Not so Mellow.......Yellow

We wait all year for the yellow of spring to peek up and say hello.

If you have a friend who could use some cheering up, drop one of these Small Comforts at their doorstep. Dress it up with a bit of giftwrap and ribbon. Simple.

The artist Bonnie Burger is the owner is of this Okanagan weekend retreat and used high colour in large strokes as the preferred design direction of choice. One of her large and exhuberant paintings anchors one part of the room while a yellow Bertazzoni range holds the other. A wood convent table from the 1890's introduces warmth into this not-so-clinical white kitchen.

There is an interesting addition to this room. The photograph is an enlarged version of a Paris photo that the owner had of his parents from their younger days. How cool is that mixed in with these modern lines? Two generations crossing together in one room.

A warm and velvety vibe. So beautiful and welcoming.
The above interior images are from the online version of House & Home, our Canadian design mag.

Please excuse any spelling errors while I go buy a real dictionary.The new blogger program has a  strikeout function but no spellcheck?????? Is someone sleeping over there in blogger land?

Top photo by Polly Wreford - Sarah Kaye/All other photos from Canadian House and Home

Subtle Weekend Glamour

Every time I look at this well-appointed settee, I want to go and buy a ballgown. Something in duchess satin worn with an understated but sparkly diamond necklace. Or maybe the one at the bottom of this post. Is this bolster pillow not the most exquisite? That damask in the background is almost identical in colour and pattern to my ensuite wallpaper, a subtle platinum with everything else in ivory and white. So I should dress up and sit in my bathroom? It does have a chair and a chandelier, it is a party prep room perhaps. Funny how design can conjure up associations, make you rise to the occasion. This is the best part of design. It can make you feel good. Glamorous. Every time you walk in the room.


If I was a purist, the rest of my home would be all tonal, shades of ivory. Like this home so perfectly executed by Canadian designer Julie Charbonneau, sometimes wish I could personally handle a monochromatic palette on a daily basis. To do so would mean excluding all my favorite colours and truthfully I would miss them and could never leave any of them behind. When I have done this look for clients I found I didn't want to leave their house upon project completion which is a big clue right there where my second personality resides (my husband would say I am selling myself short, there is at least 10 personalities going at any given time). It has a soothing countenance that I find elegant and orderly if that makes sense. My eye keeps going to the book collections, today all in ivory, last post showing a red collection in the Charlotte Moss townhouse den.

We all know mixing shades of ivory with white in a bathroom is truly a classic and timeless palette. It just never gets old does it? If you do this look and are aiming for ballgown glamour, upgrade your fixtures to polished nickel. The subdued palette loves a bit of sparkle. White towels, not ivory. I love how Charbonneau has hung the framed prints right over the window frame.

A sink cantilevered over a mirror.............creative glamour. These photos are from our stylish and hip Canadian design magazine House & Home. We have some incredible Canadian design talent that I will share over the next few weeks. Next week will be "Not so mellow.......Yellow" as I heard the daffodils are peeking out early this spring and it makes me feel positively perky on this grey and rainy day.

Just a bit of glamour for your weekend. Let me rephrase that........a huge bit of glamour.

Alexander McQueen ~ Paris Fashion week Fall 2010.

Top photo from Traditional Home/2nd, 3rd and 4th photo show room design by Juile Charbonneau~ Canadian House & Home/Bottom Photo from Harper's Bazaar.

Kitchen Lust

design by European designers Baden and Baden

No wrapping today, lots of grocery shopping, cooking and baking for the weekend ahead. Our son is packing up and heading home for a few months to study for a big exam so our kitchen will be busier than usual again. I love my kitchen and all that it represents, I hope you love yours as well, but if not, here's some design ideas to file away.......
This neutral-based kitchen reminds me of Flamant, a upscale lifestyle store located in the Saint-Germain area of Paris. Talking about spending hours in a store....I wanted to live there! More about the Belgian-based home retailer located in Paris and other European cities coming in an upcoming post. I hate picking favorites, but if forced to.......and in another life, this high-ceiling working kitchen would be the one.

design by Elaine Griffin via House Beautiful

This distressed celery green finish is so European, especially since they used it on both the cabinetry and panelled walls. . .....a brilliant stroke of design. This colour looks fabulous with the copper hood and warm wood floor tone. I bet this room is delicious when the sunlight filters in during the day.

image from Canadian House & Home (no designer source given)

According to last weekend's Globe & Mail style section, red is back in kitchen design. Count me in, I could slice and saute quite happily in this kitchen with tomato red cabinets. Red in a kitchen stimulates the appetite, so chose accordingly. This room would sizzle at night.

design by Gwyn Duggan via Canadian House & Home

Along with this crisp and soothing palette, I love the cozy seating arrangement around a generously-sized wood table. A Scandinavian colour palette and comfy white cotton wing chairs.......so serene.

design by Michele Allman via House Beautiful

More distressed furniture-style cabinetry in a lovely washed turquoise. The burgundy toile fabric and lantern give the room a complementry boost and fits the ambiance so well. Cleverly-disguised, the refrigerator poses as an armoire seen on the left. I always prefer two windows instead of one big one, seems cozier and gives the stone hood it rightful prominence.

Top photo from Baden and Baden/2nd and bottom photo from House Beautiful/3rd and 4th photo from Canadian House & Home