Benjamin Moore blue lagoon 2054-40

Benjamin Moore blue lagoon 2054-40

Make a French Connection

There is something magical about France, and everyone who visits never leaves the same.

Last summer, I visited Paris for a few days and it felt as if I had been there all my life.

I was filled with joy and awe by its beauty and this old world feeling taking a trip back in time, with each and every old building standing tall and proud wearing exquisit and unique architectural details.

The feelings and inspirations this place left in my heart cannot be described. Every day I visualize living there soon. And until this day, I keep putting together rooms inspired and filled with French connections.

I day dream of a home office, or study a la Française. Put together in such elegance, you cannot help but feel your absolute best while enjoying a good book, or closing a lucrative business deal.

Lets travel in time and put this room together, and start with this beautiful french inspired wallcovering...

There is something special about dark studies a mysterious and elegant feeling, I love dark walls with some lighter furniture to play against it.
Take for example this desk and chair, pulling out of the wallpaper a colour can set a little tone of playfulness.

Create a mix of French industrial and deco, two worlds meet together in one space.
Like these beautiful 60's rustic french industrial book-cases...

And this very masculin French Industrial inspired reading/task lamp..

Then create a reading corner with an elegant grouping of two or even four French deco inspired chairs.

A tufted leather ottoman that doubles as a coffe table or foot rest..

Add a couple of  Directoire side tables for your books and drinks..

Accent your room with some yellow cushions and crushed velvet golden drapes, this will soften the masculin lines of the room so it feels less rigid

Don't forget your feet need to rest against something soft. With this not French but exceptionally elegant Persian Tabriz area rug,

you are bringing in the ultimate luxury into your office or study, a space where big creative thinking takes place.

I hope you enjoyed my post and wish you an oulala day!

The Mystic Lantern

Lanterns one ancient way of bringing light back when the darkness  has fallen upon us.

Lanterns go back in history to 1500 BC and perhaps even before, they were the only source of lighting created by mankind for many years until the electricity was discovered and slowly but surely lantern lighting was replaced by light bulbs.

In our modern society lanterns are used mostly to beautify or light up the outdoors when there is no source of electricity available.

A great way of bringing the outdoors in, is by bringing lanterns into your indoor decor, and using them as source of lighting.

Play with a selection of lanterns in different sizes, different finishes that would complement each-other, lay them in attractive groupings on a table, a window sill, in-front of a fireplace, on a counter, or kitchen island or just create a cozy grouping in the corner of a room, create a spectacular ambience by lighting your lantern with block candles or tea lights.

Lanterns bring into the modern space a feel of old-world. They come in many varieties of shapes, finishes, textures, colours and sizes, they are a great source of light. Different cultures and countries each have their own unique styles of lanterns. Bring them together in a collage that will leave a lasting impression on your guests.

Use them to create mood, use them to even save on your electrical bills and save some electric energy if you may.

Lantern lighting will give your room a feel of relaxation and intimacy, you and your guests can enjoy around dinners, great conversations, and gatherings on any occasion. People love the atmosphere around lanterns and candle light, and somehow this mood brings them closer to each-other.

Blessed

It's an Orange Burst!

We all know how long and cold Canadian winters could get, especially if you live them.

If you're anything like me, I personally love hot/warm weather, sunny skies, flowers everywhere, green trees, you get it... Although I do welcome the rain every now and then, and believe it or not some odd snow-flakes every Christmas!

Cold long winters, lack a very important element, and that is colour. So why not change your home around in the winter time if you live in places with extreme winter conditions, to add a little bit of happy note, a little bit of warmth, and a little bit of colour!

This time I have chosen a happy and vibrant orange. Orange is an energy filled colour, it's a power colour, it is also a healing colour, it also stimulates enthusiasm and creativity.

Adding accents of orange in your room will definitely change the mood around, and this feeling of long dragging days will vanish.

Play with it, experiment with small items, if you're more daring, why not slip cover a couple of chairs - slip covers are great, they are versatile, you can remove and wash any time, they also allow you to change things around when you want to without the added expense.

Paint an accent wall, paint is one of the easiest things to do, when you are tired of it, just paint over with a new colour. An accent wall in orange will make the room look really sunny, you'd probably want to paint this colour, in a dining room since it's an appetite stimulator or in a family room or play room!
In Kids rooms add little accents here and there for energy bursts!

Enjoy your Orange Bursts of colour, bring in the sunshine!

Kitchen Delight on the Tight (budget)...

When it comes to kitchen renovations, we all know how these project almost always end up costing a mint.

However, here is one that was done on an extremely tight budget, and turned from litterally a nightmare:














Into a complete Delight:

It was all done on a very tight budget, as the home owner was reselling their home.

Floors were replaced with laminate planks, very nicely finished in the impression of tiles.
The original kitchen cabinets, were kept - believe it or not, they were in great condition the only wrong thing with them was their look and the old dates hardware.
They were cleaned, sanded and painted in a buttery white and that immediately livened up the kitchen.
The walls were painted in a straw colour inspired by the setting of the home in the country.
Counter tops were replaced with a dark elegant laminate contrasting well with the cabinets and the wall and adding some depth.
Hardware was replaced with oil rubbed bronze to tie the look with the wrough iron wall opening and the kitchen set.
A half wall was opened bringing in more light in the kitchen and giving the impression of open space.
Window coverings in a beautiful chartreuse toile dressed the windows in the kitchen while softening the hard edges and adding a homy look, the two bar stools flanking the mobile island were covered in the same fabric to create a cohesive look.

With all these small updates, this kitchen went from drab to totally fab, on a very tight budget, the transformation was a great success and added great resell value to the home.