Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

Another Monday!  We are on the home stretch now with only 4 more days as Canadian residents.  We will miss our family and friends dearly but I have to admit that I’m looking forward to going “home”.  Florida has been a long time coming and it will feel good to be together as a family.  We will have been apart for about 6 weeks and it’s been tough, that’s for sure.  I’ve found myself dreaming of lofts a lot lately now that I’m über organized and our belongings have been whittled down, I’m wondering if we could make the adjustment from house to loft living.  Who am I kidding?  Of course, I could.  I can’t get enough of these sun soaked spaces with soaring ceilings.  I especially adore this one, it has a great mix of industrial finishing and vintage finds.  Modern, relaxed and it feels like home.

 micasa via Desire to Inspire

Today I need to do some last minute sorting.  Clothes, toiletries, important papers, school work and a few toys for the plane.  Absolute necessities, kitchen items and the girls’ belongings to be taken off the truck before the rest goes into storage until we find a home.  The movers are scheduled for tomorrow to box up all our belongings and they will pack the truck on Wednesday to start the big trek across the continent.  Now more time to waste.  Enjoy your week!

We opened up the application for Scout Handmade + Vintage Market yesterday and we are beyond thrilled with the excitement that is already brewing.  Thank goodness for modern technology because I’m feeling more than a little anxious about not being as hands on for this market since I’ll be thousands of miles away as of next Friday.  I’m already dreaming of market day and can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.  The space where we will be hosting the market has a real industrial feel to it with floor to ceiling windows, polished concrete floors, and high, open ceilings.  A blank canvas to showcase the vendors’ fantastic handmade and vintage wares.  Wasn’t the loft Lily featured yesterday fabulous?  It had me dreaming of my own lofty space to call home.  The simple backdrop of wide open industrial spaces give endless design possibilities.

Jenna Lyons via Habitually Chic

Design*Sponge

vtwonen

Interior Design Ideas

Apartment Therapy

via Miss Design

Carouschka Streijffert

Marie Claire Maison

1 Kind Design

Desire to Inspire

Does loft living suit your lifestyle?  Or would you rather a cozy little house?

Happy Wednesday! How was your Valentine’s Day? Mine was good, with just the right amount of love notes and chocolate to get me through the week. Rachel and I have been busy bees planning our Spring market…it’s a lot different planning with the deadline of her leaving the country so close at hand! But thankfully, the majority of our planning happens online so we’re confident that we’ll adjust to the changes ahead.

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

When I opened the latest edition of Style At Home magazine last week, I was happy to see the work of our friend Janis featured and even more excited to see the amazing Gastown space that she photographed. I must say I’m super envious of her amazing job…getting an intimate look inside people’s homes must be so great! But I suppose that’s why we started this blog too…

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

Designed by architect, Omer Arbel, this industrial space in a less-than-savoury part of town was once unliveable. It is a long and skinny space, with the original windows being only at either end of the 33-by-150 foot home. In Omer’s words, “This was a cavernous space in a not-so-pretty neighbourhood. We decided to concentrate on light and create a sort of cube of nature in the middle of the floor plan rather than open up the views to the streets cape.” This was achieved by the construction of a glass walled courtyard in the middle of the living space. Genius, right?

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

I love how the layering of colourful art, rugs and upholstery keep the otherwise concrete and brick space from looking too cold or sterile. The addition of some fantastic vintage pieces (like the amazing antique cabinet in the bathroom) and modern lines in the streamlined kitchen, the overall design truly embraces the contrast of old and new…

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

Janis Nicolay for Style At Home. Designed by Omer Arbel.

I think it would be so cool to visit this space and to see it’s “lightbox” of a courtyard, especially on one of our wet West Coast days! Depending on the weather, either a rectangle of sunshine or one of rain becomes the focal point of this home, such a clever solution for bringing in some much needed light.

On another note, vendor applications are now open for Scout Handmade + Vintage Market! Visit our market blog for Frequently Asked Questions and more information. Looking forward to seeing the amazing talent of our vendors this time ’round!

What a week! This mama is tuckered out and I’m very much in need of the weekend getaway ahead! The last few days have been filled with birthday party preparations and yesterday our house was filled up with 11 (yes, eleven!) very excited little girls to celebrate my daughter Sadie’s 6th birthday. It was my first time hosting an after school party and I must say I really liked the timeframe…short and sweet! We had a tea party (although all the little ladies opted for hot chocolate or lemonade instead) and plenty of cake, candy, and itty-bitty sandwiches to go around. And at the end of the day, there were plenty of sticky finger prints everywhere and one very happy six year old!

EST Magazine via April & May

My daughters are both big fans of pink and, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I figured it’s the right time of year to showcase some bold hued rooms. Both red and pink can easily be overdone but I think each of these spaces have injected just the right pop of colour to warm things up…

SF Girl By Bay

Country Living

Thuss + Farrell via Hank & Hunt

Homelife via Dust Jacket via Creamy Life. Photo by Warnes & Walton.

The Marion House Book

House to Home via You Are My Fave

Hus & Hem

Rie Elise Larsen via Stylizimo

Bonnie Tsang for Rue Magazine (Bri Emery‘s loft)

Little Miss Lollies

Unfortunately, the clouds darkened our sky (and my house) and these were the only two blog worthy photos of our party yesterday. Sadie and I made a brave attempt at our first layer cake (a rainbow one at that!) and, if you squint your eyes and stand waaay back from the screen, I think you’ll agree with me that it turned out okay! Alright, so I’m no baker but at least all of the little girls were impressed…

Do red or pink make regular appearances in your home decor? I generally prefer red but I’ve been coming around to pink, if it’s less bubblegum and more of the coral variety. I’m off to the gym and then out for lunch to celebrate my good friend Aprille’s birthday, not to mention nullifying my workout! I might even get a chance to put my feet up this afternoon before getting the family organized for a weekend without me, although it’s not likely. I’ll save the R+R for Seattle…see you next week!

With all the rustic wood touches, crisp white walls and carefully curated decor, this lovely home has a great vintage, modern feel yet still feels comfortable and homey.  I’ve never taken the full tour until now and I could move right in.  Now, that I’ve paired back our belongings to only things we love, I hope that I can similar focus while collecting pretty things for our home.  I think this home is a good example of what I’m after.  What do you think?

 All images for Skona Hem

With our girls getaway only days away, I need to get back on task.  Enjoy the rest of your week!