Style at Home: Luxe Retreat

What a surprise to flip thru the current issue of Style at Home and see a bathroom from one of my projects featured!  This is a bathroom I designed some time ago as part of an extensive reno of a 3 level condo owned by my then sister-in-law Kara.  I had such fun with the details in this guest bathroom, generally I'm not one for doing lots of various tiles in one room but in this case Kara fell in love with a collection of marble tile samples I had gathered up on a table and had to have them.  Her only request was that I use them all, but aside from that I had free reign to do whatever I wanted with the design.  I used a 3 x 6 honed calacatta marble as the starting point which was installed in a brick pattern in the shower and in a herringbone pattern on the floor.  Around the calacatta I created some classic hotel style border lines using marble mosaics on the floor and glass listellos in the shower.  The end result is a truly luxe looking space that I hope makes her guests feel extra special. 

I'm thrilled to see this little gem of a space on the pages of the March issue.  For the full bathroom story you can check out the March issue on Zinio.com or in print on newstands now. You can view more photos of Kara's condo previously published in Style at Home on their website here.

Style at Home

Its Reveal Time: A Home Office

Style at Home March 2012,  Photo: Donna Griffith

This home office was part of a whole home renovation project I designed and project managed back in 2008-09 for my sister-in-law Kara.  It seems like an eternity ago since the construction was completed and she moved in, but its taken a couple of years to turn it into a 'home' with furnishings and artwork. While the entire home, including a gorgeous rooftop deck, were photographed by Style at Home Magazine last year for upcoming issues, I was so thrilled to open up the current issue and see her home office featured in the Organizing Workspaces story "Hard at Work". 

The office occupies one of the 3 bedrooms in a multi-level, mid-town condo and was chosen as the office over the other spare bedroom for its eastern exposure with bright  morning sunlight - she's an early bird! I added a new frosted glass panel door to the room so when she has out of town guests (frequent occurance) she can close the office door for privacy and sunlight can still filter into the hallway.

Style at Home March 2012, Photo: Donna Griffith

The antique ash barnboard floors and hide carpet are a nod to Kara's past, having grown-up on a farm she has a strong affection for all things country - a photo of her childhood prize winning pig has a special place on her desktop, complete with ribbon!  I prefer modern furniture or contemporary spaces when paired with a little bit of rustic or 'country' element, and this room does just that.  The random width floor boards were finished on site and received a low sheen clear coat to showcase the wood's natural character with all its knots, nail holes and bug tracks.  With a wall of shelving fitted with woven storage boxes, a full height filing cabinet and double closet with essential organizers (not seen in photos) so the office provides loads of storage and an expansive work surface for the high volume of paper work that's handled here. 

Its no co-incidence the office is filled with lots of orange accents, its one of the corporate colours of the company Kara works for so she's has been using orange for work related accessories for over 10 years.  Its a colour I've always associated with her  - she always has something on her or in her bag that's orange.

Thank you Margot, Jessica, Donna and the rest of the Style at Home team for your beautiful work on this feature!  I am a devoted fan of the magazine and I'm honoured that you chose to include this space on your pages.

: )

A few more After Photos..

Below are a few more after photos not from the magazine shoot but from my portfolio files that give you a glimpses of some other details in the office.

On the wall opposite the desk, a row of modern wall clocks have their orange hands set to the various time zones of family and friends around the world, including one for Kara's Muskoka cottage, permanently set to 'bar's open'.   She's a whiz at board games, this metal ledge holds letters from a vintage family scrabble set which spell out the city name for each clock.

One of my favorite items in the room is Kara's very first childhood desk - it occupies a special place in the corner beside her 'adult desk' and I've used it to stack magazines and hold book bags.   I love the visual tale of these two desks side by side,,,its a testament to the power of learning and dreaming big.  They truly represent the past and present of this successful woman's journey of accomplishments.

Artwork by:  Alanna Cavanagh

I have admired the whimsical illustrations of Toronto artist Alanna Cavanagh for some time, so I was really excited when one day Kara sent me photos of several pieces she had brought home from a gallery to try and decide which to buy and where it could go.  I thought their vintage inspired take on typography and fashion were a perfect fit for her office.  I loved each one of them, and so did Kara which made the decision easy - she kept them all.  That was a couple of years ago, and today I can tell you she loves these pieces as much now (if not more) as the day she brought them home.   

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this home on the pages of Style at Home coming up soon!!

CREED: One Year Anniversary!

CREED: [ noun. = A summary of principles, beliefs or opinions]

BEAU-TY: [noun. = The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or color, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality.]

A year of blogging.  Last week marked the one year anniversary of this blog and I have to say, I can’t believe its been a year already??  You can click here to read my very first post and introduction to blog land just 12 months ago.

Keep’n it Real.....

I will admit I’m not one who follows any of the ‘rules of blogging’,,,,,,I’m sure there are rules but I’ve never read them, I just dove right in and started blogging.  I’m just doing my own thing here and if others want to read, or share my posts or even leave a comment - I’m thrilled, I love receiving comments from readers and look forward to the feedback. My goal on this design blog has simply been to post original content and to be authentic, a blog about interior design written by an interior designer.  For me the best way to achieve that is to simply express my point of view by writing about and photographing my own projects and my own experiences, as honestly as I can. Afterall,,no one else can do this, except me!

My living room.

Thanks....
Clearly, my goal was never to set out to achieve as many followers as I could, cause that would require a strategy of sorts requiring much more participation in blogland than I can possibly manage right now.   I’m so appreciative of the 24 readers who have been followers on this blog and I’ve enjoyed reading all your comments here and I’ve enjoyed visiting your blogs too!   I’m still amazed I have any followers at all, but as my stats counter tells me there are actually several hundred visitors a day to this site which kinda freaks me out, honestly!  I’d like to share a special thanks to my very first two followers,,,who signed up within hours of this blogs launch, they are my most faithful and loyal readers and the only 2 followers I actually know.  Its no coincidence they also happen to be two of the most important people in my life - Anita being not only my mentor for many years but also one of my closest and dearest friends,,,and my younger brother Tom who was my very first best friend and will continue to be my bff,,,he’s also the only family member who is computer savvy enough to figure out how to become a follower on a blog (I’m not kidding!). I come from a pretty large family and honestly, my family readers alone would total 40+,,,,if only they knew how. 

This is Anita...isn’t she beautiful!  This photo was taken about 2 weeks ago while having lunch together.  She’s also a designer and runs her own design firm, I learned everything about the design industry (and business, and relationships, and cooking, and life in general) from her.  We worked together for 10 years, but it never seemed like work.  I miss seeing her everyday.....   

This is Tom aka 'Six' .......aka the rock star!  He’s an avid curler and last year he made it to the provincial’s (a once in a lifetime opportunity for a rare few), it was a 7 day televised tournament and I couldn’t have been more proud and excited for him.  I quickly elected myself president of his fan club and created a blog that chronicled his trip to the provincials, it was called ‘Six Rocks’,,,it was only online for 2 months and accessible only to our family and friends but it was hugely popular.  It was 2 months after that little experiment with blogging that I launched this design blog.  

Most popular Post....

Why I love Ikea kitchens.  This post definitely generated the most comments and emails of any other post.....over the years I’ve designed a LOT of ikea kitchens and what makes them successful in my eyes is when nobody can believe they’re ikea kitchens!  Proving that Its not about how much something cost or where you buy it - its about how you use it!  For me designing with Ikea products is like playing with lego blocks,,,the possibilities are limitless.  I look forward to posting Part II of Why I Love Ikea Kitchens in the upcoming year featuring new bespoke Ikea kitchens and more tips and tricks.

Yes - this is an Ikea kitchen.  More after photos of this project will be shared in the year ahead.

My Favorite Posts....

I have a couple of personal favorites from this past year. One was The Before & After of an E-Design project. Simply stunning! For anybody who hasn't considered the benefits of using e-design services, this is bound to impress you. My client's after photos prove that a small investment in a good design plan will net you maximum value from your reno dollars. You can also check out my e-design website thedesignshop for more images of this project in the sample gallery.

This is an after photo the client sent to me, I'm planning on visiting the house in person in the upcoming weeks to take my own photos which I'll share with you here.

Another personal favorite post was the Victorian House Tour. Having the opportunity to tour this house was a thrill for me and such an unexpected surprise. My sister-in-law was the listing agent for this house and as she was preparing for the public open house she invited me to come by for a tour. I have a thing for victorian houses and this one, happened to have been designed by the well know Toronto firm of Powell & Bonnell some 10 years ago, and probably one of the few (if not only) traditional home they've designed. Of course, I fell in love the second I walked thru the door. I had come armed with my camera and I excitedly went from room to room just shooting away candidly. I must have taken hundreds of photos in about 20 minutes. I composed a blog post from some of the photos and the homeowners were so thrilled with the post they printed it out and left if with all the real estate agent’s literature for the public open house. Of course it didn’t take long for the house to sell and I’ve been invited to visit the homeowners new home one day once they’ve settled in, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve done with it.

Living Room vignette from the Victorian House tour.

The Year Ahead......

{Before & Afters}:  I’ll finally be getting around to posting final after photos of Brian’s Condo, along with More after photos of the 70’s Sidesplit, more photos of a mid-town condo reno, and after photos of the stunning e-design bathrooom reno...

Sneak Peek of the 70's Sidesplit master bedroom.

{Client Projects}:  In the coming year there’ll certainly be no shortage of subject matter for me to blog about, my biggest challenge will be finding the time!  New projects include the dramatic transformation of Gail’s Kitchen and Family Room currently under construction,,,,,,I’ll be  collaborating with one of the city’s hottest landscape designers on the redesign of a rooftop deck of a mid-town condo, I’ll be furnishing a modern suburban family home for a yonge couple including a hip nursery and very chic his/her dresssing room,,,I’ll be tackling a new kitchen design for a idyllic log cabin retreat in north ontario that is nothing short of this designer’s dream setting.  And all this, will be happening over the next few months......

The plan for Gail's Kitchen & Family Room reno.

Modern love - furnishing a home for a young couple.  I've got the main pieces in place for this Living Room, wait and see how the rest of it comes together.

{Student Work}:  Each month I receive dozens of portfolio’s and resumes from students seeking employment or internship opportunities.  Unfortunately I can’t hire them all but I’m blown away by the level of talent and skills these students have developed, i wish ci could. , One thing I’ve been wanting to do for some time now is to start posting some of these amazig projects that the students have created.  I hope to illustrate the level of talent and skills design students possess and provide a platform that will give them some well deserved exposure.  I’m thrilled to tell you my first post featuring student work will be this month and i’ll be intrudocing you to the the work of of 2nd year student Lisiane D'Amico .... of Sheridan college.  She’s also a graduate of Ryerson’s architectural science program and you’ll be blown away by her talent..

Loft renderring by student Lisiane D'Amico.

{My Home Renovation}:  The most exciting topic of all for me will be my own home renovation,,,hopefully I’ll be starting on it before the 2nd anniversary of this blog, first I have the huge challenge of finding the house.  I actually had to shelf house hunting this past winter and spring because i was too swamped with work.  So I plan on spending a lot time with my real estate agent in the near future,,who i’ll be introducing you to here on the blog....

{A Special Guest blog}:  Featuring Kara Reed one of Toronto’s busiest real estate agents.  You may recognize her as Sarah Richardson’s agent most recently appearing on HGTV's Sarah’s House 3, but she’s been my sister-in-law for the past 20+  years and not only is she one of the most special people in my life she's also been a favorite client.  I had the pleasure of designing (a total gut and reno) her 3 level mid-town condo in 08 and 09.  Kara's client list reads like a who’s who of Toronto, from the design industry, entertainment, sports and finance, she has access to some of the most spectacular homes in Toronto.  Her and I have toured hundreds of houses together, often she’ll call me and say ‘where are you ,,you gotta come see this house!!”  And of course I do and I’m never disappointed!  She’s sold two of my own homes (for record breaking prices) and has lots of experience seeking out those diamonds in the rough.  So I'm going to collaborate with her on a feature post or two in which we'll share our views on the realities of investing in home improvements in today's market. 

Real Estate Agent, Kara Reed

I'll leave you with my favorite photo of the year. I can't exactly explain why its my favorite, perhaps because it was such a candid photo of a completely undesigned room, there was no plan or intention for this space, things that the homeowner already owned just fell into place here by happenstance and the simple beauty of these things together captivated me - I just grabbed my camera and snapped away. I hope there'll be many more images like this to come. : )

Thanks for reading,

Carol