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The View

Wednesday, July 31

We've spent a considerable amount of time exploring Nova Scotia's cottage country this summer, which - let's face it - is 85% of the province. We're pretty much mostly coastline. So many of the gorgeous seaside retreats we've spotted had huge windows or screened-in porches overlooking the ocean. How amazing would it be to have a sun room with a view like that?! The view would make the room. Here's how I would decorate my ideal sunroom - nothing too flashy because the view, after all, is the stunner. I'm picturing this room with white painted bead board on the walls and rich wood floors. The ideal spot to drink your morning coffee and read the paper, or to curl up with a good book on a stormy afternoon. Perfection.

Sun room

  1. Monochromatic curtains with brass rod and glass finial 
  2. Stunning watercolour by Dieppa
  3. Jute rug from Wicker Emporium
  4. AMAZING rockers from Crate & Barrell
  5. Altra wire frame side table from Euro Style Lighting, which I spotted on Victoria's blog on Tuesday
  6. Pair of Brushed Brass swing arm wall lamps, also from Euro Style Lighting

The Gallery

Monday, July 29

When I first moved into this space, the only furniture configuration that made sense in my bedroom was to place the bed in the middle of the wall, like so:
Unfortunately, that leaves me with about 1.5 feet of pass-through space between the foot of the bed and the wall. (These photos were taken after I painted.)
Not a lot of room for art or frames - they would be knocked down every time I tried to pass by the end of the bed. Initially, before I painted the room, I compensated for the lack of space by hanging a few frames really high:
Although I love the art, the super high placement of the frames always bugged me. Then, I painted the walls light grey...
And all of a sudden, I didn't like the placement of the frames OR the colours of the art in the room. The colours were too warm for my now cool-toned bedroom. After spotting this post, I decided that a little washi tape gallery wall was just what I needed. And this was born:
The benefit using of washi tape is that I can spread the art out over more of the wall - it doesn't all need to be above my head. Because none of the pieces stick out from a wall in a bulky frame, I can easily pass from one side of the room to the other without knocking anything down. Plus, washi tape is fairly gentle - it's much less likely to damage the prints or the wall than other kinds of tape. And, you know - it's pretty.
I'm pretty happy with how this turned out! It gives that side of my bedroom a much needed dose of personality.
LOVE print - MadeByGirl
Hummingbird painting - painted by my sister
Personal photograph
Saltwater print - Inkwell Boutique
Bun print - Elizabeth Mayville
Gingham watercolour - from this book
Family photograph
The Team print - Kiki and Polly
Indigo watercolour - from this book

Flashback

Friday, July 26

IN MY HEAD:

 

ON MY MIND:

Work. So much work. But that's not interesting to YOU. 

So also, these quesadillas. And this iced coffee. And this whiskey float
What can I say? It's been a long week ;)


IN MY LINE OF SIGHT:

Went for a little hike and picnic last weekend.
 The prettiest views. I love this province.
 "Helped" with house repairs ;)
 Proved my best friend right. (She gave me this dishtowel when she visited...)
 And spied this beauty (and foggy) view of Halifax from a work meeting!
Enjoy your weekend, beauties! 
One of my friends from undergrad is in town & I can't wait to catch up!

What on earth are you wearing?

Thursday, July 25

I spotted this book at Home Sense a few weeks ago for $5.99. Purely out of interest (with no intention of actually buying it), I started to flip through it. And was BLOWN AWAY by the beautiful watercolour illustrations and cheeky definitions. Without knowing exactly what I would do with it, I bought the book and brought it home.
After flipping through it again, it occurred to me that I had basically just bought 142 5x7 watercolours for $5.99. STEAL. I'm planning to carefully pull out a bunch of my favourite illustrations (likely with the help of an exact-o knife) and use them as art for a project I'll be sharing on Monday! These would also make super cute art for a girly closet or dressing room!
Here are just a few of the illustrations:
Aren't they gorgeous?! I think the biggest challenge is going to be narrowing down my selections!
The book is available on Amazon here (but 3x Home Sense's price...which is still crazy cheap for so much art!)

Ethereal

Wednesday, July 24

For this week's mood board, I wanted to go for something a little breezier than normal. Although I'm normally all about vivid colour and graphic black & whites, I was in the mood for something a little lighter. Not neutral, but airy. And as soon as I found that stellar sofa and rug on the Anthropologie site, the mood board practically created itself!
Ethereal Living Room
  1. Magnolia bookcase from Attica.
  2. Mutabilis rug from Anthropologie.
  3. Voluspa candles (my absolute favourites)
  4. Saguaro fabric for drapes.
  5. White paned mirror from Pottery Barn. (This exact mirror is no longer available but there's a similar one here.)
  6. Meurice antique brass pharmacy lamp from Lamps Plus.
  7. Harvey sofa from Anthropologie with a DwellStudio pillow.
  8. Dixon coffee table from Crate & Barrel.
  9. Pair of Blake lounge chairs from Crate & Barrel with IKEA throw pillows.
  10. Martini side table from West Elm in antique brass.

#OOTD

Tuesday, July 23

An outfit from last week.
Skinnies, tank (old) - American Eagle; Blazer - The Bay; Sandals - Target; Lipstick - MAC's Candy Yum Yum; Neon Orange Polish - China Glaze's Sun Worshiper

Why yes, I did snap these photos in The Gap's dressing room while trying on other clothes. #betterlighting. Thanks for asking.

And I wasn't really angry. Just a case of #defaultface. See:

Linking up to Lauren's Style Sessions.

What's Cooking, Good Looking?

Monday, July 22

My friend, Kel, recently sent me photos of her PHENOMENAL new kitchen (after I begged and pleaded and promised her my first-born for photos - the usual) and I had to share. First, this is what it looked like before (with the previous owner's stuff):
Linoleum, old appliances, clutter, and curtains that reminded Kel of her grandmother's tablecloths ;)
Kel & the Boyfriend decided to keep the unique blue-grey cabinets and just wait until you see how they were transformed....

TA DA!
I'll let Kel take it away from here:
When we moved in, we liked the blue-grey of the cabinets and decided to keep them. The previous owners had them custom built and they are really great quality. That's where the love affair ended - everything else had to go. Here's what we changed:
  • I took down the window treatments and hardware
  • We gave everything a fresh coat of paint (trim, ceiling, walls). The walls are Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. It's a mellow "builder's beige" that the Boyfriend would use on everything if I let him.
  • We installed a new backsplash (from Home Depot on sale!)
  • We replaced all appliances - they were over 30 years old and the inside of the oven was disintegrating. We shopped around for the best prices and ended up getting them from Home Depot and Lowe's when they had sales on
  • We replaced the floor, or rather put a new one on top of it. They are adhesive laminate tiles that you peel and stick (from Rona)!
  • The sink and faucet are new (both from Home Depot)
  • We replaced all the cabinet hardware (again, Home Depot came to the rescue)
  • We replaced the ceiling lights from an ugly, dated hanging fixture to halogen track lighting. Now I can see when I cook!
  • Although the existing counter was in decent shape, the colour wasn't super and we figured we'd go all-in and replace that as well. We had it custom cut from a countertop company in the area because it is oddly configured and made up of weird shapes.
We absolutely could have done all the work ourselves. The Boyfriend is quite handy and has renovated places before. However, due to time constraints and work schedules, we threw some money at the problem and hired our contractor friend to do the work for us. It was the right decision for us at the time and it was fun to come home from work everyday and see the transformations. Because we kept the existing cabinets, everything came together really quickly. We made sure to order the counters early and once they arrived we kicked it into high gear. My only regret is the fridge. She's a looker but she's not magnetic. As a long-time magnet addict, this was a devastating discovery. I'll recover eventually.

And there you have it! Can you believe the change? Of course, I shouldn't be even remotely surprised - Kel has style for days. Her kitchen looks so fresh and sophisticated now. I'm dying over that backsplash - love the mix of stone and glass tile. What do you think?

Flashback

Friday, July 19

IN MY HEAD:

 

ON MY MIND:

The perfect summer beverage from Jessica.

Fierce date night outfit inspiration from Stephanie & Ashley... Although I'm not sure I'd ever be bold enough to try to pull off a crop top...

And the most insanely creative home featured on YHL - shutters as wallpaper?! Gorgeous.

IN MY LINE OF SIGHT:

Bayswater Beach with the boyfriend.
 Ceiling of Laughing Whale Coffee while shopping in Lunenburg.
 Queensland with the bestie and her broski.
 Milkshakes with my momma.
 New blouse and neon nails in a yet-to-be-revealed mirror.
 And beers with the bestie to cap off an excellent week.
Have a delightful weekend, friendos!

Eye (Phone) Candy

Thursday, July 18

On Monday, my bestie and I spent the day in Lunenburg shopping and lunching. The 'burg has some serious decor swag. Here are a few of the finds we spotted:

First up was the super cute Down Home Living. 
 And then we strolled across the street to Jenny Jig:
Any favourites? I'm all over those colourful wool blankets and the whale & arrow pillows!