Alice in Wonderland window display

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share some pictures of a window display I've just done for a kitchen store called The Seasoned Kitchen. I'm lucky enough to be able to borrow furniture from another great store I do work for called The Swallow's Nest so that I have constant changing props at my hands all the time.
I was tired of the typical kitcheny type pieces you would see on a regular basis in a window display for this type of store, so I opted for a bit more of a theatrical display, this is my play on Alice and Wonderland.........Your Late,Your Late For A Very Important Date! All things in this window are cupcakes and tea related.
Enjoy!

D.

Thomas O'Brien

Hi everyone,

As a designer we are always looking for inspiration and inspiration can be found in many things,but for me it comes mostly from those who have paved you could say the designers so called "red carpet". One such person is Thomas O'brien. I have recently read his book "American Modern" and have fallen madly in love with his laid back but well collected style!

Thomas'work is shall I say drool worthy,but his true sense seems to shine through in the interiors he has designed for himself.The New York loft that went from somewhat minimal to the ultimate in being surrounded by the things you love. Then there is his charming vacation home called The Academy,built in 1833 as a local boys academy,it's a place where he could lay down many of the things that he had collected for years.
 Thomas' book has taught me many things,1.) to embrace who we are in design and style 2.) In a world were there is such an emphasis on getting rid of things,somehow he has made it okay to still find a passion in collecting and surrounding ourselves with the things we love! This book has been a true inspiration to me and I highly recommend it to everyone looking for confirmation that it is okay to still have STUFF!
Here are some pictures from his book!

Vacation home Academy!

Living room in the Academy

Kitchen in Academy

Loft bedroom before 

Bedroom after a few collections added.

Loft.

beautiful collection of pictures 

Enjoy!  D.

ART

Hi everyone and happy Sunday,
I wanted to talk today about art and the role it plays in ones home.
For me art is everything, it's what takes a home from ordinary to extraordinary. When I walk into a persons home for the first time I look to the art to tell me a bit about the person who lives there, that being said I think there is a great misconception that one can only have expensive pieces to accomplish this, not so!  I have been collecting art now for the better of 6 years and although I do own a few pieces that stole away a tiny chunk of my child's tuition, I also own quite a few more that haven't. One of my favorite spots for collecting has been Etsy, this is a site where you can have an opportunity to purchase a piece at a fraction of the cost of what galleries charge,and these are very talented people that have made it affordable for people like you and I to own beautiful pieces.

Art for me is no different then a new pillow or curtains it is truly an accessory and sometimes you just feel the need to change it up, add a new piece, take one down to put a new one up.I'm constantly moving my art around to give it new life or to make room for new pieces.I can tell you that behind every picture is about 6 holes from other pieces that have been there before. At the end of the day art is what makes a home shine or stand out as being different from any other home that's out there it's an important part in creating a unique style and character that is all your own!
I have noticed lately that groupings of pictures seems to be making more of an appearance, I think it gives an overall effect that this person has been collecting for years and has been methodical about his choices. I personally love the look and have started to do this in my own home. I don't feel there is a rule of thumb for this ,you can choose to do it in a grid pattern with all the same shapes and sizes like I have or you can mix it up,no matter what the look is your own. Now get collecting!!!!!
D.

Here a some examples of ones that I love!

my own living room

Thom Filicia design, super organic looking!

Christine Ralphs design 

Thomas Obrien.... the king of collecting! Love!

Christine Ralphs.... different shapes and sizes so inspiring.

Den update

Hi everyone, and thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.

This has been an overwhelming month for me with the article on my home and services been  published in Coast Life magazine to my living room being chosen out of hundreds of entries to be in the top 6 in House and Home's online contest, ("And a big gracious thank you to all who have voted for me").

The response to my home has been so fantastic that I thought that what I would do over the next several blog posts is talk to you about each room and how it has evolved and continues to evolve.

So that brings us to the den. This room was designed to be our media room, in each of our houses we have always had a room dedicated to the television a place to go to on the weekends and watch movies,so it was important to me that this room be cozy. When I first started out, this room was painted white but it never fulfilled the hunker down and get comfortable feel that I had intended to go for, So I went ahead and painted  it a dark grey/brown color,which instantly gave it that cozy library feel that I wanted. I have never been very happy with a few of the things that were in this room,such as the carpet although plush it took up so much floor space that you could no longer see my beautiful dark floor,so I opted for a beautiful cowhide that as you can see allows the dark floors to show, instantly making this room feel larger.And then there was the coffee table,I had this piece custom made but somewhere along the way somebody's measurements weren't quite accurate ,so I felt the need to search for something that would fill the room and act as a place for us to put our feet up,I was lucky enough to find this linen ottoman. This currently is my winter look,soon I will change the pillows blankets and curtains to give it an instant update into spring/summer something that can be done for little money but huge impact!

I'd like to just talk about one other element in this room and that is the cabinet under the television.I found it very difficult to find a piece that would work here so I had my husband custom make this one for me. I used inexpensive Ikea cabinets and then had him wrap them in fir planks,I then painted the doors the same color as the walls because I wanted the piece to blend into the wall to give a custom built in look. A simple inexpensive way to get the look when you just can't find anything else out there.

Well that is all for now, I hope you will stop by again to read my next post, and in the meantime if you have any comments please feel free to leave me a message.
D.
Here are a few pictures of media/tv rooms that I think all spell cozy! Note the artwork in each one always a big must for me!

Canadian House & Home

Canadian House & Home - Your help please :)

Wow ... I'm so grateful ... I started this site just as my home was featured in Sunshine Coast Life (and they even put me on the cover!).

How good could it get? Well, it can get even better! Within the past several days my living room photo that I had submitted to Canadian House & Home was chosen from among hundreds to be in their Canadian House & Home Reader’s Competition.

So if you like it, I would really appreciate you voting for me at http://houseandhome.com/design/vote-your-favourite-hh-reader-living-room?page=4 or by using the clickable picture link in the sidebar to the right.  

Photo taken by Linda Sabiston of First Impressions Photography

If you'd like to see more of my home, take a look at the previous post "Tour My Home". I've already changed the den and will write about it shortly.

Thanks again, everyone, and have a great weekend.

Dawna

Tour My Home

Many thanks to Linda Sabiston of First Impressions Photography who shot these fab photos of my home.