Skip to main content

Italy or Drapery: Which Would you Choose?

09/05/2013
113 Comments

  Terreeia is in Italy. It was a last minute decision for her to go (well we decided 6 weeks ago), she has friends who live there some months of the year and I was invited but then I decided I wanted drapes for the house instead. Now that the landscaping is basically finished, I…

Continue Reading

Uncommon Goods Giveaway

09/03/2013
319 Comments

  I love finding websites with unique and funky, off-the-beaten path items, so when uncommon goods approached me to do a giveaway worth $200, I thought it was a great idea. UncommonGoods is an online marketplace offering creatively designed, high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. Their mission is to support and provide a platform for artists and…

Continue Reading

The Quest for the High End Client

09/01/2013
38 Comments

It’s pretty much agreed among most designers that the measure for success seems to be to design for the upscale, high-end client with lots of money. It’s kind of like this, once you get this client, you have hit the pinnacle to some degree. We all know that’s never enough and once you get there,…

Continue Reading

My Mom’s (Soooo Easy) Famous Corn Salad

08/27/2013
15 Comments

  Via Pinterest Since it’s corn season, especially out in the country where we live, it’s time that I shared this recipe with you. Chilliwack is known for their triple sweet Jubilee corn. My Mom is really good at one dish meals and since we are vegetarians, this salad is all we need for dinner….

Continue Reading

White Kitchen Transformation in Upstate New York

08/23/2013
51 Comments

I consulted with my client Kay at the end of 2012 and this is the beautiful result! “I had been thinking about a kitchen remodel for a couple of years before actually doing it.  I was considering different options, including gray-blue cabinets, until I started reading your posts about white kitchens and realized that if…

Continue Reading

Waiting for Drapery

08/21/2013
31 Comments

Well my Silhouettes have arrived and curtain rods installed so that I could get the exact measurement for the finished length. And NO they won’t puddle, haha. Clearly I was so stuck on that romantic image that I couldn’t see past it. For most of my clients, I install both the rods and drapery at…

Continue Reading

Ignorance is Truly Bliss: Before & After

08/18/2013
57 Comments

“I’ll tell you what really bugs me about your house”, MaryAnne (my Landscape Architect) said to me one day. What? I held my breath waiting for her reply. . . “The two stovepipes that stick out of your roof!” (below) Before (the day we took possession, that’s my nephew) I literally ran out of my…

Continue Reading

The Best White Bathrooms

08/14/2013
110 Comments

I believe all bathrooms should be white.  Off white, or cream. When I say this, I’m talking about the tile and countertops (not cabinets or wall colours). And I have three bathrooms to renovate sometime very soon. And they will be white as that will flow with the rest of my house. Update, here they…

Continue Reading

Are Murals Dated? Yay or Nay

08/11/2013
41 Comments

Wow it’s so green in Raleigh, North Carolina where I’ve just arrived to attend the Withit Leadership Conference. People always say Vancouver is green but It’s kind of cool when you can get into a cab, drive 20 minutes and barely see a single building. When the cab turned into the Renaissance Hotel where I’m…

Continue Reading

Why your Paint Colour is Kinda Boring

08/09/2013
23 Comments

Recently, I received this email from one of my on-line clients: Thank you for your consultation about half a year ago. We finally had a chance to re-paint the dining room. This color looked fabulous in the hallway, however there is something wrong how it feels with this color in the dining room. Something just…

Continue Reading

Ask Maria: When is White Dirty?

08/07/2013
31 Comments

Now that white is the hottest thing smoking, I’m receiving lots of questions from readers who are worried about choosing the wrong white. So here are four ways to know in advance when your white will look dirty: 1. You have a dark room. Walk into any dark room and look up at the white…

Continue Reading

From Backyard Shed to Design Studio

08/04/2013
57 Comments

We converted an old shed in my backyard into my interior design studio. See the complete transformation here. The transformation of my design studio is so amazing that it needs few words. Converting a backyard shed into a design studio Above is how it looked the day we took possession of our house. This is…

Continue Reading

The Best Place to Buy Vinyl Shutters?

08/02/2013
31 Comments

So I’m looking for white shutters for the two lonely windows on the right side of my house. Keep in mind the link goes to my old images, I haven’t posted new pictures of the landscaping transformation, but I will very soon. Okay so back to my story, since I currently have vinyl siding I decided…

Continue Reading