a day in the life: 48 hours in TO

Today I’m off to Toronto for a whirlwind two days of designer fabulousness.

On Thursday I have a full day of shopping planned to many of the fabulous design stores in Toronto. There are several that I would like to visit, however there is not enough time in this day, or trip for that matter to make it to all of them. I think we have it narrowed down to 10 or so LOL! There are specific items I am looking for that I hope to find for clients and I’m sure along the way there will be many other treasures to be found.

What started out to be a casual dinner among twitter buddies, has turned into quite the evening event. Meredith Heron and Sonya Kinkade have organized a fabulous night at Nota Bene where I will have the opportunity to meet many twitter friends, finally face to face! And it doesn’t stop there. City Line (with camera’s I’m told) as well as Style at Home magazine (who are bringing prizes!!) will also be attending. How great is that?! Thanking you all in advance for your efforts in putting together an amazing evening!

Friday *early* morning I have a coffee date that I am truly excited about and then off to one of the main reasons for making the trek east. I’ll be at the doors of the Interior Design Show at the stroke of 9am. No time to waste as there is plenty of inspiration to be had at IDS.

Have you heard about Dabble Magazine? It’s a new online publication launching February 28th. Design. Travel. Food. What’s not to love?  I’ll be hanging out with the Dabble gang on Friday afternoon. So excited about this!

If I have any energy left, I’ll be out for dinner on Friday night with great friends and hopefully even my little bro :)

Phew! That’s what I’ll be up to in the next 48 hours and I’ll be sure to let you know how it all goes.

Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4

design notes: 1.24.11

I quite like this space. I have selected twin beds once for a clients cottage. I think it’s case specific, however this looks so neat and tidy, organized, yet still welcoming. Is it too sparse? Let me know if you have any other “design notes” to add!

Image: Elle Decor

design: a new bedroom

Is it just me or is your bedroom the most neglected room in your home? We certainly have other rooms to work on, however my husband and I are feeling like our bedroom has been set aside on the priority list long enough. It’s time to make our room an official ‘grown up’ space. I’ve been scouring the internet looking for some inspirations and I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I like and how I want the end result to look and feel. Elegant, sophisticated, warm, comfortable, not too fussy, a mix of textures and neutral colours is essentially what I’m after. Is that too much to ask?

Although there are a number of things I don’t care for in this room, I do like the wallpaper. We also have similar coloured carpet (although hubs is wanting to rip it out and replace with hardwood) so this room has a relative feel to ours.

I like the bold linear stripes of the drapery and the simple, overall natural feeling of the room.

I really like the patterned, suzani coverlet at the end of the bed. Opposite of the previous image, I like the lush, elegant feel of the silk drapery. This room also reminds me of the sunlight that pours into our west facing bedroom.

This bedroom has a casual elegance to it. I really like the way the artwork is displayed layered against each other on the bedside tables. I also love the striped wallpaper adding a subtle pattern and interest to the room.

The simple mix of patterns in the area rug and blanket really appeal to me. I would however, prefer more substantial nightstands and something with storage.

I love the layers in this room with the nightstands in front of the bookshelves.  Also loving the subtle geometric natural wallpaper.

The one image my husband has pulled to represent how he would like the bedroom to feel. Yes, I believe it’s important to collaborate on such decisions, so I’ve included this image into the mix. To be honest I think we are on the same page. Imagine that! Although financially we are not :)

I’ve given myself a deadline to finish this project. If I don’t, I know it will linger in the ‘things we would like to do’ pile for a very long time. I’m excited to get started!

Sources: 1. 1interiordesign.com 2. Luxury Home Interiors 3. 4. 5. 6. Elle Decor 7. House Beautiful

inspiration: how do you keep track of yours?

From a very young age I have gathered and saved images, art cards, photos, business cards, clothing tags and the like. I have several boxes, bins and binders where I keep them, however my collection is growing. As as Interior Designer, I gather inspiration from almost anywhere, whether it be for clients or now also blogging, my stash of cutouts and clippings is growing more than ever.

I love pin boards and the collage of creativity that evolves within them. Whether they show a development of one idea or several, they are inspirational nonetheless and I find myself wanting to know what transpired from them, how often they change and how many people add to them?

The home office of Thomas O’Brien via Elle Decor left, and the studio space of Amsterdam’s Studio Aandacht via the style files.

Inspiration boards in the hallway of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia via the Martha blog.

Artist Geninne’s work space and inspiration board. via Paper Taste Buds

Here is the pin board in my office where I include, images and cutouts, photos, little notes and cards, fabrics and even colouring pages from my girls.

Notebooks are another place to keep thoughts, ideas, sketches and clippings. I love the Moleskine books. Blank, lined, boxed, graphed, whatever your preference they have it. I have always used the graphed notebooks. It’s great for measuring and creating quick floor plans. As well, it keeps my notes nice and neat within the lines.

Here is a stack of mine. I keep all my client details in here and it is in my handbag almost everyday. You never know when you might need to jot down some important information.

Mine aren’t quite as pretty as these, however. I love the imagery that brainstorming on paper creates here. I would love to see what developed from some of these pages. Images via Gardens Blog

For business I also have notebooks where I keep goals, information from courses I took or online reads. A girl friend of mine gave me the Andy Warhol Idea Book and the Idea Log was a gift from a client. When working on my business I find it really helpful to write things down and I reference them often from a planning, business organization and goal setting perspective.

Since I started blogging, my inspirations and cataloging of creative ideas and thoughts has taken on a whole new level. There are many clever ways to keep track of all the amazing images on the internet and one that I have found works really well is a site called Pinterest. Many of you I’m sure are familiar with it. Pinterest is a social catalog service. A virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and “follow” collections created by others.

I am loving this option to save and keep track of images that inspire me while browsing the internet. You can create boards on anything ~ quotes, stationary, photography, clothing…anything your heart desires :)

A peak into a few of my pins on Pinterest. You can follow me here if you wish.

Another online option where you can create virtual inspiration boards is Olioboard . It’s a great tool to pull together a look that you might be thinking about creating, or even put together a presentation for a client. The outcome is a really quite fun. I have yet to dive into this. I fear it may be addicting, like so many other interactive sites are and I may lose more time to internet activities. However I do see the value in this resource so I’m sure it won’t be long until I cave.

I found this board called ‘Attic Office’ on the Olioboard site that I thought was quite interesting and well put together. It makes we want to try one. Really.

What do you use? Are you tactile, using paper, books and boards to keep track of your musings and ideas? Have you converted to online resources and cataloging systems to keep track of your creativity? Or perhaps you are like me. I’m not ready to give up paper, yet I’m loving the online access of the many services out there that allow us to keep everything in one place, organized, detailed and ready to share.

So tell me! I would love to hear from you.

project: great room & dining room makeover

A project I am currently working on for a great room and dining room makeover is slowly starting to come together. The original plan was to have the room completed before Christmas, however some of the furniture pieces are taking longer than expected to arrive so things are happening a little more piece meal then I would prefer. Regardless, I am really happy with the way things are starting to unfold.

This busy family of 5 wanted an area where they could hang out, do homework and entertain guests, so a comfortable, casually sophisticated space was created with a mix of deep colours and textures. My client’s own Turkish rug was our jumping off point. We lightened up the walls from a medium yellow to Benjamin Moore’s Gray Mist and the fireplace wall was transformed from builder basic to a floor to ceiling slab of Carrera Marble.

Along with the finishes and materials I’ve taken a few photos to give you a sneak peak ~

A collage of the the materials specified for the space.

Fireplace wall is well on it’s way to completion. As you can see, baseboards need to be re-installed and furniture is yet to arrive.

The dining room, open to the kitchen, is the primary location for homework. We decided upon a modern rustic teak table that is warm, comfortable and forgiving.

A selection of materials for the dining room.

I am in love with these dining chairs and was thrilled when my clients took the leap into fabric with pattern! This bold modern paisley print adds such an incredible amount of interest to this room.

We are still waiting for a few pieces of furniture as well as the dining light fixture, Sky Garden from Flos, and I can’t wait to get it in there!

Be sure to check back for a final reveal.

colour story: teal and tortoise

First of all let’s start with these sunglasses. They are officially on my wish list. I am also loving the colour scheme. Tortoise never goes out of style and these glasses have a hint of the Tiffany’s blue scattered throughout the frame.

Now take a look at this view! How about those blue skies? Sometimes what you see on the outside can be just as part of the colour scheme as what is on the inside. This image certainly holds true to that. It reminded me so much of what you might see here in Alberta, near Canmore, Banff or Jasper areas. However, I soon realized that this is Chalet Les Anges in Switzerland. The colours and textures are so neutral yet incredibly varied, much like tortoise shell. Add in the brilliant blue skies and you’ve created a gorgeous scheme.

This colour scheme works really well here in Alberta. It’s warm and soothing for our winter months and can easily be updated with the fresh blue/teal hues in the summer. Regardless of your style preference this group of colours an go modern, country, traditional or even a combination of all three!

Sources: Tiffany Keys Rectangular Sunglasses, Chalet Les Anges, Living Room care of Domino Magazine, Paint colours clockwise from top right: Benjamin Moore Gold Rush 2166-10, Benjamin Moore Chocolate Truffle 2096-20, Benjamin Moore Bittersweet Chocolate 2114-10, Benjamin Moore Camel Back 1103, Benjamin Moore Mink 2112-10, Sherwin Williams Oceanside SW6496

design notes: 1.4.11

I’m kicking off the New Year with a new series, ‘Design Notes’.

Regardless of whether you are an interior designer, graphic designer, stylist, photographer (I could go on)… we all see inspiring images, tear them out of magazines, bookmark websites etc. only to come back to them and wonder, why on earth did I like this?

I’m notorious for doing just that. I’m adding this little exercise to my blog so you can follow along with me, giving me the accountability to detail my thoughts about each image, dating them as I go so that I can look back and reflect on whether or not I still feel the same way after months or even years have gone by.

A recent image I fell in love with as I was looking through Elle Decor along with my point form notes:

Inspirations are everywhere. So take photos, tear out images and bookmark websites. Just make sure you reflect on what it is you love about it. And please feel free to comment and offer your own thoughts about the images I post. Learning about others insights into an image is always so intriguing to me.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Nyla

Image credit: Elle Decor