Industrial Resoloution

I like old stuff. I mean I really like old stuff. It's kinda ridiculous really. I finally had to stop dragging home junk from junk shops because I don't have space for things I don't even understand, let alone use. There is a junk shop in town that is owned by this family who are old time Nelsonites. They are probably part of a lineage from the days when there was silver here, and most of the stuff in their shop is probably left overs from that rush. They also own half of Nelson's real estate and every time somebody moves out of one of their rentals whatever is left behind gets stored in the basement of the house, so there is literally a ton of houses in this town with a ton of junk that gets eventually put in this store to be sifted through. An ongoing garage sale. Ten per cent of it is really worth something, but the  part I like is the ninety per cent  that is dusty and missing a few pieces and it is questionable as to what it actually for. I know, ridiculous.

 Part of my brain, the smart part, understands that it is much MUCH easier to simply find the right thing for the job online. For those of you who live in a city, any city really, I am sure you have access to places where it is simple enough to find old industrial things, or at least knock off industrial pieces these days since the look of the last few years has had a definite industrial edge. I find something infinitely funny about companies knocking off old stuff. That is one of those things that the aliens are going to label us with when they find us: "Manufactures new items that resemble to a great degree, artifacts from many earth years previous for the collections of other humans to place randomly throughout their living areas for no apparent reason". Yup, that's us. If I could get there though, these beauties from Urban Outfitters would be coming home with me. You know, so I could "organize" my office and living room areas.

Also, that chair that was meant to be reupholstered not so long ago... yeah, turns out that wasn't as easy a fix as they make it look on TV. Granted, it was a few years ago that I watched those shows now... like, ten. But if I can sew something somebody wants to get married in, why shouldn't I be able to sew a fairly straightforward slipcover? Even if it IS out of ten smallish and odd shaped pieces of fabric that were unearthed in a FREE bin. I want my chair to look like THIS:

...and the gorgeous setee and pouf can come along for the ride. If I could have a house chock full of vintage chairs and sofas, I would be a happy camper. Why it is that my family doesn't see the gloriousness in every single chair with good lines in the thrift store is beyond me. Sigh.

Oh well, I am still on the hunt for some amazing industrial type pieces for my place, but I prefer the real stuff. I guess it's a good thing I can't just run to Urban Outfitters and pick up a piece on a whim. (Their prices are ridiculously low and they actually do ship some stuff to Canada.) If there was anything in my bank account and I could visualize not having a coronary over the shipping, I would be all over anything from the Justin Real shop on Etsy.

Some of these pieces found by my friend Jenn over at The Chicks blog would be very happy in my space. Anything with metal wheels is my friend. She has such an amazing eye and talent for thrifting, but also knows so many fabulous places to score a unique find in and around Vancouver. I think I may just have to get her to bring me a funky wheelie thing or two when she comes to visit me.

Of course, when I moseyed over there to grab the photo and URL I found so many more things to gawk at, so you may want to head over for a gander. I love their style :)

So basically I am spending this time procrastinating and mentally redecorating instead of figuring out my tax stuff, the hydro bill, Liam's medical card scenario... all the stuff I should be doing right now. Back at it I guess... or maybe to the thrift store to see if there are any chairs that need a new home! Hmmm...

The Adventures of Ordy and Joon

Just to keep you up to date, we moved into a new house (from a teensy weensy little apartment downtown) right before Christmas. Normally when I move, by the time I have signed the lease I already have the space decorated in my head. For some reason, this space isn't coming to me. It is the strangest house! It was built as a summer home I'm sure, and weird things have been done to it with complete disregard for the fact that we do, in the Koots, actually have a winter. Single paned windows... need I say more? Then there are the really odd features that come with multiple add ons by people who have no idea what they are doing. I have only been here for a couple of months, but I have a mile long list of "WTFs" on the go. Some of the things they have done are completely ridiculous... and as renters, there are only so many things that we are willing to take on, so much of the bizarreness is not going to be remedied by me.

Instead, what I am focusing on is the lipstick of the rooms. I have a master plan for the boys' room, but it requires some carpentry in the form of bunk beds, and as I really and truly love both my boys (although there are days...) and don't want the top bunk smushing the bottom sleeper, I have enlisted the help of my super talented but really busy stepdad. I trust him, not so much me... definitely not Dylan (I don't even want to express his lack of experience with regards to tools, building things, logic...). So while I wait that out, I am starting to compile a List of Wants and Ideas for my own room. I will be sewing in here because I have the most space here and I can lock the cats out. Really important when you deal in expensive fabrics! It must be utilitarian and organized and efficient. But MOST importantly, it MUST be FABULOUS!!!

Mwahahaaaaa...

Before!

Enter my newest inspiration... by way of a new find on my blog radar, The Adventures of Ordy and Joon. (I am going to assume that there is some, even remote, connection to Benny and Joon and as far as I am concerned... that's reason enough to love them.) Now this woman says she is a law student. I am not sure that I believe her. I think she may be confused, for her talents obviously lie in decor! The thing is, her Before photo is just as amazing as her After! I am not kidding, she is brilliant AND she somehow has the ability to see into my brain, because many of the ideas in her space I have considered, but was not quite sure how to execute them, and she has taken them to an entirely new level. The details in this space are just so gorgeous... take a look:

After!

After!

I am totally in LOVE with this thread display and although I will have to find or make a MUCH bigger frame (or I guess multiple frames?) for mine, I am definitely stealing this idea. I may colour block them. Hmmmm... This town has  a definite shortage of ornate frames in our thrift shops because we are a town full of artists and they get scooped up super quick... or are way overpriced for thrift frames.. Joon snapped hers up (all thrift / yard sale finds) for $2 to $8! Aaaagh... so jealous! Want, want, want.... In fact, she has such a good eye, she did the entire room almost entirely thrifted and gives details on which items cost what. It is imperative that you go and check out her post if only to renew your faith that fabulousness does not have to come with a high price tag.

I am now doing a chalkboard wall in both my sons' room and my own, because this just totally makes sense to me. It's funny, Joon points out that the whole chalkboard wall thing is probably over, and timing-wise it should be, but when something is that practical, does it go out of style? I suppose it depends on whether you have one because the magazines told you to or if you have one because it makes sense. It does make me wonder though, how easily is chalkboard paint painted over. I think it will be fine. I'm doing this. Tomorrow.

I also love the stripes (and her gorgeous little cabinet). The stripes were done in silver AND she got the paint at a ridiculous price because Home Depot is discontinuing the line. LOL... Martha Stewart saved this girl some serious coin. Love that.


If you would like to meet Joon's other pieces of furniture, as well as her living companions (Bandit looks like a tough guy, but I am willing to bet he is a softie at heart,) you can find them all at The Adventures of Ordy and Joon. I really enjoy Joon's writing style, and her personality really shows through. I am sure she is destined to become a favourite.

Best New Designer

Many many (many) years ago my horrid stepsister introduced me to one of the most delightful girls I have had the pleasure of knowing. She and I instantly hit it off regardless of the fact that she is nearly ten years younger than I am (we both hated pink). I was in my twenties and it probably seemed to my sister's friends that I was all fabulous and exciting (and I had a car that drove them around, a lot...) but Jenn was one of the few that I actually found... well, not annoying. So not annoying in fact, that I tried really hard to take her to what I think was her first real concert (Coolio I believe, LOL) and I immediately became the hot topic at the next parents meeting with many of them insisting that I had to be a bad influence simply because I was not fifteen. If only they knew...


Anyhow, now that Jenn is all grown up she is showing me a thing or two about how to live life, and I am duly impressed. After finishing up at Ryerson and doing grand things in Toronto, she moved back to Vancouver, married one of the only men I would have approved of for her (possibly my brother being the only other) and had the most gorgeous wee baby girl you could imagine. She also has mastered the fine art of launching herself full force into the interior design industry. I understand that she has a great deal of experience with PR as that was her last gig on the other side of the country, but to be able to back it with the talent she is showing is pretty phenomenal. I imagine she gets tired of hearing how proud I am of her, she is the type that would roll her eyes, (also, it makes me sound old somehow... go figure) but she is like the little sister that I liked, and I am so happy that she turned out so wonderfully. I am going to take some credit for that.


I should also note (no, I don't forget) that she is not the only talent in this design duo. She has teamed up with her adorable friend Rachel to become A Good Chick To Know Design Consulting, and you can consult with them on everything from what dress to wear to a party to how to sell your house faster and for way above the asking price. Not too shabby, and I guarantee a lot of fun as well!


Jenn recently entered the BC's Best Young Designer Competition and while I had a post in the works on one of her recent home transformations, I had to scrap it for this suite, I am so blown away! I know from her other work that she has an intensely good eye for sourcing on Craigslist and thrift shops, as well as access to the amazing world of design that Vancouver has to offer. If you ever visit the city, be sure to budget for some of the best shopping you have seen for interiors! Apparently this entire space started with the orange lamp (can you spot it?) and it makes me think of how much fun we will have if I ever get my butt back to Vancouver and spend some time treasure hunting with this fine lass! I may have a few disgruntled people in my life who will tell you that I don't simply go on and on about somebody's talents just because they are a friend, but I will let you decide for yourself. Here is the entry for the Best Young Designer Challenge...





Unfortunately you cannot vote for this suite online (although you can visit the site for more pics and info,) you have to actually visit it at Morgan Crossing in South Surrey. There are six talented finalists who have contributed a suite. Each had a $10,000 budget to work the space so they had to be inspired, resourceful and creative. I imagine it is worth the trip if you can get out that way! Why not do something different this weekend?

Some Stuff

Where have I been? I know... I could plead summer... and that is partly to blame. In reality though, I have not been in the mood to write anything. I keep finding nifty stuff to post about and I have a kazillion things in my "Draft" folder that I started to tell you all about, but since I lose interest these days a few lines in, I thought maybe I would just put some things out there over the next few days that have caught my interest. Totally random perhaps, but still worth note.


One of the things that is making me happy right now is that I found the sweetest blog called Dottie Angel. This woman lives the life I want to lead. And she photographs it and writes about her endeavors for me so that I can take a bit of time out of my day to look at her pretty life and wonder what mine would be like if...



It also inspired me to create the little bird mobile that she has hanging outside her dining room/patio door.


I saw it and thought I should have one, but I have so much stuff around here, I thought it better to make it for my friend's daughter's birthday. So when heading over to her beach party, stick in hand, my sons explained to the people on the little ferry that the stick was this little girl's birthday gift (I had the pretty birds in my bag). We got some wonderfully aghast looks when I followed up with "hey, it is a really nice stick."

I think it was Flickr that I found Tif's (Dottie's) fabulous photos on and followed her through to her blog. I ended up following posts back for eternity and looking lovingly through her house and studio. This woman is just inspiration incarnate. She lives in a photo shoot from Domino magazine, writes with a witty and uplifting and adorable style that is very refreshing, spends her hours revamping vintage whatnots and repurposing her lovely thrifted acquisitions. What's more, she has spent the last year challenging herself to purchase only handcrafted or secondhand goods for her home and wardrobe and successfully encouraging others to do the same. A rather lengthy list of fellow bloggers joined her in her quest which is rounding up in September. I think that in itself is quite an accomplishment, and one that supports all the things I find now daily in this apparent "movement" towards finding beauty and inspiration in a whole new box that is so much more rewarding that the new shiny one. She did a post awhile ago that made me smile when I came upon it... summing up entirely what I truly hope is the newest chapter of this book we call life while wallpapering the innards of an estate find cabinet:

"and then i pondered,

no, this sweetie was not going to end up in the thrift store later in life,

being mocked by passing strangers.

someone, somewhere will come across her,

gasp the gasp, i have gasped many times myself.

and then with a little bit of luck,

that someone will exclaim for all to know

"why this is the most fabulous example of the granny chic movement,

a movement that occurred in the early part of the 21st century.

it was not uncommon for discarded forsaken souls to be picked up

and adorned with paint, paper and fabric.

if i am not mistaken this looks to be a 'dottie angel' example...

yes, yes it is! look just inside the cupboard there,

the signature of the woman behind this granny chic redo.

one Tif Fussell aka dottie angel,

a lover of granny chic goodness...

oh this is indeed the most peachiest of finds"

I am happy to finally see somebody recognize and articulate what is happening now to be as important to design as perhaps the modern movement was, or any other "forward thinking" step we have taken in the evolution of both design and lifestyle choices in general. Going around and collecting old things or a particular style/designer is nothing new, but this new way of taking what is old and making it our own somehow, while ultimately changing our habit of seeing worth in terms of new or designer goods, is indeed a movement. Granny chic, vintage glam, upcycling... all are terms that even the shelter mags are throwing around right now to describe what devoted thrifters have known for awhile. One person's trash is indeed another's treasure.

*all images from Dottie Angel's blog except top photo which is from Spool

Piece by Piece...

I hear rumour that quilters are organized. That they IRON before AND after they sew pieces of fabric together!!! Well, let's not call me a quilter then. I am a fabric piecer togetherer. I have a favourite quilt that has fallen apart so completely that the other day my seven year old offered to take me shopping for a new one. Hmmm. So I figure what with me having more fabric than I have room for, making a quilt should be easy. The part where I DON'T HAVE ROOM for this fabric is really the key here though, as it would most likely have sewn itself into glorious fancy things ages ago had I had the right amount of space to do it justice... for right now though, the "studio" is over run with lovely little bits of thrifted vintage linens and such that I am puzzling together one piece at a time. There is most likely a term for this in the day of yoga and meditative everything.... I shall call this "intuitive quilting". Organic Intuitive Quilting, as in, I don't iron or measure, I just sew, sew, sew to get it done in two days. I will save the measuring and ironing for the pieces I do for others...

Like a Rough Diamond

I was looking for something to use as a punch bowl for my sister's surprise birthday party last weekend and thought I would check out one of our thrift stores. I am an AVID thrift store shopper, in fact, I very rarely shop anywhere else. I do think that it takes a good eye to find what you are looking for there, but while people think that means you must have a talent for and understanding of the principles of good design, I think it is actually more a matter of being able to sort the junk out in your head and see past it to the good stuff. The sheer amount of stuff is generally more of an issue than seeing good shape. I hear people say all the time things like they loooooove that sofa, but would rather have it in another colour. Well, this is sort of the same thing, no?



So I didn't find a punch bowl, but I did find a fabulous sofa that I hope goes to a really good home. I have a thing for shoes, dishes and chairs /sofas, the latter being a bit of a problem as I live in a teeny small space. I think with a few alterations though, this could be a very nifty piece. The colour is very off in the last photo, and the lighting was atrocious (they don't put much effort or funding into the store's decor,)

Just a thought.