Pretty white and black house

My friend Michelle just sent me a link to this house that she absolutely knew I would love. It's rare when you come across an mls listing that is so up your alley, that reflects your taste so well. I love the black and white exterior... so classic. I love the light floors and the white walls with the black windows. I love the warm grey kitchen with the mismatched stools and the open concept. All the lighting and the simplicity of the decor is perfection.

Enjoy the pics. Check out the mls listing for more: E3205089

-Kate

Spring Picks

Welcome, Spring! We are overjoyed to see you. There is definitely a bounce in our steps and a glow on our cheeks. Yesterday the kids and I stayed in the schoolyard until 5:00pm. Moms chatted, kids ran around and it felt like it was supposed to. Like how I remember playing for hours on end as a kid myself. Then we walked home and that took us forever because everyone was outside and we had to stop and chat half a dozen times. It was bliss.

Amanda and I don't post as often cause we are happily busy with projects, but I couldn't resist sharing some of my spring picks - the things that brighten up the inside of your house after a long winter and help you welcome spring.

Here they are:

Please take note of the pom detail. Light and whimsical and can be found here.

This is called bringing the outside in. Maybe just one on the couch? Found here.

A little bit of spring cleaning and a touch of organization with a pretty Tote goes a long way. Here.

I am OBSESSED with Caldrea products. Amanda introduced me to the countertop spray and even Chris tells me to spray it on something before someone comes over. It makes the house smell like it was just cleaned from top to bottom. Apparently they have a room spray that I haven't gotten my hands on yet but intend to.

A light Kilim in a muted blue and it's actually indoor/outdoor so you can use it wherever you want.

This is not particularly a spring item but I really love it. Wouldn't it be nice to come to my house for a coffee and then I present you with this combo including a biscotti on the side?

Enjoy the sun, people!

-Kate

Headboard Install

It's really hard to publish pictures of our work before it's done. It takes everything in me to post our progress without everything in place, looking just right. But the journey is important too and we want to share ours. You might recall our inspiration for Project Thorndale's boys room. It was a bit of rustic with a bit of navy, white and yellow. We had two custom headboards made, courtesy of my husband, Chris Krasic. We ordered some fantastic taxidermy and purposely chose two different heads for interest sake. If you follow us on instagram, you'd know we found the two throws at two different Home Sense's - the stripes were a slight deviation from our plan to find something plain yellow but we like them even more. And the duvet is from Restoration Hardware. It is the softest material ever. We had originally planned for a reading nook by the window (which you can't see.) But the client fell in love with his sisters desk when it arrived, so the reading nook is becoming a work station.

Headboard before install

Good looking installer;)

Stay tuned.

-Kate

Marble, marble, marble

So, Florida was great!  Although I don't love it quite the way Kate does, I must say, that over the past 4 years it has slowly grown on me to the point that I can say that I REALLY didn't want to come home and I'm looking forward to going back....which has NEVER happened before.  It may never be California in my book, I actually went into the bathroom at my family's house and cried the last time I left, but it has it's own special charms.  Charms like grouper, I ate soooo much grouper (all fried of course), crab, shrimp, cheap wine, great beaches, cheap wine, fantastic ice cream shops....these are the reasons why I came home and put on jeans and was like "ohhhh, those darn dresses really can be deceiving!"  Cue the treadmill. But back to reality!  My reality was pretty sweet this week.  On Tuesday, I spent the whole day looking at marble.  I walked into that first showroom and just beamed with joy!  I had to call Kate just to tell her how happy I was in that moment.  So here's a look at my day.  You can just marvel at the beautiful marble with me.

The boards are samples of the tile we have already chosen with our client for their bathrooms. Each board is a different bathroom.  Enjoy!

Florida lovin'

Amanda always talks about her obsession with California. She wants to move there or in the least travel there once a year. I've only been once, and while I loved it and intend to return, my love affair is actually with Florida. Mainly because my in-laws started the tradition of vacationing here every year in March so it has become a part of our fabric. You may remember last year when we were on North Captiva, a boat access island, a really unique experience. This year, however, we found an island that doesn't require a boat but has loads of charm and character just the same. It was best described to me as Florida cottage country. It has that "walk around barefoot" kind of feel. There's a local ice cream joint filled with penny candy and a donut store run by surfers. There's a free trolley that drives up and down the island but most people just ride their bikes.

Appropriately, I took a bike ride in my bathing suit to snap some pictures of some of the character-filled homes on the island. This is just a snapshot, but it paints such a colourful picture of Anna Maria real estate, especially in comparison to the typical Toronto home. This is part of why I love Florida so much!

This is Casa Krasic above.

I love this house because it looks kind of Mediterranean.

Ummm, white picket fence!

This one looks like cartoon characters might live in it.

Great colour combo.

This one just looks so balanced.

When I was little I used to play a game where I'd pick my favourite house on every street. Everyone played that game, right? Anyway, that mediterranean is my fave. Yours?

On another note, the weather, as you can see from the pictures, has been phenomenal. Hope I'm not jinxing it. Chris has been catching sharks and the kids bounce from the beach to the pool. Did I mention how much I love Florida?

-Kate

The BB House

We've been in Florida for a week now, can't believe how fast the time is going. In light of how cold it was when I left Toronto, I am especially enjoying being here. I got a burn my first day! My skin is peeling! I don't even care! Seriously, I love Florida so much. The kids play at the beach or swim in the pool and I occasionally go to Target. It's a dream.

On another note, has everyone seen Bryan Baumler's newest construction: In the Sticks? Amanda and I are obsessing over it. The highlight for me is the common area - the kitchen, with the double island, the european range, the lighting, the offset fireplace and the marble.... it is beyond.

Check it out.

Pictures courtesy of hgtv

That dining room is also pretty spectacular, particularly the glass table and the gold accented chairs. Check out hgtv photos for the kids bedrooms and exterior photos, including a master to die for.

-Kate

About a girl and a boy

Q design drapery hosted a fantastic workshop last week and hosted Wendy Hicken from Interior Design Master Class, who spoke about the importance of social media for your business. I learned so much, and won't replay the entire talk, but I walked away thinking I really have to make a better effort to blog and pin and instagram.... but my god it takes so much time! Amanda and I used to blog several days a week and then we decided to start a business which has taken up more hours in our day than we ever imagined. But we love sharing our progress and are going to try to make a greater effort to expose our journey. So...

Amanda and I are working on a little girls room. We started with a grey and pink palette and ended up adding black and white to the mix when we fell in love with a black headboard. Oh and maybe there is a touch of gold in a mix. The idea is that this little girls room will appeal to the 6 year old that it belongs to but will also stand the test of time and still appeal to an older girl with a couple tweaks throughout the years.

Here's our concept:

We are also working on a little boys room. He's got two single beds in his room for sleepover purposes so the beds are the focus. We decided to give him a rustic room with barn board headboards and navy and white accents - maybe a bit of yellow to brighten things up. Here's our concept:

We are so excited to share the finished product but it won't be for a couple weeks. Amanda is already in Florida and I'm headed there next week.

-Kate

p.s. I ran into a high school friend a couple days ago who said he read our blog once and was fully making fun of our "About Us" page. He said we sound like blah blah soul mates blah blah we love each others taste blah blah. Anyway, I love that he called us out on that. And I love that he read it and remembered. We probably won't change our page but apologize if we come across totally sappy and drippy:)

Taxidermy the right way

I love the juxtaposition of rustic and modern. Like glossy white on antlers. It's kind of like my tirade the other day about enjoying the unexpected. My friend Leah, has started making faux taxidermy with a playful twist. I love that she has created something fun but mature. I'm so impressed and can't wait to put one in a children's room. Each one is made by hand with paper clay and then is mounted on wood.

Leah has an etsy shop if you want to see more or request something custom. Go here.

-Kate

Valentine's Day Yay!

Amanda and I gave ourselves an early Valentine's day gift by planning a weekend away at a cottage this weekend. No kids, no husbands. Yep, I might stay in my pyjamas all weekend long. I might read a book or I might just sit by the fire and talk about life all day long.... one of the things I used to do with girlfriends all the time before I had kids and was accountable to them every minute of the day and night. Remember when you would hang out with a friend in the morning and then it turned into the afternoon and then the night and all you did was talk because you had nowhere pressing to go? That's what I'm referring to.  It's one of my favourite hobbies. So Happy Valentine's day to us!

But Chris, if you do want to get me something else on the actual day, here are my hints:

Pictures courtesy of westelm.com (bowls, vase, marble heart,) indigo.com (serve ware, pouch, candle,) victoriassecret.com (bathing suit) and etsy.com (ring, mittens.)

-Kate

Highlights of #IDS15

Amanda and I made it out Thursday night to the Interior Design Show Opening. We were pretty excited. We'd never been before and it was a chance to get dressed up. Being new to this, I think we were both surprised at how fancy some people were and the high concentration of black rimmed glasses in the crowd. But people seemed really happy to be there and excited about design. I think that was the highlight for me - to realize how big an industry it is now and how many people care about interiors. Here's a pic of Amanda, sitting in a painting. She looks so happy because she's drinking wine and high on advil (she's actually got a really bad cold.)

We took a selfie of the two of us but it's a bit too close up, if you know what i mean...

Anyway, one of the highlights was the IKEA kitchen designed by House and Home. It made me actually rethink white because it was so warm and so inviting. The details were impressive - the backsplash tile, the gold railing, the concrete island, all the rustic elements etc.

And the other little highlight was a company called Lint and Honey that make pillows and wall art and aprons. Nothing earth shattering, but very pleasing to the eye.

We will definitely go again next year. Maybe by then we will have a booth!

-Kate