House & Home Magazine’s Kitchens & Baths Issue 2013

Well hello stranger!  It has been awhile – four weeks to be exact. Chalk it up to an incredible vacation on the East coast (of Canada) and enjoying summer vacation with my girl. (And fitting client work in as well.)

Remember last year when I blogged about Canadian House and Home’s annual Kitchens and Baths issue? I love that issue and took it with me to every kitchen and bath consult I had. It is a great resource to show clients different design ideas and products.

Well, the 2013 special issue hit newsstands this past weekend and guess what? I am in it. (I don’t think I mentioned that on the blog before but I did Instagram photos from shoot day.)



It features a small bathroom I designed last year and how it can be styled two different ways for two completely different looks.


Joel Bray, design editor, was the stylist who pulled the two looks together. I think they are brilliant and can’t decide which one I like more.

Margot Austin, editor, wrote an incredibly flattering blog post on how the story came to be and the design itself. You can read it here. (Wow – thanks so much Margot!)

You have to buy this issue if you are thinking about/dreaming about/planning a kitchen or bath reno. (It’s not available with your subscription.) I’m not just saying that because I am in it! There is a wealth of practical advice and product info, not to mention beautiful photos.

A huge thank you to Margot and her team for their professionalism, creativity and talent. And I also want to thank these clients for their trust and for working with me to create this beautiful bathroom.  (This sounds like an Oscar speech!)

Have a wonderful week everyone!

If you require design advice, please contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis.com.

Where I’ve Been and Where I am…

Hi there! Happy Friday!

Just wanted to let you know that I’m featured in an article in the Toronto Star online.  So fun to see my living room on their home page and mentioned next to Debbie Travis and Colin & Justin. You can read it here.

I also have a little mention with some other fab bloggers in the latest issue of Dabble magazine.  It’s on one of my favourite design projects – bathrooms. You can read the entire issue here.



If you can’t read it, I say “If you share the bathroom with your spouse/partner, two sinks are mandatory.” If you have the space of course - don’t you agree?

This week, there were a number of fun events to attend. The first was an event hosted by DIY expert and friend Sarah Gunn of the Yummy Mummy Club.  We all experienced an Oprah moment when we took home a Brother all-in-one colour printer. It even prints 11x17 and I can’t wait to use it.  Thanks Brother!



Then, I attended an event at Decor-Rest with a presentation by Para Paints as well. I love both of these companies and was happy to hear what’s new with both.  My luck continued as I also won a chair!  I have no idea where I will put it, but isn’t she pretty? It would be a great end chair for a dining table.



Oh, and the Home Depot Canada has launched special holiday collections from Martha Stewart Living.  There are three different collections  – Winterberry, Arctic and Celebrate.  They sent me some ornaments from their Celebrate collection which are golds and bronze and will look perfect on our tree. Below is a pic of their Winterberry collection.



That’s it for now!  Sorry I haven’t been blogging much lately.  You know how it is, right? Please stick around though because I will have some client projects to share over the coming weeks/months. And I can’t wait to share our newly decorated den – just waiting for it to be published online first!

Have a happy weekend!

Client Project: Bathroom Reno

I received some photos from my photographer of the bathroom reno I completed for a client a few months ago. I just love this bathroom. You can read about the reno here. 

This is what it looked like Before just to remind you how far we have come:

And this is the inspiration board using Olioboard that I created at the start of the project for the client's thoughts and approval going forward.  A few things changed along the way (for the better) but the general feel and mood remained the same.

I love the pretty photographs from this photographer.  They really do complete the room.

I custom designed this vanity.  The legs and shelf for baskets keep it light and doesn't overwhelm the small room.

All photos by Leah Kirin.

I would love to have a bathroom like this myself!  So fresh, clean and pretty. What do you think?

If you require design advice for a bathroom reno (or any design project), please contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis (dot)com.

Client Project: Bathroom Reno

Over the summer, I worked with some lovely clients to renovate their bathroom.  I had blogged about it here.  This is what it looked like before:

This is the design I came up with and the clients loved. Subway tiles, marble hexagon floor tiles and chrome fixtures – classic and timeless. 

We veered from the design plan above slightly, e.g. the Ikea vanity didn’t work and to ship the wood mirror to Canada would have been costly.

And here’s how it looks now but it hasn’t been styled pretty and professionally photographed yet.  Hence, it’s the “Almost After.”  They are placing black and white photographs over the toilet.   The shower curtain is the West Elm one above and needs to be hung with a new chrome rod.   Other than that, it’s a wrap!

The wall sconces from Restoration Hardware were a splurge but my clients really loved them, so they were a must.  The wall colour is Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray – one of my “go to” colours (although it has a purple hue in the photos, it really is a lovely gray.)

This is a close up of the marble hexagon floor tile:

 

I custom designed the vanity so that it would be the perfect width and depth for the space.  The airy design makes the small space feel larger.  The counter is Caesarstone's Pure White quartz and the baskets are also from West Elm.

I must say I love this bathroom and if I were to redo my own ensuite, this is exactly what I would do!  Once I get professional photos done, I will share.  I’m sure it will look way more prettier than my photos! 

I’m linking up here and here.