Elizabeth Lennie Archives - The Curated House

How To Design A Kid’s Room With Personality | Mastering The Art of The Mix

I can’t tell you how stoked I was to see Noah’s room featured on MyDomaine last week! As a deft curator of cool, MyDomaine is one of my benchmarks for rockstar design status, so the feature was definitely a design career highlight. It also never hurts to be described as an interior designer with “an incredible sense of style and an amazing ability to balance the old, new, bold, restrained, and playful” while being given the title of “coolest mom around.” Hey, I’ll take it!

PHOTO by ASHLEY CAPP

This bedroom was definitely all about the art of the mix. Noah’s a pretty sophisticated kid, so I knew it needed to reflect his passion for design and his love of details while having a vibrant, modern vibe and a hefty dose of vintage mixed in for good measure.

If you’re looking to create an eclectic space of your own – whether for a kid or a grown-up – here are some tips you can take to the bank.

No.1: TAKE YOUR CUES FROM THE BRIDE

PHOTO by ASHLEY CAPP

You know the old wedding superstition that a bride should always wear something old and new, something borrowed and blue? Well it totally applies to good design…at least, the first half does!

NEW: We totally fell in love the moment we laid eyes on the bold and vibrant duvet cover and shams from Aura Home {now available at The Bay for all my fellow Canadian design lovahs}. We knew they were the perfect choice to function as our modern centrepiece {OK, and our something blue *wink*}

OLD: Old can also mean traditional, or an older style, and I knew we needed to juxtapose those modern bed linens with some traditional touches. Enter a traditionally tufted headboard {covered in luscious black velvet from Kravet and beautifully upholstered by Barrymore}, and a gorgeous traditional rug from Kaarma. Hello lovelies!

VINTAGE: There’s old and then there’s antique, and nothing can take the place of the personality and style that real antiques add to a space. Would you believe I found these vintage French Art Deco side tables on eBay? Seriously the score of the century!

QUIRK-FEST: The whimsical deer head from Cardboard Safari {his name is Bucky} is the perfectly quirky mascot for the space, and he plays so nicely against the traditionally panelled feature wall.

Add some modern table lamps from West Elm and a naturally shed antler we picked up antiquing for an added dollop of quirk, and we can officially dub ourselves design mixologists!

The mix-master recipe? MODERN + TRADITIONAL + VINTAGE + QUIRK = PERFECTION.

No. 2: YOU’VE GOT SOUL BUT YOU’RE NOT A SOLDIER

PHOTOS by ASHLEY CAPP

If you’ve been following me for very long, you’ll know I’m a passionate believer in original art. As I always say, it’s the soul of the space. When it comes to kids’ rooms, though, that can be a scary investment for some as you know your kids’ interests and tastes will change. If that’s you, I have three suggestions for you:

ONE, start with smalls, like the two canvases you see on Noah’s dresser above. The outdoor hockey scene is by one of my favourite figurative artists, Elizabeth Lennie, and the piece on the left by Kelly Grace depicts an evening at the fair, complete with ferris wheel and food vendors. Not only are they fun and story-filled pieces full of life, but they are totally timeless and I’ll be happy to reabsorb them into my own collection should Noah ever tire of them.

TWO, art doesn’t just belong on walls. I love styling bookshelves and the tops of dressers with art to bring soul to every corner of a space. I also love the silver easel from Indigo as the perfect way to vary the heights of a grouping without hanging a single thing.

THREE, create a gallery wall with pieces that aren’t too precious so that it can evolve over time. Noah’s gallery wall is made up of vintage postcards of New York City bridges that I picked up at the Williamsburg Flea a few years ago, a mysterious moustached man from Mitchell Black, an inspiring quote/art print from Lisa Congdon, a stunning photograph of icebergs from Canadian photographer Irene Suchocki, and a reproduction vintage blueprint of a bridge I picked up from Touch of Modern. The grouping tells a story of Noah’s current interest in architecture and travel and our hope that he’ll always stay curious. The quote on the Lisa Congdon piece is by Thoreau and reads:

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.

No. 3: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE MAGIC OF A GOOD WARDROBE

PHOTOS by ASHLEY CAPP

When it came time to plan out the storage for Noah’s space, we had some pretty big hurdles to overcome. There was just one very small closet shoved into the right-hand corner of the closet wall. It was totally awkward to the room layout and even worse, it just didn’t leave us enough space for all of Noah’s cool threads. Even moreso, the remaining wall space – which would typically be the right place for a dresser – came so far into the room that there wouldn’t have been any clearance to open his drawers.

Gratefully, there was another under-utilized closet on the other side of that wall facing into the hallway that connects Noah’s bedroom to his bathroom. Remember this hallway with the gorgeous chevron floors and dove grey panelled walls?

PHOTOS by ASHLEY CAPP

Well, we grabbed the closet from the hallway and flipped it into Noah’s room and – with one move of stealthy designer ju-jitsu floor planning – we tripled his storage space with two closets the size of his original and room for his dresser to sit in between. Yes, it required filling in the hardwood underneath his dresser {which was no small DIY feat} but it was totally worth it.

In actually fact, we more than tripled his storage space. The closets themselves are IKEA cabinets with all of the awesome organizational “guts” that they offer – think customized pants hangers and the like – and we broke both closets up into half-hanging which means double the storage per closet. So I guess we quintupled his storage? Awesome.

You’d never guess they were IKEA cabinets from the outside, and that’s because we customized them in three ways:

ONE, end gables. The end gables had to be super slim in this case to leave enough room for the dresser, so we just used some super-thin masonite and painted it out the room colour for a very simple fix to the non-paintable sides of the melamine cabinet’s exterior.

TWO, custom doors. MDF slabs + panel moulding + paint + an awesome hubby = modern classic custom doors to drool over! #winning

THREE, interesting door hardware. Finish off the gorgeous DIY doors with texturally interesting faux bone door pulls from Anthropologie and the finished product screams Paris apartment. Totally my vibe. The hardware on the dresser is also from Anthro. Paint It Like New! sprayed out his existing, yawn-worthy espresso stained dresser in Para Paints’ Jet Black, and the contrasting cream and brass pulls totally elevate the sophistication level from “so yesterday” to “on point” in a wink.

So, are you ready to master the art of the mix? Which room are you tackling next? I’ve got my sights set on another space in our home and am just itching to get started. Soon I hope!

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|July 28th, 2015|0 Comments

FATHER’S DAY 2015 – A CURATED GIFT GUIDE

Searching for inspired suggestions on what to get for Dad this year? The search is over, friends. I’ve curated a few very special finds that will have your Daddio feeling the love.

ONE // Does the Dad in your world love style, comfort and innovation? If so, the Noah Driving Shoe from Ron White is perfect for him. Ron took a year and a half to develop the layered technology in the insole of this shoe, transferring his All Day Heel technology from his women’s line into a totally sophisticated men’s shoe. Don’t let the relaxed styling fool you: this shoe offers incredible arch support layered with PORON, the Nasa-developed memory foam that is the signature in Ron’s shoes. Class and comfort combined, this shoe is perfect paired with jeans and a v-neck, but also amazing with a crisp linen suit.

{Don’t tell Graham, but these Ron White shoes are his Father’s Day gift this year!}

TWO // I love celebrating meaningful moments with the art of story, and what better way to do that than with a piece of original art? Elizabeth Lennie is one of my favourite artists because of her ability to capture the memory-making moments in our lives through her gestural, figurative work. Her subject matter revolves around outdoor Canadian pastimes like hockey or playing in the water out on a lake. I want to live the story she tells with my family, and I’m thrilled to have a couple of her small pieces in our home. Remind your man of his childhood love of hockey with Shinny 9 from Art Interiors.

THREE // For something small but special, why not choose a pair of handmade Rosewood Cufflinks from Jenny Greco via the One of A Kind online shop? They are a modern classic that will work with almost every suit he owns.

FOUR // Make your man the master of the grill with this Weber Genesis from The Home Depot. We have this grill on our wish list for our outdoor living room update this summer. I especially love that this Weber grill has a sear zone for crafting the perfect steaks every time.

FIVE // Use a daily ritual as an opportunity to remind him of how much he’s loved. This bespoke shaving set from Taylor of Old Bond Street in London is now being imported to Canada.

SIX // For the Dad who travels a lot, this gorgeous Bison Leather Dopp Kit Bag from Kaufman Mercantile is a practical luxury that will remind him of the family he adores while he’s on the road.

The reality is, the most important thing you can give to the Dad in your life is quality time together. Make him breakfast in bed, go for a bike ride or a hike in the woods, take him golfing if that’s what he loves. Whatever you do, make memories together and be sure to get some snuggle time in there, too. I know we sure will.

I’m beyond grateful for the amazing Dad that Graham is to our boys, and I can’t wait to celebrate him this weekend, Walker style. Wishing you and yours a connected and happy weekend together, whatever you do!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|June 8th, 2015|2 Comments

The Curated Collection | Sara Caracristi

I have a confession to make: I have a rather interesting relationship with figurative paintings. I suppose on a simple level, one would call it a love-hate relationship. I love the power of figurative work to evoke emotion, but I do not love the way that some figurative work forces me to feel a part of a story that doesn’t feel like my own. This seems particularly true for me with most figurative portraits. As a result, I have a lot more abstracts and landscapes in my personal art collection than I do figurative work. In fact, until recently coming across Sara Caracristi through my friends at Art Interiors, Elizabeth Lennie was the only figurative artist who drew me into a story that felt safe enough for me to hang in my own home. I know that probably makes me weird, but I’ve confessed it to you now, so I feel better about it.

In contrast to the figurative portraits that create in me a sense of discomfort, Sara Caracristi’s vantage point on her figurative work is something different altogether. Yes, there is a distinct sense of story and relationship in the characters she paints; and yet, there is an even greater sense that I am the observer. I am free to hover above the story in a way that leaves me feeling safe, amused and still very engaged. I feel more like I am people-watching at the airport, musing on the wanderings of humanity as we buzz about everyday life.

There is a level of detail in Caracristi’s paintings that is deeply personal, and yet her mastery of the aerial vantage point also allows the figures to blur into more abstract blocks of colour to my eye.

For me, this creates a kind of abstraction that is typically quite unexpected in this style of figurative work. And I love it.

I also love the constant sense of motion, that life is always moving, always changing. I feel drawn into that story and made just a little bit more alive from it when I engage with Caracristi’s paintings.

How do you feel about figurative work? Does it draw you into a story; make you feel a part of history? I hope Sara Caracristi’s paintings will inspire you to become a more active observer of detail, perspective and relational interactions, even if it is from a polite distance.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|July 8th, 2013|0 Comments