It’s been a while since I’ve featured any kids rooms on the blog but after getting a glimpse of this perfect space last night, I just had to share! A collaboration between Sharon Montrose (you’ll probably recognize her adorable baby animal photographs), Morgan Satterfield and Laure Joliet, this darling nursery would be a dream to rock any baby to sleep in! What I love most is that, with the exception of the crib, this room could be for a child of any age…or an adult for that matter. And it’s the perfect example of how little you actually need to put together a creative and stylish space. My sister is due with her first baby in a few weeks (yay, I get to be an aunty!) and we’ve had this conversation a few times along the way. It seems like everyone has their opinion about what you must have for your newborn but the reality is that they really don’t need all of that stuff. By baby number 3, we’d nixed just about everything, including the change table! Natural light, vintage touches, graphic pattern and just the right touch of whimsy puts this nursery at the top of my “best ever” list. Oh, and if you live in the US, you can enter to win a number of ingredients to this amazing space here…

The Animal Print Shop Nursery, designed by Morgan Satterfield and Sharon Montrose. Photo by Laure Joliet.

The Animal Print Shop Nursery, designed by Morgan Satterfield and Sharon Montrose. Photo by Laure Joliet.

What are your plans for the weekend? Mine is already filled up with work, pumpkin carving with the kids, a girl’s night and a Halloween party with young friends…busy busy! I never did get a chance to try painting those pumpkins at the shop but will see if we can squeeze at least a couple in over the next few days. Have a great weekend!

Ah, yes, the weekend is here and it will be much more relaxed than the last! I’m looking forward to resting my brain and catching up with some friends with lots of chill time fit in for our own little family. We don’t have a whole lot on the agenda except for brunch with friends after a local parade, going out for drinks for a friend’s birthday and then Rachel + I get to have a little spa day with some other friends on Sunday .  I have high hopes that Brad and the kids will let me sleep in a little bit and that the rest of the weekend will look a little something like this…

Krickelin

Serena & Lily

A.W. Frederick via OEN

Sunday Suppers

EST Magazine

What do you have on the agenda? I’m thinking that some R&R will be just what the doctor ordered to get me feeling back to my usual self again. That and some much needed sleep! Oh, and you can read more about Rachel + I over at Hodge:Podge today…the lovely Barbara included us in her So Canadian, Eh? interview series. And come visit me over at Poppytalk for my latest guest post featuring edible gardens…lots of Sunday morning reading for you! Have a wonderful weekend!

Lately, I feel like I’ve been apologizing for the untidy state of my home a lot. Can any of you relate? I used to pride myself on my weekly cleaning routine but that has slowly gone downhill over the last several years. Blame it on 3 young kids, blame it on blogging and/or market planning, or simply blame it on life…whatever the reason, I’ve been slow to accept that this is the “new normal” for our family way of living. Nagging my children and/or constantly picking up after them makes me feel like I’m on repeat most days and, while I do believe that kids need to pick up after themselves, I do think there are much more important ways for us all to spend our time together. Don’t get me wrong, it’s clean but I honestly just cannot keep up with the zillion pairs of shoes, Squinkies and art projects that come through our home each day. While I refuse to completely give up, (I tackled and conquered our hall closet this weekend), I thought I’d ease some guilt and show some perfectly lovely spaces that look perfectly lived in, just as they should…

Krickelin

Chris Barrett Design for House Beautiful via Sacramento Street

Style by Emily Henderson

VT Wonen. Photo by Jansje Klazinga.

Old Brand New via Apartment Therapy. Photo by Marcia Prentice.

Life is busy, no matter what your stage of life, and I for one will never be caught ironing my sheets! My mom always enforced making our beds each morning though and, while it may only happen by 3pm, that is something that I do always make happen each day…well, most days anyway (sorry Mom)! I find nothing spurs me to get cleaning more than having friends over. In fact, during our last home’s reno, Brad and I would often plan a house party as a deadline of sorts (aka an excuse to blow off steam!) to get each phase of our remodel finished. And there’s nothing like that 5 minute power clean right before that unexpected guest arrives…

Country Road via 79 Ideas

Design*Sponge

Elle Espana vía SF Girl by Bay. Photo by Maria de Miguel.

Anthropologie

Livet Hemma. Photo by Roland Persson.

Design*Sponge. Photo by Trevor Tondro.

Our children’s childhoods are so short in the grand scheme of things and I don’t want my kids’ memories to be of cranky/frazzled mommy. Having an organized and clean home makes me happy though so I guess I’ll move onward in my quest for the perfect balance…could there really be such a thing? That remains to be seen!

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!

Living close to family and friends for the first half of our married lives together has meant that we haven’t had a tonne of opportunity for house guests.  But now that we are thousands of miles away, we already miss our family and friends and would love a visitor now and then.  To make it comfortable for long stays, I think doing some preparation beforehand can go a long way in making their stay as comfortable as possible.  Having a dedicated guest room and bath would be luxurious but it isn’t always possible so carving out some space might be necessary.  Turning a home office into an guest oasis and clearing out a drawer or two in a bathroom gives guests their own space and prevents everyone from stepping on each other’s toes.  But let’s just say we lived in a dream world and you have an extra room for guests to stay.

 Apartment Therapy

I know when I’m a guest, I always feel like I’m intruding so stocking up prevents guests from having to ask.  Besides giving your guest room a hotel makeover, stock your fridge with snacks and beverages and be sure to put some in their room as well.  The sky is the limit but adding personal items like a journal, magazines and books, maps and information about local attractions and an extra house key will make your guests feel right at home. I guess it all depends on how often you expect guests and how long you want them to stay.

West Elm

Apartment Therapy

Alexandra ANGLE Interior Design

New Designing

 Coyuchi via Remodelista

The house that we had us drooling on the weekend had an extra room that would work perfectly as a shared office and guest room with a private bath across the hall…just one of the many features we loved about the home.  If a private guest bath isn’t an option, a vanity in their room for doing hair and makeup can provide the same level of comfort.  I realize that this bathroom is on the larger side but  I thought this armoir would be perfect for guests.

 Lonny

West Elm

 Design Sponge

vtwonen

Do you take in house guests?  Any tips you’d like to share?

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.