Happy Halloween!! &Top Gun Costume

Last week I posted about my favourite Halloween costume ever, Audrey Hepburn, so today I'll post a close second.
My boyfriend gave me the idea for this costume and I really loved it!
Top gun boys and girls. Third year university.

Costumes are so expensive these days, but I put this one together for around $25 dollars. I went to a local army surplus store and found a basic green coverall. They only had really large sizes so I got my mom to take it in quite a bit. I glue gunned on some of my old girl guide badges, bought a pilot pin at the costume shop for a dollar, and the sunnies I already owned. Voila!

Happy Halloween Everyone <3

ps. I miss my cat. I think I need to do a post solely in his honour next week.

Benches in Front of Fireplace

In my mission to fit seating for 8 in the floor plan assignment I discussed yesterday, I decided that the best option was to put a bench in front of the fireplace. I like this solution for extra seating because it is low and doesn't distract, but makes a perfect perch for guests and can form a conversation zone where there otherwise is not room for one. It would also be a fun way to add another textile or pattern in the room without a huge commitment. A bench is also light and easily moveable.

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Don't put the bench too close and burn the house down now.
What do you guys think of this look?

My First Floor Plan

So, this assignment was a doozy.
It was for my Fundamentals of Space Planning class. We were required to draft a living room/ dining room combo, transferring a given room outline from a 1/4" scale to a 1/2" scale.
Then we had to provide a living room area with seating for 8 (Realistically speaking...whose living room readily seats 8 at all times?) and a dining table for six.
The fun part was inventing our clients (and budget woo).

The hard part? We have not yet learned how to do floor plans in my drafting class yet. We are still on lettering...
Awkward for all of us.
I spent all of last week figuring out my way through this drafting process with no knowledge!
I'm sure there are technical errors, but my prof is aware of our lack of experience with floor plans and hopefully will go easy on us. And I really like what I did. Any space with a cowhide rug, a sputnik chandelier and an  Eames Lounge Chair is pretty sweet in my books!

Right after we submitted this one, we got assigned another one! A kitchen this time.
We also need to do elevations (which we also have not learned yet eeek).
Wish me luck guys! This program is more intense than I expected.
xo

Favourite Furniture Fridays: Inside-Out Design

 Hi guys! I'm Brooke from Inside-Out Design  and I'm so excited that Tiffany invited me to be part of her Favourite Furniture series today!!

I love most of the furniture in my home, but honestly, picking my favorite was so easy! It's most definitely the ottoman that my husband and I made out of our old coffee table.

The table started out looking like this:

We shortened the legs, built out the sides, added foam, batting, and gorgeous fabric from West Elm,

and ended up with this:

All these tight, pretty tufts make me weak in the knees!! 

This was fun; thanks so much for letting me be here Tiffany!

When I asked Brooke to share her fave piece of furniture, I was hoping she would pick this lovely ottoman. I just love the tufts! Check out her full DIY tutorial here! Thanks so much for being here Brooke! Happy weekend everyone :)

 

Halloween at Tiffany's - Holly Golightly Costume and Pumpkin

Halloween is fast approaching and I'm sad to say that this year I will not be dressing up.
I'm currently so busy with school, as well as having been hired on to work as a cashier at a two week pop up sale, that I just don't have the time for Halloween parties this year.

Instead, I wanted to share with you my favourite Halloween costume and pumpkin that I have ever done!
Y'all know I'm a bit obsessed with Audrey Hepburn, my idol, so in my first year of University when I was living on residence (can't believe that was 4 years ago already), I decided to dress up as Holly Golightly:

I seriously loved this costume more than anything. Believe it or not I was the only girl I saw in rez dressed up as Holly Golightly.. most chose to go the 'less clothing' route. And yes, I am holding a grilled cheese sandwich. The all night caf was truly a life saver sometimes!

Then, the following year I got all-audrey'd out with my pumpkin carving skills.
I've been seeing lots of pics of painting pumpkins this year. Love the look, but in my opinion nothing beats a handful of cold pumpkin guts. Just me or...?

 ^Photo op before changing into 'it's okay if they get messy' clothes. I drew the picture free hand from a similar image I saw on the internet.

All carved up! We still have that floral wallpaper in the powder room at my parents house. I kind of love it in a weird way. And yes, I cheated with the tiara. I purchased it at the dollar store and went all 'Mean Girls Homecoming Scene' breaking off bits until it fit.

 All lit up!

And that, my friends, is how you do Halloween at Tiffany's.
Are you dressing up this Halloween? As what?!
xox

*Poof*

I seriously think poofs (or poufs) are one of the most versatile small scale pieces one could own.
In general, they make a good foot rest, but in a pinch (at a party) they easily double as casual seating.
You could even  balance a tray on top and have it become a little side table.
It also makes a great bench at the end of the bed.

Cassandra LaValle via Rue Mag

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^While I'm a huge fan of the Moroccan poof, I just can't get over the cozy texture of this knitted one. Used in the space above it feels warm yet industrial and masculine, but I also think it works great in  kids spaces.
In fact, I'm designing a floor plan for class right now in which I use two of these in a play area.
Knitted ones can be found at CB2

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I know some people think poofs are overdone, but I think they are too versatile to give up just yet.
What do you think of poofs?
Would you go Moroccan or knitted?
xo

Intro to Drafting - First Assignment

On Friday I began tackling my first drafting assignment.
From the pictures, it looks pretty easy...Don't let the pictures fool you.
As a first timer, it was tricky to get a handle on all the different drafting tools (parallel bar, t-square, triangle squares, architects scales, etc). And it was VERY time consuming!

The assignment was to draw the six specifically patterned squares to the proper scale, making sure all lines and points met up completely precisely.
If you're measurements were even the slightest bit off, the diagonal lines would not pass perfectly through each corner. Super frustrating!

First we did a rough copy on a newspaper pad, and then traced it onto this blocked vellum paper.
The rough copy is still underneath in these pictures, which is why you see some faded lines beneath.

We used a 1" = 1' scale. Using this scale, each square had to be 3'x3', and be spaced 1' apart. Furthermore, they had to start 1'-6" away from the vellum's border on the side and 2'-6" down from the border on the top.

You can't really tell from the pictures, but we had to use different leads for certain lines as well.

 

 Next drafting class we complete the other half of this project, which is the lettering.

On another note, the bf came to visit this weekend! We went to a Toronto Marlie's game (since the NHL is locked out). It was a lot of fun and the Marlie's won 5-0!

How was your weekend?

Some School Stuff & Kelly Wearstler

Hi guys, I promise that next Friday I'll try to get back to the usual Fave Furniture series, I've just been settling in to school and such.
Speaking of which...Today I have my first drafting assignment! I'm so excited but a little bit nervous.
It's basically aimed at getting us used to the different drafting tools, as well as to learn the universal lettering style of the industry.

For next week I also have to "choose and interestingly designed object or project, such as an interior space, building, art work, piece of furniture, etc." to perform an architectural analysis on.
This means exploring issues such as shape, form, line, vertical and horizontal elements, etc.

While most of the suggestions given to us were of older historical artists and projects, I'd really like to discuss the lobby of The Tides South Beach Hotel, designed by Kelly Wearstler (who else could I choose!? She really packs so much drama and interest into a space).

I mean...gorge. Am I right?
I hope that the prof approves this one!
For more goodness check out the dining space of this hotel (also designed by Wearstler):

Woah, woah, woah. I'm going to have to work a picture of this into my presentation. I'm thinking to demonstrate the lines of that cool white and gold folding-screen-looking wall treatment, which is also used in the foyer (see the first image).

And those mounted tortoise shells seem totally relevant this week, what with Nate Burkus's Target line launching this week and all...The white shell is my fave thing in the collection I think!

Wish me luck y'all!
What designed object or project would you choose if you had this assignment?
xo

Seeing {Dalmation} Spots - Interiors Edition

Hi loves!
As you all know from yesterday's post on my recent purchases, I am now the proud owner of this dress from H&M (which I can't seem to find on the site anymore, but can assure you is still on the shelves!):

I've been seeing dalmatian spots a lot in fashion lately - on loafers, peplums and even pants.
But, darlings, we know that fashion and interiors are like a couple of besties who share a closet.
What one does, the other is sure to be doing.

Case and Point:

Tiffany Richey via La Dolce Vita

^We've all seen it, we all love it. Endlessly.
After purchasing my dress, I almost returned it thinking 'Can I really pull off a full dress of dalmatian spots?' But then I remembered the fabulousness of this ENTIRE ROOM done in a wallpaper of the print and decided that yes, yes I can.

Caitlin Wilson via Design*Sponge

^ Next, we all drooled when we saw Caitlin Wilson's kitchen on Design*Sponge featuring these gorgeous dalmatian print chairs. Then we all gasped when we realized that they were $50 IKEA chairs done up with a Sharpie marker! You can read the more detailed post about this on LGN.

via Inside-Out Design

^ I also can't get enough of Brooke's DIY spotted lamp shade!
Ohhh the possibilities are endless. A tray, a vase, dishware, the list of DIY possibilities goes on and on.

design crisis via Small Shop

^If you are not much of a DIYer, you can always buy the fabric. I love this dalmatian upholstered tub chair. It's perfect for a kid's room!


Such a fun pattern! Maybe Cruella Da Ville knew a thing or two... but then again, her hair style suggests that she probably didn't. And I mean, lets go faux (or Sharpie) with this one folks. No skinning puppies please. Evil Cruella could have saved herself a whole lot of jail time if she's been as DIY savvy as some of these ladies!
xox

Saw This / Bought That

On Sunday, I got out and did some exploring of Toronto transit, and by that I mean I took one bus and one subway train to the mall, where I picked up a few items inspired by some seriously stylish girls.

1. Inspiration / Purchase (Similar-Target)
2. Inspiration / Purchase (Dynamite)
3. Inspiration / Purchase (H&M)

What have you seen lately on pinterest or a fave blog that you are inspired to buy?
For a peek at more of my wardrobe, be sure to check out yesterday's post all about my new closet!
 
ps. This was my first time using photoshop...it's a tricky little program!
Hopefully I will get the hang of it soon

In My Closet..

 This weekend I got busy organizing my closet. I don't know how I got so lucky to find a room with a closet this big in Toronto, but I'm so glad that I did! This is really my only storage space, so it's kind of a catch all. All it needs is a crystal chandy and a louis ghost chair and it would be my dream space!

I have three types of shoe storage. Most of my heels and fancier shoes are in the vertical hanging storage because the heels fall through the metal shelves on the shoe rack. I feel like I should have put more glamorous shoes on the shelf for this shot..but hey this is the way I live. And I mean, my dirty steel-toed work shoes are pretty sexy. My taller boots sit on the floor and are kept upright by rolling old magazines and sticking them inside!

^A look at the upper shelves. From left to right you see a peek of cleaning supplies, my sweats, silver basket holding belts, wicker basket with towels, weekend tote, rattan basket with handbags and clutches, and my hats. The rod on this side of the closet holds my outerwear jackets as well as my blazers.

The final side of my closet is definitely the least glam. My laundry hamper, mini fridge, pink drawer unit which holds my midnight snacks, and a mop. While this is my own space, I do share a kitchen with five other girls, so I like to keep some stuff in a fridge up here. This is what I mean by a multi purpose space!

All of my other clothes (tees, tanks, jean, pjs, etc.) are in my dresser located just outside of my closet door:

Just for fun (because I love you guys) I'll show you a BEFORE shot of the closet, when it was still a bit of a mess:

 You can see how desperately I needed that shoe rack.

And there you have it. It's probably the biggest closet I will ever have in my life since I plan on buying a tiny little fixer upper in Toronto one day. Gotta enjoy it while I can ladies!
xox