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

 

Final Reveal

I love, love, love..... my new home.  I feel blessed yet totally unworthy of it.  Im thankful my husband agreed to it, and excited my kids get to grow up here.  And yet it is just a home, and my true joy lies in the people I share it with.

Here are some pictures that were taken by my talented friend of Redhanded Photography.  The first pictures are of the great room where we truly live.  I designed the house in a way that all the mess stays out of the main living area, and is contained in the basement, or mud room.  So far this is working really well.  I find the house quite easy to keep tidy.  It helps that everything has a place to go.





This was one of the first pieces I designed.



 

 

 

 

 

Here is how it turned out:  I am thrilled with it.  I laboured a long time over the tile.  It was a less expensive version of what i really wanted.  I really stressed over the "cracks" in the tile.  But you don't even notice them.  And it adds to the natural look of the stone.



 

The butcher block on one of the island is a perfect spot to place all my veggies, wash them and cut them up.  Then all the scraps can go down the garborator in the sink.  It is very practical.



 

This is what the kids call the "computer lab".  It is a space off of the kitchen for the kitchen to do their homework or play on the computer.  It is also handy for me to check my email or look up recipes. The budget ran out in this room, but I am thrilled with the results.  The floating shelves were super cheap at Home Depot.  The drawers again, a great deal at IKEA.  I had wanted solid surface countertops in here, but we ended up with butcher block from IKEA which was a fraction of the cost.  This room overlooks is bright and cheery and overlooks the pool and covered deck.  The kids are close by so that I can moniter their computer use!

 



Our sanctuary.  I didn't really think we would spend much time in here until our kids are older and take over more of the house with their friends.  But once the kids are in bed, and their backpacks packed... we end up in bed reading or watching tv.  We love this room.



It was important that our closet was seperate from the bedroom so that when one of us gets up early or goes to bed late we don't disrupt the other by coming in and out of the bedroom.  So everything is stored either in the bathroom or closet.  Ron even came up with the idea of having an exit from the closet to the hall so that once up you never have to go back into the bedroom.  Can you tell Ron doesn't like his beauty sleep disturbed?



Living Room



Dining Room



The utility rooms:  So important!



Kids side of the mud room:



Our side:



So there you have it.  A few more rooms to show you.  But you I figure I'll do another post - this one is getting long!  Hope you enjoyed the peak into our home.

Lisa