My Big Fat Bathroom Reno

BEFORE

When your  pre-teen son calls to you from the bathroom “Mom, can you come here for a minute?”, a hundred things pass through your head (and not good ones, by the way!). Upon my arrival at the bathroom door I was quite “relieved” to find that there were no “personal” issues for me to deal with, but rather problems more of the plumbing persuation. He pointed to the ceiling.  And that’s when I saw it.  A bathroom renovation in the making.  The shower on the second floor was leaking right through the ceiling above our heads.

It was the perfect opportunity to finally get that room freshened up!  Now, this is not a typical blogging topic for me, so let me explain.  My husband is a good man.  He always does what I ask, when I ask, no questions asked.  Its pretty ideal.  He’s painted my livingroom purple, my dining green, my kitchen yellow, my daughter’s room pink, my son’s room turquoise, and my office coral.  So,  I would like to showcase his handywork for all of you to see as a celebration of him!  Thank you Paul for being such a super guy.  Sorry ladies, he’s taken.

AFTER

 

 

AFTER

 

 

AFTER

 

 

AFTER

Tropical Paradise at the Living Fresh Flower School

I love my job! I love my job! I love my job! Today was the first class of the winter/spring term at that Living Fresh Flower School – and it was fantastic! As a teacher of floral design I get to have my cake and eat it too. Not only do I get to work with exceptional blossoms from all over the world, but I can share my life-long learnings of floral art with people who have a thirst for botanical beauty. And did I mention that I get to do all this along side my best flower friend, Tina Riddell?

Today’s theme was Tropical Paradise. We featured blooms from equatorial regions of the world. Who couldn’t use a bit of that during a Canadian winter? Contemporary, asymmetrical and artistic were the design styles of the day – our floral apprentices from today’s class embraced this theme with gusto!

THE FINAL RESULTS!!!

If you missed our class today, we have many scheduled for the upcoming months! Our next class, on March 11, 2012 will celebrate all things PINK! The floral industry is favouring this shade, particularly the softer, pastel shades of pink. Unleash your inner “little girl” and come play with pink! (click here to go to the Living Fresh Flower School link – Colour Theory Pink)

IDS12 January 27, 2012

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend  IDS12 – Interior Design Show 2012 on trade day with certified Interior Decorator, Tina Riddell of Living Fresh (Kitchener, Ontario).  Cutting edge designs had my head spinning – so much talent and decor  under one roof.  As a floral designer by trade, I don’t know the ins and outs of interiors, but I certainly have a strong sense of what I like and don’t like. And despite the thousands of amazing things that I did see at the show on this day, there was one design team that stood out among all the others: “Mason“.  This design duo,  Ashley Rumsey and Stanley Sun, are the partners of Mason, of Montreal, Quebec.  They were one of the 6 participants  in the feature display entitled “How Do You Live?”, calling their work “Our Home and Native Land”.  It was a pleasure to see their work, and as a member of the media, it was an even bigger thrill to photograph it.

In “Now Magazine“, Sun was quoted as saying “We wanted to challenge what a kitchen and bathroom can be, one is a completely private space, and the other is completely public.” They broke down each area to its “functional rather than social use”. In the middle of the container, water flows from a faucet into a long wooden trough, then passes under a cooking platform and finally cascades into a small patch of green space. Several feet away from the small grassy area, tucked away in the corner, hidden by a small tree, is the toilet.

The outdoor elements of water and plant life bring a natural serenity to this indoor space.

This space appealed to more than just my visual sense. My auditory sense went wild – the gentle flow of water is a soothing sound for this Aquarian. And, of course the kid in me just wanted to touch it (but I didnt, because my companion that day would have told me not to!).