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:

Source: bijouandboheme.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

Source: neutralheaven.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

Source: princessannecounty.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

Leslie Fine's sensational work:

Source: blog.wainscotsolutions.net via Dane on Pinterest

Source: theaestate.tumblr.com via Dane on Pinterest

Kitchen's look great in a monochrome.

Source: decorpad.com via Dane on Pinterest

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! 

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

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Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

Queen of monochromatic design, Barbara Barry:

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Source: knottinghillinteriors.com via Dane on Pinterest

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?!

Source: weburbanist.com via Dane on Pinterest

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.

Even the Best Make Mistakes - Albert Hadley

Very few admit it. Albert Hadley is one of the few who very freely admits it when he hasn't achieved his design goals. 


While being interviewed by Christopher Mason for the NY Times Hadley motioned to the concrete walls of his own Upper East Side apartment and commented:

One of the first projects Hadley worked with Sister Parish on was for the Bronfman's. It was to be a true Sis Parish design with lots of Chintz until, that is, the Bronfmans vacationed in Mexico. They sent a telegram to the Parish-Hadley firm with the message: "Stop all work. We want a floating apartment." Now this apartment was at 740 Park Avenue:

Source: ny.curbed.com via Dane on Pinterest

It wasn't working, until Parish sourced eighteenth century furniture for the space: 

“The chairs became like sculptures, and it was fantastic. That was a big turning point in Sis’s thought process. It was a challenge. I could never have done what I did without Sis. And she couldn’t have done what she did without me.”

Another project that had a mis-step Hadley recalls with humour was at another Park Avenue apartment. The drawing room had a Regence chandelier with real candles. At a glamorous party thrown to 'inagurate' the room:

“the air-conditioning was going full blast and the candles spilled all over the guests,” Hadley recalls, “and that was the end of that.”

Source: nymag.com via Dane on Pinterest

I've made mistakes myself. The worst to date which Steve will never let me live down was a chair rail I painted in an old apartment. The walls where painted eggplant when I moved in and the chair rail was a dull creamy colour. I wanted colour! I loved lime green with eggplant so I went out and got a can of what I thought would bring a hit of colour to the space. 

Now, lime green is much like yellow when you paint it on the walls:  it is amplified 100 times and I was mortified. My hit of lime turned out to be  neon bright. I know now what I did wrong...but I had no idea at the time what was wrong with the colour I'd chosen.  

What is your worst design mistake?

Drapery Day Dreaming

I've been obsessing a little about drapery. I need drapery for my dining room, bedroom, the Girl's room and now my office. I LOVE silk drapery and get very excited when I see it with them edged in pleats.


I have been looking at fashion for inspiration for drapery and bedding. I think over the next few years we will start seeing more elaborate drapery in high end design.


So, with haste, here are some of my most inspiring photos for drapery...and bedding! I hope they get you thinking about how you can incorporate some of the ideas in to your home.

Source: citified.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinterest

Source: bhldn.com via Dane on Pinterest

Source: absolutelyladylike.com via Dane on Pinterest

Source: monsteratemycouture.blogspot.com via Dane on Pinteres

Raising Awareness & Raising Funds 4 Mental Illness

via

A mask protects, provides a place to hide how we feel from others. Though behind the mask it's not a safe place because what we are hiding from is within us. Telling us how worthless we are, how we don't deserve to be loved but how we deserve the emotional pain we suffer.

Long before I looked and acted sad I looked and acted angry. When I look and act angry I am still feeling, still fighting for my self-worth. 

When I look sad it's because I've given up and have no more strength to fight for myself. 

When I look sad it's because I believe they are right. I am worthless. I don't deserve to be loved. 

I looked sad 2 years ago.

I believed my children and husband would be better off without me.

I was wasting away. Overwhelmed I slipped away. I couldn't be reached. It was all I could do to just breath.

In this place I knew I was hurting those who loved me. In this place I couldn't help them. In this place I couldn't stay.

I got in the car and drove. I slept in the car at rest areas and drove till I ended up in New Orleans. Nothing had changed. I thought it was a fitting place. To. Just. Stop. 


My husband's heart was shattering. He was desperate to help but could do nothing but let me go. His mother rather then offering him support, love or understanding told him, "I told you she'd destroy you". 


My mother-in-law was a

My own family never asked if I was ok. They never reached out with love or support. One of them told my mother, who suffers from dimentia that I'd left my family. Then one of them did phone...to accuse me of not being alone, to tell me I was the reason my mother was crying every day. They are cowards and won't tell me who told my mom such a lie. They protect each other. 


Why not protect me? Because I am not worth anything...that is what they've been telling me.


Someone needs to be blamed for everything wrong in their lives. 
Someone needs to be blamed for their being racist, obese, miserable, homophobic. 
Someone needs to carry their guilt and hate to the grave. Someone they could turn their backs on.

But I was lucky and a lifeline was extended. 


I was diagnosed with C-PTSD. I could get help. I could get better. 


I could laugh with joy watching my husband and children playing. It would take a long time and it would be hard but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. There were those who would not turn their backs on me. They would not let me carry anyone else's guilt.

I'm very lucky. Today I feel more like myself. My CPTSD self is still here but she is slowly dispersing like smoke after it's been exhaled. I breath. I learn to recognize when I'm having a flashback. I recognize when my inner-critic is telling me I've no value and I exhale it and it disperses.

There will be no Barouche-Landau for me anytime soon. The light at the end of the tunnel has come and I've walked out in to the warming sun. I'm fortunate and I'm mostly happy.


For those who have not made it my heart goes out to those who loved them.


Join me and show your support for those who suffer from mental illness. 


Please spread the word about the Bloggers Give Back eBay Auction to raise funds for the George Herman House. A place where women who suffered from mental illness can learn to live without a mask.


You can donate to the George Herman House through Bloggers Give Back, here.


I want to thank my husband Steve, my closest friend Kellie, my niece Roxanne and my Dr. Jayne for without them this blog would not exist.


Thank you to the wonderful sponsors of Bloggers Give Back as well for their support of the George Herman House:


Ikea: Supplying outdoor furniture for the house
Tonic Living: Supplying outdoor Fabrics and sewing services
Bona Vista Pools: Some outdoor accessories
MastermindToys: Financially donated to help the team buy materials

High Point Market Week Highlights - Oly

Beautiful furnishing are headed your way! It is Market Week at High Point Market in High Point, North Carolina. This is the industry's week to showcase their newest designs to retailers, designers and others withing the industry. If I had my way I'd be there. 


I'll be pulling out all the stops next year to try and make it. High Point Market week is HUGE...both physically and event wise. All the designers who have furniture lines coming out are there to introduce the new wares. 


There are so many spectacular pieces I couldn't possibly cover them all so I'm going to do a few posts highlighting some of my personal favourites. 


Oly - For over 15 years Bay Area designers Kate McIntyre  & Brad Huntzinger have been working together creating furniture for the designer showroom market. 


The Oly showrooms at HPMW showcased light, bright, airy sophistication. Very little here says vintage although the timeless vintage vibe is present. 'Nuff said. Enjoy!

The gorgeous wall mural looks as if it's been there for 200 years.

source

George Herman House - Lounge Area

My vision of the lounge area at Toronto's George Herman House. It is a wonderful private area of the Healing Garden. Perfect to read, chat quietly, groom the boxwoods, tend to the herb garden wall or just hang out. 

Click to enlarge.

You must excuse my sorry excuse of a sketch. It looks more like chicken scratchings but I wanted to quickly show the seating layout and how I envisioned the wall of the garage.

Outdoor fabrics from Tonic Living:

- Slick in Mink

- Cool Stripe in Sorbet

- Sunny Side Coral

Paint for garage wall Benjamin Moore:

- Nightfall using Aura Exterior Edition sheen level Flat

(Herb garden & tree will appear to float!) 

Furniture from Ikea: 

- Ammero seating as sofas

- Ammero ottoman

BonaVista Pools:

Planika Fire Jar

To see more excellent concepts by the many wonderful bloggers volunteering with Bloggers Give Back you can check out our website! To find out more about the wonderful work the George Herman House is doing for women with mental illness please visit their website. If you'd like to donate it's simple almost as simple as clicking here!

Defining What Inspires You

Just looking at what inspires me for my ensuite/dressing room. The ensuite it ready for the radiant subfloor. Yay! But I've not ordered it yet. Boo! But the tile is ready and waiting at StoneTile. Yay! But I haven't found a source for the distressed mirror wall. Boo!


But I've got lots to do this week including tomorrow's Designer's social media event at Kravet. 


Kravet's social media coordinator extraordinaire, Jennifer Powell, is going to be in Toronto & Montreal spreading the word, to Designers, the benefits of having an online presence. If you didn't already know, Kravet has a great blog you need to Follow called Inspired.Talk. , has a Facebook Page for you to Like and of course you will find them Tweeting all kinds of beautiful and useful info!

It had me at Yello

I love the yellow as the accent color to this brown palette. The ceiling sort of rounds out the room yet is unexpected...completes it don't you think?

via The Glam Lamb

Yellow, corresponding with earth, is considered the most beautiful color. The Chinese saying, Yellow generates Yin and Yang, implies that yellow is the center of everything. Associated with but ranked above brown, yellow signifies neutrality and good luck. Yellow is sometimes paired with red in place of gold.

Yellow also represents freedom from worldly cares and is thus esteemed in Buddhism. - via Wikipedia

via Nuevo Estilo

A little sunshine to brighten your day while we wait for spring.

A Living Room Project - Before and After

I've never posted client photos on this blog so I'm a little apprehensive. 

This is a Before and After shot of the living room...hopefully I've done my job and you can tell which is the B and which is the A!

The room felt dark and despite it's size it is narrow so my client's didn't feel they had any other option but two love seats and therefore only room for 4 people and a tiny side table, used as a cocktail table, to set drinks on. 

The ceiling fixture is off centre to the fireplace so framed the fireplace with a new chandelier from Nuevo Living on one side and a vase with tall dogwood branches on the other. 

Now the room feels bright, symmetrical and has plenty of room for entertaining.

I hope you like it!

Thrift store score!

I found this god awful chair at the Salvation Army in the fall. Honestly it was love at first sight but Steve was not so smitten. Regardless, I paid $5 for it and brought it home. 


Turns out it is extremely comfy and I now can often be found working on my laptop sitting in it. 


I had no knowledge of it's history, source etc. Despite searching the web for something similar. Until 2 days ago that is. I don't recall what I was looking for but off in the corner of a photo was a chair very similar to mine - minus the 'hair'. 

It was a pretty version of my beloved chair!


Turns out I've gotten myself an Arne Norell Scirocco chair and a rare one at that =) 


Manufactured in Sweden in the 1960's the Scirocco and Safari chairs by Norell are pretty iconic pieces of Swedish design. Neither are being manufactured anymore although the company still exists and produces beautiful seating.


If you'd asked me last week if I'd consider selling it I'd have told you no. I may reconsider now that I have an idea of it's retail value.


http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_search.php?i_creator=Arne+Norell:

Here is my chair:

The color of the wood is off. In person it is beautiful richly grained. You can see it a bit in the back leg in this photo. Sorry iPhone camera! 

Save Time + Money With Designer Paints? YES!

A few years ago we were selling our house so I re-painted the entire thing. Since it was going to be sold and I just wanted to freshen it up I went the cheap route and color matched a Benjamin Moore colour using Behr (at Home Depot).

Source: tumblr.com via Dane on Pinterest

What a disaster! The computers used for colour matching can never get the same formula unless you get all cans at the same time. You will be in big trouble if you run out of paint and have to get another can. Even using the formula from the first purchase the remaining can was way off. After repeated attempts to match to the original/color matched order, and multiple (mis-matched) test spots on walls (argh!) it became clear I'd made a huge mistake trying to copy a paint colour.

A Home Depot paint manager gave me the low down on why it just doesn't work when you copy a paint colour:

1. After a product (ex. latex flat emulsion base white) goes on the big box shelf the paint manufacturers update the product on an ongoing basis. Therefore you can get a can with an 'older' (last months) formula and a can of the 'new' formula. The cans will look exactly alike; the manufacturers have simply 'tweaked' the base formula which will alter the colour outcome.
2. Each manufacturer has their own 'white' base to which colour is added. So when you take a Benjamin Moore, Restoration Hardware, C2 etc. sample in to colour match you will never get the same...because they are formulated using a different white base.
3. The colour matching done at the big boxes only uses the computer to create a formula. At least at specialty paint stores when they colour match they will take the computers 'match' and then, by eye, tweak till they feel it is right. This can take a whole day of them playing around, a few hours or few minutes. 

Here is what happened when I tried to touch up some spots with a different can of paint purchased at the same time as the original wall colour:

I went back 3 times trying to get the colour fixed...many many cans later I actually spoke with a paint manager. I got my money back for the original paints which was very kind of him.

I will never again colour match at a big box.

I wish I could say I'll never colour match again but C2 is to damn far away and Farrow & Ball is too. 

I'm very fortunate to find a specialty paint store where the paint technicians take their time and will not release the paint till it is a match.

The point to all this rambling: I ultimately used Benjamin Moore's Aura paint. Despite the cost of a gallon of Aura you actually use much less than you would of the big box paints.

1. 1 coat with Aura (like C2)
2. self-priming (OMG!!!)

New drywall or patched? Just paint it one coat with Aura and you are done.

I had already done 2 coats everywhere with the 'color matched' paint...then the touch up fiasco and then repainting in Aura. 

Thankfully I only had to do 1 coat and no priming any patches.

Now that is a lot of time to relax and enjoy the job!

Painting a Stipple or Popcorn Ceiling

We all detest them, but many of us have them. The stipple or popcorn ceiling. The recommendation is to remove the stippling to get the clean look of a drywalled ceiling but often times this just isn't an option. Time constraints & the possibility of opening a whole new can of worms, such as builders not priming before applying the offending stipple, are the two most often quoted reason for not eradicating stipple from a home.

If you want to freshen the ceiling with a coat of paint there are one or two steps you must follow first.

1. With a spray bottle, wet an area of ceiling. If the stipple absorbs the water after sitting for a few minutes (it will become soft to the touch) you will know the stipple has not been primed. In this case, proceed to step number 2. If the water does not get absorbed but remains on the surface of the stipple you've gotten the go ahead to skip step two and go straight to paint the ceiling.
2. If you've determined the stipple is absorbing the water you must prime the ceiling with an oil based primer before painting.

When priming and painting the ceiling make sure to use a high nap roller specifically for stipple ceilings and paint in 2 directions perpendicular to each other in order to cover all surfaces of the stipple.

When you calculate the amount of primer/paint you need...double it. There is a lot of surface to your stipple ceiling!


And here's the completed ceiling which I painted in Benjamin Moore's Titanium:

Happy painting!

Graphic Wallpaper Goes Large Scale

I predicted large scale graphics as a trend we will be seeing more of this year. One I've wanted to use myself is de Gournay's Wind Swept Blossom design. Note sure where I could ever get the funds to use it but that's neither here nor there. 


I was thrilled to see de Gournay's paper on the cover (and inside) the current issue of CS Interiors!

Chicago designer Anne Coyle

Sorghum straw? Yes Sorghum!

Kirei Board is a wonderfully versatile product made from left over sorghum straw which would normally end up in landfill or burned. Kirei Board can be milled like wood, used for flooring, walls, furniture...your imagination is the limit! 

The designs using Kirei Board take on an organic feel that we'd all like to introduce in to our homes.

Here's a couple of my favourites:

Kirei Board Bar 

Bathroom Vanity Design by Jessica Helgerson

Think of the possibilities!