For now, I'll leave you with this bedroom designed by Sarah Richardson. I think it's a very romantic room.
Sarah
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day!
I hope you're all having a wonderful day spent with your very own Valentine! I'm having a great day so far. I spent the afternoon with my sister Meg. We watched Dear John, which is this year's ultimate girlie movie! And now, Ryan is on his way home to spend the evening with me, sipping red wine and eating our favourite meal of filet mignon with roasted red potatoes.
For now, I'll leave you with this bedroom designed by Sarah Richardson. I think it's a very romantic room.
xo
Sarah
For now, I'll leave you with this bedroom designed by Sarah Richardson. I think it's a very romantic room.
Sarah
Friday, February 12, 2010
A Dramatic Living Room
It's Friday, the sun is shinning and we have a fun weekend of house hunting and car shopping ahead of us. Ryan and I have been sharing a car for the last two and a half months. It was a big adjustment at first but we slowly got into accepting it. We also loved having only one car payment. However, now our lives are very busy and we really feel the need for the second car again. I hate the idea of spending so much money on a car but I know it's a necessity. We have completely different schedules and with golf season around the corner it will only get worse. It will also be helpful to know that I can hop in the car anytime we get a last minute viewing that Ryan can't see or to run my own errands. I'll let you know how it all goes on Monday.
Earlier in the week while perusing the internet for the next great room to showcase I discovered Stan Topol through Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle Magazine. (The City of Toronto really needs something like this magazine!) Take a few moments and peruse through his website. To say he and his team are talented is an understatement. They begin every project with an architectural drawing with details of furnishings, traffic flow and the view to outside. The results are incredible. His rooms are elegant, well thought out luxurious spaces designed with the owner and their needs in mind. There isn’t a corner untouched by his genius. This is just one of many spectacularly designed rooms. My list of loves in this room is very long - gold chandelier, stained built-ins, the mantle-less fire place, classic sofa and chairs in different colours, the two gorgeous pieces of art flanking the fireplace, gilded mirror, the height and grandeur of this room... shall I go on?
Earlier in the week while perusing the internet for the next great room to showcase I discovered Stan Topol through Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle Magazine. (The City of Toronto really needs something like this magazine!) Take a few moments and peruse through his website. To say he and his team are talented is an understatement. They begin every project with an architectural drawing with details of furnishings, traffic flow and the view to outside. The results are incredible. His rooms are elegant, well thought out luxurious spaces designed with the owner and their needs in mind. There isn’t a corner untouched by his genius. This is just one of many spectacularly designed rooms. My list of loves in this room is very long - gold chandelier, stained built-ins, the mantle-less fire place, classic sofa and chairs in different colours, the two gorgeous pieces of art flanking the fireplace, gilded mirror, the height and grandeur of this room... shall I go on?
I wish you all a very happy weekend!! Next week I have a little surprise for my Canadian readers so be sure to check in.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
All things Nate
Last night I found myself browsing Nate Berkus' website AGAIN! If he wasn't gay and I wasn't married I know we would be together. I think we could at least be BFF's. If he met me then he would realize that we should (a) have brunch every weekend together while talking design and Oprah (b) I'm a hidden talent that he should hire. :) A girl can dream... right?
My heart starting pounding fast when I first saw these gorgeous sliding hidden doors leading into the bathroom.
I LOVE WHITE! It is the perfect backdrop for so many different styles of furniture and art. It's the perfect colour in my eyes.
My heart starting pounding fast when I first saw these gorgeous sliding hidden doors leading into the bathroom.
I love the metal tub and detail around the vanity against the stark white tile and marble.
Oh how I love lacquered black doors!
I'm attracted to this ornate gold headboard which surprises me because I normally like simplicity. The bedside table is stunning with just the right amount of detail, mix of white and grey and the marble top. I think this room would be very refreshing to wake up in and I haven't even seen the entire room.
I love the mix of golden brown and grey in this room. It's masculine and cozy! I think that has something to do with the accessories and gallery walls mix of sizes and styles.
Here is the cutie himself next to the tiniest kitchen I've ever seen or a great bar area... What is it about guys in a great pair of jeans, t-shirt and bare feet? So Sexy!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Lonny!!!
The next issue of Lonny just came out! For those of you who have not yet discovered Lonny magazine then you're missing out! Check out the latest issue online.
I have quickly browsed it. So far I pulled an ad from Ballard Designs that completely caught my eye and makes me wish (yet again...) that we had one of their stores in Toronto. The room below is 100% my style. I want to move in!
J’adore Paris!
As you know, Restoration Hardware is one of my favourite stores! I'm on their mailing list so I can be one of the first (million) to hear of a sale or new product. :) Today they featured a vintage map of Paris. It's beautiful! I would absolutely love to hang it in our living room as it would fit in so well and be a great piece of art. Anyone have an extra $1,795??
Oh well, for now we can all just admire.
The house hunt continues. So far it has been a lot more frustrating than I originally thought it would be. We drove an hour north of the city on Monday evening to look at a new development that advertised the starting price $50,000 cheaper than the actual starting price! We were extremely annoyed! What is even more frustrating is that they are not the only builders who have done that. I have learnt to call ahead and confirm the price list before hand. Yesterday was looking promising when we saw a gorgeous house in the area we want. They were holding off all offers until Sunday. That left us plenty of time to view it and research our offer... or at least I thought it did. Someone offered $16,000 over the asking price and it sold. I didn't even know you could do that!
Over the last week I have learnt a lot about real estate!
Oh well, for now we can all just admire.
The house hunt continues. So far it has been a lot more frustrating than I originally thought it would be. We drove an hour north of the city on Monday evening to look at a new development that advertised the starting price $50,000 cheaper than the actual starting price! We were extremely annoyed! What is even more frustrating is that they are not the only builders who have done that. I have learnt to call ahead and confirm the price list before hand. Yesterday was looking promising when we saw a gorgeous house in the area we want. They were holding off all offers until Sunday. That left us plenty of time to view it and research our offer... or at least I thought it did. Someone offered $16,000 over the asking price and it sold. I didn't even know you could do that!
Over the last week I have learnt a lot about real estate!
- Do not get excited until you have purchased a house!
- Be wary of all advertising! (I should know this by now since I'm in the ad industry)
- Call to confirm the price before you drive an hour north in rush hour!
- Be patient! House hunting takes time.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Weekend Update
Good morning!
It was quite the weekend for me. We started our search for new homes on Saturday. After dropping Ryan off at work, I drove up to an area called Maple and North Thornhill (north of the city) to browse and get acquainted with what we hope will be the site of our future home. Needless to say at first I was completely freaking out because let's be honest I'm a city girl (always have been) and moving out of the city freaks the heck out of me. I realize it's the only way we can afford to have a backyard, garage, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms but it's still scary. After giving myself a pep-talk I opened my eyes and realized it's not that bad. The area has a lot to offer. The houses are new and gorgeous. The schools are new and there are a few shops. I was able to get a manicure for $16!! Yes I stopped for a manicure! The sales offices open at 11am and I was an hour early. What else would a girl do? It's necessary to check out all the amenities. :) Any who... I ended up loving the area and called Ryan to tell him we must buy! He was excited and so was I.
Fast forward to me leaving the fourth sales office and crying in the car. It seems all of the affordable starter homes have been sold and all that's left are the expensive estate homes. I was told that we wouldn't even get a town-home for our price range! The sales reps said it like a townhome was the most disgusting possibility ever. Most of the offices I went into were on phase 3 of construction. Phase 1 is apparently when you want to buy a starter home.
I heard people talk about getting emotional about house-hunting but I never really expected it to be such emotional torture! Forget physical torture for war-prisoners just make them buy a house in Toronto! Ok... maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but it's tough out there! Don't worry though, I have not given up the battle. We are heading up north again tonight to check out a new build that started selling on Friday. Please cross your fingers that they still have houses in our price-range and that we absolutely love them. It would make our lives so much easier. :)
Today I will leave you with this dreamy kitchen by Kvanum. Look at all that cupboard space! The natural floors are what makes it look country casual. If the floors were a dark high gloss stain it would completely change the feel of this room. I also love a hidden fridge.
Have a great day!
It was quite the weekend for me. We started our search for new homes on Saturday. After dropping Ryan off at work, I drove up to an area called Maple and North Thornhill (north of the city) to browse and get acquainted with what we hope will be the site of our future home. Needless to say at first I was completely freaking out because let's be honest I'm a city girl (always have been) and moving out of the city freaks the heck out of me. I realize it's the only way we can afford to have a backyard, garage, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms but it's still scary. After giving myself a pep-talk I opened my eyes and realized it's not that bad. The area has a lot to offer. The houses are new and gorgeous. The schools are new and there are a few shops. I was able to get a manicure for $16!! Yes I stopped for a manicure! The sales offices open at 11am and I was an hour early. What else would a girl do? It's necessary to check out all the amenities. :) Any who... I ended up loving the area and called Ryan to tell him we must buy! He was excited and so was I.
Fast forward to me leaving the fourth sales office and crying in the car. It seems all of the affordable starter homes have been sold and all that's left are the expensive estate homes. I was told that we wouldn't even get a town-home for our price range! The sales reps said it like a townhome was the most disgusting possibility ever. Most of the offices I went into were on phase 3 of construction. Phase 1 is apparently when you want to buy a starter home.
I heard people talk about getting emotional about house-hunting but I never really expected it to be such emotional torture! Forget physical torture for war-prisoners just make them buy a house in Toronto! Ok... maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but it's tough out there! Don't worry though, I have not given up the battle. We are heading up north again tonight to check out a new build that started selling on Friday. Please cross your fingers that they still have houses in our price-range and that we absolutely love them. It would make our lives so much easier. :)
Today I will leave you with this dreamy kitchen by Kvanum. Look at all that cupboard space! The natural floors are what makes it look country casual. If the floors were a dark high gloss stain it would completely change the feel of this room. I also love a hidden fridge.
Have a great day!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Real estate update and a few favourites!
TGIF!!! There was no post yesterday because the day got away from me and before I knew it I was at home making dinner for my sister Meaghan and cousin Lauren. We had a great time catching up over a bottle of wine. Today I'm paying for it a little... totally worth it. I love red wine!
We met with our real estate agent on Wednesday night. Her name is Luisa and she is a peach! She made us (I should really say 'stressed out me') feel so much better about the buying process. Not having gone through this before I'm completely nervous that we will have to settle just to get into the market or that we won't find anything for months and months! It's also an ENORMOUS amount of money to spend. The largest purchase of our lives is hopefully around the corner. YIKES! I know Luisa will do everything in her power to make it as easy for us as possible. My s-i-l Aaren has loved working with her and told us that the first house always seems more daunting than any other. So far, the listings we've seen have been quite dismal. It's going to be an interesting ride so I better buckle up and prepare for a rollercoaster ride of emotions over the next little while.
How have your experiences been with buying? Any good advice?
Today, I want to share my favourite items with you. Some of them are new and some you have seen before. I hope you enjoy dreaming about them as much as I do. :)
We met with our real estate agent on Wednesday night. Her name is Luisa and she is a peach! She made us (I should really say 'stressed out me') feel so much better about the buying process. Not having gone through this before I'm completely nervous that we will have to settle just to get into the market or that we won't find anything for months and months! It's also an ENORMOUS amount of money to spend. The largest purchase of our lives is hopefully around the corner. YIKES! I know Luisa will do everything in her power to make it as easy for us as possible. My s-i-l Aaren has loved working with her and told us that the first house always seems more daunting than any other. So far, the listings we've seen have been quite dismal. It's going to be an interesting ride so I better buckle up and prepare for a rollercoaster ride of emotions over the next little while.
How have your experiences been with buying? Any good advice?
Today, I want to share my favourite items with you. Some of them are new and some you have seen before. I hope you enjoy dreaming about them as much as I do. :)
1. Driftwood lamps and chandeliers and bleached herringbone wood floors!!
2. Distressed plank floors.
My Home Ideas.com
3. The layered look to a table vignette and those single flower vases with large oval bases. They would look very cool placed on a dining table scattered around.
House Beautiful
5. Tori Spellings Kitchen Floor!
I have a very busy day of work ahead of me. There are a few deals that have fallen through this week so I really need to fill my pipe-line (for all of you sales reps out there). If I find anymore inspiration throughout the day I'll be sure to share it with you. Have a great day!! :)
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