My New Shelves

There's an alcove beside my fireplace in my front room that has been bothering me since we moved in. I always felt it had great potential but just could never meet it. Finally, after resenting it for a long, long time I got Billy Boyes over to do what he does best: make my house beautiful. He didn't disappoint. 

He mounted the cabinets so they're floating and made a counter for the top to tie it in with the floating shelves he installed. I spray painted some knobs I had lying around with Krylon in Brass and had Billy drill holes in the centre of the doors. I'd like to invest in some really beautiful hardware eventually but these work for now. Now all of Dave's video game junk is hidden away and my front room is my new favourite in the house!

These pictures are just from my iPhone. I'll post better ones later but I couldn't wait to share! 

House Tour: Kourtney Kardashian

I love love love Keeping Up With The Kardashians. I don't care what anyone else thinks or says about that family and that show, they are pure entertainment. I find myself smiling through entire episodes, giggling away. Nothing wrong with that.
One of my favourite aspects of watching the show is getting to see inside their beautiful homes. They are glamourous and bold and absolutely stunning. My favourite home out of all of them is hands down Kourtney and Scott's and for quite some time now I've been searching the internet for photos of it. None to be found.... Until yesterday!!! Kourtney shared some of the photos of her home being featured in InStyle Magazine this month on Instagram and I almost choked I was so excited. And now I get to share them with you! If you're interested in reading her comments about each room check out the article on InStyle's website here.

The living room

The piano room

The dining room

The family room

The kitchen (duh)

The master

Penelope's nursery

The playroom

The office

The lighting in each room is amazing. Absolutely perfect. If I wasn't so lazy I would break into her home and steal all her lights. And that painting in the piano room is just the best. I actually painted something quite similar yesterday myself when I was painting with Georgina

Totally the same.... err...

Which is your favourite room? Or is it too much for you?

Little Boy's Bedroom

I have two girls. No boys. So when I'm looking at inspiration photos my eye tends to filter out rooms that apply to boys. But after posting TWICE about a big girl bedroom (here and here) I think it only fair to also give the boys some attention. I'm sure I have at least one reader who has boys (Arinn).

Christine Dovey

For a little gentleman! It has a very subtle nautical theme with the navy striped bedding and the sailboat paintings but does not feel theme-ey. I like the navy trim for the baseboards, casings and closet doors. So clever. And brass in a little boys room doesn't make it feel feminine. On the contrary it gives it a feeling of gentlemen's club.

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The grey wood panelling, the rug and the roman blinds are very mature and traditional details for a child's bedroom. The tree wallpaper and captains day bed make it more juvenile and it all comes together to make one smart little room.

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Speaking of tree wallpaper.... this may be better for a teen bedroom or used at the cabin (if you're privileged enough to have one). It's a cute idea. Kind of hipster.

Lauren Liess

Another room that could suit a grown up but is fit for a child.

Westbrook Interiors

Giant map of the world and a plush daybed. And another globe mobile. I likr how the trim is all painted out the same colour as the walls.

Lisa Luby Ryan

I love the navy stripes in this room. It's a subtle nautical touch and with the airplane mobile it doesn't feel too theme-ey.

Tim Barber ltd

His and his desks and bunks all painted green looks sharp and is a great space saving design so there's more floor room to play. So many activities!

Jennifer Eisenstadt

I love the monogramed headboards. So dapper. This room looks so luxe but is still playful.

Katie Ridder

Another large map. My favourite part of this room are the dinosaurs displayed on the floating shelves. The positioning of the bed makes it look like a daybed which I'm a big fan of if you've noticed yet...

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I love love love the wood pannels on the back wall! And I'm pretty partial to navy and green in a boys room. Although my friend Arinn warned me those colours combined can look like Canucks colours. The small hits are perfect.

Reichel Boussard

This is different. I wouldn't think polka dots would suit a boys bedroom but they're cute in here. It's great that they're not uniform and just scattered around a section of the room instead.

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This sweet little bedroom makes me think of Christopher Robin.

Schoolhouse Electric

I love tweed and plaid!! The big boots would indicate this is not a little boy's bedroom but I think it would make for a perfect bedroom for a boy of any age. It's so charming and masculine.

Holly Mathis

A lot of grey which I usually don't like but the hits of orange are great.

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I am always a fan of a black feature wall. And I think the stuffed animal heads mounted on the wall are Fantastic! Where do you find something like that???

Restoration Hardware

And finally, Restoration Hardware. It is just perfect always. My favourite is the striped wool blanket on the bed. Wool blankets are so itchy but look so great in boys bedrooms.

So that's my boy's bedroom roundup. Which room was your favourite?

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Recipe Of The Day: Cheddar Vegetable Chowder

Today's recipe is an old favourite of mine. I absolutely love good soups and stews. A fresh salad is nice but I'm way more into the comfort food. I got this recipe from House and Home and it even comes with a step-by-step instructional video. Pretty easy to make. The hardest part is chopping up all the fresh ingredients, although you can use frozen vegetables instead if you prefer. I prefer them fresh. You can find the recipe here.

My mini-modifications: I don't use the bell peppers because I can't stand the texture of them cooked but they make the soup taste so much better when you do. A tip: buy your white cheddar from Costco to save some money cause this recipe calls for quite a bit.

If you have any delicious and simple soup recipes you would love to share send them my way!

Some New Art

I have bought some new art and thought I'd share. It hasn't arrived yet but I can't wait to get it!!

Gray Malin

First up is this Gray Malin print. There were so many to chose from this collection but I liked this one the best. You can see the rest of his work, including the rest of the Prada Marfa collection here. It's an intriguing story behind this photo and I'll let Mr. Malin explain it:

Marfa, a famous arts town located in West Texas, is home to many intriguing artistic endeavors; most notably a Prada store art installation. Filled with a 2005 collection of Prada purses and shoes, the store is sealed shut and sits freestanding on the side of the open highway.

That's just weird. I want it.

Steve Lambert

I have finally bought this print. Finally. There was a bit of rigamarole with the process but 20x200 was very helpful and I got it! Now I just have to figure out which room it belongs in. I always thought the dining room would be an amusing place for it. But then I cringe at the thought of explaning the joke to my dad.

Elizabeth Huey

And I am getting this for Christmas from my wonderful mother in law! The artist statement about this print leaves me feeling dumb. I like it because I like the way it looks. Okay, maybe I am dumb. To me it feels very 1960's and I'm reminded of a James Bond ski scene.

Stuart Klipper

New on my wishlist is this beautiful and eerie photograph of icebergs in the Antarctic. But I think this will have to wait. For now.

Here's my cow up on my dining room wall. She's so pretty. I bought her back in the early fall at Home Sense but haven't shown her off yet. She's very big and colourful and a great focal point in the dining room.

This is my DIY Rorschach art. I got the idea from Hannah J. at Angel Babies, Paint and Cookies  who shares her inspiration and tutorial. I've made two and have both framed and hanging in my dining room but I'm not really stoked about the other one so I'm hiding it from you.

A family photograph can be art, right? My talented friend Danaea Li took this photo of us this fall. It sits in our hallway in a beautiful frame from Indigo. I need to frame and hang some more from her family photoshoot with us. So many beautiful photos!

And here's what Georgina and I worked on today. It will remain a working project for a few weeks until I finally paint over it with white and start over or maybe it will be a keeper and end up in the playroom. Time will tell.

So, do you like my new art? I've always been very partial to photography and have only in this last year started collecting paintings as well. Although, lets be honest, I don't have the budget to buy anything more than prints of paintings. But I don't mind. 

How about you? Do you prefer paintings or photography?

The Bold Big Girl Room

To continue from my last post I'm going to share my favourite big girl room inspirations that are on the brighter, bolder and more eclectic side.

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I just love all of this. I could try to emulate it forever and would never come close.

J&J Design Group

This was the room that got me super excited to decorate G's room. I love the bright side tables, the bold headboard, the graphic wall paper and the everythingelse. I have stared at her back wall for long periods of time debating whether to wallpaper or paint it something like this. I have even bought wall decals to put on her walls as an affordable substitute to wall paper. They're still hiding in my closet.

Another black and white feature wall. I really like the colourful headboard. I had picked out a couple fabric swatches to do the same for G but chickened out in the end. *sigh* When it comes to going colourful you have to just go for it and commit. Do NOT chicken out. I'm not sure what I'm scared of or why it felt like such a big risk. I am definitely guilty of over thinking the whole thing.

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Beige walls never looked so colourful! Using a bright pink duvet, a mustard coloured ottoman and a piece of art to tie them together this room looks like it screams with colour. So simple but so strong.

The Handmade Home

 I absolutely love the gold star decals on the feature wall. And of course the giant art poster.

Palmer Weiss

I never realised how much I love orange and green as accents until I started working on this post. They're fantastic colours and work so well with pink.

Caitlin Creer

Inspired by the orange headboards and head shots from the previous photo, Caitlin designed this room for her girls.

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yeah more pink and orange

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Bright pink, Tiffany's blue and soft gold accents. This could actually go into the girly girl category as well. Ya, looking at it I definitely think this is more girly girl but the bright colours threw me off. It's a good in between both I guess.

Laura Lee Clark

Purple making a rare appearance on my inspiration board. I absolutely LOVE the day bed for a little girls room. I had one growing up and felt like a princess. I love how the furniture is arranged to look like a sitting room. This would be a great layout for a teen room.

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This is a bit mature looking for a little girl's bedroom but some dolls and children's books would be enough to make it feel more age appropriate. I really love the art above the tufted headboard.

Jill Sorensen

This was another strong inspiration for Georgina's room. I just love turquoise and yellow together. And while there's pink in the room it's not overpowering.

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A very bright and colourful room with all white walls and furniture. It's a great approach to colour if you're renting but I love this look in all rooms of the house as an owner. So bright and fresh and cheerful. I find working with colour easier when my walls are white.

Daun Curry

And while this is obviously a nursery, there are many design elements to draw on for a big girl's room. A patterned wallpaper, navy and bright pink colour scheme, bunny sketches (definitely want to try this for G) and that light! Actually, that crib has been converted into a toddler bed so technically this can qualify for a big girl's room after all.

All these rooms make it look so easy to pull together a beautiful, bold bedroom for a little girl. But I have struggled trying to finish Georgina's bedroom. Writing this I feel renewed and I'm going to go and rearrange some of her furniture and see if I can finally make it come together.