"When you realize that a beautiful interior has very little to do with objects and a whole lot to do with spirit, general well being and upliftment you find the soul of interior design. If you have respect for your surroundings and everything has it's perfect place you interact with your world differently you carry yourself differently. My father used to say that the state of your surroundings is the state of your mind. Look around your home, let your home be the foundation of your aspiration."

Written by a South African artist, interior designer & product designer.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Pretty pillows


Looking through the new Elle Decor this month and love these new Jonathan Adler pillows.  What do you think? 












Friday, May 28, 2010

Happy weekend


Have a great weekend! 

I wish I were here, don't you?



Thursday, May 27, 2010

My favourite thing this week

My pick for this week.  Loving this coral chandelier from Ballard Designs.  You can't beat the price at $299.00!!



Tuesday, May 25, 2010

White white and more white

I am of the belief that you can change almost anything to white and it automatically looks better.  A can of white paint is one of my favourite things and one day (when my kids no longer have sticky fingers) I will have lots of white walls and furniture with pops of color through art and rugs.  So for the time being I am happy in my white kitchen and hoping there is more white in my future;)


















Friday, May 21, 2010

Canadian House and Home June issue

If you need an idea for a wall behind your sofa or above your bed then check out this great diy

1. Buy ceiling medallions at your local big box store eg. Home Depot, Rona etc...
2. Pick a couple paint colors in different tones or one color depending on what you like.
3. Paint the ceiling medallions in a couple of coats of your chosen paint.
4. And voila- instant art for your wall!








These done in shades of gray

Lovely tones of yellow

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My favourite thing this week

I am a little behind on some of my weekly posts and trying to catch up!  My pick this week are these very cool must have Prada sunglasses.  I am hoping my husband reads this post;)



The Cross Millennium Water project

One of my go to home decor stores, The Cross, has been working on a display suite in a new condo development in Yaletown called The Millennium Water.  This development was originally built for all the athletes staying in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics.  Now they are up for sale and The Cross was asked to put together one of the display suites.  I think they did a wonderful job and anyone walking through the suite will fall in love.






















Thursday, May 13, 2010

My favourite thing this week


Spotted on Plum Cushion's blog yesterday.  I love, love, love this pottery!!  Check out Jill Rosenwald's Etsy shop.  Here are a few of my faves.  Have a great Thursday:)
















Wednesday, May 12, 2010

DIY nightmare

Let's just start by saying that I am anything but a DIYer. I have such admiration for all of you who can tackle a project and in the process make it look so easy! Since I have become a part of the blogging world I have seen all sorts of great ideas. For example, check out Censational Girl, she is amazing and has inspired me to do a little DIY myself. I started with a very old tray that was given to me from my husband's Nana. It has been in the family for years and I haven't done anything with it since we got it a couple of years ago. It is wicker with a glass top and fabric underneath. Looks pretty straightforward to me. Just spray the wicker in a high gloss white, change the fabric to a piece of left over wallpaper and clean the glass. Sounds easy enough, right?


So off to Rona I went to pick up a can of high gloss spray paint. I found the one I wanted to use and came home to disassemble the tray. I set everything up in the backyard and had it all ready to start spraying the wicker. But when I tried to remove the glass it wouldn't come out that easily. I tried from every angle and it just wouldn't pop out. I realized that I had to involve my husband which I really try to avoid because as we all know once the husbands are involved (or at least my husband) they have many opinions about every aspect of the once simple project! He managed to get the glass out with minimal swearing under his breath and I was back on track.

Okay, back to spray painting. Feeling happy now that the glass was out in one piece I started to spray the wicker. As I was spraying I noticed that it wasn’t really turning the high gloss white that I was expecting. I looked at the can and realized that I had bought the CLEAR protective spray!! Back in the car I go all the way to Rona to buy the white spray paint. As I am driving home I am thinking to myself that maybe I`m not cut out for this DIY stuff and that I am much better at shopping and decorating.

Okay, back to spray painting (again). I managed to spray the tray with minimal drama and let it sit to dry. Things were looking up! While it was drying I laid out the wallpaper and cut out the oval shape I needed to fit the tray. I cleaned the piece of glass and was ready to assemble the tray. My one problem was that I couldn’t fit the glass back into the tray. I guess I thought it would be easier putting the glass back in than it was taking it out. I began to get frustrated with the whole thing and had to leave to pick up my child from something so I asked my husband if he could put the glass back in the tray while I was out. He fiddled with it a little and said that he didn’t think the glass was going to go back in. I said that of course it will, if it can come out then it can be put back in! To make an already long story short I came home to chunks of broken glass sitting on my tray and the wallpaper all scratched up underneath the glass. The only solution at this point was to drive over to my friendly glass place (White Rock Glass - love them) and have a new piece of glass cut for my tray. About $40.00 later my tray was finished. I came to the conclusion that I am not a DIYer but maybe with lots of practice (and I mean lots and lots of practice) I will get better over time ;)


BEFORE








AFTER

















Sunday, May 9, 2010

My special day

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day today.  The day started with some precious hand made gifts from my kids and then a great lunch at a little place called Tracey Cakes in White Rock.  


My daughter Avery decorated her wrapping paper (so precious!)


My son Lucas made a portrait of his Mommy


My daughter made a lithograph of William Shakespere


I enjoyed a lovely lunch with my Mom, Nana and Aunties




Hope you all had a wonderful day!!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

My favourite thing this week

While looking through one of my favourite websites 1st dibs I came across a decorating book for kids' rooms called Room for Children by Susanna Salk.  This book is filled with some of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen!  If you ever need some inspiration this book will definitely give you lots of ideas.  Here are some of my favourites. 














Wednesday, May 5, 2010

PATCH NYC

I came across these lovely nature inspired items at West Elm and wanted to share them with you.  West Elm collaborated with PATCH NYC to design these witty and fun pillows, dishes and framed art.  I thought you might enjoy them as much as I do!