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It’s the end of February and man, it’s been a long winter. Nothing against winter – I’m a fan of winter. But now we are into the slush, ice, more snow, freezing temps, and in short… I’m done.
I’m dreaming about summer. I’ve been saving images of beautiful pools for a while — these are some of my favourites.
Sign me up.
Soooo. We bought a new house.
Soooo. I have a new file on my computer called “New House Inspiration” and it’s filling up FAST. Backtrack a bit — the house we bought is an original post war bungalow on a beautiful lot overlooking the lake. We’re talking panoramic water views from the entire back of the house, which is set up on a hill. All this and still in the city — WOW. It was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up… but, as noted before, this house is original. Right down to the pink carpet and wallpapered ceilings. We move in a few months.
While my husband Justin obsesses about exterior cladding and where to move the garage, I am obsessing about everything else. Case in point — I’m all over the map with each space in the house and how I want it to look and function (these are 2 of about 200 photos, above, that I love and am gleaning inspiration from). I want our amazing basement walkout to be a place we can hang out and have wonderful flow in and out of the beautiful backyard where we hope to put a pool some day. There has to be a wall of windows and doors… and a lot more. But then, the kitchen is probably the most important room of the house for us, so that I want to be stunning but totally functional as well, especially for our 3 little kids under the age of 6 years old. For sure I want an industrial feel but with major punches of warmth and fun, too. This kitchen is topping the charts with its look and feel, so beautiful.
Soooo. You can pretty much be assured that my blogging for the next, oh, 5 years or so will be about the new house, the ups and downs, the good and bad, the fun and frightening, and everything in between.
Wish me lots…and lots…and lots of luck.
EN
Maybe it’s my hibernation insticts brought on by these cooler rainy October days, early sunset evenings and very dark mornings that are attracting me to this bedroom. The very dark grey and black palette is nothing I’ve ever even considered before — we live in an all-white house with hits of colour here and there (not to mention a ton of clutter) and that’s my comfort zone. But this, well this (curtesy of the Martha Stewart website) has me thinking in a darker, moodier, and much more stylish direction that I even thought possible. Especially in a kids rooms — perhaps with hits of indigo blue for a boy and hot pink for a girl? Hey, and it might even make them sleep better too. Sold!
http://jenbekmanprojects.tumblr.com/page/1
I featured 20×200 on my blog, and she featured me on hers — thanks for that, and your fantastic service!
-EN
This morning, early before anyone is awake in the house yet, I’ve gone searching for a little inspiration and came across some completely WOW images from the Architectural Digest website.
I don’t know what it is about the Sowden House in Los Angeles, California (image above) that drew me in, it’s a lot more fussy than I usually like, but I’ve learned the home was originally built by Lloyd Wright in 1928 and restored in 2000 by owner/designer Xorin Balbes and architect Paul Ashley. Anything Lloyd Wright captures my attention, so that makes sense that I was drawn in. But I also love the tension between this heavily structed space, hard and soft landscaping, grand design but total relaxed living. I could stare at this shot all day… or well, at least until the kids wake up any minute now.
Also, in anticipation of some hot, humid days ahead, I am dreaming of pools for our backyard. But that’s a whole other story.
Check out More http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/features/2010/04/striking-images-slideshow#slide=17#ixzz0rCSGiPo5
-EN
Our house was shot for the June issue of Style at Home a few months back (by Stacey Brantford, an amazing photographer and all around cool guy) and since then I’ve received a lot of feedback from people. You don’t really grasp how far-reaching these things can be — I had emails from people I worked with more than 15 years ago, relatives I haven’t heard from in almost as long, and everyone in between.
The July issue is on newstands now, so we are old news. And hey, that’s okay with me… but one thing I wanted to let people in on is where much of my artwork came from. I’ve had many questions about my “collection” of art, of which I’ve been building since my university days. I remember walking past a garage sale on my way to class one day and found a beautiful chipped handpainted tile from Italy that I paid 25 cents for — I still have it on my windowsill in the kitchen. To me, it’s art. When I was an editor at House & Home I worked on a piece called Artisan/Entrepreneur where I would source, scout, interview and organize the photo shoot of an artist and their work for each issue — that was hands down my favourite article. I absolutely loved finding someone who did something special, spending time in their studio and writing their story. I usually walked away with one of their crafts — a beautiful bowl, a little print, fabulous sculpture — amazing things that I cherish.
Fast forward to today — I collect from art dealers now, from art shows, from vintage stores, but my best source lately is a website. www.20×200.com. Each day they highlight the work of an artist, and sell 200 of their prints for $20. Need I say more? Amazing price, fantastic pieces of art, each packaged beautifully with a blurb on the artist and the inspiration for the piece.
Art is hands down the best way to personalize your house. So go to it.
-EN
I am up early today, before anyone else in my family. Today is the kind of day I live for: it’s Saturday, the sun is shining, there is hot coffee on the stove, I’ve already put in a load of laundry in the washing machine – but the best part: yard sales!
Last year I slowed down on the yard sale scene quite a bit. But, I did pick up a few wonderful outdoor items including a table and chairs, and a small caned sofa. No, the caned sofa is not meant for outdoors, but it has endured the outdoors very well.
This year, when I pulled the sofa and chairs from the shed, they weren’t looking promising. I thought about pitching them and upgrading to new stuff, but I love the old and couldn’t bear the thought. I didn’t quite know what to do, until I came across the best selection of outdoor pillows ever at one of my favourite stores. I quickly bought a bunch, tried a few arrangement, took some back, bought some more — and this is the result. The sofa is so fun, fresh and totally comfortable to lounge. The dining chair seat cushions are very simple but just brightened the whole set up somehow.
So off I go now with a few empty bags to fill, my flip flops on, and some bucks in my pocket to see what I can find this morning. Happy Saturday!
-EN
Style at Home magazine’s Editor in Chief, Erin McLaughlin, was recently over at my house for a photo shoot (you’ll see the results of that in the upcoming June 2010 issue, shameless self-promotion I know). She was refreshingly relaxed and encouraging about my chaotic little house that I can never seem to keep clean or tidy despite daily efforts.
This morning, surfing the net a little before hussling the kids to school, I remembered this shot of her very own living room in a recent issue — and I tracked it down on their website, www.styleathome.com. You can’t help but focus on the deep blue tufted sofa, it’s so pretty! I think there is a definite shift happening away from the usual white and beige into “statement” sofas that are saturated in colour, just like hers.
This shot also got me thinking about all the small, charming spaces I have seen lately with my real estate clients. I am often pleasantly surprised by people’s efforts to visually enlarge their petite yet charming space — Erin does it beautifully in this shot above. The trick? It’s the oversized mirror. Placed near a window and engulfing most of a wall, it’s amazing how much bigger the room appears. The light is also naturally bounced into the room, lightening everything up perfectly.
-EN
Before real estate, I was in the magazine publishing business for just over 10 years. I started at Toronto Life magazine when I was 23 years old, then went to Gardening Life magazine, and ended up at Canadian House & Home as the Articles Editor/Market Editor for about 7 years before making my next career change. I still feel very connected to that industry, to the many amazing people I met, and today I still scout beautiful homes as often as I can.
The Spa Effect started with some scout shots I took of a designer friends bathroom that she had just finished, and it was a really fun one for me to write. Featured in the Feb 2010 issue of House & Home (pg 66), it showcases 4 amazing bathrooms — see for yourself by clicking the link below. Coincidentally, 3 of them were designed by people I know quite well, and was thrilled to have an excuse to reconnect with them, and write about their “spa effect” bathrooms.
Get ready to be inspired by just how amazing this often-overlooked space can be.
http://www.houseandhome-digital.com/houseandhome/201002sample?pg=12&pm=2&u1=texterity#pg12
This article in this weekend’s National Post is super — I love the high-end scope of this kitchen, that still seems totally accessible to even the most pedestrian tastes (like mine). You could do this kitchen via IKEA pretty easily, but wow, those Bulthaup kitchens are gorgie. Take a peek. http://www.nationalpost.com/homes/story.html?id=2702431
