A Little Mood Board Action...

I created this mood board a couple months ago and had the opportunity to pop by this glamour space this week to see how it's all rolling along. I LOVE it! My girlfriend has great style and likes a bit of glam and sparkle in her life. It's been so fun working on this space together and she's been open to trying out new things. I'm looking forward to having our first cocktail in her new pad next week. Items have changed since this mood board but here is the original vision. After looking around my very messy (and not so glamorous) house this morning I kinda want to move in! Enjoy!

Spa Updates

This project is right up my alley - I'm working on some updates to a spa! In my 'research' of the spa experience, I like an atmosphere that feels fresh, airy and calming. The main floor of the spa has been painted and wow - what a difference paint can make! I'll share some photos soon. We went from yellow to a fresh white and blue palette. Here is the mood board and I kept everything to simple changes all from Ikea and Urban Barn to keep it accessible. I think it's time for me to book a facial as part of my further 'research' to this project. Enjoy...

Project "Ma & Pa Downtown Pad"

This one is coming along nicely. I mentioned in a previous post that I am decorating two condos, in the same building, for a couple of very high maintenance clients (kidding, well sort of?) - my parents and friend of 25 years.

Project "Ma & Pa's Downtown Pad" (catchy name heh) is coming along very quickly and I'm lovin it. I'm a bit obsessed with the colour palette blue, white, grey with hits of brass. To be honest I did have to convince the "Pa" side of this project to go this direction as he was more into over stuffed couches with rolled arms kinda thing. I assured him we could do comfort and style. I mean if you're going to be in Yaletown you need a bit of modern in your life.

Here is the design board I created for them and so far we've got the rug, couch and blue chairs. Some of the items are a bit hard to see but I also found this amazing owl print that I really, really hope they buy. I want to do a painted wallpaper and I also found some awesome vintage chairs for the table that just need a little TLC. I love the mix of texture in this room and thinking this is pretty much how I'm going to decorate if we ever flippin sell our house (sorry, we've had so many showings this past week I'm getting a bit bitter!).

Some real live shots to come of this project soon I hope! Enjoy....

I LOVE this chair so much. It's the perfect shade of blue. via Westelm

Hello brass bar cart! Thinking this instead of a side table. via Crate & Barrel

I actually really want boots in this exact colour. I think this chair is a bit unexpected and fun. via CB2

Hoot Hoot! Sorry. Hoping we can get this in a large print. via Parliament

Velvet leopard - need I say more. via Etsy

New Year...New Style?

Warning: This post feels a bit narcissistic for a people pleaser like myself but it's what I'm doing right now after my 2 babes are in bed, with a glass of vino at my computer. One of my so called goals this year was to simplify things. I literally want to clear everything out of our house and start fresh. It's not that I don't like the items, I just want to live a little more simply. This also applies to my 'style.' I like a lot of different styles and fashion. I used to be in the corporate world which required one kind of look, I then moved to motherhood where I'm not really sure where that look landed, and I'm now venturing out to explore my creative side so time to be that in every way possible. 

I don't have the time I used to get dressed in the morning. This is how it goes down - I have my 4 year old completely redecorating my bedroom and my 1 year old crying at my leg and both wanting to put on my lipgloss? This gives me about 15 minutes or so. Knowing this is where I'm at in my life I've decided to change a couple things. One being I'm going to embrace the curly hair that I have been resisting all my life and the second being I'm going to have a 'uniform' for daily life - mom and work. I saw this recent pic and I'm going to channel the look - jeans, button-ups, fun jewerly and effortless looking hair. When searching for hair inspiration, I seem to have come across one that stands out...can you tell? She too has the curly locks and I'm going to give them a bit of a go. I should mention that my hubby has been telling me to do this for years. So now that I've completely bored you with my self absorbed rambling....here we go...here is my new look! What a loser :-) Enjoy...

Friends, don't mock me when you see my in the uniform next time :-)

Effortless

Natural waves I'm channelling you!

This is I guess the same shot but just hammering home my style

Love this Project!

I had the pleasure of working with a fantastically lovely lady on her home office recently. When we met she told me she wanted the room to be feminine and soft and she referred to a picture from Sarah Richardson on my blog. Can we say 'soul mates!'

It was a great project that involved making a room beautiful but also functional. This was not a big space and believe it or not we space planned a working station, reading area and craft/storage space all in this one room. The finishing touches are being added and I can't wait to share it with you.

Here is the mood board. There were a few minor changes but it pretty much has these items. Doing this room has really got me dreaming of my own home office. I'm waiting to see if our house sells before moving forward with it, but I know what vibe I'm looking for. Anyway, back to this space. Enjoy!

This sums it up...

Taking a while to get back to reality? I am. I'm excited about this year though. I feel like I went through a period of time doing things that I didn't always love and even though I understand some of that is part of life I'm committed to spending my time doing the things and being with the people who fill me up.

Instead of goals I wrote a list of things I'm looking forward to this year. I won't bore you to death with the list but a couple faves are hopefully moving back to the city (Vancouver...woot, woot!) and working on some fun decorating projects with fantastic people. I have been wanting to step out on this front for years and am finally getting the b@##$ to do it!  I'm currently working on 2 downtown condos and I'm so excited about them. They happen to both be in the same building and I know 'the clients' very well. One is a friend of over 25 years (yes, we met when we were 2) and the other is my dear old parents who are trying to be hipsters in the big city!

Okay, back on track to my original posting. I found this quote pinned by Lulu and Drew (check out her art work on etsy - gorgeous!) and wanted to share. This pretty much sums up how I feel and thought it might speak to you as well. Enjoy!

The Right Chandelier!

I'm on the hunt. The hunt for the right chandelier for some very dear and cool friends. Actually, the husband has put in the request, and since I don't get a lot of 'hubby requests' I feel an added pressure to find the perfect fit. As some of our favourite peeps, I would describe their style as a little mid century, a little industrial, a little eclectic and also warm and inviting. Currently they have a chandelier that says "glamour" and as I'm working on a few "glamour" projects right now it's fun to switch gears to something a little more edgy. I thought this was a good way to show H&K what I found (and get a blog post). Enjoy!

PS: I have a little confession. I'm addicted to Instagram. Yes, it's true. I've tried to stay away from all the
'look how great my life is' stuff on Facebook but Instagram has me hooked. You can find me at karlaldreyer. I will try to keep it real!

The direction I got was industrial. Se here we have it. I likey. via CB2

For a long table this one is very cool. To amp it up even more you could have 2 of them (10 lights) via CB2

Little hard to see on the photo but this is unique and industrial. via Parliament

You can't go wrong with this one and comes in different finishes. Love the brass inside. via Restoration Hardware

This one is sort of space like but fun. via Restoration Hardware

I saw a great knock off of this one at Homesense! via Restoration Hardware

Definitely a statement piece. One of my faves. via Chinz and Co.

They also are looking for a new table. This one comes in a couple different sizes and I love. It's by The Novagratz (look them up - I'm obsessed). It's so family friendly and cool. Via CB2

But I think this table is so very them. I can see it in their place and love it! Via CB2

What's your Style?

I'll warn you now, this post might be a bit on the tangent side. I've sat down about 3 times this week to write a post, started one and then just felt like I was writing something because I 'should' and feeling inauthentic about it. Got me thinking about why I started this blog. I was in the corporate working world and this was a way for me to get out the creative brewing inside me. Now as a mom and having not gone back to the dark side of corporate life I am looking again at why I do this blog? I want to share. I think I have some ideas that might be fun for others. A way to get the swirlings in my head out on paper (well, sort of).

This rambling leads me to a post that is sharing (check), that I think might be fun for others (check, I hope?) and yes, gets the swirlings (is that a word?) out of my head. My girlfriend (amazing photographer - check out her work here)  and I were talking about a session she had done years ago to help her define her style. She can probably explain this better, but basically the goal was to come up with two words that defined her taste. Actually, thinking out loud here, I should have asked her what that was as I'm helping her with few decor items right now!? Anyway, I think if we all knew our 'style' it would help with the choices we make in our home, in decor, in fashion - you know, all the really important decisions in life!

I think I'm in a transition right now for my style. I typically like things that look soft, feminine, white (still love that), a little sparkle. Probably 'contemporary romance.' I just made that up but sounds good. I'm now leaning toward 'contemporary whimsical' - yes, I just made that up too. As we're still hoping to make the move back into the city (Vancouver) this of course gets me thinking about how I see the new pad. I think it will be less fussy, a tad more eclectic, and a bit more whimsical. One thing I know for sure is that I'm feeling cluttered right now which leads to a cluttered mind so there will be some major clearing going on.

Here are a few pics of things inspiring me. They are a bit random - let's call them contemporary whimsy. Thanks for letting me vent. Enjoy...

Loved this room for a long time. Will have to incorporate some of this in my life.

Here is that whimsy part. I like the idea of working in this space.

Style that is still family friendly! Just wipe down those chairs and a table that looks good with a few marks.

Just love it, many reasons.

Styling with storage - actually that will be the 2 word 'style statement' of our new place for sure!

Have to do this for my girls.

Animal print and chalboard paint - what could be better?

Images via: Domino, Emily Henderson, Style at Home, House and Home, Pinterest, Caitlin Wilson Design

Oh, How I Love it!

I'm obsessed. There, I said it. The latest edition of Style at Home Magazine did a Christmas spread with the co-owner of one of my all time favourite stores - The Cross in Vancouver, BC. Her home, the styling, the photos and those adorable children...so beautiful! I love all the soft colours and gold with a splash of vintage mixed in. My favourite tip for Christmas, from this, is the fairy lights she has displayed around the mirror, so precious.

The Cross always has amazing styling and love all the little touches added to this home.  Enjoy!

Whistler Inspiration!

I have a sticker on my car that says "Whistler is my Happy Place." I know, I'm a nerd like that, but it's true. I have been going to Whistler, BC since I was a kid and with just a 2 hour drive from home it's one of our family's favourite little get-aways.

I'm excited to be working on a little project at my 'happy place.' The condo is a great open space but a wee bit old school in some of the finishings. So far we have painted, new counter tops, new sinks, appliances and kitchen knobs. What a difference (before and after shots to come). We are working on a budget and it's amazing what you can do with a little inspiration from the local Home Depot.

Next, we're moving on to the fun part - the furniture! Here are few shots for inspiration. We are thinking neutrals and lots of texture and maybe even a little 'woodsy' wallpaper thrown in there for fun. I thought these pics are nice to share as this time of year we can all add a nice throw or new pillows to make our home a little more cozy/cabin feel. Enjoy!

Images via Pinterest, Homedesign, archdaily