Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

As the warm weather inches ever closer, I’m finding myself drawn to brighter and bolder interiors. I’ve already incorporated a good amount of colour into our home (mostly blue and green), but after seeing some of these spaces, I think I could definitely add at least a hue or two into the mix. A few bright flowers, pots and accents for our deck will be the perfect excuse, as our large living room windows make it fairly easy for us to bring the outdoors in. Can’t decide on just one accent colour? Why not grab a handful from the rainbow and take it full spectrum…

House to Home via Bright.Bazaar

Our budget is very tight to move forward with the updates and renos that we’d like to accomplish, so we’re going to have to get creative. Thankfully, paint is cheap and there are stores like Ikea nearby that make it easy for all of us to add a few small budget-friendly tidbits without breaking the bank. Here’s a great table setting that I saw at the new Ikea Richmond store on Monday night…simple wood furniture and white dishes livened up with a vivid pattern and bright dessert plates….so easy to create and perfect for Spring! You can see some more fun pics of our media night over at Hodge:Podge, The Simply Inspired Home and Flutter Flutter too.

Style At Home. Photo by Donna Griffith.

Elle Decor Espana

Lowes Creative Ideas

From Bazaar Style by Selina Lake via The Style Files. Photo by Debi Treloar.

The Glitter Guide. Home of Katie Rodgers. Photo by Tasha Bleu.

Styled by Emma Persson Lagerberg for Design Interior. Photo by Petra Bindel.

Martha Stewart

Life Thru A Lens

Michelle Edgemont

How do you feel about colour in your own home? Are you from Team “Less is More” or Team “More is More”? I think that as long as you surround yourself with things that you really love, really use and really have room for, you can’t go wrong. And with our regular bouts of pouring rain followed by sunshine lately, odds are pretty good that we’ll see a real rainbow in these parts soon…have a great Thursday!

We have our first house guest from the Westcoast!  The girls and I picked up my mom from the airport yesterday and she’ll be spending the next week or so with us.  It’s so refreshing to have a visitor and I hope that the time doesn’t go by too fast so that we can savor every minute.  We’ve got a few adventures planned starting with a trip to the Lukas Nursery this afternoon.  We’ve visited there once before and the girls are eager to show Grandma all the butterflies in their conservatory.  I thought she might like to browse through all the tropical plants that are in the exotic section back home.  And I just might treat myself to one plant to appease the gardening itch I’ve had the past while, maybe something off my wish list or start small with an herb.  I’ve never attempted a vegetable garden, I’m a bit intimidated but herbs I can do.  With some sun, water every now and then, you can grow them right next to your kitchen sink.

7th House on the Left

Geraldine Adams

Sarah Rainwater Designs

Boskke

Paulova

  sfgirlbybay 

Sylvie Shirazi Photography

Ikea Hackers

Fresh herbs are 1000x better than dried and if I can grow them, you can too! Enjoy the rest of your week!

My weekend just seemed to keep on going…you should see the mountain of laundry I need to catch up on after the busy past few days! I had a great weekend in the city with some friends and the weather cooperated just perfectly. I even managed to pop in for a quick browse at Make It Vancouver and Stepback on my way into and out of town and wish that I could have stayed a little bit longer to do more browsing! It felt great to get away overnight and to catch up with some dear friends while enjoying lots of sunshine by the ocean. Last night, I got on the highway once again and headed out to the new Ikea Richmond media party. I wasn’t sure what to expect but ended up having a really fun time chatting with fellow bloggers and friends and it felt a little surreal wandering through the quiet store with a glass of Prosecco in hand! The new store is fantastic and opens to the public this Wednesday. I came home with a few small purchases as well as one of the fabulous gift bags that they handed out on our way out the door. Thank you Ikea!

Design*Sponge

Brad and I are at a bit of a crossroads with our home. We’re at the point that we need to decide how long we see ourselves living here and whether or not we should start planning the upgrades that it will soon need or if we should simply spruce things up and start looking for a new home that will suit our growing needs even better. It’s a tough call….moving is no fun and I’m pretty picky at this stage of the game. I picture our next house being our “forever” home, you know, the one the kids will come home to visit with their families when they’re grown. But budget is a huge issue and we chose to live in one of the most expensive housing markets in Canada, too bad for us! The most pressing dilemma is how to provide some more space for the kids to play and stretch out in. After the market later this Spring, we’ll get started turning our unfinished basement rec room into a playroom and then I’ll be able to focus on reconfiguring the kids’ bedrooms with more efficient toy storage and study spaces. I’ve been collecting some inspiring kid’s rooms, where the designers have worked hard to think outside the box…

Desaccord via Apartment Therapy. Photo by Simon Wardavoir.

Miluccia. Photos by Julien Fernandez.

CWB Architects

 Photo by Petra Bindel for Elle Interior via La Maison d’Ana G

Decor Pad. Photo by Mark Lund.

Jenny Wolf Interiors

Lincoln Barbour

The Marion House Book

Jen Loves Kev

VT Wonen via Meet Me At Mike’s

I love seeing children’s rooms and nurseries that can grow with each child, don’t you? I’ve never been one for themes, despite the chorus of pleas for Disney princess bedding each time we venture too close in a department store (mean mommy, I know!). I find spaces like these much more timeless, not to mention more affordable than redecorating after each passing phase would be. Do you have any tips on storage solutions for growing kids? We’ve got a couple of closets literally bursting at the seams, despite my regular purging. First things first though, I’m off to tackle my laundry…have a wonderful Tuesday!

One of the many benefits of daily trips to the pool is that I get to spend time reading while the girls are practicing their cannonballs and mermaid tail kicks.  In one month, I’ve gone through 3 books and a stack of magazines which is record breaking for me.  I’ve also read through Pippi in the South Seas to the girls and we’re now working on Charlotte’s Web.  I’ve tried for years to read novels to them…okay, maybe it was a tad unrealistic to start at 18 months.  But it was worth the wait because it’s so satisfying now that they have the patience and imagination to sit through a chapter or two or three and we can have a conversation about it afterwards.  I haven’t read this much in years and up until now I’ve spent more time decorating with books than reading them.

Gallivanting Girls

I prefer to buy most of my books at thrift stores, as you may have guessed.  I’ve saved a bundle this way, buying up best sellers for $1. rather than the cover price.  I’ve also accumulated quite a nice collection of vintage books. I usually have stacks of them here and there throughout my home.  I’m ashamed to admit that I almost never read through my vintage books except for my “how to be the perfect housewife” and etiquette books, those are always a hoot.  I buy vintage books based solely on their looks.  Whether it’s the color, the art or the typography, I just love old books.  Stacks and stacks of old books.

Kaczka Dziwaczka

Insel Verlage

 Anthropologie

Philip Hoare via Book Cover Archive

Jane Austen via Jane Austen in Vermont

Harriet Anstruther Studio Limited

Jan Tschichold via Typographica

Anthropologie

 Nina Cosford

Whether you need a pop of color on a side table or you are designing that one of a kind wedding invitation, books, new and old, are always a source for inspiration.  And it’s also a good idea to read them now and then too.

If April showers bring May flowers, then we’re in for a boatload of blooms next month! Our weather has been so manic, torrential downpours in the morning changing to warm sunshine in the afternoons and vice versa. I felt like such an idiot after school pick up the other day, walking around in full sunshine in my bright red Hunter boots!  I’ve started leaving a spare set of flats in the car but the sun seems to be a tease and doesn’t stay for long…I can almost watch my garden growing with all this rain! With more in the forecast for the weekend, I’m happy to think ahead to the blooms of May with these bold floral patterns and accents…

Stellan Herner via SF Girl by Bay

Lonny

Louise Rastall

Chelsea Fuss

Country Living

Canadian House & Home. Photo by Simon Kenny.

Pottery Barn Kids

What are your plans for the weekend? My parents’ are taking the kids for a sleepover tonight (date night!) then I’m off to the city to have a girls day/night with my friend Julia tomorrow. I’m hoping to stop in at Make It Vancouver for some retail therapy and to visit with some of our upcoming Scout vendors who will be there. Other than that, I’m happy just to have a little time in the city away from everyday life and chores! Oh, and I have very exciting news…I was asked to start doing some regular guest posting over at Poppytalk! Um, yes please! Thank you Jan and I’m so excited to start sharing some outdoor inspiration with your readers!

Cartolina Cards

Rachel and I were invited to a media cocktail party for the grand opening of the new Ikea store in Richmond on Monday night. I’m really looking forward to seeing some other local bloggers and friends who will be there while getting a chance to shop in new store before it opens to the public on Wednesday. Ikea has a Twitter campaign going on right now too…the more tweets mentioning #IKEARichmond, the more coupons will be released to fans. Some will be worth up to $1000 off any product on opening day so don’t miss out on the fun! Here’s a little sneak peak of the new location that they sent our way….

Photo courtesy of IKEA Canada

Have a wonderful weekend…hope there’s some sunshine in it for you!