friday favourites

I visited spectacular Vancouver earlier this week and loved the abundant colour everywhere, especially on Granville Island. These saturated shops, studios and walkways are therefore my favourites of the week.  Happy Friday. 

amazing autumn

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus

my entry

                                                                      Source: homestoriesatoz.com via refresheddesigns. on Pinterest

                                                                   Source: sweetpaulmag-digital.com via refresheddesigns. on Pinterest

                                                             Source: apunchofcolor.blogspot.com via refresheddesigns. on Pinterest

                                                                Source: rachelwhiting.co.uk via refresheddesigns. on Pinterest

                                                                   Source: potterybarn.com via refresheddesigns. on Pinterest

                                                                       Source: hookedonhouses.net via refresheddesigns. on Pinterest

real life colour inspiration

Hope you all had a great weekend full of end-of-summer colour! I took some shots of some delicious goodies at the local farmers market, and here are the colour palettes they inspired. May the summer extend well into September...

the importance of a concept

Designing and decorating a room requires creativity and vision, and this can sometimes be even tougher when redecorating. It is easy to hit an inspiration roadblock when looking at an existing room with existing furniture, and getting off track in the middle of the project can often happen. That's why it is so important to map out a concept for the room from the beginning. Creating a design board with the colours and furniture you will use allows you to constantly go back and be reminded of the feel and mood you are trying to achieve. I always start with something that the homeowner loves, and use that as a jumping off point. It might be fabric in a favourite colour, a piece of art, or a decorative accessory.

Here is an example of a recent project I did, which I posted about this week. This was a master bedroom refresh, using much of the existing furniture. The design board shows the colours and feel we were going for, and although some things were tweaked, it kept us on track and the outcome was what we wanted.

If you would like to have a design board created for a room you would like to refresh, go to my online refresh page. I would love to help out!

a tale of two dressers

I've been busy while on vacation working on refreshing a few rooms for family and friends. These two dressers were old pieces that were useful, but not very pretty in a master bedroom. Nothing a little paint can't fix! 

I gave this tired old dresser a good sanding, then primed and painted on two coats of a greenish-gray latex Behr paint (I actually didn't like the beige-gray colour that I had picked out, so did some custom mixing by adding some black and dark green paint I had left over from a previous project).  I then sanded the edges to give it a distressed look and let some of the wood come through, and added new hardware. Voila!

On the tall dresser I spray-painted  a high gloss sage green Rustoleum after a little sanding and a coat of primer. I finished off with 3 coats of water-based high gloss Varathane.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, and I will show you how they fit in the the refreshed master bedroom in my next post.  For now I'm off to paint more furniture. I wonder if my mom will let me at her hutch yet...

I'm also linked up on:

Domestically Speaking

Primitive & Proper

(aka)design

My Repurposed Life

real life colour inspiration

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer weekend. I sure did! Summer is filled with rich colours, so here are a few more palettes inspired by my weekend of summer fun with family and friends. 

friday favourites!

Since I am on vacation on the east coast this week, my friday favourites are coastal-inspired. These are pictures of of the wonderful town of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, known for its fishing, artisans and tourist attractions like whale watching. I love all the blues and grays, but there are reminders to add some colour to make things more interesting!

real life colour inspiration

I arrived on the East Coast of Canada this weekend to spend two weeks "home" visiting family and friends. This is where I grew up and lived most of my life, until I recently moved west. I was struck on my return at just how green and lush everything is. It made me take notice of the many different green colour palettes that exist in nature. So here are a few of the real-life colour palettes that the weekend has inspired. Enjoy!

real life colour inspiration

Happy Monday everyone! I had a lovely weekend exploring a local country farmers' market and hiking in the mountains, which are chock full of wildflowers right now. I was attracted to some great colours and found myself thinking about how to use them in my home. Inspiration comes from many things and places, not just design magazines, websites and stores. Remember to keep your eyes open and make a mental note of colours and textures you're drawn to.

Here are some of the things I saw and loved this weekend, and the palettes they inspired.

To see more of my photos of things that make me stop in my tracks, follow me on Flickr.