My love affair

        The Robert Allen rep came in today...... and brought new sample books!! I must say, Robert Allen is my favourite textile company by far; Its the section that I always go to first when sourcing fabrics. Over the past year or so I have discovered my love for fabrics, especially Robert Allen ones. When I find a fabric that I love it gets my creative wheels cranking. Although I currently do not have the means or ability to take on refinishing and upholstering old furniture (I tent to gravitate towards the most expensive ones without even knowing)- at $167.00 a yard for "Rio Swirl" I just can't take on this hobby right now even though I know I would love it. In the meantime I can share my new favourite finds for today.


New Robert Allen:

"Velvet Keys"- Charcoal

http://www.robertallendesign.com/trade/fabric_detail.aspx?product=217311

"Autumn Encore"- Saffron

http://www.robertallendesign.com/trade/fabric_detail.aspx?product=221389

"Rio Circle"- Berry Crush

http://www.robertallendesign.com/trade/fabric_detail.aspx?product=221613

Orange you glad I know my trends (I'm lame)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69472059/persimmonred-aventurine-knotted-necklace

 

    Its true... Orange is the colour for this spring/perhaps year. I love it, especially in combination with my new favourite shade: Grey. BUT, how does one incorporate ORANGE into their home with out it becoming a permanent fixture? What happens when orange is out? Here comes the part where you have to use your noggin and think of ways you can use said trend colour so that it doesn't become a permanent fixture in your home. 


Unique ways to use orange: 

• Monochromatically- light orange, medium orange, dark orange
• Use it with its opposite (complimentary colour)- Orange + light blue= my new favourite colour combination
• Rather then using bright orange, you could use a softer hue or even a darker hue (like burnt orange/rust)
• Place it with white.... super contrast
• Find vintage or antique items- this may make your orange item look less "trendy" 
• Use it in a bold big pattern (that you won't get sick of)... maybe it adds brightness to something or just makes you feel good....then you wont get sick of looking at it. 

See, it looks super pretty with light blue, really nice with rustic things, and looks really vibrant against white:

http://www.styleathome.com/decorating-and-design/colour/2012-pantone-colour-of-the-year-tangerine-tango/a/39020/4

My equation

     Something has really been annoying me- Urban Sprawl. Thinking about my post from yesterday, I am more aware of how much urban sprawl is taking over and how much I disagree with it. Cookie cutter house + teeny tiny amounts of land for each home + box stores + traffic = ugly. Why is it, that this equation is a desirable living environment? What is it that people enjoy about this? When did having a cute little home, with a medium sized yard, and a home with character become less desirable? If I could be somewhere beautiful (with beautiful scenery, fresh air, nature sounds vrs traffic sounds and houses that are more then 8feet apart).... 
     The following is a quote from the David Suzuki website: "Sprawl consumes large quantities of land, segregates house from shops and workplaces, depends on cars, and has little regard for the natural environment. In some parts of Canada, sprawl is the largest driver of greenhouse gas emissions." I am not the tree hugger I would like to be, but I do acknowledge the damage that urban sprawl is creating for our planet. Perhaps one day we can go back to quality vrs quantity and actually think about our living environments. 
     Just something to think about for today- Lets take a minute to be individuals, realize that an astroturf lawn is absurd, and that you don't have to compete with your neighbour to see how close you really can get to their property with out actually being on it. Too many road ways, too many houses, too much noise, too much pollution, to much of the same. 
     
The house shown below is by Architecktur-Werkstatt Haderer:

Images from:

http://design-milk.com/house-in-pregarten-by-architekturwerkstatt-haderer/#more-81703

Hello my name is....

   Twenty four resumes sent out in the last two weeks. Rather then focusing on my frustrations about this, I have decided to use this blogging thing as a way to create positive energy for myself. That being said...I am posting this picture because it is where I would like sit when I feel like this. A place to clear my head, think about nothing, sit in the breeze and listen to nothing except the wind, water, birds, and plants rustling around. I think outdoor spaces should be just as important as indoor spaces and I would like nothing more then to have a relaxing outdoor environment for myself one day. 

Thinking outside the box...or table

http://www.laylagrayce.com/Products/Somerset-Bay-Santa-Rosa-Server__SB139.aspx?SSAID=314743

          Yet again, I was looking on Pinterest and came across this; Its two old coffee tables, that have been repainted,  and attached to each other (with the addition of the bottom piece) to make a free standing shelf unit. I wouldn't have ever thought to do this on my own. There are many things that I come across and wonder "how did someone think to do this?!" yet its so obvious. 
          A few weeks ago, I came across an image of an old coffee table that someone repainted and made a cushion for it (that was tacked down in some way) and the coffee table was now a bench- now THAT I must try. I have a coffee table that has been ruined on top by candle wax- I don't want to get rid of the table (it was my parents) and I don't have the time to attempt to refinish it, and I need more seating in my bedroom, so maybe I could turn it into a bench like the one I saw in the picture.
         I would like to think of myself as a creative person, but sometimes I am dumbfounded by the things people think of/create. I see a coffee table and I think "that's a nice coffee table". I don't think "hey maybe I can stack one on top of the other and turn into a buffet table". 
        I'm all about reusing items and keeping things out of landfills- this unit has been turned into something beautiful, functional and the two coffee tables have been found by a creative eye to make this nifty piece of furniture. This to me, is thinking outside the box. 

Lookie here

http://visiblymoved.blogspot.com.br/2012/01/diy-necklace-holder.html

(Click the link for directions)

    I came across this image the other day on Pinterest and I really want to make one. I was at an antique store in Oakville a few weeks ago and they had a bunch of cute knobs that would maybe work for this. Now I just have to find a piece of old wood like this one. One of my favourite combinations is rustic/antique and that little crystal knob is pretty against the old wood. Maybe I will go back to that antique place and buy some knobs. 

Something to share

If you haven't already read this book, you must. 

     "The Time Traveller's Wife" is one those books you don't want to put down. In order to enjoy a book, it has to be a real "page turner" for me. I get lost in this book. I forget about what is going on in my life and I'm just in my own head reading, not thinking about my day. I've always found time travel interesting (I wish I was in the 70's, or 20's) and Henry is a time traveller, but he travels to and from his own life- past, present, and future. The book is narrated either by Claire (Henry's wife) or by Henry. The book pulls some heart strings (especially page 324) but its worth the odd tear shed. Read it...I've read it three times.

My drive

http://www.sarahrichardsondesign.com/portfolio/project/interior-design-show-2011/yellow-room

    For my first post, I have decided to show a space by Sarah Richardson. I know this sounds cliché... but I absolutely love her. Rather then rambling on and on about what I like about this space, I'm going to avoid the boredom. Instead, I would like to explain why I chose to use this as my first post. 

   Every single time I watch "Sarah's House" I am so inspired. She pushes me to be a better designer; she gets my creative wheels cranking. I get that "I really want to do this interior design thing- I must" feeling. She gives me that determined feeling that I get every so often; it feels good. When I'm determined, I get there, it gets done, I work hard. When I don't have that determination, I don't try my hardest, I don't work my hardest. I need that feeling to motivate me. Its that feeling I get when I want something "that bad". And when I want something "that bad" it happens. One day it will happen- I will be the designer that I want to be.