We’ve gotten several emails lately from readers asking for us to post photos to help inspire on all sorts of subjects and I thought I’d take a stab at one of them today. We received this email from Harpa: “I was wondering if you have any pictures showing an open closet or some clothing rails in a bedroom? I’ll be redoing my bedroom soon (when my littlest one gets his own room) and I want to have a small rail out in the open for some of my nicer clothes, or to organise my work clothes for the week. Some inspirational pictures would be very helpful 🙂” To my surprise I had a hard time finding photos in my stash for this one but I was intrigued to find some because I hope to redo my dressing room in the near future (how long have I been saying that? LOL) and my father is trying to convince me to have everything exposed (except maybe a bin or drawers for unmentionables). I’ve included some photos that feature something other than bars or open closets to give some other ideas for exposing clothing as well (ie. round rack, hooks, cute armoire whose doors could be removed).

Bolig Magasinet	Hus & Hem
Beach Studios	Bolig Magasinet
Ulrika Ekblom	Tori Golub
Adriano Bacchella	Hus & Hem
Country Home	Derek Swalwell
vtwonen	Alexander Gorlin Architects

Selina Lake

Alvhem

AT Casa

Bolig Magasinet

Coorda

Sköna hem

me melodia

Bolig Magasinet

Jordi Canosa

Marie Claire MaisonMarie Claire Maison

I am always in awe of a designer who can mix lots of patterns, textures and colours in one room and make it appear so effortless and cohesive. Katie Ridder is one of those designers. Jo featured some of her work back in ’07, and I needed to showcase more of her work after drooling profusely over her portfolio again recently. I adore every single one of the spaces below. Gorgeous!

Tamara wrote us the other day, explaining how she recently quit her job with the Canadian federal government (I am beyond envious), moved to southern Ontario with her Aussie boyfriend, bought an 85-year-old house in a historic neighbourhood, and started a small catering/personal chef business from scratch. Yeah, I’d say she’s been a tad busy lately. She wanted to share with us some photos of her kitchen reno that was necessary in order to use it as the base production and prep space for their business. Here is a before photo:

Gotta love 80’s kitchens. BLEH. The kitchen is just about done but there are some finishing touches Tamara is looking for help with:

“We still have a few things to do in the kitchen, like installing a range hood and figuring out the best option for a backsplash. Maybe your readers could offer a suggestion?  Adam, being a professional chef, is all about stainless steel EVERYTHING, but I’m leaning toward grey/white glass tiles to keep things a little less..clinical. But, I can’t decide how far to take them along the wall..any ideas?

If your readers have any suggestions to complete the kitchen, we’d live to hear them!”

Now for the “after photos”…

Love the teal wall and the open shelving – I bet ALOT of fantastic food is going to fly out of this totally functional kitchen!
I have to call it a night shortly (it’s Tuesday night as I prep this post) but here are a couple of my ideas. This jute rug (or something similar in jute) I think would look great under your dining table, or if you crave more colour I’d go for something bold to equal the boldness of your teal wall like this one or this one from Ikea. I completely agree about industrial drafting stools. I wouldn’t bother with a backsplash – unless you want an easy surface to clean by the counter around your sink, in which case I would just get a piece of plexi cut to fit that would go 2 or 3 feet up that wall.

So folks, if you’ve got ideas for Tamara to finish up her kitchen please leave them in the comments.

I found a little surprise in my mailbox this afternoon when I got home from work and I am happy to now be able to share it with you all. My home is featured in the latest issue of Nisha, an interior design magazine from Israel. Of course, I can’t read it but I’m sure it’s a great read (LOL) and it’s filled with so many of my photos which is cool considering I am an aspiring photographer (who should really take a course or 3). They sent me a PDF copy a while back which I’ll share instead of attempting to scan the actual article. A huge thanks to Shira for including me in this issue. It’s such a great feeling (and kind of shocking to be honest) to know that people around the world appreciate the work I’ve put into my little Ottawa pad.

The other day a reader named Bo sent us this link to a black and white home on a Swedish real estate site. I thought it was a cool pad, but then while perusing the site I came across this home that really got me going. I LOVE the location, the open layout, the fresh colour scheme, the whitewashed wide plank hardwood, the grey trim, the black Smeg, the viewwwwww…….(thx Bo!)