Project Vicarious - Living Room REVEAL!

I'm sooooooo excited for today.

I just received photos of #projectvicarious and am DYING over it...the kind of death that makes you very, very happy.

I threw this sneak peek out on Instagram last night...

...and was so excited about the response my first big reveal garnered...thank you, thank you for the support...I also have to thank my amazing client, who was open to mixing things up and stepping outside of the box a little...her vision for the space made it such an incredibly fun project to work on...and the house itself...the architectural detail of the space is incredible and made decorating it, such a dream.

As you may recall, the original design board went through a many iterations, which came together and melded to make this guy...

From here, we switched out some pillows, one of the art pieces and the floor lamp...and well, I couldn't be happier with the finished room...

{creamy white silk curtain panels are being added to those windows and will be hung on that scrumptious brass rod}

Highlights for me/things I want officially must repeat in other projects/my dream house...

1. Black windows and doors 

2. Built-ins

3. Coffered ceiling

4. Les Touches look-a-like fabric (source...Domesticate on Spoonflower)

5. Marble fireplace surround with herringbone insert

6. Black doors with circular paneling detail

7. And I wish I could own every single piece of that furniture goodness (most especially those mirrored side tables and Made Goods coffee table...and the arch lamp)...as with every space I put together, a fabulous settee is a MUST and Black Rooster is where I always go to find them...and since a few people have asked already, the x-benches are custom and are pink linen with black piping...go to Liven Up Design on Etsy if you want some of your own.

If you'd like any other source info, or some e-design help from yours truly, please email me for the goods.

xo

#projectvicarious - A Mini Reveal and a Baby, Baby, Baby Nursery Board

I know I promised a nursery reveal this week but I have a very good reason for not sharing...word on the street is that it's going to be PUBLISHED y'all!

Sooooooooo excited.

Sadly, it means I can't share it here for now but I promise all will be revealed soon.

In the meantime, I've got two things to share today.

1. An amazing nursery board a la...

...that's brought to you by one of my newest blogging friends, Amy of...

A full time graphic designer and lover of all things creative, Amy is one talented lady.

I've become a huge fan of her blog since she submitted what is definitely, one of my all time most favouritist nursery designs...

wallpaper

curtains

chandelier

baby animal portraits

dresser

lounger

letter pillow

dog pillows

cowhide rug

crib

animal rocker

french vintage rocker

.......

I'm a very large fan of the modern/vintage mix and adore how this space is both serene yet dynamic.

The hit of glamour brought to you by the chandy and metallic rug, don't hurt its cause either;)

A large thank you to Ms Love on Sunday for sending in such sweet baby design love!

2. I Instagrammed a few teaser shots of the almost complete #projectvicarious and thought I'd share them over here too because...well...I'm THRILLED with how it's coming together.

First, there's these vintage wing back chairs that my client found...we had them re-upholstered in a Les Touche look-a-like fabric and topped them off with some KW Urchin pillows in soft pink...

...the table in between is Barbara Berry and the rug is from Anthro.

In addition, the glorious daybed from Black Rooster is also in place and is surrounded by a modern swing lamp in chrome and some of the bestest black doors (that lead into the dining room) one ever did see...

The faux fur throw is also BR and that coffee table peaking out from below is perhaps my all time favourite...'Cara' by Made Goods.

I promise a full reveal once all is complete!!!

Smooches.

xo

4 Things

Well hello friends.

I'm sorry for my lack of blogging.

To be honest, I just haven't felt much like doing it.

I'm on medication that's giving me ridiculous headaches and in combo with the lack of sleep, I just sort of feel crappy miccrappersons.

So, for today, a quick hello and some announcements.

1. It's time to announce the winner of my Candy Shop Vintage giveaway.

A huge...

/via/

...to...

...ombdesigns...

And PS, this is your second jewelry win on my blog- lucky, lucky ducky!!!

2. The dream house idea might be replaced/put on hold because we've got something else cook...turns out that we might just very well be building a cottage in PEI across the street from my family's one.

This has me very excited!

And of course, my brain is already reeling with possibilities.

I'm dreaming of an all white facade with a tin roof and giant veranda...Chassity's house in mini form essentially...like this...

/via/

Inside, things will be durable and VERY budget friendly...I'm thinking finishes very similar to those in my basement...laminate flooring in grey, subway tiles, black windows etc. etc.

Stay tuned.

3. A little public service design announcement...IKEA has fiddle leaf figs for sale for $14!!!  

/via/

4. I've got a few wallpaper/project updates.

a) #projectvicarious

The wallpaper in the little girl's room is up and wowzers...in combo with the pink lacquer, it's sooooo yummy...

b) #projectfoyer

As you know, I've been working on the house that belongs to #projectlittlemiss

Right now, moulding is being applied to the foyer...progress pics on that coming soon.

I've also been helping with a small scale re-do of the bedroom belonging to my client's son...we'll call it #projectwoods...and this is why...the whole scheme stems from a little wallpaper action...this time, it's the classic, Cole and Son Woods...

As you can see, we also painted out all the trim in a deep charcoal.

The room will also see windows covered in this Schumacher goodness...

Delish.

And that my friends is all I have for now.

Nursery reveal is coming tomorrow!

xo

Progress and Plans

Morning.

I've got lots on the go and a seemingly never ending list of to do's before my basement gets done in a few weeks and baby makes his grande appearance so...let's get right to it shall we:)

1. #projectvicarious

My fabulous client emailed me some painting progress shots and let's just say there's a reason it's called Project Vicarious...count me VERY jealous of this...

...and this...

Now let me just say that I can take zero credit for the millwork- that was already in place and damn...it's easily some of the best I've ever seen.

I am responsible, however for the BM Kendall Charcoal behind the bookcases and on the dining room ceiling...and just wait until you see what's going in that gorgeous medallion we picked up...yum, yum and yum.

2. #projectgetroomsreadyforkids

My wonder team of architect (again, if you need one in the GTA, wjbdesigns ((PS...check out his new blog for an architect's perspective on our little project)) is the bomb.business) and contractor extraordinaire (another shout out/recommendation...if you need ANYTHING done to your home, 'my Allen' is  who you need to know- the man can construct/fix/do anything...if you have a picture, he can make it happen sort of thing- incredible talent) have helped to get the project under way large styles.

We're already at the 'put humpty back together' stage, which means that yours truly is shopping.

I spent the morning yesterday with sponsor goddess Nina from 

Black Rooster Decor...she took me to a showroom to see what will be our sectional and it's soooo yummy....creamy ivory wool and down filled cushions...heaven.

I'm happily taking the floor model, which means it will be delivered this week, is an incredible dealio and just look at how pretty it is... 

...and speaking of purdy, that's Ms Nina herself...as you can see, I took the liberty of cropping myself out- for good reason I might add;)

Along with the sofa, I've also ordered 3 of these for the hallway (ceiling is too low for anything dangley)

...and am contemplating lighting for the bathroom...check back tomorrow please to vote for your favourite of my sconces choices...NEED HELP!

In related news...

...this Made by Girl IKEA hack of sorts will be happening in the playroom...

...but we'll use marble for the top...my backyard table/chairs will sit in front of it, giving the kids/me/husband a place to play/work...

I'm thinking of taking my living room light fixture...

...a stinging it above the table...don't worry...if that happens, a Mouille knock off will take its place upstairs;)

 The opposite end of the room will see an antique fireplace surround being applied to a roughed in box...

...and painted white...the lucite bookshelves I showed you the other day will flank either side.

And the bestest news of all, I found an amazing pair of salvage doors for the laundry nook.

Once we paint these bad boys white...

...and install them on a hanging track, they'll totally and absolutely make the basement my favourite room in the house...I know it to be true...just you wait:)

The TV wall is still in question...no blinking idea what I'm doing there...might hold off and do some built-ins down the road...my brain is getting a little overwhelmed with all the decision making/baby coming stuff.  

Also, there's of course the ugly budget word to consider...I'm sticking hard to my original number...lots of creative spending is going to happen...and I'm only getting the bare essentials for now...the real decorating will happen slowly over time.

But for today, that's where we are.

And I'm THRILLED with the progress.

One day at a time right:)

xo

#projectvicarious...Change of Plans

Good day.

I'm looking forward to this one because aside from some computer work and taking my kids to/from school, I have NOTHING that requires me to leave the house.

It's been literally months since I could say that it seems so I'm relishing it like glazed donuts.

On the blog front, I've got project news re: #projectvicarious

Things are moving right along.

Design work in the living/family room is finito.

All of the big pieces have been ordered, with the exception of the coffee table and curtain panels/hardware.

Accessories and pretty books have been sourced...

...and I suspect we'll be ready for a bit of a reveal apres move in mid-March.

Exciting times.

And since this room is finished, we've moved focus on to my client's little girl's room.

As you may remember, our scheme really revolved around some Nina Campbell Paradiso loveliness...

Sadly, client's hubs is not really a fan so we've switched gears (insert designer sad face).

After sending a ginormatron list of possible alternates, client couple have decided to go with a love you long time fave of mine...

...Osborne and Little's Grove Garden.

Now, here's where you come in...we're debating between two of the colourways.

The first one, is that which you see above and would look something like this on our board...

And colourway numero deux looks like this...

So...which do you prefer?

The bolder bluish/green/gold option with more colour or the softer creamy/grey/silver option that would lead to a more tone on tone palate?

Keep in mind when making your choice that the bed is lavender...let's reminisce about its gloriousness for a minute...

...and bookcases/trim/window will all be painted in high gloss BM Cactus (pink swatch on the board)...basically an entire wall will be high gloss pink.

Also, curtain panels are still in the works so don't apply the ones you see there to your decision making...I'll be sourcing fabrics once a wallpaper colour has been decided on so that we can do a little something like this...

...i.e. fabulous fabric capped off with a even more fabulous pelmet box.

Thoughts/words of wisdom/advice?

I'm trying to think of other things that you should keep in mind when coming up with you 2 or 5 cents.

Chandelier is still in the works...a brilliant blogger friend of mine (Elyse from Peonies & Brass) sent me this shot of a Murano goddess for sale in Montreal...

...sadly, after many calls to different shippers etc., there is ZERO possibility of us getting it go Chicago for any sort of dollar value that would make sense:((((

PS, if anyone out there might just be taking a trip between the two cities in the next month or so, give me a holler...we'd pay very kindly for your troubles;)

What else...some combination of these Etsy finds is definitely happening...

...at least I hope so...with these wallpapers, the fuschia benches will likely win out.

Oh and PS, if anyone out there is looking for a sweet girl's room plan, here's one our of the reject pile that I'd be happy to make happen, minus the bed and lucite chair that is...

LOVING the trellis paper and that 80's pastel bench shown above, how pretty would it be in this scenario?  Good, good.

And with that, I'll say laters for now and tell you to make sure you pop back tomorrow...a VERY good giveaway will be happening.

Oh, one more thing...does ANYONE out there know how to turn off LinkedIn email notifications?

I've tried everything I can think of and my inbox is still being littered with announcements- not cool.

Merci helping friends.

xo