Small kitchen inspiration

I've had a few very, very small kitchens in my time.  Mostly when living in apartments or condos in urban centres, where you often don't have a lot of space.  But a small space can still mean big style - even in a kitchen.  Over the years I've carried a few images of small kitchens around for inspiration.  I think they still look stylish.  The one above is a great example of how to take advantage of vertical height and pack the upper cabinets right to the ceiling.  This one wall of kitchen looks great and has quite a bit of storage. I have to admit I also love the book case to the left! I've also always liked this one that Domino featured with Nate Berkus, a great example of a small NYC kitchen with big style.

And talk about compact...this is one small kitchen.  Excellent design to get all of this function in such a small area.

And this is another in a more traditional look.  Also a really great use of a small space to pack in a lot of kitchen and appliances.

Powder room inspiration: wallpaper

Powder rooms are typically small and are a great place to experiment with colour or wallpaper since it's not a huge investment in time or material.  The room above is one I like because it has a modern, stylish vibe.  Sometimes wallpaper can feel very traditional, but there are more modern and graphic options available these days. Here's another 'dotty' look that I like, paired with more traditional fixtures.

Another great looking wallpaper is Ocelot by Farrow & Ball.  After using this in a bedroom last year for a client, I was definitely a fan.  In the lightest shade available, it adds a subtle pattern to a room, but nothing too bold.  Here it is in a traditional setting.

If I was going to do my own I'd consider this blue & white wallpaper paired with the white sconce over the sink for a fresh, stylish look.

Image sources:

Inspiration more modern powder room: lonny.com

Traditional room: source unknown

Ocelot: farrowandball.com

White sconce: schoolhouseeletric.com

Wallpaper: serenaandlily.com

A room transformed with paint: before and after

I'm a huge fan of paint as the most affordable way to drastically change a room.  I'm always talking about 'paint makeovers' and how much you can do with paint.  Hopefully these pictures back up my claim. The living room shown above is the same room as you see below, but with furniture.  I wanted to show how it looked without any furnishings and decor.  This way you can really get an idea of how the paint changed the room.

It was also very affordable, I did all the work myself, so my only cost was paint.  I personally removed the carpet and old drapery (in a day) and then painted the walls,  ceiling, trim and fireplace in white and the floors in gloss black.  At that time you could still buy oil paint, so I put black oil paint on the floors that stood up pretty well over time.  The floor paint was smelly and needed a couple coats with a day to dry for each.  Over time, the floor paint did chip in places here and there (mostly because I would drag furniture across it).  I did consider a lighter colour paint on the floor but at the time I wanted the contrast of black.

Here's how the room looked when I bought the house, with wall to wall carpet.  BEFORE:

And the empty painted room and fireplace: AFTER:

Before & After: a table gets a makeover

Back in 2007, or maybe even 2006, I bought an antique table and two benches at great shop outside Toronto.  What I loved was the size, this was a suitable size for a dining room and could fit 6 chairs around it, but it wasn't overly wide.  At the time it was just what I needed for my loft.  Here is how it looked when I got it.

Another great aspect of it was that the legs on the table fold in underneath, so with a hatchback it's quite easy to move.  The benches also had metal legs that could fold in, making the entire 3 pieces very compact.  What's funny is that the table was coated with old plastic mac tac in the image of wood - so it a wooden table covered with vinyl wallpaper!  I was easily able to strip that layer off and found it was previously painted green and purple underneath that.  With a hot air stripper I was able to get it back to the original surface.  I touched up the benches and table with some minwax stain, over the years it has faded, but here are some places I've used it.  It's definitely been a piece of furniture that has been versatile and well used over the years.

In my Toronto dining room, table paired with chairs:

The dining table in Chester and the two benches pushed together as a coffee table:

Today in my office:

garden inspiration

I've been collecting some "inspiration" for my own garden.  I don't have a very big exterior space, so I need to really think things through and have a solid plan before I get started.  I was thinking a seating area like Ralph's in Paris, the outdoor terrace looks incredible - so inviting and comfortable!

I was also thinking about a bed of hydrangea's - I love the white, cone shaped hydrangea.  And an outdoor fireplace would be great to stay outdoors as long as possible.