Summer Days

I hope you enjoyed the video from yesterday. I just couldn't resist.

For this weeks post I am inspired by the good weather we had today. It's a balmy 27 degrees here on PEI with lots of sunshine.

It's so nice when I meet people while travelling or on the road and tell them I live on PEI, I am always met with a such positive responses. I can't tell you how many times people tell me "Oh yeah PEI, we were there when we were kids and I always wanted to go back" or " I'd love to go there someday it looks so pretty". I've even had a couple of emails from fellow bloggers who've been here and want to come back. And much of my clientelle are people with second homes here.

The summers here are absolutely sensational. The scenery is breaktaking. I never tire of seeing the rolling vibrant green fields, the wildflowers, the sand dunes and the ocean. I thought I'd share of few of the images I've taken of PEI in the last few days and then share with you an update of progress on the project in Summerside.


Summerside has it's own beach on Greens Shore. I drive by it on my way downtown everyday to and from work. It's directly adjacent to the downtown core.



This is our lighthouse called Indian Head and it is located at the mouth of Sumerside Harbour. I took this while walking along The Boardwalk at Greens Shore. The boardwalk is 5km long and wanders along the beach, through downtown, to the harbour, marina and then a little further east. Of note: The Canada Summer Games are being held here and across the island in August.


The Summerside Yacht Club and Marina. This view looks toward Spinakers Landing with its shops, lighthouse, theatre and restaurants.



PEI is known for its potatoes and rows of plantings are a typical sight. This potato field overlooks the Gulf of St Lawrence on North Shore.


Rolling fields with freshly baled hay.


This picture is French River an often photographed and picturesque fishing harbour.


Sand dunes at Greenwich National Park. They rise up to 60 feet and the beach is amazing!



Inspired by the sea... This table decoration is put together with items from the store and a piece of driftwood from a local beach.



The family room is pretty much complete and looking very inviting.

The breakfast seating area.

An update from last weeks master bedroom photo. The capiz chandelier is now hung and looks simply perfect. What's missing? The upholstered headboard ... it finally came in late last week but it won't be delivered until tomorrow. This is going to be a busy week for us. Our homeowners are due to arrive back on Friday.

And just in case you wondered what the room looked like before. Here is a shot the first time I visited the house. The same angle with the previous owners furnishings. A complete change.

Another view looking toward the desk area.

This is one of the guest rooms. Almost done here just some artwork to hang and some accessoring. We're still working on completing the queen guest room and the twin guest room so I decided not to post any pictures today.

And lastly here is a peek at the unfinished diningroom. The table is in our warehouse and the chairs are coming Tuesday. Nothing like cutting close. We've got the rods hung and ready for the silk drapery panels which our seamstress is hemming to proper length.

Have a great week. Thanks for reading!

Susan

Feeling like a good smile?

I saw this video on youtube compliments of my son. It's about as far away from designing as you can get. However it is creative, entertaining and hopefully will bring a smile to your face as you watch it. Afterall most of us have seen this slick.

Happy Saturday night. Thanks for watching.

Susan

On any given day...

For today's post I thought we could have a look at a few of the projects and places I've been working on over the past several weeks. Working on PEI has me on the road driving constantly. Right now we are working on 2 major projects, one is here in Summerside (last weeks post) and the other is located in Charlottetown. Along with these projects we are also working on several smaller yet great projects.

My typical day starts with arriving at the shop checking emails, phone messages, delivery schedules, and then planning my day accordingly.

Thanks to Anita and Ashley the store is looking fantastic. It's all very summery and coastal feeling.




This months issue of Style at Home featured a house in Rustico, PEI designed by local architect David Lopes of N46 Architecture. He does fantastic work. Congratulations David!




The girls were inspired to do a similar look in our bedroom display at Moving Designz Home & Cottage.

The house is Summerside is coming along nicely. The granite counters were installed this week and look absolutely fabulous. We're waiting for a few more pieces of furniture to complete the diningroom and main livingroom. This week we were working on outfitting all the bedrooms. We have 4 to complete including bedding, artwork and accessories.

I took this picture at the first of the week in the master bedroom. Since then the bedding has come in and we had our electricians install a new lighting fixture. I chose a capiz shell chandelier as it suits the fell of the room perfectly. They are starting to hate me now as we had to move and center yet another light box over the end of the bed. The original light which was actually a fan/light combo was off center in the room. Still waiting for the new upholstered headboard which should have been in by now. Playing the waiting game gets old sometimes...

I took this picture on the way to a home at Stanley Bridge where we were installing roman blinds. How cute a tiny little fox pup... sitting in the ditch. Seeing foxes on PEI is a daily occurance, still I never tire of seeing them. I try to always carry my camera with me on job sites.

If you have been following my blog this is the river home I worked on last year on Stanley River. Due to our hectic schedule and our clients busy summer days I still haven't been able to get back and do the final after pictures. But since we were here installing the blinds in the lower level, and since I had my camera in hand I took this picture looking into the great room seating area.

The following images are from my project in Charlottetown, actually it is in Stratford across the bridge from the city. For this project we were hired to give this home a cosmetic facelift including a new paint scheme, new granite countertops and backsplash for the kitchen, new tile flooring for the entry and laundry room, all new lighting, new window treatments, a new fireplace with built-ins and some new furniture pieces. The home owners love the cottagey/country feel and we are upping it to modern country/cottage.

This is the laundry/powder room as of Friday. The homeowner needed additional storage and desired a more updated uncluttered look. I decided to totally redesign this room with hidden storage for a new stackable laundry center, a new closet and relocation of the plumbing along with new fittings, a new vanity and beadboard wainscotting.

This image is the original location of the laundry sink and toilet.

Here is that same corner with the plumbing moved and a new vanity, toilet and faucet. Since the space is only 7' X 9' every inch had to count and function. Moving the main plumbing across from the laundry center has really opened up the space. The vanity provides much needed storage especially with the drawer in the bottom and has a classic upgraded cottage feel with the Carrera marble top and new widespread faucet. I had just enough space for a 30" vanity and toilet on this wall... I got lucky.

If all goes according to plan within the next week the doors and shelving will be added to the laundry center, the mirrored medicine cabinet and additional storage cabinet will be installed and the room should be completed with a fresh new paint light colour.

And upstairs the main bathroom is also under construction and on it's way to a new fresh look.

The wainscotting up here is now installed, as is the shower tile, new tub, toilet and new vanity. I chose to use the same vanity style and marble top up here for continuity. The marble top is a little late arriving but should be installed by the middle of next week. Our carpenters will also be installing built in drawers and shelving under the eave nook.

Here is a look at the freshly installed new shower tiles. We went with basic white subway tiles and added some glass tile borders for interest and colour.

The vanity wall will be getting a mirrored medicine cabinet and a new light bar.

The family room is getting it's share of work too! The before image.

Still a work in progress ... but lighted up substantially. Still to come a new fireplace with built-ins, a new leather sectional, and furniture layout.

On to another project we finished up last week. This seaside vacation home is getting a room by room makeover over time. Last year we did the master suite. I highlighted it in a July blog post last year. This year we helped the homeowner with a second bedroom. We had hoped to paint out the flooring and just add an area rug but the floor was in such poor condition that a new carpet was the quickest and least expensive fix for the floor. I chose an off-white synthetic sisal to keep the space light and airy.

The room received a fresh new green paint colour to complement the new pink, cream and green bedding, new white bedside tables, and the old antique headboard was freshed up from a dark wood tone to fresh white.

The after picture. Very quaint, very cottagey.

Since it's such a nice day outside I'm now heading outside to work on my yard and gardens. And if I get done quickly maybe hit the beach.

Have a great week! Thanks for reading.

Susan

June just flew by...

I haven't posted for well over a month. I came back in from my gardens since my last posting and have been steadily trying to keep up with my yard work on the weekends. Due to the amount of rainfall we received in June my grass and weeds have been growing like crazy.

I also took a trip to Ottawa to visit some friends during June. What a beautiful city Ottawa and its surrounding areas are.

My work schedule has been very busy. Here is a peek at a project I posted on in early May. We have been working steadily for the last 6 weeks on this project to have it ready for the first week of August. The entire inside of the house has been painted, outfitted with all new window treatments, lighting and furnishings. We are still about 3 weeks away from completion while we wait for more furnishings to arrive.

Here is a picture of the familyroom the first time I visited the house for measurements and to come up with a design plan for my clients. At this time the previous owners were still in residence.

This is what the familyroom looks like today. As you can see the change has been quite dramatic!

Thanks for reading. Have a great week!

Susan