Update on my updates

So I thought I’d give everyone a little update on what’s been happening at my house this December. (Click here to see my previous post about what we were planning). We’ve had the painter in for 3 weeks now and it looks like we will be done early next week.  Phew! It’s been a bit of a long haul having the whole house painted at once, every night is spent putting a room back to together and taking another one apart.  I’m so looking forward to that being over.

So the living room, lower and upper hallways have been painted in Benjamin Moore’s Grandma’s China and doesn’t it look so very fresh and clean?

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The kitchen is soft and lovely in Subway Tile.  I love the way the gray/blue looks against the warm wood.

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We also decided at the last minute to do the den in the same colour, instead of Picket Fence.  Pics of that room later, we are still putting it back together.

I hate to play favourites, but the dining room is the best….shhh…don’t tell the others. This is Andes Summit and I’m in love with the colour, so rich and dramatic. Perfect for entertaining.

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My master bedroom went just a bit darker than it was, as I was keeping the wallpapered accent wall.

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The family room, sunroom, guest bathroom are also done but I haven’t got a great picture of them yet as we are having this done as well and the mess is encroaching on those two rooms.

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I know, I know, I’m crazy for doing this now.  But really, it should all be done by next Tuesday….fingers crossed.

Lisa

Rustic and soft beachy bedroom

Today’s post is how to get a rustic yet soft beachy bedroom.  But first, I must apologize for that large blogging break! I was away in sunny California – San Francisco and Yosemite to be exact. What a beautiful place California is and we enjoyed it so much.

And now I’m back and a little swamped with all the spring fever that is going around over here.  I’m knee deep in lots of designs and plans.  And I had just enough time to do up a post for Wicker Emporium a few weeks ago (when the weather was still cool and pretty miserable here).  So if you are itching to freshen up your bedroom decor for summer, look no further.

soft rustic beach bedroom-001 And if you are looking for the links to the items above, they are below.

From top left:
Metal sand dollars; pillows;  New Haven Queen bed; artwork; glass lamp; drapery; dresser; area rug; cabinet

Have a great sunny week!

Lisa

 

 

Wondering how to design your child’s room?

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. It was a long one if you are reading from the US and a Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all!

If you are wondering how to design your child’s room…well, then, I have some great tips for you.  This article was published in Saturday’s Ottawa Citizen and it has the top five tips from some local design pros, me included..(insert smiley).  Lots of great articles in the Homes section of paper this past Saturday, dealing with decorating children’s rooms from infant to teen.

Here’s my tip:

Lisa Goulet, Lisa Goulet Design

Talk to your child about her likes and passions — it’s her room after all and it should reflect her personality. Let your child choose the colour; if you’re nervous that it will be too “out there,” give her three versions of her favourite colour, all ones that you can live with, and let her have the final say.

Click here to read the full post.

Lisa

 

 

Budget friendly, feminine and beachy guest room

This basement guest room was badly in need of some TLC.  My client called me in, when she became stuck, after she had painted and bought some linens. I did up a mood board and did some sourcing and here’s how it turned out!

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It had the typical very small window at the top of the wall and very limited light sources.  The flooring was already installed, a great wood look laminate and that together with the blue/grays of the linens inspired the beachy and feminine feel we went with.

Here’s some before pictures:

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The criteria was:

1. Small budget, as it was a guest room and my clients’  had just completed a major renovation.

2. Use the existing wall colour and bedding. this was not hard since both were great!

3. Easy for my client to finish off on her own, since I would just be providing the inspiration and sourcing of items.

4. There could be some DIYs as she was willing to roll up her sleeves.

So with these items established, off I went to come up with a design plan.

The mood board: (I originally posted about this mood board here).

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I used the existing paint colour as the background of the mood board and suggested that my client, paint out the two wood and black end tables in a beachy blue as shown.  The two tables were the same height and I like using mismatched end tables, as long as they have some cohesiveness, and painting them the same colour would do just that.  And it was certainly budget friendly, as she was more than willing to paint them herself.

Here they are before:

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And after:

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I selected a reasonably priced sand coloured linen upholstered headboard (Bouclair ), which was perfect for the small room, as it didn’t take up much space (no footboard), added some great texture and it would be comfortable for guests to read in bed.  A simple white dresser (Ikea, the knobs will likely be changed to crystal ones shortly) and an interesting white mirror were practical and pretty choices for the room.  A small striped area rug brings a little more beach feel into the room as does the pretty little shell artwork.

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My client found the perfect damask tone on tone simple roller shade at Ikea for the amazing price of $19, cut to size it’s the perfect compliment with the damask bedding.

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This entire room was completed under $1000 and has been a huge hit with the female exchange student who was the lucky first occupant, she even emailed photos back to her Mom in Germany as she found it so pretty.

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Lisa

Fresh, modern den/guest room makeover

I visited these clients in the summer, and we discussed updating their newly purchased home, so that it felt more fresh, vibrant and youthful, just like them.

Since these clients are out of town and wanted a plan to follow so that they could do the rest themselves, I set to work doing up mood boards for each room, furniture layouts and suggestions for size and style of furnishings.  Then they set to work with my plans and ideas.

They finished up the den/guest room and I thought I’d share the results.  This is the mood board I developed for them. EISEN - GUEST-DEN-001

And the 3D renderings of the den/guest room.

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We kept things pretty warm and cosy in the rest of the house, but Cheryl wanted a slightly more cool feel for this room.

Here’s the befores, sorry I took really crappy before shots.  But you get the idea.

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Cheryl was kind enough to send me some pictures of the finished room. Drum roll please…..

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Quite a transformation isn’t it?  I am in love with the mural that they had custom painted based on my suggestion for that feature wall. It is the first room off the entry and this wall is easily seen from the hall, so I wanted it to have some interesting feature on it. Since the home is in the country on a beautiful treed lot, I thought this would bring a little bit of the outside  in. We are all thrilled with the final results and this gives you a great idea of how easy it is to do things on your own but with some professional guidance.  Contact me if you’d like to have these kinds of results in your own home, I’d love to help.

Lisa