blake lively image: August 2010

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

lily allen

Monday, August 30, 2010

WHERE DO I BLOG…?

Censational Girl has set up a Where do you Blog Party?

So in answer to that question here’s where I blog….

My office is in the loft area of my home – where I look over onto my living room and a couple of windows. It is nice and airy and open and I love to open the windows to get a nice breeze.

Check out all the other “where do you blog” spaces at the party at Censational Girl!!

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

heart evangelista

GOING ALL THE WAY…..

Okay, now that I’ve got you all with that title – the topic of this post is how to completely finish your rooms.

We all struggle with this, even us designers and decorators with our own homes.

However, the key is to keep making decisions and to focus on ONE ROOM AT A TIME!!!

So here’s a few key items to keep in mind when you are ready to start another project or to help you finish the one you’ve already started.

1. Make a plan – decide on how you will be using the room and what you need to do that properly. If it’s a family room and you will be using it to watch television and do crafts – then you need to have comfy seating for the television watching and a large table with appropriate flooring and lighting for craft time.

2. Plan your lighting – lighting is so important to a room. Just think how annoyed you are when you don’t have the proper lighting when you are trying to do something. Make sure there is ambient lighting (the general lighting for a room) and the appropriate task lighting (such as table lamps for reading or pot lights set over the craft table). Decorative lighting can be added as well for mood and ambience in the form of sconces, candles or a decorative floor or table lamp.

3. Style and colour – this goes along with #1 in that you need to have an idea of what style you would like. The best way to do this is with magazines - pull out pictures that you like and keep a file. I do this with all my magazines – they are a great source of inspiration. After you have a bunch in the file a clearer picture of your style will emerge and you can use them as your inspiration. Colour will also show up in these photos – however, I still feel that the colour of the walls will be determined at a later stage once you have the bigger pieces decided upon.

4. Large pieces – now is the time to invest in the larger more expensive pieces for the room. Such as a sofa, area rug, draperies and case goods. These are the items that you will be keeping for the long term and they form the base of your design. This is where you usually spend the bulk of your budget and because of this I usually stick with classics and neutrals for these items. You can however diverge from this tract, if for example you love red and fall in love with a red sofa. GO FOR IT! This is what will make your room, you

A note here about pattern – if the larger items that you have decided upon are all solids you may want to add some pattern either in the area rug or in a smaller upholstered chair or ottoman to give the room some pizzazz. Otherwise I would consider adding some wallpaper to the walls instead of a solid paint colour. The key with pattern is to ensure that the pattern sizes are not all the same – for example, if you have a large pattern on the area rug then have a smaller pattern on the ottoman.

5. Shopping – Okay now that you’ve decided on the larger items and you know how much they cost, you can form a budget. This will guide you as to where you can splurge and where you can save. A great room always has some of each in it – that is what makes it interesting. Remember to keep some money for paint and accessories (usually about 15-20% of the budget).

6. Paint colour – this is when I usually pick the paint colour I look at all the major items purchased and the rest of the home and then decide what would be the best colour choice. Since paint is one of the most inexpensive parts of the design process and there are so many paint colours this is the best way to go about it. Once I know the main colour of the walls, I can then go on to the next step, accessory shopping..

7. Accessory shopping – Now that the bigger items are in place – go accessory shopping. I do up a list of what I think I’ll need – such as: small round end table, gold framed rectangular mirror approximately 24”x12”. This is also when I check to see if there is an abundance of one shape or another in the room. If there are lots of square items, I then balance them out with some round smaller items and accessories. Most decorators and designers will pick up way more accessories while shopping so that they have a choice when doing the final placement. You just return the items that you don’t need.

8. Keep on track – Now is when you’ll usually get distracted by other items for another room in your home. Try and keep focused and only purchase for the one room – your budget will thank you and you’ll have one room done instead of all of them in progress.

9. Put everything in place – if you have managed to hold off now is the time to put everything in place. Of course, first off the room should be painted and then the larger items positioned in place. Then the smaller furniture pieces and accessories, such as artwork, mirrors and decorative pieces are added. And Voila!! a perfectly finished space that is just like you!!

I believe that every space can be comfortable, warm, elegant and beautiful. I would love to help you achieve your beautiful space!

Email me at lisa@lisagouletdesign.com or if in the Ottawa area call me at 613-762-0818.

Lisa

More Josh, Elijah and Katie in J. Crew for their film The Romantics!

Check out these just-released shots of IMTA alumni Josh Duhamel, Katie Holmes, Elijah Wood and fellow castmates wearing clothing from J. Crew from their new movie The Romantics. This film is due in theaters January 2010.

Katie attended IMTA in 1993 and 1995, where she met and signed with her manager Al Onorato and landed the role as Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek. Since her role on Dawson's Creek, Katie has been in many hit movies such as Go, Pieces of April, Batman Begins, and Mad Money. Katie is currently filming the TV series The Kennedys where she portrays Jackie Kennedy.

Josh Duhamel attended IMTA 1997, where he was awarded the prestigious title of Male Model of the Year! Josh edged out fellow competitor Ashton Kutcher to win the big prize. After IMTA, Josh landed a role on the popular daytime drama All My Children, on the TV drama Las Vegas and began starring in films such as Win A Date with Tad Hamilton! and When in Rome. His most current projects include Life As We Know It, Tranformers 3, What's He Got? and Beezus and Ramona!

IMTA Alum'89 Elijah Wood is in a cool video for The Apples in Stereo! After competing at IMTA, Elijah has gone on to star in over 40 feature films. His film Happy Feet won a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Children's Award in London! Elijah provides the voiceover for the main character Mumble. Currently, Elijah is post productiom on Happy Feet 2 which was done in 3D! This film is scheduled for release in November, 2011.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

blake lively

Friday, August 27, 2010

alana de la garza

Alana De La Garza

aimee sweet

IMTA Alum Eva Longoria presents at The Emmy Awards!

Tune in to ABC on August 29 to see the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards. IMTA alum Eva Longoria Parker will be among the stars handing out trophies. The Emmy Awards recognize excellence within various areas of the TV industry and are a symbol of peer recognition from over 15,000 members of the Academy. The Emmy Awards celebrate excellence in national programming, awarding top honors at the annual creative arts gala and primetime awards telecast.

Eva competed at IMTA in 1998 and wowed all the agents and managers scouting at IMTA. She received 38 callbacks from representatives who wanted to sign her! She signed with a manager she had met at the convention and went on to star in the hit TV show Desperate Housewives. The new season of Desperate Housewives is set to premiere October 3 and Eva will reprise her role as the fabulous Gabby Solis.

Be sure to tune in on Sunday to watch Eva give out an Emmy Award!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

PALM SPRINGS….CALIFORNIA

A few years ago me and the hubby visited Palm Springs and California for a short vacation. It was such an inspiration – such beautiful sunsets and such greenery.

In honour of the end of summer (sorry, Kelly – got to face facts) I thought I’d share some of my photos from that trip.

We stayed at the absolutely gorgeous Hyatt Grand Champions Resort.