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

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)

Kravet Has Me Feeling Blue

Yesterday Kravet hosted a Social Media Event for Designers and Decorators out of the Designers Walk Resource Centre. Jennifer Powell, Kravet's Social Media Coordinator from NYC opened the morning with an overview of how important FB, Twitter, LinkedIn & Blogging are in the business of design. I've been tweeting (off and on) for a couple of years and blogging for a few years but I still took away some valuable information. 

After Jennifer's presentation Toronto Designers Meredith Heron and Lisa Ferguson joined her on stage for a panel discussion on Social Media. I'll go out on a limb here and say every single person in the room realized the potential boost social media can bring to their business after hearing Meredith and Lisa's excellent examples of how they've personally benefited.

As dry as it all sounds, it was all about social media after all and not one Kravet fabric was seen, it was a ton of fun and there where many laughs...at and with Meredith. Teasing Meredith...we all stalk admire Stephen Drucker! 

Click image to view.

1.     Kravet Couture: Interpretation

2.     Kravet hand tied area rug: All Over Suzani

3.     Kravet:

        -  Delta Sofa with brass caps

        - Kravet silk upholstery fabric for sofa

        - Kravet piping cord for sofa 

        1st Dibs:

        - Cocktail table

4.     Kravet:

        - Murcia Chairs

        - Kravet blue silk upholstery fabric for chairs

        - Kravet contrast piping cord for chairs

        1st Dibs:

        - Large brass palm trees

        - Seahorse side table

        - Globe

5.      Kravet gold leaf glass insert console table

         1st Dibs gilded coral table lamps

6.      1st Dibs copper crayfish

         1st Dibs crab dish

I wanted to thank Kravet for the great day but wasn't sure how until I saw the pillow at the top of this post. The board above is inspired by the pillow and features Kravet furniture, rug, fabric and trim for a sophisticated living room...somewhere where it is summer year round and has a view of the ocean and a sandy beach out the windows. 

Thank you Kravet for the inspiration!

Kravet items are available to the trade. Contact me if you'd like help creating a your dream living room!

Sometimes It's All In Their Mouth

Taste. Some people have it and some don't. Same goes for class and style.


Tonight I've read a blog post by a fellow Canadian Design Blogger that saddens me. It is in a round about way bashing a Designer yet they have no first hand knowledge of what transpired. Sometimes being pseudo-anonymous behind a blog makes it's easy to natter away about others when it doesn't involve them and they were not privy to the situation. 


Here is the blog post doing this currently about a female Canadian Designer who is allegedly famous and on HGTV. So obviously NOT me, I'm neither famous nor on HGTV...although I'd be open to both opportunities.


The problem is this:  the story is told from the 3rd person perspective and important details are conveniently ignored left out yet it is rather vicious and seems to decide the Decorator was an overbearing monster.


It was also sad to see the name calling of some successful designers and the innuendos as to who it could be that so wronged the clients. Honestly, I think there is far more to the story than the clients are willing to admit. 


I was going to right a comment on the blog post but decided I'd post my response below:

It's always sad to hear clients are not happy with the service BUT I have a big problem with this story. If this was the 'big name' Decorator that it suggests there is no way the client would not have known the sofa was going to be beige. 


The client would HAVE to sign off on the fabric for the sofa and place a deposit before it was purchased by the designer. They would have been given detailed invoicing for the time spent and what the time was spent on. They would have known the hourly rates as they would have been in the contract. 


There are so many flaws to the story even if some details where left out.


This sounds fishy to me. Perhaps it was not such a 'big name' decorator. There are some pretty crappy ones on TV but there is no way the handful of top Designers nor Decorators in Toronto would work the way these clients did with their decorator. 


There is nothing wrong with the prices they paid. For example the quality of the roman blinds are excellent. I always choke when I get the quotes from the workroom for drapery. When a client is willing to invest this kind of money they are not looking to get some drapery from InVu let alone from HomeSense or Bouclair.


I'd love to see what the decor looked like after the reveal rather than the after...after...photos.


P.S. Someone mentioned this is not TV so why the Reveal: 
1. so the furniture, drapery etc is delivered and installed all at once therefore saving the client multiple delivery charges.
2. so the items don't get damaged, by pets, kids, etc. before the install.
3. so the client gets the WOW they are paying for!
4. items can take weeks to months to arrive so rather than having the client disrupt their lives multiple times and have missed deliveries or who knows what that can go wrong it is done in one fell swoop. AKA the reveal.


*sigh* I gotta go look at some pretty blue bedrooms to feel better.

Never Overlook Smaller Thrift Stores

I almost never mention where I purchase my thrift store finds. I didn't want to give 'product placement' so I've tried to remain vague. But I think I've been looking at it wrong. It's not about selling for a business with no benefit to myself; it's about helping you find the perfect pieces!

So with that, I'm going to divulge my sources of thrift stores you may not know of. Which you will see include some great finds.

Bibles For Missions:

Canada
USA

A sample of what I've found at Bibles for Missions in the GTA:


$1

  

$5

 

$49


St. Vincent de Paul:

Canada - you'll have to google for your local SVP thrift stores...unfortunately they aren't quite up on helping us find their local stores...but so worth googling to find one!
USA

Some SVP finds: 


$90



$5 side table (yesterdays find!)



 Of course you all know about the Salvation Army and Goodwill. If they'd like links...they can contact me ;)

I'm going to keep this post updated so if you have any lessor known Thrift Stores in your back pocket let me know and I'll add the links.

*bisous*
Dane

Hot Hot Hot!

A girl just can not have too many...credenzas!

I found this one yesterday. The red of the wood looks wonderful against the bronze of the wall (which accentuates the grain of the credenza).

Perfection.

The credenza which was previously in the hall is temporarily in a client's home. This new one will stay where it is. It's the perfect size for the wall and the legs are so sexy it demands to be seen from afar!

"Yes I'm jumping like a jumping jack.

Dancing screaming itching squealing fevered feeling hot hot hot!!!" - The Cure

The fun part now is figuring out where to put the old one when it returns!

I suppose I'll have to start selling off a credenza or two...NOT! Turns out lamps are not my only obsession.

BTW, $49 at a local Bibles For Missions Thrift Store =)

*bisous*

Dane

Stand ins for the right piece

I've been looking for the perfect piece of wall sculpter for above my living room sofa but so far I've not had any luck. I saw this piece at HomeSense for $40. It'll do for now.

This is a superbly bad photo so I included Tallulah my beautiful blue whippet pup...cause y'all tell me how much you love her!

*bisous*

Dane

Busy busy - but always time for Thrifting!

I've been busy with a couple of clients these past few weeks so I've had absolutely no energy to post a blog.

Makes this a very boring blog to visit...I'm quite aware and feel guilty about. Truthfully I feel like a poser due to my lack of posts. But I've promised myself and will promise you: 

I will NOT post just photos of other peoples work with nothing written but a verb.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those posts for their beauty and simplicity but I think there are quite enough without my contribution.

So here is a quick peek at my latest find. Photo was, as usual, taken with my iPhone. Appologies.

I found the light at Habitat's ReStore last week for $95! You may have also noticed I painted my dining room...railings by F&B. I was feeling stressed from work so when I got home...I painted. One coat that night and the second the next morning. I feel sooo much better with the beige gone...and my new light up!

The dining room is currently a craft room as well for the kids & admittedly for myself as well but since painting and getting the light up I will divest the room of all crafting...promise! Then the table can go in the centre and the light can be lowered.

Some day, I'll style the place and take real photos. For now, however, you see how we live...the blue thing in the lower right corner of the photo is The Boy...tidying his crafts...in his new Cookie Monster wool winter hat. His pay for being my assistant yesterday at a client site. He has only taken it off to sleep :)

*bisous*

Dane

Black Rooms

It's interesting to see how the trend of black(ish) paint on walls has moved from feature walls to our now seeing entire rooms.

(the far wall with the drapery has yet to be painted white and the baseboards have not been painted yet)

I've done the same myself. Once you've painted a wall black...you realize how liberating it feels. Walls seem to disappear or recede.

When I was in the planning stage of using black paint, Farrow & Balls Railings, I kept stalling because I was not happy with only feature walls. I wanted more. Of course my dilemma was a fear of having too much black.

One night while laying in bed unable to sleep I had the brainstorm (yes I have sleepless nights because of paint): I'd paint all parallel walls in Railings and walls perpendicular to those I'd do in my alternate (which has turned out to be F & B's Blackened btw).

I was as excited as a school girl!

Don't you love when you feel that way? 

I got started first thing the next morning.

I've found a happy place. The black does NOT feel like a contrast to the white walls because they give you the sense they are not even there. The art seems to float in the air. What other colour could do that?

The dining room will have all walls in Railings but otherwise it is all East/West walls on the main floor in Railings and the North/South walls are in Blackened.

I've not finished all the painting yet but you can see the hallway in the photo above.

I think it looks beautiful! Of course, our floors are still the ugly tile but I will not wait for the renos to be done before making our house a home. And it does feel so much more welcoming. The black while being dramatic also feels like a big warm hug. That is what a home feels like.

I can't wait to tackle the stairs and stairwell going up to the second floor but it will have to wait till I get the dining room done next. I will keep you posted on the progress.

*bisous*
Dane

Thrifty mid-century finds

I've been busy on a couple of projects for clients so I'm superbly bad at posting.

But I just stumbled upon a great store here in Toronto so I wanted to take the time to post about it. It's called Guff and they have a blog they update all the time with new items fresh of the truck. Guffs prices are great. Seriously, I've seen people on craigslist privately selling mid-century teak pieces for 2x's as much as Guff retails their finds for.

If I had the cash I'd buy this sofa ($395) for the bedroom:

And this (~$500)!

And of course I wanted to show you a couple more finds I've gotten...that just happen to be mid-century.

I found a bedroom set for The Boy last week. Teak and rosewood in excellent condition! Photo is crappy (iPhone). I am wanting a new DSLR (Rebel Ti) but until then...iPhone photos.

Admire:

There is also the highboy and dresser with mirror! All in immaculate condition. Thrilled beyond belief. And all for $400 =)

*bisous*

Dane

Thrift Store Finds

Thursdays are my favorite day to head out to the thrift stores. It's also a day The Boy is not in school. Every Thursday morning after taking The Girl to school we climb in the truck and head out.

The Boy is happy and chatty...until we pull in to the first Thrift Store parking lot. 'Oh no...not *here* again'.

Funny he's not figured it out by now. He's always totally surprised. He's a good little shopper though; gets a cart (regardless of need).

I thought I'd share with you a few of my finds from yesterday.

Shinto Lion: $5
Bishamonten God of War & Warriors: $4

These are Japanese Shinto figurines. I got the Bishamonten as a place holder till I can find some more Shinto Lions. For $4...I'd have been crazy to leave him. He's also considered a god of healing, able to expel demons of plague (need that!) and he is the dirge of evil-doers! Yay!

I love my owl bookends! $7. They are very dusty and heavy. When I saw them I instantly thought I'd spray paint them white. Silly, They will remain gold. Trends shmends...my owls will remain as is!

Conch shells...I can't have too many. My favorite of the two is the gray/blue on the right. It was $1. The conch on the left was found at a different thrift store and was $2.

I've begun collecting globes for The Boy's bedroom. Till yesterday I just had one so it's been in our hall way (on my $25 hard wood credenza) for a couple of months. I found the second one yesterday. Paid $7. I'd like to find some smaller ones. Eventually they will be moved to their home in The Boys room.

The Boy made out pretty well himself. At the first stop he found a small keyboard that does just about everything. $20. Turns out I could plug it in in the truck...yay. So he played it (the whole time) on the drive between thrift stores. At any rate, he was quite happy to continue thrift store shopping...not once did he ask if we were 'going home yet'. Worth the $20...although I felt it was over priced when he asked for it.

*bisous*

Dane

Connect with me. Connect with your home:  When you are ready to Unleash your design desires contact me.

Unleashing homeowner's design desires in Toronto, Ontario. Long distance design advice available via e-mail.

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