Summer at the Shop

For todays post I thought I would post some pretty pictures of the shop over the past few weeks.  Featuring lots of pretty colour combinations of furniture and accessories.

I'm crazy about blue, red and tones of white for summer. 

Oranges, yellows and soft greys are a hit too!

Chocolate and blue. 

Lots of colourful lady finger starfish have just arrived.  $3.25 each  We also have the teeny tiny 1" size in purple, pink, white, yellow and blue $1.25 each

An easy to create arrangement using a coloured starfish in a glass container with a little bit of white sand on the bottom and a couple sprigs of beach grass. Easy, simple, classic summer tabletop decor.

We have a great selection of colourful pillows and patio lanterns.

I like mixing up orange, chocolate and teal.  The patterned pillows are indoor/outdoor.

Bedding options. 

These are great choices for soft colour palettes.

 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Susan

My Master Sweet...

For todays post I am going to share some before and afters of my new master suite.  Just in case you've been wondering about my sporatic blogging this fall ... wonder no more.

My lately weekend life

I not only moved my business to Charlottetown but I moved too.  From my house to a condo the same week as I was moving the shop/business (call me crazy).  The totally ironic thing about the above image is that all those boxes are stacked in my "old master bedroom" ready to be moved. 

My condo key

Giving me a fresh new start and an amazing decorating opportunity to put my stamp on this brand new empty space! 

This was my new master bedroom, a totally blank slate.  Hmmm .... need to fill with furniture/make pretty.  I have a nice bed and other stuff but my old place had a dressing room with built in closets.  There was no need for a dresser.  In this new place I needed one.  I sensed a DIY project about to happen as my budget was quickly diminishing ...

Enter the antique sideboard I spied at a local second hand shop.  It had great potential, nice curvy lines, plenty of storage and it was in good shape.  It needed a facelift for sure but at $250 I was sold.  

And so ... with Anita's seal of approval (she had to check it out before I bought it) and with Ashley's help (muscles) we dragged it to my storage room at the new condo and had a painting party.

I even ponied up and bought us huge coffees to keep us going ... however... what really got us into it was good music and...

A supply of cold Coors Light, sometimes cold beer just makes everything seem easier.  Wine does too:)

Here's my painting partner and fellow shopgirl Ashley, removing all the old hardware.  She's a trooper!  I'm in the background sanding the dresser in preparation for priming and taking endless pictures.

1 hour later we had the entire dresser sanded and then painted inside and out with a grey primer.

The huge top drawer

No surface was spared as I wanted it to be clean and fresh inside and out.  In fact, after the dresser was completely painted I lined the inside of all of the drawers with white felt. 

After letting the primer cure for 24hrs it was on to the finish colour. 

I chose semi-gloss black for the finish.  Tip - semi gloss is the perfect paint for furniture finishes.  I forgot to mention I could have had it sprayed but at $275 (OMG really?) I declined and decided (budget again) to tackle the project myself with Ashley's help.

Just for fun I thought I would share what my first few nights looked like.  I call it  "college dorm room chic" bed on floor.  Not really chic at all!!! But functional and hey, I had a bed and bedding. 

Enter my finished master suite... 2 months later... done just in time for some Christmas touches.

My colour scheme is white, taupe, black, brown, blue, and cream accented with hot pink.  I like mixing it up... with all my favorite colours. 

I had to have this patterned ottoman from my shop, Moving Designz Home & Cottage.  I've been in love with it for while now.  Accenting my room with hot pink? 

It's a decidedly feminine (princess) room, not hard to tell I'm a single gal.  I don't quite think I could get away with this room otherwise :)  But hey, it's mine so why not?  At least until Prince Charming comes along :)

Table to the left...

Table to the right... with white feather wreath above the bed.  Now that was a great find!

A close up of my bedside table with the lovely carnations(they like last forever) and vase full of pink and silver Christmas bling.

Before view



And my DIY dresser project, here it is with the addition of crystal knob hardware from the shop.  It's the perfect fit!  Total cost with paint and hardware - $475.00.  I still want to add drapes but they will have to wait until the new year.  At least I have real blinds now :)  A fab chandelier would be heavenly too!  Unfortunately there is no electrical outlet for one... drag. 

One last look at the before and after.

I love my "princess" room and sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure this is real... Bed, bedding, tables, ottoman, accessories, artwork - Moving Designz Home & Cottage. 

Sneak Peek of my livingroom... a white tree for me.

I'll be posting on the rest of my condo next weekend. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great weekend!

Susan

Reality is Settling in

Hmmm ... where to start this blog post.  I've been so busy over the past few weeks I have had no time to do any writing or blog posts.  I've had it on my "to do" list ... that incidentally never seems to end.  So many other life details and changes have taken priority in the past few weeks I've been preoccupied.  

Within the past 3 weeks the shop has really taken shape and is looking pretty fab.  The endless pile of paperwork is done and I'm starting to feel reenergized and organized.

 

This is our new shop display!  I took this photo yesterday.  This new display features pink, green, black, white and a touch of Christmas.  Very pretty.  It feels energetic! 
Can I just show you one more picture?

Same sofa, with yellow, turquoise and black, from our spring display at the Summerside shop.  Proving if you use a neutral background, in this case the sofa, any look is possible.  Colours just work!  Change out your accessories for an entirely brand new look.

Today I'm going to share some random pictures of things, thoughts and events which have inspired me recently.  This sparkly table top setting at the shop is one of them.

Wine that is named Open... how absolutely perfect!  I'm liking that...

Now that we're up and running at 98 Fitzroy St we had a small open house to mark the occasion.  I was trying to decide what type of food to have and cake sounded good...

A Moving Designz cake... of course!

 

I did not know that you could take an image and have it placed directly onto a cake until 2 weeks ago.  I'm not sure how many bakeries offer this service.  Isn't it cool?  All I had to do was bring in my logo image, which they scan and then place onto the cake.  The local Sobeys store did this with 2 days notice.

I also noticed these mouth watering chocolate treats.... while I waited to pick up my cake.  OMG I wanted to buy one (yeah two... all) and just gorge.  Is that why they make them?  So people like me can feel guilty about even wanting one?  I fought the urge took my cake and ran away before I caved.

 Speaking of sweet things... I think these pretty little espresso cups with built in spoons would be the most perfect little dishes for serving individual desserts.  

New News!!! 

 

Meet Susan Rogers of Blue Mountain Entertainment.  http://www.bluemountainentertainment.ca/index.html

A local film maker I've been meeting with over the last few weeks with a very exciting idea/concept ... Excerpt from Susan's webblog below. 

"In other news, the rumours are true, I am in the very early stages of planning a new reality based Design Show with Susan Snow of Moving Designz. No more news on that yet because we have a lot to sort out but I am hoping we will get an 8 minute pilot shot in  January."...

http://bluemountainentertainment.wordpress.com/

I guess since she's putting it out there I will too! I told my sister last night who just kept giggling and repeating "are you for real?" As in Reality TV? Yes!  Maybe!

The local paper did an amazing story on my business last weekend called  "Living the Dream"

(SOMEBODY PLEASE PINCH ME)

(SOMEBODY PLEASE PINCH ME)

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Business/2010-10-30/article-1909789/Design-company-expands-and-moves-to-Charlottetown/1

More Good Karma! 
Another really amazing thing happened last month which I've been wanting to post on... Kelly James, my fellow blogger and friend from Jax Decor http://jaxdoesdesign.blogspot.com/ just happened to stop by for a visit all the way from Ottawa to PEI.   Her and hubby took a vacay to PEI and stayed at Number One Grafton and we got to have dinner and cocktails together.   

This is Kelly's stunning purple bedroom via her website (eat your heart out Ash)  Kelly is a big fan of purple.  You must and I mean must go to her website and look at her beautiful house.  She has such a great eye and her house is to die for.  I luff her style !!! 

 http://www.jaxdecor.ca/

I'm loving purple lately too!  Purple + Shoes + Bling = Shoe Heaven 

Proof... right here, right now, my new purple shoes.  Love design and love great shoes.  
Perfect with jeans on a casual Friday :)  Shoe envy?  Kelly has it, Ashley has it ( another purple fan), Anita has it, Karrie has it and a total of 30 odd customers apparently have it too!!!

Back to more random shop images .. this gorgeous white sofa that everybody loves (including me) arrived at the shop last week.  

One more view... with those pillows... I love the whole look, especially paired with the teak storage coffee table, custom graphic pillows and white cutwork accessories.  If you follow me, you will note all my August purchases that I blogged on from the buying show are finally arriving,  yeah!

 The new bedroom display, chocolate, white and green.  Coming into winter feeling warm and fresh.  Peppermint patty anyone?

The new window display... more chocolate, pretty blues and some bling.  I love the mirrored tables.... not to mention the chrome studded chair... oh love!

Large oversized wall clocks just arrived at Moving Designz Home & Cottage

Time to be thankful to family, friends and customers for your kindness and loyalty.  The flowers, the emails, the notes, the phone calls, the drop bys, the words of encouragement, the invites, the hugs, the tears, the dinners, and the unending offers of help.  All very, very appreciated.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it"   

Many, many thanks ...  :) 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!

Susan