Enough with the rain!!!

This week has been full of grey rain days.  We had one gorgeous spring like day on Tuesday.  I actually drove around the city with my windows down and the sunroof open.  It was glorious!  And then, just as quickly as the sun came out it went back behind the clouds and left us drowning in the rain.  :( 

Today, I would much prefer to be at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort then in Toronto!  Everyone is in a funk today!  We are all tired and ready for a vacation... or the weekend. :)  Until then, enjoy these photos.  This resort is voted #1 environmentally friendly resort by Trip Advisor. 

Pumpkin Decor

Halloween is just around the corner.  It's my least favourite holiday but nonetheless it deserves some attention.  I think I will like it more once I have children.  I use to love it!  I would get excited about carving the pumpkins and decorating the house with my sisters but now I can't be bothered.  I'm waiting for Christmas!! Less than 2 months to go!

I found some fantastic pumpkin decor and jack-o-lantern ideas from HGTV, Sunset and Martha Stewart. 

HGTV has a tutorial here on how to use stencils to design your jack-o-lanterns.  They provide designs that can be printed out on regular paper.  You pin it to the pumpkin and punch holes around the design to guide you in where to cut out the image. 

HGTV

Sunset

Love the black cats with orange eyes made of small pumpkins painted lacquer black.  This is seriously cool!

Sunset

I wouldn't mind stopping by these candy tables.  Yummy!!

Especially this one!!

Black pumpkins are very cool.  I would never have thought to paint them.  I like this idea and might even do it next year.

I LOVE this idea!  The pumpkins lighting a path is genius!  Thanks for sharing Martha.  :)

The only part of Halloween that I'm very much into is handing out candy to the adorable children.  One piece for them and two for me!  Alright... 2 for them and 2 for me.  :)  Unfortunately we can't hand out candy this year.  We're headed to Niagara on The Lake for a friends wedding.  It's going to a great celebration!!

A little shopping trip...

I took my lunch hour to shop for clients.  It was a great day to be out on Queen Street walking around and looking for just the right pieces.  Right now we are concentrating on the master bedroom and living room.  I thought I would share with you the gorgeous pieces from West Elm in Liberty Village & Pavilion on Queen Street.

I don't think these pillows are right for their place but I liked the medium sized white, brown and pink pillow for mine.  Unfortunately, we are in save mode so they will stay at the store.  It's always nice to browse.

Ah, a shelf full of hammered metal.  :)

I loved this rug.  It would be great if it came in other colours.  West Elm buyers, think about it.

This was a very cool candelabra in the form of a silver tree branch.  Again, unfortunately there are no more candles to go with it.  It requires the pencil thin candles.  Let me know if anyone finds them anywhere else.  I think it would look amazing on a Christmas table with berries around it. 

 

I really liked these storage containers.  They are a very stylish way to organize the office.  How great would they look in a white office with orange accents?  Orange isn't one of my favourite colours but I was really drawn to them.

All items above from West Elm.

I haven't been to Pavilion in a long time.  I use to shop there on a weekly basis when I lived around the corner.  It still has some fabulous pieces.  This is the first item I saw when I walked in.  Check out the very cool table lamps.

This is a chandelier I want to show my clients for their bedroom.  I love the glass mixed with dark metal. It has an industrial feel to it.

LOVE the colour of this pillow.  I think this might be a great colour for their living room.  We'll see what they think.

Check out the stunning table lamp.  I gasped when I saw it.  How cool would this look in any room.  It's a conversation starter.

I love the three of these vases.  I think they will look great in their bedroom.

We are thinking of doing a mirror leaning against one of their bedroom walls.  This one would look fantastic!  I love the nail head type look of it.  See the picture below this one for the close up.

This one was also fantastic and very tall which is a good think because I think Jory is at least 6 feet tall.

This is my absolute favourite!!!

I saw this painting and fell for it.  I think the colours are phenomenal.

Paula, I thought you might like this one.  Art is very personal.  I don't believe it's something a stylist can pick out without the client.  We can only guide our clients to galleries where they find the right piece.

I like this headboard as a starting point.  I love the nail head detail down the side and top of the headboard.  I would add a bit more tufting.  You can barely see the five buttons on it as is.  I also wouldn't go as high on the back.  

The City

I know I've said this before but let me say it again.  I really like reality TV!!  Tonight I got home from work, took a hot bath and enjoyed the first 3 episodes of season 2 of The City on MTV.  Whitney leads a very cool life in NYC.  I want to be her... well only for a weekend and then I would like my life back because my life is rocks.  :)  


I needed tonight to relax a bit.  After a few hours of chilling with my hubbie I started sanding my cabinet AGAIN!  It's a pain in my butt because it's taking much longer than anticipated but I have finally started making progress.  :)  

A little something cute to brighten our Monday blues!

The photo was sent in one of these chain emails with adorable pictures to make you smile.  It makes me think of my sister Katie and our first dog Duke (part German Shepard).  They were attached at the hip.  :)  She would share her ice cream with him.  One large lick for him and one small one for her.  It still maes me laugh! 

You could never wake up on the wrong side of the bed...

You could never wake up on the wrong side of the bed in these bedrooms.  They are all bright, cozy and gorgeous! My preference has always been a white bedroom.  I find them very soothing.  After a long day at work all I want to do is unwind in a neutral space.  When I wake up in the morning I feel energized by a white room.   I love colour but prefer to use it in my accessories.  I have bedrooms on the brain this weekend because I've been helping my friends Paula & Jory decorate theirs.  We had a lot of fun today at Restoration Hardware and GH Johnson picking out the bed linens, bedside lamps and headboard.  The room is off to a great start.  See my inspiration for it in Friday's post below.  So far, the clients are very happy.  And I'm soooo happy to be helping them make their house into a cozy home.  :)

Decorpad

Amanda Nisbett

Decorpad

Ginger Barber

Jaqueline Derrey

I realize this bedroom by Kay Douglas is not white.  I just had to show it because I've loved it for months now!!  I adore its neutral, natural pallette.  It has a Restoration Hardware vibe to it.  In the words of Rachel Zoe 'I die' over the chairs.  :)

Kay Douglass

Paula, check out the headboard.  It will look gorgeous in your room.  :)  

I love the details in the closets, chandelier and the fireplace (a rare in-room bonus in my eyes). 

McGill Design Group

Pure Design

This room reminds me of a chanel bag.  It's classic and timeless.  

Ralph Lauren Home

via Simply Seleta

The perfect girlie room.  It's very british in my eyes.  I love it!  It's getting me excited for my trip at Christmas.  

Susan Zises

Tom Stringer

Tom Stringer

M.I.A!

I know I've been MIA all week.  I have been very busy lately and very tired.  I've had so many post ideas but no energy to see them through.  But I'm back and ready to tackle my next job.  Last night I had dinner with my friends Paula and Jory.  They have asked me to help them decorate their new gorgeous home.  I'm very excited to get started since we've been talking about it for a few months.  We will be starting with their principle bedroom and living room.  At the moment, all we really know is they like their house to be neutral in colour tone.  I see us using a lot of brown, tan, ivory and gold tones for the base and a hit of colour that is yet to be determined with accessories.  Paula and I will be shopping this weekend.  It's going to be a lot of fun.  Below I've put together a neutral bedroom that might appeal to them. 

We have talked about the Collette bed from Crate and Barrel, which I LOVE!  They would like to have a headboard only so no one hits their toes when walking around the corners of the bed.  I would also suggest a darker fabric.  I love the nail-head detail!!!!! 

  Crate & Barrel

They have requested neutral bedding and white sheets.  This is Restoration Hardware's Ivory Italian Satin Stitch.  It looks quite bright in the photo but is actually very soft in person. 

Restoration Hardware

I would like to add the butter coloured Diamond Matelasse Cover and Shams to the bed. 

Restoration Hardware

I like these silk Dupioni Silk drapes.  The puddle on the floor is a must! 

A dark tall and extra wide dresser similar to the Hudson from Pottery Barn would look very good in the room and provide a lot of needed storage. 

Pottery Barn

It would be great to incorporate a bedside table with rounded edges like the oval Valencia from PB.  This one is a little too small to sit next to their king size bed. 

Pottery Barn

We'll have to bring it all together with a rug like this one at CSN Rugs. 

CSN Rugs

I love the Perry side table lamp from Crate & Barrel.  We'll see what it's like in person and how substantial it could look. 

Crate & Barrel

What do you think of the room so far?  At this point it's an idea.  I will have a much better sense of what Paula and Jory like once we go shopping. 

I'm still working on my cabinet. I never thought it would take me this long.  I just haven't had enough time to give it my attention.  Hopefully, it will happen this weekend.  I've decided to paint it black on the outside and possibly white inside.  

Have a great weekend!!!  I'll be back tomorrow with another post to inspire great sleeps.  :)