THE OCTOBER EDIT: FAVOURITE PICKS OF THE MONTH

HAPPY OCTOBER! With Autumn in full swing and the crunch of fall leaves beneath our feet, it’s time for cozying up with our sweet families in the comfort of our homes (ok, ok, I know…we’ve been doing that all year, haven’t we?!). With that, here are our picks of the month from furniture to toys, eco-friendly finds to clothing and more.

SOPHIE + MINJI'S PASTEL MODERN BASEMENT PLAYROOM

Our newest and girliest playroom reveal is here!!! I am beyond excited to share Sophie & Minji’s playful, fun and pastel-hued playroom.

This project started before drywall was even up and I have loved seeing it come to life right from the beginning.

BEAN BAG CHAIR

“I love these bean bag chairs so much as the fabric is beyond practical with kids, the bottom has a water resistant layer of protection and the rope handle makes moving them around a breeze!”

When an unused area in a basement becomes designated for a children’s playroom, the sky really is the limit. The girls’ playroom is full of all the things that dreams are made of; loads of art supplies, books and activity kits, toys, games, giant bean bag chairs and a TV lounge area for relax time.

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These white wall shelves are so practical: they store baskets full of toys, act as a display case for treasured pieces and are the ideal set up for rotating toys as children change and grow through development stages.

The high impact wallpaper completely changed the space the moment it was put up. This large scale print works perfectly for this basement playroom and the colours and pattern add SO much fun to the space. These simple white shelves (a favourite from my own girls shared room) work beautifully in many spaces and function as a gallery for art and toys that can easily be rotated. This shorter size is ideal here!

While a large art table was the focal point for one side of the room, the TV lounge area formed the focal point for the other. Working around a large TV in a children’s space can be tricky, so we used the IKEA Besta unit for added storage in this area and an opportunity to pull a few playful elements, like the globe, into this space. The play kitchen is a highly recommended toy in any playroom and this one is a firm fave for these little clients.

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The built-in nook is a storage area for arts and crafts supplies and the book shelves provide the perfect spot to rotate books. The large baskets underneath hold blankets for snuggling up!

THE PLAYROOM NOOK AT THE BEGINNING…

THE PLAYROOM NOOK AFTER!

And finally, the book wall! A good book wall will forever be one of my favourite ways to display kids books.

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KASE’S PLAYROOM

SHARED GIRLS ROOM

MODERN PLAYROOM

OUR FALL TRADITIONS...WHAT ARE YOURS?

With the official start of Autumn this week I have to say I am loving the crisp morning air, crunchy leaves and warm afternoons. While we’ve never really been a family with loads of traditions, as the kids get older I realize they live for special moments and eagerly await the months with holidays.

So, even though September and October are busy and full months with school starting and the change of weather, I have thought about ways to make these months special and the little things we’ve done over the years that have become traditions for our kids. They now ask and look forward to them.

Here are a few ways that we celebrate fall:

1. TAKE FALL PHOTOS

Every year we head to the same place with big trees and lots of leaves. While the photos are a lovely way to capture the kids growth each year, jumping in the leaves is a memory I hope they remember forever (I know I will!).

2017

2019

2. MAKE PLAYDOUGH

I don’t know about yours, but our kids STILL looooove play dough. Each fall, I make a fresh batch and get out the seasonal cookie cutters. I love these fall leaf and acorn ones for September and this Halloween set for October.

3. FALL DECOR

When it comes to seasonal home decor, I would say that I keep it light. I love to change things up by adding a few little white pumpkins on the table, some grasses in a vase and a fresh doormat at the front door. That’s it! Traditions can be as complicated or simple as you make them.

4. BAKING

After having the oven off for most of the summer, there is nothing better than warm fall baking. My go-to’s are breakfast crumble (dessert for breakfast basically!) and our favourite pumpkin muffins are a treat muffin that the kids honestly ask me to make them as soon as the temperature drops.

5. A GRATITUDE PUMPKIN

This is a brand new tradition for our family! I saw this idea online and loved its’ simplicity right away. Starting October 1st (or whenever you like!), you add new words of things you are grateful for to a pumpkin (or in our case, we’ll do a mini one each!) each day. Thanksgiving is in October in Canada so this is a great way to acknowledge all that we have to be thankful for, while steering at least some of the October attention away from the excitement of Halloween. ;) If you decide to start a gratitude pumpkin, I’d love to see! Tag #WDgratitudepumpkin on Instagram and I’ll share my favourites. Who wants to join the fun?

Do you have a special tradition in your home? I’d love to hear in the comments if you do!

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OUR DIY BOOKSHELVES

OUR HOME SCHOOL ROOM

CAPTURING A MOMENT IN TIME

THE SEPTEMBER EDIT: FAVOURITE PICKS OF THE MONTH

HAPPY SEPTEMBER! With summer on the cusp of Autumn, the days are getting shorter and here in Vancouver, we are breathing in every last breath of warm sunshine that we can. I spend so much time through a month looking at different items that I thought it would make sense to share my finds with you all! So scroll down for my picks of the month, from furniture to toys, eco-friendly finds to clothing and much more.

RENTAL HOUSE: LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL!

IT’S HEEEEERE! If there is one room that I am beyond excited about in this rental house, it just might be the laundry room (does this indicate my age and the fact that I am a Mom of 3?)! Other than this obvious answer, maybe it’s also because we live right in Vancouver where houses are small and laundry rooms often non-existent OR maybe it’s because I have NEVER had a functional laundry room in my adult life prior to this. Drum roll please…

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TA DAA! Before I get ahead of myself, let’s rewind a little and go back to where we started. This project is all about progress over perfection, as the house itself is so beyond perfect that you simply have to overlook the things that we will not be changing in a rental and aim for better. It’s been the perfect project to sum up 2020! You can see the inspiration and plan for this room here.

If you’re anything like me, I like the before and after view RIGHT next to each other photographed in the same way so that I can see the differences. If you are a pure before and after devotee, and are happy to overlook the ugly wall lino above the sink and the piping that we left, here you are! I truly wanted to photoshop the wiring out, but I left it in to show you the real deal.

So, there we have it. A whole lot of paint and a few super pretty accessories goes a loooong way to transforming a dark, dire and overlooked basement laundry room. This is now a place I actually enjoy spending time in: the light shines in, it’s super functional (a bench to fold on!) and I can commit to ensuring the laundry actually stays down here rather than making its’ way to the living room floor (making me a happier Mama and alleviating clean laundry in a basket on the floor). If I sound over-excited about a laundry room, I truly am!

Another thing I’m super excited about is the rolling laundry cart. I have seen this in numerous dream laundry spaces and decided to splurge to have a little bit of luxury in this basement space. I do not regret it for one minute! I chose the elevated cart (size small) to save my back and I really think it makes a difference when leaning over to get the laundry. It’s ideal if you have a standing place to fold and somehow feels extra special compared to a standard laundry bin.

Styling the floating shelves were one of the best parts. While the large cabinets that were already here hold most of the regular laundry room stuff, the shelves provide a bright and airy way to showcase the everyday things, cover up the ugly panel behind them and hold our favourite Sonos speaker (if you’re wondering what that silver item is). I found the art print from Juniper Print Shop and it was so simple to print out and frame!

If you’re still reading, thank you. Who knew that this dingy basement room could become something so bright and happy?! While laundry is hardly on anyone’s list of favourite things to do (or at least not on mine!), I printed this ‘washed with love’ sign to remind myself that we are indeed so fortunate to have three little ones to do laundry for and a happy place to do it in.