New Home For Nest Building

Thank you to EVERYONE who has read and/or followed this spot for the past four years! I will continue to post here once in a while but, from now on, my Home Decor articles can be found at www.welovenelson.com, under the heading 'Home Work'.

This is an amazing new site developed by my friend, Raven and, due to his exceptional marketing and networking skills, readership of my columns has already increased by several hundreds.

The site will be formally launched at the end of May, 2013, but it already has a large and loyal following and plenty of interesting content. I hope you will visit me there from now on!

Of course, you can still read all my Nest Building columns, new and old, on my website: www.katebridger.ca; they are archived by year beginning in 2009.

Stay in touch!

Home Grown*

The last coat of paint has been applied and the final box unpacked. You might think your work is done, but you'd be mistaken. Now begins the exciting process of turning bricks and mortar into memories and experiences marked by celebrations and tragedies, growth and attrition, joy and grief, and everything else that life throws at us. Homes develop from the inside out and, despite the apparent rigidity of drywall and siding, the structure of an organically grown home inhales and exhales, stretches and shrinks, adapts and evolves and—piece-by-piece—begins to write its own story.

The process of converting a house to a home can begin in a variety of ways … it might start with something as simple as the first spilled drink or scuffed wall, or something as momentous as bringing home a new infant and slowly accepting a Fisher-Price colour palette into your 'designer' living room. Signs of living and signs of life provide integrity and authenticity to a home and, without these random departures from perfection, a house remains little more than a utilitarian container.

Houses are built. Homes are grown.

An organically grown home is a patient one. A house furnished and decorated in one fell swoop runs the risk of becoming a one-dimensional stage set where everything belongs to the same style and era reflecting only your mood and preferences during a very narrow and finite period of time—i.e. the few crazy weeks before you moved in! It is the equivalent of summing up your entire life in a snapshot versus a feature film.

An organically grown home adapts to fit you. Design and social convention often make us behave in a certain way to fit a space instead taking charge and turning it round the other way. So, if you decide to convert the designated ‘master bedroom’ with its magnificent view of Kootenay Lake into an office because that's where you spend most of your day, go for it! There are other places you can sleep.

An organically grown home never stops evolving. Nest building is a work in progress. The need to accommodate a growing family will likely come to an end when one or all of the children leave home. Certain rooms can be re-purposed as you develop new interests and hobbies. Or, perhaps an elderly relative is moving into the basement and your son's black walls and heavy metal band posters need to be exchanged for pastels and needlepoint! Change is a constant in our lives and an organically grown home is one that reflects, supports and celebrates it.

 *Adapted from Nest Building: A Guide To Finding Your Inner Interior Designer, written and published by Kate Bridger. Visit www.redfernhouse.ca to purchase your copy or find your nearest retailer.

Mxing It Up In Nelson

The domestic architecture of Nelson is as diverse, whacky, wonderful and intriguing as the people it houses. We are fortunate that we lack the space—and the collective inclination—to develop sprawling homogeneous enclaves of cookie-cutter homes like so many other North American communities. Of course, we have our fair share of new townhouse developments and small subdivisions, but they are sufficiently tucked away so as not to disrupt the aesthetic landscape of our established residential neighbourhoods. 

Classic Victorian architecture sharing the street with contemporary houses creates a neighbourhood with a visible personality; it encourages self-expression and invites diversity. Newness co-existing with antiquity allows the old to be respected and preserved by keeping the neighbourhood alive, vibrant and guaranteeing its place in the future.

It is similar to the process of succession in a forest. The new saplings grow up amid the old growth until it is time for the old growth to die off and the younger vegetation to take over.  Just like the forest, a neighbourhood developed naturally over time is far healthier and more dynamic than a ‘clear cut’ where older homes are razed and the ‘new growth’ that replaces them is often selected on the basis of uniformity and expedience.

Take a stroll through Nelson’s main residential areas—Fairview, Uphill and Rosemont—and you will quickly recognize that each one has its own distinct character and, within each neighbourhood, there are tidy homes, funky unconventional structures, classic ginger breaded houses and the clean-lined stark silhouettes of ultra-modern development. You’ll find ever-so-‘umble abodes dwarfed by majestic ‘mansionettes’, once simple bungalows now proudly holding up a second storey, or a single family home that’s been artfully converted into a multi-family dwelling. Many Nelsonites are refreshingly creative and not coy about letting their personalities show on the outside of their homes with bold colour combinations or sculptural attachments.

You don’t have to love them all, but the visual interest and the varied demographics occupying our neighbourhoods definitely contribute to the Nelson we love.

 

Fooled Ya!

Do you wait all year for April Fools’ Day to play annoying pranks and jokes on your friends and family? What if you could fool them year round? Well, with a few deft sweeps of a paintbrush in the hand of a talented artist, you can trick the eye of visitors to your home in the tradition of ‘trompe l’oeil’. 

Literally, trompe l’oeil means ‘trick the eye’ and it is an art form that uses exquisitely realistic images to create optical illusions. Typically, the intent is to create a convincing—though unexpected—three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional surface.

Trompe l’oeil has been employed by artists since the Romans and Greeks were decorating, but it became significantly more sophisticated as painters developed a deeper understanding of perspective.  Well before the advent of chiropractors, artists craned their necks for months on end to create the impression of openings to the heavens and skies in the vaulted ceilings of churches and palaces using only paint.

Trompe l’oeil has also been used for centuries in the creation of theatrical sets where long corridors, winding lanes and other elements are required to provide physical depth and context to a scene.

Reo's, Nelson BC
Photo: Kate Bridger

In contemporary cities, trompe l’oeil is often employed by sophisticated graffiti and commissioned street artists to paint spectacular murals on the outsides of otherwise unremarkable architecture. We even have an example right here in Nelson, BC … take a look at the ‘un’real windows, doors and cornices painted on the sides of the Reo’s.

Inside contemporary homes, however, the use of optical illusions is quite rare because, done properly, it is labour intensive and there are few artists able to pull it off and few homeowners able to afford it. Of course, there are commercially available wallpapers you can purchase if you really want to ‘install’ a window with a view of the Hampton Court Gardens in your dungeon-like basement, and you can still buy the ‘forest scenes’ and ‘beaches’ that were popular in offices and rec rooms during the 1970s. If you really want to be clever about it, there are paint application techniques you can learn that mimic rough stone, or peeling plaster so you can add a rustic feature without the rustic mess.

Anyone with an e-mail account has probably seen some of the viral e-mails depicting extraordinary painted illusions such as bathrooms with floors that appear to have completely dropped out to reveal the ground several storeys below; or a staff smoking room painted to look like the inside of a grave, complete with the sky up above and mourners peering down.

But, perhaps you’d prefer to start with something a little less challenging. How about a porthole in the bathroom looking out to sea, or a ‘fake’ shelf of cartoon characters in a child’s room? Perhaps you’d like an ionic column on either side of your front door … or maybe just a pretend hook with a pretend umbrella hanging from it.

Get the shadows and the wrinkles and the light in all the right places and perhaps you’ll fool your friends all year round without having to put plastic wrap on the toilet seat … although, you could probably paint that too!

 

www.katebridger.ca

 

 

 

 

White Washed

I woke up last Saturday morning, the sun was shining and Nelson had been treated to a fresh coat of pure white snow. It was clean and sparkly and unspoiled. It's what we all strive towards as we brush our teeth and bleach our linens. White is also a go-to shade for many homeowners, contractors and decorators. It provides a clean slate and is so obviously a non-colour, it is unlikely to offend.

The utilitarian aspects of white can be classified as follows: convenience, cleanliness and consistency.

White is a convenient choice because it requires very little thought. Everything will 'go' with it so it is an easy default colour. However, not all whites are created equal. If you look at a collection of paint store chips you will soon see that 'Wedding White' can look quite dingy beside 'Snow White' and 'Antique White' looks almost yellow beside 'Pearl Morning'.

White is also recognized as a measure of cleanliness—particularly appealing if you live in a laboratory. White is associated with purity, innocence and perfection. Because of this, it must be well maintained. A white sofa with even the slightest stain will appear to have fallen from grace and white walls conspire to draw your eye to every scuff, dent or mark. 

As a default option, white offers consistency within a room or throughout a building even if it is only applied to the trim, woodwork and ceilings. It's so much easier to have one can of paint for all these details particularly where rooms flow from one to another—there are no difficult decisions to be made when a corner or a doorway crops up.

The world is so full of colour that white is rarely my first choice. To me, a white wall looks unfinished and screams for saturated colour and I find white furnishings and accessories very unsettling. But of course there are people who find white calming and restorative.

An all-white room can also provides an opportunity for a little drama; for example, if you want to single out a favourite colour, then a splash of that in the midst of a sea of white is very striking. However, the problem with such contrived spaces—if they are intended for living in—is that they require extra diligence and preclude certain behaviours. There is no place for black dogs, sticky children, newsprint, well-worn tatty blankets or mis-matched cookware.

Like everything—and everyone—you invite into your home, don't settle for what seems convenient and easy. Go after your passion and if it turns out to be all things white, pursue it consciously and deliberately. And remember, if you must put your feet up on the coffee table, wear white socks!

PHOTO CREDIT: Meagan Tintari, '…love Meagan photostream'

www.katebridger.ca 

The Palette of the 21st Century

I am definitely not a follower of fashion when it comes to colours. I know what I like and, equally, I know what I don't like; I believe that society would be a much healthier body if it too, collectively, felt as certain. However, it is always fascinating to see what the marketing machine is working on each year and what colour or colours they hope to convince the fad-followers to adopt. It is, after all, essential to both the fashion and interior decorating industries that there is always something new in order to make what we already have into something old.

The palette of the 21st century according to Pantone has, so far, taken us from a rather insipid start to the new millennium with 'cerulean'—meaning, like the sky on a clear day—to 2012's 'tangerine tango'. For me, the worst year, colour-wise, was 2011 with its Pepto-Bismal-like 'honeysuckle'. Fortunately, I don't think it caught on with the masses, as I don't recall seeing it displayed in many shop windows.

This year, 2013, Pantone has given us a rather energetic, refreshing and optimistic colour: emerald green. It is a resplendent colour reminiscent of lush greenery, royalty and, of course, precious gems. How it will work its way into our homes and closets, however, is another matter. I think it will be one of those colours best applied in small but eye-catching splashes … scatter cushions, glassware, a feature wall, towels, and so forth. I think it will exist happily alongside equally pure and dazzling colours such as turquoise, magenta, lime and royal purple—I'd steer clear of red unless you enjoy Christmas all year round. Taupes, soft yellows, ivories and creams will provide background support and a complementary context.

Emerald green is a beautiful colour and a very happy one to boot. Let's hope it is a harbinger of the year to come.

To read more visit: www.katebridger.ca

Seven Ridiculous Things!

Seven Ridiculous Things! (Nothing to do with Nest Building, but never mind)

It was my birthday earlier this month and, although I am far from ancient (in my mind, at least), I am old enough to decide that there are certain things in this world I need never be bothered with … for example:

1. Glow-in-the-dark diapers … ideal for a generation of children for whom every activity, event and moment must be fun-filled and entertaining. How about reminding them/us that there are a few things in life that simply must be done—toilet training is one of them. So, come on, pull up your big girl pants and find your fun elsewhere.

2. Tweeting … I thought this blog was self-indulgent enough, but tweeting is clearly over the top. Who cares if you are wandering the supermarket aisle squeezing melons, or standing on a street corner waiting for a bus? How about spending more time doing what you're doing and less time broadcasting it. The only thing worse than tweeting is following other people's.

3. Botox … swollen lips, stiff brows and horror movie ghoulishness! Come on, we've all seen those frightful women on TV whose faces got stuck—just as my grandmother promised, although she said it would only happen if the wind changed. Beauty is in the eye of the one who spent the most money … fat lips and frozen foreheads.

4. Pet rocks … (the fact that I even remember these ridiculous things probably gives you some clue as to my age!) I think the inventor of pet rocks was one of the pioneers of exceptionally well-marketed foolish products and the madness has only continued from there. I wonder, as he stands beside his lonely rock pile, is he proud of what he set in motion? 

5. Jeggings … what is really frightening about these stretchy hybrid pant/tights is that, as always, the wrong people are inclined to wear them. Perhaps it is time to establish specific weight and size restrictions for certain fashion fads?

6. Doggie strollers with cup holders … first of all, dogs don't want to lie in strollers and scare passers-by who happen to peer in expecting to see a cute little baby … there's no dignity in that at all! And, secondly, what is it with this cup holder obsession? There are cup holders everywhere these days … cars, grocery buggies, armchairs (except those in coffee shops), etc. People strolling about with their precious cups and water bottles in hand always make me think of insecure children unable to relinquish their soothers and bottles.

7. Last, but not least … tanning beds. Paying money for a leatherette hide and a place on the fast-track to cancer completely baffles me.

However, here are a few things I am willing to stand up for:

Landlines, Lego, grammar, real books, record players, Google, caller ID, world peace (of course), the Beatles, slinkies and Coronation Street.