Oh how I love to dream...

(image via charm hill Interiors)

Thumbing through one of my old Veranda issues searching for colour inspiration I was reminded of this absolutely exquisite kitchen designed by Jack Arnold. Mr Arnold is famous for his surperb luxury country French designs. He nails the authentic French look down to the finest of details.

To me, kitchens just don't get much better than this. The black cabinetry with gilding and ironwork is ultimate feature. The countertops, sinks and wall tiles are all Carerra marble. The antique chandelier is from Avignon, France.

Here is another view of this heavenly workspace from the Bentwood Kitchens website. What makes me happy while viewing the luxurious details is that I have been able to copy somewhat some of the design principles for my own kitchen on a far more modest budget. I have white cabinetry with a black stone countertop therefore kinda sorta the same lol. I have iron hardware and scrolly bakers stand, copper pots, vintage pottery, goose neck faucet, greenery by the way of potted herbs on the window sil and beautiful recipe books on display. What I do need now is a wooden wall plate rack, new oven and french style rangehood, a glass canister filled with lemons and definately one of those apple bowls!

Well a new year is around the corner, who knows what adventures it will bring.

Have a wonderful weekend and good luck trying to find parking at the malls! ;)

A Beautiful Kitchen...

I'm sure most of you have already seen these images but just incase you haven't I had to spread the love of this amazingly beautiful kitchen.

I noticed lately alot of my favourite blogs were posting images of kitchen love so I decided to jump on this band wagon and post my favourite.

This kitchen belongs to the truly talented and gorgeous Sara Duckett, entrepreneur (she has her own online boutique selling French wares as well as web and graphic design), blog author and now photographer all under the name of Sadie Olive.

Sara even designed my stunning header that I'm still so in love with :)

Sara's kitchen is a stunning example of classic meets contemporary with a charming french flair.

Really this kitchen looks very basic. Thats why I love it so. Anyone could create a beautiful kitchen like this. I love Sara's adventurous use of painted, panelled and tiled wall treatments. I adore her choice of granite colour and my favourite element would have to be the breakfast bar featuring the scrolly iron brackets - too die for! Sara's sense of class and style is evident in everything she does.

Sara's home has also been featured in romantic homes magazine. Visiting her lovely blog to see all her fabulous creations is a must!

Quick and dirty...

Charming homes in downtown Fredericton...

Funny name for a post, isn't it? Well, it best describes my weekend and (stat holiday) Monday. We decided to blow back into our old university stomping grounds of Fredericton, N.B. this past weekend. My brother, Alistair, and his wife just built another new home there(I've lost track of what number this is...) and since my hubby never got to see the last one...and thus we were long overdue for a visit...we decided to pack up Friday to see them. We got in just in time for a delicious ham dinner cooked by my sweet SIL, Denise, on Friday evening and had a jam-packed weekend which ended with us leaving for home after breakfast (bacon and eggs) on Sunday. Denise is quite the cook, and is also a great friend...we actually lived together while we were both in university and she was dating my brother. We had a great time shopping (of course), eating, laughing, and sipping cheap bubbly (as I always prefer...) and the time FLEW!!

***edited to add: Guess what hubby bought himself while we were shopping?? Yep, a nice, new plaid shirt...in Christmasy colours...and he was as happy as a lark when he spied it. "Good quality", you see, (Woolrich's), and "sooo cozy". He looked so earnest that I had to relent. What's one more??***

We also hooked up with "old" friends from UNB and all the kids had a great time hanging out, too. It was kind of a last minute trip, due to all of our busy schedules, and Denise and Alistair just moved into their new home two weeks ago! So...we came, we saw, we conquered...and then flew back home (well, not literally...hubby, aka Mr. Magoo, was driving...).We returned home to some pretty angry cats (they hate each other) and our own beds, sans Sophie, who had insisted on sharing our bed while away!!

Monday was the stat holiday ( in lieu of Sunday being Remembrance Day) and I was actually scheduled for two consultations that day, so the day went by quickly and the kids enjoyed a quiet day off from school. Since I haven't quite got on the meal planning bandwagon that hubby keeps singing the praises of, I have been yanking out my neglected recipes and would like to share with you one of my family's favourites: (as per Wendy's request)

Spicy Garlic Noodles with Chicken (or pork or beef):

1/2 pkg fettucine.. ...............1 tbsp dark sesame oil

1 bunch broccoli ............1 and 1/2 tsp hot chili-garlic sauce

1 lg carrot (julienned).....4 garlic cloves (or 2 1/2 tsp bottled garlic)

1 bell pepper, julienned...............1 tbsp veg. oil

1-2 lbs chicken, pork or beef ..........1/4 cup water

1 tbsp cornstarch ............................1/2 cup Teriyaki sauce

**Cook pasta according to directions; drain. Cut up the veggies (use your favourites...I also add lots of sliced mushrooms). Cut meat into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, stir cornstarch with 2 tbsp of the Teriyaki sauce until dissolved. Stir in remaining Teriyaki sauce, sesame oil, chili-garlic sauce and garlic. Set aside.

Coat frying pan with the veg. oil and cook meat over med-high heat. Stir, then pour in the Teriyaki mixture and veggies. Pour in the water. Stir often until veggies are done to taste. Toss the veggie/meat mixture with the hot pasta and serve. Makes a generous amount of food!!

**Here are a few pictures of my brother and SIL's new home. They insisted I not show too much, as it is not 100% finished, but I had to show you their beautiful new kitchen in particular...

The appliances of my dreams...

I shouldn't want what is not necessary. We all feel this to an extent, so why can we not suppress these decorating urges? Luckily, in my case, the sheer cost of these beautiful kitchen appliances stops me in my tracks! That's not to say if money was no object they wouldn't be mine...
These appliances are from Elmira Stove Works, a Canadian company (gasp!!) and can be viewed online at www.elmirastoveworks.ca . I love the gorgeous colours and would be torn between the butter yellow and robin's egg blue. However, if I was a single gal the pink would be standing in my kitchen with a huge chandelier hanging over my island! The other items on my wishlist would be a farmhouse sink, a tin ceiling, and a fireplace with a gorgeous cream chaise in front of it. Obviously the kitchen would have to be the size of my whole house of the moment! Hmmm... perhaps the chaise would have to be for the "single me" as my kids and cats would ruin it with sticky fingers and dirty paws. I'll dream on and hopefully I'll get to decorate such a kitchen for a client someday. That would be more practical!!

Message Centers... at your service

The picture to the right is my first message center:



A message center was something I decided I had to have in my last home. I was tired of losing my phonebook, having nowhere to post notices/pictures, having a jumble of pens/pencils/crayons, etc. So off to the drawing board in my mind.
I took a large,plain bulletin board I got for $1 at the fleamarket and covered it with black and white ticking fabric and painted the frame black. This was mounted on the wall. A great storage caddy from Ikea I used for the kids' pencils and pens. I framed all my families frequently used numbers on the wall near the phone; and used the large drawer for the phonebook, stationery, craft supplies and paper. In the bottom cupboard I placed extra school supplies, play-doh, coloring books, etc.
In my present home, I have a smaller message center and a great chalkboard across from it. I hang my calendar near the phone ready to jot down important dates and I keep Sophie's colouring books in a great vintage metal picnic basket I got at a fleamarket. I think I will add a curtain to the bookshelf area so I can hide the inevitable junkmail that ends up on the shelves. I absolutely love the chalkboard that my husband made me and consider it "my brains." I think I depend on it too much as I was at a complete loss before he finally made it and hung it on the wall. He said he never rushed a project so much because I was forgetting everything!!!
Great organization thrills me and it's probably a blessing in disguise that my husband is messy because I could get quite obsessed by it. I wouldn't mind if he was tidier, though. I admit to my clients that I struggle with organization issues too, because of my family. One of the favorite aspects of my business is when I get called on to do an organization job. My mantra: a place for everything and everything in its place... words to live by, or at least strive for!!

p.s. the desk phone is one I got at Walmart a few years back. It is identical to one found in Pottery Barn. I love a bargain!!!

The quest for the perfect kitchen...

I have had many kitchens of my own as a result of my gypsy nature (which luckily my husband also shares). We have built five homes and renovated two. We get "itchy feet" every spring and haul out the house plan books ,poring over each and every one to find the perfect plan. This never actually happens, as we are yet to find a plan that we don't tweak to death. The killer for many of the plans is a lack of a mudroom (which I'll address in a later entry) and a less than perfect kitchen layout.
What is it about kitchens and our need to have this room fulfill all of our culinary and emotional needs? One of my favorite things to do when I go on an evening stroll is to see into people's front windows and glimpse a family sitting down to a meal together. It looks so perfectly cozy and brings me back to my girlhood desire to have my family sit together that way. I come from a family of six children with a mum who served up our dinners in no particular order, short-order cook style. We plunked ourselves down on the nearest available chair, gulped our meal down (to avoid vulturous brothers) and off we'd go. I know, for me, that is why my kitchens are always planned to invite one to stay seated and enjoy the view, and hopefully the food!
I believe kitchens should be functional, attractive, organized (or at least open to organization), and welcoming. Although my sister would challenge me on this assertion, I don't believe they should look perfect. Today I did a kitchen design consultation with a client, and knowing her wants and needs, I had done my homework in order to be able to present her with what I instinctively knew would work for her tastes. I had browsed through some decorating mags to have pics to show her and I could not believe how many looked exactly the same! White cabinetry, large island, vintage faucet, pefect tiles, the perfunctory granite or carrera marble countertops, apron sink, etc. Now don't get me wrong- all of these features are beautiful, current, and coveted by many (including me). But, they were so identical, that they looked like the same designer/decorator had done them all! What has happened to color, eclectism, personal taste in artwork (even if it is your kids' creations)? Does everything have to match perfectly and be what is expected? My sister is a great example of decorating with a knowledge of what is current, tempered with a thumbing of her nose to what is common. She instinctively decorates with what she loves and makes it work. I am more about the big picture. I have the vision in my head and am more planned in my approach. She decorates as she goes and meets with the same degree of success. Two entirely different looks, equally pleasing, but I can't help but wonder if her kitchens are more "homey."
...(sigh) Oh well, I do love my kitchen of the moment, which I have no intention of leaving for many (okay, 4-5) years. I selected a blue-gray colour for the cabinetry, I have my beloved "candy shop counter" island, apothecary drawers, school house lighting, open shelving, crystal knobs and library pulls. It is as close to perfect as I can afford at the moment....but why, oh why, do I still dream about apron sinks and vintage appliances?... I guess I'm just as bad as all the other predictable people!!!