A New Front Entrance to Brighten the Day

Fieldstone Windows and Doors was at my place today to swap out the 25 year old builder door and side lights. The entrance was dark 24/7 and drafty as hell.


Our old door:

Dingy eh? That was this morning. The door fronts on the East so the sun would flood the foyer with a new door.


Take a look at the difference now that the new door is in:

That's what I'm talkin' about! The amount of light coming in is so bright you can't even see the details of the door. 


The old door had only 2 hinges and was light as a feather...sound familiar? That's what you get when you buy a door from those 'big box' stores for a few hundred bones. 


My new door is frickin' solid! When it engages it is air-tight. And best of all it's got style. 


Here's what it looks like today from outside:

Sexy brushed nickle lock set and, what's this...they even put in a new door bell! Awesome. The fit and finish of the door is great and the trim work inside by the guys from Fieldstone...is perfect! 
  
Can't wait to paint out the trim (in sable to match the new windows Fieldstone installed in November) and I'm thinking I'm going to do the door and sidelight...in a bright coral colour. Cause I've really wanted to use coral for a while now and wholly impact that would be on the door! 


Here's a shot with the brick to give you a feel. So far the two colour options are C2's Fantasia on the right and Flamingo on the left (colours do look better IRL):

And another shot with the trim colour (sable) and some inspiration with the same colours:

Thank you Ken, Scott, Steve, Rose, Tansy and everyone at Fieldstone for everything!


BTW, they've just started blogging so watch for some good info and maybe, the nosey parker in me hopes, some sneaky peaks in people's houses...ah, I mean of their new doors/windows. I do love me some good before and afters!

Monday's Inspiration

Christine over at Bijou and Boheme blogged about the Design firm Commune today. It is well worth popping over to take a look.


I was impressed with the runner created with what looks like multiple antique rugs. How clever! I'd definitely consider doing this in an old brownstone, a farm house or even a hard loft.

Source: google.com via Cat on Pinterest

What do you think? Love it or leave it? 

Does it inspire you?

The stairs being painted (risers as well as treads) really highlights the carpets.

Winter blahs breeds desire...

for luminousness! It's a word. In the Blogosphere....

Who wouldn't want luminous skin? Winter dries out our skin and if you are like me, the sun of summer sun sins...has a layer of ick as well. 

In honour of Valentine's Day, which is fast approaching here's a simple way to restore moisture, divest yourself of chapping and pump up your pucker:

Luminous Bootylicious Lips Exfoliant:

• 1 tsp - sugar
• drizzle - olive oil
• 1 to 2 drops - essential cinnamon oil (puts the booty in bootylicious)

Apply to lips in a circular motion with a soft toothbrush to exfoliate. Rinse.

Source: sexclothespopularity.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

P.S. I'm restoring some youth to my haggard visage. Here's a little B & A ;)


Before:

Source: google.com via Dane on Pinterest

After:

Source: mfilomeno.com via Dane on Pinterest

It's January. The weather sucks and days are short. The least you can do is treat yourself; you deserve it.

Friday Flight of Fancy

The phrase, 'flight of fancy' can be defined as an unrealistic or fantastic notion, a pipe dream.

Beauties, you and i will never accept the notion of our dreams and desires to be unrealistic. 

What we crave in our homes and our lives may take time to be realized, but we know, implicitly:  a flight of fancy is the unleashing of the imagination...to soaring heights.

With this philosophy in hand designer's make client's dreams come true and inspire us to expand our dreams!

Friday flight of fancy...

Don't let anyone tell you:
- A stuffed deer head can not possibly look stylish in a bedroom.

Source: thelennoxx.com via shamecia on Pinterest 

- Drama belongs on the stage.

Source: elledecor.com via Dane on Pinterest

- Patterned wallpaper can't be a neutral background.

Source: design-crisis.com via Dane on Pinterest

Stunning Kitchen

I am agog. This kitchen is over the top wonderful. From the oak floor and needlepoint runner to the blue delft(?) platters and the distressed pillars flanking the range. This kitchen is right up my alley. Dark, warm and inviting with tons of drama and more than a little sense of history. 

Also note the black of the cabinets is actually a navy...see my previous post about navy being the new black ;)

It is so rare to see a mix of patterns in a kitchen! The potted African Violets are perfect. My mother has a green thumb with them. Me...not so much.

My own kitchen is in the process of being updated. I won't have the hardwood like the on above however. We are stuck with the existing ceramic tile since we've decided to sell in the spring...we have over $15,000...as in 15K! of hardwood currently being installed throughout the house *ack* but that's another blog post). But my cabinets are black with satin brass pulls and I'll have a beautiful old area rug in there. Kitchen won't be complete till March, at the earliest. I suspect it will be completed in April.

Source

Ok, ok, a new colour trend prediction for 2012...but not the colour of the year

navy. Not just any navy but a saturated jewel toned navy. We are going to want colour in our homes in 2012 more than we have in recent years and navy is an incredible backdrop for color.

I can not wait to see the interiors be featured in Shelter Mags and blogs in 2012!

Happy New Year mes cocottes!

Source: doraithea.tumblr.com via Dane on Pinterest

May more follow in the foot steps of Canadians and open their hearts to love in all shapes and forms.

Source: onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com via Dane on Pinterest

2012 Trends in Interior Design - Color Of the Year

I am so happy to be posting my predictions for another year! These truly are my favorite posts.


Last year I predicted the color of 2011 would be yellow. I'm confident I've been proven correct over the past year. Every yellow under the sun has been enjoying it's moment...in the sun. Ha! 


I have been thinking about what I see being the color of 2012 for the past 3 months and I was just not coming up with anything new. For about 2 seconds I actually thought I was losing my touch...ok for a bit longer than that. 


Then I gave my head a shake. Shitballs, we are talking about interior design! We don't shed our interiors the way we do our clothing...unless we are talking about someone who believes fad is synonymous with trend; who  have no concept of investment. Admittedly this was me for years. 


'Colour of the year' in interior design is the creation of corporations. Magazines, paint manufacturers et all marketing their products. Sure it's fun for about a week but come on who really wants to be told you have to have to have Honeysuckle (Pantone 2011) or Tangerine Tango (Pantone 2012). Really buttonholes colour in interior design and that shit don't fly with me. 


So, you ask what my colour of the year prediction for 2012 is? You've no doubt  guessed it by now. 


YELLOW! 

It is not going anywhere yet. It is not my favourite colour. I'm a dark and moody kind of interior design salope but I am still enjoying my yellow. Judging by the newest cover of House Beautiful...so are the editors at Hearst!
If you are someone who *needs* a new color each year...I'll give you this to chew on for interior design trends of 2012: the new black is...(link)