Over the weekend my husband was researching Ottawa architects online, and came across one of our favourites, John Donkin (I featured him last year). He found a recently completed home in his portfolio that is EXACTLY what we’ve been dreaming about. We drove by it on Saturday and after picking our jaws up off the ground we managed to snap some photos of it with a cell phone like a couple of stalkers. The exterior is perfect for us – tall and narrow-ish with a huge garage (it is really deep and wide once you drive in) where my husband can hang out and do guy stuff. These folks have a fairly wide lot so they were able to plan for alot of windows on the more private side of the house, which we may not be able to get away with given our narrow lot.

I love that the facade is not made up of 8 different materials in 8 different colours like all the other modern homes going up around Ottawa. (BLEH). The simplicity of it is perfection, and draws your attention to the wonderful details like ALL THE WINDOWS.
Now, I have not really taken a good look at the interior as I am up to my eyeballs in French studies so this post is more about the shape and the exterior but I thought I’d show you the photos from John’s website of both so you can see what this fabulous home is all about (after the jump).

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to  desiretoinspirekim[@]hotmail[.]com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This is my Brussels Griffon, Alma, on a Room & Board couch.
– Lauren (New York City)

My boyfriend wanted it black, I wanted it white, so we bought a grey sofa. The cat’s loved it anyhow. Leon (on the armrest) and Idde.
– Ylva (Swedish, with a Norwegian boyfriend, living in Australia)

I am submitting photos we took during our recent vacation at Casale Monticchio in Umbria, Italy.  One of the resident cats, Jasper, often came to visit us in our apartment, a 17th century converted outbuilding, which originally housed stables, pigsties, wine presses and a bread oven.
– Sarah

This is my dear French bulldog/shih tzu mix, Bo. She sits in her favourite corner of our well loved, down-stuffed leather sofa. Inevitably the pillows she is perched on are dramatically shoved off moments after she jumps up to rest her nearly hairless belly on the cool leather! For such a silly little dog, she certainly looks serious in this picture.
– Jen (London, Ontario)

My cat (Nancy Raygun) chillin’ on my bed. Artwork in the background is: bird print, tree print, mermaid, beard couple, swimmer
– Kelsey

I snapped this recently of our cat, Smokey, enjoying a few minutes of peace on our couch. Our daughter was born 7 weeks ago, so life in our house has been a bit crazy! Smokey didn’t really appreciate my interrupting her nap but I couldn’t help it 🙂
– Barbara

I send the picture of my cat, I know that the furniture ( table) is not clear, but i simply think that is a perfect picture for a halloween pets post, a black cat and a BOO! He is Rasputín, my 5 months cat, we live in south Spain, and I was printing some printables for the halloween decorations and he decided to appear behind the computer.
– Nuria

I didn’t blog anything last Sunday and was feeling a bit guilty not blogging again today since I’m supposed to be studying for my French test so I decided to whip up something quick so as not to disappoint those stopping by today. (Things will be back to normal for me in about a week and a half so thankfully my funk won’t last too much longer). I did take break for a couple hours today to check out the annual Third World Bazaar in Manotick. They always have awesome homewares from around the globe, and I always manage to come home with at least a few items. This year I picked up an amazing Thai teak cube/side table for $125, a concrete statue for $75 and a cute felt placement for $4. (Check out a couple of my previous trips to the bazaar here and here).

I’ve got some more goodies to share. My parents just got back from a lovely vacation in Greece and despite everything being super pricey there (my mom only bought herself one top, which is an all-time low for her), she spoiled us kids with a few small items. Here’s what I got: a necklace, bracelet, bag of amazing sesame-covered peanuts, bar of olive oil/chamomile soap you can even wash your hair with, and a perfectly suited for me pillow cover.

Here is a shot my dad took from their hotel in Santorini. GORG!!!

And speaking of Santorini, as I was tweaking my photos we received an email from George, who coincidentally is the general manager of a hotel there called the Santorini Astarte Suites. It’s a little 9 suite boutique hotel with lots of privacy and seems to be a favourite for honeymooners. Their views are equally breathtaking.

TGIF…and I leave you with the following photos from a real estate listing on Bolaget. The details in this apartment are fairly ornate (ie. ceiling, floor and wood stove), and then there’s this gorgeous vintage dress hanging on the wall that made me sigh and smile. 

I am frankly really embarrassed to have not blogged about architectural firm LineBox Studio before, as they are based in Toronto and my lovely city of Ottawa. And now that it sounds like my husband and I have to start our house plans from scratch (maybe wrecking the existing house and starting new) with a new architect (who knows something about Ottawa building codes), I might hit these guys up for some much needed assistance. I found several funky projects on their website, renovations and infills included, and the following home here in Ottawa (really?!?!) was initially a 19th century butcher shop with heritage designation. I freaking love it…ESPECIALLY the sunken fireplace seating pit!!!!