Five favourite design tricks

Photo: 1stdibs.

Console table from West Elm.

It's not just about "a pretty face". Good design in my book is also smart, slick and solves real problems. Plus: it's affordable.

Many times you can achieve a lot with little means. Here are some examples:

1) Problem: Space feels cramped and needs something on the walls.

Solution: Add oversized artwork with lots of depth like in the adjacent photo.




2) Problem: The room has several smaller pieces of furniture that are only needed occasionally - such as accent tables, stools and poufs. Although practical for accommodating larger groups, they take up floor space and make the room look cluttered.

Solution: Store these pieces under a console table when not in use. If you have a built-in unit made for you, consider including "niches" where these pieces can be tucked away.  







3) Problem: You prefer a calm, neutral colour palette, but still want your home to feel fun and alive. 

Solution: Inject pattern and colour selectively. The back of a bookcase and cabinet interiors are two good places. Inside a wardrobe is another.

Photo: Parents.

Photo: Houzz.

4) Problem: Space is tight, but a small office is needed.

Solution: Look for ways to optimize your home. Is there empty space below a staircase that could work? Can you make a bay window do double duty?


Photo: Remodelista.



Photo: Remodelista.

5) Problem: Tight budget and empty walls.

Solution: Use wallpaper remnants or fabric for an inexpensive art gallery.

Photo: Dwell.

 

Do you have any design tricks that you want to share? To see more of my favourites, visit my Pinterest boards.

New start for Bracebridge bungalow

The living room used to be very plain without anything special going

for it. We created a nine foot wide focal point which we clad in a

gorgeous travertine stone, and which now houses the fireplace and
the TV. By removing walls, we connected the living room with the kitchen.

 

 

The Bracebridge home that I’ve worked on for the last few months is almost done, and the result looks great! 

From having been a very ordinary bungalow from the late 1990s, it's now an inviting, comfortable and modern home for a small family.

Walls were removed, broadloom was torn up, and wooden floors were installed throughout the house.

This is the view from the front entrance before:

Before: A maze of walls.

And this is what it looks like now:

With two walls gone, the light-filled kitchen and dining area
are now integrated with the living room.

The kitchen before:


 

 

 

 

Here's a rendition of the new kitchen. We kept the sink, fridge and stove in the same locations, and left the centre free of upper cabinets. That way, we created a nine foot wide wall surface, where a beautiful marble backsplash has the undivided attention. The orientation of the island makes it possible to enjoy both the view outside and to take part in the activities in the rest of the room.



This is what the tile looks like installed.

The backsplash is a 1" hexagon

oriental white honed tile, which

relates nicely with the colours

and style of the tile of the living
room fireplace, on the opposite
side of the room.

















Here are a few more shots from the home:



The former dining room was turned into a boy's computer

and TV room.



Details from one of the
bedrooms.





 

 



View of the en-suite bathroom, seen from the

master bedroom.

En-suite bathroom before.

We mixed several sizes of the same

tile on the floors and the walls, and

installed a different tile, with a striped

effect, on the shower end wall, to add

depth and interest.

Just like in the kitchen, the tile work is the shining

star. And yes, those mirrors have yet to be installed.











I hope you enjoyed the tour and the transformation of this home. It's now working for the homeowners, in every sense of the word. Happy Mother's Day!

Three stores - three best picks

Farmhouse-style clocks in fun colours at Leon's.

What to do with an hour to kill in the northwest end of town? Check out the design offer in this part of the city of course!

Target, Leon's and Canadian Tire are all at a convenient distance from each other in North Bay. Here are my three best picks from these stores. Let me know if I missed anything!




Poufs in a variety of graphic patterns at Target.

Great for casual summer living.



Target has a very attractive blue and golden theme going

in the store...

...like this gilded lamp base that

very easily transforms into....



...this preppy lamp.



One of many accent tables from Target,

all below $100. Oops, I guess that was best

pick # 5 from Target.

Cute armchair from Leon's. It could work equally well

in a "shabby chic" as a more traditional space.

Funky dresser from Leon's.

High, cone-shaped pots look great around
the front door. From Canadian Tire.

Stream-lined, purple couch from Leon's that becomes a bed with a simple  "klik-klak".



Canadian Tire is not known for being a "design mecca"

but the store has a good selection of nice ceiling fixtures,

like this striped glass pendant, with alternating frosted and

clear glass.

We're all itching to put some flower pots outside, so who can

resist these colourful pots and petunias from Canadian Tire?

Spring fling in yellow

Friendly, happy and casual...It's hard not to be charmed by the sunny disposition of the colour yellow. I certainly couldn't resist the cheery tulips that greeted me in the grocery store recently. I knew I had to bring some home, so that, no matter what the weather does this Easter weekend, at least it will be spring inside.

See how yellow takes on a stellar role in these warm interiors from Houzz, below.

Happy Easter!

 

Rustic Kitchen by Vancouver General

Contractors Oakwood Projects Ltd.

Farmhouse Kitchen by Sharon Architects

& Designers Rafe Churchill: Traditional Houses.

 

Eclectic Bathroom by Decatur Kitchen &

Bath Designers Renewal Design-Build.

Traditional Living Room by Alexandria

Architects & Designers Moore Architects, PC

Contemporary Home Office by Dallas Interior

Designers & Decorators Carolina V. Gentry, RID.

Hello art, goodbye blank walls

Here's what makes this display at Chapters in Sudbury look dynamic
and interesting: There's a nice mix of frame sizes, horizontal/vertical
orientation and scale of the motifs. There is also repetition of colour;
black & white, golden yellow and blue. The letters break up the sharp
edges and enhance the irregularity of the display, which means that
more pieces can be added later on. If you want a more structured grid
pattern, this works best when the pieces are all of the same size, and
follow a single motif. 


 

Have any blank walls at home that are begging for some action? It's easier than you think to make them come alive.

Rather than focusing on finding that one "perfect" painting with which to cover the space, take some of the pressure off and make a gallery of several smaller pieces of art instead.

Getting the composition right takes a bit of practice. But if you apply a few design principles, described in the photo caption, you'll be on your way. Lay out the pieces on the floor first, to see how to combine them, or create paper mock-ups that you tape to the walls in different combinations before taking out the hammer and nails. 


 

Or, if you want to make it even easier for yourself - and why wouldn't you? - buy any of the following curated collections of frameable, original prints, available for the traditional, eclectic and contemporary home. Ready to tear out and be placed in frames, they are an inexpensive way to cheer up your walls.



 




 

Here are some other artful displays that I've pinned onto my Pinterest boards:




Here, the chair is part of the mix. This display
is confined width-wise, but is allowed to really
stretch out towards the ceiling, which is enhanced
by the fact that all the pieces have a vertical
orientation. Photo: Dwell.



A composition of "empty" frames can also make for an
artful display. In this composition, two of the frames are
actually mirrors, reflecting light back into the room. I also
like the two, smaller frames inside larger ones. Photo: Houzz.

Another gallery striving upwards. The
high placement of the pieces accentuates
the high ceiling and creates a bit of tension
in this hallway - unconventional and bold.
Photo: Houzz.

Botanical prints, neatly displayed in identical frames.
Photo: Houzz.

 

Got the spring blues yet?

Savine wallpaper from Designers Guild.

Beat the latest - and hopefully last - spell of winter weather with some spring blues!

Pantone, the provider of colour systems, has announced "Dazzling blue" their colour of spring 2014. It's a bright blue that shimmers, and a colour that has been popular on the runways for some time.



Photo: Eclectic Society/Style.





 

Different shades of blue are certainly hot this spring. In contemporary settings we often see them mixed with black. We're also seeing more and more blue kitchens, which might seem surprising, given that the colour is associated with reduced appetite according to feng shui. Together with it's favourite team mate white, a blue kitchen certainly looks fresh and classy this season.

Photo: Houzz. Blue kitchen by Von Fitz Design.

In search of blue fabric inspiration in town, I saw some great, blue cotton and linen prints at Stewart's Decorating Centre recently. They were from Avant Garde, a brand new supplier to the store. Any of the fabrics below would make for very attractive accent pillows. At Fabricland, I also saw an interesting print, that reminded me of some of Finnish design house Marimekko's fabrics. Take a look:



  


Fabricland print.

Marimekko Tuuli print.

Marimekko birch tree print.

 

Speaking of blues, this gorgeously reupholstered chair

is looking for a new home. It is quite petite and would be a 

perfect statement chair - fun and fresh - in a nursery or a 

kid's room. You can paint the legs white if you don't like the wood.

Contact Bonell's Upholstery for more info.