Killer vibes in this Salt Lake City remodel – another gem by the team at cityhomeCOLLECTIVE. Clients asked that we remodel their builder-grade home in order to make the space more well-suited to entertaining. Full scope included kitchen, living, and dining updates, renovation of bathrooms and bedroom, relocation of staircase, and a complete, to-the-studs remodel of the basement. We incorporated some of the owner’s Mediterranean heritage and family heirlooms to achieve a restful presence throughout.

I’m having heart palpitations over this dreamy loft updated by one of my favourite designers, Jessica Helgerson (senior designer of this project was Mira Eng-Goetz). With a beautiful pastel, almost Southwestern scheme going on, it’s sooooo soothing and easy on the eye. The result is a fresh, bright, happy, calm, space with a maximum amount of storage for a minimum amount of clutter. A giant built-in sofa allows our client to welcome large groups of friends, and a cozy “rainy day nook” doubles as a guest bedroom. The bedroom is entirely paneled, with storage behind all walls. A minimalist material palette and a display wall of storage and open nooks, allows our art-loving client to easily update and change the decor. (Photos: Aaron Leitz)

Loving the glam vibe mixed with dark greys/blacks in this Hollywood Hills home by Deidre Doherty. This fashion industry power couple came to us with a home to remodel in Hollywood Hills and a desire to marry their tastes for bold and wild, yet sophisticated and fine. Together, we created a glam concoction that’s a standout—even by the standards of the rock stars in their neighborhood. A leather-wrapped master closet soothes your senses in the morning. A snakeskin-wrapped powder room coaxes your wild side before evenings out. And robust elements like a copper kitchen hood, Calacatta marble, and a custom concrete fireplace are brash enough to feel edgy and yet solid enough to make you feel held and at home.

Architect Suchi Reddy of New York firm Reddymade has an uncanny ability of creating spaces that have a gallery-like feel but are functional and liveable. The following pics are from random projects from her impressive portfolio. “Form follows feeling” is the guiding principle of the practice. Reddy’s strong belief is that the quality of the space evokes emotion and that good design, calibrated carefully to the human, influences well-being, creativity, and productivity.

Hey folks. I got back yesterday from the most amazing 2 week trip to my favourite places – Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita, Mexico. If you have been following the blog a while you’ll know I do this trek almost every winter and I can’t get enough. This time it was husband and I staying at the condo in PV my folks’ rent each year – 3.5 months this time – and then because we love the bohemian surf town of Sayulita so much, we rented a totally adorable Airbnb there for 3 nights partway through the trip. We ate at soooo many incredible restaurants, shopped and shopped and shopped (I need to look into the cost of a shipping container LOL), and lay in the sun for as many hours as possible. I cannot think of a better way to welcome spring after such a horrendous winter (and to make me regret returning home even more, it had just snowed here in Ottawa). Our next objective is finding a way to move to Mexico…at least for the winter months. Here is a bit of a glimpse into our trip from some photos I grabbed off of my phone.

the colours in Mexico blow my mind

one of my favourite decor shops in Puerto Vallarta – La Colleccion

first time spotting this mural – LOVE!

my love for pink and orange is strong

since I was a kid I dreamt of living in a climate where cacti thrive outside

Hotel Hafa in Sayulita

at every turn in Sayulita is something photo-worthy

a simple but beautiful church in the Sayulita town square

surfing vibes

plants as far as the eye can see in Sayulita – and this was just a random alcove on a main street

I can’t get over how cute they display their plants

sansevieria/snake plants taller than I have ever seen

many, many, many dogs run loose all over Sayulita
they’ve tried getting a handle on the stray dog population over the years… but then we found a little 8 week old puppy in the middle of the road one day
NOT OK!

kinda love this, especially when I realized we kept walking past this for 3 days before I noticed

the colours!!!
we need to take note up here in bleak Canada

I didn’t buy that tapestry
a travesty
especially when the sweet kid at that stall took a good minute to try and come up with how to say 3000 pesos (in Spanish)

oh, did we eat!
the view from Barcelona Tapas Thursday night – a favourite restaurant of ours for many years in Puerto Vallarta

what’s not to love about tiles and plants

we stumbled upon an antiques shop we had never seen before and I nearly had a stroke at all the things, like this massive mirror, I wanted to bring home

this Mexican restaurant wins an award from me for having the cutest exterior

a beautiful shop in Sayulita called Nakawe Trading where I bought some gorg pillow cases

I wanted all the things in this store – Suré Moda y Casa

Evoke The Spirit