An Entry Feature

For this entry I chose to feature Elise's ideas on green design.
I wanted to take a moment to talk a bit about green design and why it's so important to me. 
I know nowadays most people have heard the term "Green Design" but may not realize exactly what it means, how easy it is to implement in many ways to any upcoming projects in your home and just how large the scope of what environmental friendliness in many aspects of life can be! With so many companies slapping leaves on their products and calling them "green", it's easy to look at all the options and feel overwhelmed. Yes sustainable design may take a little bit more effort initially to source, and yes, in some cases it initially may cost more than the less environmentally conscious alternatives. These factors aside, a green home philosophy is so important for a number of reasons. Firstly (and what goes without saying in my opinion) is the fact that by making conscious choices about what products we are going to use in our homes and/or daily activities, we are taking control back from those who told us that we can use anything we want without having to worry about it "because the planet is ours and will fix itself". This is absolutely untrue. This mentality is what got us to where we are today; over forested, over polluted, space deprived, air destroyed and chemically swamped.  Green Design is about so much more than 'fighting the man' so to speak. It's really about trying to lessen our carbon footprint by making a varying degree of changes to our lifestyles and habitual purchases so that we can minimize our negative impact thus slowing down the rate at which our natural resources are going to run dry. 

Trust me.. This hasn't been a philosophy that I've been living by my whole life. I'm in no means going to preach about having a zero-carbon footprint or always without fail making the Green Choice. Since my studies in school including one course about sustainable alternatives as well entering into a lovely relationship with a sustainability PhD student, my views have drastically changed - which I think is a normal and healthy process. I've learned more about the effect of what our purchases and material selections can have on our environments; both our personal and our planet as a whole and I have to say I was pretty shocked. I too wanted to ignore the buzz and go about living my days in oblivion, but the facts were just too significant to ignore. Do I want to be inhaling harmful VOC's and known carcinogenics like formaldehyde, just because something looks expensive or trendy? That's a big NOPE. Do I want to be cleaning my plates, cooking surfaces and body with chemically drenched products that have been tested on innocent animals? Again, big fat NO WAY. Do I want to be purchasing big ticket furniture items or finishes for my house like flooring and countertops that have been pulled from an already starving planet by already starving and mistreated workers? Hopefully one day I'm going to have babies who will be crawling on these products and Do I want them subjected to that? Once again, that's a hard NO.  

It's definitely not an easy thing to do.. Changing our daily routines or purchasing patterns I mean. Studies say it takes a long time to break a habit (Which shopping definitely is) and 21 days to start a new one... With all the advancements in not only peoples awareness, but their intention to be more environmentally friendly it doesn't have to be as hard as you think.  Start out small! Try buying recycled garbage bags, paper towels and toilette paper instead of the 500x thicker wipes with the kittens. You won't really notice a difference, but our sewer and waste systems will! Cleaning products are a great place to start because the cost difference isn't really that substantial and trust me, many do the trick just as well as our skull-and-crossbones labeled familiars. When it comes to decor the options are just as vast. When shopping, ASK about any eco-friendly options! Many retailers are realizing how much this movement is gaining momentum and how seriously people are starting to take their individual impact. West Elm is at the forefront for making it really easy to shop for eco- friendly, handcrafted and ethically produced products which is why they are on the top of my list. (See their mission and their products here: http://www.westelm.com/about-us/environmental-commitment.html?cm_sp=GlobalLinks-_-Footer-_-WEGreen). Other considerations for making more environmentally friendly choices in relation to decor include products that were made using eco-friendly practices and considerations including :
- What type of packaging is used? Is it recycled? Is it recyclable? 
- How is the air quality of a space effected by this product? eg. What type of sealant (if any) was used?
- Was the product made locally? ie. North America? Canada? Even closer? If not what are the conditions of the workers who made it?
- What environmental certification does the product have? (Make sure to check the credibility)
- Does the product contribute to L.E.E.D points? 
- Did the product use virgin materials, natural resources, post-industrial resources?

It also includes everything from structural materials and finishes like wood, stone etc, mechanical systems, energy star rated appliances and windows, optimizing indoor air quality, hard and soft finishes like fabrics and textiles, cleaning products, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, personal products and tons more! 

I'll keep updating with new products and options i come across and generally just things that are interesting about a Green Home Philosophy. It's time to Live Life Lightly People!

Toronto Condo Pt3

Now for the last entry of my fantasy condo in Toronto. The only room left to decorate is the bedroom, which I’d probably choose the same light blue from the living room to paint as I plan to stick with the grey colour palette. For the main piece the headboard id choose a dark grey fabric headboard with a button look in replacement of the buttons though I would use quartz crystals. Underneath my bed I’d also lay a grey shag rug, as I don’t like waking up on cold hard surfaces. Mornings are hard enough to wake up to, so my bedroom must at least try to make it easy to emerge from. Id also choose sheer white curtains like the living room but also have grey fabric ones to block out unwanted light in the morning. At the end of the bed I would have a tufted white fabric bed bench. For closet space I would maximize by having a custom organizer installed. Another must have statement piece is a chandelier and two white side tables with quartz handles.  I would accessorize with two beside lamps with decorative shades.  Lastly as a finishing touch I would add a vanity on the opposing wall with its own separate lighting installed typical with the 3-bulb setup just add the glamorous girly look to complete it all.

Here is two pictures I found close to this look used as inspiration.

Toronto Condo Pt2

Picking up from where I left off in my last blog, there are still a few rooms left to decorate in my amazing-sophisticated-completely-within-my-fantasy-budget fantasy condo. The nice aspect of a new condo is some areas really can be left untouched as far as updating and finishing goes. The kitchen for example, would have brand new flooring and cabinetry, modern counter tops and completely up to date functioning appliances, so all it would need are the few small appliances, some little personal accents and voila!  As for the bathrooms, all I’d really need to do would be to install something along the lines of this unique Beach-wood shelving for storage and decoration, a new mat, glamorous shower curtain and oversized rainfall shower head and I’m good to go.  I’m definitely going to want to utilize the den/study to it’s full potential as my hypothetical job is very time consuming and I work very hard. I would choose a light grey for the walls to add some subtle color but nothing too dark because that could clash with the light blue of the living room and make the space feel too dull and dreary if not selected properly. It is a very small space after all, so using something too dark could make it seem even smaller and more confined. The goal would be to make the space light, airy and conducive to productivity so this also necessitates a functional desk. On Pinterest I came across an image of a beautiful simplistic white desk with room to place woven wicker basket for storage. I also love the incorporation of the chevron chair which I’m sure wouldn’t be too difficult to hunt out at HomeSense. Finishing touches for the room would be framed gold foil writing in frames, which can be found at indigo and a cute lamp to accessorize the space. Lastly I would add a little place for my pup Bailey to sleep when I’m working, perhaps a matching chevron bed. Here’s my inspiration and idea of what this space would look like.

Toronto Condo Pt1

As my last few entries detailed my current homes design, décor and inspirations, I thought the next few entries might be suited to exploring some of my future Décor desires.  I’m (Finally) nearing the end of my last semester of school, so I’ve started looking into a long time fantasy of mine, which is moving right to the heart of Toronto. My preference would be the core area of downtown, but with all the recent developments and sky rocketing rent costs, I might be getting ahead of myself.. but Hey, a girl can dream.  For a decent one-bedroom condo in this area with hardwood flooring, stainless steel appliances and that is close to a dog park, I’m roughly looking at $1600 and up, especially since I have my furry sidekick to consider.

Since this is my dream, I’m going to invent a perfectly optimistic scenario where I’m going to land a good paying job right out of school (Shouldn’t be too difficult considering my dazzling personality, hard work ethic and soaring GPA right?! wink wink) and that I am instantly able to afford my dream condo in the city.  Something that would look like this, which is an empty, barebones version of what my ideal space would look like in the area I’d be looking in:

This particular condo is pushing it a little budget wise (even with my ridiculously amazing hypothetical job’s salary) but for creativities sake let’s use this one to paint the picture. I’ll start with my favorite space, which is the living room.  I would keep the walls a very light shade of blue, like the photo below. (Elise would be very proud.)

I think that something like this would pick up the natural light that comes in through those amazingly large windows, but then also gives the feel of being up in the clouds above it all, which is my draw to condo living.   It will also compliment and work well with the rest of my hypothetical color scheme. To bring some personality and contrast, I would hang one or two black and white photos of my favorite iconic women i.e. Marilyn, Elizabeth Taylor, Bridget Bardot or Audrey Hepburn. Since these windows are so large, I would want to use a dressing that would still allow the light to come in, but then also frames the windows and provides some depth and drama to the windows to make them appear less cold and rigid. I would want to use something white and semi-sheer so that it doesn’t look too heavy, but still prevents a fishbowl effect if there are any neighboring balconies. Since it’s a relatively small space, I would select a light grey modular sectional sofa, which will provide a low profile, modern seating area for myself, Bailey and occasional guests. I’d accent this with a two toned light and dark grey shag rug to add depth and texture and a few decorative pillows with some bold pops of color, pattern and then white to balance. To bring some added warmth and glamor, I’d definitely have some big, plush faux fur throw blankets with either a wolf or chinchilla look and a big, chunky natural rattan basket to store them in. I’d mount a 50inch TV and find a lovely detailed frame to go around it on the wall because I feel that this softens the harsh and heavy black box look of it and further ties in with the theme.  Lastly I’d add a reclaimed barn wood coffee table to add in a little more texture and earthly element, complimented with silver and quartz candle holders and of course, some lovely fresh flowers. Here’s a picture that pretty much fits this description and my inspiration.

Next week I will continue with more décor ideas and inspiration for this amazing fantasy space.

Laundry Room

The last space in our humble abode to alter and improve will be the laundry area.  This is one of the few untouched areas in the house., probably because it is such a transitional space and the last on the list. The narrow staircase that has a rather abrupt ending has a dated blue/green shade of adhesive-back vinyl currently, a tiny closet that goes unused and the actual laundry nook which is a little more outback farmhouse than young girly cleaning hub. On a positive note, we do have a brand new, stylish and energy saving top loading washing and front load dryer which gives us the jumping point for the makeover that will eventually happen. As I had mentioned in my last post, the new updated flooring (Thank Goodness) will be continuing from the kitchen to the laundry area downstairs. Hopefully before then the last collapsing stair will be fixed so I’m not propelled down the stairs while balancing my overflowing laundry basket. We also discussed knocking out the closet area to extend some type of shelving or storage for laundry products and ripping out the industrial wooden shelf and replacing it with closed front cupboards to hid the cleaning supplies.  Another potential idea we discussed was having shelving along the side with storage space to hold laundry baskets, adding in cabinetry and an a fold down surface that could be used for ironing and folding. With a splash of paint (I’m assuming some shade of blue will be chosen, since knowing Elise she will want to either compliment or continue the Navy Blue hallway we have in our upper portion of the back entry) and a few tasteful and cute accessories, this scary little space could be turned into a lovely area that matches the rest of our happy home. 

Here’s a couple photos of idea we drew inspiration from.
 

The Kitchen

Our story progresses further as we move on to the kitchen space. Having an authentic farmhouse kitchen is quite the commodity given all of the recent developments and renovations in our area as Elise says, so instead of ripping everything apart, she maintained the character of the kitchen while adding some of our youthful personality. She decided that the brown, beige and green glass/ceramic tile backsplash didn’t quite compliment the colour scheme for the rest of the house and that it had to go. I have to hand it to her - a lot of people would have been content with the modern look of the tile, but she has something different in mind and she was sticking to it. She immediately called her mum (or as I like to put her partner in crime) and off they went to look for some new tiles. Five phone calls later about measurements and “What do you think?”, she sauntered in with a huge smile on her face and an even larger box of tiles that she somehow found from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.  She managed to find mosaic glass tiles with opalescent green/blue/purple sheen to them. She told me that usually these run about 25$/sq ft to buy new, but she managed to bargain them for 3$ /sq ft at the ReStore.  I am still indifferent to this day about them, but she was absolutely ecstatic (referring to them as the “Mermaid Butt Tiles”) and who am I to burst this eager interior decorators dream.  I’m guessing she didn’t think about the work that taking down the existing backsplash was going to entail because about two weeks later, our kitchen was covered in plaster dust, Elise was complaining (quite dramatically) of arm pain and was shocked at how time consuming this job was because it could only be done individual tile by tile. Needless to say, there was a hungry and unenthused roommate who grew tired of a fast-food diet and plaster seasoning on all my food very quickly.. I encouraged a break to take the time to rest and clean as she went, also for me to have some decent food! Elise looked relieved (although a little defeated) and resumed her undertaking about three weeks later. She carried on by filling the missing chunks of wall (because our house is so old the mortar from the walls behind the original backsplash was kind of disintegrating), applying the remaining tile with adhesive and then finally grouting the entire thing, which luckily only took a week. Now was my time to shine… cleanup was my specialty and in my mind the most important contribution. All jokes aside, we polished our new Mermaid Butt backsplash and began discussing future plans for the kitchen, which ideally will be done by summer this year. For the counters Elise had her heart set on a butcher block wooden look to contrast the white cabinets and give a country cottage look.  It will either be Butcher block, which is fairly cost effective to install. And aside from regular sealing doesn’t require much maintenance or an ecofriendly recycled quartz type stone surface that will lend a more sleek, modern look to the space. It seems our little monster hound Bailey decided that he wanted to be included in the renovations, as he took it upon himself to start ripping up the linoleum/vinyl flooring that was already present in the kitchen in a tug-of-war, “look mum I’m helping” kind of way.  Many roommates or homeowners would have been really angry with this, but to my surprise Elise wasn’t to upset. After offering to replace it, she encouraged me that it may speed the process of us having the grey/brown wood-look tile installed. Sure enough the wood is sitting in our laundry room area, awaiting installation.  Probably the most realistic next step will be the paint that Elise wants to reface the cabinets with. It’s either going to be that she paints the lower cabinetry in a dusty grey/blue and then white repainted top cabinetry, or she’s going to strip out all the cabinets and start fresh with an Ikea modular system.  I find either one to be a great idea now understanding how dirty and worn looking they become, especially with a puppy around. Finishing touches would be to remove the desk and drafting table and just have the bar stools and a small sitting table as furniture, with two low pendent lights above the bar area and remove the track lighting.

Here’s a picture of before and after the backsplash and current look of the kitchen along with a conceptual idea of how it will look after.

 

The Living Area

Our next chapter is the living room. As I mentioned before, the walls were changed from a drab but neutral brown to lovely shade of lavender. Upon numerous attempts to space plan and figure out a furniture layout for two awkward rooms that make one living room, we had initially started with two modern white leather couches and a slate grey simple and comfortable chaise lounge, both of which were given by Elise's parents. We added a light grey shag carpet to the first rooms and a black and white cowhide rug in the second room that was paired with two antique medallion-back chairs and two white marble side tables.  The windows were dressed in heavy turquoise drapery which brought out the blue tint of the walls. The palette of the accessories in the house is constantly changing with seasons and Elise's moods, but she always keeps some sort of blue pigment to tie everything together. To also give the illusion of more space and to reflect natural light, we added a simple large white mirror above the fireplace, which I must say looks lovely in the candlelight. 

After testing out the furniture placement I just described for a few weeks, we soon realized it was much too cluttered and looked too busy. My roommate agreed with my suggestion to maybe get rid of a few items to make it more comfortable for everyday living and not focus on just a showroom setting.  Hesitantly, Elise agreed to put the chairs back into storage as well as one of the leather couches in order to make room for a large and beautifully carved armoire in the first room that would be used for coats and boot storage. The deceptively comfortable chaise remained for seating (and sleeping should the vino kick in) by the fireplace.  Above the chaise hangs a vintage shabby-chic over sized clock. The shag rug under foot provides a cozy feel for wine nights huddled around the fire.  There's a beautiful archway between the two rooms which gives the house it's farm house, so to accentuate this detail, we hung two mosaic class fluted sconces that give a nice ambience when lit and provide some separation between the two spaces. We decided to make the second room our tv den, so we hung a top-of-the-line tv and wireless sound bar (which was my contribution/requirement, being the tech geek I kind of am). On one of the unused walls we hung another candle holder which has a nice reflective foil-backed glass in the motif of vines and leaves,  and added a rolling white club  chair for TV time. We have some more plans to add a custom (Thanks to Elise's willing boyfriend) built in bookshelf for more storage and organization, which will help elongate the space and draw the sightlines from the front door to the kitchen, making the space feel larger.  I finally managed to unknowingly also rid the house of the cowhide rug (which I have hated since day one and have been trying to convince Elise to get rid of but she had a "vision" that I was not allowed to spoil), as it seems like our little hound Bailey was also not a fan because he ate a big chunk of it.  After this she had no choice but to get rid of it, it so it was goodbye moo moo :)...victory at last!

 Now if only we could sort out our shoe storage situation, we'd be in a good place. Girls will be girls though, I worked at a shoe store so I may or may not have a little problem and there's no way I'm letting Bailey help me sort this one out!