I’ve been sick the past two days with a combination of headaches, fevers, and chills. It hasn’t been pleasant at all. And anyone who knows me knows that I hate hate HATE being sick because it keeps me from doing all the things I love to do.

Well, I’ve spent an excessive amount of time couped up in the bedroom. And it drives me stir crazy. So in between lots of feverish sleep and staring at the walls trying to make the dizziness stop… I’ve been starting to put together the concepts for the design of the bedroom. I still have a long ways to go — there’s still the living room, patio, kitchen, bathrooms, and the sports room. But I digress…

So lying in bed, I was running images of peacefulness and calmness through my head. I wanted something that could be an inspiration for the colour palette and the “feel” of the room.

This photo immediately came to mind:

This is one of my favourite stops on the way to Tofino along the winding rivers and streams that cross over the road out there. I love the lush greenery of the forest, the whiteness of the bubbles as the water passes over the rocks swiftly, and the flow and motion to it.

It’s quite hard to incorporate all that into a bedroom. And as I starting working through the concepts, the bedroom turned into something quite different than the picture.

Our living room is quite masculine, so Allan allowed me to make the bedroom a little more soft.

I wanted lots of white, and lots of green. Soft breezy, almost tropical, but still close to home. Lots of textures. And I especially wanted some “distress” in the furniture with a hint of green… kind of how the water “greens” the rocks in the stream over time. I couldn’t find any furniture just like that, so it looks like we’re just going to distress and treat the furniture ourselves… which is better anyway.

Here are the design concepts I’ve been working through for the bedroom:

I’m pretty happy with the concept so far. What do you think? It sure is different than the photograph, but I do feel the colours, “coolness” and peacefulness are well-represented.

It is really gorgeous here in Vancouver. A little fresh snow, a little sun, and a Monday morning with people bustling about thinking about what they are going to accomplish for the day.

We have a great view from our offices here in Gastown. It’s so refreshing to be able to see the ocean and the mountains at all times while working. It makes me feel a little bit more at peace at work, and a whole lot less antsy than I’ve been in the past while sitting inside during a beautiful day like today.

Although, I will admit… I kinda wish I was up on the mountains snowboarding right now!

It was really nice to have a “real” weekend for once this past weekend. No trips, no moving, and getting lots done. Two parties on Friday… one, My friend Anna always throws an amazing one… a “Dance Dance Shiny Party” where my friends dressed up in shiny clothing with aluminum foil accessories, at a house party. It was awesome. After, was a friend’s birthday who was visiting from out of town. Amy made Bailey’s cheesecake for all her friends which was just incredible. I’ll see if anyone took a photo of it so I can post it here.

We cleaned the old apartment all day on Saturday, which was definitely a chore… but nice to get out of the way. And Sunday we installed shelves for the new shoe closet (YES! My very own shoe closet!)… and spent a lot of time at construction stores and home furnishings

/furniture stores looking at various furniture and design possibilities.

My computer has been having a couple small issues with my external hard drive, so I haven’t had a chance to get the moving photos or snowboarding trip photos off of it, so I’ll try and get that working again this week.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time drawing out floor plan layouts, and picking colour palettes and themes for each room in the new place. I know I want a West Coast feel with hints of bright colours here and there, nature and the outdoors (beach, ocean, forest), personal photographs, and some unique furniture and art pieces. Nothing too expensive though, of course. I will be writing a post either tomorrow or the day after with some of the themes and designs I am thinking about… would love to hear your feedback!

And of course, a housewarming party with all our friends in June or July once we get it all tied together! Can’t wait. I’ve already got an idea for a martini I want to make for the party, and we’ll get the keg and barbecue going again too of course (for those of you who have been to my housewarming parties before).

In the meantime, I hope everyone is able to enjoy the snow and the sunshine somehow! I’m feeling very hopeful about the future, and I hope you are too