by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Nov 12, 2015 | Interior Design
IT'S DONE! I made it. Praise God, because this was another race to the finish of this amazing blog series called the One Room Challenge, hosted by Linda at Calling It Home. We're all challenged to design and reno a room to completion in 6 weeks. I participated last spring to finish my laundry room before giving birth to our 5th child, (a whole other kind of race in itself!) and am so happy to have participated again. Deadlines like this can be pretty motivating, and the entire experience is a fun ride watching what everyone else does to their spaces, and cheering each other on in the process.
As I have mentioned previously, doing the ORC is kinda like childbirth at times- when you're doing it and things are going wrong and you're realizing you only have 7 days to finish a room and the paint was mixed slightly off hue and so now you have to buy more paint and now you have to delay your electricians and so now you have to delay your trim guy and so now you have to install the carpet at midnight after your teething / sick baby has FINALLY gotten to sleep and you forget how much dirt you still clean before you actually put said carpet tiles down etc. etc. etc.- when you're doing it, it cam be painful. But when it's done… you are blissed out and in love. Well, in love I am!
I wanted the space to feel cheerful and bright, so I started the design with the Frug rug from FLOR. They are modular carpet tiles, which are easy to swap out when mess occurs. I love the soft padding they create for working out- and my children have had so much fun rolling around in what they deem their new place space. Bright white walls in Snowfield by CIL Paints reflect tons of light and let the floor be the star.
As physical fitness has become a new priority for me (just started working out with a personal trainer and I have eliminated the sometimes twice a week habit of eating poutine), I am trying to make it as easy as possible for me to live a healthy lifestyle. For me that includes waking up early and starting the day with prayer and then exercise and a healthy beverage. So I am keeping a mini fridge stocked with lots of my favourite juices (love Jenn Pike's Juice Matters plans).
I am slightly obsessed with applied moulding right now (massive massive thanks to my trim installer Steve Leonard!) and continued the love of it in my gym with the Metrie Very Square collection. And I have to gush publicly over these sconces- which cost only $49!!!! Add a little bench from Bouclair and mirror from Home Sense and my home gym is complete.
And for kicks let's revisit the before:
And now to my happy face with another completed space!
Thanks for following along on my journey- to check out some seriously amazing transformation check out the featured 20 designers and the guest participants here! Photos by Larry Arnal.
by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Oct 15, 2015 | Interior Design
During the last One Room Challenge I blogged a little bit about the process I go through to build a design scheme. Today I am going to expand on this topic and provide a few helpful tips if you are starting a project of your own!
But first, if you are new here a very warm welcome to my cozy corner of the internet. My name is Lisa and I am an interior design expert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I have 5 kids ages 6 and under and I live in a semi-detrached bungalow in the north end of our city (home to the best baseball team in the world… I digress!) and with a family of my size with a house so small (1290 square feet on the main floor!) by necessity I have had to learn real quick how to design homes that help families thrive (and cut down on the clutter in big ways). I really love helping busy families get the most out of their spaces.
For the One Room Challenge, this amazing thing run by Linda at Calling It Home where people are challenged to design a space in 6 weeks, I am tackling my home gym to help my family make the most of it. Personal fitness has recently become a big priority for me and completing this gym is a big motivation for me to keep the healthy lifestyle up. Plus, it was kinda difficult to work out in a space that was basically a storage locker for my Christmas decorations. Check out the horrifyingly ugly / non-organized space here.
To build a design scheme, here are some quick steps to consider:
1. PICK SOMETHING TO GROUND YOUR COLOUR PALETTE
So to build a scheme I really like to start somewhere- and in this case, it's going to be the floor. In my laundry room I created a patterned floor out of porcelain tile and thought it might be fun to again be daring with my floor choice. I'm using this rug from FLOR called the Frug in Cobalt:
It's going to be fun and graphic, and I love it will be soft underfoot to absorb the impact of using weights and jumping around.
2. BUILD A VISUAL REFERENCE BOARD TO KEEP THE DESIGN FOCUSED
Once I have an item to start with I allow it to serve as the driving force of the colour scheme. So I'll be pulling the cobalt blue and neutral grey and using them in millwork (going to do some accent shelving or gables in cobalt against white or light grey cabinets… so excited!). I will also jump on over to Pinterest to search for images in my colour palette to serve as inspiration. Look at the gorgeous images below (and forgive me I searched and searched but could not find a source- if anyone knows please let me know so I can credit properly!) This allows you to have a visual reference point for the colour palette of the space- I know I can get distracted really easily by new items I see- and something think if I can squeeze them in to a design even though I know they won't work- having a visual reference board can help dissuade you from making choices that simply won't fit.
3. FOLLOW THE 75-20-5% RULE
A simple tip that I have developed as a result of designing tons of rooms for television where you have to make a really strong visual impact in a short amount of time is the 75-20-5% rule. Essentially this means a principle colour is used for 75% of the space, a secondary colour is used for 20% of the space and a surprise pop colour that might not relate to anything at all is 5%. So in my gym, that is likely going to mean the blues in the carpet will be my 75%, whites / greys in the cabinets and walls will be 20% and a fun surprise colour shade TBD will be my 5%!
To learn more about the One Room Challenge and see the featured 20 designers click here, and for the link up participants click here.
by lisa@lisacanning.ca | Nov 20, 2014 | Interior Design
Remember when it was sunny and warm in Toronto?!?!? We sure do. 
As part of my #canningreno crazy project turning myself into the client I have been visiting my fav retailers to help outfit my space. Earlier when it did not require 700 layers of clothing to go outside my daughter and I visited FLOR in Toronto.
Flor carpet tiles are kind of perfect for someone like me. As in someone with the delightful experience of dealing with SO MANY ACCIDENTS (I shall not articulate what kinds…) But from experience, there was time when we took our living rug to be dry cleaned multiple times a month from the inevitable spills and thrills that happen with small kids (and big kids alike). But it was getting a bit excessive so eventually I would just try to spot clean or take my steamer to it to attempt to disinfect.
What has hooked me on to Flor is the ability to clean with ease. Due to its modular nature (carpets are made up of individual tiles), if you have a spill, you simply remove the ONE TILE and wash it with soap and water in the sink. If it's damaged beyond repair, you simply buy ONE TILE and replace the spot. It is so practical, so functional for families.
Flor carpet tiles also boast some fun design options. Due to the modular nature you can essentially design anything- the staff can help you do this too. I love the thin grey stripe in this carpet above.
And of course Evelyn had fun shopping with mom.
Thanks to Flor for partnering with me on my house and for the Toronto location for having us! Photos by mddphotography.
For more from this series on shopping for items for my #canningreno check out my recent shopping trips here, here and here.
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