pool o' drool...

Okay this just created that painful feeling you get in your jaws when it's been, like, ten hours since you've eaten and you see something you simply must devour instantly presented in front of you:


http://mini.glark.org/post/845969148/wine-barrel-floors


Thanks to Meet My Ugly Baby for this find.
+ http://www.meetmyuglybaby.com/
+ http://www.meetmyuglybaby.com/shopping/laminate-pros-cons/


And to What's Up Whimsy for leading us to that blog.
+ http://www.whatsupwhimsy.com/


Huzzah!

"design your life"...

We are planning on attending the Vancouver Home and Interior Design Show:

http://www.vancouverhomeandinteriordesignshow.com

Lots of local and national companies to see. I'm particularily looking forward to viewing exhibits from California Closets, Color My Kitchen, Cookworks, Home Makeover Magazine, Midland Appliance, Nood, Paragon Surfacing, Recycled Patio, Renocon Design Centre, Tiles for Less, and Yaletown Interiors to name a few.

Hope to see you there,
Lisa (for the Dome Design Team)

the devil is in the details...

Well, I think the beauty is in the details: in planning ahead. Planning ahead means you can execute those touches that truly "make the space". How delicious is this kitchen's ceiling detail as it pours down the wall and runs into chunky-but-sleek open shelving? If you could clearly read the text the article you'd also see that this inset conceals a vent for the cook-top on the island.

westernliving march 2008 "secret heart"

I'm glad to have seen this. Sometimes fun things happen when the co-worker you need to speak with gets stuck on the phone with a client and there is a magazine to leaf through near by...

Have a terrific weekend,
Lisa (for the DOME Design Team)

we all deserve to be pampered once and a while...

Doesn't this look just fabulous? Like a place you'd love to get spa treatments done?

This is one of the treatment suites at Breathe Spa in Downtown Vancouver. Just over a year ago they moved into a space that was - although new to them - filled with antique original features everywhere you looked. The owner's added a careful combination of new and vintage-looking touches to create an incredible space to relax in.

Check them out: http://www.breathespa.net/about.html

And, when you do, be sure to take note of the cabinets Dome recommended to seamlessly integrate with the sumptuous and clean feel of the rooms.

baby's first publication...

We design cabinet plans for people all the time. Some clients are afraid of their computer. Some want to cut down on the time they are at IKEA working on their cabinet order. Some clients have no idea where to start. Sometimes it's just that the client doesn't have the time to do measure for and space-plan their cabinets.

The clients who are strapped for time are often flush with style and decor ideas. That was definitely the case with Michael Richardson and Brian Sevy, our clients from the Southern Lower Mainland in January of 2009. They were just in the beginning stages of a major renovation project then. Lovely people who we hadn't heard from in a while, until...

Picture this... It's Saturday night and my family is in town and we're doing a barbecue dinner. Hubby's hard at work prepping the food when we realise we are out of charcoal. No problem! We live a minute away from the grocery store. So my brother in law and I head over to pick up a bag of charcoal from the store. Standing in the check-out line, I see this:

I thought to myself "I never buy magazines from the grocery store. And Kimberley Seldon is the Decorating Editor for this one. I should buy it." So I did.

Cut to 45ish minutes later, me eating my dinner, and flipping through my new magazine while casually listening to the conversation my sister and mum are having. Thank goodness I was between bites, because there would have been a serious spit-take. My thoughts: "Oh this is a great sofa. Love that table. Huh - the set-up of those kitchen windows looks familiar..." That's when I almost lost my dinner. Here's what caught my eye:

I think to myself "I know those windows." How do I know those windows? Because we were there. We measured and planned this kitchen a year and a half ago.

So congratulations to Michael and Brian for having the vision to restore this retro gem. Congrats to us for having a client featured in a major design publication. And thank you to Kimberley Seldon for being so generous and inspiring because, without that, I probably wouldn't have thought to pick up this issue of Style at Home.

To learn more...

Style at Home: http://www.styleathome.com/ and http://www.styleathome.com/the-summer-retreat-issue/i/146

Kimberley Seldon: http://www.kimberleyseldon.com/ or http://www.kimberleyseldon.blogspot.com/

To see more...

We planned out the cabinets for the main kitchen area, and also designed and sub-contracted the fabrication of the custom piece that you'll see to the far right of the image directly below (wood-framed pass-thru between kitchen and dining area). All cabinet parts were supplied by IKEA, the finishes were selected by the client, the cabinets were installed by our company, and all other finishes were fabricated and installed by other companies.

 

And pick up the issue - on stands now!

Thanks so much for reading.

Cheers,

Lisa (for the Dome Design Team)

in case you're not on facebook...

We have a number of photos posted on our Facebook page, but - as not everyone who reads blogs is on Facebook - we thought it was a good idea to post photos of our Past Projects here, as well. So here goes... Click these images to see them full-size. (Oh, and hopefully you can guess which is the "before" and which is "after"!)

. project one

. cabinet plan and installation by Dome
. finishes selection and photographs by client

trending...

One of the questions we get asked a lot at a kitchen design appointment regarding aesthetics is "Is this a big trend? Is it going to date soon?" When answering this question we always try to be specific about the kitchen we are dealing with. For a client trying to answer this question on their own, a good way to go about deciding one's feelings on a particular look (trendy or not) is to do research on it...

Design*Sponge is a terrific resource for tips on what is "in" right now. It deals with many facets of design from clothing to interiors and more. If you want to embrace a given trend, take a look at recent posts in the "mini trends" section to see what's hot in design right now. If you are someone who wants to avoid a trend or wants to make sure the trend you are following is one that will always resurface in popular favour, check back in their archives to see if you can spot recurring themes. :: http://www.designspongeonline.com/