Putting It All Together

ONE OF THE MANY PAINTINGS GOING ON THE WALL

A BEGINNING OF AN ACCENT WALL

SOME BAR CHAIRS

DRESSING UP THE BOOKCASE

My manta is: You can never have too much art in your house. Anything can be made into art: wine bottles, old wood, anything. You don't always need to go to fancy art galleries to have a huge impact in your space. You can find art in the most creative places: empty glass jars with unique shapes, flower beds, old stones--even painting something that is plain and mundane just to add that extra spark. I am always rethinking ways to make our space homey, cozy and artsy...Think outside the box and go crazy. Even if you think it's a ridiculous idea--it's still your idea and that makes it unique and original.

In Love With My Place

So now I'm moved in and some things have been unpacked I'm ready to do the funnest thing--PAINT! Yesterday I headed over to Home Hardware to pick up paint for the living room/kitchen--the first rooms we are going to paint today. The color we chose is called "Gaucho Brown". It was a close call between that and a lovely light gray but we just felt we had a lot of brown/white to work with in the house so it would be natural to go with it. Chocolate and white is such a lovely pair--the white pops against the chocolate colour and adds a homey, cozy feel. Luckily, our couch is brown as well so with a few bright white accent pillows and a white rug...well you can imagine how lovely it will all go. I'm excited/nervous to paint because I've never done it before! Hopefully I don't screw up!

I wanted to work with the walkway\hallway and a door-less closet near the front door. Right now we are storing the mop/brown etc in it but I am going to paint, add a mirror and a chest of drawers and some sconces. We will use it to put our mail, car and house keys, dog leash/collar, poop bags and miscellaneous items you have when you're walking in the door like a place to put a box of delivery pizza while you pay the delivery guy. I forgot we had a walk-in closet and plan to add lower drawers from IKEA for shoes and add some mirrors/art and a rug to lighten it up. It's a fantastic closet and I think if we unclutter ourselves, it will work for us. The bathroom just needs a new shower curtain, window curtains, some art, some nice soap holders, etc, candles and it's ready to rock. The kitchen is perfect we are just going to get a wine rack. I'm going to hang up some paintings today after the paint dries so it's coming along great. Can't wait to show the before/after!

Basement Bellissima

I am hell bent on creating a basement space that is modern, artsy and functional. One that does not necessarily feel like a basement. I want to accentuate the windows and bring in as much natural\artificial light as possible so this means clip-on shelf lights, lamps and mirrors. I never really thought about lamps before. I always assumed the ceiling pot lights would be fine, but the more light, the merrier!

You wouldn't expect a lot of greenery in a basement so house plants that can survive in shade are on my top list of things to get. I think wall sconces add a baroque, traditional element and will look great against the paint! So to liven up a basement flat these are some good things to get:

-lamps
-lights that attach to your shelving
-floor to ceiling bookshelf
-light coloured paint
-wall sconces
-mirror opposite your window

-accentuating the basement windows (sheer curtains, perhaps?)

Combining and Creating

Europe has a lot of cathedrals...why not inject some art deco with stained glass lighting?

My fiancee comes from a sunshiney, beautiful European Meditteranean city. The sea is marble blue, the cobblestone streets are narrow and filled with crumbling, characteristic white buildings and sprawling cafes. My fiancee is a deep believer in easy European living. She works hard but plays hard as well, placing family, friends and leisure above the slavery-inducing tactics of Canadian and American materialistic work. Work, work, work. No, a nice cup of Turkish coffee and a cigarette on a Sunday morning is life for her. Nothing else matters--not the bills, not the clothes on mannequins in gaudy stores and not the hurried people passing by in her window.

For me, a West Indian girl, I'm partial to a lot of bright colours and spicy food. I like my life spicy and interesting, not dull and lifeless. I want my house to be a tropical jungle with flavor and vibrancy. I want everything and everyone to be alive. I want light. I'm fine with anything brightly coloured. My favourite colour to wear is yellow. My fiancee's is black. I told her I wanted a lime-green lazy chair and she nearly choked back on her fifty-cent hot dog at IKEA. Was I insane? Would her laid-back espresso fine, laid-back living and my brightly, chipper lifestyle be able to become one? My lively flair and her sophistication? Jazz music and Michaelangelo? Why not.

"Wild Jazz by Debra Hurd". My penchant for jazz and blues music is strong.

There is something so European about a butcher's block. It makes me think of Pavarotti. Perhaps it was because he enjoyed food so much. Food is integral to the family life of the European and central to the Mediterranean lifestyle. You know, it's like : hey, there's a wedding (let's eat). Hey there's a funeral (let's eat). Hey it's noontime (let's eat). Hey, it's a nice day out (let's eat). I'm angry (let's eat). With no exception, my fiancee is an aggressive carnivore and the injection of a butcher's block in the kitchen is not only functional and adds an authentic European element, but it adds to her own personality. What better way to let people know your life revolves around food than a big slab of wood to butcher your food in your urban kitchen? Quite contrasting compared to her HDTV.

Butcher's blog is also a great place to store pots and pans and your wine.