Painted chanedlier

Ever since I saw the cover, and blogged about Josephine Ryan's French Home, I've been lusting after this chandelier, which I found at a local shop. Its rather interesting to me now, how some things can look so fabulous in a book, snapped by a photographer, and in France, of course, compared to one's 'standard apartment.'

Its quite large! So large, my hubby was walking into it while it hung in our living room apartment. (Sadly, he also started calling it a bee hive.) It really needs a high ceiling, or a light filled kitchen over a table so that it need not need to be turned on! Just like its pictured in the book. So I hum and haw if it will work on the patio, and if it should be placed on craigslist. Then I wonder if all would be better at least with candles, and perhaps a few crystals, like in the book, of course! What do you think?

craigslist find - would you buy it?

I found this small dresser on craigslist last night, and have made an appointment to pick it up tonight. Close up, it looks quite scratched and needs hardwear. Its $50. Would you buy this piece? I'm hoping it'll fit on a short wall, where little else will fit, to hold a reading lamp - while reading on the couch. I'm not shy about painting furniture either! Even when its antique, such as this one. Hmm, given it will be in the same living/dining space as the aforementioned painted cabinet, and behind the diningtable and chairs.

You may recognized the table and chairs as Ikea, and you may notice the opened Expedit box, in the place where the craigslist piece would go. Yes, on the weekend, I made yet another trip to Ikea, this time for the new, smaller, Expedit, in white of course.
Well, it looked really bad in this spot, and very boxy. Just imagine inserting this piece into the picture above, adjacent to the couch, and placing a reading lamp on it. Nope! It did not give a modern looked like I hoped. Oh well, here's to my craigslist find. Hopefully it'll still be waiting for me at our 7pm appointment this evening. I'll keep you posted. . .

I wonder what color to paint it. I was thinking grey, but it would not really match the table. Decisions, decisions. What would you paint it?

Bazaar Style - book review

If you need a little eclectic infusion into your home, or throughout, here's a really great find, sure to inspire: Bazaar Style. Not only does it capture the essence of beautifully re-purposing objects, textiles and furniture (eg. with a coat of white paint), it defies (magazine) style trends, mixing furniture and fabrics across time. Its also ecological and economical. Arguably, bazaar style takes time to develop. It takes years to collect treasures, furniture and fabrics, authors Selina Lake and Joanna Simmons assert. More poigantly, they argue that the trend of 'pairing down, putting away and use of pale colors is a blip' in the history of Western decor: It seems that people have always craved color in their homes; since Medival times, people have painted walls (beginning with lime wash) and put up wall paper since the mid-1800s, especially with the development of richer dyes. While the pictures in Bazaar Style are lush, often teaming with charm, the text describes how to layer color and pattern, encouraging boldness, offering streams of ideas, to personalize each room in the home. Throughout the book, care is given to the function of items and rooms, helping to plan rooms, place furniture, focal points, displays, the feeling captured by one's decor scheme.

Have you read this book yet? Its a must read, full of many fresh, colorful ideas, and happens to feature a lot of pink, a color I have fallen for since having a little girl. Here, take a peek inside. More of Selina Lake's sumptuous pictures can be seen here.

Decor Ideas using Antiques Vintage Items and Repurposed Furniture and Accessories

Here are some inspiring finds of the day using retro and vintage finds, creating a personalized, eclectic style.


images courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens

Shabby Chic Home - book review

I have to attribute much of my style inspiration from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Home. What started out as home renovations for Ashwell turned to a chronicle of the transformation of her beach home. The before and after pictures are truly inspiring. An experienced treasure hunter, Ashwell breathes new life into home accents, such as chandeliers and furniture with 'good bones' (structure), demonstrating just what a coat of white paint can accomplish. Ultimately, Ashwell's shabby chic style embodies simplicity and embraces the 'less is more' philosophy.

European from the start, Ashwell's style is of a French villa or English countryside. In describing her style, she writes "My philosophy of decor is that nothing should be too precious. A child should feel free to put her feet on the sofa, a guest, his cup on the coffee table. I believe in cozy, not fussy; relaxed, not stiff. I believe in living in, on, and around one's things, not merely with them.
A roomy, slipcovered chair big enough for a child and a dog or two, with slightly wrinkled, worn fabric and ample arms perfect for plopping your legs over; an old trunk, its paint peeling around the edges, given new life as a coffee table; a vase of roses from the garden, a bit wilted, a few petals missing; a vintage mirror, framed with a white floral iron piece salvaged from an old gate and chipped in places, but still charming; a slightly rusted flea market chandelier; a scratched-up coal scuttle used as a bread box; an array of vanilla-scented candles adding a warm glow to a cozy room--these are some of the elements of the effortless, inviting look I prefer. Colors in keeping with this way of living tend to be soft, palatable tones such as seafoam, mint, and celadon greens; dusty roses; pale sky blues; and ivories, creams, and grays that appear to be muted by age, or crisp, clean whites that blend with everything. Brighter or darker colors can occasionally be a part of the look if they are treated with subtlety, combined with white or light colors, or if they appear to be faded by time."

And so, an effortless description of how to capture such a style - or add a dash of shabbiness to our homes - making repurposing furniture even more inviting than ever before.

If you're looking for some easily found shabby chic treasures, be sure to visit Elizabeth's Centre Stage shop - address and photos to the right.

Images courtesy of the Shabby Chic Official site.

ikea hacker - Have you heard of this yet?

Have you heard of ikea hacker? Do you know an ikea hacker? Such a great name with even a greater purpose: repurposing, modifying, and updating Ikea furniture. There are so many great DIY ideas on this blog on redoing Ikea furniture; there are Ikea fusions, remodels, makeovers, cutting, resizing, wall mounting, painting, decopaging, drilling, tiling, adding legs, you name it. People are plenty creative and with lots of humour too. Interestingly, there is a lot of Lack hacking.


image courtesy of ikea.ca

Decorating on a dime

I stumbled upon low/no cost decorating today over at Apartment Therapy. While I especially enjoy re-purposing pieces on hand simply by finding new uses for them or updating furniture with a fresh coat of white paint, here are some more furniture updates and creative re-uses. Some of the best ideas are on the cheap, like spring cleaning, pairing-down, organizing and rearranging. Here's another 12 low cost-high impact resolutions for your home.

French Decor Inspiration and Josephine Ryan's French Home

Sometimes inspiration comes from afar, and I often feel inspired by French fashion, antiques and decor. A trip to a Paris flea market would be heaven for me! Stumbling across French Essence the other day renewed my interest in all things French. Vicki has a knack for capturing and blogging about French style - as does authour and antiques dealer, Josephine Ryan. She has created a life from collecting antiques from France, sold in her shop in London. Here is another article about her.



Teamed with photographer Claire Richardson, (whose photos I blogged in an earlier post) Ryan has created a simply stunning book French Home, capturing beauty and light in elegant French simplicity.
A style of decorating which touts, and even enhances imperfections - 'benign neglect' - with all the complex subtilities of pale, chalky shades of blues, greys, whites, and browns. Its a style which uses old and new objects, updating, if necessary, with a 'lick of white paint.' Ryan describes a style 'that effortlessly embraces personal quirks, indulges refined preferences and rejects the sterility of soulless design.' Sounds like a bit of a criticism of modernism, non? At any rate, its a sumptious read, with an added bonus of French history bits thoughout. For example, Ryan notes that some of France's first chandeliers were made to light medival churches. When glass making developed to make lead crystal in the 18th century, more elaborate chandeliers were produced, as the scattering light affects of lead crystal became highly desirable.

Should you live on the 'other side of the pond' from Ryan's antique shop, and feel inspired to incorporate a French style or a piece or two in your home, The French Cupboard may have something you are looking for, or more locally, French Vanilla Home and Garden in Victoria, BC

Flea Market Style - book review

Authour Emily Chalmers lives in England, at the doorstep to absolutely wonderful second-hand markets. She makes me want to move to her neighbourhood as its a little more challenging in the newer city of Vancouver to find antiqued treasures. At any rate, Flea Market Style (2005) shows how one can incorporate flea market finds into any style, from modern to miniamalist, not just eclectic, as one may presuppose.

Neatly divided into two sections, the first presents finds in the range of home decor: furniture, glass ware/kitchen ware, patterns, colours, lighting and collections. The photos of her finds are pure eye candy. In the second section of her book, Chalmers not only incorporates flea market pieces into the particular rooms, from kitchen to bedroom, the text further provides rich details in how to use vintage items - to create displays, how to look at vintage finds in a new light, and how to reuse items, such as vintage fabrics in a multitude of ways. Importantly Chalmers lays flea market finds across a range of styles. In doing so, she provides a depth of inspiration, not matter what your style, and can certainly help re/define one's style.

Shop Local! Centre Stage on Kingsway, Vancouver

I found this little shop awhile ago called Centre Stage. Owner and designer, Elizabeth Lamont, has fabulous inspiring decor items and furniture pieces, as well as some vintage clothing. There are loads of great finds, a few which I have purchased and posted here in pictures of my home - I also have a few pieces on hold at the moment too - I will post pictures of these great vintage finds soon. Elizabeth also updates and re-purposes furniture with a fresh coat of white paint. To the right, you will see a window with some great retro and vintage finds in her shop.
Visit her shop at 644 Kingsway. She is mostly open late in the day, returning after treasure-hunting. Give her a call at 604.715.1416.