Friday Favourites!

Oh so glad it's Friday today.  I think I say that every week.  But it is especially true today. 

 My sweet little girl is actually singing both the US and Canadian national anthems at the London Knights hockey game tonight.  For 10,000 people!  I'm really excited for her and can't wait to see her all dressed up and ready to go.

I have a couple of faves for you today. 

Tanya's amazing, artful Expedit Ikea Hack!  LOVE IT!

This amazing Christmas party at House of Turquoise.

And this exciting new Blog Event, presented by some very talented and creative women.  Can't wait to register!

Finally, these are a few of my fave holiday wishes:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.  6.


Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Meg

My Kitchen & DIning Room Plans

I found this picture on Tim Clark's site.   I love the way this banquette looks here.  Casual, perfect for family dinners, yet refined enough to also host friends.  I love the grey cushions and the subdued palate, the floral pillow, and the monogram on the linen slipcovers.

I have mentioned how I plan to build banquette seating into our dining room's bay window.  When we're at a restaurant, I always want to sit on the booth side of the table.  We are opening up the wall between our kitchen and dining room.  The room looks something like this:

I really think an open plan would work here for us as long as the finishes in our kitchen were pretty fancy, kind of like the kitchen above.  Maybe 'fancy' isn't the right word.  Maybe 'refined' is better.  I know it's a casual look and that many people feel that a formal dining room should exist in a home, but it's just not the way we live.  I don't think I've ever had guests that I wouldn't serve dinner to in this way.  

 I'm working on the kitchen plans right now and I'll show them to you as soon as I have them ready.

Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween and that nobody is suffering from a candy hangover!

xo Meg

Home Tour

Showhouse created by Stanton Home Furnishings via Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine.  Photography by Erica George Dines.

I spy the amazing chevron fabric I went insane over on that settee yesterday.

Lots of neutral texture with a bold, graphic fabric for punch.

Killer kitchen with chunky open shelving and zinc accents.  Those light fixtures are to die for.  And the bar stools.  Notice the little collection of turquoise Ball Mason jars on the top shelf?  My fave!

This home reminds me a lot of my inspiration home.  I love the neutral textures each room has and the restrained use of colour and pattern.  You know how everyone is in love with that Resortation Hardware look?  Well, to me this is similar but more liveable and interesting. A little more colour and pattern, a little more personality.   

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend.  I'm heading out to Halloween in the Village.  Our little community is having a Fair and Parade to celebrate Halloween and I'm so looking forward to hanging with friends in our village.  

xo Meg

Dream Study

Oh, thank goodness it's Friday.  Really.  I don't know how much more of this week I could take.  

    In an effort to put my 'blogger' face forward (you know, the one where everything is roses and perfect vignettes all the time?), I found this stunner of a study to show you.  

    Gorgeous: muted palate, coffered ceiling, delicate light fixture, CHEVRON SETTEE!!!!!  I would probably never leave this room.  Ever.  Best thing I've seen in a while.

I honestly have no words.

Except awesome.  

Designed by Jamie Beckwith.  View her site here.


Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

xo Meg

Designer Crush: Massuco Warner Miller

I first discovered Massucco Warner Miller when I searched the source of this photo:

I'm sure you've all seen it, since it's typically all over blogland and is the inspiration for many little girl's rooms.  I love this room - it's fresh and classic, graphic and colourful.  But it's not over the top.  It strikes a perfect balance.

There are so many beautiful spaces on the MSW site.  They are all so well decorated. But what is it that I love so much about them that keeps me coming back?   I'm always trying to pin down my own decorating taste and define my style.  

I think some of it lies in the details.  There is no design element left undone. 

I'm not sure this room really reflects my style but I love the repetition: pairs of mirrors, lamps, consoles, stools, chairs...etc.  The symmetry is really remarkable.  The fabrics are also stunning.  

Maybe for this one, it's the simplicity that gets me.  Or the pairing of rust and aqua, which is always a favourite of mine.

This is just a dream girls bedroom.  I love the lines of those sculptural side tables and the unexpected pop of mustardy yellow.  It keeps it from being too saccharine.  Also, the white painted stone is killer.

In all these spaces, the firm has used really fine fabrics.  I'm interested to see if I can create a 'look for less' version of this homework room for my own office.

Here's a more formal dining space with unbelievable wallpaper and chocolate ruffle curtains.  

 Just so good.  

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the MSW portfolio.  You should really go to their site and check out all the homes featured.  They are pretty remarkable.  

xo Meg

Note:  All photos via Massucco Warner Miller.   

TA-DA!

   Ok, I had a little trouble with blogger last night.  It didn't seem to like my CSS, so I'm still working on it a bit.  There is a 'featured on' section, link pages, 'contact' section  and social media section still to come.
    I'd love any feedback you have on the graphics, or any suggestions you'd like to see on the site.  Hopefully I can get the rest up today.

For now, I'll leave you with this, 'cause I'll be knitting a pair this weekend!

via

And this, 'cause I could move right in. (except I'd probably stain the island grey instead)

via

Happy Thanksgiving, Canadian friends!

xo Meg

Bringing Fall into Our Home

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm guest posting today over at First Time Fancy.  I wrote a post for Kerry about the painting I made for my sweet husband for our anniversary.  I hope you'll all go over there to check it out.

So, welcome to all you new visitors from First Time Fancy!

I hope you'll stay a while and have a look around.  If you come back tomorrow, you'll get a chance to see the launch of the new graphics and layout for the blog.  I think I'm just about ready!

I love, love, love fall.  I suppose it helps that we've had a week of near perfect weather here.  Crisp air, vibrant blue skies, russet trees.  Gorgeous.

For some reason, I've got fall fever.  I'm so excited about Thanksgiving this year (here in Canada we celebrate this coming weekend).  I'm looking forward to getting a little fall decorating done around the house.

Welcoming:

via

I'm not making this wreath.  If I had more time, I might.  Maybe for next year.  But let's pretend it's on my front door to welcome you!

Wearing:

via

(including the latte!)

Dressing up the Dining Room:

 pinterest

I love the simple palate in the room.  And you might notice that the table is surrounded by a mix-match of chairs.  A few windsor chairs, some slipcovered chairs and a slipped bench seat... I really love this look for my dining room.  If you remember, I wrote about it here and here.  

 I am hosting a small Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year.  It's really just my parents and our family.  But I want to make it special.  I love natural elements on a tabletop for Thanksgiving.  I'm using some clippings and flowers from the yard, some burlap, and some gourds.

Tabletop:

The above tabletop by Martha is perfect to me.  I love the simplicity.  

We don't really do over the top holiday decor around here, although I often admire it in other homes.

also by Martha

Style@Home

Sweet Dreams:

Tommy Smythe via S@H

(I had to include this one, because the colour story is perfect for Thanksgiving, and because I love Tommy almost as much as I love fall) 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you'll follow along on my design journey.  This old house is full of surprises and has really been a huge source of inspiration to me.  I'm having so much fun dreaming and planning and designing here.  I would love your comments and suggestions!

xo Meg

Roomspiration: Master Bedroom Mood Board

I had so much fun linking up Elliott's Room to the Roomspiration Mood Board links that I decided to show you the work I've been doing in our master bedroom.  This room isn't in the plans for a while yet, as we are currently working on Audrey's room.  Some of the elements are already in place.  Others I am still dreaming of.

I really love the inspiration image, by Interior Philosophy.  I think the bedroom is so pretty and restful looking. I love the natural elements and the serene colour scheme.

 Here are the sources:

Fabrics
The Antique Washed Belgian Linen is from Restoration Hardware.  We already have that on the bed and I love it so much.  It has gotten softer with washing and is the perfect colour.

I would like to do a bedskirt and long bolster pillow out of the Gazebo Fabric and like the Fretwork Fabric for some accent pillows.  Both fabrics are from Canadian fabric source Tonic Living.

Art
The Raven print is from Etsy artist, eastwitching and there are so many watercolours of hers that I admire.  The frames are just Ikea Ribba.  You can't beat their proportions or price!

The other piece in the room is one I created as an anniversary gift for my husband.  It is similar to the one pictured here.  I'll be blogging about that later in the week.

Lighting
The Weston Arc Sconce is from Pottery Barn.  I think the lines of it will look nice with the antique pendant light that is original to the room.

Headboard is from Sundance.  It's so beautiful but way out of our budget.  Plus, Jay loves to build things for our home.  I think we have enough barn board left over to make a similar one.

I haven't nailed down a paint colour for the room, since I am still waiting for fabric samples.  I'll keep you posted!  I'm linking up today at Just A Touch Of Grey.

xo Meg

The Reveal: Elliott's Room

   This room has been such a labour of love... and a long time coming.  Jay and I worked so hard pulling it together and we are so happy with how it turned out.  More importantly, Elliott is thrilled.  It's the quirky, mature space he wanted.  The room is tiny and that couldn't be helped.   At least now he has a special room designed just for him.

 Welcome to Elliott's Room!  The rug is from Turkey.  My Mom brought it home for us when I was pregnant with Elliott.  

Jay made the captain's bed, which has two huge drawers that house Elliott's clothes.  The barnboard I scrubbed was installed on the headboard wall.

Jay also made the desk out of the rough pine salvaged barnboards.  The artwork includes framed prints from an Anthropology Calendar from 2008, a real snakeskin in a shadowbox, and initial letter from PB and a bulletin board I covered with a map of Ontario and painted red.

I made the curtains from some Ikea panels on my Grandma's old sewing machine.  You can also see the teeny closet, which we had dubbed the 'hobbit hole'.  It actually runs the length of the bedroom, perfect for hiding out and reading.

I made this Union Jack Pillow yesterday using some leftover fabric I had from the curtains and an old Pottery Barn shower curtain.  The light is from Barn Light Electric.

There are a few details I still want to complete.  Things around here are always a work in progress.  It's funny, the room turned out completely different from the inspiration board I originally made for the room.  But we couldn't be happier with the results.  I'd love to hear your feedback!

xo Meg


Just a note:  I'm going to do a little work on the photos in this post.  I'd really like for them to look a little more professional.  I struggle with photography - I don't have an expensive camera or know much about it!  If you have a suggestion for a photography resource, I'd really appreciate it.

Well, now that the Stanley Cup finals are over, the television at my house can officially go off for the summer.  Sometimes I think that if it weren't for Hockey Night in Canada, we wouldn't even have cable...

In honour of Boston's Big Win last night, I thought I'd post a couple yellow and black images.

And, perhaps if I were a Bruins fan, I would wear this outfit to the game.

pretty cute, right?

However, I'm not a Bruins fan.  I was hoping the Canucks would pull it out last night, although it was obvious right from the start that they didn't have the gumption.

So, in honour of the Vancouver Canucks:

Love that fresh green and royal blue together!

I'd sport this cute ensemble to cheer on the Canucks:

Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot of cheering going on at our casa last night.  I guess we can hang tight and hope the Leafs make the playoffs next year...

xo Meg

*all images via my pinterest