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!

I had such a fun weekend in the city! Had a great girls night out with 2 dear friends on Friday night before meeting up with my Spruce girls at the Terminal City Club on Saturday to set up for the first Hush wedding show. The venue was beautiful and it was such a treat to be part of such a glamourous event! It was even more fun to take a little “vacation” with my partners and really enjoy each other’s company outside of work. Well, I guess we were technically at work but it sure didn’t feel like it! Yesterday, we woke up in our hotel room to glorious sunshine and spent the day walking Gastown (Jessica is such a trooper at 36 weeks preggers!) and visiting some of our favourite shops….

A glimpse of our vintage rentals at Hush

Stunning quilts at Orling & Wu, handmade in Sweden.

We had a couple of hilarious attempts at Vancouver Photobooth

All of the fun (not to mention high heel-wearing and furniture hoisting) have caught up with me so I’ll keep things short and sweet for today. What did you get up to over the weekend? Could you believe the difference between Saturday’s monsoon rains and yesterday’s sunshine? Fingers crossed that it sticks around for at least a few more days…see you Wednesday!

It’s Friday, yeah! And better yet, I’m making a run for the city, double yeah! I’ll be hanging with a couple of friends tonight for an impromptu girls night out before meeting up with my  Spruce girls to set our vintage rentals on display at the Hush wedding show on Saturday night…the perfect mix of work and play!  Despite the never ending downpour outside, I thought I’d get this weekend started off on the right foot with a dash of glamour and what could be more glamourous or on trend than gold! If you’ve met me, you’ll probably recognize this necklace (I’ve been wearing it longer than I can remember) which was given to me when I was 9 by my Baba and Dida (Croatian for Grandma + Grandpa). My sister has one with her name on it too and I plan to get similar ones made for my girls when they’re a little bit older…

My namesake necklace

I fell in love with this kitchen some time ago and haven’t been able to look at chrome hardware in quite the same way ever since. I know, I know, it feels like you just finally purged the ’80′s out of your kitchen and it’s all come full circle, right? Ah, but so it goes and I’m loving the revised clean lines and minimal take on warm metals this time ’round…

Matthew Williams for Dwell via Camille Styles

West Elm Martini Side Table

Rue via SF Girl by Bay

Lovely Indeed

Emily Henderson

Luna Lighting

NY Times via Automatism

Although some may cringe, I’m a big fan of mixed metals too…no matchy matchy for me! Worried your new stainless steel appliances will clash with burnished bronze accents in your kitchen? Don’t be. They’ll warm it up and add character in no time! Enjoy your weekend…I know I will :)

I’m not sure why I’m so late in the game with a post highlighting Emerald green, the official Pantone colour of the year, but I figured better late than never! This rich shade of green has always been a personal favourite of mine and I find that for such a bold colour, it’s actually very easy to incorporate into most interiors. Maybe because it’s such a common colour in nature…grass, moss, evergreen trees, exotic bird feathers, tropical rain forests and deep cavernous seas all share this beguiling hue. I’ve spoken at least a few times of my love of green and you can see more pics of how I’ve used it throughout my own home in this HGTV house tour, photographed by Janis Nicolay last year…

Janis Nicolay for HGTV Canada

We’re headed to Vancouver for a unique evening reception-style wedding show, Hush, with our vintage rentals this weekend and the colour scheme is shades of emerald, gold and cream…how lovely is that? Such gorgeous hues for any occasion, or any interior for that matter!

Moon Garden Art

Skonahem

Claesson Koivisto Rune via The Style Files

Sea + Cake

Heirloom Restaurant, Vancouver. Photo by Janis Nicolay.

Rachel Roy’s home, The Coveteur

Le Robins Nest

A colourful shelf at my shop

What are your thoughts on this so-called colour of the year? Love it? Hate it? There’s no judgement here and I’d love to hear what you think :)

Despite my positive thoughts to encourage warm Spring sunshine to stick around, the weather has been pretty manic lately. Pouring rain, beaming sunshine and even a random hail shower all made regular appearances over the weekend. Needless to say, it’s hard to know how to dress each morning! I know that it’s still February for a few more days but I wonder if March is getting a head start…In like a lion, out like a lamb, as the saying goes. Hopefully that means milder temperatures will get a head start too! In the meantime, here are a few more bright spaces to cheer us all up on this soggy Monday morning…

Country Living

Lovely Life

Pencil Box

West Elm

Wood & Wool Stool via SF Girl by Bay

A Beautiful Mess

The Design Files

I’ve got a busy week ahead, how about you? We’ve had an exceptionally busy start to the year at Spruce Collective and I don’t feel like I’ve had many moments to catch up. Definitely not a bad thing but I’m hoping to settle into somewhat of a routine at some point soon. It’s hard to believe that we’ve already been open for 6 months! I’ll be sure to share some pics of what we’ve been up to at the shop with you soon. Have a great start to the week!