Damask...and me!

Does anyone else love damask as much as me? I hope so! It's gorgeous!! I especially love black and white damask patterns, but I will not rule out color as well.  Lets see...in my house, I have damask dinnerware, a giant damask serving bowl, a damask throw, damask throw pillows, damask-ish china (in white-on-white), a damask area rug, and a painting from my sister-in-law, Crystal Driedger Illustrations of "Damask Lady" (that she painted specially for us as a wedding gift)...just to name a few...oh!! And I just picked up a new damask lamp for $10!! (also black....)

This canvas painting hangs in my home office -- purple is also one of my favorite colors, so she incorporated that as well (isn't she amazing??)

{image via Crystal Driedger Illustrations}

My favorite throw from Homesense (I also saw this recently in a pale aqua-green and white combination....it was so hard for me NOT to pick it up!!)

I've wanted a damask wallpaper feature wall in my master bedroom for some time now, but I was always too afraid that the pattern would be too overpowering. After coming across P and T Interiors from Mady By Girl's blog, I may think differently now... I mean, check out the wallpaper, curtains, stools...they're GORGEOUS! Is there anywhere I CAN'T put damask??? I don't think so!!

{images via P&T Interiors}

Black doors....and me!

Since my husband and I decided that we're going to paint our new baseboards and casings to white (instead of matching the existing color -- which is a orange-y-peachy-pinky white), and we'll have to paint our interior doors anyways....I've suggested that instead of painting the doors white, and blend in the the casings etc, that we do BLACK!! Yes, black doors!  It would play in well with our countertops and backsplash (as both have a little black in them), and it would add a nice dramatic, interesting feature to the house.  As we're trying to go with a more neutral wall color, why not add some flare with our doors?? We'd only have two doors on the main floor (foyer closet and pantry), and 5 in our upper hallway (3 bedrooms, bathroom & linen closet) and one door in our 3rd level (door going to the basement --we live in a 4 level split).  We could also do the closet doors inside our bedrooms, but that wouldn't be a necessity, as I don't know if we'll bother painting those casings all white (as we'd have to take out ALL the furniture...). Plus, with a black door to the bedrooms, we wouldn't HAVE to paint those casings inside the rooms. They could stay as they are, because there would be no bright white anywhere near them that would set off an alarm of: "Oh...those casings are actually an orangey-peachy-pinky white...not actually white....eww.....". (when they're not near something that's actually white, you really can't notice it...but if we have to paint the new casings anyways, why not get the color we want??)

Here are a few examples of black interior doors. Don't they look amazing??? I'll probably still have to take him to my friends house and show him their doors in person, but still...just imagine! (ok, so if I hadn't seen them in person -- we used to have a showhome with black doors -- I would probably be wary of doing them too). But once you see them, they're amazing!!

Wall Art....and me?

This weekend, I came across this blog, All Things Thrifty, and was mesmerized by it.  I pretty much love all things damask-ish and all things black & white, so this met BOTH my loves.  It looks like a lot of work, but if we can't find something large for our one wall, I may have to attempt this in the summer (as we don't have a garage, and it would probably be too dusty to attempt in our basement).  My hubby will have to teach me how to use a few tools, but he said he would (although he probably just doesn't want to spend the 5 1/2 hours doing the cut out like this husband did for her). After the shape was cut out, they stapled black material to the back, so it's 2 dimensional. Isn't it amazing??

image via All Things Thrifty blog

For more info on her DIY, click the links above.

As for other wall art...well, I've really been wanting to do a wallpaper feature wall in our master bedroom for awhile now. However, my husband is a little wary of it, as it (depending on the pattern I choose) could be very difficult to put up.  Not to mention, difficult to take down if we don't like it as much I thought I would.  Plus, it's quite expensive! I never realized how much wallpaper cost! So...I've recently found vinyl wall stickers.  Should I try these instead? They're a fraction of the cost, and they're easy to remove (and reuse!).  If we painted the wall behind our bed a slightly darker color, and put these in white (or black), wouldn't they look amazing? 

images via Etsy

What do you think?  I'm still deciding if it's right for us and our master bedroom...but, I figure, I could always use it in my office/make up room, or (when we have kids, and if we have a girl) in a kids room.  So, I put it on my Christmas list anyways!

Sarah Richardson....and my house!

If you know me at all, you know I'm a HUGE fan of Canadian Interior Designer, Sarah Richardson.  I first caught a glimpse of her when I was in High School and she hosted a show, Room Service, where she taught me how to easily fold a fitted sheet. A little lame? Maybe. But I was always frustrated with the elastics and getting it smooth....until voila! Sarah came along. I was instantly hooked. Since then, I've been an avid follower of her website (and sad when she doesn't update her "tips" section...), and addicted to her shows, Sarah's House and Sarah's Cottage, just to name a few.  In January, they'll be a new show on TV, Sarah 101, and I can't wait!!

But, to get to my point, she is about to become part of my house. Not literally, but her paint line. Hopefully. My husband and I have been endlessy searching for a new paint color for our walls. Several discouraging sample cans later, I finally suggested trying Sarah's paint line from Para Paint. I have to admit though, I was a little disappointed to find out that she simply renamed existing Para Paint colors, and didn't actually create them herself...but, regardless, if she uses them, I'll try them!! Today I'm going to pick up sample cans of her "Linen" color (aka "Comfortable Chinos") and one shade darker "Sturdy Trivet" (not renamed and used as the Sarah Richardson line....). The picture below doesn't do the colors justice though... click on the Para link above for better color viewing.

How could you not be a fan of Sarah Richardson?? I mean, just take a look at some of her designs....



Image via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House 2

 I tried talking my husband into framing the ledge over our corner fireplace into a full height wall, just so that I could copy this fireplace with the offset tall mirror....he wouldn't go for it though :(

Image via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House

This is where I first fell in love with the marble & glass tile combination....Ah....if only this could be my bathroom!

Images via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House

Probably my favorite entrance of all time...I absolutely love the mirror, the bench, and the railings!!!

Image via Sarah Richardson Design, Sarah's House

Makes me want to have a wallpaper feature wall in my own house... (sigh)....

Oh, I could go on and keep posting more pictures of her work...but I won't. Not today at least. But there will be more later. I promise you that.  When picking out stuff for my own house, I often ask myself, "What would Sarah do?".  Hopefully I've learned a thing or two from watching her over the years.

Lighting....and backsplash!

I really really wish we could put a new chandelier over our dining table. I saw this chandelier over my friend's table, and fell in love....

Then I saw this one as lighting in a Homesense months ago, and also fell in love....plus, I love damask!

Ah.....if only! But, alas, we need backsplash more than we need new lighting.... this is what I have my eye on, but they don't seem to offer a lot of color options, so who knows if it'll work with our new granite ("Kashmir White").

Glass Mini Strips from Julian Tile

Maybe we'll go with a simple subway tile (glass?) with a glass mini mosaic accent band?? Who knows!  We both liked the idea of stainless steel/metal backsplash behind the stove...maybe we'll try something like this:

Metal Glass series by Julian Tile

Who knows!! We're not ruling any options out. We'll look at everything, take some samples back to the house and see which one works the best! We're going backsplash hunting this weekend! Can't wait!!

Let the fabric hunt Begin!

I have never recovered anything. Nothing.  Ok, maybe that's a little bit of a lie. I recovered a small pillow (with my mom's help) for my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) and ironed-on a picture of the two of us. Cheesy? Kinda...but we were 18 and on budgets for our first Christmas together, so we made each other gifts. So, other than a small pillow (that my mom actually sewed), I've never recovered anything.  Now, as we're on the final stretch of renovations, we want to recover my old Ikea furniture. Or, at least for now, the couch. It's hideous and blue. We have a red feature wall in the house (and, currently, yellow walls -- soon to be repainted a neutral color), so the last thing we want is a house full of primary colors. Bleh. 



This is basically what our couch looks like (similar, not exact)





But in this color blue
(above images via Ikea)



My mom recently had her couches recovered, and she found the fabric online.  She's also recovered a few chairs herself, so I'm hoping she can help us keep our costs to a minimum by helping me recover it ourselves.  With simple lines (see pictures below), I'm hoping most of the job (other than the cushions -- which zip off anyways for easy copying of the patterns), will simply require a tight pull of the fabric and a staple gun.  Now, the question is, which type of fabric do we go for? Do we go for a bold pattern? Or something simple pattern? Color? Or neutral (and accent with throw pillows)?





Colors and patterns are quick grabs and open to change. Just getting some ideas!!
(Images via here)

 What do you think?? Ever reupholstered anything??


Houses...from the outside-in

By trade, I'm a house designer (aka Architectural Technologist -- although most people don't know the term, so when asked what I do, I usually say "I design/draft houses!").  But I'm not an Interior Designer, or even technically a Decorator (although I LOVE decorating and would love to take some short courses or a night class on decorating -- paint colors, fabrics, furniture history, etc).  Instead of designing the inside of your home, I design it from the outside-in (although technically I do the exterior of your house last...), meaning that if you were to build a new house, I would be the one who designs your floor plan.  I say I'm not an Interior Designer, as they take a few of the same courses I did, but with more emphasis on colors, fabrics, etc.  If I was to take some decorating courses, I would basically have the same qualifications as an Interior Designer. Sort of. I already have the qualifications for structural elements, as well as knowledge on some plumbing and mechanical requirements, but that's the boring stuff anyways! Here is one image of a floor plan I designed for friends moving back to Nova Scotia, and the rear exterior of their friends house I also designed that moved back to Newfoundland (I'll post more floor plans in later posts...)



Main floor of a house I designed




Rear of another house I designed (The Ferdinand)


As the months have gone on recently, I'm not sure if I'm a little bored in my day-to-day job (working for a builder, and times are a little slow lately), or if it's that my husband and I have been renovating our house as of late, that I've found an interest (and almost obsession!) for decorating.  Do I still like designing floor plans? Absolutely. But after starting a recent custom house and struggling with all the angles the client was requesting (making a roof layout nearly impossible to come up with!), I began to question myself.  Is starting my own custom house design business something I really want to do? Is it something I love that much? Or am I just good at it? The more I can decorate (or plan to decorate) my newly renovated house, the more I'm falling in love with decorating...If I could find a course (not a 'certified' program...i just want to take some courses for fun and knowledge at my own pace), maybe I could do both! I could design your house (literally) from the outside-in!!