Colorful Lounge for Alberta Fashion Week

 

Photo courtesy of Alberta Fashion Week 2010 via 442 McAdam

Alberta Fashion Week is a dynamic event held in Calgary showcasing some of our home-grown talent. If you are a lover of high fashion these fashion shows can’t be missed! Throughout the week designers showcase their creations as their models strut down the runway. After each show a fabulous party is held to honor the talent and vision of these incredible designers. Being a fashion lover myself, I couldn’t resist involving my interior design company, Corea Sotropa Interior Design.  We were sponsors of the event, and we also provided a cool lounge space for the Kick Off Party held at the Art Gallery of Calgary.

We began with a space in the gallery that had great lighting, hardwood floors and white walls. Our concept was to create a colorful, modern dressing room inspired lounge space where guests could mix and mingle and look fabulous. There was only one week before the party for us to pull everything together. And we had just a few hours to set up, so that meant we needed as many hands on deck as we could get! Here’s a behind the scenes look at how we set up this cool event space.

Furniture is carefully unwrapped and put into place.

We dive into mounds of packing paper and bubble wrap to free all the amazing accessories we have found to decorate the space.

Colorful flowers were in order so I created several different arrangements of a single type of bloom for maximum impact. Grouping several arrangements together is an easy but interesting way to showcase the blooms.

What a mess! That’s me on the left commanding the troops!

Patti placing the battery operated candles (we couldn’t use open flame in the gallery). Look how fast those hands are moving!

Here’s me creating a last-minute flower arrangement.

After two hours we had finished primping and were ready for guests to arrive. Here’s the overall shot of the lounge we created.

We provided a bar for specialty drinks to be served. The top of this parson’s table needed a pop of color so we spray painted a piece of plexiglass turquoise and placed it on top. The over-scaled yellow lamp we borrowed from Peridot and the metallic ceramic stools are courtesy of Maria Tomas.   The white parson’s table and marble bust were borrowed from Grand Gallery Imports.

On the opposite side of the bar we needed a little sitting area and the zebra print bench from my own bedroom was the perfect perch. The massive white lacquered floor mirror from Peridot was a crowd pleaser and since we could not lean anything against the walls of the gallery its stand was the perfect answer. The fashionista guests wanted to see how good they looked from head to toe and this area was a popular spot to check themselves and everyone else out!

These chairs we picked up for a song at Homesense, but the fabric they were upholstered in was not a pretty sight. We quickly had them reupholstered in this cheerful yellow cotton and the final result was wow! Their line was simple and we knew reupholstered they would be the brilliant pop of color we needed.

A close up of the chairs and the whimsical black and white side table from Domaine Furniture.  I’ve been seeing horns used in high fashion interiors for a while and when I spotted this pair in Maria Tomas, I had to use them in the lounge! Pier One had a colorful selection of pillows like these fuchsia chenille ones which we snapped up in a hurry!

This ornate console table gets modern thanks to its black lacquered finish. The table is from Grand Gallery Imports. I really like the stark contrast between the white parrot lamp and the traditional table. No dressing room is complete without a collection of inspiring fashion books like these ones from Indigo which we placed under the lamp.

The charcoal velvet chaise from Homesense was the perfect solution for this room. Guests could sit on either side and chat with friends comfortably.

A collection of pillows makes this lounge extra plush. The beaded zebra print from Pier One and the turquoise silk from Chintz and Company are a great counterpoint to the ruffled yellow pillow picked up from Homesense. When we came across that ruffled pillow I thought we had struck gold! The pretty dressmaker detailing was the ideal thing for a fashion party!

Screens were required for the backdrop on this side of the lounge because of a permanent television set that was mounted to the wall. These mirrored ones from Chintz did a great job of hiding it. Bohemian pillows from Maria Tomas add pattern on the yellow chairs. The cocktail table was borrowed from Grand Gallery Imports and the foot statuary on it was also courtesy of Maria Tomas.

The zebra print theme is carried through with this eye-catching chest from Grand Gallery Imports. On top, we placed a brass bamboo mirrored tray from Maria Tomas. Trays are great to use on tables like these because they ground the grouping of accessories and add another interesting layer. For more information on creating vignettes like this one check out my earlier post called “How to Decorate a Console Table” .

Now that the lounge was finished we were ready to join the other spectators and enjoy the fashion show. Here’s a shot of my team from Corea Sotropa Interior Design.  Carolyn, our intern is sitting to the left with Patti, our office manager behind her. Meghan, one of my design associates is standing on the right with me, Jacqueline, principal designer sitting in front. We clean up pretty good! Ashley, our senior designer helped me shop till we dropped days before but is not photographed here since she was away on holiday during the set up. Special thanks also to our upholsterer Emma’s Upholstery and our delivery crew, OC Delivery.

I hope you enjoyed this inside look into creating this lounge space for this incredible fashion event for Alberta Fashion Week. We had so much fun pulling everything together and hope to do more events like this in the future.

Cheers!

Selecting Artwork for the Novice Collector

Most clients of ours who have not purchased original art work before find it an intimidating and daunting task. Even entering a gallery can cause nervous jitters. I believe this is because original art tends to be a high ticket item, and clients are afraid to make a wrong choice or have little experience in the art form itself. But here’s the secret. You don’t need to know a thing about the technique, and biography of the artist before you enter a gallery. You don’t need a degree in Art History or personal experience in creating art. All that you need is to follow your instincts and look for something that moves you. There is no wrong choice if you like something. The first purchase is always the most painstaking and frightening but after you buy your first piece, you may find that collecting artwork becomes a new hobby and a passion. You will look at your blank walls and have the uncontrollable urge to adorn them with something amazing. Here are a few of my tips to help you gain confidence before taking the plunge into purchasing original artwork.

Painting by Timothy McDowell available at Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art in Calgary.

Before shopping for art work, find out where the galleries are in your area. Ask your interior designer or friends whose collection you admire for a list of their favorite haunts. It’s also great idea to spend a bit of time researching the kind of art you are drawn to. Most galleries have amazing websites now featuring pieces from the artists they represent. Take a look at the website and see if you can pinpoint a few artists that you are drawn to. If you are looking for a piece for a particular spot in your home, snap a photograph that you can bring with you to the gallery with the dimensions noted on it. Your interior designer or the gallery representative can help you determine the overall size that the piece should be if you are not certain.

Painting by Aleksandra Rdest available at Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art in Calgary.

Art galleries usually have a show going on – a collection of work from a particular artist or group of artists with a common theme. Most galleries carry several artists, and if you are not enamored with the pieces in the show, then ask to see work by other artists. Galleries often have a room which stores additional art work that is not currently on display so don’t worry if what is on the walls doesn’t appeal to you immediately. There will be tags beside the pieces or sometimes a price list nearby for you to review. A dot beside a tag means that the piece has already been sold. Ask lots of questions, gallery owners and representatives love it when you are interested in the art work, how it was created, the inspiration behind the piece and the artist themselves.

Painting by Ronald Boaks available through the Weiss Gallery in Calgary.

Another tip that is not well known is that most galleries will bring the art that you are considering to your home for you to look at in your own environment. They will even hang the paintings for you. Also, they frequently can work out a payment plan for you over a period of time. One more piece of insider information is that if you like a particular artist but the pieces available are not the size that you are looking for the artist can sometimes create a custom piece to suit your needs. The gallery will coordinate this for you.

When you are selecting an original piece of art, go with your gut. It should evoke a strong reaction, remind you of a time or place, intrigue you, or just please you when you look at it. Don’t worry about the painting matching your interior design scheme. Sometimes the most successful art installations are the ones where the art work is in stark contrast to its surroundings. This accentuates it and can create a really interesting tension in a room. If you are selecting a piece for a particular spot, think about how you would view it. A painting above a fireplace needs to be seen from a distance so a highly detailed piece that is best viewed up close wouldn’t be the best choice. Save the detailed piece for the powder room or hallway and go for something more graphic over the fireplace.

Painting by Charles Malinsky available through Herringer Kiss Gallery in Calgary

Artwork is an investment and its value will increase over time. Ask the gallery if the artist you are interested in has pieces in any national or international collections. Also, ask about other galleries that represent the artist. If their work is included in notable collections the value of the piece will be higher. The gallery should provide you with a biography of the artist, an article on the inspiration behind the art and a list of notable collections that the artist has been included in. Keep this information somewhere safe, and have your artwork insured.

When hanging your artwork, the center of the piece should be around 5’ off the ground. If you are hanging a painting over a sofa or other piece of furniture you may need to hang it lower then this. The artwork should be viewed in conjunction with the items around it, and too much space in between them creates a disjointed vignette.

Although beginning an art collection may seem overwhelming, think of it as an adventure. As with any high priced investment, you want to make an informed decision so ask questions and take your time to decide. Art is meant to be enjoyed and it brings people together to discuss it, appreciate it and savor its beauty. Relish the hunt for that piece that speaks to you; trust your instincts and you can’t go wrong.

Cheers!

White Ceramics

Trends come and go, and generally, I don’t advise jumping on the band wagon unless it is something that can be changed easily. For instance, I would recommend using a trendy fabric on your accent pillows instead of on your drapery. That is of course unless you change your interiors every five years. In that case, go for it – you are fabulously reckless (in a good way) and your interior should be too! However, that is not the case for most of my clients. If you want to have trendy items, accessories are a great spot to inject that “of the moment” look since you can change them without difficulty. One trend that I have been seeing everywhere lately is white ceramic. I must admit, I have jumped on the band wagon too and recently bought every white ceramic vase I can lay my hands on from HomeSense and Chintz & Company for some niches I have in my kitchen. I had a lot of fun purchasing my collection and mixing crisp graphic shapes, cheeky sculptures and an array of textures. Here’s a look at the finished product.

Here are some more great white ceramic pieces to enjoy!

These Easter Island-esque sculptures look great with the vases. When creating a collection, remember that the pieces should be a variety of heights. Picture via Decorpad.

The texture on these vases is really interesting. A collection should contain pieces of various textures and patterns if they are all the same colour. Picture via Apartment Therapy.

White ceramic collections don’t have to be ultra modern. These vessels have a vintage quality. Photo courtesy of Country Living.

You can also go a little bit country too. I adore the simplicity of using white flowers in this arrangement. It’s all about form and texture here. The fireplace mantle and crackled urns are charming and casual. Photo via Country Living.

Add the ceramics to a bookshelf for interest, extra storage and as bookends.  This photo is courtesy of Terramia.

How about using simple white china and flower vases for dramatic impact in your dining room? This photograph is from California Wedding Wave and I must say that this blog has some astounding inspirational photos for flower arrangements.  Check it out!

You’ve got to love Jonathon Adler’s white ceramic animal collection. He is the king of pottery! I love the cool shapes that he creates with these pieces. Think about adding an unexpected piece of white ceramic sculpture like these in your collection. You can purchase Jonathon Adler’s ceramics at Sojourn in Calgary.

Now this is a model I would like to add to my collection!  Chanel makes this gorgeous white ceramic watch and it is completely dreamy! Interior design trends usually follow fashion so I wonder if this is the piece that started the movement.

White ceramics come in such a variety of styles that it is easy to add to either a traditional or modern interior. If you are creating a collection of white ceramics, or any item of a single colour for that matter, remember to use a range of sizes, shapes, textures and items. It is this variance that makes the collection appealing to the eye. Follow these tips and your white collection will be anything but boring vanilla!

Cheers!

How to Make an Easy Floral Arrangement

There is just nothing like fresh flowers to brighten your interiors. I adore having fresh flowers around me and I find arranging them to be relaxing and rewarding.  I often create flower arrangements for the photo shoots of our interior design projects in Calgary. Here are my tips on creating a lovely arrangement like the one in the photo above.

This particular style of arrangement is really easy to make if you have the right tools handy. All you need is pretty container, some floral oasis (the kind that can be soaked in water), a knife, and flowers!  When you are choosing your flowers go for a variety of bloom sizes, textures and shapes.  Think about mixing roses, lilies and mums together.  If you are worried about putting different colours together, try using a single colour like coral or yellow.  A floral arrangement in a solid colour is so vibrant!

Start by soaking the oasis in water and then cutting it to fit into your container.

Begin with one of your flower types.  I love roses in these arrangements because of their saturated colour and they open so majestically.  I chose yellow roses for this arrangement.  Also, I think it is more effective if you bunch or group several blooms together.

I used 2 dozen roses in this arrangement.

Add in each flower type one at a time.  In this arrangement I added some lovely lilies that were a citrus yellow.  Mixing the differing shades of the colour you choose makes the arrangement more interesting. There were five stems of lilies used in this arrangement

Next I filled out the arrangement with alstroemeria . This is a great flower to use because it is inexpensive and really fills up the arrangement.  It is really important to keep turning your arrangement as you go and make sure that the proportion feels good.  It doesn’t have to be completely symmetrical (nothing in nature is!) but it should be balanced. I often will push in or adjust the positioning of the blooms to get the size of the arrangement right. In total, this arrangement took eight stems of alstroemeria.

I thought this arrangement needed a bit of contrast, so I used a simple white crysanthamum with a chartreuse center.  Since each stem of the mum has multiple blooms they are hard to control.  I tend to chop off each bloom individually and group them together as shown.

Fill in the blank spaces with mums and add some greenery at the bottom of the arrangement.  Simple!

This arrangement will be used during a photo shoot of our client’s new kitchen. The flowers are quite tightly packed together so that they make big impact in the pictures. I thought that the yellow would look amazing with her cream cabinets, grey walls and French Country style.  Here are some more photos of the finished French Country kitchen.

For inspirational floral arrangements check out these websites which are some of my favorites!

Blush Floral Design from Connecticut has a gorgeous website with amazing photography.

Hilary Miles out of Vancouver has a great gallery of simple arrangements.

Calgary interior designers like myself often use Anne Patterson’s Flowers when we need the professionals to handle the arrangements!

Style Me Pretty is a wedding blog featuring fabulous floral ideas. I love perusing their postings for arrangement ideas.

For over the top floral inspiration check out Preston Bailey’s website.  It’s absolutely incredible how he transforms a space.  The events he creates are breathtaking and awe-inspiring!

Cheers!

Decorating with Apothecary Jars

I never get tired of using apothecary jars when I am decorating my client’s homes! I think it is because there are so many wonderful things that you can fill them with so they never get boring. Apothecary jars are a great way of displaying a collection of items and controlling clutter. I get asked all the time about how to incorporate them into your décor so here are a few tips.

We renovated this apartment for a Designer Showcase in Calgary a few years ago and wanted to add some great colour to the island of the kitchen. The apothecary jars filled with fruit worked wonderfully! Insiders tip #1 – Real fruit can start to steam up if the jars are in a warm location and the lid is on tight. Be prepared to replace the fruit often!

This is a photograph of a grouping of jars that we placed in an interior design project in Calgary after we had finished a kitchen renovation. Notice that we used fake fruit to avoid the steam problem! (Hey, at least we learn from our mistakes!). Insiders tip #2 – Use a variety of sizes and heights of jars as well as a variety of items inside them.

Apothecary jars can be used in bathrooms too. In this master bathroom design we placed some jars filled with sponges, lavender and cotton swabs. Insiders tip #3 – Even everyday items can look interesting in beautifully shaped containers.

I love this grouping of everyday bathroom accessories! It makes the mundane look like museum pieces. So elegant! These containers are from Pottery Barn.

One of the best things about decorating with apothecary jars is the ability to change what you are displaying inside them depending on the season. I recently came across this lovely photograph via My Domicile Style. I adore the holiday greens in the jars, and I am going to try this look out myself this year! Insiders tip #4 – Change up what you are displaying to keep your décor interesting.

They look super filled with candy on an accent or hallway table. I could also imagine using buttons, corks from wine bottles or vintage rhinestone pins. Insider’s tip #5 – Use brightly coloured or interesting objects that you have collected for an unexpected display.

What a great way to serve your Christmas cookies! I adore this idea which was featured on Apartment Therapy. I can also see using apothecary jars at a kid’s birthday party filled with colourful candies. How fun would it be for each guest to fill a little goodie bag for themselves before they headed home? The candies wouldn’t last long, but the sugar rush would go on for hours! Insiders tip #6 – Use apothecaries for artfully serving cookies and candies buffet style.

This just screams springtime! I know it’s only December, but I’ve got my eye on this idea come March! Check out Lady Lovona’s Cabinet of Curiosities for a how to on creating this gorgeous plant display. Insider’s Tip #7 – Try using your apothecaries to create a terrarium.

Hope this has inspired you to use your apothecary jars in some interesting ways to add charm to your interiors!

Cheers!

Lamps

Lighting is what creates ambiance in a space.  When we are designing a home we like to pay special attention to the lighting plan and make sure that we have ample ambient lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. Even with a comprehensive lighting plan we still encourage our clients to add lamps in their rooms as well.  There is just nothing better then a lamp when you need to add a punch of colour or texture in a room.  Lamps are beautiful accessories and part of what makes a room look complete. Here are a few examples of pretty lamps we have used in our projects.

I am a huge fan of layering artwork with lamps.  It completes the vignette and is warm and charming.

This ceramic lamp works wonderfully with the warm colour palette we created in this family room.  It is casual and colourful!

In the bedroom the rule of thumb is that the bottom of the lamp shade should be just above the height of your shoulder when you are sitting in bed.  This provides the proper amount of illumination when you are reading.  This lamp is quirky and fun.  It looks great with the patterned wallpaper behind it.

Here is another example of a ceramic lamp looking lovely in this arts and crafts interior. I love the way the lamp highlights the texture of the silk upholstered walls.  This house is warm and inviting and the ceramic base of this lamp adds to that feel.

This amazing Italian blown glass lamp is from Circa Vintage Art Glass here in Calgary.  The colour and form are extraordinary!

Here are a few more lamps that are too beautiful for words!!

This lamp from Jan Showers is a stunner!  I think it is made of yellow onyx.  Incredibly glamorous!

Here is another example of a Jan Showers lamp.  The colour of turquoise is so intense.  This would be a showstopper in a room!

We have used this pretty marble light fixture from Circa lighting a few times.  It is simply elegant.

Since Calgary is an oil and gas town, Calgary designers often do work with oil and gas execs. I could see using this fun lamp in a home office!

Another great company that makes fun and colourful lamps is Shine Everyday. This yellow lamp has great scale and texture. The bright yellow is so unexpected!

I hope this post gives you confidence to have fun with your lamp choices.

Cheers!

Jacqueline