Really!  For the last 2 ½ weeks I have been staging a huge house (a real biggie!) for real estate sale.  It will be listed for $$ million so a lot of pre-presentation work went into this house.

In total I counted 25 people who at some point throughout the 2 ½ weeks worked on this house.   At times it felt like we were ants crawling all over the house!  Bless the homeowners for being so patient as they lived in the house while all the work was being done.

To get this home ready for Open House presentation I had all the wall-to-wall carpeting ripped out and replaced with hardwood.  Interesting what you sometimes find underneath carpet.  Faux red brick!!!!!

The stairs were treated to new updated wool Berber carpet.  The mint green walls were painted Benjamin Moore White Down, the dark paneling was painted Cloud White and the wallpaper border was stripped off.

Nothing dates a house like light fixtures so many of those were replaced.  

All the outside fencing and decking were re-stained to make them look updated.

The garden was tended to.  All the windows were washed.  A cleaning crew went ‘full-on’ inside for a day.

And the homeowner’s contents were edited.  (!!!)  Then I did my thing – staging and propping.

Needless to say the house looked beautiful in the end.

I love ‘playing house’!

I was so focused on this house I almost missed a beautiful part of spring – the blossoms!

 All images via Modmissy

So what’s the 10 year hold up you ask?

Design.

What should the fence look like, what style do I want?  Should I go with horizontal or vertical fence boards?  Stained or natural?  Should it have modern influences or be more traditional?  And what extra details should be incorporated into the design?

I have posted twice about fence designs. See My Fence Design Dilemma and More Fence Designs. 

Similar to a home’s interior décor I believe a fence requires as much thought to the style and design. 

Recently a neighbour of mine decided it was time to tear down their old dilapidated garage and install a parking pad and build a new privacy fence.  Yeah for me!  The [ugly] garage is now gone and there is a really nice fence to admire.  And…..I love the design.  

The fence boards run horizontally and are staggered in width with narrower boards at the top creating interest and a sense of design.  To break up the abundance of wood 2 panels of sand blasted glass were incorporated giving a contemporary feel to the fence.  

I like the gate hardware, a black lever-style handle, a variation from the norm.  A peep-hole ‘viewing sliver’ has been built into the design also.  

So…..is there hope/inspiration for my fence replacement?

All images via Modmissy

The sweltering heat of July was blowing in through the open windows (non-existent air conditioning!) causing us 4 kids crammed in the back seat to stick together but it did not matter because somehow I had won the coveted position of a window seat.  I had an unimpeded view.  Happy, happy!

On our journey I remember passing by a roadside motel, with a name something like Lakeside Motel or Three Lakes Motel, and thought it funny that there was no lake in sight although there was a pool out front.  The motel was a long, 1-storey stucco building painted bright white with green roof shingles and blue painted doors.  To the side of each blue door was a very ‘mod’ looking chair in bright orange.

I have never forgotten this image – colourful yes, but it was the groovy orange chairs that I fell in love with.

Those chairs were the Solair Chair designed by Canadians, Fabio Fabiano and Michelange Panzini in 1972.   

The designers were recruited by an injected-molding plastics company, Industries Provinciales Ltée, of Quebec to produce a comfortable and stylish modern indoor/outdoor chair.  The chair was designed in one weekend!  The chair fell off the ‘design radar’ for a number of years but has recently made a big comeback.  The Solair chair is now in production and distribution by Industries Emile Lachance Ltée

I recently came across these chairs for sale in a rainbow of colours at The Hudson Bay Company  in downtown Toronto. 

A feeling of nostalgia came over me especially when I realized that my childhood memory is now an iconic piece of Canadian design.  (The chair, not my memory!)

These chairs also reminded me of these juicy colours! 

All images via Modmissy

I hung out for a week with my teenage son and had a lot of fun.

The resort we stayed at had a very relaxed vibe and I attribute that a lot to the style of the lodgings.  All the accommodations were cabana-style with lofted ceilings, white painted bead board on the interior and a view to the garden and/or ocean.  The cabanas were colourfully painted on the outside; turquoise, orange, yellow, green and blue.

St Lucia is a very photographic island with beautiful topography.  One of the best ways to see the island is aboard the water so we took a ride aboard a catamaran and sailed up and down the coastline.

Is there anything more beautiful than a white sail against a blue sky?  Truly the reason why we try to capture the feeling of ‘nautical’ in design.

The majestic twin Peaks ‘The Pitons’ are amazing and not only is the local beer named in their honour but the St Lucia flag is designed with them in mind. 

During the day if we weren’t bobbing in one of the 7 pools the resort had to offer we were lounging on the beach.  

The affinity pool with the swim-up bar was the place to be at cocktail hour!  

And nothing like water and palm trees to make for the most outstanding sunsets!  

All images via Modmissy

]]> http://modmissy.com/2013/04/19/st-lucia/feed/ 6 St Lucia color modmissy Colors of the Caribbean Vacationing in St Lucia Colorful Cabanas Catamaran St Lucia Nautical Inspiration Pitons St Lucia St Lucia beach Infinity Pool Sunset St Lucia http://modmissy.com/2013/04/04/gone-fishing/ http://modmissy.com/2013/04/04/gone-fishing/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:20:31 +0000 Modmissy http://modmissy.com/?p=2122 Continue reading →]]> I have been lusting after warm weather, sunny blue skies and colour – lots of colour so this year I decided to ‘jump-start’ my spring season and have booked myself a Caribbean getaway.

See you in a week!

Image via Modmissy – all paint colours are Benjamin Moore

Image via Modmissy

Kick winter to the curb and do the ‘happy dance’!  You deserve it.

At this time of year the days are longer and brighter.

People just seem happier.  I attest this to colour – with the arrival of spring comes colour; bright, happy colours.

After a long dull winter colour is the mood booster we all need.

Colourful spring bulbs are popping up from the ground.  This photo was taken from my neighbour’s south-facing garden – and the white stuff is snow! If you don’t have any spring flowers take a stroll through a retail venue and get your hit of colour from store displays.  The Hudson Bay Company is totally decked out for spring with colour everywhere throughout the store and a SPRING STARTS HERE event now on. 

While shopping for a desk lamp for an executive client’s office last week I came across this colourful display.  Unfortunately not what ‘Mr. President’ required but it made me pause and smile.

I love this colourful crockery display at Homesense. 

Spring spring is a wonderful thing,

All the colours make your heart sing.

Vibrant green and bright sky blue,

And hits of purple, pink and yellow too.

I adore this wonderful time of year,

It makes me happy and full of cheer!

Enjoy….

All images via Modmissy

Being personally pampered and indulged in all things comforting, calming and relaxing.  Totally therapeutic – right?

I had a few girlfriends ask if I would like to join them for a day at the spa during my week of ‘stay-cation’.

I declined.

I am not a spa girl.

For me my ‘therapy’ is visual.  I would rather spend a day strolling about just looking and seeing.

Often that ‘looking’ involves retail, admiring window displays and set designs that constantly change to reflect colour and trends.  I love to visit art galleries and see the beauty there.  I like to walk about different neighborhoods admiring homes.  I enjoy walking around downtown viewing the architecture of commercial buildings, skyscrapers – both historical and modern. 

I have come to realize that I am not a ‘spa’ girl but rather I am a ‘spatial’ girl! 

Here is what I saw while on my stay-cation. 

An early morning walk to Lake Ontario revealed a scene of tranquil beauty. 

This home renovation made me smile with its colourful plywood framing.

The beautiful blue skies made St James Cathedral seem even more magnificent.

I thought this was really cool how the glass building seemed to disappear into the blue sky!

Of course a visit to the AGO is always a must even if it was to just appreciate the Henry Moore sculpture on the outside of the gallery.

The cantilevered portion of the OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) building in downtown Toronto always makes me pause.  And look….there’s the CN Tower peeking through!

The view from the floor to ceiling windows atop the Sheraton Centre is a great place to get a view of downtown Toronto.

Last week I had a wonderful stay-cation in Toronto seeing all the sites and visiting with family and friends.

All images via Modmissy excluding spa photo: www.blog.invitationbox.com

Next week is school break for our household.  My boys head off to the Rockies for a week of skiing and I am staying home; a stay-cation as I like to call it.

I prefer to set my sights on somewhere warm and colourful.

This photo I took last summer is a retrospect in blues and a reminder that Lake Ontario located at the end of my street can sometimes look like a ‘tropical’ getaway.

So until I book that ‘colourful’ getaway I will just have to imagine.

Have a great weekend!

Image via Modmissy

The former St. Jakobus Church located in Utrecht, Netherlands originally built in 1870 was converted into a beautiful modern townhouse in 2009.

With almost 5000 sq. ft. of living space and ceilings that soar to 14 metres (46 ft.) high the Utrecht-based firm of ZECC Architects undertook the transformation from church to home with a great attention to light, space and functionality.

Truly a ‘heavenly’ transformation!

Images via ZECC Architects