September Ready!

I am so excited for September, I love the shift in focus, people’s availability and the pulse in the city. Yes, traffic is busier and its ‘’harder” to get reservations but such is the flow in a vibrant busy city – especially when TIFF is in town. 

September to me is a fresh chapter and an opportunity to internally and externally reset and evaluate all. 

I am a list creator and my current round of to do’s is sparking joy and creativity. I have just signed up for Spanish classes with a dear friend and look forward to the day when I go back to Oaxaca and can converse a little with the creatives and artisans that I know there. I am also signing up for an online rug hooking class. I love this medium and have several hooked art pieces hanging in our home – some are vintage, some are from our travels but all have meaning and tell a story to me. Thirdly I am finalizing the selections for my home office – its an intimate creative salon come serious workspace and its also on my main floor so it needs to look great and function well. 

This is what is on my personal list, and of course all of these personal current to do’s are very much intertwined with my work life. Such is the way I often find myself. There is no leaving work behind or switching off, the life of a creative is always creating and always wanting to learn new things. 

In the studio behind the scenes we are launching our own client portal to provide a landing spot for clients and their up to date project documents. Renovations are un-tethering (apparently not a word but it makes sense to me and anyone who has undergone a seismic shift at home) with people and their things not in their usual spots so I know this will be really helpful for our clients. 

We are also working on a Q&A page to add to our website to help potential clients understand a little better what we do and how we do it. 

We have a photo shoot scheduled for the fall that I am very excited about – its a home where nearly all the furniture on the main floor is built-in. It made the best use of space and the client came looking for colour and we delivered with some amazing wallpaper and fabric combinations following a five month renovation. 

Exhale, be well

The global pandemic has left a lasting impression on how we live in our homes and what we need from them. The requests for home spas and wellness areas has dramatically increased and I feel that they are becoming a standard requirement in many homes we work in. 

There are a few shifts we are seeing that I thought I’d share with you in this month’s journal so if you or someone you know are considering a wellness upgrade at home please read on and even if you are not still read on!

Home Gyms are no longer in the dark, there is a real desire to work out and work on ourselves in natural day or moon light – as I prefer for my evening meditations.

We often incorporate wallpaper, area carpets and soft natural sheer floor length curtains and art into home gyms as well as water fountains and water dispensers. 

A space filled with plants simply feels good to be in and when black gym equipment is paired in a softer environment it can help diffuse its weight and heft. 

The image above is taken from the Ett Hem hotel in Stockholm and it offers so much of what we like to see in our clients homes. The simplicity of wall hooks as shown above, to hang your towels or your hoodies saves all lying on the floor or on equipment. A simple basket offers a spot for used towels to go, and its also an easy hint to all parties using the space to see what needs to be laundered! 

Dry sauna’s are making a huge return and in recent extensive renovations and new build projects one has been added. 

The health benefits are searchable (I am not a doctor so I am not going to start telling you what it will do) but the smell alone of the cedar wood is sometimes enough to make you pause and exhale a little deeper. 

We have had clients combine dry and infrared sauna’s into a space that also has a steam room and a plunge pool. I think at heart we are a little bit of a water baby! 

No space for a separate sauna / steam room – don’t despair. Bathtubs and showers have come a long way. In the home above we added a Japanese style bathing tub which has a raised seat inside and allows the bather to be fully immersed (over their shoulders) in the tub. 

This tub also has a heated back rest as well as adjustable (in both intensity and length) heated air jets for a truly comforting experience.

In the same room the shower features both a handheld as well as a rain / waterfall head which comes with chromatherapy option so you can set a colour to match or improve your mood. 

The shower enclose allows for light penetration and also a winning combination of privacy as well as ease of maintenance. This is a very bright room and a clear glass shower enclosure would require a lot of maintenance to keep streak and water spot free. 

Wellness is also about ease of being and we want spaces to be used and loved and not for each use to follow with an hours cleaning and maintenance. 

Wellness to me isn’t simply about working out or being immersed in water, its also a comfortable quiet corner in a home, somewhere you can take a private phone call, read and simply be, I prefer a nook by a window as a space that connect me with the outdoors is always the most soothing, especially when you have plants that connect the in to the out!

In Print!

Our beautiful Summerhill en-suite project is featured in the current (Fall / Winter) issue of House & Home Kitchens + Baths.

It is shown in some of the photos above but all the insight is in the piece so please pick up your copy where all good glossy magazines are sold! 

Thank you to my wonderful clients for their trust in allowing us to create this sanctuary for them. 

Wishing you all a lovely September long weekend and a happy re-entry into school / life / work / balance mode. 

Thank you all for reading, 

Warmly, 

Gillian 

Credits, images, musings and some more contents of my head. 

Trio of header images sourced on Pinterest – Hooked art piece in progress by BOOKHOU Toronto, fresh herbs in pots (I drink an abundance of fresh mint tea and rosemary water in the summer months), image sourced on Pinterest, source unknown. Tian Tan Buddha image sourced on Pinterest. Image 4 – our GGI studio, by Virginia Macdonald. Image 5. A gym at Ett Hem. Image 6. A sauna from a recently completed project, photography by Double Space Photography. Image 7 + 8 Summerhill en-suite photographed by Virginia Macdonald 9. A sanctuary sourced on Pinterest, source unknown. 10. The current special issue of House & Home magazine. 11. Me in the summer room at Ett Hem.

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