Window Treatments

Roman shades – now here is a look I absolutely love, as far as window treatments go my favorite is the roman shade. They come in all different sizes, styles and colors that can go with any type of design of a space and they can be used in any room.  

Drapes – With a variety of colors, patters and fabrics to choose from, drapes are a great finishing touch to any space and really pull together a look.

But remember you don’t always have to use window treatments separately; here is an example of both drapes and roman shades used together as they really pull together this look.

Sheers – another one of my favorites is sheers. They are perfect for any look whether you want a look that’s more modern or more classic, you can find something that works. I personally like them when used in the more elegant designs. The aim of sheers would be keeping privacy while still letting in light that blinds or curtains would normal completely block out. They are extremely useful and would add a designers touch to any space.

Finial - a decorative ornament on the ends of curtain rods or applied to chairs and furniture.

Tie back – make sure that your curtains sit correctly while adding texture and color to a scheme.

Curtain lining - Lining your curtains gives your window treatments a finished look, while at the same time extending the life of your curtains and filtering the amount of light allowed into the room.

By Juliana McLean

Lamps

A Lamp is the perfect touch to complete a room and should be taken into serious consideration as an element of design in any space. It is important to use them in design because they create a warming vibe to add to the atmosphere of any room.

My favorite type of lamps would have to be the paper lantern styled lamps. They come in so many different shapes and sizes and create a perfect tone to the light that I love in any space.

Silver brushed, more simple styles, works well with modern designs.

Bronze lamps continue to be very popular because of their ability to be used in a variety of different settings and designs but generally give off more of a classic and elegant look.

By Juliana McLean

La Vecchia Restraunt

La Vecchia is an Italian restaurant located in downtown Toronto. I think the design is absolutely gorgeous, creating a real authentic Italian look with the stucco and stone covered walls with hung black and white pictures. The deep red drapes really pull together the design as well as the dark wood furniture while the simple but elegant light fixtures keep things modern. Another thing that adds to the tone of the restaurant feel as a whole is the chocolate brown ceilings, which make things feel very cozy, very Italian. Over all I love this design.

By Juliana McLean

Shangri La Hotel In Dubai

I really love the design medium of this hotel. What I love is the continuity in all these designs, from the lobby to the hotel rooms, of circular shapes and rounded design focus throughout the hotel. It keeps a nice cozy and luxurious feeling while still being extremely modern. The lighting also contributes to this tone set throughout the hotel.

By Juliana McLean

Staircases (free friday)

This blog is tribute to all the awesome designs and cool things you can do with stair cases.

the floating staircase is a very trendy modern design. I see them all the time in new, very urban styled, houses. Personally I wouldn’t want to use the look in my own home but I still think they bring a really interesting feel and look really cool.

This is a beautiful example of a classical look that I really love. The contrast between the light walls and dark wood of the staircase really make it pop as a highlighting feature of this entrance area.

These are perfect examples of “thinking outside the box” ideas for something as simple as a staircase. In small homes where something like grand staircase isn’t really an option; people can get very creative with space sustainability through design which always keeps things very interesting.

By Juliana McLean

Woven Baskets

Woven baskets are a great way to tuck away clutter while adding a designer’s touch to a room. The best thing about them is you can find them in every shape and size just about anywhere. It’s a fun and simple way to organize a lot of things into small spaces.

A fun project – paint over an old dresser and replace its drawers with woven baskets, it’ll keep your things organized and tucked away to avoid clutter while adding a nice finishing touch to any room.

By Juliana McLean

My Room

Well I currently do not have a bedroom of my own that is nicely pulled together but if I were to change things around this is what I would do. I really like the elegance of all white rooms; with simple touches of blues (my favorite color) my room has to be a place I can escape.  I like the feeling of calm, serene and breezy places like the beach, which is what I would use as my inspiration when designing my bedroom.

Even though it isn’t a bedroom these spaces are exactly what I would go for in terms of design for my room. The wooden beams across the ceiling and white paneled walls; weaved accessories and interesting light fixtures with long flowing white curtains and small accents of light blue.

These are the types of accessories are the types of touches I would use in a vignette in my bedroom. Small beach inspired nick-knacks as well as books on top of really rustic looking shelves like the ones in the pictures shown below.

By Juliana Mclean