maybe it's that we are starting to tailor things to our style with a big picture in mind, instead of a more impulsive "this is a cool colour" and painting it? I'm not really sure what makes something "adult". Investing more in it? It reminds us of our parents? Of what we imagine adults decorating with? It's hard to really pinpoint where the feeling comes from. But, I hear it from enough people to know that it exists for many.

It's not always a negative thing either. I think my husband is okay with the piece feelig a bit "adult", as long as his house doesn't become too adult. One thing I find interesting is how most of us seem to understand this feeling of "adult". In my profession, sometimes all I have to say to someone is "Does it feel too adult?" to determine if they like something or not. Or, to the contrary I say "Do you want it to feel more adult?" and this will help them decide. Which goes to say, we all know what "too adult" or "not adult enough" is and feels like, it's just hard to define what makes it so.

What makes something too adult for you? Or, not adult enough? I'm curious and fascinated by this topic and would love your insights.