The Crow's Nest residence, in the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in California, was design by BCV Architects. I love how open and bright this cabin is, and with the use of wood it is still very cosy to come back to after a day of skiing. 

From the architects (read more on Contemporist):
The Crow’s Nest is a ski cabin located at 7,080 feet elevation, on the mountain of the same name in the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. Anchored on the slope, and responsive to its setting, the cabin design explores the intersection of classic modern aesthetics, craft, and the extreme climatic conditions of the site.

Sugar Bowl resort is located at historic Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada range. The Ski Resort, founded in 1939, is one of the oldest in America. The climate and topography around Sugar Bowl makes for unusually heavy snowfall, and its relatively small residential village (112 home sites) is snow-bound through the winter. The Crow’s Nest is perched on one of the highest sites in the resort and is a true ski-in, ski-out cabin, located substantially higher in elevation than many of the ski lifts.

The clients, who have four young children, were interested in creating a cabin that would be a gathering place for generations, prioritizing social space over bedroom space. The qualities of “nesting” and entertaining were discussed. A particular requirement was to orient the house to take advantage of the privacy created by the uphill forest, with a goal being able to celebrate the house’s presence in the forest, with a maximum of transparency.

This past weekend we spent all our time working on the house. Jeff started a big wiring project, that included pulling apart the downstairs living room. We had to remove all the shelves from the wall and take out some baseboards. Of course, when we removed the shelves the carpet was different underneath, as we previously found out back here. 

Jeff wanted to add wiring for the internet throughout the downstairs rooms. We will be using the little cupboard under the stairs as the hub for the internet and for a server that will hold all our movies, TV shows, and music. Eventually we will be able to watch or listen to anything any where in the house! 

Lots of holes were cut in the walls to run the wires through. We then used the space behind the baseboards to keep them hidden. Of course, this process required a large mess!

Now that the shelves were out, other than the wall needing to be painted, I liked how it looked without them. The only problem is that the carpet is different under there, so it would still need to be covered up. We were thinking of getting a long low shelf that can house a nice side lamp and a place to put down your drink. We haven't yet found this prefect low shelf, so for now we had to put the white shelves back. However, we have changed it up a bit! We only put back a couple of them, and added a narrow shelf in the middle that was from Jeff's office. 

We still need to paint the wall, but it looks a little less overbearing then before. It will do the job for now, until we find our new low shelf/coffee table to cover up the crazy pinkish carpet.

Things have been moving a bit slower around here house wise, as we have been busy with lots of other summer activities, like working in the garden and visiting with friends. House projects have been on hold these days, but hopefully soon we can get back at it. We have some plans to work on a couple of projects this weekend, so maybe I'll have lots more to report next week! 

In the meantime, I have been doing some more brainstorming on our master bathroom layout. I've come up with a really dramatic plan for this room, which may or may not work. Here is a (not to scale) plan for our bathroom.

One of the main reason I have split up the room, is because it would be great to both be able to use it at the same time. If one person is having a shower the other can still brush their teeth. I would also like to make the back part of the room a wet room, and bath area. Something like the idea in the photo below, perhaps with frosted glass.

I have placed a wall in the middle of the room which will hold the sink on one side and the shower head on the other. Below is an idea of the sink on one side then behind is where you would enter for the shower/bath area. Of course, this one is huge and very extravagant, but you get the idea I was going for. I'm not sure if these plans will work out in the end. We still need to look into the logistics of it, along with moving plumbing around, but it would be a pretty neat bathroom!

Altius Architecture created a modern house in Toronto. I love how they took the original post-war house, that are everywhere in Toronto, and added to it to make something new. Check out more photos on Contemporist. 

This past weekend we spent visiting family in Ottawa. This is my birth city and my home for my whole childhood, so I know it quite well. We had a wonderful weekend, and got up to lots of fun activities. Just thought I would share with you some of my favourite things to do and eat in Ottawa. 

We have so many wonderful flowers blooming right now in our front garden, that I've started to cut some and bring them inside. I've placed a bunch of different ones in glasses of different heights. The effect almost looks like a line of botanical specimens for scientific research. 

They bring some colour and nature into the house, and the best part is they are free!

Check out this company called dnt Design. Their products are really interesting, like these volcanic like candle holders by designer Donatas Žukauskas. 

From the designer:
Exclusive handmade interior decor elements are valued for an artistic forms, naturality and originality.

This special collection was created following the conception “closer to nature, but also suitable for a modern interior”. During the day it is an active interior decoration, and on the evening time – a romantic candle light creating unpredictable play of shadows.

Sculptural decorations are made of used paper. Paper mass mixed with glue, dried out and treated acquires the characteristics of tree anew: it gives solidity, natural qualities, color and texture. The piece is polished and covered with varnish, thus it is not afraid of humidity.

I can't believe it, but today is our two year wedding anniversary. Where does the time go! 

On July 14, 2012 my husband and I were married on a beautifully hot summer afternoon at the Niagara Botanical Gardens, under a big willow tree. It was such a prefect day spent with all our favourite people in the world. I will always cherish the memories. 

So much has happen in the past couple of years, but I couldn't have shared it with anyone better than my wonderful husband Jeff!

Our new patio set is here! Finally all that empty space on our deck is filled and now we have somewhere to eat outside. We got it from Canadian Tire, and on sale which was a big bonus. I just love the green colour, and the chairs are super comfy too. Time to BBQ! Who's in? We have lots of room now.

I'm loving the lighting designs that this company is producing. They are called studio Beam and are from Tel Aviv, Israel. All their lights seem to have a natural quality, yet are very modern at the same time. So unique! Check out their website, and explore their other lighting designs!

About:
The Studio Beam team succeeds to accomplish this impossible task on a daily basis: from Gilbert and George to Dolce & Gabbana- the art world has its rightful share of couples working as an high end art-design team, sharing both the creative process, glory and success.  But it is very rare to meet such success come to fruition in a high end threesome.