/Black Rooster Decor

THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE | WEEK SIX | THE BIG REVEAL!

Happy Thursday design lovers! If you’re new to The Curated House, you’ve chosen a great day to stop by as it is at long last time to share the “afters” for our project for this season’s One Room Challenge. Do the last six weeks feel like a blur to anyone else? What an adventure! I’m so excited to share my little Luxe Laundry Room project reveal with you.

Before I do, I need to say thank you. First and foremost, I need to thank my incredible husband who has tackled this room on top of his extremely busy job as a software executive, all in his “spare time.” His perseverance, patience, persistence and incredible work ethic are the number one reason I have beautiful “after” photos to share with you here today. I am incredibly grateful to him and for him, not just in this project but in our real and everyday life together. I love you, babe.

I’d also like to thank Linda from Calling It Home for creating such a dynamic event. As a designer I can say that we all need someone to light a fire under our behinds when it comes to completing our own personal projects, and the One Room Challenge is the perfect spark. I plan to fan it into a flame with the Fall 2015 edition, and I hope more of my fellow interior designers will join me in taking on this design dare once again.

Speaking of design community and lighting a fire, I’d also like to thank my friend Lisa Canning for cheering me on with this little personal project. For years I’ve worked solo and been very isolated in my design business. Now that I have a design sisterhood, there’s no turning back! You are a gift, my friend.

A HUGE, heartfelt thank you goes out to all of my incredible brand partners, all of whom I will list with much gratitude at the end of this post. Without your generous support, this project would not have been possible.

Thank you, too, to all of you lovely people for following along and commenting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and right here on the blog. I have loved having you weigh in on the selection details with me! You’ve made the process fun and engaging and I’m so grateful we got to do this together.

OK, so without further ado, here is our much awaited “after.”

Vases – Black Rooster Decor

Do you remember how dark and dreary our “before” was? The typical basement dungeon of a laundry room.

Well as Florence And The Machine would say, the dark days are OVER!

Now it is bright and pretty, happy and practical, full of storage solutions not just for laundry, but also for calligraphy, art, sewing, gift wrapping, painting and all kinds of other fun and creative activities. I now think of this space as my laundry-room-meets-arts-room in the storage sense of things, and I love how the TooFifteen bins accommodate everything with casual elegance.

Remember the problem of the furnace and water heater visually dominating the room? Such an eyesore! Not anymore. The incredible sliding door hardware system from Upper Canada Specialty Hardware matched with the gorgeous rift-cut raw white oak solid doors from Metrie mean that this now feels like a feature wall when the doors are closed, while still keeping the furnace and water heater totally accessible when necessary. These raw, rift-cut white oak doors add natural texture and interest while hiding a multitude of sins {including the rest of the floor tile yet to be installed on the other side of the floor-mounted track!}. I now love this side of the room – when the doors are closed, of course! – and it feels harmoniously balanced with the feature wall. 

Two of the design decisions you so kindly weighed in on that I waited to reveal until today include the countertop selection and the grout colour. In the end, I chose Silestone’s Lagoon for the countertop, which led to the selection of Silver grout from Mapei to pull out the soft and subtle grey tones in the counters. I’m thrilled with the final result. The combination offers just enough contrast to be interesting without competing with the stunning statement floors, and somehow the palette speaks to a quiet femininity that just works for me.

Woven Ombré Towels + rose quartz Rock Soap – Anthropologie

Another of the decisions I kept secret until today was the question of which faucet would win the day. If you’ve been following along, I think it will come as no surprise that the Delta Trinsic was the right faucet for our space.

Cucina Hand Soap – Anthropologie

The champagne bronze finish of the Delta Trinsic is absolutely perfect with the gorgeous satin brass Lewis Dolin pulls from Upper Canada Specialty Hardware, don’t you think? This faucet is extra special in that it features SmartTouch® technology. The proximity sensor allows us to use the faucet totally hands-free when needed, and just a touch of the faucet also allows us to tap it on or off. We can of course just turn it on and off the old-fashioned way as well if we choose to!

I decided to have a little fun with the storage for my pre-soak stain removal detergent and picked up the black faceted geometric terrarium you see below on the right from West Elm. Paired with an antique silver spoon it makes stain removal seem almost an elegant affair, don’t you think? Perfect to use with our amazingly deep and functional Blanco sink from The Home Depot.

If you’re a detail freak like me, you’ll notice there are little touches that have yet to be finished {like caulking in the corners along the edges of the cut tile} but overall I couldn’t be happier with this dramatic transformation. From the floors and brass details adding sophistication, to the white oak doors and floating shelf adding a humble yet modern warmth, to the vases and bins adding a feminine edge and sense of style, this little laundry room has a new lease on life and has successfully converted me into a laundry lover after all!

A huge thank you to Ashley Capp for doing such a beautiful job of capturing the space for me – you are truly the loveliest!

And once again, a massive and heartfelt THANK YOU to all of my incredible brand partners for making this laundry room not only possible, but ultimately a gratitude project:

Subfloor R+ and SMARTWALL system – Dricore
LED pot lights – CREE Canada
Casing, baseboard and white oak slab doors – Metrie
Brass cabinet pulls and sliding door system – Upper Canada Specialty Hardware
Cabinet, wall and trim paint – Para Paints
Trinsic Faucet – Delta
Blanco Sink – The Home Depot
Silestone Lagoon slab for countertops – Cosentino
Bevelled subway tile – Creekside Tile Toronto
White + brass vases for flowers and brass jack – Black Rooster Decor
Tyvek storage bins – TooFifteen

Now it’s time for me to pour over the details of all of the reveal posts from these amazing talents!

Coco + Kelley * Jana Bek * Autumn Clemons * The English Room * Vanessa Francis * Greige Design * Hi SugarplumI Heart Organizing * Jenna Sue Design * Stephanie Kraus * The Pursuit of Style * Julia Ryan * Savvy Home Simple Details * Simply Grove * 6th Street Design * Jill Sorensen * Swoon Worthy * Waiting On Martha * Kimberly Shlegel Whitman * and my friends and linking participants Lisa Canning and Abby M. Interiors. Go to Calling It Home to check out all of the amazing “afters” posted today by the Linking Participants for the April 2015 edition of the One Room Challenge!

Be sure to leave me a comment below telling me what your favourite details are from our little laundry room makeover. I’d love to hear what you think of the final reveal. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Now, off to do some laundry! *wink*

xo
s.

By |May 7th, 2015|53 Comments

Inspiring Art, A VIP Party + A Giveaway!

Heads up, art lovers. There’s a new kid on the curator’s block, and she’s all kinds of amazing. Friends, meet Alessandra Salituri of Citizen Atelier.

The most inspiring adventures are always born out of passion, and that is most certainly the case with Citizen Atelier. Alessandra spent countless hours visiting galleries and pouring over portfolios before curating her Montreal-based collection. And I think you’ll agree, the art she offers is entirely chic, edgy, feminine, fashion-forward and totally my cuppa. In fact, she has included some of my favourite contemporary artists in her collection.

ANGEL I (left) and ANGEL IV (right) by ZENA HALLOWAY
I can’t tell you how much I want one of Zena Halloway’s Angels. Etherial. Dreamy. Feminine. Dramatic. Perfection.
And wouldn’t it pair perfectly with one of Ashley Woodson Bailey’s stunning florals? They are both moody and uplifting all at once {how is that even possible?}. Strong yet soft and somehow mysterious.

ALEX by ASHLEY WOODSON BAILEY
COOGEE WAVE by GRAY MALIN

Gray Malin’s art just makes me want to go on an adventure and enjoy my life. Seriously. All of it. And that’s the best kind of inspiration to have hanging on your walls if you ask me.

Remember Jenny Andrews Anderson? Yep, she is a part of Citizen Atelier’s stellar line up as well.

BREAK by JENNY ANDREWS ANDERSON

As if Alessandra’s twin-sister-taste in art weren’t enough to make me love her, she’s coming to town. She’s not just coming to town, but she’s kind of moving to town, because she’s opening up her first bricks-and-mortar presence in partnertship with the gorgeous Black Rooster Decor. And naturally, she’s having a coming-out party to celebrate. Think VIP, invite-only kind of scene, rubbing shoulders with the who’s-who of design and shelter publications all right here in Toronto this Wednesday night from 6-9pm.

And here’s the best part: One of you lucky art lovers can win the chance to get your name on the exclusive invitee list for said party where you can hang out with me and Alessandra while taking innumerable selfies and sipping something fabulous. Oh yes, and that is also when and where you will personally receive your choice of a small print from Citizen Atelier artist Georgianna Lane. Just feast your eyes on these beauties!

SPARKLE by GEORGIANNA LANE
VERSAILLES CHANDELIER II by GEORGIANNA LANE
VERSAILLES CHANDELIER I by GEORGIANNA LANE
VERSAILLES CHANDELIER III by GEORGIANNA LANE
VERSAILLES CHANDELIER IV by GEORGIANNA LANE

Who doesn’t need a touch of Parisian magic in their home? Georgianna’s prints are the perfect way to make that happen.

So how do you make sure you are the one to party like an art lover and walk away with the print to prove it? 3 easy steps:

1. Follow @citizenatelier and @thecuratedhouse on Instagram
2. Sign up for my email list in the right side bar
3. Pin your favourite Georgianna Lane print above to Pinterest with the hashtags #citizenatelierXthecuratedhouse and #artgiveaway

That’s it! 3 easy steps to truly the most exclusively delightful invitation and gorgeous gift of the week, so hop to it, darlings! Just let me know about all your social media love in the comments below, and we will announce our lucky winner on Wednesday morning. Can’t wait to see one of you at the party!

xo
s.

By |November 17th, 2014|0 Comments

Project: Kitchen Refresh | Lighting Option #2

Thanks so much for your feedback last week on Lighting Option #1 for my little kitchen refresh project! I’ve decided I want to nail down the lighting first before I move on to any of the other details. I really think the lighting will have a lot to say about the final direction of all of the rest of these little updates and help set the direction for the details.

OK, so I’m guessing you’ve all picked up on the  memo that brass continues to be HOTTER THAN HOT in design this year. There’s something sexy and glamorous about the use of it, even in the humblest of spaces. Just take this charming butler’s pantry below:

{image via Pinterest}
I’m totally in  L O V E  with the sophistication of the brass fittings and light fixture added to the mix of finishes in this clean and elegant kitchen below:
{image via Pinterest}

Fierce + fabulous, isn’t it? I could move into that kitchen tomorrow.

So my heart stopped momentarily when I came across this simple and modern pendant at Lamps Plus. I’m so in love with its warm and vintage antiqued brass patina that I want to bite it like its made of maple candy.

Seriously sexy, right? This fixture is totally a modern classic. Love at first sight. I would choose to pair it with accessories like this whimsical hand from Black Rooster Decor:

And this pair of Swedish 1930’s Bjork vases from 1st Dibs for a regular rotation of fresh flowers:

My dilemmas are two-fold.

ONE: I don’t want to change my cabinetry hardware. I like it a lot, and while I do believe it is possible to mix white and yellow metals successfully, I have a definite white-metal-dominance in my kitchen right now {for example, check out my Emeco counter stools below}.

TWO: I only have 8 foot ceilings. One of the things I  l-o-v-e  about this particular pendant is its long and lanky elegance. Unlike many pendants where the downrods make up most of the length, the shaft of this fixture is itself quite long. I don’t want to have a stubby little bit of downrod emphasizing my less-than-extravagantly-high ceilings. I worry that my ceilings and these pendants would each fail to do each other justice.

The thing is, I’m utterly smitten with this fixture! What do you think? Too many changes required? Too long for my rather pedestrian-height ceilings? Too much contrast with my cabinetry hardware, counter stools and statement of a stainless steel apron-front sink?

Can’t wait for your feedback!

xo
s.

By |January 24th, 2013|0 Comments