American Horror Story Cult was terrifying but the interior design was amazingly distracting.

Posted on December 16, 2017 Posted in Home DesignTagged American Horror Story, American Horror Story Cult, FX, Home Decor, Mid Century Modern, Modern Home Design, Set Design, Television DesignLeave a comment

I’m a big fan of FX’s American Horror Story (I mean who isn’t unless scary isn’t your bag). This years session ‘Cult’ did not disappoint – although if I was being completely honest I still think Murder House and Hotel are my favourites, however this post isn’t about American Horror Story! I was stopped dead by the amazing interior design of Alison’s home (as played by Sarah Paulson). So much so I had to freeze frame a few episodes to take it all in. The perfect mix of modern and heritage with a touch of mid century and deco thrown in for good measure. The house did look familiar and apparently the exterior shots are from the same house used to film 1978’s Halloween. Much of the interior was a set so hats off to some incredibly talented set designers for stringing together such a dream home. I’ve compiled a few of my favourite designed scenes to source for anyone else out there who is loving this house for the design and not the creepy clowns!

The lighting in this series is quite dark for the storyline so most of the shots are dark and moody.

Entryway 1. Glorious brass globe branch light | 2. Open beam ceiling | 3. Unique arched doorways | 4. Wood flooring inset pattern

I’ve found Etsy to be a great source for unique lighting at a lower price point like this one which is similar to the Lindsey Adelman looking one above.

Upper Hallway 5. Curved wood stairways | 6. Gorgeous wall tapestries | 7. Intricate oriental floor runners

Pro tip: Target sells some excellent overdyed oriental rugs at an exceptional price point that are quite unique and really add some texture to your space without worrying what happens when your kids spill glue all over it (true story!).

Kitchen 8. THAT STOVE | 9. Gorgeous dramatic tile (very Emily Henderson like) 10. That tile again, similar tile can be found here. | 11. Modern take on the sliding barn door for the pantry entry | 12. Clear bottom glass kitchen cabinets (perhaps a dusting nightmare but still cool to imagine) | 13. More statement backsplash tile | 14. Farm Sink (of course!) | 15. Stone counters (maybe marble, it’s hard to tell in the lighting) | 16. Dark blue painted lower cabinets (I keep pinning this combo and it’s always gorgeous) | 17. Open shelving for plates for that farmhouse feel

Below is an even better shot of those glass bottomed cabinets.

Master bathroom 24. That tub in the middle of the room with the fireplace (need I say more)

Den 25. Those custom amazing bookshelves!

26. The Psychiatrists Office isn’t complete without a Wegner Papa Bear Chair

This season was dark and a little too close to our current politic climate for me (I’m sure that was the point), but I always enjoy a good scare and a good chair – so this was a really entertaining way to hit two birds with one stone.

***All screen grabs sourced from American Horror Story Cult on FX and are copy-write of that show and its creators.

Yes, you can have nice things and kids too!

Posted on November 29, 2017 Posted in Furniture, Home DesignTagged Couch, Design, Furniture, Home Decor, Home Design, Home Renovation, House Staging, Kid Friendly, Personal, Real Estate, SofaLeave a comment

Part One, The Sofa.

I have worked long and hard at selecting furniture that is beautiful but will absolutely stand up to my two boys (and three LARGE dogs). I’ve put together personal favourites that I have found to be really durable yet functional and still stylistic. Momma can absolutely have nice things and messy boys at the same time.

Leather
My top recommendation is to go with a thick and distressed leather. We had a Restoration Hardware Lancaster sofa for years and it held up to anything. Scratches happened (and are easily buffed out with leather conditioner available from RH), spills, many moves … you name it. We only eventually had to sell it as it was too large for our current house. We did buy this sofa second hand which saved as a ton of money and it was already well worked in for us.

Urban Barn sells a more reasonably priced sofa that has a similar thick distressed option that we did have at one point (again bought used) called the Preston. I don’t have a lot of great photos as I was mostly in the daze of parenting very young kids at that time we owned it.

Any leathers that are higher end (think soft and buttery) are a nightmare to maintain and best left for those single folks without kids or pets who have dinner parties and spend Sunday mornings sleeping in sipping coffee until noon. We are not those people.

We are these people.
Fabric
Alternatively you can go the fabric route but you want to pick durable fabric (high rub count), and patterns that will conceal spills and stains because it’s not IF it’s WHEN bad things happen. I will often take a sample of the fabric home and spill juice, crunch goldfish crackers and coffee into it to see how well the fabric stands up. It’s not pretty but it really helps determine if this fabric is going to hold up to my real life. I’d rather find out on the front end that crunched in goldfish crackers turns the sofa orange than after I have spent a bunch of money. We have had a lot of success with fabric sofas from GUS Modern as their fabric seems quite commercial grade it in it’s ability to stand-up to children and exhausted parents with unsteady coffee mugs.

We have recently purchased a Montauk sofa for our smaller open concept living room. It’s is gorgeous and we customized the pillows so there were more solid larger pillows and not a lot of throw pillows as they tend to become projectiles in my house. The fabric on this one went through my strict Goldfish Cracker test and passed; however, it is linen. We have only had it a few months now so the jury is out on how well it will hold up to our full life.

I have a sneaking suspicion living as close to the sea as we do, a leather sofa will be in our future with wet dogs constantly sneaking on the couch for their post-swim snoozing.

He’s too adorable to be mad at for long.

Next up: Dining Room table and chair options that will stand up to mass forking and other disasters at the hands of toddlers!

Managing the House Selling Process with Kids, Pets and Other Chaos.

Posted on November 24, 2017 Posted in House Selling, MovingTagged Home Decor, Home Design, Home Renovation, House Selling Tips, Moving Ideas, Real EstateLeave a comment

I get asked this a lot.

How do you manage house showings with three dogs, two kids, a job, a husband? It’s not easy, but with some planning and foresight you can survive it with WINE.

WINE is the answer … okay well maybe AFTER you’ve sold your home. Clean first, wine later.

Serial Mover Pro Tips – Showings.

Realize you currently don’t live in your home, you live in a show home version of your home. Take a weekend before you list your house and visit some show homes or open houses in higher end areas. No one really lives there, and it won’t really seem like you do either. Once you have that firmly planted in your mind you can set your expectations accordingly.
If you can leave town for a few weeks with kids and pets (and husbands) it’s not a horrible idea. This will save you countless hours of cleaning and re-staging your home after your children have ravaged it.
If you can’t leave then you will have to be in ‘constantly ready for a showing mode’ which means: dishes always put away, laundry caught up, toy room tidy. If you spend an hour every night before bed just putting daily items away it will really help your morning.
Floors, bathrooms, kitchen will need to be wiped down, moped, vacuumed everyday – I’m sorry. Especially if you have kids/pets these are the areas that will need the most attention.
I have three adorable (HUGE) dogs. They smell less adorable. I use Sydney Hale Room Spray’s as a secret weapon of dog smell masking. Even if you don’t have dogs they are amazing.
Don’t forget the yard. Recently a huge wind storm knocked an old wasp nest on to our front porch – not something you’d want a would-be home buyer to encounter as their first impression.
Meals. While you’re showing you will want to avoid cooking with smelly items as food smells linger. No curry, garlic or even (gasp) bacon. For now, not forever – promise!
Understand the selling process will take time. You could be at this cleaning routine for a few months (not usually everyday). The most showings I personally had was around 32, in 30-days – which was A LOT for us. The home was historical so I believe we had a lot of people just wanting to see the home – not necessarily buy the home.
I actually still really miss this house!

I would love to hear other tips on managing this stressful phase of moving, so if you have some – send them over to me as you know I’m a serial mover so I’m bound to be back here in the near future.

House selling preparation: pro tips from a serial mover.

Posted on November 16, 2017 Posted in House Selling, MovingTagged House Sale Preparation, House Selling Ideas, House Selling Tips, House Staging, Moving IdeasLeave a comment

There is a ton of websites out there with sage house selling and staging advice. I’ve sold in total eight of my own houses (and two for family). By selling I mean sale readiness, staging and ‘while selling’ maintenance. I am not a real estate agent by any means and do recommend you hire a professional to help you list and market your home.

The sale prep and staging, well that’s on you, the homeowner.

2 Months Out from Listing.

Take inventory of the things in your home that need fixing. That leaking faucet, that cupboard door that doesn’t sit right, that loose bathroom knob … and fix it. All of it. Buyers want move-in ready, not a laundry list of fix-it projects.
Consider hiring a home inspector to do a pre-inspection on your home. This will cost money; however, it is good to know ahead of time what barriers may lay between you and a clean sale. A home inspector will provide you with that laundry list of items that need repair – items that buyers will usually ask you to repair anyway.
The great purge. Garage stacked with junk? Kids toy rooms overflowing? Closets stuffed to the brim? Going through these areas is going to take time – but I promise it’s worth it. Not only will you have less stuff to move, but your house look better to prospective buyers.

1 Month Out from Listing.

Paint. Have red walls in your bedroom that seemed like a good idea at the time? Paint those now. Buyers will often have a hard time looking past really customized features or design elements. Think light, bright and modern. Grey and Greige (Grey-Beige) is quite popular and will make a really neutral backdrop to showcase your space. Some of my most favourite neutral paint colours are below.

2 Weeks Out from Listing.

Staging.

My husband and I always make a joke that this phase is the part where you want to make your house look like ‘someone could’ live there but that someone isn’t you, or your kids and pets. These are my kids’ rooms; clearly they do not actually live there (not around showing times anyway!).

Don’t forget closets, cupboards, and drawers. You can’t simply just stuff everything in a closet because buyers will look in closets, drawers, cupboards, and storage areas. Minimize the amount of stuff you have hiding in there and make it look well organized. This is my closet (in the last house) staged, certainly not how I live in the everyday.

You are basically creating a life for someone who could/would live in your home. How would they live in this house, how would they decorate, what sofa would go there? You have to really paint a picture as to what life is like in your home. Not every-day messy floors, oh-my-god is that dog pee or water kind of life, but a fantasy life where everything is clean and perfectly magazine worthy.

You’re really kind of selling, your life in this home – which should be THEIR NEW HOME.

1 Week Out from Listing.

Clean and I mean everything.

Wipe those walls down, baseboards, dust, carpets … the works. If you can wash the exterior windows of your home and pressure-wash the decking and siding – do it. It’s only going to add to the wow factor in photos and showings.

Photo Day.

This day you need to go all out. Fresh flowers on the kitchen counter and bathroom, bed pillows fluffed, blankets and towels folded with precision. These photos are the advertisements for your home, bringing buyers in and they need to be spectacular. Make sure your lawn is mowed and flowerbeds are manicured.

…

I know this sounds like a lot (and it truly is) but it’s worth it. You’ll end up with a faster sale, and most likely get more return on your sale. What you put in, you’ll get back out – and a faster sale means less disruption of your regular life (or your new life in yet another home!).

If you are looking for staging ideas, paint colours, home decor style ideas. I pin A LOT and you can follow me at https://www.pinterest.ca/andreaarient/

Marble: Do’s (mostly) And A Few Don’ts

Posted on November 10, 2017 Posted in Home RenovationTagged Home Decor, Home Design, Home Renovation, Kitchens, Marble, PersonalLeave a comment

We recently renovated our kitchen and put in A LOT of marble. 6 slabs of gorgeous Calacatta Gold to be exact. I had this grand vision due of course to house and home magazines and Pinterest. I researched blog after blog talking about the different types of marble, how they wear and what to expect. Armed with this and photos of the look I was going for, I found a local supplier.

My vision was something like this. And we ended up here.

Primarily because of price and availability.

Prepare to be gobsmacked when quoted on how much marble will cost, at least the type you are seeing in magazines. My husband and I had a wager as to how much a full height marble backsplash would cost, I lost in a huge way (he’s still gloating about it) and we had to make some concessions on other projects we had planned in order to accommodate the extra costs involved. It was worth it in my opinion; full wall height marble is a showstopper.

We laboured long and hard over the type of marble to use as Calacatta marble is much more expensive than other varieties. If you want that cleaner white look with that crisp grey veining – it’s the way to go. We went with the gold variety to add some warmth to our kitchen since our cabinetry is also white. I absolutely love the splashes of golden imperfectness in the stone.

We have been enjoying our new counters for about six-months and I do have some tips on care and maintenance for anyone considering putting something similar in their kitchen.

Don’t obsess about the etching. They will etch, it’s unavoidable. That first one though … really hurts. You are allowed to cry a little over spilt orange juice in this instance. Eventually you’ll get to the point where the etching just add to the ‘character’ of the stone and over time you won’t think about it – but obsessing over everything placed on the counter will drive you to drink.
Use a cleaner made for marble … or just plain (not acidic) soap and water. I like the Method stone cleaner but I know there are tons on the market.
Honed vs. Polished. We went with honed, although it did cost an extra $800. I like look and feel of honed marble and the etching shows much less than with polished marble.

Next time (and if you’ve read my ‘Confessions of a Serial Mover‘ post we know there will be a next time, I think I would consider doing the full wall/backsplash and going with a more economical marble for the counters (more basic perhaps) just to reduce the overall cost.

Want to talk marble? I’m all ears. Let’s connect!

Confessions of a Serial Mover.

Posted on November 10, 2017November 10, 2017 Posted in MovingTagged Design, Home Decor, Home Design, Moving, Personal, Real Estate3 Comments

I have moved 11 times in 10 years.

To be fair not all to houses I have purchased and sold. Some were rentals to try a new neighbourhood. Some for work, a few for my son’s school needs and maybe a few flights of fancy. All this packing and unpacking, selling and buying have taught me a few things about real estate I’ll be writing about here. Perhaps some of my stories can save you a few headaches and maybe even a few dollars.

Now back to the 11 moves.

I did once Google “people who move all the time” and did come up with a few personal anecdotes from others that echoed some of my motivations. One particular blog talked about the newness of a new city, a new job, new home – that feeling of starting over. The plight of home renting and having little control over your landlords decisions regarding where you living came up quite a bit. Some said they just liked the work of renovation and styling different types of homes.

For me it’s always more been about the project. The task of finding a house that needs a bit of love (not too much love because thats a whole other blog post), something that allows me to impart my love of design, decor and furniture on a new space and leave it better off than I found it. Once that work is complete, my eye tends to wander back over to those MLS listings in search of that new project and challenge.

Yes, all that moving can get expensive and it’s sometimes exhausting.

I’ve worked hard with most (I’d say 80%) of my house sales to bring in profit that gets moved into the next acquisition allowing a bigger budget for purchase or renovation. It doesn’t always work that way but by enlarge if you work the market you can end up on the plus side of the equation. This constant rotation of packing boxes has become much less practical now that my kids are in grade school of course, but I would be lying to say I’m not already looking for the next house that needs some of my kind of style.