Personal Touches Make All The Difference!

If you’re a regular reader of DesignTies you’ll know that I’ve been having a lot of fun remodelling and decorating my first client’s condo. So far I’ve remodelled the fireplace and kitchen, and have had the whole condo painted in two tones of beautiful grey (Benjamin Moore’s Silver Fox and Abalone [the wall in this post is Abalone]). If you’re new to DesignTies, I hope you’ll take the time to check out these two remodels (linked above) because I think you’ll like them!

Now that all the hard physical work is done, Kate and I have been working on decorating her great space.

Recently Kate came home with a little inexpensive print (about $11); black faux suede stretched on a frame and printed with flowers in grey and white. She liked the print (she especially liked the price!) but didn’t know how she wanted to use it.

I took one look at the print… and had an idea!

I asked Kate to buy two more identical prints so that she had 3 in total… and I told her where to hang them. Here’s a photo of the prints hung on the perfect wall next to her kitchen.

Urban contemporary with a feminine twist is the look we’re trying to achieve in Kate’s condo so we’re working with black and grey as the dominant neutrals in the space, with orange (dictated by the fir floors & doors… and Kate’s dog Sanja… HaHa!!) and a fresh apple green as the accent colours on the main floor. The upper loft – black, grey & purple as the accent, and of course a touch of that orange again.

With these 3 accent colours in mind (orange, green, purple)… I decided to paint the white-outlined flowers to coordinate! So off I go to the art supply store where I purchased some fabric paint.

How disappointing! I painted each of those darn colours on the suede prints and the colours didn’t show at all! What a waste of time. I needed a solution. So… rather then head back to the art store I pulled out some old cans of wall paint and started mixing!

With a little of my dining room colour, mixed with some white, I came up with a perfect orange for one print.

But what about the green & purple flowers?

I had several cans of green paint in the basement but they all had grey undertones so the resulting mixed colour was very “dirty”. And I didn’t have anything in purple.

So… off I go to Benjamin Moore for sample pots!! Perfect solution!

And I set to painting the final two prints…

Kate loves the final results… and hopefully you will too!

I had a lot of fun with this little project! What a great way to take a simple and inexpensive set of prints and make them unique and special – just for Kate’s space!!

Hope you enjoyed this crafty transformation!

2nd Rewind Wednesday: Kate’s Fireplace Transformation

Welcome to our 2nd Rewind Wednesday!!

We’re digging into our archives and re-playing some of our favourite posts! Not only does sharing archived posts mean that we get a wee mid-week break from blogging, it also means that our visitors get a chance to read a post they may have missed.

So… last week Kelly shared her Black with White Stripes post… this week it’s my turn! :-)

Don’t forget ~~ this is a blog party and we hope you’ll re-play along!! For detailed instructions on how to participate, please click on our Rewind Wednesday button at the top of our sidebar (right). And, at the end of my Rewind Wednesday post, you’ll find Mr. Linky!!

Cheers!!

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CondoMania Part III

I can't tell you how excited I am to share this transformation with our readers!

If you've been following my CondoMania posts (Part I and Part II) you'll know that I've been working with my first client, Kate, to transform a loft-style condo into an urban-contemporary space. My first big project for Kate's condo was the fantastic transformation of her kitchen from blonde maple to sleek black... what a difference!

The most important makeover in her condo however - the one that would make the biggest impact - was the fireplace.

Here is the original fireplace. I love the reclaimed brick wall set on either side of the 17 foot tall fireplace, and I think the brown multi slate on the fireplace facade is great too. But the two of them together just didn't work.

What could I do to make this wall the feature that it was meant to be?

Inspiration came (yay!) from a gas fireplace display at a local home trade show... the company had their fireplace inserts mounted in a wall of beautiful wood. Very sleek and contemporary! And I knew right away that it would be a wonderful solution for Kate's fireplace. My blog-partner Kelly helped me take the idea to the next level by suggesting that I incorporate stainless steel in the overall design. Together we came across these inspiration photos (photo #2 comes from the program Rate My Space, Episode 102; unfortunately photo #1 & #3 can't be referenced.

Kate loved the idea!! Now I had to make the idea a reality.

That's where Bob Scott and his team at Finecraft Cabinetry came in. Bob and I worked together on the creation of the fireplace mantle for my little bungalow and I loved his work, so I knew he'd be able to take my idea for Kate's fireplace and make it happen! By the way, Bob is a skilled cabinet maker and can do soooo much more then fireplaces. Be sure to check out his site (link above).

Using lovely fir stained in a beautiful dark brown/black, Bob and his carpenter Tyler made a masterpiece!!
Check it out...

Look up… look waaay up!

As you can imagine, Kate simply loves the final result!

The impact of the new fireplace is unmistakeable... it demands your attention the moment you walk into the room! Imagine how wonderful it will look when we hang a dramatic piece of art in the nook over the mantle!!

Now comes the real fun stuff :-)

The walls are being painted this week... I'm making some simple light and airy curtains for the 16 foot tall windows (behind the sofa)... light fixtures for the dining room and kitchen need to be sourced... Kate needs a dining table and chairs (thinking of "ghost" chairs)... accessories around the room...

Lots to share in future posts!!

Thanks for dropping by... I hope you like our handiwork!!

Victoria from Edin Interiors

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So now it’s your turn!

The best way to participate is to re-publish your post to the top of your blog. Then…

BE SURE to copy and paste the Rewind Wednesday button to your post. That way your visitors will know that you’re participating in DesignTies’ Rewind Wednesday blog party! And…

Please link back to the host blog, DesignTies, and encourage your readers to come visit us for a list of other Rewind Wednesday blog party participants.

If you’re participating in Rewind Wednesday please be sure to add your permalink (NOT your general blog address) in Mr. Linky below. FYI: your permalink is the url – or e-address – of your post. Simply copy and paste.

Now comes the fun stuff!

The following blogs are participating in our 2nd Rewind Wednesday blog party:

A Few Projects Completed!

Life is good!

There are lots of reasons I feel this way ~ to name just a few: I have a handsome hubby who loves me (he says he’ll keep me until at least tomorrow!), a son I’m enormously proud of, a wonderful little house (if you don’t look in the basement!) and a passion for home remodelling/decor that I’m working to build a business around. Great stuff hey?

Another happiness inducing element in my life? Projects!

For today’s contribution to Metamorphosis Mondays I’m going to share just a few projects that we’ve been working on this week. Nothing special, but fun transformations none the less. Well… to me at least :-)  Metamorphosis Mondays is a weekly blog party that Kelly and I like to participate in – thanks to Susan from Between Naps on the Porch for hosting this popular event!

Just for the fun of it, I thought I’d start with some pics of my transformation :-)

I’m 45 years old and darn-it all… I’m suffering from the curse of grey hairs! Those of you with dark hair also fighting this particular curse now how challenging it is to keep the greys at bay. So I’ve decided to stop fighting the battle… I’m going to work my way to a blonde. Yesterday I had my first session with the hair stylist… hopefully by the end of the summer I’ll be blonde!

 

Left: A photo taken of me last fall showing what colour my hair was Saturday morning.

Right: What I look like with blonde hair (proof [I think] that it’s NOT a bad idea!) ;-)  Photo taken about 4 years ago.

Below: Photos of me taken Saturday afternoon… a nice caramel colour, but not blonde enough yet! I’m happy, but I’ll be happier when it’s blonder and those horrible greys won’t be as noticeable!!

 

I’ve also lost 40 pounds since that first photo (top left) was taken which I’m really happy about! I’d share some before and current photos of that particular transformation but the “before” is down-right embarrassing! So… you’ll have to be satisfied with the appearance of cheek-bones in the above photo!! ;-)

But you didn’t come to DesignTies to look at photos of me!

Regular readers of DesignTies will remember my post “Project Overload? Never!”, shared with Susan’s Metamorphosis Mondays guests a few weeks back. In that post I mentioned that Brian was going to replace basement windows (among other things!). Well… this past week he replaced two of them and I’m so happy with the results! You see… not only were the previous windows original to our 70 year old house (i.e., single paned and hardly energy efficient!), they were also typical small basement windows and didn’t bring in much natural light. With a little coaxing Brian agreed to install larger windows which, when I’m standing in the basement rooms, makes a huge difference! I’ll share one of the window transformations with you…

The photo to the left was taken shortly after we moved in 1.5 years ago – we’ve since replaced the upper left window (our bedroom) with the bathroom window (centre) and the totally new kitchen window (read “Project Overload? Never!” to learn more about THIS project) currently on order. The lower basement window is where my office/3rd bedroom will be and now – thanks to Brian’s handiwork and my skills of persuasion - the window is almost twice the size! (photo left) I know… it’s hard to compare without a little distance… you’ll have to trust me! Brian has since trimmed the window out, but I like this photo because when we paint the house next month we’ll be painting all the trim in black… so the image above really gives me a great sense of how it will look! By the way, that’s my kitty Scotty walking past. He was very curious about the window!

Let me show you what I’m even more excited about… and this excitement links back to those happiness inducing projects I mentioned…

I now have two little old, covered in yucky layers of paint, vintage windows!

“So what?” you say?

Take a look at these:

Do you understand now?! You were following my train of thought all along, weren’t you?! :-)

I’m not 100% sure what I’ll do with my two windows, but I’m leaning toward making one into a mirror and the other into a bulletin board for my office. I’ll definitely show you when they’re done… but that could be a little while because I have other projects on the go!!

Speaking of other projects, let me show you what my brother Brad and I did on Sunday…

We hung some wallpaper in my client Kate’s condo!!

I’m going to direct you to another post that I published a little while back - “A Little More Condomania (i.e., Part IV)” – where I sought the assistance of our readers in helping Kate chose her wallpaper. Well… it’s funny… in the end she chose something different from the papers I shared! In the same theme, though…

Here’s a before photo:

The walls and ceiling (with the exception of the wall you see above) were painted in Benjamin Moore’s Abalone, a light grey with a purple undertone. We love it!

Here’s the same wall with the new wallpaper hung, nice and straight with a perfect pattern match… if I do say so myself! Caution: the paper is still wet in spots so it might look a little funny AND the room is far from finished!!

 

Process photos are always fun…

 

 

The paper, booked and ready to hang.

 

 

 

 

Our workstation, set up on Kate’s bed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brad… caught in action!

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a close up of the paper, hung on the wall, and a photo of a throw pillow that inspired it all!

Photos just don’t do the paper justice… but once we have the room fully dress, with drapery and beautiful bedding, the room will look FAB! I can’t wait to share it with you!!

Okay… that’s enough about projects for today!!

Before I sign off, though, I’d like to remind you about our GIVEAWAY! The rules are simple – all you have to do is post a comment on this or any DesignTies post published between last Friday and this Thursday. You’ll get one entry for each post you comment on. So if you want to increase your chances of winning, go read and comment on these other posts (after you comment on this post, of course!!)

• DesignTies welcomes “The King of Colour”, Jamie Drake
• Sunday snapshots

The more comments you leave, the more entries you get to win the fantastic prize — Jamie Drake’s book New American Glamour. Signed and personalized by Jamie himself!! It’s great for inspiration and your coffee table :-)

My blog partner Kelly interviewed the unbelievably talented interior designer Jamie Drake and wrote the best post ever capturing and sharing with each of us just a little of Jamie’s spirit… as well as some colourful and fabulously designed rooms!. Be sure to check it out by clicking here!!

Thanks so much for dropping by DesignTies… now make your way back to Between Naps on the Porch so that you can visit some of Susan’s Metamorphosis Mondays guests!!

Victoria from Edin Interiors

A Little More Condomania (i.e., Part IV)

I’ve had so much fun sharing the transformation of my client Kate’s condo with you! First there was the makeover of Kate’s kitchen – from light maple to gorgeous, sleek black – followed by the complete remodel of a not-so-special fireplace into an urban contemporary masterpiece (it’s too FAB to be humble about!!). Apart from showing you a small craft project I did for a wall next to Kate’s kitchen, I haven’t updated you on our progress for some time.

Since the completion of the fireplace we’ve painted the ceiling and walls (with the exception of a couple of walls in the bedroom/loft area [I’ll speak more on that further down] and the upstairs bathroom [we’ll do that in the next few weeks]). The ceiling and 17’ wall (shown in the photo to the right) were extremely challenging for our painter, but he did a fantastic job! The Benjamin Moore paint colours we chose = Silver Fox on the 17’ wall and on the entrance wall shown in the photo to the right, and Abalone on the ceiling and the other walls in the condo. The difference between the two colours is subtle and that’s what I was aiming for – I wanted to create a sense of depth and contrast without taking attention away from the fireplace on one half of the condo and the kitchen on the other.

We also painted the powder room found behind the door to the left – I used Benjamin Moore’s Spanish Olive (previously Beach Glass); a nice soft yet fresh green, the accent colour we’re using on the main floor. Sorry… no pic!

I DO have a photo of my painter, Bradford… my brother! He’s a fantastic artist and musician – not just a painter of walls – and I plan on writing a post about him as soon as he gets his website up. Come on Brad… get moving!! I love this photo of him with a paint brush in his headband and “war paint” on his cheek – it honours his creativity, personality and our Aboriginal heritage!

But I digress… :-)

Right now, though, we’re in the process of ordering wallpaper for Kate’s bedroom!! I love wallpaper and I’m so excited that Kate has agreed to let me hang some in her space.

Here are a couple of photos showing her bedroom and the walls I’ll paper:

Can you see that the ceiling is a different colour from the walls? That’s Abalone grey you’re looking at. These walls are still builder beige – I’ll prime them in the paper’s background colour before it’s hung on the wall. The room is obviously a work in progress so don’t judge it just yet!! By the way… the stairs to the lower level are behind the headboard. The room looks down into the living room with a glass railing around two sides of the space.

The colour scheme for this space?

Purple, Grey/Silver and Orange!

Kate found this fabulous pillow for her bed that will be perfect for the room and she’ll hang a large picture of her beautiful pup Sanja on the wall (here’s a photo of Sanja and my doggie Simon [on the right]). So… Purple & Orange. :-)

Now comes the part where you get to help us pick the wallpaper! We have a few favourites – and I’ll tell you which ones they are – but we’d appreciate your comments and thoughts on our shortlisted options! The papers we’re looking at are designed and made by Anderson Prints and are distributed here in Canada by Crown Wallpaper & Fabrics

From The Jazz Collection

I’m not keen on the shade of purple in this paper… but I LOVE IT in black and white. If Kate decided on the B&W version of this paper we’d up the purple accents in the space. It could totally work with her new pillow and would look wonderful with the large picture of Sanja that she wants to hang.

This paper has the purple that Kate wants with a grey that works with the Silver Fox colour found on her large wall, visible across the stairs from her headboard. They didn’t have a photo of the paper on a wall, that’s why you’re looking at the paper in blue. Not a bad pattern, but it’s not our favourite. And I can’t see it with Kate’s new pillow or her picture of Sanja.

From The Moda Collection

LOVE IT! I think that this might be Kate’s favourite, too, although I’m not 100% sure. It’s absolutely perfect with her pillow and, with the right frame, could work with the photo of Sanja. Yes, it’s dark… but if you take a look at the room again you’ll see that it’s extremely bright… she can get away with dark paper!

LOVE this one too! Unfortunately Anderson Prints website didn’t have a photo of the grey & purple in a room-view so you have to judge the pattern size and overall look of the paper in dark grey & orange. I really like the size of the leaves… very dramatic. The light grey background would also be perfect with the wall/ceiling colours. Finally, I think Kate’s new pillow and her photo of Sanja could work with this paper. Problem… I know that Kate isn’t as crazy about this paper as I am. If you like it, let us know!! Maybe your love will encourage her!!

Finally, Sunflower Ogee. There’s no doubt that the paper is beautiful… but I have to say that I’m not over the moon about this one. I like the tone-on-tone black prints, but I’m not loving the large purple flowers. The colours would work with Kate’s pillow… not sure about the picture of Sanja. I’m also not sure of Kate’s opinion of this paper… I hope she doesn’t like it more then the three I’m loving from above!!

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Okay… now it’s time for you to share you thoughts on our paper options! There’s no doubt that Kate has shortlisted some bold prints but she’s looking to create an urban contemporary feel to her space and I feel strongly that these designs will lend to that affect. She’ll be ordering the paper this Tuesday so time is of the essence; get your comments in!! :-)

I’ll update you as we make more progress!

Victoria from Edin Interiors