LONDONTOWN

Well I am off to London this evening, and I couldn’t be more excited. It has been a couple years now since my last visit to this wonderful city and I can’t wait to be there once again!

I have been to London twice before and I just love the energy and excitement you feel when you are there, like it is really ‘the place to be’. There is SOO much to do, and see and eat it is hard to cram it all in to a 2 week vacation….but it will be done.

I love the history of the city, beautiful churches, historical buildings gorgeous museums and galleries that really take your breath away. On my last trip I just couldn’t get enough pictures of the architecture of the city and the quaintness of the countryside and old cobblestone roads.

So as my husband and I were planning out the itinerary for the trip (which you really need to do or its just overwhelming) I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to hit up some design hotspots. London is known for being so ahead of us in fashion, design etc. I want to seize the chance to see what is out there in good old Londontown. As I was doing my research I came across an awesome post from the Design Sponge blog called London Design Guide. They have outlined tons of great London design spots including small shops, department stores and many of the markets throughout the city.

The list is tres long and I am planning on narrowing down where I would like to go on my very looooooong flight over, but here are a few that stood out:

Liberty – Mix of Vintage and Modern furniture with a big lighting department

Mint – for a little ‘window shopping’

Selfridges –  A department store which supposedly has a fantastic interiors section

And of course will have to check out Portobello market and Borough market for some one of kind finds!

I will hopefully be able to post some pics from the trip while I am away of what I have been up to and any of the great design finds I come across in my travels! Cheerio!

~ Daniela

Shout Out to Urban Barn!!!

Now if you know me then you know that Urban Barn is my old stomping grounds, such a great Canadian grown company with awesome product I just love it. I  learned so much about furniture and how to piece together the perfect unique space for a persons individual taste during my time there. As with any retail job it seems that is where my paychecks always ended up, but it was well worth it :)

Urban Barn is known for its modern and contemporary styles along with innovative and sometimes ‘out there’ accessories. I have to say I was so impressed with my last visit in to the store. They had just gotten there new shipment of accessories, bedding, pillows and artwork and I wasn’t leaving empty handed that’s for sure.

For seasonal I purchased the Mini Cinderella Pumpkins which you may have seen me use for my dining table centrepiece.

LOVING their new Karma Toss Cushions, such great colours and design interest.

Owls are everywhere!!! I don’t know what it is – but owls are in! Anything from an accent owl on your side table, to owl bookends, to owl toss cushions. Loved what UB had in the way of this.

Chic French inspired wall hooks.

Contemporary wall clock – ‘White and Black Oval Clock’

And much much more! You can check out their website below. Urban Barn is also great for custom sofas, loveseats, chairs and even headboards. This way you are able to pick the perfect furniture piece to fit your space in a fabric you love!  Urban Barn

Another great tool on there website is ‘The Make Room’ it is an easy to use interactive room planner. This is sooo great for anyone wanting to plan or design a space. It can be so frustrating measuring out a space for furniture and often very expensive mistakes are made. Using this tool you can plan out exactly what will fit in your space which will also give you a great visual plan view of your room that you can print off and take with you on your furniture shop! I love useful design tools like this, it makes the planning process much easier. You can check this out below.

The Make Room 

Hope you found these design tips useful! ~ Daniela

Autumn Accents

The title of this post is inspired by my BRITISH husband who insists that Fall is actually Autumn; I actually get told off if I call it otherwise! So here’s to all you Brits out there, Happy Autumn!

It is always such a wonderful feeling making your home all cozy and inviting when autumn arrives. With all the warm rich colours of the season everywhere around you it is only natural to want to bring a bit of that beauty into your home. I for one love it; there is no better feeling then curling up on your sofa with a good book, warm drink (pumpkin spice latte perhaps??) wrapped up in a warm cuddly blanket surrounded by little accents that make your space look lovely and awaken the senses. 

For autumn I personally like adding just a few small touches here and there to make my home feel cozy, but I by no means go crazy and I most definitely believe in the statement, ‘less is more’.

The first space I designed was my table centrepiece. Now I know lots of people like to go for some fake leaves strewn across the table and a bowl full of gourds in the middle but that for me just starts to look a little messy. I decided to go a bit sleeker this year:

• I went for a warm burnt rust coloured runner with a leaf pattern
• a simple arrangement of gold and cream taper candles in crystal candle holders
• with 2 jeweled pumpkins on either side

The second space I designed was for my dining room sideboard, just a few accents to warm up the space:

• Glass pastry display filled with pinecones

• Rustic lantern with candle and pinecones surrounding (make sure you don’t add too many pinecones, you don’t want that baby burning!!!)

• And a white porcelain pumpkin

The next space was adding a little autumn warmth and colour to the shelving in our kitchen.

• Glass vase full of seasonal berries
• A grouping of candle holders that have the most beautiful warm colours in the glass in a mosaic pattern. Really looks awesome when the candles are lit and reflecting through.

Now this I can’t take credit for, but I absolutey LOVE it. It was the centerpiece from my dear friends wedding and it is just beautiful. Surrounded by some candles, the warm deep purple goes perfectly with the kalamata olive colours of the accent walls in my kitchen nook. I also thought the bark vase was a wonderful touch.

Nothing awakens the senses or triggers that warm, fuzzy feeling like wonderful scents that remind us of something. This is so true for me, every childhood memory I have of all the different seasons and holidays I love have a scent linked to them, and as soon as I smell it I am brought back. So since yummy smells add so much to the atmosphere of your space I like this final touch which ties everything together. I know some room fresheners can be overpowering and just way too much but I have found that Bath and Body Works actually has the best to offer in this area with so many scents to choose from you can decide on exactly what suits your personal taste. This year in the Cooper residence I went for ‘Creamy Pumpkin’ and ‘Spiced Cider’. One word, delectable….the perfect final touch!

Thanks for reading! ~ Daniela

Vancouver Home & Design Show

Well it is that time again! The 2011 Vancouver Home & Design Show is here at the convention centre. This show offers everything fom Household Appliances to Home Decor, Art, Designs and Furnishings. Definitely something for everyone, so if you are in the area go and check it out!

Tickets are $15 at the door and $12 online!

Some highlights are the Urban Barn Design Stage presented by HGTV where they will be hosting live presentations from industry proffesionals suchs as Jillian Harris from Extreme Home Makeover and Bryan Baeumler host of Disaster DIY. These will be taking place Friday and Saturday of the event.

I once again will not be able to make it to any of the presentations as I am attending my 10th wedding this year! Last but not least! So if anyone does get a chance to check any of the shows out please let me know how they were!

Check out the link posted below for more details!

Vancouver Home + Design Show

~ Daniela

IDSWest 2011

Well I always know fall has arrived because it kicks off all the great Vancouver Design and Home and Garden events. This past weekend my husband and I attended the IDS West 2011 show, featuring ‘the best’ in residential design. I have to say I was very impressed by the show this year and felt like it was a real step up from years past. Everything from amazing inventive lighting, to artwork and giant cozy yarn balls for seating. With over 200 vendors there was definitely something for everyone. A few stood out to me amongst the rest.

 http://idswest.com/

Yarn Ball Seating

Custom Wine Storage

Inspiration Furniture Display

The Living Lab, a Canadian company located on the North Shore. I loved the contemporary feel of the furniture mixed with more traditional accessories and fabrics of their display. The item which caught my eye the most were black custom frames they had displayed. They were so intricate and beautiful, a true statement in any room for featuring artwork. Apparently they had so many inquiries about the frames that they had over 50 custom orders lined up. I love supporting Canadian business – we truly do have a unique design sense unlike anywhere else. I will definitely be checking them out in the near future! http://www.thelivinglab.ca/products/

Then there is 18 Karate a store after my own heart. They combine the contemporary with elegance that displays a true mix of international design. They specialize in interior design accessories and have locations all throughout North America, as well as Japan and Switzerland, you see the design influence of these locations in all their products. They use a wide range of materials in their accessories everything from glass, concrete, stone, and clay, wood and vine, as well as resin. They have everything from vases, candlesticks, to amazing textiles and hand knit throws, to kitchenware.

http://www.eighteenkarat.com/

18 Karate Hand Knit Throws

I cannot go without mentioning Orling and Wu, one word AMAZING. I almost died when I saw some of the wallpaper they had featured…now we know I love wallpaper but this was just a step beyond. This fantastic store is located in Gastown. Their products are as they say, ‘carefully selected in a fresh mix of contemporary, vintage and classic Europeon style’.  Their products range from tableware, decorative fabrics, wall coverings, and home accessories.

http://www.orlingandwu.com/default.aspx?

Metropolis Wallpaper

Other items that stood out amongst the rest were the wide variety of lighting. The unique and innovative concepts the designers come up with to create fashionable yet functional lighting really stood out to me. As I have said before lighting is so important to every space and it is great we have so many amazing local lighting designers.

There was also a lot of bathtubs displayed, and I am not talking about any old bathtub, but the kind where you can just see yourself spending all evening in soaking up the bubbles and enjoying a glass of red wine. They were design statements in themselves that would make any bathroom which featured them stand out.

Blu Bathworks

Saturday of the event featured a ‘House and Home Day’ which sadly I was not able to make it out to. They had presentations by House and Homes VP of Communications, Mark Challen and Editor in Chief, Suzanne Dimma. During these interviews they revealed secrets to fabulous design and how to create polished and professional looking rooms. I have no doubt these presentations were noteworthy and if anyone was able to see them I would love to hear about it!

Thanks for reading – I will keep you posted on any upcoming Vancouver design events!

~ Daniela