Pale pink walls

I have been wondering for months what to do with my dining room. Dark? Bright? Wallpaper? I don't have very good recent photos because I hate the room - this one is the most recent that shows a decent amount of the space. (The floors are now stained grey!)  Nothing has really stood out until I suddenly started thinking about pale pink. Then I started thinking about pale pink with dark grey trim. Then I started getting very excited. I am pretty sure pale pink is the route I want to take with the walls (trim will probably just be the same colour or a shade darker so it's not too choppy, and the doors maybe the black blue of the foyer...and not sure about the ceiling). I have been eyeballing Farrow & Ball's Pink Ground, Setting Plaster and Calamine. I think Pink Ground on walls and Setting Plaster on trim could be really gorgeous. I have sent a request for samples so those are on the way. In the meantime, I went looking for inspiration and found all kinds of pretty pinks. And based on the first 2 photos, I think I need heavy velvet burgundy drapes. 

Yvonne Koné's shop (Farrow & Ball's Pink Ground) LOOOVE THIS!!! So pretty with grey floors - mine are a couple of shades darker than this.

Paul Raeside

Photo: Tia Borgsmidt Styling: Mette Helena Rasmussen

Katie Lydon (Farrow & Ball's Pink Ground)

Farrow & Ball (Pink Ground on wall and Setting Plaster on trim)

Style Me Pretty - Caitlin Wilson

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Indecisiveness

Do you recall about a month ago when I blogged that I found THE TILE?

I had settled on this one for the vestibule and kitchen, with the wainscoting painted out glossy black and walls in Farrow & Ball Lotus wallpaper in the foyer/stairs/upstairs hallway, and then a 6" white hexagon tile in the foyer (easier than redoing the hardwood in there - that way we can use the stairs while the floors in the dining/living rooms get redone). 

And then Monday we went tile shopping for what might have been the FIFTH time. SHOOT ME. This time it was to find tile to do the area inset in the hardwood in front of the fireplace (and something cheap for inside the fireplace). I did find one of the most beautiful little hexagon tiles I have ever seen.

It cost a small fortune considering the small amount I needed, but I adore it. The mix of greys with different textures is incredible. I think it's going to look fantastic. (I found it at Euro Tile & Stone)

Anyhoo, more to the point is that I came across the most perfect tumbling block patterned tile - my all-time favourite pattern EVER, in the perfect size and colours, and at an ok price. 

Now I am dying a slow death at the thought of passing this up. So maybe I throw caution to the wind and just go with this one. I spent a couple minutes last night doing a really bad photoshopping job to show you my idea. 

What do you think? I cannot pass up free wallpaper (thank you Farrow & Ball!) and this one, Amime, seems to maybe work. (Coincidentally I have a roll of it - I am going to line my glass-front kitchen cabinet with it). This idea is growing on me. VERY QUICKLY.

****To clarify, I would use this tumbling block tile in the vestibule, foyer and through into the kitchen.

I found THE tile!

On Saturday the husband and I went tile shopping YET AGAIN, to a store called Saltillo Tile that sells the most beautiful selection of tile I have ever seen. I was particularly interested in their cement encaustic tiles (thanks Jo for the reminder).

Now, I thought I was pretty much sold on the black and white tile in this post, until I spotted this. 

BEAUUUUUUUUTIFUL!!! It is an 8" cement encaustic tile with a matte finish, and this will go in the kitchen and vestibule. I do have one concern - these tiles are VERY thick. I don't know if removing the subfloor is an option....anyway, we will figure something out because I HAVE to use these. 

After reading and re-reading the comments in my last post on this subject, I have decided to keep my oak flooring in the foyer, dining and living rooms and have it sanded and re-stained. :) While we were looking around at Saltillo I spotted a section of long wood-grain-patterned tiles

I really love that grey tile on the left. If I can find a stain like that (maybe a bit lighter) I think that would be perfect. 

I spotted this vestibule on Design*Sponge - they are cement tiles and look phenomenal. OMG I am so excited!!!

P.S. I probably would have gone with the tumbling block pattern tile because that has always been my favourite but my wimpy husband says looking at the pattern would make him pukey. Yeah, I know. JERK! ;)

Thoughts on new flooring

Instead of a pets on furniture post this morning, you're getting my thoughts on my flooring situation because I am short on submissions once again (if you'd like to submit photos please send them to kim[at]desiretoinspire[dot]net). I had Friday off so the husband and I went tile shopping AGAIN. Ottawa seems to be very limited in anything renovation related, so I have been having a hard time finding anything even remotely interesting, and every store seems to carry the same products. I am desperate to get the flooring situation in my house dealt with soon because I feel like that should be the next step before anything else I tackle. To recap, we are looking to rip up all the hardwood in the vestibule, foyer, living and dining room, and the tile in the kitchen. I want to tile the vestibule, foyer and kitchen and do a rustic looking hardwood in the living and dining rooms. Here are some photos I took when we first moved in of the foyer and vestibule:

Here is the kitchen which leads to the door to the backyard. In the photo above the dining room is to the left with the kitchen behind it, and living room to the right. 

My tiny kitchen. TINY. 

We would tile down to the back door, and this is the little hallway where our fridge resides in a bump-out on the back porch. Strange, I know. 

The kitchen walls have since been painted in Farrow & Ball's Stiffkey Blue, the hardware and lighting have been replaced with brass and we've been waiting almost 2 months for our freaking brass faucet to arrive. 

Farrow & Ball kindly sent me a roll of Anime wallpaper to line my glass cabinet...but since they sent me an entire roll, I was thinking of also wallpapering the wall with the archway leading to the back door. 

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Rearranging, hanging and redecorating

Happy Canada Day fellow Canadians!! It is a miserable day here in the country's capital as it usually seems to be on this, the biggest holiday of the year (WTF). Instead of attempting to enjoy the festivities around the city in the rain I am sitting here at my computer having spent the morning tweaking photos I took last weekend of some decorating and rearranging I did when I managed to find some spare time. So I thought I would share them with you all today before I knock more items off my blog to-do list and then head to my parents for a random turkey dinner. 

I have lived in this house for a year now and had yet to hang anything on the walls, so despite not having painted many rooms, I decided to hang some art in my dining room and office area in my living room before I lose my mind. For my workspace I opted for a picture shelf, that way I can rotate art as frequently as I wish without damaging my plaster walls that are painted in my favourite colour of all time - Farrow & Ball's downpipe. It seems Ikea no longer carries their picture shelves unfinished so I had my husband build me one so I could paint it the wall colour. I really love my little monochromatic office corner now. :)

I would love to replace that Panton chair with a tall plant (perhaps a fiddle leaf fig that I can promptly kill). 

vintage magazine ad from Décadisme and Jieldé from eBay

my treasured crocheted bat by Caitlin T. McCormack

tesla patent letterpress print by Gaslight Electric Sign Co., resin photo by Ronny Ritschel from Lola Dot Studio

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