December 20, 2011:

Happening Right Now…

Luke's nursery took me a year of contemplating, another six months of trying to survive new parenthood & sleep deprivation before I could even paint it. Then it took another year to do anything of any decor significance in the room - and that was for a photo shoot. Seriously, it was a clothing storage depot for the first 18 months. MAN trying to keep up with seasonal clothing/growth spurts. Someone should offer a degree or diploma in Clothing Management for Babies & Toddlers. Make a fortune. Another 8 months later, it's been shot again as it morphs into a little boy's room.

 

 

The Toddler in Question... playing with his train just before the shoot began. He was a trooper - posed when told MOSTLY and only almost broke my nose twice.

Beatrix Potter is a little beyond us at the moment. Momma likes the books for styling though. Colour scheme was never what I had planned but I love it. Indigo, Citrine, Turquoise & Red. I know, it surprises me daily.

Photograph by our dear friend James Anok. Insanely talented guy. Yes those are horizontal stripes. I have an addiction that I need to seek help for.

Books. A lot of books. Yet we still need more. He has his favourites. We are forced to read these over and over again. I'm not exaggerating. We finish a book and are greeted with "AGAIN." Buddy, you CAN get too much of a good thing. Um except when it comes to horizontal stripes and um lamps and pillows. Don't do as I do, do as I say child!!

Momma's books all styled pretty. Is it wrong to teach a 2year old the inherent value of Pucci? Oh and if you are worried I've lost my marbles, we've switched gears and these are in my living room.

Copious amounts of tea are being injested. Between Shoulder Surgeries, Clinical Trials and the PLAGUE we are a household under attack healthwise. Tea is the answer. I'm considering moving to Hot Toddies though.

Happy Hannukah if you celebrate it or are inclined to celebrate it. We're a bad jewish household. The only menorah I/we can find at the moment happens to be in our area carpet in the living room. Bad Jew/Bad Shiksa. Pretty carpet though eh? I know I know, I'm a heathen.

December 19, 2011:

This & That

Patient is recovering well. Of course, Lil Bubs decided to get sick at the same time. Double your pleasure - I really wasn't cut out for nursing I have discovered. I lack bedside manner. However, I'm doing my best. Case in point - I Concassed some tomatoes. Amazeballs on two fronts - A) I chopped tomatoes properly vs hacked them to shreds and B) I learned that calling them chopped tomatoes is not doing them justice - tomatoes concasse just SOUNDS better doesn't it?

 

I take little joy in the concasse to be frank but oodles when I see the white marble & the  old solid teak cutting board that my husband has had since he was a little boy living in India.

I'm really better left to wine selection. I'm a much better Sommelier than I am a chef. However, I can't take credit for this selection. This came from the (G)Uncles - James & Daniel (Daniel, if you are actually reading this, I gave James top billing only because he selected the wine you should just be happy you were mentioned by name in my blog mais oui?) I love little vignettes around the house at Christmas time. The more that involve alcohol, the better. HA!

I have a rather prolific collection of Food & Drink magazines. I love the art direction in them. The food styling & photography is so inspirational to me. Not because I actually want to cook any of the dishes (I'd love to eat them though). I'm one giant oxymoron I know. The scarier thing is, I could actually cook them and do a great job of doing it if I put my mind to it but who has the time??

Decking the halls is still happening... actually we're decking some halls for the Christmas issue of Canadian Family Magazine 2012. Yes, you read that right - 2012!!! Who knew magazines worked so far ahead?

I don't know why it took me so long to embrace the white christmas tree - but for the first time in 40 years I have and I LOVE IT!!! It's so warm and pretty. It's the perfect compliment to our decor. I'm going to miss the sparkle. Unlike the real trees/greens I've espoused in the past, I'm love love loving the faux. It's far more glam. Also, the tree came prelit. Happy Girl Here - especially with two patients in the house!!! Makes multitasking all the easier!

December 19, 2011:

#ProjectKitchenGorgeous MERRY CHRISTMAKKAHWANZAWALI

Remember when I posted about my big big secret for #PKG?

You don't remember? How could you forget? Go here for a refresher!

Well we installed them today.

Be warned, you should sit down to view this. Smelling salts may be required. Do you have one of those "Help, I've Fallen & I Can't Get Up" Button thingees? Now would be a good time to have one at the ready.

 

 

Vintage Murano Chandeliers x 2, Chinois Silk Art Panels from Griffin & Wong x 2 + Handmade HandPainted Dupioni Silk Drapery Panels x 2 = Infinitely Fabulous.

December 15, 2011:

More Sneaks #WinevaRoad

Going to be VERY short on time the next week leading up to Christmas. Between work & a 2 year old, my darling husband has just had shoulder surgery #1 to reattach his "Super Kalafraglistic I can't figure out how to spell Spinatis" - aka Torn Rotator Cuffs. That's plural yes. Both are torn. BADLY. I'm going to have to try and live up to his fabulous way of taking care of me... which I don't think I can come close to but I will try... so if my posts are few and far between before the holidays, I hope you have a wonderful time with family & friends. So looking forward to exploding beautiful into 2012 with y'all. (I'm the only Canadian who talks with a southern drawl I know... it's weird I acquire accents the way I acquire pillows and lamps it seems).

Here are some details of our Wineva Road project... 

Insane right?

Grama's Crystal Sconces + Phillip Jeffries Grasscloth in a beautiful indigo = Fabulous.

Existing chair made more beautiful through embellishment. 

Existing sofa made more beautiful through embellishment. 

We reupholstered this vintage 50's chair... pretty fabu non?

The Koi Wallpaper. Do you hear the angels singing?

We custom-designed the vanity for the kids' bathroom because it was so narrow a space. We've notched out the drawers to go around the pipes & sink to make the most of every bit of space we could! The faucet, from Delta, is able to be set to control the hot water AND it's touchless! The kids are blown away.

Master Bath. Brizo Tresa Bridge Faucet... I've never used a bridge faucet in a bathroom before. Me LOVE.

Heirloom sconces + Bluestone Marble Wall Tile + Custom Mirrors = Can I Get An AMEN????

Custom vanity, Calacutta Marble counters with a double ogee edge.......

Sheraton Knobs, Antique Nickel...

A lil' Master Bedroom Nod here... pillow trim detail. Yum.

Lil' Girl's Bedroom. Canopy TO DIE FOR. Yes, I'm a girl and we say shizz like that. DEAL.

December 14, 2011:

Windows on the World - #WinevaRoad

I love window treatments. I have met a few clients in my day who say they are not into window treatments and I'm always aghast. Just ask my best friend. Her husband is decidedly against window treatments specifically drapery. It is my life long quest to get drapery into that house. Which reminds me, I have to pick out supposed drapery fabric for their bedroom which they are taunting me with...  yes, gotta say, I feel a carrot is being dangled. Well maybe not a carrot, I'm not really a big fan of those but say a Chai Latte (venti, non-fat, no foam extra hot if you are so inclined).

We are almost done installing all of our #WinevaRoad project. Can I just say that these clients give Designer Love in spades!! Even their darling children who are still in single digits age-wise were over the top amazing with their appreciative reactions to their rooms. A sign of fabulous parents when you have children boys especially who think the pillow you designed and had made for them, rocks their world.

I'm going to break up the Sneak Peeks on these installations - prolongue the torture if you will. I'm about to submit them for consideration to a magazine so fingers crossed they love as much as the clients and I do.

The Powder Room. This could be a blog post unto itself. The view is to nowhere, we call it the Manhattan View - overlooking an alley way. Tres Glam it ain't. The window is frosted so we don't really need a working roman here but decided to do so anyway given we had enough fabric. The Treatment is layered if you will notice. We banded the bottom edge in a cream linen becuase the floral just didn't look right ending on it's own. Didn't look finished. However, when I added the cream to it, I found that it still lacked something of a polished detail. So we started playing around with different ribbons, different thickness, silk velvet vs gros grain etc. I decided to go with a cobalt silk velvet ribbon about 50mm thick but after reflecting on it for a few days, I changed my mind. I had some indigo grosgrain remnants from Luke's room so I played around with that. Here's the end result.

As you can see, I placed the ribbon on the roman so that the bottom fold overhangs it just a bit. It's very subtle but it works because well, I can't articulate it but if I had put it below the fold, it would have seen more contrived vs. a hint of ribbon...  I often plan my drapery embellishments out this way, we measure it out - it's quite the production. It's why it's not $29.99 and available at a big box store. 

Remember my post on their Master Bedroom? The clients had these custom draperies made but when they gave the workroom the measures, they only planned them for just above the door casing. Totally shortened the room. Now, we all know that this fabric from Dwell Studio is not my fave however, I did agree to work with it as they were new and contrary to what some may say, I do care about budget and working with what clients have... he he he. The solution if you recall was to add a custom upholstered valance to disguise the shortness. Totally elevates the room. It literally feels like a bigger room. Love how they came together!!

Romans are EXPENSIVE y'all. They are also tres fussy to operate. A lot of futzing has to happen. They also look crumpled and wrinkled when you close them for privacy and in some cases on larger windows, they simply look like large swaths of fabric or sheets on the window when down. I, like so many others,however, love the look of them when they are open so my trick is to create FAUX Romans - Fromans as we call them in our office. For privacy, we do a textured roller blind that hides up under the Froman when you want it open and gives privacy when you need it.

Another Froman, this time in the Kitchen. We are making coordinating drapery panels for the Breakfast area in the same fabric/ribbon combo. I want to eat them.

Last but NOT least may be my favourite window treatment EVER.... again a Froman but a soft Froman with Roller Blind combo in the Master Bath. The fabric was tres expensive - Barbara Barry like the Powder Room. A little goes a long way with this treatment... Words fail me.