Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

This week was too busy and I’m so glad that it’s the weekend.  The girls are off school today because of a Professional Day so that means we didn’t have to rush anywhere this morning or the next two.  Yes.  A long weekend.  I’m looking forward to sorting through some more boxes, tea with my mom and her granddaughters, a family movie night, maybe a few errands and some housework thrown in for good measure. Speaking of housework, I make my bed almost every single day.  It helps our bedroom look tidy even if it’s not.  And I like getting into a neatly made bed rather than an unmade bed.  How about you?

 The White Company

  Blanaid

Lily and I stayed in at the Hotel Sierra in Redmond last year with a couple girlfriends and they had the most heavenly beds, I swear.  The pillows, the featherbed, the duvet, the feel of the sheets, and the weight of the blankets. Pure bliss.  We still talk about those beds.  If someone could tell me their secret, I would spend a pretty penny to have that every single night.  Is it just me or do the messy beds look cozier than the beds made neat and tidy?

House & Home

 Empire Village

 le souk

 Katrine Martensen-Larsen

 West Elm

 a few things from my life 

I hope you can indulge yourself with a sleep in or two as well and we’ll see you back here all refreshed on Monday.

Well, it’s been quite the dark and soggy week around here and a big change from the bright white snow that we got to enjoy last week! So, I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready to browse through some light-filled and inspiring interiors. The work of Portland-based Jessica Helgerson has caught my eye several times in the past few months and, once you browse through some of these photos (all taken by the extremely talented Lincoln Barbour), I’m pretty sure you’ll see why…

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Rachel featured this amazing home last fall, and I totally agree with her thoughts that this rancher is what dream homes are made of! In fact, each of the homes featured in the design team’s portfolio are equally drool-worthy and have the perfect combination of traditional and modern elements, in my humble opinion. The use of natural wood, clean lines and white walls is my ideal mix of West Coast style with Scandinavian simplicity. Each house seems to flow from one room to the next and was built or renovated with family living and sustainability in mind…

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Now, you know how much I love the Oregon coast…can you imagine getting the chance to stay in this beautiful cottage? It’s a very impressive cottage at that, built for a large family (the project was managed and designed by Jesse Moyer) and be sure to check out the view from the bedroom window below…I don’t think I’d ever leave!

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

I’m pretty sure I first saw the following living room in a past Benjamin Moore colour book (but I could be totally wrong!) and then saw it again featured on Design*Sponge last year. This whole house is pretty fantastic…vaulted ceilings, window seat, open plan, a fabulous kitchen…yes, please! While I’m not generally a huge fan of dark wood, I could definitely get comfortable with the espresso floors and massive kitchen island in this space…

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photo by Lincoln Barbour.

This next home won the 2011 Pacific Northwest Award for Best Home under $400,000 and was also featured on Design*Sponge. It’s pretty impressive that Jessica and her design team were able to create such a fresh modern home out of a one hundred year old house without stripping away the original character, isn’t it? I think so! Something that I love about Halgerson’s design approach is her use of timeless materials and a neutral base for each project. Each space will be able to age gracefully and be easily updated with colourful accessories and other furnishings over time…

Lincoln Barbour Photography featuring Jessica Halgerson Interior Design.

Lincoln Barbour Photography featuring Jessica Halgerson Interior Design.

I’ll leave you with some of the design firm’s key questions that are asked of each client:

“At the beginning of each project, Jessica likes to start with the same questions: What’s the best design for the client? What’s the best design for the building or space? What will stand the test of time, stylistically and functionally? For any project, her goal is to ensure that the fundamental design and the materials are classic, long lasting, and appropriate to the building and its period. Then she likes to layer on fresh, contemporary elements—such as lighting, furniture, and art—that feel just right for the clients and for the moment.”

Some questions and thoughts that I’ll definitely be running through before diving into our own future projects. Have a great Thursday!

I thought I should probably think about Valentine’s Day earlier this year than last as my sweetheart is many miles away.  I won’t have the luxury of waiting until the day before to put something together like I usually do.  I think the girls and I will bake some cookies and put together a Valentine’s Day care package filled with love.  Since it’s on my mind, I thought I’d send out a friendly reminder that the day will be here before we know it.

 HoKiou

 something’s hiding in here

 Sweet William

 Design*Sponge

John Cullen Photography

 Oh, Happy Day

 Baking in Heels

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Rachel and I are about to delve into our year-end bookkeeping and, while we do keep our paperwork relatively well organized, it’s always slightly overwhelming when we repeatedly put it off for a few months at a time! But tax time is drawing near and ,with Rachel about to pull up anchor, it’s high time to put this tedious task behind us.

Ikea kindly sent us some photos of their latest organizational goodies and I am loving the look of these well sorted work spaces. My desk has six roomy drawers but it’s all to easy for them to become a dumping ground for mismatched paperwork, sticky notes and other office paraphernalia these days.We’ve spoken before about our dreams of having an actual room or studio to call our own but for now I must be content to type away at my workspace in the corner of our living room. Some of these simple yet stylish desk accessories would definitely help me keep my desktop clutter to a minimum…

Ikea

Ikea

Ikea

Whether you work from your your kitchen table or are lucky enough to have a studio space to spread out in, it’s easy for bills and other paperwork to start taking over. How do you keep your space organized? Colourful boxes, vintage crates and baskets are some of my favourite solutions…

Livet Hemma (Ikea Sweden)

Alvhem

Dwell

Do you like a perfectly clean desktop or do you like to have inspirational images and objects on display where you can see them daily? I like a bit of both and would definitely have an inspiration board nearby, if my desk wasn’t in our shared living space. I have three calendars always on the go and love the idea of a single large chalkboard calendar to fill in each month and help keep our family organized…

Janis Nicolay. Banquet feature for Canadian House & Home.

Rue. Photo by Matthew Williams. Design by Robert + Cortney Novogratz.

Stylizimo

House to Home via Bright.Bazaar. Photo by Dominic Blackmore.

Neutral colour schemes are so visually calming and make great backdrops for artists and other creative souls but I find some pops of colour to be much more energetic and inspiring, myself. Which do you prefer? And vintage touches always help warm up a space and add personality…

Casa de Valentina

Weekday Carnival

Style At Home

Whatever your style, I’d love to hear your tips on how you keep your workspace sorted and paperwork filed. I think it all comes down to filing things away daily rather than waiting until desk drawers can no longer close. Hmm, guess I’d better empty a couple of desk drawers today!

We measure time in “sleeps” around here…so only 32 more sleeps until the girls and I take up residence in Florida.  It sounds like a long ways off when we count it out but when I look at my calendar I get a little anxious.  It’s starting to fill up pretty fast and we have any free weekends left.  This weekend we said goodbye to our cats and I think I was more sad than the girls which really surprised me.  I suppose that keeping them informed along the way and filling them in on all the details worked in their favour, like I had hoped. Our house feels different without them and I wonder how long the promise I made to myself of “no more pets” will last.  Our big snow fall is melting away as the rain pours down in usual B.C. fashion and it’s about this time every year that I look out at my soggy garden and dream of the Spring.  I’m definitely not an expert gardener but I do love to put together plant pots and get my hands dirty now and then.  Succulents are one of my favourite plants and I hope they love the Florida sun.

 Project Wedding

 Flora Grubb Gardens

 iVillage

 Apartment Therapy

 Woodland Belle

 Green Wedding Shoes

 Alissa Rose

  Today’s Nest

Martha Stewart

 Stephanie Williams Photography

 Style Me Pretty

I can’t let the rain slow me down today.  I’ve got a long to-do list and I’m hoping to check off at least 10 tasks.  Wish me luck!