VoK Design Group

The other day while flipping through the Interiors issue of Ottawa Magazine that little 'ol me was featured in, there was a GORGEOUS kitchen featured that was the creation of a new firm based here in Ottawa called VoK Design Group. This firm was created about a year ago by Dylan O'Keefe and Thu Vu. It's so great to see such talent here in Ottawa, a city not exactly renowned for its exciting residential design. Dylan contacted me the other day and was kind enough to send along photos of the home featured in the magazine. Not only that, he saw my call for help with the exterior of our home and he offered to help us!!!! I cannot begin to explain to you how excited I am to have Dylan and Thu help us (hopefully - we need to talk to our architect). :-) Let me show you why I am elated at the prospect of getting advice from this firm....

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An admin assistant turned interior decorator's first project

The following email was sent to us from Jewel Weeks: I am a psychology grad-turned-interior designer (sort of) in Toronto who got this amazing opportunity last year to design someone's loft carte blanche... a young bachelor with no possessions for his new loft aside from a mattress! The client's basic requirements were that he wanted something fun and laid back with a retro-chic feeling- and no purple. Then he let me go to town with a blank slate in total faith. He was the most amazing client ever and let me work by intuition. Most of the stuff you see is all from craigslist or vintage shops with a few Ikea and Home Depot items thrown in. It's not 100% to what kind of standard I'd like to achieve, but I was pretty happy with it for a first project- mostly because my client was so happy with the result. I love the finished product...superb hip retro vibe, fun colours, and HELLO, it was featured in the Sept 2010 issue of Style at Home magazine (with help from the beautiful photography of Aristea Rizakos). I think you've got something here Jewel!! (Check out her website in the future for more of her projects). 

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Loft love

Spirally into love here folks. Love the open space, the white mixed with wood and black. Rustic and modern and all tied together with one sexy black spiral staircase. Clever sliding walls define the children's sleeping areas. The Crosstown Loft by Campos Leckie Studio based in Vancouver, Canada.

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Reader's parents' home

Here is an email we received from Sue: "I'm writing because I wanted to show you a home created by two of the most creative, eclectic, quirky and capable people I've ever met- my Mom and Dad. They have recently finished their fantastic house near Bancroft, Ontario; a house they designed, built and decorated almost all by themselves. And what's the first thing they did when it was finished? Put it up for sale, of course. There are more home design projects ahead! This is the link for the webpage they created for potential buyers." This is pretty much my dream home. SERIOUSLY. It is absolutely gorgeous. The spaciousness, the cabin feel to it, tons of WATERFRONT land, the large plank pine floors, a bunkie (!!!)....I could on and on. Instead, I'll show you a whole bunch of photos of it so you can see what I mean.

*the foyer features an antique tin ceiling*
*The lower level is built around a sunken living room with a long bench seat in the window for reading and afternoon siestas. A wood stove is the warm heart of the house; a stone floor provides rustic character. The space is open to the studio level above.*
*The cabinets in the custom kitchen are recycled antique chests-of-drawers, buffets and display cases, refinished and integrated into counters and an island with butcher-block tops.*

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A panicked, but welcomed Friday

Happy Friday everyone! I am spending the day cleaning house and rearranging furniture and panicking a bit as tomorrow there is a wee photo shoot at my humble abode. Since the hubby moved into my (now our) WAY too small home in May things have been in a bit of an uproar and I'm trying to make sense of it all. Regardless of the chaos I am super stoked for this shoot and can't wait to see the outcome. I'm a bit lacking in free time as a result so I thought I'd do a simple post today and showcase some photos from a French Canadian magazine called Décormag that I've featured a couple of times in the past (here and here).

  
  

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