The Dream House Diaries - Style Inspiration

I don't know about you but I'm pretty happy it's Friday...this has been one of those weeks where there literally aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Happily, one of the things that has been taking up alot of my time is a little hashing and plotting...



...a la #projectdreamhouse.

And on that note, I thought it time for some...



...action.

One of the things architect Wallace and I have been mulling over a lot is the exterior elevation ideas and finishes.

As part of this dialogue, we've been really trying to nail down the inspiration that is going to spearhead our final 'look'.

To that end, I of course have been scouring Pinterest and the interwebs for ideas.

And after some deliberation back and forth, we really sort of hammered out the feel we are after.

Basically we want to birth a sweet and pretty love child between the kind of thing you might find in Holland Park and/or Chelsea, UK...


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...and an edgier, rougher, and more modern design...












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...only hopefully for substantially less than the 12M pound price tag that goes along with this number;)

Stay tuned to see if we pull that one off.

And speaking of following along for the new house ride, me and the architect have decided to do a little joint blogging action...so that you get to see the whole process from both a designers and architect's perspective.

I'll be giving you a formal introduction on Tuesday but for now, mull on this...

...and check back every Tuesday for that sort of business.

xo

The Dream House Diaries #11- The Mainfloor Layout and its Details

Good day my friends.

It truly is here at casa Bijou because this sweet little nugget...

...is killing sleep training.

On night two, he literally whimpered for one minute, rolled over and proceeded to sleep 11 hours.

I'm utterly amazed.  

I've been through this process with two other babies and never has it been even close to this easy.

To say I feel blessed with this kid doesn't even come close to cutting it...he's just a gem among gems.

And because he's now a sleeper...

(PS...public service announcement....I got help on the whole training thing from a Sleep Doula...if you have a baby that doesn't sleep, you NEED to find one of these people in your area- they are a total god send and worth every single penny!)

...I feel like I might just get back enough brain power to blog more regularly and focus on things like...

We're making a whole lot of progress on the dream house front.

For one, we officially took possession of the lot and are busily working away on the existing structure so that we can rent it out while finishing off the design and permit process of the new place.

Our budget for said 'mini-reno' is $2000 and trust me when I tell you, with this place, that's not alot of cash to get 'er done as it were.

We're hoping to have all of the work done by Monday so stay tuned for some before and afters on that front.  I'm even hoping to semi-furnish the place with stuff from the POD on our driveway so we'll see how that goes.

And on the new house design front, we are making HUGE progess on the main floor layout.

My architect extraordinaire Wallace of wjb designs...

...is rocking the face off of the design process.

Unlike most firms that would give you a meeting here and there, Wallace indulges me at least once a week with design meeting fun...we sit over coffee and pour though ideas/inspiration/materials etc. for hours and hours.

It's already been the most amazing process and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Sir Wallace is truly making the house that's been stuck in my dreams come to life and I couldn't be more grateful.

I opened up my email yesterday to see round two of the main floor layout in my inbox and let me tell you...

I AM IN LOVE!!!

The lost is 50' wide, which is pretty standard in our hood...unless you have 2 mill to spend on lots alone and get a double spot.

And because of side set back zoning  rules, our abode can max out at around 44' in width...because I really have my heart set on a center hall plan, we've decided to situate the house sideways on the lot so that the front entrance will be on the east side.

From the drawings, you can see the covered, pillared porch on the right...that will lead people from the front yard to the side and the main entrance.

Once inside, they'll be greeted by a long and hopefully semi-grand entrance, with doors like these bad boys...

The hallway of double doors will take everyone from room to room with formal spaces up front and the more relaxed, family spaces to the rear.

This is obviously not an open concept/great room scheme...I really want something more formal and traditional in feel...I've done the 'open' thing and with 4 kids and well, I'm ready for doors that I can close at will.

Some other things that have been officially decided on....

1. I want the hallway to almost be like a room in itself...

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With floors like these...

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2.  There will be many fireplaces on the main floor...the kitchen one is at the top of my list...love the idea of this sort of business...

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3. All the doors you see on the plan that lead outside will be of the French variety...much like these...

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...I'll happily take some Juliette balconies as well;)

4. There will be a 'breezeway' between the kitchen and family room...

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... that will lead out to a courtyard...

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5. The staircase will have one of these guys above...

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6.  The office will be manly.

To date, my husband has requested only three things out of this house:

a. a garburator

b. a built in ironing board

c. central vac

...as you can tell by the list, he's 'domesticated' ;)

Though this list reflects the sum total of his wish list, I'd like to do more...so...as much as I'd love to be selfish and do this...

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...I'm instead going to be making this sort of thing happen for him avec the front office...

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I'm planning on paneling all the walls and lacquering them in a charcoal grey, that's hopefully going to be colour matched to the sofa that's currently in our living room...it's going to be built into the bookcases sort of like this...

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7. The outside will be white stucco with this guy...

...and Tom Ford's abode...

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...serving as inspiration.

And I think that about sums up the decision making front for now.

Stay tuned for the upstairs layout coming next week.

xo

The Dream House Diaries #11 - A Piano???

Good morning friends.

My vacation is continuing with lots of beach time, a little drinkie poo time, and LOTS of kid/family time.

And of course, being in heaven is making me dream even more about the little piece of it we're hoping to start building when I get home...aka #projectdreamhouse.

And since I'm thinking about it, let's do this week's edition of...

For today, I'm dreaming of a little something I never really considered before...

And it has to do with the 'feel' I'm trying to create with this house...though I definitely want a comfortable home that functions for my family, I also want a space that feels slightly formal...especially the living room.

And right now, I'm thinking that one way to make this happen is with a...

...piano action...

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Problem is, none of us really play the piano...and I really can't afford one...but my they're pretty.

xo