/interior design

Why Eating Outside Is Good For Your Health

This post was created in partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond. All opinions are my own. Promise.

Did you know that spending a total of just 2 hours a week outside can offer major health benefits? Both mentally and physically, we are just healthier versions of ourselves when we’re connected to nature. In fact, studies show that being outside can lower stress hormones and blood pressure, calm the nervous system and improve mood and immune function. I don’t know about you, but I’m down for all of that! In fact, I’m super passionate about designing homes that are as healthy as they are beautiful, and I believe that designing spaces that connect us to nature is a super important piece of that puzzle.

That’s why our outdoor living and dining transformation has truly been a game changer. Simply put, it invites us to slow down and connect – with nature and with each other – and we always need more of that.

Did you know that eating dinner together boosts your kids’ vocabulary even more than reading aloud to them? And the only way to make eating together healthier is to do it outside.

outdoor dining marble table

If you’re looking for ways to inspire yourself and your loved ones to eat outdoors and a full outdoor reno isn’t in the budget at the moment, I would invite you to invest in some inspiring new dinnerware to elevate your everyday meals. Making your daily details more beautiful can set the stage for making happy memories with the ones you love. I don’t see the need to separate outdoor dishes from indoor dishes, so the good news is, you’ll be investing in something that will translate into inspiring lingering dinners around the table indoors when the weather changes. It’s a win-win.

 

I recently updated our dinnerware, glasses and cutlery and found everything I needed at Bed Bath & Beyond. I’m in love with the soft, calming neutral palette of all of these pieces. I can honestly say that the steak knives from the Laguiole set are the best I’ve ever used. They cut through everything like butter and are so elegant. You know me, I’m always one to embrace a touch of French sophistication wherever I can, and this tableware update has honestly led us to enjoying our outdoor space even more because it all looks so beautiful together. The double old fashioned glasses in the glasses set also double as our stemless wine glasses, and I’m loving the efficiency and simplicity of that in my kitchen cabinets.

Huge thanks to Carol from Sweet Woodruff for the stunning florals, and to Laurie Wierzbecki for the beautiful photos.

Here’s to savouring every last minute of beautiful weather with the ones we love. Happy rest of summer, friends!

By |August 10th, 2020|0 Comments

One Room Challenge | Fall 2019 | Healthy Master Bedroom Makeover | The Big Reveal

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve always believed in the power of interior design to transform the quality of our lives. It’s why I do what I do. And yet, every time I transform a space in my own home I’m reminded of it so personally, so experientially, that my passion for the power of design is deepened and renewed.

This is especially true with our Healthy Master Bedroom Makeover. Seeing the combined focus of wellness and beauty come together to create a space that is healthy yet sophisticated; non-toxic yet sexy; chic yet sustainable; mindful yet elegant? Well, it makes my heart sing. And yet even as I say that and complete this project, I firmly believe there is a lot of room for growth in the design industry when it comes to Wellness For The Home.

We need more products that meet what I consider to be the true standard for beauty: healthy for the planet, healthy for the people making them, and healthy for the people living with them. We need more products that are healthy but don’t look healthy in the “I just came from the health food store wearing my wool socks and Birkenstocks” kind of way. Not that we shouldn’t go to the health food store or wear wool socks or Birks! But we should be able to satisfy our desire to live healthy and sustainable lives while also creating sophisticated and luxurious spaces that soothe the senses and inspire our souls. That to me is the true definition of sanctuary.

And that is what our new Master Bedroom is for us: a sanctuary. I love being in this room. I love all the layers and textures and beautiful lines. I love the curves of the chandelier and table lamps and how that connects with the gestural movement in the art I created. I love the warmth of the gorgeous Tulu rug and the heavy linen drapes with their beautiful marbelized leading edge trim. I love the edge of the decorative pillows and mix of original art. I love the inky black walls and the cocoon-like intimacy they create. I love love love crawling into bed at night under our perfectly crisp, organic sheets onto our super comfortable healthy, custom organic mattress. I love the sophistication of our bed and nightstands and paneling and all the styling details. I love looking up at the radiant texture and sheen of our wallpapered ceiling and that alabaster statement piece. I truly love every single detail, and I am so grateful this room is finally complete!

If, like me, you’ve been leaving your bedroom to the bottom of your designer to-do list, please let me encourage you to make it a priority. The psychological benefits of having a thoughtfully designed sanctuary to which you can retreat at the end of the day are truly powerful. When you make that sanctuary not just beautiful, but also as non-toxic as possible, you are also supporting the healing powers of sleep in untold and deeply meaningful ways.

I am truly and endlessly grateful to my friend Reid of Will Reid Interiors for capturing these images of our little sanctuary. Reid, you are a delight to work with, pure art and heart, and I’m so grateful to call you my friend (who will zhush the styling and try 4 different lenses and even climb inside closets to get the perfect shot). You are incredible. Thank you for being my partner in design reveal crime.

I also want to express my endless gratitude and thanks to all of the brands who have partnered with me to make this healthy sanctuary a reality. Your faith in me and your willingness to tell this meaningful story with me – a story of beauty and wellness for the home – means more than I will ever be able to fully express.

Please take time to get to know these brands and their products. I’ve curated them with great love and intention, and I truly believe them to be exceptional. I hope this project and these partners inspire you to create your own healthy, beautiful sanctuaries. I sincerely believe you’ll find it to be life-changing.

Lastly, do check out the reveals of all of the other One Room Challenge participants! Get inspired! Start thinking about what space you want to design next in your own nest. Think about the values you want to live by, the lifestyle you want to architect and the story you want to tell. These questions will be the foundation for creating a home that is the perfect backdrop for making beautiful memories with the ones you love.

SOURCE GUIDE

One-of-A-Kind Tulu Wool Rug | King’s House Oriental Rugs

Wall Paneling, Baseboards, Crown + Backband | Metrie

EMF Shielding Paint | Woremor

Coal Black Wall Paint | Fusion Mineral Paint

Metallic Grasscloth Wallpaper | York Wallcoverings

Alabaster Chandelier | Corbett Lighting

Linen Drapery Panels | Tonic Living

Leading Edge Trim on Drapery | Pindler

Nightstands | Bernhardt

Table Lamps | Hudson Valley Lighting 

Pair of Large Abstract Mixed Media Works on Paper | Sarah Walker

Large Abstract Painting on Paper | Zoe Pawlak

Small Watercolour Abstract | Sonya Spilkin

Frames | Framed & Matted

Small Oil On Canvas Painting in Stand | Biernot

Custom Bed | Design: Sarah Walker of The Curated House; Velvet: Crypton; Fabrication: Whittington & Co.

Custom Organic Mattress | Obasan

Organic Sheets, Shams + Duvet Cover | White Terry Home

Embroidered Linen on Euro Pillows | Pulp Design Studios for S. Harris

Long Graffito Bolster Pillow | Arianna Belle

Striped Wool Tasseled Turkish Souk Blanket | The Vintage Rug Shop

Studded Ceramic Vase | Montana Labelle

Raw Edged Alabaster Tray | Verona Privé

Studded Brass Bracelet | Addison Weeks

Faux Shagreen Box | West Elm

Porcupin Quills (in vintage silver julep cup) | Ngala Trading

Small Horn Tealight Holder (holding white ranunculus) | Ngala Trading

Vintage Leather Books | Paris Flea Markets

Crystal Geodes + Bone-Handled Calligraphy Brush | The Curated House

By |November 7th, 2019|3 Comments

One Room Challenge | Fall 2019 | Master Bedroom Makeover | Bring In The Layers

“The details are not the details, they make the design.”

– Charles Eames

There are many phases to any given design project, and I’m happy to say that 5 weeks into our Healthy Master Bedroom Makeover, we are past the messy middle and starting to get to the good stuff. This is where the vision for the space starts to come into focus and anxiety gives way to excitement. Well, mostly. There’s still much to be done and of course photos to be taken for the big reveal, but I’m getting excited for all of it and can’t wait to share the finished space with you soon!

LAYERING IN LUXURIOUS LIGHTING

As I mentioned at the start of this project, we have modest 8′ ceilings in our Master Bedroom. This means a few things: one is that there’s not a lot of space above the headboard for art, especially when you factor in appropriately proportioned panelling and crown moulding.

The second is that some might shy away from dropping a large statement fixture in the middle of the room out of fear of making the room feel too small. This, my friends, would be a huge mistake. In fact, I’ve decided to allow this alabaster Serenity statement chandelier from Corbett Lighting do the work of both lighting and art as the visual anchor over the bed, and I can’t wait to show you how it looks installed next week.

Noah came for a chat in bed with me after Graham installed this beauty, and unprompted he commented on how the scale, natural materiality and luminescence of this fixture make our bedroom feel so thoughtfully connected and intimately beautiful. In this case, the scale is working for us and actually makes the room feel bigger.

(Side note: I don’t know too many 16 year old boys who will make such sophisticated observations. He’s a seriously cool kid.)

To compliment the elegant and slightly contemporary edge of the alabaster discs in the Serenity, I’ve chosen a pair of Caton table lamps from Hudson Valley Lighting for our nightstands.

The Caton is not super tall at 17 1/4″ high, which is exactly what I wanted so that I could layer artwork behind them casually leaned against the wall. Their solid crystal base glows when they’re turned on, adding to their simple elegance. I just love the Caton’s curvy silhouette and her effortless elegance. Definitely my kind of girl (I mean, table lamp).

FORM MEETS FUNCTION IN OUR NIGHTSTANDS

With our bedroom being as small as it is and our love for a king sized bed being as real as it is, we needed to find nightstands that could work hard and look really good doing it. Specifically, we needed nightstands that were a max of 36″ wide and had three large and functional drawers to house all our folded bits and pieces. We have a large closet that spans the entire wall across from our bed, but no room for a dresser otherwise, so our nightstands essentially function as dressers for us.

Let me tell you, the options for nightstands in the 26-36″ wide dimension range are hard to find. Manufacturers just don’t seem to understand this need in the market, that is apart from my friends at Bernhardt who have several options that meet these parameters and totally saved the day with their Clarendon nightstand which is the perfect fit for our space!

The custom bed frame wound up a few inches wider than originally designed, but the Clarendon still fits perfectly and gives us the additional storage we need for a truly functional bedroom.

ORIGINAL ART FOR EXPRESSIVE STORYTELLING

As mentioned, my plan for the art is to layer a pair of pieces behind each of the table lamps. When searching for options, I found myself not wanting to disrespect an artist by hiding half of their work. I also found myself itching to put my art background to work and create again, so I set my hand to creating this pair – The Unwinding and Unexpected Peace – for our space.

Thank you to all of you on Instagram who affirmed me in re-engaging in art making. Based on your feedback, I plan to make some works available for sale in the coming weeks, so watch for that. In the meantime, I’m super excited to get these two framed up in their custom Framed & Matted frames and layered in place behind the lamps. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow.

Even more exciting is the gorgeous original work on paper that the beautiful human Zoe Pawlak sent me.

Entitled “Just Some Partial Darkness,” it speaks to Zoe’s understanding of the human struggle for meaning and beauty. Not all of life is light, and yet as Leonard Cohen says, the cracks are how the light gets in. This has been so painfully true for me on my health journey. I’ve been transformed in so many ways by wrestling with the darkness, and I believe I’ll be coming out the other side of Lyme Disease a much stronger, more resilient person than if I’d never walked this path. This beautiful piece by Zoe will be a daily reminder of that resilient hope, and I love that I’ll see it every morning when I wake up.

EXPRESSING STYLE WITH TEXTILES

As you know, the base of this room is very neutral, albeit richly textural. Given that the room is small and the vibe I’m after is sexy and moody, I didn’t want to overwhelm the space with too much pattern. That said, the textiles on the bed are where I’m having some fun, starting with this insanely gorgeous embroidered linen by my friends Beth and Carolina from Pulp Studios. Their whole collection for S.Harris is stunning (and they’ll be releasing a second collection soon – I’m already obsessed), but Hidalgo had my heart from hello.

To layer in front of these stunning embroidered beauties, I’ve got an extra wide bolster from the absolute pillow queen Arianna Belle.

I don’t want to show you the whole thing yet so as not to spoil the surprise, but suffice it to say these textiles are definitely going to bring a sexy, sophisticated edge to this space.

To finish the bed, I’m going to layer a tasseled Turkish Souk Blanket from my friend Brittany at The Vintage Rug Shop over the end of our gorgeous White Terry duvet cover. The goal is layered and luxe and a bit of a traveled vibe, and I can’t wait to finally put it all together!

Apart from styling the nightstands, that is truly it, my friends! Those are the last loving layers that will make this Healthy Master Bedroom Makeover as pretty as she is restful. We are sooo close now I can taste it, and the taste is pretty sweet!

Be sure to check in on the progress of the other One Room Challenge participants and mark your calendars for the big reveal next Thursday! I truly cannot wait.

By |October 31st, 2019|0 Comments