bold2boss

Madeline’s recent engagement party was such a fun way to start the celebrations for her quickly approaching wedding…and, of course, a great excuse for all sorts of decorating projects (not that I need an excuse!). My amazing sister-in-law, Sandra, joined me in the preparations, sharing her beautiful decorations and providing loads of inspiring ideas…like this adorable entrance arch made of Russian Sage and branches collected from our garden.

I want to share with you some pictures of the entrance sign I painted on this sweet little mirror for Madeline’s recent engagement party (yes – she’s engaged!!). You can see the sign here in the entrance way under the lavender arch …

The last of my little treasures , gathered during my recent impromptu shopping spree , has finally found a home.

Yesterday the boys helped clear the construction mess from the foyer of Sam’s room…and I began decorating. We transformed the closet from a scary collection of 2×4’s, paint buckets and spiders into a lovely little reading-nook overlooking the back yard. …finally our dusty boxes of books have a home… The foyer is a beautiful space, with light streaming in from both sides – what a huge difference changing the back door to glass (although this door still needs some attention) and the side door to a glass french door . …we added a shelf to the cove for our collection of treasures and memories… Finally, no more obstacles and spiders to navigate through – instead a welcoming collection of treasures and favorite books.   have a beautiful week! xo shelley

here are some more of the treasures I collected on my impromptu shopping excursion… I love this elegant glass candle lantern mixed with the organic softness of these treasures my new favorite spot to start the day with my morning coffee

Change of pace yesterday!   I shed my reno gear and headed out into the big world to complete my errand list.  This turned out to be much more fun than I expected…as I just happened 😉 to bump into some tempting sales that ended up in very satisfying impromptu shopping and decorating! Look at these beautiful candle holders! I love the three of them together…so adorable with the fairy lights…

My beautiful dining room table arrangement is gone…it’s found new friends and playmates in another loved corner of our home. That’s perfectly fine with me since I have new-found treasures that I’m adoring and inspired to create a new arrangement…my adorable rooster which reminds me of my sweet little hens who now live at the neighbours; a big fat pitcher that I can’t resist; an elegant white and gold tray that found me during my latest ‘window’ shopping trip; and, as always, my treasured collection of shells collected beach-combing with my kids – a collection of beautiful forms and memories all. Adding candles to create a collection of five adds balance…although I can’t resist adding a sprig of lavender (so actually a collection of six!).  I love the opposing effect of the organic soft grey creamy tones of the large shell filled with beach rocks with the smooth shiny finish of the china pitcher and rooster. Arranged on the white tray, the items are drawn together as a collection an...

It's Christmas! We have just finished decorating our Christmas tree...beautiful! The whole house is full of excitement and the festive smell of fresh fir. We headed out Saturday morning to choose our perfect tree. Strong helping hands...Benjamin gets the job of cutting and Doug carrying...no snow or rain for this year's outing! oops, a couple of slips in the mud...but all fun (for us anyway). We adorned the tree with fairy lights, candy canes and our collection of favorite nostalgic and handmade ornaments...so many happy memories of Christmases past. I love the simplicity of the tree...it fills me with joy and Christmas spirit. I hope your Christmas season is full of excitement, joy and love. have a beautiful week xo shelley

Some life experiences are transformative, ripping apart the way you understand, view and experience life.  As I lay there in that dim room, searching through a haze of exhaustion and confusion, I knew this was to be one. I could see a tiny ruddy body, limp and lifeless; my baby girl, torn from my body now transforming my life.  Silhouetted figures lean over her speaking in hushed tones; tubes; chest compressions..she’s dying…alone in this dark room surrounded by strangers. I reach for her, struggling to get closer, to give her something familiar in all this strangeness…  “Baby,” I whisper, “I’m here, stay with me…stay, please stay.” She did stay.  Her tiny delicate body wired up, naked under the harsh buzzing lights of the neonatal intensive care unit.  My delicate black haired baby, clinging to life…fierce eyes glaring and penetrating my soul. I went home without her…empty, desolate and alone...waiting for her to gather strength, waiting to bring her ...

The rough edges of the bureau draw me closer. The ruts and worn edges under my fingertips are like the groves of a record, replaying our precious stories. Memories flood around me, mixing joy and aching nostalgia… little feet pattering down the hall soft rosy cheeks snuggled against teddies Laughter and warm embraces, music and dancing feet. …passing time. My fingers linger on the imperfections as I savor the precious memories… our life and love resonating in these marks, our history inscribed…our beautiful life… beautiful imperfections have a beautiful week xo shelley

The spring sunlight streaming through my windows has inspired me to do some decorating…adding fresh arrangements to my livingroom to take advantage of the beautiful visas.  These beautiful stems just opened their blossoms…perfect accompaniment to my spring arrangements. image my favorite spot to curl up with my morning coffee to watch the sun rise.  Our beach-combing collections…such perfect summer memories.  Some of my favorite garden ornaments snuck from the flower beds.  I’m collecting lavender to add to this vignette…it’s in full bloom in my garden just waiting to be picked.  Some more of my favorite garden ornaments…these hold lovely verbenia scented candles.  Shells and lightly scented candles – the perfect accompaniment to an afternoon glass of wine.  Have a beautiful week!  xo  shelley

This Easter we did Ukrainian style Easter egg dyeing, thanks to my mom’s initiative (Mom took Madeline to a workshop in dyeing Ukrainian Easter Eggs and came home with supplies for the rest of the family to create Ukrainian Easter Eggs). The process is quite simple but delicate, painting fine designs in wax and coloring in various amazing colored dyes. The designs emerge seemingly magically throughout the process with each dye dip, and finally, at the end with the wax removed that reveals the final picture. I became enchanted with the final dip in a deep rich black dye which adds an iridescent glow to the flowing lines of colors. Happy Easter xo shelley

It’s January. Christmas vacation is over and it’s time to get back to work….well, actually I’ve spent a good chunk of vacation time plastering walls and painting so I should say back to my other work…my other work that I also love, as a nurse teaching at the local Baccalaureate College. I love my work in health care and I love-love-love my work in design…but it’s kind of a weird combination!…and every day of the last 30 years I’ve wondered ‘Health and Design – what’s the connection??!! Well, let me tell you what I’ve figured out – the connection is nothing and yet also, I think, it is everything . …nothing…well not completely nothing . , I have found connections between the two concepts – people, creativity, organics, and many others points of curious interest. …but more importantly, I have also found it’s everything …core, essential interconnections between health and design. And I have to tell you, so much of the really deeply important, meaningful things I know about beautiful ...

Bliss…Christmas vacation…Christmas carols, falling snow, the crackling fire…I’m lounging in our vacation ski chalet, gazing out the window at the snowy ski hill (the image above is the amazing view)…my attention distracted only by the awkward furniture arrangement hampering the beauty of the chalet. A large sectional (certainly too large for the space) divides the small ‘great room’ into two isolated spaces, one for eating and one for lounging…the furniture hampers our socializing, the flow of traffic and our zen!. Such awkwardness can be easily fixed with just a few simple adjustments…as I’ve learned from years of aggravation, exploration and experimentation. So, I set down my wine and start pushing the furniture into the positions that make sense and create that desirable cozy, calm ambience. ...sectional divides this narrow room into two small spaces… sectional seating is cramped against TV wall and creates a visual and physical barrier that makes the space feel small... Turning the...

I love design books, particularly those demonstrating uniqueness, creativity and insightful discourse. These gems, scattered throughout my rooms and lining my bookshelves, consistently inspire me in my designs – provoking me to view design through different lenses and to consider alternate approaches…flipping through their worn pages, I am compelled to design and I rarely make it through the chapters before I hop up and begin a new project or rearrange a display. The following six are a selection of my ‘go to’ design books. I have included the book cover photo, which, for all of these books, well represents their unique and distinct flavor…to respect the copyrights, I’ve refrained from including their beautiful content pictures (very hard to resist considering the amazing photos…be sure to check them out in person!) One of my favorites, that I return to again and again, is the design book The Family at Home by Anita Kaushal (2007). This beautiful book, featuring inspiring designs that ...

My hand is on the door, waiting to close it behind me as I’ve done without thought so many time before…walking the kids to school, biking to the park, heading out for dinner.  But this time I won’t return.  I hesitate, looking back into the empty rooms, our first home, so full of life and love… now just memories reflected on bare walls.  Kids giggling on the sofa, little round faces open and joyful; pillow forts under the chairs; friends gathered in the kitchen, laughing, cooking; babies born.  Our home resonating with our life and love, resonating ‘heart, home and health’. A cherished life, cherished memories.  I feel the weight of passing time.  I close the door. And now a new home, full of possibilities…walls to tear down and warms spaces to create…a new home for new memories, a new home resonating ‘heart, home and health’ . heart, home, health   is the life-blood of our dwellings, expressing the essence of who we are and what we care about, keeping...