Showing posts with label IDS11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IDS11. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sarah 101: Two boho chic bedrooms

This week’s episode of Sarah 101 is a double feature – two rooms for three lucky little girls named Lola, Luca, Coco. Sarah & Tommy went for a boho chic look in the bedroom for Luna and Luca and the nursery for Coco.

The colour schemes for both rooms came from tea towels. As Sarah pointed out, inspiration can strike anywhere – you can turn an item into something else. In this case, Sarah used the towels as pillowcases and a laundry bag.

The nursery colours are coral and mustard, and the bedroom colours are green and blue. Striped broadloom carpeting with the colours of both rooms and a neutral background ties the rooms together and into the rest of the house.

sarah 1

Both rooms have low ceilings, so it was important to find light fixtures that were either flush mounted or small enough to not hang too low and get in the way of adult heads. Sarah likes to use light fixtures that cast interesting patterns on the ceiling. Use a clear light bulb for the best effect.

sarah 2Sarah ordered cute wallpaper animal artwork online from Galerie CO in Montrea. You could create something similar yourself using some leftover wallpaper and cutting it into any shape or pattern that you want.

The night tables and dresser were vintage finds. Sarah had them sprayed, and then added beautiful crystal knobs and handles to really dress them up.

sarah 3

What did Sarah & Tommy teach us?

1. When designing side-by-side bedrooms, you want to give each room its own character, but link them together. You can do this with colours and flooring.

2.  Kids rooms should be playful & easy care.

3.  A combination of floral, geometric, and big & small print fabrics give a kid’s room interest & curiosity. Fabrics don’t have to match exactly. And use fabric colours as a jumping off point for paint colours, but temper the colours a bit so they don’t stand out too much.

4. Always use a pencil to draw lines or marks on walls – pen ink will leak through paint.

5. Don’t underestimate the power of accessories – they can add interest in the most unexpected places.

6. Use leftover fabric pieces to make create bunting and hang it as artwork.

7. Paint & decoration can completely change the look & feel of a room without changing any major elements.

8. Small rooms require smart layouts – use furniture to your advantage.

9. Redesign a closet interior to best accommodate your clothing.

10. 100% pure wall carpeting has no off-gassing, which is good for everyone and especially good in a room where kids will be playing on the floor.

11. Make sure all trinkets in a kid’s room are functional.

12. The Jolly Green Giant isn’t real – sorry!

And that’s your Sarah 101 wrap-up for this week :-) You can check out the Sarah 101 web site for more information and shopping sources.


I’ll be posting my interview with Jane Lockhart tomorrow – be sure to stop by and check it out :-)

And before I go, just want to mention my two recent writing gigs. I posted them on my sidebar, but in case you missed them… Ottawa At Home featured a story I wrote about IDS11 on their web site, and I was last week’s guest blogger for Design DNA. Read all about Pyrex measuring cups and try out my secret recipe (well, not anymore!) for Triple-Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies! :-) And while you’re on the Design DNA Facebook page, be sure to enter their latest contest – you could win a Le Crouset Cocotte Ronde.

And speaking of contests… don’t forget to enter my giveaway for this beautiful horse photograph entitled Listen by Diane Schuller. Click here for all the details.

Diane Listen 2

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

sig turquoise

Friday, February 4, 2011

Sibling Revelry at IDS11

One of the hottest spots at IDS11 was the Sibling Revelry exhibit – four 600 sq ft spaces each designed by four pairs of Canadian designer siblings. We waited in a huge line-up to get in at the gala on Thursday, and it was worth every minute of the wait! Not only did we have the chance to talk with Tommy and meet Sarah, but the spaces were filled with fabulous items and inspiring ideas.

My and Thien Ta Trung

This was more of a conceptual space filled with plants and some green furnishings and  white stone floor.

sib rev MY AND THIEN TA TRUNG

IMG_4547

Jason and Lars Dressler

These twin brothers created a rustic modern space – lots of wood, some leather, some funky elements, and a super-huge and cool chandelier!

slat wall BROTHERS DRESSLER

bench BROTHERS DRESSLER  table BROTHERS DRESSLER 

chair BROTHERS DRESSLER chandelier BROTHERS DRESSLER

Glenn & David Dixon

This space was inspired by the true story of 12-year old Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki. When Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia in February 1955, a friend of hers inspired her to fold 1,000 origami cranes, in reference to the ancient Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand paper origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. Students from Ryerson folded these 1,000 cranes.

birds dixon booth 1   dandelion dixon booth 2corner dixon boothlamp dixon boothsofa dixon booth 1

I want this mirror!

mirror dixon booth

Sarah & Theo Richardson

Sarah and her brother Theo designed divided their space into three small rooms – dining room, study, and bedroom. They combined Sarah’s softer design aesthetic with harder edged, industrial pieces from Theo’s design company, Rich, Brilliant, Willing. {Shannon at What’s Up Whimsy was lucky enough to meet Theo and even had lunch with him! You can read all about it here.}

{Seeing as I was too busy being star-struck to take decent pictures in Sarah & Theo’s space, Grace at Sense and Sensibility is graciously letting me post some of her photos here. Thanks Grace!}

sign outside sarah theo

DR sarah theo 3

Love the combination of patterns on the chair. Not sure I’d do it on my own dining room chairs, but in this space, it worked.

chair sarah theo

These DR pics are from Grace…

SS dr1 SS dr2 SS dr3

As soon as I saw this bright blue pouf, I thought of Nancy at Marcus Design :-) It’s the only decent picture I took in the study – the rest are from Grace :-)

blue pouf sarah theo

SS study3

SS study1   SS study4

I want this polar bear painting!

SS study2

The bedroom was bold and bright and included one of Sarah’s trademark headboards.

bedroom sarah theo

chandelier sarah theo

And bedroom pics from Grace… notice that the table matches the light fixture above. Both from RBW.

SS bed1 SS bed2 SS bed3

And so ends my wrap-up of IDS11! I’ve already received a save the date email for IDS12, happening January 26-29, 2012. I’m SO going to be there, and I hope you will be too!

Happy weekend!

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

sig turquoise

Thursday, February 3, 2011

The people of IDS11

Whoops – due to a technical glitch, the previously scheduled IDS11 Sibling Revelry post will have to wait until tomorrow. In its place, today I’m bringing you the people of IDS11.

{FYI, I HATE seeing myself in pictures and definitely do NOT make a habit of plastering my face all over the internet! But for this post, I’ll make an exception because I want you to “meet” some of my wonderful blogger friends.}

cheers

Of course, there were loads of well-known Canadian designers at the show – Sarah & Tommy, Jane Lockhart, Arren WIlliams, Ramsin Khachi, Karen Sealy, Kelly Deck… but there were a lot of equally great but not-so-well known decorators and designers there too. And I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of them…

Paul Anater isn’t actually Canadian, but he loves Canada and spent a lot of time here when he was younger and he ate poutine last Thursday night, so let’s make him an honourary Canadian :-) His blog, Kitchen and Residential Design, is one of the first blogs I followed when I started blogging in January 2009. We’ve been friends ever since, but never met… until IDS11! Paul is such a great guy, and talking with him was so inspiring. He also introduced me to his friend Gloria at Kitchen for Living and some representatives from Masco Cabinetry (I’m such a schmoozer! ;-) Thanks Paul for being such a good friend!

paul kelly

Lindsay at Aubrey + Lindsay’s Little House Blog organized a casual blogger get-together on Friday afternoon at the show. I wandered down to the VIP room (ooh-la-la!) with Paul, and ran into some blogger friends there, including Jennifer from Rambling Renovators, Vanessa from Decor Happy, and Amy from eye see pretty. (Check out Jennifer’s review of the latest episode of Sarah 101 here, and her special inside peek at how the homeowners feel about their Sarah 101 experience here.) Amy and I headed back upstairs to wander around the show together. We had a great time chatting and checking out the booths. Amy, we need to shop!

amy kelly

And I can’t forget the always glamourous and sexy GlamaMama herself, Christine from Decor by Christine. This woman is seriously stylin’, and I lost track of how many times she hugged me! {Holy crap, my head is a watermelon!}

christine kelly

I know I’ll forget to mention some other friends I met up with at the show, but when you have a watermelon for a head, that’s what happens! I bumped into Staci at Inspired by Life a couple of times, and how freaky is this – Chania from Razmataz actually came up to me and asked “Are you Kelly?” And it happened not just once, but TWICE! Michelle and Carolyn from MyDesignerMuse also came up to me and asked me the same thing! So this is how being a celebrity feels ;-) Hahahaha! No, not even close! But it was extremely flattering to be recognized by my fellow bloggers – it was great to meet you Chania, Michelle, and Carolyn :-)

I can’t end this post without mentioning Jane Lockhart. We spoke for a little while at the Gresham House Furniture booth where her new Platinum Series furniture was being featured. I’ve loved Jane for ages, and it was a thrill to talk with her. I sent Jane a request for an interview on Monday, and it’s already in the can, so to speak :-) I’ll be posting the interview early next week – don’t miss it!  {A special thank you to Suzanna for for all your help}.

jane kelly

OK, that’s way too much of me for one post! Tomorrow will be my Sibling Revelry recap, and that’ll wrap up my week of IDS11 posts. See ya then!

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

sig turquoise

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

IDS11 eye candy

Everywhere I looked at IDS11, there was something awesome to see. Prepare to be awed and amazed with some serious IDS11 eye candy!

{I’ve included the sources wherever possible, but as I mentioned in my previous post, I was a bit distracted and didn’t always get the names of the artisans or booths. If you know the source for something you see here, please leave a comment and let me know so I can give proper credit.}

First of all, I have to share the best eye candy of all – the TBBs + Escort! ;-)

TBBs and escortThanks ladies & Graham for the fun & laughs & good times!

Edgewater Studio may have been everybody’s favourite booth – Twitter and blogs have been on fire over the last few days with people gushing over these gorgeous tiles! This is the only picture I managed to get – the booth was packed with people!

tiles studio north

My friend Nicole managed to get this picture.

edgewater nicole

And a couple of pictures from the Edgewater web site.

Mini-Moroccan-300x300 Nishi-Close-Up-IDS11-300x195

These are two of my favourite booths in Studio North. Andrew Ooi is a self-taught Toronto artist who puts his own spin on origami to create one-of-a-kind light fixtures and artwork.

ooi lights 1ooi artwork

And Gilbert Vanden Heuvel has combined his love for cycling and metal work to design furniture, accessories, and art from old bicycle parts – literally reCYCLING!

bike table recyclermirror recycler

AM Studio was one of my favourite booths last year. They were back again this year with more gorgeous light fixtures.

am studio 1  am studio 3

And more gorgeous lighting. Aren’t these wood light fixtures totally fab? From The Carroll Street Woodworkers (thanks Patsy at Our Journey!!)

wood light fixtures studio north

This is a recreation of an old glass chandelier.

glass leaf chandelier

Loved Eurolite’s booth.

eurolite colourful

I wouldn’t mind this diamond!

diamond sconce eurolite 1

diamond sconce eurolite 2

Love these huge glass lamps in the Frini Furniture booth. The credenza is pretty awesome too – isn’t it cool how it looks like molten metal? But the surface is totally smooth.

lamps frini

Commute Home created this funky urban light installation.

cool metal and light display

Brass Moroccan-inspired light fixtures from Snob.

brass lights snob

Love this huge crystal chandelier, but can’t remember which booth it was in. {Thanks again to Patsy at Our Journey for letting me know that the next two pics are from the UpCountry booth} :-)

chandelier union jack 2

The Union Jack was popular! {Picture taken by my friend Nicole}

union jack sofa

Believe it or not, these gorgeous flowers are made from Corian! Designed by Pascale Girardin.

flower lights 3

And this super-cool hanging chair is Corian too! Designed by the guys at Earth Inc.

cool hanging chair

Adorable felt cushion in the Sheridan student exhibit.

student cushion

I can’t for the life of me remember which booth this was, but how cool is this vent hood with the city skyline?

skyline vent hood 2

Some cool installations…

cool installation

chairs on wall 18karat

booth with funky wood walls

funkly booth pink strings

funky installation

And of course, what’s a design show without furniture – love this tire chair, appropriately called Tire-E.

tire-e chair 1  tire-e chair 2

Alfred Sung’s limited edition Blackwatch Tartan outdoor furniture – available only at IDS11!  But don’t worry, he has some other cool designs coming out soon…

sung stacked chairs 2

sung side table

Some cool pieces from Studio North…

cool side table      cool chair and table studio north

sideboard with topography

Awesome layered wood doors on this credenza from Cabinet Furniture.

cabinet credenza

cabinet credenza close

I am so digging these glass bamboo tiles from Saltillo.

bamboo tiles saltillo

I could go on, but you get the picture – design fabulousness everywhere you looked! My next IDS post will be about the Sibling Revelry exhibit, which was a big hit. Don’t miss it!

sig turquoise