Well Hello! First off, Thank You for stopping by. Secondly, this is pretty big for me as this will be my first ever blog post! Mainly, This blog is going to be used to document some ideas I have floating around, some current projects/collaborations I'm working on, and to talk about some decor related inspirations of mine right now and for the future.
I figured a good place to start is my most recent project, which is helping my very dear friend Spencer decorate her brand new condo in Oakville, Ontario. Spencer and I have been friends for years, so when she asked me to help her make her new place feel like home, there was absolutely no hesitation to say yes! Having recently come out of a long term relationship in which she moved out of her parent's house and in with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for a little over a year, Spencer initially wasn't all that excited about the prospect of living by herself. With a little positivity, some friendly pep-talks and some beautiful concept ideas for what her new bachelorette pad could turn out to be, she finally came around and has been just the most fun to work with so far.
Spencer's condo is in a brand spankin' new development in an up-and-coming area of Oakville. It's a one bedroom, with a lovely window lined living room, stylish kitchen, eating nook/office area and plenty of room for her cats Whinnie and Ozzy to roam and get up to no good. Since she has the opportunity to make it as much of a reflection of herself as she can, over lunch I asked her for four words to describe her style and how she would want her space to feel, to which she replied : Bohemian, vintage, comfy and a little bit glamorous. Talk about FUN! I tend to consider my personal style somewhat similar so I already had some ideas floating around. I asked her to go around to some of her favourite stores and take some pictures of pieces that she absolutely loved, whether clothing or decor, that we could use to pull some inspiration out of. A few days later, she sent me some great jumping points. (See gallery below)
Decorating this space won't be without it's challenges. First is the fact that Spencer has some high-end taste and a student budget. This isn't scaring me though because as a recent student myself, I know what it's like to want a lot of impact for not a lot of money. It just means we're going to have to get creative, which I am down for in a heart beat- I do love a good Crafternoon after all! Secondly, there's the challenge of the fact that she's renting the space and doesn't own it. In my opinion this isn't a big deterrent, because the reality of Interior Decorating is just using the bones of what the space is and finding everything else to make it fabulous, which I think We can TOTALLY do with a rental- the issue lies in the renter. Spencer has it in her mind that because she's renting, she shouldn't invest in anything long term, such as big ticket furniture items or paint even. I understand this to some extent because she doesn't necessarily know where life will take her in the next year or so which is completely natural. I just think she has yet to see that if you pick the right piece, with a price tag that doesn't blow you out of the water, and that has a bit of versatility to it, it can end up being something that she brings with her wherever she ends up and doesn't have to worry about buying again in the future. Helping her realize this and do everything in a way that's going to make her feel financially comfortable and over-the-moon with how it all looks in the end is where I come in!
Spencer REALLY loves Anthropologie (Hard not to when you're a young woman living in her own little space), but Anthropologie is expensive for someone on a student budget. The trick here will be to figure out what it is about the shop that she likes(aka the style of hard/soft goods and the consistent elements of design within the pieces she chooses to show me), which items are worth the payment, and then which items we can get the look of for less. Below are some pictures of the inspiration she sent me, as well as some pictures of the space. I'm really really excited to get this ball rolling and help my friend get herself to a point where not only does she absolutely LOVE living by herself in her new space, but that she'll be only willing to leave for the absolute right guy ;)
You go, Glen CoCo.
-Elise
I figured a good place to start is my most recent project, which is helping my very dear friend Spencer decorate her brand new condo in Oakville, Ontario. Spencer and I have been friends for years, so when she asked me to help her make her new place feel like home, there was absolutely no hesitation to say yes! Having recently come out of a long term relationship in which she moved out of her parent's house and in with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for a little over a year, Spencer initially wasn't all that excited about the prospect of living by herself. With a little positivity, some friendly pep-talks and some beautiful concept ideas for what her new bachelorette pad could turn out to be, she finally came around and has been just the most fun to work with so far.
Spencer's condo is in a brand spankin' new development in an up-and-coming area of Oakville. It's a one bedroom, with a lovely window lined living room, stylish kitchen, eating nook/office area and plenty of room for her cats Whinnie and Ozzy to roam and get up to no good. Since she has the opportunity to make it as much of a reflection of herself as she can, over lunch I asked her for four words to describe her style and how she would want her space to feel, to which she replied : Bohemian, vintage, comfy and a little bit glamorous. Talk about FUN! I tend to consider my personal style somewhat similar so I already had some ideas floating around. I asked her to go around to some of her favourite stores and take some pictures of pieces that she absolutely loved, whether clothing or decor, that we could use to pull some inspiration out of. A few days later, she sent me some great jumping points. (See gallery below)
Decorating this space won't be without it's challenges. First is the fact that Spencer has some high-end taste and a student budget. This isn't scaring me though because as a recent student myself, I know what it's like to want a lot of impact for not a lot of money. It just means we're going to have to get creative, which I am down for in a heart beat- I do love a good Crafternoon after all! Secondly, there's the challenge of the fact that she's renting the space and doesn't own it. In my opinion this isn't a big deterrent, because the reality of Interior Decorating is just using the bones of what the space is and finding everything else to make it fabulous, which I think We can TOTALLY do with a rental- the issue lies in the renter. Spencer has it in her mind that because she's renting, she shouldn't invest in anything long term, such as big ticket furniture items or paint even. I understand this to some extent because she doesn't necessarily know where life will take her in the next year or so which is completely natural. I just think she has yet to see that if you pick the right piece, with a price tag that doesn't blow you out of the water, and that has a bit of versatility to it, it can end up being something that she brings with her wherever she ends up and doesn't have to worry about buying again in the future. Helping her realize this and do everything in a way that's going to make her feel financially comfortable and over-the-moon with how it all looks in the end is where I come in!
Spencer REALLY loves Anthropologie (Hard not to when you're a young woman living in her own little space), but Anthropologie is expensive for someone on a student budget. The trick here will be to figure out what it is about the shop that she likes(aka the style of hard/soft goods and the consistent elements of design within the pieces she chooses to show me), which items are worth the payment, and then which items we can get the look of for less. Below are some pictures of the inspiration she sent me, as well as some pictures of the space. I'm really really excited to get this ball rolling and help my friend get herself to a point where not only does she absolutely LOVE living by herself in her new space, but that she'll be only willing to leave for the absolute right guy ;)
You go, Glen CoCo.
-Elise