I’m struggling to find the words to describe how it feels to be turning my daughter’s nursery into a little girls room without sounding over the top or cliché. But it really does feel like this huge rite of passage. One that I wasn’t really anticipating? Or, perhaps, never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined we’d be here so quickly. I must admit, I’ve been far more emotional about the whole thing than I thought I’d be. And though I’m sad to be saying goodbye to some of the last remaining remnants of my baby’s babyness, I am equally as excited for her and this next phase of life. Motherhood really is all of the things all at once isn’t it. Does one ever get used to the whiplash of emotions that come alongside this role?

SEE THE REST OF MY HOME: RIGHT HERE

All that said, it’s an honour to have been able to help take her room to the next level. Sometimes I wish I could design kids rooms exclusively – they just bring me so much joy. And, shocker, I get so sentimental about the idea of this space being the backdrop to her many childhood memories. She’s been sleeping here for a while now (we just had her first little sleepover with her cousin on Sunday and it was THE CUTEST) and she is just nailing the transition. I know she was ready for it, and I’m getting there too (in my own time, hah). Take a peek at the update below, if you’d like…

SOURCES

Bed | Mattress | Pillows | Sheet Set | Duvet Cover
Quilt | Lamp | Star Pillow | Rainbow Pillow | Rug | Nightstand

MY LITTLE GIRL’S ROOM

As an aside, if you’re looking for an organic mattress and pillows (something that was very important to me), I highly recommend Obasan. They are an absolute 10/10 for comfort and style. They’re fully customizable depending on your sleep needs, which I love. Plus they go above and beyond and do things like embroider your daughter and her stuffy’s name on their pillows (she LOVED this). Just so stinking cute!

The one we have for my little girls room (here) is the same mattress that they use at Fogo Island and Wander the Resort (amongst many other really luxe boutique hotels). Girl is living her best life, let me tell you. It’s so so good.

This is not sponsored, but they did gift the mattress to us and I have since specified them for a few clients because I’m instantly sold. As a thank you, they wanted to offer my readers a little gift with purchase:

If you use LARKANDLINENBED at checkout you’ll receive two complimentary pillows of your choice with the purchase of any adult mattress from the Auberge & Residential collection.

SOURCES

Bed | Mattress | Pillows | Sheet Set | Duvet Cover | Quilt | Lamp | Star Pillow | Rainbow Pillow | Rug | Nightstand

SHOP my daughter's ROOM

The post An Emotional Transformation: From Nursery to Little Girl Heaven appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.

In case you missed it, I am officially designing my daughter’s “big girl room” (see the design scheme here, if you’d like!) It’s wild. In my mind she is still THIS. But apparently time has other plans (*rude*). And though I intentionally designed her nursery in a way that could grow with her, it never really occurred to me that I would actually be presented with this phase of life. At the time it felt like I was planning for way (way) in the distant-never-going-to-happen future.

RELATED: THE ORIGINAL NURSERY

But alas, here we are three and a half seconds later – seemingly… I won’t lie, I went through a bit of a mourning phase at first, but now I’m pretty darn excited for my girl. She’s been asking to get out of her crib/toddler bed for a while now and it feels so wonderful to make this happen for her. We have made lots of progress on her space since I last updated you.

All of this, however, has had me thinking about something I always do when I’m designing a kids room, but have never really shared. And that is to really make sure I’m designing the space for the long haul.

Trust me, I know firsthand that it’s so tempting to plaster a nursery with baby bunnies and sweet as can be details… But the reality is that these little nuggets grow out of these spaces so quickly. As they say, you blink and you’ll miss it.

So my preferred method of designing a kids room is to make sure those base layers feel timeless and classic. I do so by sourcing items that can really serve them at each phase of life (not just the first). The dresser, the rug, the wall coverings/colour… Once that’s complete I then like to layer in those sickeningly sweet details. Cute art, adorable toss cushions in sweet fabrics, teeny tiny booties, blankets, and meaningful shelf tchotchkes are all fair game here. They’re all things that can effortlessly be switched out later on.

With that in mind, now that my daughter has grown out of her crib we made sure to purchase her a really beautiful “big girl” bed (this one here!) It’s one she will have for the rest of her life, as far as I’m concerned. It was the only furniture item we needed to switch out in order to completely reinvent her space for her. Everything else has remained as is. The update has been so seamless so far.

Layla Grayce, purveyors of some of the most beautiful timeless, classical, furniture pieces, generously gifted our daughter’s bed to us and I’m so wildly grateful. I love that it feels delicate and feminine, but not over the top saccharine. Though I am of course open (and encouraging!) of my daughter discovering her own style, I secretly admit that I love the notion of her taking her childhood bed off to her first home with her. Gah, the romance! And if, down the line, she decides it just isn’t for her I’m no worse for the wear. I mean, this is a piece I already know I’ll love for decades to come – I’m happy to give it a forever home.

We are getting so much closer – I’m excited to get my office back (haha), and for our girl to start enjoying her big girl room in due time.

Thank you to Layla Grayce for partnering with me on my daughter’s bedroom. And thank YOU for supporting my partners <3

The post The One Thing I’m Glad I Did When Designing My Daughter’s Room appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.

I don’t exactly know how it happened, but somehow my infant child is asking for a big girl room. Time is wild, man – I’ll simply never get over it. But I digress…

Something that should be known about my daughter is that she’s an Aries child through and through. She came into the world fast and furiously knowing exactly what she wants from day one. And when she decides that she wants something, there really is no stopping her.

RELATED: THE ORIGINAL NURSERY

Lately? Lately that something has been a big girl bed. It’s the one thing she’s been asking about almost relentlessly for some time now. In fact, the moment she decided she was through with her toddler bed she insisted on sleeping in our office/guest room (here – haha). She’s been bunked up in that daybed comfortably for the last few weeks. It has given me the chance to update her space for her.

These are a few older photo of her nursery (you can see the whole thing here if you’d like), but these two spots are staying the same (of course her bookshelf has slowly aged with her, it no longer looks exactly like this – but you get the jist!)

The goal is to utilize as many of her existing pieces as possible, but still breathe new life into her room and really make her space feel her own. And feel a little more grown up, but still whimsical and playful.

Photos: Heidi Lau | Design: Lark & Linen

The wallpaper, pendant, dresser, mirror, lamp, side table, art, and bookshelf are all staying. The crib is of course going. And the chair (gah this chair!) is moving to our playroom in the basement. I love this chair – it’s so comfortable (it lays almost flat!) and it’s still in perfect condition. So this felt like the right move so my husband and/or I have a place to hang out while our girl plays (yes, she is still a barnacle “baby” and typically likes one of us to be nearby).

Here is my official plan to help give my girl a “real” big girl room. One she can grow (*tear*) big in.

SHOP THE POST:

1) Pendant (existing discontinued – similar here) | 2) Dresser (ours is vintage – this one is similar) | 3) Sheet Set | 4) Duvet Cover | 5) Rug (existing) | 6) Lamp| 7) Mattress | 8) Block Print Quilt | 9) Bed | 10) Rainbow Pillow | 11) Star Pillow

SHOP: my daughter's bedroom

The post The Plan for my Daughter’s “Big Girl” Room appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.

I’ve been in the interior design industry for almost two decades now (what!?) and have overseen countless renovations from beginning to end at this point… But our kitchen reno was the first time I had tackled a larger project for my very self. Overall, it was a really great experience, but there are always things you learn along the way, no matter how seasoned you are. And because I’m not one to gate-keep, I’m more than happy to share more about our experience. It really did give me a whole new perspective on what my clients go through, and for that (and many other reasons, of course) I’m very grateful.

SHOP OUR KITCHEN:

I have had a few questions roll in since we revealed our kitchen (here, if you’d like!), and I’ve been meaning to put together a little post to address the more frequently asked ones – including how much we spent, whether or not we have any regrets, and why we didn’t do panel-ready appliances. So without further ado, following are your kitchen reno questions, answered. If anything else pops up, please feel free to leave a comment below – I’ll make sure to prioritize answering it!

Kitchen Reno Questions

Q: Where do I even start with a kitchen reno?

I feel like this deserves an entire post on it’s own, but in light of brevity… I almost always begin a project with a serious Pinterest session (follow me here :). To start, I pin everything and anything that speaks to me into a single board. From there I’ll step back and see if there are any themes that stand out. There is always something that pops up again and again – whether it’s a clear colour palette, a distinct design style, or noticing subtleties like “most photos have slab backsplashes”, for example… I’ll then pick a handful of images that embody the overall look I’m after. And then I’ll create a mood board that I can refer back to again and again throughout the design process. It’s a really helpful way to hone in on the direction you want to head, and to stick with it throughout.

Q: If you don’t mind sharing… how much did your kitchen reno cost?

This is so hard to say as we also did some cosmetic work throughout the rest of our main floor (new flooring, new paint etc…) and we also updated our laundry room and carved out a playroom in our basement. In addition, I know our contractor cut us a deal since we have such a great working relationship. Plus I receive trade discounts on most things. If I were to guesstimate though, I’d say we spent around 125k all in (labour, materials, appliances and lighting etc).

Q: Did you make any structural changes to accommodate the new layout?

No! We were originally planning on swapping the location of the door and the window, which would have led to an entirely different kitchen layout (you can see what I mean in this post here, if you’d like). But that would have led to requiring permits, structural sign off, and tackling some exterior work as a result… It was leading to an incredible amount of scope creep, which was really blowing up our budget. We ultimately decided to try to work within the existing constraints of our home’s layout. In the end, I don’t feel like we made any major concessions, and it saved us a TON of money when all was said and done. Win win!

Q: Do you have any regrets?

Largely, I’m so thrilled with where we’ve landed – renovating our kitchen really has been a complete game changer in ways I didn’t even anticipate…. But yes, I do have a couple small regrets. I’m planning a whole post on this so stay tuned for that. I am, of course, my own worst critic, so know that these regrets consist of me being extremely nit-picky. I will share either way though as food for thought in case anyone finds themselves in the same situation in the future.

Q: Should one use the same colour for cabinet hardware and lighting?

Heck no! I’m a big fan of mixing metals and playing around with different materials for your hardware and light fixtures is a great way to do so. I tend to like to stick to 2-3 different metals, and make sure to sprinkle them in various spots throughout your space for consistency. So, for example, we did brushed gold cabinet hardware and back door hardware. Black light fixtures and wall hooks. And a chrome faucet, which is picked up by the silver elements in the stainless steel appliances.

Q: Farmhouse sink details – do we go with cast iron or fireclay?

There are pros and cons to each, and I’ve used both many times. But ultimately fireclay is nominally more durable, and typically lighter and thus easier to install, than cast iron. We went with this one but I honestly don’t think you can go wrong either way.

Q: Where’s your microwave?

We actually don’t have one. Ours broke a decade ago and we never replaced it. They’ve admittedly always freaked me out, and when it broke we decided to see what life would be like without one. I didn’t miss it at ALL – not once. For a long time we used a countertop toaster oven for things that couldn’t just be tossed in a pan on the stove. Now, our new stove has a second, smaller, baking oven (in lieu of a warming drawer) so that’s what we use to reheat most things.

Q: Is your range hood plaster? Who made it?

It’s mdf, painted. Our cabinet maker, Ma Belle Kitchens, custom made it for us.

Q: What cabinet colour did you choose?

I’m trying to be more diligent with keeping all of my links and sources up to date. I included all of the details at the bottom of the reveal post here! But our cabinets are painted Benjamin Moore – Inukshuk.

Q: Where did you find the frame for the canvas art?

Amazon (here)! It was a last minute purchase that arrived merely hours before the photoshoot – just in the nick of time. I legit love it, it’s beautiful and works well, but I am second guessing the gold in that spot (it feels a little matchy-matchy – I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a wood one to replace it or I’m considering darkening it/giving it a little character with some rub and buff). If you’re on the hunt for yourself, I did discover that this frame is called a “canvas floater frame”.

Q: What’s the most useful kitchen upgrade? What’s overrated?

New appliances! A huge SUPER functional sink! Soft close cabinets/drawers! A large pantry (we had NOTHING before and it was a problem)! A built-in eat-in area (so great with toddlers – we used to trek everything back and forth to our dining room – not a big deal but a small annoyance MULTIPLE times daily). I don’t think any of it has been overrated tbh… I’m over the top happy we pulled the trigger after mulling over whether or not to do it for years.

Q: Why didn’t you do panel ready appliances?

This is one of my regrets, if I’m being honest. Ultimately it came down to timing and budget. This is very much a do as I say not as I do portion of the experience, ha. I picked our appliances very last minute and was extremely limited by what was available at the time. In retrospect I wish we would have just waited, and sprung for, the panel ready versions. But I will touch on this more in my regrets post!

SHOP OUR KITCHEN:

IN my KITCHEN

The post What Did We Spend? Do We Have Any Regrets? And Other Kitchen Reno Questions Answered appeared first on Lark & Linen Interior Design and Lifestyle Blog.