Samantha Pynn-Pure Design

Over the past few weeks, I have been posting Canadian Designer Sarah Richardson's renovation of an Ontario farmhouse.  With it's hefty 600K budget,  it is lovely to watch, but way out of the budget of most people. While Sarah designs the Dream Home, Samantha Pynn is over at Pure Design working on a different kind of budget.   So today, I am introducing to some of you Samantha Pynn, a contributing editor at Style@Home magazine, regular decor expert on Cityline, and host of her own show Pure Design.

   The premise of the show is to use sustainable products and design, re-use, recyle, and it is mostly done on a realistic, every day budget.  In episode 1 Samantha tackles the living room of Lauren and Mike, a couple with a preference for clean, minimal decor.

 

This is the before.....2 mismatched sofas, Ikea table an a pretty decent fireplace.  Nice floors.  No wow factor here at all.

Before-This fireplace had nice lines, but could use some dressing up.

And at the other end.....a pretty bland window and TV set.

 And here is after.  The fireplace has been re-faced with a simple surround and boxy mantle.

 A new area rug defines the space.  Love the horizontal curtains....

A shiny new table to add sparkle.....

An old cabinet gets a coat of blue paint......

Loads of cushions....all simple and easy to make.  I really like the charcoal sofa and chairs...pieces that can be kept for years with a change in pillow to freshen once in a while.

All photos from http://www.hgtv.ca/ (with permission from Samantha)

$5.00 Salvation Army Find-Hand Blocked Elephant Print

My daughter moved into her own place a few months ago, and has been finding her own style playing around with my castoffs (and bits from the shop).  Her decorating style is a bit Domino magazine-you know that mix of vintage and new, artsy and handmade with a defintie Ethnic twist.  She has always adored elephants and collects elephant carvings.  When I spotted this at the Salvation Army Store, I knew I had to get it for her.

It had a plasticky gold frame and red matting.  It is a hand blocked print.  A wooden or linoleum piece is carved with the design and then inked and stamped onto paper, in this case rice paper.  Price $4.99.

For her birthday (today) I had it framed for her.  Here it is on my old pine cabinet.  I did a large white linen mat, with a red undermat and a carved, somewhat ornate frame, although matte in finish.

When I had some of my own art framed last year, the framer told me to always have the bottom of the ma cut at least an inch higher than the top matte.  This is because, once framed the bottom always looks narrower than the top (fooling of the eye) and makes the matting look slight off balance, so the extra inch compensates for that.  I notice this now on all framed pictures, and it is true!

I really love all the details....the rugs on the elephant backs, the caps...

I am rather liking it here in my house.........

Sarah Richardson's Farmhouse-Main Bathroom

Ok, so I am late with my Sarah post, sorry Sarah fans.  Like I said before , the pictures on HGTV are not copy and paste compatible and I have to get B____ to Photoshop them outta there.  He doesn't put this high on his priority list.

SO......here is the main farmhouse bathroom.  $21,000 budget if I remember correctly.  Sarah really wanted blue in here from the get go, and was thinking of using a cobalt blue penny tile, but decided against it.  Her reason was this would commit you to blue forever, and the main colors were best being neutral. I think this makes a lot of sense.  Her tile work is always so intricate, it would cost a fortune to take out a band of blue panny tile. The vanities were vintage dressers remade into sink units.  I like that she re-used some old bits.

This baby was $4000.00.  Like it, don't love it, and don't think it is a real feature in the room.  I am not sure why.  Maybe it should have been right under the window. 

 If I was spending 4K on a tub, I would want to walk in and have it say HELLO to me.  Maybe the layout didn't allow for any other position.?

I found these dressers a bit Ho Hum.....Is it just me or would you have liked these white?......  I love Sarah and Tommy, but this room is not my favourite.Although it was really fun to watch,  They have a great chemistry and clearly have a lot of fun.  In this episode, they are shopping for plaid fabrics and come across a shop in Chinatown selling adult size paper plaid shirts.  Tommy contemplates buying one.  I think they are made to bury people in......not sure, but I have heard that somewhere......better not buy it Tommy!

 Subway tiles, bordered by listowel and more expensive marble and pencil tiles (a good way to save on the more expensive tile)......typical Sarah Richardson use of tile to make a statement.  Her tile guy must need a really detailed work order to get her combos right...

The art is made from sheets of postage stamps, matted and framed a-la-Tommy.  I really do like this farmhouse cabinet.  I think it is the most authentic piece in the room.  Now this says Farmhouse!

This season there are some well placed (maybe" ill-placed") product placements...truthfully I think they SUCK.

I cringe when I hear them do it, and I am sure I see Sarah flinch too......

(Don't take me to task for being honest....remember this blog has to be authentic..)

All photos from http://www.hgtv.ca/

Dynamic Design- The Home of Suzanne Dimma and Arriz Hassam

I wish I had a wall in my living room I could use to make a picture wall like this....

(I forgot to post the winners of the Canadian House and Home Magazine last Wednesday, but I did remember to mail it.  In the end I picked two random people Minne from Mama Without Borders adnd Mise from Pretty Far West.)

After my post the other day and little mention of the demise of several National Magazines around the world, a number of people commented on the News Stand Voids in their own cities.  I was checking out Wish Magazine, another Canadian Magazine and found on the WISH website a feature on Canadian House and Home Magazine Editor Suzanne Dimma's Toronto home.

Suzanne is married to Arriz Hassam, a partner with Design Firm 3rd Uncle.  Together they have an interesting mix of styles and a definite ethnic/vintage vibe that brings a unique, fun and dynamic mix to their home.

                                   Cool, Modern mix......Dynamic is my word to describe their style

I think the simplicity of this room makes it casual, yet well dressed.  The area rug is bold, but it isn't screaming at me......

How welcoming this front hallway feels.  A very simple look to achieve...a stack of books, leaning artwork and a Vintage or Ethnic table cloth....

......Being a bit of a sleuth I couldn't help but notice those holes in the closet or basement door.....I wonder what they are.?  Perahps to let the cat downstairs to his kitty litter?

All Photos from http://www.wish.ca/  "Photography by Rob Fiocca/First published in Wish October 2008"

New Bits in the Shop

Vintage Handmade Knits (and a Baby Phat pink Leopard Print Blanket)

Ancient Barn Board

Pink Farmhouse Bed

Vintage Pink Crochet Blanket

Cream Italian Blanket with Satin Edge

Eastlake Pink and Green Scrubby Bed

Floating Home

I spotted this little Float Home while sailing up the Fraser River near Ladner, British Columbia last year.

It looks like a Hansel and Gretyl House with the weathered shingle siding and little turretted room. It has to be the home of an excentric, hippie, artist type, don't you think?

 

We were staying at the house right behind this one.  In this Floating community you see cats sitting on the docks with ducks, and sea lions come right up to your house.  The houses are all staggered to allow the best views, and so you can keep your boat moored next to your house in your "driveway".  These houses go up and down 16' with the tide.  Trying to navigate your boat in and out of your parking spot, meant 1 man driving and 2 people with poles making sure you don't smack your 18 footer into your neighbors living room.

Illegal Dumping on the Bluffs of Lake Ontario?

Have you ever seen seats like this in Church?  Could they be choir seats?
These old church chairs have flip up leather upholstered seats with gorgeous wooden backs and exquisite wrought iron detail. 
In a brief lapse of common sense, we photographed them on the cliff by the lake.....a near "Pee in Your Pants Laughing" moment as walkers and neigbours wrote down our license plate in case we illegally dumped them off the edge of the cliff!

Head on over to Miss Mustard Seed for Furniture Friday.

Beach Cottage

At the cottage, I have a LONG mushy sofa that had a big BLANK wall behind it.  That wall faces the water.  I debated a wall of art here, but decided it needed something white and simple and reflective to capture the blues outside and bring them in.

                                                    I hung a collection of WHITE WASHED mirrors.

All of them are carved or beautiful plaster moldings........

The one on the right here, I bought in England years ago.  It was yellow pine.  I whitewashed it.  ..they add a little architectural interest too................

They are all slightly different shades of white......

Except for this little guy......a 1950's pea green. I like the juxtaposition of one lone wolf....and the fact that people get confused by this oddball....

Milk or DarK?

We went to an incredible salvage store the other day.

The door knobs reminded me shiny chocolates.

.....They were laid out like pastries in a Patisserie

All Gleeming  bright...and shiny in their new found restoration...

They were gorgeous....the display was captivating...

These door knobs were around $95.00 each

There were candy jars full of smaller treats...........

I Would Build a House Around These Doors!

I have been knee deep in city salvage shops (Door Store Toronto above) as well as Faffing Around the Countryside with Lorraine stocking the shop   We found some new haunts on the weekend including a place where we were invited into the dusty, creaky and dimly lit attic for a poke around.......  If it sounds like a scary movie, it was far from it.  An attic full of wonderful things, old trim, doosr, painted bits......  We loved the shop, and so we asked the owner if he had anything rougher, dirtier and scrubbier....Hence the invite to the attic.  We bought a huge farm table that is currently having the barn board top sanded down a bit, and the wonderful owner is taking down his barn and is going to GIVE me some of the wood soI can build a new top for my hideous Green Formica Cottage island.  That is why I love what I do.  You meet some wonderful people in the vintage/salvage/farmhouse business.

These doors pictured above stopped me in my tracks.......I would build a house around these doors....and leave them scrubbly and worn like this..

And my Kitchen would be built around this table.....

And then I would have to select a fireplace.....

This blue one would it....

With white Corbels to hold chunky shelves....

Some old ironwork for the garden fence....

And...perhaps these doors leading out into the garden.......

This is what happens to you when you visit The Door Store in Toronto...you start to dream and imagine what you could build with all the old, beautiful BITS...........