Hotel to Home: Introducing a New Thursday Series

Dear readers – As you know, I’ve let go of my 20 Below on Tuesdays and replaced it with Two for Tuesday. On Thursdays, I’m considering starting a hotel-to-home series.

As you may know, I love, love, love to travel, and I love staying in the best possible hotels that are friendly on my wallet. I love my real life, but I also like to escape it, and as soon as I enter an airport, get in the car for a drive, or walk through a hotel lobby, I always feel like I’m transported into another world. I will always make room for travel in my schedule and in my budget. (Yes, I know I over-used the word “love” here.)

Anyway, enough with the preamble. In this hotel-to-home series, I’m planning on first featuring a hotel, and then I’ll propose some ways to bring the same design feel into your home.

Let’s get right into it, shall we? Today, I’m taking you all the way to Portugal to the waterfront Farol Hotel.

farol_02_2Farol Hotel, Portugal

This Amor room is white-white-white, and the view looks to be quite spectacular. If you like this design, and would like to recreate it in your own home (with or without the view), here’s what you’ll need:

Inspired-by-Farol-hotel-White-Cabana

pendant light, chaise, Robert Indiana miniature LOVE sculpture, bed linens, console table, art print

What do you think about this series? Honestly, I’m not quite sure how it will work, but I imagine that if I do this for the remainder of 2016, I’ll be able to feature 30-40 hotels. So, if you know of one (high on the white/black/grey colour scheme) that I should feature, please let me know!

Design: Free Standing Bathtubs

I’m far off from my next bathroom renovation, but that won’t stop me from scouring the interweb in search of inspiration. Of late, I’ve had my eye on free-standing tubs, and this round-up – and their surroundings – are simply beautiful.

Gachot-Studios-bathtub

photo by Brittany Ambridge, interior design by Gachot Studios

stylowi_pl_wnetrza_588485

via Stylowl

terri-shannons-bathroom

designed by Jatana Interiors

tub-chatelaine

via Chatelaine

free-standing-tub

via Laura Quattro

bathrooms-modern-glamour

via Style at Home

victora-albert-free-standing-tub

The Crawford Hotel via Victoria & Albert

Uptown: Working with Pink in my Basement

I didn’t intend to inject my basement with shades of pink, but some things were just meant to be. I couldn’t fight it. I didn’t want to fight it.

After I wrote about Minted’s collection of large-scale art, I was just about certain I was going to get a black and white piece for over my day bed. Instead, I was mesmerized by this piece, and I couldn’t say no. Minted generously sent over the gorgeous abstract art, and it hung vertically above my day bed for many months as I made progress on my fireplace redo.

*** Warning: Pink is about to make a brief appearance on White Cabana. ***

Holly-Katie-Craig-MintedHolly by Katie Craig

Once my fireplace makeover was complete, I turned my attention back to the daybed area of my space. I opted to rehang Katie Craig’s print horizontally, and I think it works much better in my space.

White-Cabana-Katie-Craig-Minted-artI adore the large-scale version of Katie Craig’s print. It’s bright and dramatic and bring a whole lot of interest to my space. As you can see, the room is still very much dominated by black and white even though there’s colourful art on the main wall. The addition of  fuchsia brings me joy, so I think I’ll keep it.

Here’s what (most) of the room looks like now:

White-Cabana-home-7 White-Cabana-home-3

I painted the Fjellse bed frame (made from two twins that came with my house) high gloss blackWhite-Cabana-home-1

(I’m still on the lookout for two side tables of the same height)

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(featuring my most recent Alessi addition – Karim Rashid’s Hellraiser tray for Alessi)

White-Cabana-home-5 White-Cabana-home-6

see how I transformed my old 80s fireplace into this beauty

I have recently published this makeover on Domino. If you click here, you’ll see a couple of before photos.

Many thanks to Minted for sponsoring this post.

Sources: art – c/o Minted; day bed (two Fjellse singles joined and painted high gloss black) – Ikea; wall paint – c/o CIL; white tray – Style at Home; black side cart – Market Road Antiques in St. Jacobs; chevron pillow cases – Target; bicycle pillow case – Urban Barn; coffee and side tables – Kijiji; shag rug, lamps – vintage; silver tray – Alessi; fireplace mantle – vintage; bamboo ladder painted high gloss black – garage sale; ceiling light – Ikea; art on fireplace – Janet Hill Studio, Chapters Indigo (tea towel); hex fireplace tiles – Twin City Tile

Books: In Pursuit of Beauty by Timothy Whealan

We all know I’m a fan of books, right? Academic books, novels, design books, how-to guides…I love them! I still buy quite a few books (Bonnie Stern’s Essentials of Home Cooking cookbook was my latest purchase), but I take out a lot of books from the Waterloo Public Library (gosh, I love it there!).

On one of my recent visits, I picked up Timothy Whealan’s In Pursuit of Beauty, and I have to tell you that this book is full of the most gorgeous rooms!

51pQK1vOpTL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_photo via Amazon

Timothy Whealan’s interior design work was new to me, but it shouldn’t have been since his work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Veranda, and Elle Decor.

Here are some of the spaces that really grabbed my attention in In Pursuit of Beauty.

Early on in the book, the reader meets this crisp white kitchen. Marble, white, stainless, and chevron floors…what’s not to love?

Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-2I think the design of these bathrooms are just about perfect. I love the finishes and style.

Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-9Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-8I love how Timothy mixes refined wood pieces with white. It’s what I’m aiming to do in my own home in the next few years. These photos serve as perfect inspiration.

Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-10Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-4Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-5   Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-3   Words of wisdom…I agree, Timothy, I agree!

Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-11And here’s the designer and author, Timothy Whealan:

Timothy-Whealan-In Pursuit of Beauty-1Obviously my iPhone photos of the book’s pages do not do any of the spaces full justice. I’d encourage you to look at the book to be fully inspired. The rooms are chic, comfortable, and while they may contain pricey pieces of furniture, a lot of the design elements can be recreated on a more moderate budget.

Images of In Pursuit of Beauty taken by me.

Art: A Welcoming Pineapple

As many of you know, the pineapple is a symbol of warmth and hospitality. So when my sister and I spotted Joni Tyrrell’s Pining for Pineapple in Minted’s art shop a couple of months ago, we thought it would be a perfect addition to her family’s new home.

MIN-XY3-GNA-007_A_APZPining for Pineapple by Joni Tyrrell

It has finally been placed on the wall near the entrance, and it certainly offers visitors an inviting welcome.

White-Cabana-home-Minted-pineapple-art-3 White-Cabana-home-Minted-pineapple-art-1 White-Cabana-home-Minted-pineapple-art-2 photos by me

Gorgeous, right? The sideboard will be painted eventually. We can talk about the impressive ceiling height, the archways, and the gorgeous moldings another day, I promise!

Thanks to Minted for sponsoring on this post. All opinions are my own.

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