Yabba Dabba Doo!!

Today is the 50th anniversary of our favourite Stone Age family, The Flintstones!! When I was in elementary school, I walked home every day at noon to eat lunch and watch The Flintstones. It was my daily ritual :-) Even though Fred and Wilma were the stars, I preferred their co-stars, Barney and Betty Rubble.

There was Fred and Wilma’s little girl Pebbles and Barney & Betty’s super-strong little guy, Bam-Bam.

Dino was the coolest pet — I mean, come on, he was a purple dinosaur!! Ummmm, OK, on second thought, maybe purple dinosaurs are kinda dorky ;-) And there was Hoppy, the green dinosaur/kangaroo mix. A Stone Age mutt ;-)

Mr. Slate was the boss at the quarry where Fred & Barney worked.

There was the occasional special guest appearance by stars like Cary Granite and Stony Curtis and Ann Margrock.

I have to say that Uncle Giggle totally creeped me out. Sadly, when hubby’s hair has gotten a bit too long and he’s sweaty, he looks just like Uncle Giggles:

EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people think hubby looks like Jack Nicholson, which really isn’t any better…

Anyway, I digress — being an interior design blogger, I have to include Fred & Wilma’s fashionable home:

Here’s a cool 3D rendition:

And this is a real-life Flintstones house in Nas Montanhas, Portugal:

It may not look real, but it is!! You can check out a video here that includes a tour of the house. Bonus if you understand Portugese :-)

Happy Big 50 to the Flintstones gang!!

Don’t forget, tomorrow is Designer’s Challenge 101 featuring seven different takes on how to design a living room on a $6,000 budget. It’s going to be fun, so be sure to check it out!!

Image sources 1.Sunday Mercury 2,5,6,8.Fanpop 3.WP Themes Forest 4.Photobucket 7.JRJ Socrates 9.Avelyman 10.Buncheness 11.Sports Perspectives 12.Joblo 13.70s Child 14.Fabricio Campos Deviant Art 15,16.Daily Mail

Maskros: Go big or go home!

I was hoping to have a post about our trip to PEI ready for today, but due to circumstances beyond our control (AIR CANADA SUCKS), I didn’t  have the time or energy to download my pics last night. So I’ll save that one for later this week.

So today, let’s talk about the Maskros chandelier from Ikea. I’m sure you’ve seen it all over the blogosphere, or at least heard of it — the giant dandelion chandelier (32” diameter) for the relatively small price of $99.99 CDN. The first time I saw the Maskros chandelier in person was at the Interior Design Show in Toronto in January 2010. There was a huge cluster of them them hanging above the Ikea booth. They made quite a statement:

Another impressive grouping of Maskros chandeliers:

Of course, most homes don’t have rooms that are big enough room or ceilings that are high enough to hang a whole crop of dandelions. But no worries, the Maskros looks just as good hanging individually in a living room…

 

Or in a bedroom…

Or in a dining room (awesome herringbone floor too)…

Photographs of the Maskros are as much pieces of art as the chandelier itself…

 

Nichole at Little Brown Pen saw this Maskros as she was out walking in Paris one evening, and took a couple of snaps of it. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of old and new.

 

The Maskros reminds me of Amanda Burdge’s mantra at AB Home Interiors: GO BIG OR GO HOME. And how’s this for a segue… this coming Friday, October 1st, Amanda is hosting Designer’s Challenge 101.

Seven design bloggers are going to come up with their takes on how to design a living room on a $6,000 budget. I’m one of the participants, along with Amanda and these five other fabulous ladies:

• Kelly Berg at Arte Styling
• Kathy Passarette at Creative Home Expressions
• Dayka Robinson at Meditations on Life and Style
• Susan Snow at Moving Designz
• Traci Zeller at Traci Zeller Designs

Be sure to check out all the living rooms on Friday. It’s going to be fun and informative, and you just might get some ideas for decorating your own home :-)

Finally, my secret is revealed!!

I’ve been bursting at the seams for weeks, but I managed to keep my secret quiet — and tonight, I can finally spill the beans!! Right at this moment, I’m sitting in a B&B in Shediac, New Brunswick after an amazing evening at Matt LeBlanc’s Art for Life Gala!!!

I was really bummed about not being able to meet up with Matt on our trip to Nova Scotia in August. So I formulated a cunning plan… a weekend trip to PEI in September to celebrate our anniversary, with a side trip to Dieppe to attend the gala. It didn’t take much to convince hubby!! We flew to Charlottetown this morning on possibly the smallest plane ever, drove to our B&B in Shediac, and then down to Dieppe for the gala this evening. And WOW, it was awesome!!

Dieppe Arts and Culture Centre

The evening began with a presentation in the theatre. Matt put together a fantastic video about his campaign. He’s a funny guy :-) And then the gallery with all 200 campaign paintings was opened to everyone at the gala. It was so cool to see all of the paintings together. I couldn’t quite get all 200 into my pictures, but close. (I just realized I forgot to take a picture of the overflow in the hallway. Oops!!)

   

These paintings should look familiar to some DesignTies readers, starting with Vanessa at Decor Happy:

Lisa at Lisa Goulet Design:

My friend Maureen at Modecor bought this one:

And here’s Victoria’s:

Matt brought his entire inventory of paintings and donated 25% of each one sold to cancer research. Melanie Roy of Me Bijoux was there selling her beautiful jewelry and donated all the money she made tonight to Matt’s campaign. (Melanie, it was great to meet you too!!) She created a special collection of necklace & earring sets especially for this event.

There was a silent auction and a live auction, which I’m sure raised another $6,000-$7,000. Matt planned to auction off one 4’ x 4’ custom painting, but when the first one sold for $2,000, someone encouraged him to auction off a second one — he did, and that one went for $1,750!! And he auctioned off a 4’ x 4’ original, which sold for $1,000. I was thrilled to be able to help out with a JAX e-design consultation that was auctioned off for $350. Matt has way surpassed his goal of raising $25,000. He said he thinks he might be up to $40,000 after tonight!!

Thanks to all our DT friends who supported Matt’s campaign by spreading the word on your blogs, tweeting about it, and/or buying a painting. I know Matt is beyond thrilled with the outcome!!

At the end of the gala, everyone was able to leave with their campaign paintings. Wish I could have brought #27 home with me, but remember what I said at the top of the post about flying on the smallest plane ever?? Yeah, not gonna happen!! Matt said he’ll put mine in the mail on Monday — I’m holding you to that, Matt!!

  Me & Matt & #27

Matt and I had never met before tonight, but he made me feel like we’ve been lifelong friends. You’d be hard-pressed to find a kinder, more gracious, and more generous guy than Matt LeBlanc. Now I hope he takes a break from painting and spends some time with Colette and their kids. And get lots of sleep!!

So that’s one of my big secrets revealed. I may have one or two others up my sleeve… stay tuned!!

Did you buy an Art for Life painting??

If you did, take a look and see if you can find yours!!

 Mine is in the second picture, first one of the left in row 8.

These are the 200 paintings that Matt LeBlanc created for his Art for Life Campaign. When Matt started his campaign to raise $25,000 for cancer research on March 24th, it seemed like such a long and challenging path he had set out on. I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but here we are, six months later, and Matt has completed all 200 paintings and raised OVER $25,000!!!

Tonight, Matt finally gets to relax and celebrate his amazing accomplishment at his Art for Life Gala. All 200 paintings will be on display at the Dieppe Arts and Culture Centre in Dieppe, New Brunswick. If you live live in the Dieppe/Moncton area, drop by and check it out. For those of us who can’t make it to the gala, Matt is planning to have a live stream from the Gala on his web site starting tonight at 7:00 Atlantic Daylight Time.

Congratulations Matt… YOU ROCK!!!

Carter & Company Interior Design

Every now and then, I do a Google search for interior designers in a particular city. I tried out Boston recently, and came across Carter & Company.

Michael Carter creates timeless designs by mixing old with new. He designs homes in and around Boston, as well as Nantucket and New York City. What I really like about his designs is that they’re both elegant and simple, and are rooms that you feel like you could just walk right into a feel comfortable in. Let’s take a look at some of his work, starting with some welcoming entries.

You might recognize this entry from the post I wrote last week about glass floats. Love the door and the arched ceiling.

Nice repetition of the square light fixtures in this hallway.

Just a small nautical touch ;-)

Beautiful coffered ceiling, light fixture, and wainscoting in this dining room.

Those are some freakin’ BIG candlesticks!!

And a completely different style in this country-inspired dining area. Love the timber frame and the blue accents, especially the table base.

You can see the same dining area in this next picture. I’m guessing this is the living room and the room with the blue sofa is the family room.

I’m a big fan of tall stone fireplace. The light blue cushions, flowers, and artwork give the room a bit of a beach vibe.

Another fantastic light fixture, and totally dig the dark painted ceiling.

A fresh and bright office. But where’s the computer?!

Beautiful soft grey tiles on the wainscoting and in the shower. Not crazy about the sink with the exposed pipes, but really like the overall look of the room.

Anyone care for a long relaxing soak in this tub??

And finally, a look that I absolutely adore — layered mirrors. I need to do this is my house!!

Who are some of your favourite designers??