My new favourite tile

Tile shopping is something I look forward to the most with each new project, especially at Stone Tile here in Vancouver. Haley Whalen CID my design rep constantly comes up with new and inspiring tile options for me. For the 4408 West 15th project Haley was very excited about a new tile they had found during their recent buying trip to Italy. One look and I was sold, I knew right away this was the tile for the master bath, this was just right for my attempt to bring a little Belgian flare to this house in Vancouver.

Master bath at 4408 West 14th

 These (admittedly subtle) porcelain tiles are from the dynamic Spanish designer, Patricia Urquiola for Mutina.

Déchirer (French for 'torn' or 'ripped') tiles remind of a once-ornate surface that was left to the mercy of the elements. 

View more on this tile here

Wicked clever: My tiler Nico for installing these monster tiles (they are two feet by 4 feet).

4408 West 14th is finished!

I had a lot fun designing the interior of our latest Homeworx home. While we had great success creating the two modern homes, I have a small obsession with Belgian design and really wanted to throw that into the mix somehow on this latest project. What I love about traditional Belgian design is that texture  plays a big role, rough light woods and light coloured rustic stone are teamed with smooth reflective surfaces, shiny crystals and glass to create a perfect balance, a treat for the eye. Hats off to our architect Nigel Hacker from Intarsia Design for designing one of the best floor plans on a 33 foot lot we ever built.

To view more photos and find out more about the listing check out our realtor's link below.

Just...beautiful

Somethings just make you smile, I am lucky enough to own two of Vancouver artist Leah MacFarlane's amazing paintings.

http://leahmacfarlane.blogspot.com

Beautiful: what more can I say.

The perfect bag

I just recently returned from Nova Scotia, a special trip with my sister Sharon, paying tribute to and celebrating the great life of our truly inspirational and dearly missed father, Art Cowie (he was born 76 years ago in Halifax, Nova Scotia) and reconnecting with our mysterious past (our 5x great grandfather is buried in Liverpool, Nova Scotia). This was not a sad journey as our father had a wonderful life but one of discovery, as we really knew very little of our family history - thank goodness for Ancestry.ca.

The Cowie Plot, Liverpool Nova Scotia

 We came across this little market in the old Alexander Keith's Brewery in Halifax and within seconds I spotted this little stall selling these fabulous bags that are hand cut and crafted from the reclaimed sails of a Nonsuch, a racing class sailboat with a wishbone shaped boom, local to the Maritimes. My dad loved the ocean, he was in the navy in his youth and spent as much time as he could out on his own boat "At Last". A sail bag, well perfect.

http://www.seadogbagcompany.com/

This is from the Sea Dog website

Seadog Bag company, is based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Danette Eden, the founder, is a commercial seamstress. It’s her love of designing and creating combined with her talent that Danette has arrived at being the creator of “carrying solutions”…cool bags. Embracing her concern for the environment, her designs were first created using retired sails destined for the landfill. Her choice of material has evolved, always keeping the philosophy of eco-bags in mind. Realizing the diversity of textile she soon realized that many other strong, durable, and appealing materials could also be diverted – used seat belts for straps, etc. 

It all started with creating bags using retired sails from vessels which have or still are plying the oceans. Sails are made from Dacron. Dacron is very durable and strong. Dacron is weather-resistant. Dacron is the perfect material for bags. Seadog Bags are now catching admiring glances in the urban streets. Seadog Bags have come a long way baby and are being carried even further on the broad, stylish shoulders of the fashion conscience.

Wicked Clever: making something beautiful, durable and just darn useful out of material destined for the landfill, wicked clever.

Beautiful: splitting up and running barefoot through an old cemetery in the rain trying to beat your sister at finding your ancestor's headstones. 

Life is too short to drink bad wine...

Hmmm, let's see Oliver and the Naramata Bench, BC during the Pinot Gris harvest with the weather forecast predicting 25 degrees for the first weekend in October - shall we go? A..yes. Any weekend away with my husband coincidentally also named Oliver and our dear friends Andy and Anna is always no brainer, guaranteed fun, relaxation with good conversation then to throw in my favourite grape the lovely Pinot Gris and that's a weekend away. How to make it more special? Stay in the guest house at the Burrowing Owl Winery on the day they are harvesting the perfectly ripe Pinot Gris grapes. The tractors started rolling at about 5:30 am rousting us from our big fluffy beds, you could feel the vibe in the air, this what the wine makers have been waiting for all year. Nestled on a sandy plateau near the north end of Lake Osoyoos, Burrowing Owl is situated in one of the most highly rated locations for growing grapes in Canada. We strolled through the vineyards, stepping out of the way of container after container of Pinot grapes on their way to crusher. These grapes have 24 hours from the time they are picked until the time they must be safely tucked away into one of the giant stainless steel vats, to start the process of becoming one of my favourite BC wines.

The Burrowing Owl is warm, cozy and built in the style of an adobe structure you would see in New Mexico. Our rooms reflected that same earthy warm feeling, we also had great outdoor space with a small terrace where we sat overlooking  the beautiful pool, with of course, our of glasses of wine while listening to the coyotes howl at dusk, pure magic.

But, what got me really excited the next day was seeing the some of the newer wineries using modern architecture for their tasting rooms. I loved the the use of concrete, stainless steel, aluminium and native Douglas Fir, very harmonious with the dessert like surroundings. Below are some of my favourites, for both wine and modern styling.

Blackhills Estate Winery
http://www.blackhillswinery.com/

Church and State Winery
http://churchandstatewines.com/

Saving my favourite winery for last we were reminded that flash and show is not always necessary in the wine biz. I have been a big fan of Van Westen's Vivacious a delicious blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris since I discovered it at The Pair Bistro in Vancouver in the spring. I was most excited about visiting this particular winery. Following hand painted signs off the main road through the Naramata Bench, we drove down an unassuming dirt road thinking that we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Sure enough I see the big V on a nondescript cinder block building, we parked the cars. Holding court inside were the wine makers themselves Robert Van Westen and his wife Tammy. He had holding tanks to build, 2x4's to move and grapes to pick but there he was telling us all about his wine and showing us how he produces these award winning vintages. He wears his passion for his grapes on his sleeve, it's wonderful to see and not to mention taste! The highlight of trip for us all.

Van Westen Winery 

http://www.vanwestenvineyards.com/

I'm inspired to: try some lino print making (from the Burrowing Owl label)

Beautiful: Robert Van Westen, his unabashed love for his grapes and his tousled hair and wrinkled shirt.

One of my favourite stores

Jux.ta.po.si.tion

                    HOME

Juxtaposition Home is a store on the Newport Coast that has a great selection of new, vintage, quirky, odd and lovely things.

The store is a fantastic mixture of new upholstery furniture, custom fabrics, vintage furniture, new and old books, great funky art, lighting and odd things from 60's doctor offices. I would assume by the quality and oddness of their finds that they do some shopping in France and ship things over. In addition to their goods, the space itself is beautiful. Don't miss the giant 5ft barn fans that line the 20+ft ceilings. What drew me into the store after a quick glance through the window, were the vintage flag pillows - stunning, I have a bit of addiction for anything Union Jack and I certainly got my fix in here. Once inside I was all a gaga and it wasn't all a visual experience, to me it's really all about the texture of an item, I need to run my fingers over every item in a store, so, yes my fingers were busy in here. I love the feel of Belgian linen, old worn oak and well patinaed metal.

Needless to say, I almost missed my flight back to Vancouver.

If you're in the Orange County area or feel like taking a day trip, the store is beautifully located on PCH across the street from the ocean, sandwiched between Laguna Beach and Newport/Corona Del Mar. Take a friend and then plan on going to lunch after down road in one of the beach towns near by. 

Price tags reflect the high rent location but if you're looking for something 

really unique I can recommend the store.

I'm inspired: canvas, fabric paint, sewing machine, tea bags and pillow form...can I do it?
Wicked clever: upholstering furniture in old grain sacks.

Etsy sucks me in again

This morning my daughter asked me to help find her a vintage Seventeen Magazine for her bedroom wall. Cool, I thought, I'll check out the old standby Ebay - but too no avail. Then I remembered Etsy.com, it was two hours later before I came out of the Etsy time warp slash black hole of everything creative some good and some bad- Seventeen Magazineless but I did find some Kiddles! I almost teared up, Kiddles were such a big part of my pre Barbie days and those were big days around our house.

I found these amazing little dolls on a fabulous site on Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/twinheartsvintage .

I have had great success on Etsy, recently purchasing a series of Keep Calm and Carry On posters for my bedroom (please excuse the glare).

Inspiration: none
Beautiful: the kiddles are cute but beautiful...no
Wicker clever: ah...no

Sometimes you just need to disappear and get lost looking at cool things.