No parking allowed

Yes, our media room used to be a drive-down garage, but that all changed back in the '80's sometime (way before we bought the house) when, in a rather hare-brained scheme, the old owners bricked up the garage door and filled in the driveway to create a v. dingy basement apartment. Oh, it was a delightful surprise when we discovered that that there was only one layer of bricks and some rotten chipboard holding back all the in-fill, take a look here, which meant we had to do a major bit of re-construction.

Fast-forward to now and things are all peachy - That's a Gus* Carter sectional sofa, silk velvet pillows and woven cane hassocks from Constantine, and a fab hand-knotted floor cushion from Bev Hisey. The striped velvet curtains have been discontinued at Ikea, but you can still get your hands on the Kvartal curved curtain rail, as well as the wall-mount Besta Burs DVD storage (topped with a few of my fave collectibles). On the other side of the room you'll catch a white leather tufted chair, an end table, and more of the shaggy rayon rug, all from Elte. Then there's more of that great Ikea Besta media storage, working both as a stand for the LCD TV, and mounted on the wall (we had fun tricking it out with Dioder LED lighting strips). The paint colour is Palais Royal by the no-longer-available Ralph Lauren Paint line from Home Depot. And, thanks again to Angus Fergusson for doing such an outstanding job in shooting the house for House & Home!

Guest blog / Jenn Hannotte: The royal treatment

Jenn Hannotte: Ahh, the sweet, suffocating smell of plaster dust! We're knee-deep in it over here, tackling the family bathroom. When we bought this house, we thought we could live with it for a while. We thought that we could clean it up, and it would be OK. We thought maybe some new towels would help. We thought WRONG. The 'before' picture provides some visual evidence, but the real issue here was the smell. And the strange textures that stained every surface. I won't elaborate, but suffice it to say we are very happy to have it all GONE! It was demo- day here today, and the folks from Cera Stone (who I also used to renovate the main floor of the last house) knocked it out efficiently as ever.

Finding inspiration for the bathroom wasn't a problem. It seemed everything I saw, I loved. Especially anything dark and vintage, with an industrial twist. Like Jenna Lyon's en-suite, or this gorgeous bathroom from House & Home by Connie Braemar. But, I wasn't quite sold on the idea of going to the dark side - something wasn't quite grabbing me. And then, as I do a couple times a year, I was watching The Royal Tenenbaums and there it was, my future bathroom. Nothing dark about it, but oozing original vintage charm with a fresh colour scheme and those great set details found in all of Wes Anderson's films. How close the final product will be to the bathroom Margot Tennenbaum spends  "six hours a day locked up in...watching television and soaking in the tub" remains to be seen, but the hunt is on! [Image 2 via Habitually Chic. Image 3 by Virginia Macdonald]

For more of Jenn's take on style, as well as to see the beginnings of her own reno project, click here.

Oh, my darling

This a.m. - way before my first coffee - I was completely charmed by these Marionette pillows. Designed by Darling Clementine (of Etsy fame, see there gorgeous shop here), and inspired by 1950's finger puppets, the prints started life as a set of cards, and then, when ferm LIVING spotted them, they turned four of the six characters into pillows. Aristo Katt, Elle Elephant, Mr Frank Fox and Posey Panda are printed on organic cotton, and are available online at Branch. Oh, and I've also included a snap of that fantastic wallpaper, it's called Ferris and is from ferm LIVING too, hook yourself up with a few rolls here.

Guest blog / Jenn Hannotte: What's the 211?

Jenn Hannotte: If you're reading this, chances are it's because you're a design blog-aholic. Never one to leave the party first, I offer to you this new reno-blog (complete with live-cam!) that promises to be thoroughly intoxicating. The Temporale's are a young family who have decided to move up - literally. They've been living in their east-end Toronto home for 6 years and have gutted it and smartly transformed it into a modern nest. But with only two bedrooms and four family members, it was time to make the decision: sell, or renovate? With no where to go but up,  they are constructing a 3rd floor pre-fab addition, and if the pictures from the rest of their home are any indication, it's going to be spectacular. The snaps below show the before and after on the front of the house, and a peek at the interior, before the old roof was peeled off and construction started. Check out 211 Bain to follow along!

For more of Jenn's take on style, as well as to see the beginnings of her own reno project, click here.

Seriously fun

Saw this chair a couple of secs ago on Twitter and thought how great it was, and now here I go sharing it with you lot. It's a fantastically quirky Victorian club chair (love the turned black legs and casters) that's been upholstered in a metallic silver print on a dark purple Irish linen called D'ya-think-e-sauras, from PaperBoy in the UK. Victoria Cramsie of PaperBoy scored the chair at an auction, one of a pair, she's now itching to get the other one re-upholstered too. Check her firm out for lots of seriously fun prints on fabric and wallpaper - you should really take a look at Animal Magic and Hand Made - that are nice and un-sugary, and a v. sophisticated take on designs for kids. Oh, and thanks to Victoria (aka PaperBoyLondon) for posting the shots on TwitPic!

The last of up top

While the sun is beaming outside, I thought I'd let you know I've just worked on my first Holiday project (for inVU Drapery), and have been finding glitter in all sorts of odd places. Yep, it's Christmas in July in my world! Anyways, I'm still working through posting the rest of the House & Home feature, and thought it was time to flip you the last shots of the top floor.

First up is my home office which, as David would be happy to tell you, is often ignored in favour of the sofa. We had a piece of glass cut to fit the width of the room and set it on top of a pair of Ikea's Vika Lerberg trestle bases. The chair was picked out of a neighbour's garbage, the rug - look closely - is actually a macro view of botulism, from a series of rugs by Bev Hisey called Dirty Dishes, and the vintage lamp is from Zig Zag. And, honestly, it doesn't normally look as tidy as this. Then, in the second bedroom (ignoring the two smiling goofballs), between a pair of great Ikea bookshelves that have sadly been discontinued, you'll find a re-finished vintage sofa that originally looked like this, and a poster from Shelf. Oh, and that's another Bev Hisey rug on the floor, called Mommy Dearest, which has a pattern of wire coathangers woven into it. Then there's a snap of a dresser, which was a crazy-cheap Goodwill find for $15 that was refinished in white at Beresford's. It's topped with paintings by Zebedee Helm, a pair of Foo Dogs dragged home from Macao, and a print by Bold & Noble. And, as always, the talent behind all these great shots is Angus Fergusson.

Commiting to Patricia's style

I must have bathrooms on the brain today. You can catch a tour of mine here on House & Home Online TV, and then these rather gorgeous images appeared in my in-box, touting the arrival in North America in early 2011 of Axor's new collection created with a fave designer of mine, Patricia Urquiola. I totally get her commitment to a rather kooky sense of modern style, plus her love of craft, and the way everything is tossed together in a rather un-matched yet glorious way that all adds up to make the bathroom feel almost like a living room. Love. It. All.

Guest blog / Julia Black: Me & Minagraphy

Julia Black: Photographer Mina Georgescu first got hold of a plastic panoramic camera as a child growing up in Romania, and I'm very thankful she never let it go. Sure she has a nicer camera these days, but it is her youthful eye that's definitely behind her magically captured moments. Mina’s latest collection, Coney Island and Other Magical Places, is a series of nostalgic snapshots that romanticize our memories of hot summery trips to the beach and time spent munching candy corn while riding a ferris wheel. The sensational textures, saturated hues and softly blurred motion make her modern-vintage prints perfectly refreshing (kind of like a cool glass of old fashioned lemonade!). I’ve ordered a set for my cottage, and I’m pretty sure they’d make a wonderful gift for a summer wedding (or two) that I have pencilled in on my calendar. You can shop Mina’s prints here on Etsy, and be sure to check out her fabulous blog too!

To read more posts from Julia click here, to check out her cool blog click here, and click here to see her new Get Fresh online videos for CTV!

Principally speaking

Where, oh where, has the week gone? All my best laid plans of it being a quiet week have literally been chucked out the window, and now it's practically the weekend for heaven's sake! Getting back on track, I wanted to show you lot the pics of the principal bedroom and bathroom from the House & Home feature (shot by Angus Fergusson, of course), so without further ado, here we go.

That first pic shows the bedroom under construction, when we'd knocked out the teensy old closets. Now the walls are all papered with grasscloth from Design by Color, the upholstered headboard and bedskirt are in my fave David Hicks designed Hexagon House Chenille from Lee Jofa, and the cream velvet curtains are from inVU Drapery. The ceiling fixture and lamp on the left of the bed are both vintage, while the one on the right (as well as the shades for both lamps) was snapped up at HomeSense. The closet now runs wall-to-wall, and is the Pax system with Vinstra doors from Ikea, and really, we couldn't live without all that built-in shoe storage, lol. The night tables were a sweet $10 each from Value Village, and the dresser was from Frontier, both were refinished to match in that khaki tone by Beresford's. On the dresser is a kooky vintage lamp, enamelled boxes from AT Design, and above there's a lovely West Elm mirror.

The bathroom was tiny, filthy and all pink, so we knocked out the walls and made it 18" wider to make the space that bit more generous. The vanity is KraftMaid kitchen cabinetry, the integral sinks and counter is Corian, and the walls are tiled in a Carrara marble lookalike porcelain tile called Montova, and yep, it's all from Home Depot. The sconces are from CB2, the mirrors are from Walmart (really), and the towels are Ikea. All the plumbing fixture and fittings in the space are from Kohler, and include the swish Oblo wall-mount faucets, the Purist Hatbox toilet (you can just about see it in the reflections) and the ceiling-mount WaterTile shower head. Oh, and I have to give a shout out to Home Depot Installation Services, as well as our contractors Cera Stone, for all their amazing work on the bathroom!

On the (main) level

Yep, the August issue of House & Home is finally out (with our place in it), so I thought it was high time to finally share the heinous 'before' and the lovely 'after' of the main floor of our house! So you can get your bearings, that first pic is me standing pretty much where the coffee table is now, looking back towards where the kitchen ended up, and all before the walls came down to finally open the space up. For more scary before shots click here.

Here are the deets on those glossy after shots, photographed by Angus Fergusson -

In the living room the sofa, chairs, tables and ceiling fixture are all vintage. The ottoman is from Bev Hisey, a couple of the pillows on the sofa are from The Rug Company, the Montigo fireplace is from Odyssey Fireplaces, and the rug is from Sears. Spot looks awfully cute in this next shot, against the brill Manderley wallpaper from Graham & Brown. That's a Besta cabinet from Ikea (crammed with records), topped with a turntable, a Tivoli radio and a vintage lamp. I made the dining table out of scaffolding planks and a vintage table base, and all the chairs were super-cheapy vintage finds refinished by Beresford's and, all the doors and windows in the house are Jeld Wen. The KraftMaid kitchen cabinets, Corian countertop, glass tiles and Quality Craft bamboo flooring are all Home Depot, oh, and the stools are vintage. The fantastic stainless steel slide-in gas range with downdraft (no need for a range hood!), dishwasher and French door fridge are from Jenn Air. In the powder room, the wallpaper was dragged home from BHV in Paris, and the teensy sink is from American Standard. And finally, a major shout out to our contractors, Cera Stone!

 

Ice cream sandwiches

I don't know what it's like where you are, but around here we've been in the grip of a bit of heatwave. And, while I love the heat of high summer, all I can seem to think about is ice cream sandwiches - they haunt my every waking moment. The Chipwich is high on my list of faves, closely followed by the Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich. Low rent and delicious, and it's all I can do to not run to the corner store right this second to buy one.

Luckily I've found something that might (hopefully) break the ice cream sandwich spell - Crate & Barrel's series of appetizer plates are not only super gorgeously bright, piece-by-piece they're almost as cheap as a Chipwich. I'll be buying all ten of them to mix in with all my white dishes, how about you?

Vintage goldmine

On Sunday I headed cross border with a couple of friends to hit a fantastic junky 4th of July outdoor antique market in upstate New York. Hello, did we ever do well, and no, before you ask, I cannot reveal the exact destination since it was a complete goldmine of great stuff at crazypants prices (if I told you I would definitely be hung, drawn and quatered). Here's a few shots of what we ended up with, as well as the one that got away...

These mirrored vintage bulbs will look amazing in a shadow box, or individually set on little wood block stands. When the guy said "$5 each. or $20 for the box" they were immediately snapped up. Oh those flags. You can't really tell, but each one is hand sewn and gorgeously aged. One of my friends bought 3 (they were $5 each), and then we bugged her until she went back and bought a big pile of them to sit pretty in a tall vase. Here's the one that got away, 'cos we didn't have the room or the need - a lovely beaten up black and gold dresser, with mirror, that was tagged at $40 (I just hope it went to a good home!).

Then here's what I dragged home - I paid $2 for this cool little Charlie Chocks advertising doll from the '70's, that's now found a spot on a white dresser, and (okay, this a bit of an odd one) an acrylic portrait on canvas that was a score at $10 which, bizarrely, looks like me as a teen, right down to the floppy Hugh Grant hair and the dweeby glasses.

Soft and sweet

There are so many ugly pillows in this world (believe me, I've seen more than my fair share), but what about finding ones that are cool and edgy, with a bit of a fresh street feel, huh? I bet I've got you there. This a.m. I was oohing and ahhing over Andrew Sebastian's line enough that I wanted to toss three faves of his artist designed pillows at ya. Up first is LA Hands designed by the Dissizit crew, next is Cult from the LA clothing firm Acrylick, and finally FFinder by t-shirt brand Foreign Family. Super sweet, and - thankfully - miles away from blah and boring.

 

Flat on the floor

Oh, kilims, flatweaves, whatev's, just get them in your house! Today I found myself ogling these kilims while I was hunting down that kooky rug by Patricia Urquiola that looks like a knitting sampler (it's called Mangas, take a look here). They're Catania and Palermo, designed by Sandra Figuerola for Gan, and - imho - they're pretty much on the fantastic side of things from the world of what's underfoot (I'm totally digging their cool patchworky vibe). The nice part about kilims in both wool and cotton is that, for the most part, they actually won't cost you an arm and a leg (and another leg) in the same way that a hand-knotted wool carpet might. Affordability and style, you've just gotta love it.

Working it

This week is BANANAS, since it's just a little on the crazy side, so, with that in mind, it's fitting that I'm slinging something banana yellow in your direction today. This is the Danish-designed AIAIAI laptop stand available from those sweet Aussies, Third Drawer Down. It seems like a brilliantly simple idea to me, mainly because I have totally messed my back up from working for hours on our delightfully deep sofa, rather than sitting ergonomically at a desk (or, at the very least, the dining room table). And yep, I have to say I love the shot too, with everything being matte black that yellow really stands out a treat, and should make all of you who are nutty about yellow swoon just a little...

Finished out front

Okay, just a quick one - I'm having a barmy week, and next week will be the same - but I did want to share this while I had a sec. Take a look below and you'll see the finished front of the house!!! You'll have to excuse all the exclamation marks, but compared to the way it looked when we bought the place (take a look here), it's a MASSIVE difference. Major thanks go to our stellar contractors, Cera Stone, who pulled it all off on very short notice (thanks John!), and thanks too to our next door neighbours who kindly allowed us to park the skids of interlock bricks on their driveway while all the prep work was happening. Oh, the bricks - We went with the Charcoal Cobble Lite Paving Stone from Home Depot, laid in a nice and chic herringbone pattern, which works fantastically well with the facade of the house that the contractors painted in Farrow & Ball's dark and lovely Railings. I popped in a couple of close-up shots below so you could get a better look. And finally, how fantastic (and eco-efficient) are the Jeld-Wen windows and front door? Gotta fly, but what do you think?

Guest blog / Julia Black: Money in the bank

Julia Black: I often get asked some rather entertaining questions when it comes to shopping for home décor, but nothing quite as kooky as the latest question about piggy banks from an adorably determined 10 year-old kid. Apparently, my sources tell me the kid with the coolest piggy bank wins the popularity vote in school (who knew?). I admit, I hadn’t spent much time tracking down piggy banks in the past, but knew I was onto a winner when I came across the J Schatz Egg Bank. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Schatz, well. I recommend taking a moment for a peek inside his creative and slightly unconventional mind. The clever designs from J Schatz are wonderfully unique, all while being mindful of the environment, using energy-saving production methods and 80% recycled content in their packaging. His handcrafted ceramic earthenware Egg Banks are finished in nine vibrant high-gloss colours, and can store up to 2, 494 coins –a great start for tuition savings, a trip to Disneyworld, a first apartment or even early retirement! Check out all of J Schatz's products here and discover just how fantastic (albeit peculiar) his collection is. Maybe next year birdfeeders will be the new it item for kids, oh, and luckily J Schatz makes those too. 

To read more posts from Julia click here, check out her cool blog click here, and click here to see her new Get Fresh online videos for CTV!

Jacob, is that you?

I have a confession to make, I absolutely HATE our doorbell. There, I've said it, and it feels quite liberating to get that off my chest. Okay, maybe hate is a bit much. Press it and it'll work, sort of, in a dreary warbling digital way, as if actually making any sound at all is an awful lot to ask. It's wireless, and was the most inoffensive one I could find off the shelf but now, with the house all painted in Farrow & Ball Railings and the new house numbers going up shortly (don't ask about the mailbox, that's another story all together), it just isn't up to snuff. So, while I entertain fantasies of smashing it with a hammer, I've also been looking at the one I really really want, by the Danish design firm of Jacob Jensen. Yep, it'll run me around the price of 30 Grande Frappucinos to actually get one, but one look below and you'll see why I'm smitten. The first snap shows the standard wireless model, which comes pre-programmed with 5 sounds (including the sound of Jacob Jensen knocking on an old wooden door), while the second shows the latest USB model which, as well as coming with the standard 5 sounds, also lets you download your own. Just think, Ke$ha could be screeching about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack every time someone rings your doorbell.

In praise of zig zags

One pattern I don't have in the house, and believe me, I have a lot, is zig zag. I've always loved it from afar, and meant to incorporate it somewhere, it's just never happened. The pattern works brilliantly in floorcoverings - The Madeline Weinrib Zig Zag rug has gotten miles and miles of coverage (and is adored by, well, just about everyone), West Elm has their version, and now Nate Berkus has gotten in on the act with one for HSN (currently on sale, too!). And, while a graphic black and white zig zag feels the most classic it's also a little bossy, I fancy it a fair bit more when the colours are softened slightly, like in a couple of the interior shots below. Oh, and for fun, I thought I'd start things off with my current fave in zig zag patterns that have a messier, more painterly and hand-done vibe to them - which I would L.O.V.E. to see turned into fabric, wallpaper or rugs, btw - TOMS Black Tangier Men's Vegan Classic slip-ons, and the Zig Zag tea towel by The Near Future over on Etsy. [Image 3 here, 4 here, and 5 here]

Jonesing over a table

I'm totally jonesing over smartypants Karen von Hahn's new outdoor coffee table upcycled from an old Simpson's-Sears department store sign (the lovely vintage script logo hails from 1953). Karen discovered the sign in a junk-filled emporium she dubbed 'the sheds' out in Bayfield, Ontario, and lugged it home. Her handy-with-tools other half then popped a piece of plywood beneath, and screwed on those fancy-schmancy metal legs she'd ordered from Hairpinlegs.com to create, if you ask me, the perfect spot for a tall and frosty glass of Pimm's. Love how the Kelly green of the sign picks up on the green in her outdoor furniture upholstery, and also how Karen so snappily whacks the nail on the head regarding al fresco style - "Everybody is so busy recreating either a Tuscan villa or a South Beach nightclub in their backyard that nothing has any real style." Check in on Karen's blog here, and be sure to check out her new Style Czar column for the Toronto Star's Weekend Living section. Oh, and you'll see inside Karen's home very shortly too, since she'll be gracing the August issue of House & Home along with little old me.