Jane Austen Meets Laduree

As always, i'm changing up the design in my home and this time i've decided to take inspiration from one of my most popular Pinterest Boards, "Jane Austen Meets Laduree". What is that exactly? I would describe it as the subdued elegance of Jane Austen's gentry painted in the beautiful colours of Laduree's macaroons. Tea and pastries go together hand in hand if you think about it!

 My living and dining room have been swapped and i've created a seating area accented just the right amount of posies.

I put my Allegra Hicks for West Elm drapes up to frame the dining area, which is accented in "laduree green".

Our Top 10 Before & After Shots in 2012

Just like the Top 10 lists about celebrity moments, (or maybe i'm ripping off David Letterman here), I wanted to post and share my favourite top 10 transformations that we did this year. I had a hard time choosing them since I was blessed to have some really great design jobs this year, but here they are in no particular order. Enjoy!

 

Asian Inspired Condo Project

It's not often my clients take off and give me carte blanche and a set of keys to redesign their home while they're away, but considering this client was my sister, trust was definitely not an issue! Designing her place is an ongoing process, but I will post some photos of the work I did so far.

This living room was designed to reflect her global trotting taste mixing antique asian prints with more contemporary furniture.

Custom made drapes with a cherry blossom motif in subtle colours perfectly complimented this theme without going overboard on prints.

 A second bedroom in a downtown condo was converted into a home office with a day bed.

 This antique bird lamp found at a consignment shop was the perfect inspiration for these organic bird print drapes.

Spring Change Up!

Wow, it has been a crazy few weeks... I have a lot to catch up on in terms of posting, but I wanted to post my spring re-fresh at my house. Since I got my furniture back from renting, I decided to change things up a bit!


My living and dining room have been given a refresh, moving my round kitchen table to the dining room to allow space to put the buffet table behind it.



The only new things in this room were complete scores! I got this rug from Homesense for $59.99 and two extra accent pillows on clearance for $13 and $23. Friends joke that I should be named the Homesense ambassador :).
I've got an obvious passion for bold patterns, but I'm always loving it in navy and white.

I found this chair from Elegant Garage Sale for an unbelievable steal of $25. I reupholstered it with fabric from Designer Fabrics. I moved the bamboo bar cart (that I got from my grandparent's attic) here, and dressed it up, under my $5 gold mirror from Canadian Tire.

The blue and yellow theme is carried out on throw pillows and this bathroom cup I got from West Elm.

I'm totally loving my beach house inspired family room right now. It's such an "Ahhh" spot.

Like I always say, put things in your home that make you happy! I found these cute little cast iron bunnies and they keep each other company on one of my lanterns.  Not everything needs to be symmetrical!

My mantle was cleared and I re-styled it with tone on tone cream, white and celadon objects for a relaxing, seaside feel.

Nothing says comfort like a big basket full of fluffy pillows. You can never have enough!

More Updates to My House...

I finally had some time to do some updating to my living and dining rooms yesterday so I thought i'd keep sharing the work in progress!

 The floors felt naked for a while so I finally caved and got this sisal rug from Home Depot. I was honestly looking for something a bit more special but budget and time do not allow...

 This print is an original vintage Christian Dior print that I purchased from my trip to Maui last year from this amazing store in Laihaina. I know this sounds ridiculous for a decorator, but this is the first piece of art I really invested in getting professionally framed. I had the frame done at Soho Framing and the result was stunning!

 I always believed in putting things around your house that make you smile, and this black and white sheep salt and pepper shaker do just that. I wanted texture on the wall, so I framed a piece of faux bois wood and glued the sheep on top kissing.

 The dining area finally received some colour from these postcard collages (explained below), but it's far from done. I definitely need to put in some kind of rug and my dream mouldings still need to be installed.

 I created two collages using these Penguin Book Covers I found on Amazon.com. The wood faux bamboo frames are actually these old frames that were found in an old attic. I know it seems they are pasted on crooked but I did it on purpose to create a bit of texture.

I found this incredible tray from Homesense for $20 and I filled it with some of my favourite things for now until I get a chance to properly decorate. I have two small plates ("L" and "B") which are my dogs initials :)

My House- More Progress

The accessorized living room awaits window dressings. I'll share more details soon, but I achieved this look with a lot of cheap art!

 Foyer and stairwell - i've installed this new chrome lantern light fixture (that I got from Homesense for $99!) to give it some polish.

I scored this awesome dresser from Homesense for only $299. I always look for pieces that have carvings, mouldings or details in the front and the back, which is a sign of quality.