Take Inspiration but BEWARE of Home Design Shows
HGTV (Home and Garden Television) first aired on December 01, 1994. It came into our area, late 1997. I wonder if founder Ken Lowe had any idea of this network's impact, almost 25 years later? I must admit to being an avid viewer and a fan of its various...
Coastal Dreamin' Around the World Part 2
There is a breeziness and casualness which somewhat contrasts with the sometimes austere quality of the architecture. Let's hop a bit east and feast on what the rest of the Mediterranean has to offer, focusing on Greece, Italy and Spain. I feel like eating ripe, sweet tomatoes and basil,...
Coastal Dreamin' Around the World Part 1
Even though the winter got a late start in our neck of the woods, I'm already quite fed up with it. The persistent grey skies, snow and frigid temperatures have me dreaming of sun, sand and sandals. I know where I would want to go and escape the season....
TREND, SHMENDS...Don't throw that away yet!
I had planned on writing about new home trends for 2019. There are new and interesting ideas headed our way. However, I realized that you can find this information in any of the current magazine publications, television shows and social media. You can also get a really good feel for...
Happy New Year 2019! Let's De-Clutter!
Happy New Year! This is the year of the golden pig. It signifies fortune and blessed lives for those born in the years of the same zodiac symbol. But I would like to think that we can all have a good year. I hope everyone had a very nice...
Christmas Tree Placement
By now most of you have found that perfect fresh Christmas tree or you have managed to unearth your artificial tree from the depths of your basements or garages. Mix it up this year by placing your tree in a new location, an unexpected location. This is the bedroom...
Christmas Mantel Decorating
I've always wanted a main floor fireplace. But even after our renovation, we still didn't have the right amount of space nor the budget to have one in our main floor living room. This year, we will use my piano top and other areas to decorate for the fast...
Thanksgiving Downtime
After you TRYP-TO-light-PHAN-tastic, there is really only one thing left to do to cap off the evening, that's to loosen our belts, sit back and watch a good holiday film or TV show, which celebrates all that is wonderful about the Thanksgiving holiday. Here are some of my favourites:...
How to Pick the Perfect Sofa
With cooler weather upon us, we are now more focused on our indoors. It's time to look for one of the most impossible-to-shop-for pieces of furniture in our living spaces. But first, which word do you use - sofa, couch, chesterfield? Along with the lesser used "settee", most people use...
Interior Design Trends 2018: Part Two
Continuing this blog post with more of the Houzz 2018 design trend predictions! DEFINING KITCHENS IN OPEN FLOOR PLANS Half walls with or without cabinets, I'm not sure about this trend. Open concept living is here to stay, so the thought of adding half walls here and there to define...
2018 Home Decor Trends: A Look Back
As we near the end of another year, it's a good time to look back at a very popular website's new years day posting about what their predictions were for 2018 home design trends. It was interesting see what Houzz's take was on what they felt would become very large...
Renovations Complete - At Long Last!
At long last, here are the official before and after photos of our main floor renovation. We are of course not yet completely finished. It's true when people say that the last 5% doesn't get done very quickly nor very easily! In our case, it's that last 1% which...
Not Quite The End Of Summer
Every summer, I find myself humming this Nat King Cole song: "...Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer Those days of soda and pretzels and beer Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer You'll wish that summer could always be here" As we near...
Kitchen Layouts - Renovation Ideas
By far the most challenging and exciting element of our renovation was the new kitchen design. We were removing most of the interior walls, so really, our choices were far from limited. We looked at conventional layouts, unconventional layouts, space planning the cabinets here and there and everywhere. In...
Battle of The Sexes - HOME EDITION
Having been married a long time, I've come to the conclusion that there are only 2 kinds of people in the world - men and women. Some may disagree, but my personal experiences living with the opposite sex have taught me a lot of things both wonderful and frustrating....
A Renovation in Review: Through The Peephole of a Designer's New Domain
My apologies for not yet posting the "after" photos of our renovations. As the devil is in the details, we are still busy working away to finish all of the outstanding tasks which make up the last 5% of our new main floor. We are also finally getting to...
Gardening Indoors and Out, How to Plan A Garden
Do you have a green thumb? Mine isn't black but it's not green either, maybe more of a chartreuse - a greenhorn when it comes to the wonderful world of gardening. I come from living in a condo to a small, city plot of land so my dreams...
The End of May Renovations
As I sit scribbling away to complete this blog, words from a local actor come to mind as he described his beautifully renovated new home: ..."Man, I never thought in my life, I'd be able to have something so cool..." We are not completely finished, but progress has...
Tiny But Mighty - The Tiny House Movement
Did you know that the average North American house size is 1,948 to 2,100 square feet? And the general trend seems to be to go bigger, as evidenced by the souring numbers of people opting to renovate and/or add additions. I know that homes in our little neighbourhood have...
It's Only Been a Month? Renovations Part 4
Hanging on by a thread! As I put thoughts to paper, this day marks the 1 month point since the start of our renovations. Has it only been a month?! Much has happened and I am feeling very weary. We are at that point in the marathon when initial euphoria has...