Displaying posts from October, 2008

Several months ago Jo posted about an eco-friendly home designed by Lori Dennis of the Dennis Design Group. I loved the photos Jo posted and came across their website again with many more fabulous photos. Her style is youthful and modern and hip, with lots of bold artwork. I am totally impressed by the importance this firm places on “green” design. Lori even has a blog called Glamorous Green, about green design and living. (My favourite is that walk-in closet. YUM)

Magical is the word that came to mind when I viewed Steven Randazzo’s portfolio. Rooms are captured showing all their personality and simplicity is celebrated. If they’re quirky then Steven’s photos distill that too and bring you into a space that is in some cases voluptuous, in others quiet and strong. His travel portfolio is full of fabulous photos of ordinary beauty.

So many fabulous retro rooms brimming with budding beauty that I just had to share more. Time to turn the pages once again of Decorating With Plants, A House and Garden Book, by Marybeth Little Weston,The Condé Nast Publications, Pantheon Books, New York, 1978. Now I want a ficus or maybe a traveller’s palm. A boston fern for the bathroom anyone?

Things are a little nutty at my house, as I’m trying to get some projects finished before the kitchen renovation work needs to start. I had 2 things I was determined to complete, the renovation of my staircase to the second floor, and my basement.

I took Friday off from work to start the stairs and I managed to get them pretty much done. A couple paint touch ups and a few nail holes left to fill but I am too tired to finish it. I thought I’d show some before photos first so you can see what I’ve been living with since December. This first photo is what the stairs looked like for about a month after I moved in.

I ripped the carpeting off because it was so dirty (from moving in a snowstorm) and not installed properly – I almost took a tumble down them a few times. This is the horror that was underneath. Linoleum tiles, aluminum trim and lots of paint splotches.

I am dying to paint all the floors in my house white, so the stairs were no exception. I painted them white, and the staircase is now so much brighter than it was. Now if I could just figure out how to get them to clean themselves…

Here is why I am too tired to finish the stairs. Below are photos of the remnants of what was on the floor in my damp and leaky basement (there’s more that has to come out but I’m too tired and need help with the rest). I am so pissed off that someone was stupid enough to decide to hide leaks by putting down layer upon layer of plywood on a damp floor. The smell once the top layer of linoleum was removed was so disgusting. The wood in some places was BLACK and crumbly. I am afraid my cats and I will get sick from the mold. I wore a mask while I was working down there but the smell was so bad I can still smell it, and I feel kind of nauseous. There are alot of annoying and poorly executed things I keep finding around this house, but this one definitively tops the list of bad judgement.

Like Kim I realised I hadn’t shared anything from my place lately. This weekend I started changing out the look in my bedroom. Fresh and bright for the hot summer months ahead. Vibrant yellow, shades of green and lots of 70s and 80s florals. Once again almost everything is from garage sales, thrift stores and eBay. The rug is IKEA on sale and great for covering the ugly grey carpet. I’m using three in a U shape around the bed. The theory is to whip stitch them together with kelly green wool but that’s the theory. We stretched some retro bird of paradise fabric over a frame and it really brightens up the room. A lick of citrus green livened up the thrift shop side tables and yet another moss pot sits on a papier mache tray. My taupe bed throw is a concession to a large Labrador dog that won’t take no for an answer when it comes to lying on the bed. White would be wonderful but would stay that way for a millisecond.

At the foot of the bed sit two ottomans. They were originally covered in eBay sourced fabric to go with my patchwork couch from hell but now that I’ve changed my scheme in the living room, they have found a home at the foot of my bed. They need their legs repainted…. white I think. Speaking of repainting what do you think of kelly green for the cane headboard? It’s a small room but wonderfully bright now. A friend has helped me with the roman blinds for the bay window but do you think I can make them hang properly??!! I can’t take the old hardware down. Ugly vertical blinds once hung from ceiling tracks. The problem is the tracks are GLUED to the concrete ceiling and I’m in a rental and loathe to try to pull them down. So the new shades are still a work in progress. They are fab though 🙂 Vintage Vera fabric in fabulous greens and crisp white I scored on eBay. Maybe next time I show the room they’ll be hanging beautifully.