Design that Reveals
Design that Reveals
Creativity is my love, interior design is my focus. Whether it be full service interior design, re-decoration or even online design through Design in a Box, I am passionate about all things creative. Here, I will share insights into projects, inspirations and what's going on in the world of design from Calgary and beyond. Would love to have you follow along.
my bedroom reveal May 10, 2011
publications: my home in avenue magazine Jun 14, 2012
exciting news! Jul 13, 2011
Last fall I embarked on a distance project in Vancouver, outfitting a condo top to bottom. I flew out for a day to visit the site and start the sourcing process. By the end of this week it will be complete and I’m looking forward to seeing our vision come together. Thursday I’ll share a sneak peek at the colours and concept but for now, here’s a look at a day in the life…
Caught the first flight out of the day.
Watched the sunrise during my flight.
Arrived at Layers and Layers.
A busy morning sourcing fabrics and furniture.
Took a cab to Granville Street. Vancouver is still so green in October.
Found furniture pieces and accessories in Granville shops.
Walked across the Granville Street Bridge to Yaletown.
More furniture and accessory sourcing in Yaletown.
Walked to site via the Vancouver Public Library.
Arrived at site and re-connected with Sharon from Layers and Layers to see the space and site measure.
The before.
Homeward bound. Caught the sky train back to the airport.
Watch for more sneak peeks via instagram, twitter or facebook later this week!
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
My girls have grown up shopping with me. It’s a huge part of my job. I started my business when my oldest daughter was four months old (now almost 11) so I’ve carted them around here and there, to and fro, especially during their pre school days. While very good, they’re also getting creative in how they pass the time as we go from store to store. During our vacation in Palm Springs (and of course shopping) our five year old had the camera while ten year old modeled. I was busy admiring all the pretty and colourful bits in Trina Turk and my girls were doing a fashion photo shoot.
It’s nice not to be the one behind the camera all the time. Sure, the photos aren’t perfect, but they capture the moment and fun they were having. I hear them giggling with each other as I look at the photos. What a great little memory.
I feel very fortunate to be in a position to work for myself, allowing time to spend with my girls before and after school as well as activities but it means they’re with me for work errands quite often. It’s certainly has it’s challenges and sacrifices but also huge benefits. We have a lot of fun shopping together (for the most part!) and I notice the girls playing “designer” with each other from time to time. Warms a mama’s heart.
Just another day shopping with Mom….
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of sharing outdoor decorating ideas at the Cooking Room in Red Deer, Alberta, a cooking school where students are treated to educational culinary classes from September to May with themes ranging from Thai to Indian. For this class the menu was a southwestern fusion, a perfect fit for a summertime party.
I was first asked to participate in a class over the holidays sharing quick and easy decorating tips for entertaining. It was such a hit, a second class transpired for the summer. Here are a few photos from the evening showing the fabulous classroom space as well as a peek at the loot I took with me. Stay tuned for Thursday’s post where I’ve got 10 snapshots of place setting ideas, some of which I shared at the class.
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
Hello from New York City! I’m skipping my ‘design notes’ post today as I couldn’t resist sharing a few photos from the weekend so far. The window displays at Bergdorf Goodman are always a must see. Currently on display, a fierce and fabulous celebration of 20 years of Christian Louboutin on 5th Avenue and the year of the dragon. As you’ll see I’ve been having fun with Instagram this weekend. We’re off to the D&D Building today. Hope you have a great Monday!
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
Last week was a flurry of activity over here at Nyla Free Designs. If you’re wondering what I’ve been up to, I spent all last week, along with a team of people transforming a historic Calgary home for the Kids Help Phone Homes for the Holidays house tour that happened this past weekend. The architectural details in this home are stunning. Arts and crafts in style, this grand home is warm and welcoming. I can’t wait for you to see inside.
On Friday a scout from Western Living Magazine came by to see the home as they were considering it for their 2012 holiday issue and I’m thrilled to say they decided to photograph it. We have delayed take down by one day and I’ll be spending today styling and helping with the photo shoot. Very excited!
In the meantime I made sure it was ok to share close up shots of a few areas of the home. (I can’t give it all away now can I?)
I’m afraid that’s all for now. You’ll have to hang on for Western Living’s holiday issue out November 2012.
Special thanks to the following people who helped with set up. Your time and efforts in helping pull this all together is appreciated more than you know. Cory, Cathy, Libby, Marnie, Pat, Donna, Rosalind, Nancy, Sharon, thank you all!!
A huge thank you to the suppliers who donated, lent or provided services for the decor. Canadian Tire MacLeod Trail South, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Kore Onsite, Reid’s on 17th, The Flower Group, JVR Landscaping. I am so grateful for your generosity of product and time. Many of you are a huge part of my business on a regular basis and I can not thank you enough for the help you have given me.
To the Kids Help Phone coordinators and volunteers, thank you for inviting me to be apart of this wonderful experience. I could not have asked for a better home. And to the lovely homeowner, thank you for being so gracious. It was a pleasure decorating your home for the holidays.
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
Last week I attended a showing of the Telio Fall 2012 fabric collection at DWA Interior Furnishings. Wowie! Lots of lovely eye candy in every kind of texture, pattern and style imaginable. Telio is a large fabric house representing several lines. You’ll find an array of modern to traditional, from countries like Spain, France and beyond, in silks, linens, velvets and sheer metallics, not to mention price points to suit almost every comfort level. Here is a peak at some of my favourites.
RUBELLI – vintage velvets with a heathered look and oh so soft to the touch.
NOBILIS – fresh colour with a linear embroidered detail on linen from the Swing & Smart collection.
JIM THOMPSON – large scale pattern with a bold and fun mix of colour (top) and co-ordinating embroidered dotted stripe (shown with floral, bottom).
PEPE PENALVER – modern global feel with muted colours, textures and patterns from the Out of Africa collection.
SONIA RYKIEL – bold colour combinations and graphic patterns oozes confidence and creates a statement in any room.
I loved this quote from Julien Hakoun during the presentation:
“The most important thing to me, are the feelings, the sensation you get from the fabric.”
Fabrics are not only about covering, draping or serving a purpose. They evoke emotion and can be a captivating element in the space if carefully chosen. Telio manages to accomplish all of these details with this fall’s collection. Simply gorgeous.
See something you like? Let me know, or designers please contact your local Telio representative to see these fabulous fabrics first hand.
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
Summer is drawing to an end, kids are back at school and we’ll soon find ourselves spending more time indoors. I’ll be talking about what’s new for Fall in the world of design on Breakfast Television tomorrow morning. Would love it if you tuned in, but if you happen to miss it I’ll have all the items I talked about on Wednesday’s blog post.
Image via BT Calgary Facebook page. ‘Outdoor Lounger’ segment June 14th, 2011.
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
Last Thursday was a pretty exciting day. I woke up like any other. Got dressed in an outfit I had carefully planned. Walked out of my hotel and made my way to an incredibly busy intersection in Toronto. I found a parking spot and took a deep breath. I walked out of the parking lot onto a street filled with people and had trouble navigating my way to find the right building. I had to ask where the entry door was. Ah yes, right there. Silly me. I walked into the reception area and thankfully found familiar faces. I had a quick re-cap and then off to have my make up done. Next I found myself in the same room as Tracy Moore, Kimberley Seldon and Brian Gluckstein. Totally surreal.
The next hour was filled with much excitement and many emotions. I took in every. Last. One.
Tomorrow my debut appearance will air on City Line with my segment on custom carpets. Tune in to CityTV at 9am, watch live online or after the show. So many of you have been such a huge support in cheering me along and I can’t tell you how much that means to me.
xo Nyla
ps. my article in Dabble Issue 4 is on custom carpets so stay tuned for the inside scoop on the designers process when making selections. The next issue goes live August 29th.
Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.
Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service through Design in a Box.
I’ve done a few projects outside of Calgary and most recently a Lake House property in the Okanagan. I don’t often get the opportunity to see the end result and help pull all our hard work together but today I’m headed to Kelowna and could not be more excited to see this place come together.
Our goal was to create a casual, beach-y feel that is stylish and family friendly. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the pieces we have on the truck ready to be unloaded and welcomed into their new home.
I hope to take lots of pictures and share some of the results with you!
Have a great day. I know I will :)
Sunbrella fabric, Ikat pillow, Chair, Bedding, Sectional, Chevron rug, Platform bed, Blue pillow, Floor lamp, Yellow patterned pillow, Coffee table.
If you love fabrics as much as I do then you’re sure to enjoy the eye candy below. As a designer we get the inside scoop on new introductions and products. One of my favorite things to do is attend ‘fabric shows’. They are like fashion shows without the runway. Large, beautiful pieces of fabric draped in front of us to touch, feel and gawk at the feast of colour and texture before us.
Last week I attended a showing of the JAB/Chivasso Spring 2011 Collection so naturally I wanted to share. JAB is a leader in the fabric industry and one of the largest fabric houses in the world. Their repertoire consists of everything from traditional to modern, while covering a wide range of price points to meet every budget. Here’s a peak at what I saw……
Grandezza Collection Vol. V is a stunning mix of silks and sheers with hand stitched intricate details.
The white passion collection, one of my favorites of the show is a stunning mix of textures, patterns, sheers and 3-dimensional details.
Fabulous heavy duty linens fit for upholstery and drapery in a rainbow of beautiful colours.
Matlasse Collection is reversible and washable. Perfect for bedding and interesting drapery applications.
Blueprint Collection was by far my favorite, in particular the metallic printed frames on a natural linen background. Stunning!
Well there you have it. An array of fabric fabulousness in the JAB/Chivasso Spring 2011 Collection.
A benefit of working with a designer is the access to fabrics such as the above that are only available to the trade, so if there is anything here that piques your interest, let me know!
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