Cottage Life

There seems to be a trend towards escaping the city for a slower pace of life during the summer.  Some escape to campgrounds all over BC, which was my summer fun growing up.  Days spent swimming and riding bikes, and evenings spent by the camp fire roasting marshmellows.   Others are fortunate enough to spend some time at summer house.  Either rented or owned.  If you own a summer home, its amazing for your kids to have a home away from home where they can grow up yearly and create life long memories there.  On the other hand, some choose to take that money and visit different places.  Exploring the world around us, and creating amazing memories that way.

My husband's family has a summer home on a small island on the sunshine coast.  There are no roads, stores or distractions.  My kids get my full attention.   One of my favorite parts is exploring the sea life.  We have watched snakes swallow fish whole, fish give birth, barnacles, oysters, clams and starfish come to life in our salt water fish tank that hold all our findings.  We've caught eels, rock lobsters, octopus, and of course lots of crabs!!!  Since getting to a store is quite a chore, we plan our meals carefully and bring what we need.  Then we catch crab, and get creative with our menu.  I often take time to make extra special meals, 'cause, well I have the time.  Here are some of the fun things we create in the kitchen:








And speaking of the kitchen, here is the renovation we completed on the kitchen of the cottage a couple of years ago.  One of my favorite renos of all time: (do I always say that?)

This is the before picture:



This is the after picture:  As you can see we removed the hallway and changed the entrance to the bathroom.



Here is the drastic transformation of the family room:

Before:



AFTER:



This year we completed the upstairs:

BEFORE:








AFTER:









All the trim and doors were replaced upstairs.  (It used to be dark brown plastic - yuck)  And the carpet upstairs was also replaced.

Where ever you spent the lazy of days of summer I hope you and your family created amazing memories, and had a wonderful summer.  Here is a few instagram pics of our summer.  If you want to follow me on instagram search the username: grapevine_designs.





This is the very large, very ugly octopus we caught in our crab trap.  He is pictured here swimming free!



These are Eli's snakes that he caught (with the help of his island snake catching posse).  One of the snakes gave birth!

Furry Finnigan cooling his belly on the rocks





Island boys and captain Eston

Vancouver - finally in the running

Although Vancouver is considered to be a "metropolitan" city and undoubtably one of the most beautiful in Canada (maybe even North America), we have been severely lacking the retail giants of our neighbor, the US.   This fact is slowly but surely coming to an end!  As many of you know, half of the Zellers in Canada are to be transformed into Target in 2013!  Hallelujah!



Another exciting addition is Anthropologie.  Their store opened in May on South Granville in Vancouver.  Creators of unique and often "bohemian" inspired clothes.  But also cute and unusual home decor items and hardware.   Often you'll see vintage replicas as part of their home wares.  Dont expect bargain basement pricing, but if you are looking for an interested piece or two, this is the place.  One of my favorites is this playful owl cookie jar.  Would love to see it on my shelf!



Crate and Barrel is going to be a welcome addition to our selection of retail housewares stores too.  With their modern esthetic and large selection, you'll be sure to find what you are looking for.  The store is suppose to open this year in the Oakridge shopping mall.





Their talored style is lovely.  But they also have a great selection of housewares.  For a long time now I have been eyeing this set of 12 appetizer plates.And the most exciting news of all....  West Elm is also coming to South Granville this fall.  Not unlike Crate and Barrel, they have a modern, sleek esthetic.  With many styles to choose from.  This is a great place to buy ready made curtain panels that will almost always be less money than custom.  And gorgeous area rugs!

They have a fresh youthful and unique approach to their products.  Some of their lighting is simply stunning!



Well, I just thought I would bring you up to date in my world of design.  Looking forward to a busy fall.  Hoping I can hit some of these new stores for my clients... and myself!

Dream Guest Rooms

Of course the jobs where I am given some creative freedom are the best.  This client had some specific needs, and wishes but allowed us to take off from there.  She had some bedrooms in need of an update and the bathrooms as well.  Our trusty contractor Joele from DMC construction was on board to help us achieve our goals.

In our initial discussions I noticed the old large headboard in one room didn't fit the bed.  Initially I thought it was meant for a king, but there was a post in the middle of the headboard.

It donned on me that back in the day, it wasn't uncommon for twin beds to be in a master bedroom.  So I came to the conclusion that it was meant for 2 twin beds.  The owner felt it would be a good idea to have 2 twin beds in one of the three guest rooms,  so we painted it a cheery yellow and put it in a different room:



The night stands and armoire are from Redford House.  One of my favorite suppliers!  The make-up console was made from 2 corbels  I bought at Homesense and painted.  Joele then mounted them on the wall and we put a piece of beveled glass on top.  The chair was another Homesense find that I had recovered in a yellow trellis fabric that matches the bed skirts.  I removed the blinds and framed the windows in a gorgeous grey and yellow damask.   You can see the same in the office of Sarah Richardson on the set of her show "Sarah's House".  The light is one of my favorite that I have used before.  It is from Robert Abbey





This room was an office that was changed into a guest room.  I liked the idea of having a different feeling for each of the rooms.  This was a very masculine room to start off with, so I thought I would keep it masculine with a fresh twist.  The fireplace was never used, as the room would be far too hot!  So I had Joele remove it.  Of course the lighting had to go too!



The bed, nightstands and dresser are from AP Industries.  The lamps and chairs again - a Homesense find.  Most of the fabrics are from Robert Allen.  The art were current pieces the owner had, as well as the roll top desk and chair.

 




Now for the Master guest suite.  After a recent visit to the Savoy Hotel in London, the owner wanted a old world boutique hotel look in purple and green.  We had Joele do the wall paneling, and move some lighting around.  We had two chairs from VanGogh upholstered in a Robert Allen fabric. I designed the bed and had Surrey Upholstery make it.  It turned out beautiful - as always with Surrey Upholstery.  The night stands and dresser, again, Redford House - luv luv!!!  The chandelier:  Design Lighting.  The drapery fabric is from Maxwell fabrics.






 

 

 





Its important to note in this bathroom that I chose to remove part of the wall in the bathroom that enclosed the bath/shower.  I have done this numerous times in a bathroom reno.  It totally opens up the feeling of the room.  Totally worth it.  The vanity was custom made.  The hardware on the vanity is from Restoration Hardware.  I have to say, Restoration has the best hardware!!  The mirror - a Homesense STEAL!.  The lighting is from Design Lighting



 





And last, but not least is the main bath on the upper floor.  Unfortunately I don't have a before picture.  Which is priceless considering the matching powder blue toilet, sink and tub!  I convinced the owner to nix the tub and put a lovely shower with body sprays. (not pictured).  The vanity is custom with Restoration Hardware.  The wallpaper is from Crown.  The lighting is Robert Abbey.  The flooring looks like wood but it is tile.  Its my favorite element of the room.  It looks like it has been cut along the end grain.  It is from Olympia.



These are some of my all time favorite rooms.  Im so grateful to have had the opportunity to design them.  Thanks to all our supplier.  My trusty workroom at New Accent Window Fashions sewed all the drapes and bedding, and did a beautiful job!

Last Few Pictures

I promised to post the last few pictures of my house.  So here they are.  There are a few of the kids rooms.  I didn't "decorate" them much.  They used their furniture.  We wanted Svea to have a special room.  The boys have a sports court outside, a media room for video games.  So, Svea got a lovely big room.  Her own bathroom and a window seat for the hours she spends reading.  She has a ledge high above her bathroom and closet (not shown) and we hope to install a library ladder for her and all her books!  Svea has a custom upholstered bed along with some lovely pieces from the MaryKate and Ashley collection of  AP Industries.  Her massive light is from IKEA.  And yes, it was hard to install!

Eston's room has a vintage hockey vibe.  He loves to hang Canucks posters, so I have one wall painted with magnetic blackboard paint, so that he can hang his pictures.  I think he was the most excited of the kids about his room.  Eston's room is full of repurposed vintage furniture.



Eli got a robot room.  I hope to include more industrial pieces soon.  I also have fabric for drapes waiting to be sewn!  Eli's furniture is Young America from Stanley Furniture.



The boys share a bathroom.  I designed the vanity to give it a changeroom feeling.  I really love it.



Here is the home of Grapevine Furniture and Design.  I ran out of energy here.  This will one day be my favorite room - I know it!  Right now it is messy and bare in places.  The pictures were taken just before we were to dress a client's room.  So you can see some navy chairs in the second picture that don't belong!  The angled ceilings provide such character, but make furniture placement very difficult.  I am hopeing to add a white sofa for afternoon naps!  Ha!  Maybe tea with a client.  The table and chairs are from my old dining room suite.  I had them painted and then I upholstered the seats in a fresh new fabric.  The chandeliers were from Home Depot.  I spray painted them grey.  My desk I originally bought on Costco.ca.  I took the top off and reconfigured it and had a new top made - voila!



 

I call this the gentleman's room!  I love how it turned out.  My husband can work on his computer, have the hockey game on mute while listening to the kids practice piano.  All in a perfect world!   Ron especially loves that when you drive up to the house you can see the picture of Kramer in the window!



 

These are my lovely barn doors that hide the mess of my pantry.  They are much prettier to look at!



 

And the powder room....Im thrilled with the wallpaper.  The powder room is a great place to do something daring.  The vanity was a night stand fitted into a vanity.  It is from Redford House, one of my favorite suppliers!lkjhlkjh



This is the drive up to the house.  The lot has a creek running through it which created some challenges.  Thus the lot was cheaper and were happy to rise to the occasion!  Now, I LOVE the drive up to the house.  At night we have a few lights running up the driveway, and it all looks so pretty.



 

This is our back yard.  It is amazing what a month will do.  When these pictures were taken, spring had not yet sprung.  And it looks a little bare.  It seems Spring has still not sprung, and it is almost summer.  But, we are still enjoying our yard.  I can't keep the kids out of the pool, if it is heated or not!  Looking forward to many backyard barbeques.





Well, there you have it folks!  Now Im sick of writing about me.  Im so looking forward to sharing with you my next post!  Some of the most beautiful rooms Ive decorated.  Do I say that about all of them?  Well, trust me on this one.  Im so pleased with how they turned out!

Lisa