Category — Architects, Designers + Stylists

While leisurely flipping through my June issue of Canadian House & Home this weekend, I fell in love with this Vancouver home belonging to designer Nancy Riesco and her family. Come take a peek at some of the beautiful pics snapped by my friend Janis (it’s so cool to see familiar names making regular appearances in my favourite magazines!) and you can see even more over at Pinecone Camp as well as in the latest issue of H&H, now on news stands…

All pictures by Janis Nicolay for House & Home. Design by homeowner Nancy Riesco.

All pictures by Janis Nicolay for House & Home. Design by homeowner Nancy Riesco.

All pictures by Janis Nicolay for House & Home. Design by homeowner Nancy Riesco.

I just love all of the clean lines, colourful artwork and bold pops of colour throughout this family home. It’s so bright and liveable, wouldn’t you agree? My week is zipping along and I’m doing my best to keep up. We spent a good chunk of the day in Vancouver yesterday, salvaging a Kerrisdale home up for demolition with Tracey Ayton (here’s a peek!), visiting with Chris at Stepback (if you haven’t been, you really must!) and then rushing home to pick up kids and zoom off to hockey practice. Ah, these are the days! Off to the shop now before some much needed R+R with my Spruce girls…we’re having our belated Christmas party this afternoon! Fresh toes at the nail spa and dinner on a sunny patio, coming right up :)

Sorry for my absence on Wednesday! I’m having some updates done to the blog and there were some technical difficulties along the way. Crisis averted and stay tuned for a fresh new look for Birch + Bird!  I’m off to work at the shop today and we’ve got some space planning ideas in the works to make the most of our square footage. It’s so amazing to me (to all of us, actually!) how our dreams for the shop have evolved since the beginning. What’s even more interesting is how some of our most spontaneous decisions have turned out to be our best. Have you ever had that experience? There’s a lot to be said for “going with your gut” as opposed to over-thinking things…well at least some of the time!

A space that has obviously been well thought out from rafters to concrete is this stunning warehouse conversion, the new home of the post-production facility, Joint Editorial. Architecturally designed by Armin Quilici of Vallaster Corl Architects, the team at Jessica Helgerson Interior Design took over the finishing touches, creating a very warm and welcoming workspace. I don’t think it would be tough to head into the office each day, in fact I think it would be very hard to leave…

Joint Editorial. Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Joint Editorial. Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Joint Editorial. Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Chelsie Lee was the lead designer and project manager for JHID and I think she did an amazing job at unifying the private and public areas of this expansive space, bringing warmth and texture in with rugs, lush plants and spectacular lighting. You can read more about the Joint Editorial project and see more fabulous photos over at Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Have a wonderful weekend!

If you haven’t guessed it already, I have a huge design crush on Emily Henderson. Sure, she’s cute and she’s funny but it’s her style that kills me every. single. time. She just gets it right. An effortless mix of vintage + new, colour + texture, with a generous dash of natural materials + lush plants add up to liveable, personal spaces that look real. And Emily touches on trends without ever coming across as trend-y…much harder to accomplish than one might think! Well, I know I’m gushing so I’ll stop and just let you see the home that she recently styled for HGTV. Emily was lucky to start with good bones, designed by architect Eric Olsen, and together they brought this family home back to life. Be sure to pop by her blog for plenty of before + afters too…

Emily Henderson for HGTV. Photo by Victoria Pearson

Style by Emily Henderson. Photo by Bethany Nauert.

Style by Emily Henderson. Photo by Bethany Nauert.

Emily Henderson for HGTV. Photo by Victoria Pearson

Emily Henderson for HGTV. Photo by Victoria Pearson

Emily Henderson

The exterior is just the icing on the cake, isn’t it? I can just picture kids running across the lawn! Do you have a “crush” in your industry or trade? What would you say or do if you met them in real life one day? And did you have a happy Easter? We sure did…the sunshine was divine! Couldn’t get enough of the weather but now it’s back to cloudy skies and reality but the kids are back in school, hooray :)

I’m obviously a big fan of team work and this bright and bold LA duplex is the perfect example of two talented designers working together to create something, well, awesome! Emily Henderson and Bri Emery collaborated, (actually, they bartered services…could it get any better?) in the redesign of Bri’s new Los Angeles home. In exchange for her decorating services, Emily got a shiny new website design…looks like a pretty fabulous fair trade to me! Full of light, lush plants and vivid colours, this space is bursting with personality…

Bri Emery‘s home in the LA Times. Design by Emily Henderson. Photo by Laure Joliet.

Bri Emery‘s home in the LA Times. Design by Emily Henderson. Photo by Laure Joliet.

I’m absolutely in love with the layered rugs in the dining room (what an ingenious solution!), not to mention that Max Wanger photo (it’s so affordable too, bonus!). Actually, I’m pretty much in love with the entire space! A little bit masculine with the right amount of feminine and plenty of juicy colour and whimsy details in between. Home sweet duplex! Enjoy your Wednesday :)

After such a fantastic weekend away, fate would have it that I promptly came down with a stomach bug and two of my three kids came down with croup, go figure! We were cooped up for the last couple days and there wasn’t a lot of sleep happening for any of us between the symphony of coughing fits. After a relatively healthy winter, I can’t really complain but it was definitely quite the shock to the system after several blissful days away. Sigh. We all seem to be on the mend now and I thought this lovely Dutch farmhouse was just the antidote for any mid-week slumps happening out there. I think I’d even be ok hunkering down for a sick day or two in this lofty barn conversion, designed by Utrecht-based design firm Viva Vida….

All photos by Viva Vida

Layers of pattern and texture bring personality to the neutral backdrop of reclaimed wood and concrete and I absolutely love the liberal use of bright artwork and unique lighting throughout the space. With such dramatic ceilings and beams, it could be hard to make such an open space feel like a home but I think that the design firm accomplished the task amazingly well…

All photos by Viva Vida

All photos by Viva Vida

All photos by Viva Vida

Aren’t the kid’s rooms darling? I want to crawl into the one cubby and close the doors, yawn! I’m back at the shop today after a few days off so better get to work. Enjoy your day!