New House

Ok so I've disappeared again but I come back to share some excellent news- we bought a house!

While we love our apartment there were a few reasons we started to casually look for a house. Is that how it happens for everyone? One day you pop into an open house out of curiosity then suddenly you're making an offer. Anyway, here were the reasons we starting looking:

• I love looking at real estate. If you spend enough time browsing the MLS listings you seem to talk yourself into how rational it is to buy something. 

• Chad gets a car for work and even with our parking permit it is absolute madness trying to find somewhere to park. We have to move the car twice a week so the city can 'clean' the street (i.e. make money off parking tickets). After a winter that left us digging the car in and out of 12 foot snowbanks, we didn't think we could do another (so yes, Chad agreed to buy a very expensive parking spot). 

• After renovating our condo in Iqaluit we were really itching for more projects. There is only so much you can do with an apartment without ripping stuff out.

• We needed more storage for all our crap. Yes, we could have just thrown out all of those computer parts, wires, model airplanes, model cars, model god-knows-what but 'someone' didn't like that idea and suggested someone else throw out all their extra clothes and shoes instead.

• I'd finished decorating

It was actually more difficult than simply finding a house we liked and making an offer. The so-called Montreal 'buyer's market' turned out to be only a buyer's market in condos and properties not reachable by the subway. We got outbid on a house we really loved and then found out several times that a house that had just been put on the market was already sold. It all turned out in the end as we found something that we both can't wait to start renovating. 

It's a cottage from the 1950s with an unusual loft layout. While it needs updating it has great bones and has been very well taken care of by a sweet older lady we got to meet. She's lived there for 39 years and was relieved that we didn't want to gut the house and that we hoped to maintain it's character. It has the original retro tile bathroom I've always wanted and the basement bar that Chad has. 

We won't be moving for a few months but this should give us time to plan out everything we want to do. So in the coming months I'll be sharing all my inspiration and then the step-by-step process of us renovating- mistakes, set-backs and all. I can't wait! 

Living/Dining Room Updates

Well hello again. I didn't die although I thought I may have been close a few times. I'm exaggerating but I feel like I've had some sort of illness forever. Thankfully, it is full-on summer here in Montreal and I have a new rug and wall sconces to cheer me up. The rug was actually a birthday present from Chad-the kind where I went and picked it up and then he paid me back-so romantic we are. 

After looking forever for different rug options I finally settled on the oh so popular Stockholm Rug from Ikea. While I love a traditional oriental rug Chad had nixed that option (for now at least). I also knew the cats are always on the lookout for a new place to throw-up, so pure wool (which is stain repellent) was a must.  It's pretty hard to find a decent hand woven wool rug for under $500. This one is 5X7 and $250-SOLD. It has held up well to several cat presents already. I'll try and do a round up of other rug contenders and sources but Erin of Design Crisis did a great guide on 'Rugs That Go With Anything'.  I also listed some other sconce options here but I have to say I really love them in place of the old ones. 

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I think it makes such a difference in the space and I love the way it echoes the black and white flooring in the kitchen. How do you feel about rugs? Are they worth the extra vacuuming? Are you secretly a crazy 'more is more' rug lady who would love to layer moroccan rug over moroccan rug until you had your own souq? Or are you like 'someone else' who doesn't like "crazy old lady rugs" and prefers a more graphic, geometric rug?

Via Adventures From Life in the Big Apple

Via Lost Art Rugs

Milan- I Saloni 2013

I know it's been a long time since my last post but I swear I have a good excuse and the pictures to prove it. I went on a work trip to Milan, Italy and was lucky enough to attend I Saloni 2013. I was also lucky enough to sit beside someone who was sick on the flight home and got to share in their cold/flu/plague. I'm finally feeling better and can show you some pictures of Milan and the international furniture fair that make me wish I was back there already.

I ate a lot of gelato

and had a lot of cappuccinos

I was also creepy and took pictures of stylish Italian women 

It was rainy and overcast for the majority of my time there but it was still beautiful to walk around and admire the architecture, the food and the style of the Italians. I didn't have much time for shopping but I did manage to see a few gorgeous and expensive stores. Italian women have impecable taste in shoes and bags (the men too really). While Milan may not be as pretty as Florence, Rome or Venice it still has plenty of charm and more importantly plenty of gelato, cappuccino, pasta and pizza.

Enough about my eating and stalking and onto I Saloni 2013. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this trade show/furniture fair extravaganza. While I heard mixed reviews from Saloni veterans (and the Industrial Designers I was with) bemoaning the lack of anything new and exciting at this years show, just seeing the sheer amount of furniture on display was impressive to me. The fair grounds must take up 10 football fields worth of space-plus it's three levels on top of that. It was like a high end Ikea showroom for miles to this hick! It was also cool to see many European companies and pieces in person that I had only really seen in International decor magazines.

The first section I visited was the 'Italian' section and while I thought some of the Murano glass was interesting it quickly veered into a bit too ornate for me.

Good

Good

Good

Hmmmm........

In the Modern and Contemporary Sections I noticed a lot of natural elements- wood (both rustic and more refined wood like teak) and plants. In terms of colours: pastels were popular as well as lots of  grey, turquoise, forest green and yellow. Furniture was clean lined, mid-century modern inspired. 

One of my favourite displays was from the lighting company FLOS. Their lighting featured exposed cords as an integral part of the overall design- making them simultaneously sleek and industrial.