Bedroom

I'm on a whirlwind painting spree at the moment.  The movers arrive at the new house tomorrow and I my plan was and currently still is to finish painting 4 bedrooms before that happens.  As a result I have nothing but bedrooms on my mind so here are my favourite bedrooms that I"ve recently pinned .

I promise to report back next week with some of the progress and some photos of the freshly painted rooms.  Enjoy the weekend friends!!

Hellooooo Kelowna!

Today my daughter and I say goodbye to Vancouver and head to Kelowna for the next chapter in the book of life.  The boys will join us later in the week after the movers come and pack us up.  

My past experience tells me that once the furniture is in a bedroom the likelihood of that room being painted is seriously compromised.  So over the next few days there's going to be a whole lot of this going on.

For those of you who may be scratching your head wondering what Kelowna looks like, here is a small sampling.

Okanagan Lake is a hotbed of activity in the summer and it's massive size means there's room for everyone.

As I mentioned previously, Kelowna is part of BC's wine country so you can definitely count on some future posts on day trips to the wineries.

Biking of all varieties is right outside our new front door.

Biking season is very soon to be replaced by skiing season and there are 2 world class resorts only 1 hour from home.

While all this beauty and activity is incredibly exciting for us, the thing we're most excited about is being close to our very good friends.  We met Kris, Andy and their daughter Piper while living in Toronto over 10 years ago.  We spent a huge amount of time together and it was very hard for us all when we moved away Toronto.  Shortly after our move, they moved to Kelowna and we've spent years going on ski vacations and flying back and forth to see each other.  Our move to Vancouver meant that the travel could be in the form of a car but it was still a weekend trip.  Now we are 3 km from their home and I predict many, many hours of fun ahead with these crazy kids.  Thanks for all your help my friends!  We couldn't have done this without you.

Guest Post - hodge:podge

It is a very rare and special occasion when I do a post on a Sunday.  Usually I'm a strictly weekday blogger but today I'm guest posting at hodge:podge.

Barb is a kindred spirit and we have become great friends through our shared love of blogs, design and the hunt for great finds at the thrift stores.  She has an amazing blog full of inspiring diy projects.  She's one of the mastermind organizers of the west coast blogging group that gets together regularly AND she recently convinced Ikea to sponsor a swanky evening for all of us.  

Here's myself, Barb and Meesh at the Ikea sponsored party

Every Sunday she hosts a series called So Canadian Eh? and interviews some amazing design talent including Tommy Smythe, Christianne Lemieux and Margot Austin.  This week I am honoured to be her guest.  If you haven't read it already, go here and check it out.

For all you bloggers who are accustomed to my regular visits to your blogs you may have noticed that I've been a little absent this week. The reason is that I'm finishing my last day of the True Colour Expert Workshop taking place here in Vancouver.

The course is run by Maria Killam, Canadian colour expert and author of the blog Colour Me Happy

I've met some amazing designers, artists and homeowners who have gathered from all over North America. Check out this eclectic roundup...Newfoundland, Massachusetts , Alabama, California, Montana as well as a few BC locals.  Pretty cool, huh?

The course is all about learning how to create flow and harmony in a residential space using colour. The most invaluable tool for me this week has been learning to confidently identify the undertone of any colour you can throw at me.  Equally important to the designers in the class is that we can all explain to clients WHY we are choosing the colours we choose.

Is it an accident that I am taking this course a week before I move into a new house?  Ummm, maybe.  

Happy Friday friends.  I'll be around to visit you all this weekend.

Craigslist Score

Who doesn't love the iconic Saarinen Tulip table, right?  I've planned to buy one for years but recently I saw a photo that inspired me to pull the trigger.  

Here's the inspiration photo that started all the fuss.  Golden deliciousness!

Adore Magazine

I'd love to get the real-deal Knoll version but it's not in the budget and apparently Ikea in Canada no longer carries the Docksta version.  So when in doubt what do you do?  You scour Craigslist of course.  After a quick search and a trip across the city I was the proud owner of this.  You can't see it in the photo but the base is actually quite scuffed up so I don't feel too guilty about my plans.

The paint colour in this photo looks a little green but it's gold.  I'm just waiting for the rain to stop  before I get going on this (could be a while in Vancouver).  I want to get this painted before the big move next week so it can straight to it's new home.  I have plans for this to be in the family room for crafts, painting, cards, board games and any other thing that screams family fun.

The table is going to be paired with these chairs that I bought ages ago at the local thrift store and have been procrastinating getting to work on.  They're getting sprayed in white and I'll add some fun fur cushions in white as well.

Have you seen any other cool transformations of a tulip table?

Shopping in Seattle

Happy Monday everyone.  This past weekend was an adventure in cross border shopping. Can I tell you American readers how lucky you are to have access to your phenomenal outlet malls without the burden of trying to make it back home across the border with all your goodies.

We spent one night in the US because I thought it was going to make us eligible for a $200/person deduction. It was only at the border on the way home that we found out that 24 hours entitles you to $50/person deduction.  Oops!  We happily declared our $800 in purchases and were instantly sent to the room for bad boys and girls where we had to submit receipts and pay the hst on everything (our Canadian tax).  Oh well, still a deal even with that.  Here are the highlights of my shopping spree.

This is the watch my husband bought me for my upcoming birthday.  I was completely torn between this one and the white ceramic with gold highlights.  Honey, if you're reading I will happily accept the white one for a Christmas gift.

My kids needed to get in on the gift giving action as well and this is what the little darlings are giving me.

My sweet mother sent me some American money to spend on myself.  Kate Spade is one of my go-to stores at this outlet and lucky me happened to be there when they were adding an additional 30% off all purses.  I chose one that had already been marked down by 40% off so this baby came home with me.  Thanks mom!!

I'm sure that if I lived in the US that I'd have the most kick ass wardrobe but I am not convinced we'd ever have any money left over for things like food and shelter.

Pinterest Roundup

I love pinterest and can spend way too much time just pinning, pinning, pinning hours away.  Here are my very favourite pins for this week.

Do I need to even mention why this is here?  Holy bannister love!

Pinned from The Enchanted Home Blog

Okay, we all like striped walls but this is stripe overload.  In a very good way of course.

Pinned from Samantha Pynn

This wallpaper is amazing but keep looking and see what it's hiding...an ugly closet door.  How clever!  I also love the brown/green/pink combo.  I would never have thought of that.

This is the inspiration photo for my new master bedroom.  Can you see it with the gold feature wall I talked about here.

Pinned from Parentables

Chevron, turquoise and gold.  Hmmm, does this say Carol or what???

So urban and so great.

I'm going shopping at the Seattle Outlet mall today so I'm on the hunt for an awesome outfit like this one.

Pinned from Polyvore

Once I find my fab outfit I'll hit the town to celebrate my husband's birthday.  So it's shopping and celebrating and maybe a teensy bit of packing for me.  What are you doing this weekend?

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & Sponsor Love

It's here, it's here, it's here!!  After waiting a couple of weeks for the backordered paint to arrive my first quart of Annie Sloan chalk paint has arrived.

This is a photo straight from the can although in real life it's a deeper blue.

Here's a look at the sample from the website.

And here's a completely different colour you can achieve by mixing 8 parts white to one part colour above.  

In case you've missed the chalk paint phenomenon here are a few reasons to love it.  It's the best "lazy person" paint in the world as it doesn't require sanding, prepping or priming.  It only needs one coat of paint that is applied directly on top of your piece and a wax finish (or any other sealer).  It has extremely low VOCs so you can use it indoors.  Apparently it can be used outdoors although I have yet to test that theory.  It is a super versatile paint and can act like a wash by watering it down or an impasto by leaving the lid off to let it thicken.  How awesome is that?  The one thing it isn't is a chalkboard paint.

Here's what I'll be painting and I'm going to get at it right away although you may not see the "after" photo until I'm settled in the new house.

On to the next exciting bit of news.  I have my very first sponsor of The Design Pages blog.  Please give a big round of applause to  Keeping House and Everything Else.  This beautiful blog is the baby of Tracey Ayton Photography.  Tracey is a lifestyle photographer who has her work published in numerous Canadian lifestyle magazines and also sells her stunning photography work at high end boutiques.  Coming up soon you'll have a chance to win your very own beautiful photograph in a giveaway.