a well lived life...: kitchen

Showing posts with label kitchen. Show all posts

Little Girl's Dream House!

This playhouse is part of a much larger project I have been working on all spring. It sits at the back of an acre size property in West Vancouver and is just waiting for the little girls who inhabit this home to arrive for the summer and bring it to life!!

The playhouse is bigger than it may appear! The main floor has a kitchen, eating area and lounging area. The front veranda has 4 adironack chairs complete with matching pool towels in case you want to take a dip in the infinity edge pool.

A little peek at the kitchen and dining area!

Follow the butterflies up the ladder to the library loft filled with comfy bean bags and lots of books!

Did I mention the windows are glass, the house is insulated and it has electricity!!

I might be a bit jealous...

Ambleside Home

The kitchen of this home was originally separated from the dining room and family room with walls on either side. In the renovation process, I opened this room up not only by removing the walls, but also by eliminating the upper cabinets, the "sunshine ceiling" and adding a window that runs the length of the room.

The family that lives this in home loves the mix of old and new. To accomplish that in the kitchen, I used classic carrara marble for the counters and backsplash. The range is La Cornue in a matte black finish. I had the range hood custom made to run wall to wall with a ledge deep enough to hold a cook book but then painted in chalkboard paint for a bit of fun.

When I opened up the kitchen, I needed to close off a doorway in order to have enough room for all the appliances.

Close up of the pendant lights over the peninsula.

Sun filled master bathroom! I utilized the existing skylight and lined up the waterfall tile pattern underneath it.

Fabulous powder room! Thanks to the bold wallpaper this tiny bath is filled with blossoms floor to ceiling. The vintage mirror has an etched retail of a flower basket.

Sneak Peak

I am spending some time over the next couple of weeks having recent projects photographed. Stay tuned to my website for updates!

Sting & Trudie Styler

On Saturday night, I had the pleasure of sitting in row 10 for the last night of the North American leg of Sting's Back to Bass Tour. The music was great, and antidotes entertaining, the lighting really well done and Sting looked amazing.

Darko Sikman Photography

One of the things I love about being a designer is the relationships I build with my clients. I get to know their lifestyle and their families while designing their homes. No question when you see Sting you know he is leading a clean and healthy life which made me wonder what his home(s) would look like...

These pictures are from Architectural Digest's article on the London Home he shares with his wife Trudie and their children. I was very excited to learn it was designed by one of my favourite architectural firms Shelton, Mindel & Associates.

I love the way they brought light through the house including the lowest level. They were able to raise the ceiling from 7' to 9' and add the sky light over the over the table this room to make it bright and welcoming.

These next three are from their Lake House in the English Countryside. Sting spoke about how the rolling hills of barley inspired him to write Fields of Gold.

Lake House

These are from Jan 2011 Architectural Digest and focus mainly on the landscaping surrounding their Tuscan home.

Tuscan Home

I love this shaded garden for dining.

This reminds me of the house my friends and I stayed at in Tuscany last year.

Tuscan Home

White On White (and a touch of Grey)

Inspired by the Yabu Pushelberg interiors of the newly opened "The Room" of The Bay, I started to think about some of my favourite white paint colours. Anyone who has ever picked up a paint fan deck knows that not all whites are created equal. There is a full spectrum of whites - some are warm, some cool, others tint beige, pink, yellow or blue. The Benjamin Moore OC palette has more than 140 colours all considered "off-white".

The one thing that all whites have in common is a need for natural light. If you paint a darker room all white, it will tend to look a bit grey in the shadows. This isn't a bad thing, if you like grey like I do, and you might even consider pairing white with grey in the same room - such as white cabinets and grey walls or carrera marble.

My favourite Benjamin Moore whites are Cloud White - great overall warm easy to live with white. Simply White - a bright clean white without too much grey. Decorator White - classic and popular white with designers, looks great with greys and blacks. Super White - revered by many American designers as the perfect white. Although it is not part of the Canadian Benjamin Moore colour line up, the formula is available and can be mixed at any Ben Moore dealer.

My favourite Benjamin Moore greys are Kendall Charcoal & Overcoat - both great for mill work and walls, Days End - one of my favourites for interior doors, Revere Pewter - beautiful for kitchen cabinetry and Chelsea Grey - great mid tone colour.

Regardless of your personal design aesthetic, the perfect white will work in any environment - modern, traditional or anything in between.