modest studio: the after

 

AH, it's the final studio reveal day! i can't believe the addition is complete. like right down to every little detail including a wood 1960's new york city taxi intended for kids that i couldn't resist. i think it is safe to say i spend every waking minute in here, from morning e-mails to afternoon shoots to relaxing nights editing by the fire. i'm even writing this post cozied by the fire with pete who also never seems to leave this room. i think pete thinks we built it as a squirrel watching room for him & buddy.

if you read my first post titled "the before", you know this room is an addition to our 1928 craftsman(ish) house that didn't exist. however, there was so much going on in the space that i had to break the reveal up into two blog post so i could work my way through all the details i put into the design. in this post i am breaking down all the furnishings & decor. the most beautiful furnishings!

the first two pieces to arrive were the GT rocker & bala rug from gus modern. i have been dreaming about this rocking chair for years, ever since i came across it at a warehouse sale in toronto & we couldn't fit it in our car! i didn't even have the space for it at the time, but it was such a unique piece. the rug is a chunky textured rug made from 100% new zealand wool. i love the simplicity of the design against the detailed villa lagoon black cement fishscale tile* floor. plus that mustard yellow stripe is the perfect pop of colour this space needed. i went with the 8 by 10 as i wanted it to cover a large portion of the floor so it doesn't get too chilly to walk on in the winter time.

now let's talk about those armless sofas & stunning oak pieces! the seating had to be comfortable, but i also wanted it to be minimal & sleek (not easy to find, right?). the N701 sofa collection by ethnicraft checked off every box. we went with one 3 seater & a set of two 1 seater sofas. the cool thing about these sofas (besides everything) is that you can build them into a modular sectional to fit any space you have. this is exactly what i needed depending on what shoot i am styling & staging. i also love the relaxed & effortless vibes the armless look gives off. i went with the beige colour as i felt the studio needed a lighter sofa against the black windows & floor, but the sofa comes in blue, dark grey & saddle leather too.

similar to wanting light sofas, i also wanted light wood pieces. as someone who always gravitates towards walnut wood, this space just screamed light oak to me. the coffee table, storage cupboard, spindle bench & sideboard are all from ethnicraft as well. each piece is made of (the most gorgeous) solid oak with a protective matte finish (no glares in imagery, woo!). the sideboard holds my linens, cookbooks & flatware whereas the glass door cabinet holds my most used props & pottery. i never had space for a tall glass cabinet before this room because my house doesn't have many "walls", so i am beyond happy to finally have a place to display all my handmade pieces. it also makes picking props for a shoot much easier when you can visually see everything.

i went with ethnicraft's oak wave sideboard instead of the tv cupboard as i needed it to be more of a buffet cabinet (for storage) then an actual "media unit". we went with samsung's the frame tv (thank you black friday sales) so it would look like a piece of art over the sideboard during the day & i could display my own photography. i even went as far as adding two hudson valley lighting alva sconce lights on each side of the tv to really fool people into thinking it was just a pretty piece of art! because i ordered it on black friday we had it set up in our bedroom while the room was being finished.. so now i want one in there too! haha

last but not least, a lot of the decor are handmade pieces from my absolute favourite artist virginia sin. some were existing pieces i had, some were pieces i was dying to have like the venule vessel vase sitting pretty on the coffee table. the throw blanket & pillows are from ethnicraft as i felt like they suited this unique sofa set the best. the majoirty of them are 100% linen & the others are a blend of wool. i think everyone knows me enough by now to know how much i love linens & wools.

like every room the space will evolve over time, but right now i think it is perfect. i will include a full list of product sources below & if anything is missing, feel free to reach out. cheers! xo

oh! since i always get asked for paint colours & wallpaper prints.. the walls are metrie complete 5.5 inch polar white shiplap that has been painted with farrow & ball's mizzle in modern emulsion (a new washable line of paint). the wallpaper is atacama (BP5803) by farrow & ball. both are a greenish grey tone that changes colour with the light, as i'm sure you will notice in the imagery. always a debate on if the colour is green or grey, what do you think?

lemon ricotta fritters

 

spring is (almost) here, so let's celebrate by frying up a fresh batch of lemon ricotta fritters! something about the scent of lemon just screams spring. these fritters are an italian inspired treat also known as lemon zeppole. they are light, fluffy & perfectly sweet. i like serving them with strawberry jam or fresh whipped cream for dipping! these are made with a blend of full-fat creamy ricotta cheese & bob's red mill all-purpose flour (my go to flour). if you are looking for a gluten free option, try using bob's 1:1 gluten free baking flour.

easter is looking like it will be the same stay home orders as last year, so these are a fun treat to enjoy at home with your family & bring in a little (deep fried) easter cheer. a fritter in one hand & a chocolate bunny in the other, who is with me?

ingredients:

  • 1 cup full-fat creamy ricotta cheese
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup bob’s red mill all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 pinch fine salt
  • zest of 1 lemon, plus more to garnish

directions:

  • in a large mixing bowl whisk together the cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract & lemon zest until well combined.
  • sift in the flour, baking powder & salt. mix until batter just comes together.
  • in a heavy bottom skillet (use a deep fryer if available) fill 2-inches deep with vegetable oil. heat to 375(f) degrees.
  • using a small ice cream scoop, drop batter into the skillet working in batches of 3 to 4 at a time. fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown & cooked throughout.
  • transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

modest sunroom + studio: the before

 

oh em gee the studio is done!!!! although i am calling this post the “before” it is technically the after because this room didn’t even used to exist. if you have been following along on instagram, i shared in the fall that justin & i were building a studio addition to our 1928 craftsman home. we had local architect forest green creations design us a room that dreams are made of & the construction officially began in october with lynchwood design & build. we have been planning this room since we bought the house in 2016 & it was so worth the wait. i take months to decide on a sweater, so you can only imagine how long it would take me to decide on finishes.

it is truly the room our little house was missing & i cannot get over stepping into this studio every morning to have my coffee & answer e-mails! it is a multipurpose room to be used as both my photography studio & office so let’s call this blog post the after of the before. does that even make sense? idk, but i just really wanted to showcase the room itself before all the furniture goes in. so much thought & detail went into picking each fixture & finish, so i figured i would break that down for you in a blog post! this is the first time i got to design a space from scratch & it was seriously so much fun. justin, can we do it again? haha

the walls:

i knew right from the beginning that i wanted the room to be finished floor to ceiling in vertical shiplap. it gives it such a cozy cottage vibe & adds that extra bit of character to the walls that drywall doesn’t bring. we went with the metrie complete 5.5 inch polar white shiplap. although we didn’t install it ourselves, the builders said it was a breeze to install! it works both horizontally & vertically, so we switched it up for the ceiling & had the shiplap run opposite to the walls. we went with the 12 foot length boards which eliminated any visible seams.

the paint:

another thing i knew from the beginning is that i did not want the room to be white. i find white spaces a little boring (unpopular opinion I know) & would not fit the craftsman vibe of the rest of the house. i didn’t want the space to look like you were walking into a different home, but i still needed something neutral for imagery. i was stuck narrowing down what colour to pick, so i used farrow & ball’s virtual colour consultation which helped me land on the most perfect colour ever: mizzle. i seriously can’t even picture this space another colour & i am now obsessed with mizzle. the colour consultation was extremely valuable, especially with the scale of this project & knowing that the colour had to be perfect the first time around. it entailed an hour video chat with a designer. prior to the chat a colour book is sent out & afterwards three sample paints are delivered. the consultant helped me bring in that green shade i was craving, without going too green. mizzle is that kind of colour that changes as the light changes, sometimes it looks a beautiful soft green & sometimes it looks a beautiful soft grey. because the windows were going to be black, we agreed to do the trim in the same colour to not take away from the boldness of the windows. lastly, even though I told justin i wouldn’t add anymore wallpaper in the house (who really believed me).. i added one accent wall in the sunroom. ok but how perfect is the print atacama (BP5803) by farrow & ball? it is a print inspired by a brightly coloured swatch found in an old fabric mill. it has a cacti theme, which i felt really suited the space. it also makes for a beautiful backdrop like the kitchen wallpaper!

the floor:

ok, that floor though! i wish everyone could see it in person because photos will not do it justice. it is a cement morrocan fish scale tile in solid black from villa lagoon tile & it is stunning. each tile is hand made which gives them a perfectly imperfect finish & natural variations in the colour. all the beautiful shades of black give this space such an organic look. because these tiles are made using a centuries old process, i knew they would bring in the character this new addition needed. the tiles are made from marble, portland cement & natural mineral pigments. the colour runs deep, so the tiles can be sanded & refinished in the far away future. lastly, cement tiles are not fired in a kiln like porcelain tiles, making them environmentally friendly as they use little energy to produce & create no pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. these tiles feel like walking on art & i know they will be here for another 100 years looking just as gorgeous.

the fixtures:

the only ceiling fixture in the studio is a fan, so it needed to be a fan that was pretty enough to be the focal point. the spitfire fan by fanimation looks like it was made for this space! each piece is sold separately so you can dream up any combination of finishes. to keep with the rest of the finishes in the space i opted for the brass fan (with the light kit) & the black wood blades. with the ceilings being 12 feet tall at the peak, i added an extension rod as well which i think really adds to the overall look of the fan. one cool thing to note is that the fan uses a handheld remote to turn on, off & adjust the speed. we also installed the wall control just to have easy access to turn on the main light when we enter from outside.

i also opted for a few wall lights for when we wanted subtle lighting in the space. we went with a samsung frame to disguise the television as art (it is also great for displaying my own photography), so to add to the look i installed the alva sconce light in aged brass from hudson valley lighting on each side of the frame. i just love the mid-century modern vibe of the sconce lights! although I didn’t want to bring it too much brass to the space, these felt like the perfect pop of brushed brass to bring into the design.

the hardware:

we installed a set of 9 foot tall wooden french doors & i knew they needed to be finished with extra special hardware! the doors lead to our backyard which will one day be a wrap around deck. because i did a split finish on the doors (grey exterior & black interior) i decided to do a split finish on the hardware as well. emtek makes arguably the most gorgeous hardware available, plus you can customize it to fit your space. i opted for a modern design (brass modern plate with stuttgart lever) with a black matte finish on the outside & satin brass finish on the inside. i ended up choosing the same hardware for my parents exterior renovation, but with a knob instead of a pull. you can basically design any hardware you can dream up with emtek, even marble pulls!

anyways, that’s all for now folks! i am including a little sneak peek at what is to come & share the mood board i created before the first helical pile even went into the ground. i created a lot of mood boards before settling on this one that I could probably go design about 50 rooms right now. i will link to the items below, as well as all the finishes featured in this blog post. can’t wait to share the final space! till next time xo