kijiji and the power of photography

so I'm cruising through the kijiji furniture ads...

somewhere I really should NOT be allowed to wander unsupervised :)

and I come across these pics...

might not have stopped me in my tracks, 

but a closer read revealed these are pics of

Ralph Lauren writers chairs...

giant upholstered beauties that are as comfortable as they are dashing.

In perfect condition.

Hmmm...

A pair of emerald green velvet armchairs are on my wish list for the family room.

But could these work?

They look a little worse for the wear in the pics, don't they?

 A quick email exchange with the owner reveals they are indeed in perfect condition.

While I spend a few days considering working with this deep rich merlot hue in the future redo,

the seller emails me three times with huge price reductions.

By $375 I had no resolve left. 

Pretty damn sexy, aren't they?

I think if these had been the pics posted online they may have sold just a wee bit faster!

Of course now I need to change a whole bunch of other things in the design plan I had cooked up...

ah, the dreaded ripple effect!

But they're worth it :)

ps. have a really, really good Crushing on Color post lined up for monday,

it's delicious, truly.. stop by for decadent eye candy!

the vintage pieces you've been searching for...new

Everyone shops vintage now, don't we?

Gone is the stigma of venturing into the local thrift shop.

We've all been lured back., searching for that elusive piece to upcycle...

the one with with the superior construction of yesterday and the amazing price tag!

But sifting through all these dusty treasures, 

how many times have you wished that someone would just begin manufacturing these again?

Well, DwellStudio has answered the call.

They've teamed up with Precedent to create a collection that has some serious swagger..

and the styling of these pics is parfait.

I need these tables.

(and the art, and that lamp!)

The sideboard has a fabulous patina, right?

But what about that art, and who wants black built-ins?

clean lines, check

perfect scale, check

a dash of gold, check

sumptuous tobacco leather, an très chic octogonal table and that art...

look at those legs!

Love the headboard... love that there is over 300 Dwell Studio fabric choices.

Am I the only one who gets excited by perfectly upholstered pieces?

This is how all patterned pieces should look, seamless pattern matching...

Nailed it, didn't they?

a door romance

one day a handsome sliding barn door

met a set of parisan beauties....

and soon they had this

❤ true love ❤

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Tonight should be a breeze after the party we had this weekend!

25 12-years olds, some spooky decor, heaps of junk food and really LOUD music

all morphed into some unforgettable memories....

Bones kept bar..

and watched out over the action...

empty wine bottles filled with coloured water and re-labelled upped the creepy factor...

even water became arsenic :)

the gallery wall beyond...

The food table -

a folding table, with a piece of wood placed behind, 

the whole shebang covered with dollar-store tablecloths and destroyed old cheesecloth.

Added some string lights and strobe lights for twinkle, black lights for effect.

Pickles became ogre fingers,

spider dogs became baby arachnids.

The tray was heaped with pizza later..

Chips served up in cauldrons.... such a healthy menu!!

We had a guest with life-threatening nut allergies

and so have been nut-free for a month..

but I was still relieved when they all went home safely.

First guests arriving, checking out their "fortunes"

(we did up a basket of spooky ones)...

On the floor you can see a few of the balloons -

this was the greatest idea, and so simple -

we placed glow bracelets inside 30 white balloons and they floated around the floor all night, luminous.

That was the last moment of calm,

from here on in it was all shrieks and giggles...

Miss N was Katy Perry, and in true form she danced the night away :)

Hope you all have a happy halloween,

we'll be walking the 'hood,

spiced apple cider in hand....

Spooky beginnings...

Did I mention that I was a bit of a masochist?

No? You'll see..

The darlings attend catholic school,

and for some unknown reason the school has decided against having any dances.

Those awkward dances are a right of passage, no?

I remember my first one, the floor was empty,

and I asked a boy to dance!

We were the first ones out there, and I think he was ready to kill me :)

It was such an exciting time,

and it eased the transition from child to young adult.

So... I decided to honour my promise of a halloween party to Tash this year,

and this weekend we are hosting our first boy girl party.

BOY/GIRL.

Nail biting has begun.

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Anyhow, of course we've needed to get decorations started...

thought you may like to see a sneak peek - 

I'll get some better, in-the-dark ones because the lighting is what really makes it 

(isn't it always?!!)

The gallery wall...

this was a joint effort -

Tash and I found most of the pics online,

printed them off, and hung them inside wall decal frames.

Lots of giggles and evil laughing!

that crazy woman front and centre positively GLOWS when the black lights are on....

a bit of disco on the mantle...

the food table...

(we've planned a gourmet menu of pizza and chips)

these guys are flanking the table...

their eyes light up and change colour :)

we tucked a skull into some old silk flowers

a crow sits on a mossy bed of pumpkins....

the food will be served in cauldrons...

Bones, our bartender for the evening...

There's lots of other bits and bobs, 

pics to come....

Are you working on any projects for halloween?

Yay or Nay: art + bath

Art and steam don't mix.

I'm usually reluctant to put framed art or canvasses in the bathroom,

and definitely think twice before placing it above the tub or near the shower.

But it LOOKS so good :)

 

source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

What do you think?

Are you daring, precariously hanging your art near the bath?!!

(ooooh, the dangerous lives we lead :)

Is it a yay or a nay?

This Artist is an Inspiration

You've never seen pictures of my son's room,

and there's a reason for that :)

We've ended up with an entire matching ikea set - remember the robin series?

We bought him the bookshelves at our last house,

then my brother offered us his son's desk (same series)

then D's sis offered us her son's bed and nightstand.

Crazy.

Although it's functional,

the sizing is becoming a little small for him,

and it's a bit matchy-matchy for me.

A plan is slowly forming,

and yesterday I was cruising around looking for pics of reclaimed wood accent walls,

and found the most inspiring, amazing blog.

It's called Brooklyn to West,

written by Ariele, a builder/sculpter/furniture maker living in Brooklyn.

Sounds interesting already, right?

Ariele drove acroos the country with her business partner and friend

collecting wood and antique chairs,

where she spent five months designing and building

a restaurant from reclaimed and salvaged materials.

She is truly passionate about her work, 

and her phenomenal photography perfectly captures the beauty of her designs.

If you ever wanted to read about an artist living their dream,

go over.

Some of the magic...

Thank you, Ariele,

for re-igniting the artist in me.

x