Sweet Retreat: Lavender Master Bedroom

It's finally time to take a look at the master bedroom in the new condo. The room is an average size for a Toronto condo, about 10' x 12', which is just the right amount of space for an upholstered queen size bed & two 24" bedside tables. The lamps & bedside tables were from my previous home, but I ordered a new upholstered Decor-Rest bed (Canadian made!) from G.H. Johnson's 6 weeks before I moved in. The bed ended up being ready earlier than expected, and G.H. Johnson's were kind enough to hold it in their warehouse until I was ready to have it delivered.

The wall colour was chosen several months before moving in (see this post & this post), but I had to wait for drywall repairs to be taken care of before painting could go ahead. I opted to paint both walls and trim in Gown, a soft and serene shade of lavender from Sarah Richardson's designer palette for Para Paints. This colour is very restful, which is just what I need :)

After living in a fishbowl for several months, I bit the bullet and had drapes custom made to cover the floor to ceiling east facing windows. Working with Parallele Interiors, I chose a gauzy neutral and opted for an inverted pleat style. The end result is very luxurious, and these drapes serve their purpose, blocking out both the morning sun and any potential peepers.

There are still a few missing pieces in the room, such as artwork or maybe a papered accent wall, but in its current state of simplicity the space is perfectly restful. And that's what it's all about, right?

Source Guide:
Upholstered Bed, Decor-Rest, ordered through G.H. Johnson's
Paint, Gown (SR9), Para Paints
Bedding, Magnolia by Gluckstein Home, purchased at Hudson's Bay
Lamps & Lamp Shades, Aquiesse Candle HomeSense
Bedside Tables, Magnolia (discontinued), EQ3
Toss Pillow Fabrics, Designer Fabrics
Toss Pillow Sewing, Fine Interiors by Susan
Drapes, Fabric, Sewing, Hardware & Installation, Parallele Interiors
Brass Tray, Thrifted, Value Village
Rosenthal Vase, Christie Antiques Show

Can You Handle It?

Last year, when it came time to choose finishes for the new suite, I was working with a budget of pretty much zero dollars. At my selection appointment I chose to upgrade just 2 items. First, an undermount kitchen sink, a must have for sweeping crumbs straight off the countertop and into the sink:

  
Second was to upgrade the floor tile in both bathrooms after falling in love with Ciot's polished marble in French Vanilla. A worthy splurge considering its natural beauty:

That was the extent of it. Everything else came standard as determined by the developers' chosen design firm, Crayon Design. I'm happy with the finishes, but I recently got the itch to change one little thing. I decided to swap out the brushed nickel pulls in the master bath for a pair of crystal handles. I love a touch of pretty!

So...Can you handle it?

So gorgeous!!

By the way, the master bath will eventually need a coat of paint on the walls, and I'm not sure which way to go. Any ideas?

Sunrise, Sunset

One of the best things about the new condo is the orientation of my suite. The windows in the living room and master bedroom face east, giving an incredible view of Toronto's downtown skyline. On the flip side, the guest bedroom, balcony and living room face northwest, providing vistas all the way to Pearson International.

Of course this also means catching the occasional sunrise...

 

...and spectacular sunsets too!

Photos via CherishToronto on Instagram

The NeverEnding Story

If you ever hear me refer to my home's decor and you catch the words "I'm done"...it means I intend to be done, but I'm not done. That's just the way it works; there's always another layer to add. My very own never ending story.

Once the drapes are up in both bedrooms, I will officially have run out of funds. It's time to put my nose to the grindstone, work hard this summer and rebuild my depleted savings. During that time, I'll most likely come up with a million ideas, some of which will fall by the wayside and some which will eventually come to fruition.

Just this past weekend I placed an order for wallpaper samples. I love all of these beautiful papers!! Of course I'll have to decide where to use them. In the front entry? On the dining room wall? As an accent wall in the master bedroom? So many possibilities...

Clockwise from top left: Thibaut Papagayo (Cream), Nina Campbell Swan Lake (White), Thibaut Augustine (Blue), Thibaut Ting Yuan (Cream), Shand Kydd Budgie (Navy).

For those of you who have been waiting patiently for another room reveal, I'm hoping to get photos of the master bedroom soon. It's a tricky room to photograph due to lighting, so I'm hoping for a bright & sunny weekend :-)

Small Pieces

I've always thought of creating a comfortable home as a process, it rarely happens overnight (unless, of course, you have elves).  Time is spent gathering all of the pieces and then fitting them together just like a jigsaw puzzle. Some pieces are BIG and some pieces are small, but all of the elements have importance in the overall picture.

One of the small things I needed to take care of were new covers for the lumbar cushions that go on the living room slipper chairs. Since I love to tackle my own projects (let's be honest, I take on most of these projects to save $$), I figured I could whip up a pair. Sure, I had made these cushion covers before (see 2009 & 2011), but this time I wanted something a bit fancier...

...I wanted the cushions to have velvet on the front half, a woven graphic on the back half, a fold, sunburst gold buttons and an invisible zipper. I recently had a similar pair professionally sewn for the master bedroom, so I thought, "If someone else can do it, why can't I?" As it turns out, I can do it :-) Yay, me!!

Ta-Da!!!

 

Please take note of the invisible zipper, which I have now MASTERED: