Upload: November 7, 2010

Oh yes, Autumn is definintely my most favorite time of the year....but unfortunately as you can see the lack of blog posts is result of this love affair I have with the fall season and all its distractions - the changing colours,,,the incredible harvest of food, wine and birthday celebrations to enjoy.  Selfishly, I've opted for drives in the country, dinner parties with friends or an afternoon of making soups instead of blogging. : ) Not that I've had much leisure time to indulge in all of this fall fair,,,,,because I've been working 7 days a week, it seems impossible sometimes to find that work/life balance.  My Iphone's been burning thru its battery life every day as I photograph all the items I've been recording for various projects so I think I'm waaaay overdue for an Upload post!  This upload contains a selection images dumped off my phone over the past 6 or 8 weeks, I've eliminated a few hundred of the pics I had taken of tile and plumbing fixtures to spare you the repetitiveness (yes, I've been designing a lot of bathrooms and kitchens lately!).  Below are a few highlights such as,,,,,great finds at the big box stores,,,,whats new in the world of tile,,,,,and a sneak peaks into a couple of special parties.....

Bringing the outdoors in, this outdoor light fixture was a steal and a great choice for a modern rustic bathroom I was redesigning in a chink log cabin, the homeowners liked it so much they bought enough to use in all 3 washrooms.  Light fixture from Union Lighting.  

I make a point to regularly check out what's available in the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Rona.  Often I can find the same or similar items to what I've seen in specialty showrooms - so don't ever exclude the big box stores if you're trying to create a designer look,  its not where you buy it but how you use it.  Sometimes I find things I havn't seen anywhere else and the bonus is the items are low priced and in-stock.  Check out these great finds, which all happen to be stainless.......

This simple rectangular stainless steel mirror is a favorite of mine, it would work perfectly in any of the bathrooms I'm redesigning in the modern rustic log home.  Its only $64 at Home Depot but Lowes has a similar version too.

I selected this rectangular mosaic stainless steel tile from Lowes for a client's laundry room backsplash.

This is a great oversize single stainless steel sink by Elkay that's perfect for small kitchens, it maximizes counterspace and its tight radius corners give you a chef style sink that accommodates large pots and pans.  Available at Home Depot and only $329.

Ohhh I love when a custom sewing order is ready - these custom pillows were made for a client using a gorgeous collection fabrics designed by Tom Felicia for Kravet.

There's not much that beats the beauty of natural stone tile, but...I have to admit its truly amazing what's being done these days with porcelain tile - the effects being created with texture, graphics, metalics and lazer cutting technology make these man made tiles not only hard to resist but hard to identify next to the real thing.

This one had me fooled,,,when I first saw this I thought it was a natural split face quartz tile, but its actually a porcelain.  Its super thin long lines and variation in thickness create a stunning textural surface.

This is a perfect example of why I think lighting is the most important aspect of any well designed space, you can see the effect the accent lighting has on the tiled surfaces above.  Without the lighting the texture of the tile would be completely lost, have no relevance.  The tile shown in the top right is the same tile shown in the previous photo (above) but in the black version.

You can even have floor vents custom cut from your floor tile.

Always a must stop,,,the flower shops at Avenue Rd and Davenport didn't disappoint on Thanksgiving weekend....

This is Max,,he's the showroom greeter and he totally approved the solid walnut hardwood I selected for the 70's bungalow redesign. : )  Its 3-1/4" wide, prefinished with a low sheen cashmere clear coat which makes it look like its been waxed - super elegant.  When I specify wood floors I always chose natural woods (no stain) with an ultra low-lustre finish,,,,to me the beauty of wood floors is the natural character of the wood itself.

One of the best deals out there is this selection of cararra tiles by Olympia Tile,,a timeless classic, they offer a great selection of sizes and all but one of these are less than $10 s.f.  Olympia supplies many retailers too so you can also find some of these at your local big box building centre or tile retailer.

A modern candelabra I'm contemplating for a client...

I think I love fall planters more than summertime ones,,,,this one proves that a hit of black always makes anything better!

I often stop and take note when I come across ready-made pillows, I think they represent one of the 'best buys' you can make.  Not only can a couple of these instantly transform the look of a room, buying them ready-made can literally save you hundreds of dollars and loads of time.   These feather filled silk pillows with velvet appliques were less than $60 each, if you've ever had custom pillows made, you'll understand what a great deal this is!!!  To have even a basic single fabric pillow made thru a designer will cost you in the hundreds of dollars....

Of course I was completely crazy for these felt pillows I came across at Home Sense - only $29.99, they had such an amazing hand-made quality about them and they were so modern at the same time.  If only red wasn't such a bossy colour..... : /

These green version were gorgeous too!

My client Gail hosted a wonderful Kitchen 'Kick-off' party where she invited the entire design and construction team along with all her friends to celebrate the completion of her new kitchen and family room.  It was such an amazing night - her friends were blown away at the transformation and Gail, well, she was in her element!!

As a home chef, Gail was in her glory cooking up a feast in her new kitchen and entertaining over 50 guests.....

This is a peak into the kitchen from the back deck during the late hours of the party,,,,I'll save the real 'after' photos for another post in the new year.  From now until then I know I won't have a chance to get any alone time with that kitchen, is party central now!!

Last week I had a chance to visit the Princess Margaret Show Home design by Linda Reeves and the team at Canadian House & Home.  The house was all decked out for Halloween,,,,,

There was an East Coast style to the architecture of the house which is hard not to love,,,,,although I took a lot of photos throughout the house, for now I'll just share a glimpse with you of three of my favorite rooms in the house.  The house will be featured in the magazine in the new year (probably the April issue) so I'll hold back the rest of my pics until after their own photos have been published. 

I know some visitors were not too fond of the all dark grey kitchen,,,but I LOVED it.  The counters in particular were my absolute favorite element of the entire house.   I inquired about the finish but there was some uncertainty, I think they were 'leathered' calaccatta marble but I'm investigating further.....

The laundry room was HUGE,,,,,this shot represents only half of it,,,imagine the image above completely mirrored and that's the size of the entire room.  The counter at the opposite end of the room housed the washer and dryer as opposed to the sink seen at this end.  This laundry room (despite its size) actually reminded me a lot of the laundry room I designed for my Victorian row house renovation where I used the same floor tile paired with white beadboard panelling on the walls....

This shared, 2nd floor hall bathroom of the show home has all the classic elements I love!  

A girlfriend and I both have birthdays in October so another friend hosted a birthday dinner party for a group of the girls,,,,,we hung out around her island and laughed and drank and ate,,,while she cooked the most incredible meal for us....

Homemade roasted eggplant salsa and cornbread...

We started with the most incredible black bean soup....(still waiting for the recipe!!) and then.... I stopped taking photos,,,ha ha.  Oh boy, it was a good time!!  I am so blessed to have such amazing girl friends, as I always say, to cook for someone is an expression of love!

A bamboo bike at a vintage store...

If you ever have a chance to visit this restaurant you'll see a great example of modern farmhouse interior style at Oliver & Bonacini's restaurant in Oakville.  The washrooms were especially gorgeous with the tin panelled walls and modern white sink consoles.  The entire washroom was a simple combination of white, cararra marble, and tin panelled feature wall with polished chrome hardware.

I'm off to New York City this week where I'll be meeting up and staying with Vancouver Designer/Artist Michelle Morelan from A schematic Life blog.  We have plans to tour the Kips Bay Show house and visit Moma among a loooong list of other designer destinations,,,,,,, not to mention we have dinner plans with Patricia of PVE Design next Saturday night (so excited to meet her!).  I don't plan on not having any time to blog during this trip (I'm not even bringing my laptop!) but you can follow my twitter updates for news on what Michelle and I are up to in NYC.