Working on my office

The front den/ office in our home is one of the first rooms you see from the front door.  I want it to really make a statement and get our guests excited about what the rest of the house will look like.  Right now we’ve been using Ikea office furniture and my eyes have been sore for a long time.  I want to avoid using traditional office furniture and use real home furniture to make it feel more like a living space.

Here is where we started when we moved in-

And here is what it’s been looking like lately.  We’ve painted it Benjamin Moore’s Metropolis.

My inspiration board is now bringing this room into the style of the house I’m creating.  More sophisticated yet casual country home.

My project over the next week involves painting this new-to-me dining table to use as the central office table.  I am going for a glossy black paint finish.  Wish me luck!

Simone’s Garden Patio and Office

Here is the second instalment of Simone’s Kelowna home.  Her office is fantastic and is where all the design work happens. It truly is a place to find inspiration for the next creative project.  Paper, scissors, twine, fabric, all ready to be fashioned into the next project.  My personal favourite are the vintage bug diagram and spider shadow boxes.  They are a fresh take on trends we’ve seen like botanical prints and butterfly specimens pinned under glass.  It is slightly unnerving for some, but that’s the edgy part of Simone’s design.

 

The garden patio is just divine and feels  like a little oasis in the middle of the city.  The directors chairs were recently recovered with a graphic black and white fabric and really tie the white and black theme together.  Nothing says relax and leave your cares at the door quite like a bubbling water fountain.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little tour.  I’m busy working on redesigning my office at home, I can’t wait to share it with you soon.  I’ll be posting some before pictures later on this week.

Simone Lagies

Recently I have had the good fortune of getting to know Simone Lagies.  She is a fabulous interior designer and stylist.  I almost died when I found her beautiful former home in San Diego, California published in Better Homes and Gardens.  She has so much talent and has been a great inspiration for me running my business in the last few months.  She is now helping me polish my home and finally getting projects done around here.  You can find her home decked out in spooky touches for Halloween here- http://www.bhg.com/halloween/indoor-decorating/halloween-home-in-black-and-white/

Now she has completed her home here in Kelowna and has done a breathtaking job.  It’s not every day you get to tour a home like this and I’m excited to share it with you.  You can see how her style has evolved over the last few years into a bit more of a reclaimed/ industrial feel with the softness of a french salon.  Can you picture it?  She sights Restoration Hardware as a major influence in her work.  I really appreciate that she doesn’t take her designs too seriously and isn’t afraid to just start tacking on upholstery with a sense of abandon.  That of course, is part of the look, a lived in look where you can put your feet up with a good book and glass of wine.  I’ll now let her pictures speak for themselves.

This is the main wall you see when you come in the door, beautiful desk to work at in the living room.

Simone is a fabulous hostess and what better way to make her guests feel comfortable but a full service bar?

 

 

Her upholstery technique is so interesting, it really does look like she pulled this from an old French salon.

 

Simone’s kitchen display is full of fabulous thrift store finds all curated carefully.

Even the bathroom reminds you of beachy days gone by.

Simone uses carefully chosen white layers to be restful and serene in her bedroom.

Well I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.  I will be posting a second half of the home tour with her outdoor living space and home office where she does all of these beautiful projects.

 

Christmas Class details

Click Here to Register

Barb Neuman from The Pink Bee Company and I have partnered to offer these 4 evening classes teaching you the how-to’s of Christmas greenery.  I’ve been playing with Christmas greenery for several years myself and have always thought it would be so fun to get a bunch of ladies together and have a fun and festive evening celebrating and working together.  Just think of what a great girls night this could make with a friend!  I know some of mine may be there…

We suggest that you don’t wear your best clothes, as it can be a little messy, bring a pair of pruning shears and gardening gloves.  We’ll get to work in my basement with some Christmas tunes pumping and warm drinks and holiday cheer to keep you going.

Outdoor Greenery Planter Class $65-  Tues, Nov 26 or Thurs, Nov 28 from 7 – 9 pm

Come learn how to make your own Outdoor Greenery planter. We supply everything you need for a basic planter and you can add your touches to make it your own. Choose from fresh cut cedar, pine and fir, as well as grape vines and branches all set into oasis to keep your greens looking fresh.

Click Here to Register

Please call or e-mail for more details Michelle @250-864-3178 michelle.freedman@me.com

Christmas Table Top Greenery Class $65-  Tues, Dec 3 or Thurs, Dec 5  from 7 – 9 pm

Come join us fro 7 – 9 pm and go home with a lovely greenery table top centrepiece. Bring you pruning sheers, gardening gloves, and wear your old clothes (greenery can be sappy!)

Click Here to Register

Please call or e-mail for more details Michelle @250-864-3178 michelle.freedman@me.com

Make Your Own Christmas Greenery and Planter

People!  Exciting news to share today.  My friend Barb Newman from The Pink Bee Company and I are joining together to teach 4 Christmas Greenery classes.  Check back tomorrow for more details!  For now, enjoy the beautiful poster we are plastering around K-town….

Working on Curb Appeal

We are having company tonight.  No other sentence in the english language gets me moving faster than that one.  Probably that’s true for most of us?  So instead of tidying up inside, vacuuming floors, and baking a dessert (there’s still time!), I’ve spent my morning rearranging my front porch and improving my curb appeal.  I mean, first impressions are the most important right?  I want people to get excited about what they are going to see inside!  So I just pulled a few pieces from the back deck and tidied everything up a bit.

I removed our old house numbers, which you couldn’t see from the street anyway, and just threw up a few paper numbers I whipped off on my cricut.  I know- they’ll be toast in a few weeks/months.  But they get the job done today!

 

What do you think?  I want to paint the door this month.  Before everything gets too cold!  I was leaning towards a dark peacock or teal.  But I’m really loving Hunter Green again so much.  Is anybody else feeling that?  It’s like the new shade of this year’s hottest colour- Emerald.  But as it turns cooler I’m loving everything dark and moody and hunter green is just so gorgeous again!

 

And a cozy little spot to sip coffee and enjoy the view.  I am keenly aware that I’m doing everything very symmetrically.  Good?  Maybe I could push myself to try something a little of balance.  Maybe next time!

Quilchena Farmhouse

We recently moved into a new home and I’ve yet to share any fun updates from it. First I’ll give you a bit of background. It’s in a new period neighbourhood in Kelowna. Our home is one of the older ones, build in 1998 and made to look like an old farmhouse. So I’m trying carefully to be true to it’s heritage-like bones but in a fresh way that’s right for our family and my sense of style. The word Quilchena means “flat place near the water” in the First Nations language. Our neighbourhood is just that. Our front porch protrudes on the yard to take advantage of the little lake view from the front of the house. And of course we are on Quilchena Drive.

So the first project we’ve been tackling is painting the house. And I’ve been doing all of that so far. Here’s a before shot when we viewed the house-

And here is the after with our furniture and the new colour. A welcome relief! It’s Benjamin Moor’s Titanium.  The trim is really creamy and we plan on changing it to a crisp white.  I think that will be sharp.

 

So I’ll plan to share some updates as we carry on painting.  Thanks for taking a look!

New Dining Chairs

I was at London Drugs on Saturday night and spotted these Eames Shell Chair knock-offs.  The best part?  They were on special for $29.99 (from $99.99)  What a steal!  I bought one and took it home to test drive it.  It’s a bit lower than I’m used to sitting- so I’m debating.  But at that bargain price, will I really regret them?

Here is the original, which I was planning to buy eventually in a few years when I’d saved up enough.

And to complete the look, I’m thinking of refinishing my existing table to a medium walnut stain.  Kinda like this-

bhg

Is that not gorgeous, or what? 

Analog Coffee

On a recent trip to Calgary, we visited the new Analog Coffee and it was so great!  Not only great coffee, but a feast for this decorator’s eyes.  Take a look-

I just love the chevron wood floors!  So great.  And all the black with the wood is gorgeous.

And that’s the coffee station with cream and sugars.  So classy with a marble top.  And that black wall is the perfect dark backdrop.

Even the bathrooms were fitted beautifully with vintage-inspired finds.  Go check it out if you are in the area, Analog Cafe.

Thrifting for brass

I’ve taken up thrift store shopping with vengeance again.  It is so easy here in the Okanagan. There are many thrift stores and all really close to where I live.  Lately I’ve been on the look out for cool brass accessories.  

 

A few months ago I found this very retro brass hair-pin stool. I love it so much!  I thought it would look great re-covered, but I cannot part with the cutesy floral.  It reminds me of my grandma and how pretty life was back in the 60’s.  We need more florals again people! I’d like to fix up the brass on the legs and was wondering how I might do this.  Any suggestions?  

This baby called to me yesterday at the Salvation Army and it came home to stay.  It looks like a former planter.  So maybe I’ll show you next week with some great houseplant inside?

Happy thrifting!