Your weekend...

Found this and it hit me. Too true.... Have a good weekend!

{image via Flip Flops & Pearls}



Magnetic Paint

We've all heard of chalkboard paint, but have you ever heard of MAGNETIC paint? Me either... until last week.  Sounds like a good idea if you want a place for magnets in your kitchen (since today's typical stainless steel appliances are not magnetic).  Cover it with some chalkboard paint, and you'd have a magnetic chalkboard...at least, that's what Jane at Nenna's idea is. Can't wait to see her finished project, can you?

{images via Nenna, April 10, 2011 -- sorry, due to the translation required, I cannot link to the exact post date}

Chairs!

We all know the infamous Ghost Chair, don't we? Well, I just stumbled across the Z Chair... what do you think? It would certainly be a conversation piece!

..."It summarizes the essence of contemporary design"...



via Dezeen



Ghost Chair via

And since we're on the topic of chairs, what about these:



Inspired by Windsurfing and paragliding equipment, this chair is called the Waver
via Dezeen




A little morbid, but this chair is called "Souviens toi que tu vas mourir" (Remember that you will die), and is a reinterpretation of the monoblock chair
via Dezeen

 And what about an ABChair? A collection of 26 chairs, one for each letter of the alphabet.  The seats can be arranged to form words, if desired...



via Dezeen

  

Hazel twigs

Can someone please tell me where I could find twigs like this?? A greenhouse? (anywhere cheaper?)  I have quite a few (empty) vases around the house that could really use some cool branches....

{image via Stylizimo}

Nina, over at Stylizimo, called this a Hazel-twig...is it really from a Hazel tree? I want these twigs!!

An Amazing Showhome...

Our parent company in Calgary opened this showhome in Currie Barracks last year, and it'll soon appear as one of our showhomes as well (hopefully opening this summer, as it just started construction last month).  Isn't it amazing? I LOVE this house! (but not the $1.2 million price tag it carries in Calgary...ouch!)

Totally a grand 3636 sq ft over 4 storeys, this house is magnificent!  To suit the heritage look, it also comes with a detached 22x22 garage (with optional carriage suite above), full landscaping and fencing.

 Great Room

The gorgeous kitchen

The open concept main floor also includes an office/den, which is located where this picture was taken from

 The coffered tray ceiling in the dining room adds character while functioning to hide a beam!  Main floor laundry is located through the open mudroom door in the back corner of the kitchen, which also offers built-in storage lockers and a fold down ironing board.

 This ensuite is TO DIE FOR...maybe literally.  Coming in at a whopping $23,000 for all the (tile) upgrades, it is gorgeous though, isn't it?  And a HUGE walk in closet is accessible from where this picture was taken.

 The 3rd floor Loft / Bonus room, sits nestled in the trusses and optimizing your square footage and living space.   Nothing is left untouched either.  The basement development with this wet bar is gorgeous!

And the built in entertainment unit and coffered ceilings add to this already brilliant basement.  The wet bar sits to the left, and down the hallway is an additional bedroom, bathroom and furnace room.

Like I said at the beginning, I LOVE this house...how about you? I'll let you know when ours opens in late summer!

{images via}

Your weekend...

Happy Easter!

Hope you have a great Easter this weekend!  I know I'm looking forward to finally having a pop this weekend again!! Maybe even with a litle Appleton's added...mmm....

Posterjack

I'm always on the hunt for cheap art for my house (isn't everyone?).  Since repainting my house this past weekend, we started hanging art around the house the other night.  Some of the pieces I bought awhile ago, just weren't working anywhere.  Now I need (ok, WANT more than NEED), some other pieces to fill some blank walls. But we have no budget for art. Enter: cheap art.  Ok, so cheap still has a price tag, but it's a lot more reasonable than our other options.  Maybe I can take some unique photos soon, and use Posterjack.ca.  I read about Posterjack via Style at Home Blog and it sounds wonderful.  A Canadian company (always a plus to find a local!), you can get a 24"x36" photo printed for around $24 (correction, $19 sale right now!!), and have a 8x12 photo printed & framed for around $30.  A company that can blow up your images and still look good??  I think I might be checking them out in the near future....Frames are usually an easy find (enter Ikea....)



{Images via Style at Home Blog}



Cottage love

Last week, my friend over at Ginger Flinch shared one of her regular blog stalks, and came across this beautiful cottage master bedroom from 3 Meadow Lake Cottage.  Now I'm dreaming of a cottage-inspired basement bathroom (if we get around to THAT reno, as we have a lot of others on our plate at the moment...)  What do you think? Isn't it gorgeous?  I love the calm, airy look and the serene feel it brings.  It's amazing what white furniture and paint can do to a room.  The accessories change it from simply being "calm" to "cottage" in an instant.

{images via Ginger Flinch via 3 Meadow Lake Cottage}

Photography Course #2 - Done!

As I had my last class of my 2nd photography course last night at the Metro, it made me think of this previous post, and my friend Dale Tidy who takes amazing photos. I hope to one day take amazing photos such as these.  He even takes & edits amazing photos right from his iPhone!! It just makes me cringe with envy....

{images via Dale Tidy, Vancouver Photographer}

Check out his iPhone images too...



{images via Dale Tidy facebook}

I don't know about you, but my iPhone pictures definitely don't look like this....

Hair Tutorial...via Michaela Noelle Designs

Hope you had a great weekend! Ours was filled with prepping, taping, priming, and painting....exhausting! But, on a side note, I finished reading Water for Elephants last weekend and LOVED it! Highly recommend it, and can't wait for the movie!

This posts wavers slightly away from design, but since I've had a few people ask me how to do this lately, I thought I'd share with everyone...

If any of you have trouble coming up with cute, quick hair styles like I do, I highly suggest checking out Michaela's blog.  She's an interior design student, and has "Fashion Friday" posts. She's done a few hair tutorials on Fridays, and I've learned a lot. I now regularly sport the low bun, and can't wait to try the high bun next!  (My hair is medium length and fairly thin, and I can still do it!)

It really is as easy as it looks.  Seriously. I just taught a friend of mine in 2 minutes.

{image via Michaela Noelle Designs}

First you want to tease the crown of your head to get some volume. Next, divide your hair into two sections. Starting with the left side, twist the hair all the way down and coil it up in a bun in the middle of your head. Secure with a clear elastic and 2-3 pins.

{image via Michaela Noelle Designs}

Then twist and coil the right side all the way down. Wrap that section around the first bun we have created.  Secure with 5-6 bobby pins. Hair spray and you're good to go!



{image & tutorial writing via Michaela Noelle Designs}



I'm still trying to figure out how to make it look like a knot, like Michaela does in this picture. Isn't it gorgeous??

This is just from my iPhone, but here's a pic of what mine typically looks like...not as gorgeous or as full as Michaela's, but it's quick and easy!

Headboards

While visiting my friend in Lloydminster last weekend, we spoke A LOT about interiors and decorating.  She just moved into a new house and is in need of more furniture, and changing the decor and paint colors to suit their taste.  I mentioned a headboard I saw on a blog, and thought I'd share it with you as well. I'm sure most of you are familiar with Christine at Just Bella, and her guest bedroom shown here:

{images above via Just Bella}

Using casings to frame a headboard, and wallpaper to fill it in, it adds a splash of color to the room and looks stunning, doesn't it?

I also found another DIY headboard over at Stylizimo, using an old pallet.

{image via Stylizimo}

And what about this rustic headboard from Decorpad....

{image via Decorpad}

And then there's this colorful headboard, which I found through Melissa's blog, Hare Styling, from Domino online.  It may or may not be DIY, but it's gorgeous nonetheless...

{image via Hare Styling}

And, since I don't know where else to throw this image in (and I've had it saved for a long time), check out this cool kids room

{image via Decorpad}

Sarah 101

I'm a little sad that Sarah 101 is now over, aren't you?  Although this year Sarah Richardson used a lot more color than she typically does, I think the majority of her rooms looked amazing. While the episodes aired, I was a little disappointed with the lack of neutral, calm rooms.  But as I went through each episode and picked my favorites from the season, I realized I liked more than I thought I did...

Here are some of my highlights from the season...



This was my ultimate favorite. The Sophisto-Nursery.  This is what I want to do when we have kids (no, not yet..my friend said it best, "the more you ask, the longer we wait" haha).  Maybe different colors, depending if we have a boy or girl, and pencil or ink sketches by my sister-in-law of the Winnie the Pooh characters (as my hubby INSISTS on Winnie the Pooh).  Crystal, I already warned you after I saw this episode. It's a must. Now you can see what I'm talking about. ;) You're the best!





Big Box Kitchen



I LOVED this clock.  If I can't do this (see here), I want to make a clock!

Clutter Free Basement

Fresh Laundry

Contemporary Living I love how they sewed two area rugs together!

City Chic Condo Black, White & Grey, how could I not like this one?  Could use a few colorful pillows in my opinion.  And Sarah took all the photos on the wall herself!



You can't see it well in this picture, but the hand-stamped canvas that Tommy & Sarah did was TO DIE FOR!  You'll have to watch the episode to get a close-up and see what I'm talking about. AMAZING.



Boho Chic Girls' Room To save space, she placed two beds end-to-end and built one frame for them. Brilliant!

{images via HGTV.ca}