Vintage Glam and Crappy News

I'm taking a 'me' break this a.m. Lounging about on the sofa in my recently purchased vintage fur coat made in Geneva. I'm cold and it's warm. It's got a golden sheen to it...but I've no idea what the little critters were that make up the coat. 

I've been under the weather since mid-December. I thought I'd gotten a virus which had decided to settle in to my joints. Since it's February and it has been getting worse I was thinking I should see the Doctor but I'll be honest. I still procrastinated...as per usual. 

I was more than a little surprised to find myself, this past Monday, under an x-ray machine. Turns out Rheumatoid Arthritis is the culprit not a virus. 

I'll be altering my business model till I can get back on my feet. I still have to work out the details but figure I'll focus on eBoards and consulting/designing for client's online. Lot's of one on one phone time with clients to ensure total happiness! Win win situation: clients save cash on design and I can continue working at a more joint friendly pace...in a fur...on the couch. 

Speaking of couches...LOVE Kelly Wearstler's updated blue leather de Sede sofa:

Friday Flight of Fancy

We are just about to put hardwood in to our dining room. Unfortunate...the ceiling has  the popcorn ceiling finish. I don't have the time to strip it and refinish it so I have primed it and painted it. 


I still want the ceiling to be fabulous so I'm racking my brain for what I can do to take it to the next level. I do love a challenge!


Am I fooling myself or is this simply a flight of fancy? 
Do you think there can be anything redeeming about a popcorn ceiling? 


Until I figure it out...and I only have a day or two *gasp* here's a snippet of the room prior to ripping up the old parquet...iPhone photo :/

Dreaming in Monochrome

Monochromatic palettes upon first blush seem simple, using only varying shades of a single colour. To avoid the pitfall of the single colour room your guests jokingly refer to by the colour ie. "Sarah and Jake's gray room" you want to be sure to inject life...since you are not injecting much colour. 


Life, in a monochromatic scheme, is introduced through:

• varying values (lightness/darkness and tone) of the chosen colour or edging to the right or left on the colour wheel of your chosen hue 

• textures are key. Think felt, boucle, velvet, linen, silk, leather, fur, concrete, lacquer, etc. I'll share a secret: you want to include textures which will both absorb and reflect light...because:

• a great lighting plan is essential but in a monochromatic design it can make or break all your great work.  

Monochromatic rooms to dream about and be inspired by:

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Leslie Fine's sensational work:

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Kitchen's look great in a monochrome.

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Bobby McAlpine's work makes my knees weak. Use you're wildest imagination...that's what I'd do to live in a home designed by Bobby. Just look at the legs on those islands! 

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Queen of monochromatic design, Barbara Barry:

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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.

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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.

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


Before:

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After:

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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.

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- Drama belongs on the stage.

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- Patterned wallpaper can't be a neutral background.

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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!

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

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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)

Happy Holidays!

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I have been absent for far too long. I appologize profusely. We've been in an internet forced outtage at home. I tried to switch us to a 3rd party ISP provider...long story short: We are back up with our original provider and paying through the teeth.

Tomorrow is Christmas and no doubt many of you are like me...not ready!

I'll see you soon lovelies.

An Unbelievable Kitchen

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Stunning. Note the Jonathan Adler Anemone light and hands on the counter. This kitchen is not at all serious but totally Glambam!


This is what I'd wear in this kitchen:

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I apologize to Good Taste for I have offended it!

To paint or stain?

That was NOT the question I asked myself about updating our oak staircase. To paint the treads would be a job half done. I will put in the time to strip and sand the treads in order to stain them to match (as closely as is humanly possible) the Brazilian Teak which will go down on the floor.

Teaser photo:

Isn't this staircase absolutely gorgeous?!

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Obviously not my staircase but probably the most beautiful I've even come across.


Anyhoo...

When we bought the house one of the selling features for me was the oak staircase. I am not a fan of carpeting. Everyone in our family has stock in Puffs with lotion because of dust; so, 'carpet begone', said I of the faded rose runner up the stairs.

Fast forward 3 years (omg?!) and the stairs are sans carpet but remain the same 'honey oak' as when we purchased them. I hang my head in shame. I should have done something about them at least 2 years ago. 

I apologize to 'good taste' for I have offended it!

So I now blog to you, dear readers, with wrinkled fingers (*nb* latex does NOT stand up to stripper). I promise to have the stairs stripped and sanded by the end of this week come Hell or high water! I've stripped and sanded 2 treads this afternoon to see how I fair. All is well other than needing new thicker gloves.

There are, wait I have to go count....

....

11 more stair treads to do which I feel confident I can get done in 2 days...spread out over this week...'cus, you know, life and shit.

*bisous*

Dane

p.s. If anyone has used paint and varnish strippers and can tell me of one that works better than Min Wax...do tell! 


*Sept. 26, 2011* Update:


Stairs are moving forward! I've now begun prepping the risers, banisters and posts.

A Kitchen Trend I Can Totally Get In To

I've got the itch for a couple of tall wing chairs for my kitchen. Talk about comfy for that first coffee in the morning or tea in the evening.

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I love the height of this chair I found on Kijiji but unfortunately they only have one and I need a pair...for my kitchen of course!

Bedroom Make Over

I've been absent for 3 months! Time really does fly when you are having fun. Hopefully you will forgive my absence, due to summer vacation. Yes, I do appreciate having such an extended time off in the summer. We were in South Carolina for the largest part of the summer. Waking up on the ocean is wonderful!

Alas, we are home, Steve's back to work and the kids are off to school tomorrow. Yippy on the school! The Boy is going in to French Immersion Grade 1 so he'll be in school 5 days/week now. Lot's of time for me to get working!

Remember my ensuite bathroom reno? Remember we gutted the bathroom, hallway and 2 walk-in closets? Well, I've got some photos and corresponding info to update you all with. That will be later in the week so please check back next weekend for the post.

We have made the life altering decision to move to a small horse farm. So long bedroom community! We are looking in the Port Hope area which is the prettiest town East of Toronto. It is artsy, stylish, has a vibrant gay community and is pet friendly on the beach all of which are important in the community we choose to raise the children in.

So I have been busy redesigning our kitchen for a mini reno, helping with the plastering and sanding of drywall, ordering NuHeat radiant flooring, picking up truckloads of tile and of course selecting colours to paint.

I'm excited about the colours I've selected for our Master Suite. For the walls: F&B Dimity and for the trim: Tanners Brown. Ceiling will likely be Archive or Joa's White. I've got more sanding to do in the ensuite and dressing room so I can't start painting for a while. As soon as I can, I'll have photos for you to get a peak!

Till then, enjoy some loveliness in Dimity as well as Tanners Brown!

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Dimity on ceiling, Archive on trim and Hague Blue on walls.

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Dimity on walls and ceiling.

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Tanners brown

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Tanners Brown although over exposed photography :/

Elle Decor Modern Showhouse: Study By Sara Story

I must confess I found the study by Sara Story to be weak. The Venetian plaster walls and ceiling were stunning with the addition of the decorative paint details but I found the space to be under utilized and therefore not at all functional...as a study. 


The main space had a daybed with occasional tables around it and the closet in the room was made in to a nook to do makeup...or serve drinks...sort of; which I'll explain soon. 


There was nothing functional to convey this was a study. The daybed made it feel like was designed for occasional guests to sleep over but there was nothing functioning to hold or place 'study' type things like bookcases/etageres etc. for books, files and no workspace for a laptop. 


There was a desk in the closet but it was styled for doing makeup, well it had a small mirror but then it also had a tray with aperitif crystal glasses and what looked like a decorative dispensor. As odd as the styling was, it was not at all suitable for doing makeup (inadequate lighting...an uplight...and red paint in the closet).


The room seemed it should be off of an ensuite bathroom or closet.


There was also the drapery which made the room unbalanced. They were beautiful lined golden dupioni silk but the left side of the room had them wrapping around a bulkhead, so at least 3 panels wide; however they were not meant to be closed. Then on the right side there was one panel which was not to be closed. 


Although the study had some really beautiful elements it fell short on meeting the design requirements. The other rooms in the apartment where cohesive and displayed a personality type that was very much *not* like the person Sara created the study for. So I was disappointed with the study.


However, do not take my word for it. Below are photos I took so you can decide for yourself. Please, let us know your thoughts! Yes, I'm *that* close to begging for comments ;)