Well, I haven't had internet in what feels like forever, but I'm on the ferry between Tsawassen and Swartz Bay, on my way to Victoria so that means I have some spotty internet! Yay!

When I last had internet I spent my time perusing ARTERIORS from activemerchandiser.com . I went through all of their PDFs and picked out my favourites.

Quite often I find things I love BUT could or would not ever incorporate into my home. Almost all of the pictures below fall under these categories.

Super cool. Not totally in love with the shade but shades aren't hard to change. But look at the craftsmanship in that flower! Gorgeous!

I'm a fan of mirrors. I thought that I loved the sunburst mirrors that have been so popular over the last few years but over the last few months I've been finding my love for them waning. I'm very happy I decided to wait on making/buying and installing one.  This, though, seems softer and a little more classic. I think it will go out of fashion more slowly. How cool would this be on the ceiling. I would totally consider puting a potlight right in the middle of it.

I recall my stepmother has something like this. And I have to say, that woman knows style. This, like hers, is fantastic in a walk-in closet.

I totally don't remember what these are. Are they vases? I know that they will get dusty, but I love them. Can you imagine the white one just blending in while still adding interest to your entrance way or living room?  Need a pop of colour in a bedroom? 

I'm going to make these. Maybe. No, no I won't because the moment I go to do it I'll remember that the knit will get dirty. I would however absolutely use this as a cozy for old cans and tins of coffee that I use to hold stray pens and pencils.

This definitely falls into the cool-but-not-in-my-house category. I love the candle holders. They remind me of candle holders that would have been in someone's home in Constantinople during the Ottoman Empire. I don't know how I'd ever use it or where to put it?
I love terrariums. I would especially have some in my dream library. But, I don't really like these - they just kind of remind me of the terrariums that I do like. They make hanging ones now as well!
I don't know what the things on the bottom left are. I like the wood bowl but not enough to keep it.

Ah, come on. These are cool. I know they're just wooden hoops on feet but still the little kid in my wants to play around them. I would stick these in my back yard and just let my nieces and nephews hop, jump, dive through them and play tag around them. The most simple props always create the most complicated (and fun) children's games.

I like the horns but I think they're made of glass. I'd much rather have a real one. Where to put it? who know.
Ya, I love agates. I would use them as paperweights or bookends.

Who doesn't love these? I like the giant Jack. It makes me nostalgic for times that I never experienced. I do remember how the faces of my aunts and uncles and grandparents would light up whenever they came across one (unless they stepped on it! Then I remember running). 
I love the carvings of the bonzai tree. They make me feel relaxed but I think I would just keep a bonzai tree.
I have no idea what the thing on the bottom right is and it feels like something I would find under a pile of stuff at the salvation army. Not a bad thing, just not something I'm likely to enjoy.
I do however adore the bronze flowers on the top right. They're gorgeous. I don't know where I would put them but my goodness do I love them. They just make me feel happy inside.

I don't think I even have to explain why these are cool. I could easily find a place for the bowls but I think it would be harder to find a place for the candle holder. They draw the eye so much that I'd definitely need a second in order to balance what ever room it ends up in.  If this had a patina it might be easier to decorate with, otherwise the room would just end up too busy.  Maybe a few of them along an long gardenfloor deck? In a bathroom? So many ideas!

I don't really want any of these in my home but they are neat. I just love round tables. They just feel homier.

I'm sure everyone has seen the bed frames that matches these (or seem to match them) and just like the amazingly amazingly lovely sylvan bedframe, I don't know if I'd want them in my home. If I had them, I would work it. But as I don't I feel like I have so many more options. By using these I would really limit my decorating options because they are the total focus of the room. Anything else I could do would have to be very calm and unnoticeable or the room would be far too busy.

Neat, but I don't like them for me. I love wardrobes - they are great for everything from storage, hiding televisions and computers away to holding clothing and linen. I really enjoy that they are textured. That, and the deep rich colour. 

Look at that wood. Look at the solidness of the wood and the metal. Gorgeous. Made to last. Made to pull up for chats in the kitchen. Made for backaches. I know I sound like a grumpy old woman but you'll have to trust my experience on this one. They look gorgeous and for a short while they feel gorgeous. But having to sit in one of these for any period of time over 5 minutes will be frustrating. No back support except in the most unhelpful place. Trust me, I've sat through cocktail parties in these.

Not sure I want one of these. Maybe in a guest bedroom? They're cozy, not overly stylish, and they look well made. What do you guys think?

I like these because they are "big chairs" by which I mean they make anyone sitting in them feel petite.  I enjoy that. I enjoy furniture that makes me feel larger than life even if they make me look small. On the same note, small furniture - small couches in particular - can make their inhabitant seem incredibly grand. Take a peek at some of your favourite old timey moviestars. They're pictured on the same little couches or giant armchairs.

Very cool. But where would this go?

I really like these especially the top right lamp. I would probably use it in my dream "Moroccan room."

I stayed with my stepmother for a few months during my first year of college and I remember her glasses. They were a lovely rounded collum set of glasses with lovely little air bubbles throughout the glass.

Really not sure why I like the one on the left so much. I don't think I'd ever use it but I still feel nice when I look at it.

I LOVE ocean life based lamps. I just do. The one on the right reminds me of a long jellyfish. On my next update I'll be sure to add my favourite lamps.

Lovely

Gorgeous again. but again, where?

These are just neat but I'd have a hard time incorporating them without making the room feel more full than I want it to feel.

This one I would use, maybe with a shorter shade, if I could find a place for it.

these are neat.

You know me and ocean lamps. I like the top left

These I would buy. Where I would put them, I have no idea but that wouldn't stop me from buying them.

mmmm steampunk-sh lamps. I will own these. My favourite are the accordion lamps.

weird but cool. kids room?

neat

oooo. I like the flower one but I kind of wish it were a torch. :(

That's right! I love mirrors. Especially rounded ones. I feel like they're very useful for pulling together a room and creating a focus. Love them.

Well we're almost at the port! So I need to head back down to the coach lines bus. Back down to the car deck with THREE horse carriers. UGH. This wouldn't bother anyone else but I'm allergic to horses and the ferries don't carry benadryl. I'm just going to start carrying it with me always.

I need to stop posting late at night. I just did a quick view of my last few posts and my spelling and sentence structure in some places is terrible :(

Well, it's the middle of the night and I'm still not yet sleepy. So, I'll try to begin a post and I'm sure that by the time I'm a paragraph in I'll be asleep at the keyboard.

Don't expect anything deep or complex!

I've come to the conclusion that I am a sucker for animals, not just in everyday life, but also in design. I know some people are taken in by the smell of cookies during house viewings but what does it for me is to see an animal just chilling.

Sure the majority of the house has been staged but the owner's cat is still flopped on the wide windowsill asleep in the sun. That for me is an instant impulse buy. The cat is happy therefore it must be a good house.

What?

It's also why I love to see pets accidentally or otherwise featured in home advertisements. A cat asleep on the bed during a virtual tour. A golden retriever rolling around on its back in the background of a picture. What's not to love?

My favourites though are when the animals are sneaky. You wouldn't expect a cat to be sleeping on top of the refrigerator. And I certainly wouldn't have noticed that the fridge is deeper than the overhead cabinet above it if not for that cat.  But, it can also draw attention to positive construction that I am happy to see, like a pet bed stashed under a counter.

Pets are great. I really can't imagine a home without a happy animal with a full belly to pet.

While we're on the subject of taking pictures of houses for sale, how do you prefer you pictures are lit?

I really don't like the ones taken at night. I know that with all the lights on it's supposed to look warm and inviting but it has the opposite effect for me for some reason. What about you?

Children and the home

Something that has been bothering me lately: Kid-ification. Or the opposite, sterile rooms.

I know you know what I'm talking about. You can see it in every magazine and nearly every interior design website on the planet. Either a room has never - and will never  - see a human under the age of 18 and is designed so that not a tuft of carpet is out of place OR the room in question has a racecar bed and ridiculous wallpaper with hello kitty and sleeping beauty.

We've all heard the stereotypes but they really are true!

This just isn't practical. In 3-8 years the children are just going to be embarrassed by their rooms.
The other end of the spectrum isn't pretty either. It's as though the rooms were made for germaphobes or royalty. Minimalism or opulence. Either way they're always easily breakable or easy to dirty.

This is just a poor idea. The rug is easy to trip on. The stark whiteness of it leads me to believe it will be dirty before the day is out. And I feel like if anything is moved, misplaced, or broken then the room is no longer presentable.

This really is the same as above, it's not just a matter of how white is your living room but how it is designed and arranged. If I were to live here I would be using it and it wouldn't look like this for long. If children lived here there would be chocolate on the arm chair and boogers in that rug in no time. eww.

I love how light and airy this is....but pointy and easily shattered tables really are a no-no. Also, shag rugs. They really just are my pet peeve. I'm only 23 but even I know they're a bad idea. I did in fact grow up in a bedroom with yellow shag carpeting adjoining a bathroom with lilac shag carpeting. It was a bad idea in both rooms. They just aren't hygienic and to be honest, they don't look that great either.

I know this is just an entry hall and why should I pick on it for looking so lovely and bright but can you imagine walking through here more than once or twice a day. Where do you take off your shoes? Where do you put your keys? What happens when your dog walks in with muddy paws? So many of these just aren't practical, not just for children but for everyday life.

mmm sharp pointy corners at head height.

I've noticed that these have been gaining in popularity lately and I can see why, they can be quite darling and reflect light around a room. But, I think they need to be done properly as I've heard too many horror stories of these shattering because someone's child closed the drawer too hard or drove their remote control racecar too close to it.

Something like this would be better. It's still beautiful but it's a little higher from the ground. It's not entirely encased in shatter-able material either. It looks sturdy but lovely.

Now I realize that lately there has been an effort to avoid these extremes, especially when it comes to children's rooms. But I've been finding a lot of them fall flat because they're designed for one age group only (think closets that are only 3ft tall) or they're inspired by a t-shirt from the seventies.

 Why do we need to have such crazy colours for children. They've got enough of it in their clothing and in their toys. If it's too bright for your bedroom then it's probably not a good long term colour combo for your child's room.

 I'll be honest here, I would have killed for this ceiling for nearly 10 years of my life. But, the wall mural is too much I would have outgrown that or felt embarrassed by that as soon as I turned 8.

 Just wait 'til your sixteen year old tries to hang up his hoody when his closet only comes to his navel. fun times.

Yes, this was actually designed for a teenage boy.  What were they thinking. They actually had to pay that model to sit in that room.

I think what it comes down to is you shouldn't design a room as if it won't be used and you shouldn't design a room that looks like it has come out of the Blue's Clues Universe.  It doesn't make anyone happy.

I would say just design a guest room where you expect the guest to stay for a month or three. Things should be functional, calm, and nice to look at. They shouldn't be stars and stripes. Think, if you were staying for a long period of time in this room would you appreciate a vanity or in the ugly, boy's room above, a work space for studying or drawing?  Yes.

If you design just a regular guest bedroom the posters and crayon drawings will naturally be added. There will be stuffed animals that decorate the room whether you want them or not. The point is you really don't need to decorate a child's room it will just happen over time. All you need to do is pick out furniture that will grow with them and last.

That, and don't make over done rooms that you can only image one person living in. They're pretty but they're not welcoming. I love the way you've decorated it but I'm afraid to touch or move anything. You've all been to that person's house. We all know one or two.

SO, if you have some lovely pictures or ideas. Please leave them in the comments. I would love to see how your ideal, children's rooms would look and how your people friendly homes look. :)

 PS I had had to add this. I know it would make a terrible bedroom but it is so cool to look at!