Checking In

It's been a while since my last post and it feels like I have nothing to say yet there is a life going on... Damien is doing well at the end of his 3rd week of a two-year after degree Nursing degree.  He hit the ground running and cannot slow down as all the learning is compressed into 24 months.  Luckily, he has a Bachelor of Kinesiology which had a great focus on the body and how it works.

Very hard to get a good picture of both of them at the same time!

Tristan, Vlad and I are leaving for Chicago in about ten days to help Tristan settle into an apartment for the start of his residency on July 1st.  Having had him at home for the last 5 months has been a great joy and I will miss him dearly.  His lively conversation, sense of humour, keen and social commentary make him a really fun roommate.

Vlad, as you know, had his hip replaced on Feb. 29th and is doing marvellously. He is substitute teaching in schools and his almost daily exercises and is very upbeat and positive.  He also has a small landscaping project in the back yard which keeps him engaged.

For my part, I seem to just be coasting through this last few days with 'children at home'.  Finished cleaning and painting Damien's room and have started the design for the re-decoration of our room. It's been about 13 or 14 years since our last redo and the red toile is looking a little tired and I am very tired OF it.

I went to Restoration Hardware for inspiration for my gold and grey room.  I found a beautiful print that is my jumping off point:

via Restoration Hardware

Framed by scrolling leaves and vines, a 16th-century classical flora motif is printed by one of Italy's famed ateliers on basket weave cotton in a softly weathered palette that accentuates our bedding's heirloom quality. The antique Italian pattern, capturing the scale and fluidity of a watercolor painting, comes from the distinguished archives of the Ratti Group, a company founded by Antonio Ratti in 1945 and now led by his daughter Donatella Ratti.

I've purchased the duvet cover and will use it with gold herringbone sateen bed linens to complement.

via Restoration Hardware

The cherry on the sundae will be the purchase of a bench for the end of the bed.

via Restoration Hardware

via Restoration Hardware

The wainscotting will stay in the cream color and I want to paint the top two-thirds of the wall in a stormy-sky grey color.  Then I want dark grey drapes that hang from the top of the wall and a dark grey bed skirt.  I've already found lighter grey bed sheets at Winners and BBB.

                              

                             Very bad photo of the armoire to be given a face lift 

I'm thinking of repainting the armoire above that I bought years ago at Home Depot. I wish I had the talent to make it feel like this with an Italian or Provencal landscape with cypress trees:

via habershamhome.com

I've looked for posters that I could collage onto the doors of the armoire but have not had any success yet.  The fun is in the hunt... Any ideas? And no, hiring an artist is not within the means of this budget...

All I need after that is a cut glass decanter and glass on a silver tray on my night table.  I think I'll head to Value Village.