The Most Beautiful Time Of The Year

Surroundings is decked out for the holiday season!! Once again I want to thank Marina Woywitka for taking such lovely photos the night of our Open House. For those of you who could not make it, here is a sneak peak.

Little Christmas birds do a dance on an antique pine dresser.

The front window at night.

Inside the window, warm and cozy.

The goodie table, Yummy. Shortbread and lemon tarts were devoured!

Silver, always a Christmas classic.

Copper and gold glass hearts with raffia ribbon.

The Library panels from our IDS West trade show booth make a great back drop for the Christmas Season.

Surroundings is now open 7 days a week till Christmas. Come and see the magic of the season, it really truly is the most beautiful time of the year.

Cheers,

Kristiane

Christmas Open House

Christmas Open House Thursday November 14th, 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Come join us for an evening of Christmas spirit. Surroundings will be decked out in her Christmas finery. 

IDS WEST 2013

A look at the back of one of the custom upholstered chairs in Surroundings booth. The chairs were by far the most photographed items in the booth.

Set-up, still under shrink wrap as there is sawing going on all around us. The wallpaper from Kozeil of Paris was a big hit with the crowd.

The Montauk booth, it was all about that backdrop photo, and once in awhile someone looked at the sofa.

Design for dining, Sophie Burke's Scandinavian Inspired dining room was a hit with me! Loved it!

Late Saturday night the guys from Sticks and Stones grabbed the jewelry box people from the neighbouring booth to place around their fire pit. Very funny, gave everyone a good laugh at the end of a long day.

A big thank-you to everyone who dropped by Surroundings booth. It was very busy and I apologize for not being able to speak to everyone. Looking forward to next year.

Cheers,

Kristiane

IDS West....... Here We Come! Come see us Booth 1110

Here is a sneak peak of what we are taking to IDS West. The show opens this Thursday night, Sept. 19th at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

We are essentially building a library for the show, featuring amazing wallpaper I brought back from Paris. The upholstered goods are done au natural, ie, no foam, or synethic fibres on the inside or outside. The Belgian linen was personally sourced by myself in Brussels, as well as the Jute. Leather is Italian. Great care has been taken into the creation of these pieces. One of a kind, never to be duplicated.

The  above wingback chair, fondly referred to as Mrs. Critchley. We custom upholstered the 1870's frame in leather, Belgian Linen, and Jute. This lovely chair was made for a woman, great scale, proportion and balance.

Mr. Critchley,  in the studio, the re-creation begins months ago.

Mr. Critchley, final finish, leather, Belgian Linen, Jute. 

This chair has exquisite detailing, and is a joy to view from all angles.

Le Sofa, finished, in the studio.

The hands that make all the magic happen, upholsterers,  Bonnie and Arwen Schmaus.

Le Sofa stripped down, the solid oak frame was made by Copper Bros. , Toronto in the 1950's. 

Coming to the show is the magnificent Victorian pier mirror, more than just a mirror, this is art.

When we finally get the room built sometime Tuesday night, I promise to take photos and post the finished product.

For now, Im off to load up the truck, drop off Ida at doggie day care, and pick up marble for a last minute install.

IDS West..... Here we come!

Think Big

This beautiful quarter sawn oak cabinet is big, right? Or is it? measurements are 20" deep and 48" wide, therefore  it takes up about 6.6 square feet. The average coffee table takes up 8 square feet. 

I often refer to large cabinets as casement pieces, and sadly, far too often I here people say "you need a big house for that." You don't. 

Casement pieces are the easiest to place in a home as they take up wall space where no one is walking. Think this through, when you walk through your home, how close are you to the wall? If your like me you are never closer than 2 feet ( and my house is small).

The coffee table, sofa, end tables, etc, they take up floor space, serious floor space, and these items need to be considered carefully. Why is it then that we are so intimidated by casement pieces?

UNDERSTANDING SPACE

Floor space vs. Wall space

Casement pieces can ground a room,  give a focal point, and make it easier to build around. This wonderful french cabinet was in an entry way in its previous home. The cabinet housed boots and shoes down below, and beautiful objects in the glass front section. At only 16 " deep it took up little floor space, and provided a strong focal point for the home entrance. It takes up a mere 5 square feet of floor, and  30 square feet of wall. 

My kitchen hutch at Rennick Cottage is a great example of building a room around a piece. The kitchen was gutted when I purchased this piece from Surroundings ( yes, I buy from my own store). I had an 8 foot wall section with no interruption ( doors, windows, etc), this area is where you walk through the house, a major traffic area. 

Again, you don't walk closer than 2 feet from the wall, so it made since to put a large casement piece there and utilize the wall space. The kitchen hutch is 21" deep, 6' long and 7' high, floor space is 10.5 square feet, wall space is 42 square feet. 

This piece literally made the kitchen. Fabulous for storage, beautiful to look at, function and beauty.

So before you say those words "my house is too small for that piece" , remember it takes up considerably less space than your coffee table!

Think Big, and utilize all the wall space you can, and save on floor space.

Cheers,

Kristiane

Down Under ...... The Basement Suite

The rear entrance to a basement suite, shows great detailing on the elm stairs

We all have been there, apartment hunting in Victoria, and the ad reads above ground suite. You arrive to a dark dungy basement suite, where the only effort to make it liveable has been a fresh coat of paint.

Here are some photos of two basements suites I have been in this year, which show great thought, and care went into these spaces. In both cases the owners mandate was to create a space they would live in. Lone and behold one of the owners did just that, she moved downstairs!

 Old beams are left exposed, and open shelving in the kitchen shows off the owners housewares.

No upper cabinets keeps the space open and bright. Polished concrete floors make the space more loft like.

Another basement suite with polished concrete floors and open concept, again exposed beams add interest and character.

Both these suites have some common features that really make them a stand out.

1.  Both are walk-outs,  featuring french doors which adds a ton of light.
2.  Polished concrete floors are sophisticated and long wearing ( great for a rental),
3.  No uppers in the kitchen which gives the ceiling the illusion of more height.
4. Walls are framed out over the concrete walls making them appear higher.
5. Open concept, fewer walls means more light.
6. Finishing details, trim, doors, beams, are all top quality.

It costs a great deal of money to convert basements into a suite, the above owners spent upwards of $60,000.00 on these renovations. One made the comment, " it costs  a lot of money, regardless of the design, just to get it to the finishing stages, it was around $30,000.00. It really pays off spending extra on the details, what you get is spectacular vs. blah. In the end it is still your home, even if it is downstairs."

Happy Canada Day! Surroundings Celebrates 20 Years Today!

Time flies when your having fun. It truly does. Today Surroundings celebrates its 20th anniversary. Yes, I opened my doors on July 1st, 1993. It feels like it was just yesterday.

For all my regular and long standing customers, you have watched the store evolve and transform over the years. I have ripped out walls, false ceilings ( to expose our magnificent pressed tin ceiling), repaint too many times to mention, and of course move the cash desk.

Looking back it seems a bit of a blur. I am now selling furniture to my clients children who came into the store as pre-schoolers. Life goes on. I am so impressed with this young generation's love of all things old, they look at buying antiques and vintage as a green choice, and recognize they are getting quality that they could not afford to purchase in brand new furniture.

Latter today when my mom arrives, we will open the bottle of champagne above. I brought back the bubbly 2 years ago when I was in Champagne, France. I have been waiting for a special occasion, and I think this is it.

Sometime tonight I will pop the cork, toast Surroundings, my parents ( I so wished my Dad had lived to see this day), and all my loyal customers. Thank-you all!

 Cheers 

 To 20 years of great furniture!

My New - Old Stove, June Cleaver Would Be Proud

My new/old 1951 Syncrochime Moffat stove in my kitchen

When I was renovating 8 years ago I spent literally hours agonizing over appliances. Stainless steel was and still is all the rage, but it looked so out of place in a farmhand cottage. In the end I choose white. However, I wanted the stove to be a standout piece, easier said then done. Im not on a natural gas line, and placing a propane tank in the yard left me wanting. My dream would be to have an Aga, sadly I settled for Kenmore.

Fast forward 8 years, and I came across the re-conditioned 1951 Moffat. The porcelain was in mint condition, and the chrome makes it look like a Buick parked in my kitchen.

The light on the stove lights up the Moffat trademark, it looks like a classic car at night

The Stove is 40" wide, and features, a warming oven on one side, and regular oven on the other. This extra width meant some serious rearranging in the kitchen. Luckily having an unfitted kitchen made gaining the 10" in width a lot easier. The sink unit was trimmed off by 7" on the wall side, and dishwasher was moved over 3" on the other side.

I love the look of this stove, and more importantly I love cooking at it! I feel it belongs here, and now 8 years latter, the kitchen is complete. It was waiting for just the right stove. 

Cheers,

Kristiane

Hats Off And On Display!

The entrance at Rennick Cottage

Last week, a young man asked me what I thought of hanging his collection of hats on the wall in the entrance of his condo. Fabulous idea! After all, I have done just that at my home. A collection of sun hats are on permanent display next to my old column ( there is an identical column on display in Surroundings).

These hats are used daily in the summer time and it's nice to have spares on hand for visiting guests as it get very hot here in the Cowichan Valley. In the winter, I love looking at them as I come through the door, they remind me of hot summer days toiling in the garden.

Warehouse door meets country cottage

The door heads into the laundry room, and like most of us, space was an issue! The entrance is 6' wide and a door swinging into the space was awkward. I had similar doors made for the closets in the bedrooms. The track is actually a pocket door track which I mounted on a 2" by 4". The door is custom made and done in an antique oil finish.

A basic utility handle

This handle costs about $2.50. Simple, utilitarian, and classic. I repeated the handle through-out the cottage.  I have 6 identical handles on the center island in the kitchen and 3 more on the bathroom cabinets. Repetition can be very effective in decorating especially when it is in the tiny details.

So, lets get those hats out of the closet and up on display. 

Cheers,

Kristiane

The Other Louvre

This is the Louvre-lens

I just back from Europe and the question everyone asks, "what was your favorite part of the trip?" Well, we put 3000 kms on the car rental, so we covered a lot of ground. The two stand-outs are the new Louvre in Lens and the City of Berlin ( I loved Berlin).

If you have been to Paris, Im sure you have suffered the long line ups, and poorly behaved tourists at the Musee du Louvre.  My last visit there, I was shocked by large (4' by 6') red and white signs next to the Venus de Milo warning against pick pockets .......... ok is that really necessary. Tourists were carrying their ipads filming the museum with absolutely no regard who they bumped into ..... get me out of here.

Travel north  (1 hour by TGV) of Paris to the new Louvre for a totally different experience. The Louvre-Lens was designed by the Japanese Architect firm SANAA, the Landscape Design is by Catherine Mosbach of Paris. The building sits on a 60 acre site of a former coal mine.

The low form building blocks look translucent, a combination of glass and stainless steel. Inside the main gallery is done in a time line starting at one end at BC. and traveling through to the 1860's. It is breathtaking, and a joy, as all visitors are essentially moving in one direction.

The Louvre-lens opened its doors in December 2012, and is offering  free admission for its first year. The landscaping is not completed, and I plan on going back in a five years to see the final vision.

The Beautiful city of Arras is just 15 minutes South of Lens and offers great  accommodations, restaurants, and shopping. Arras and Lens were both heavily devastated by World War I. Arras was rebuilt to its former glory. 

Between the two cities lies The Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge. This is a must see for every Canadian. Truly the most spectacular sculpture you will ever see. Prepare yourself to shed a tear, it is a very moving experience to see Vimy.

For anyone traveling to France this year a highly recommend this region. Lots to see, and learn! And of course enjoy the wine and cheese.

Cheers,

Kristiane

The Equestrian Bergere Chairs

Everyone loves Bergere Chairs, they are classic, comfortable, and look great in both modern and traditional settings.

I just got these back from the upholsterer on Sunday. Done in Belgian linen, with upholstered tacks showing, and leather armrests, we are calling them the Equestrian Bergere.

I wanted a more masculine and relaxed look for this classic chair. The linen was pre-washed, therefore, allowing the seat cushion cover to be washed in the future, no dry cleaning required.

The arm rests can can take a lot of wear and tear. The leather will stand up to years of use and age beautifully. The wood work has been refinished and left in the raw. A light coat of wax is on the solid maple frames.

It does not matter where you place this chair in the room, it is elegant from all angles.

If you don't like the look of the feather seat cushion, the chair looks fabulous without. Your choice. I have sat in the chair with and without the feather cushion...... hmmm it's a toss up.

The Chairs are for sale for $1095.00 each. They are truly artisan pieces, needless to say, can never be duplicated.

Im off to Europe tomorrow, buying more linen, visiting family, and eating lots of cheese.

Cheers,

Kristiane

Saying Good Bye ...... A Tribute

My father, Dr. Gordon Baskerville passed away on February 2. Above is my favorite photo of him, looking out to sea at Long Beach.

Twenty odd years ago I called my Dad, who was living in New Brunswick, "Dad, would you guarantee a loan for me?" His reply, " Sure honey."

I had gone to the Royal Bank a few days earlier to enquire about a loan for starting Surroundings,  the bank manager explained the ins and outs of  a small business loan. The bottom line is, there really is no such thing as a "small" business loan, but to her credit she suggested a personal loan and to have a family member guarantee it.

The year is 1997, Surroundings fourth anniversary, and I have chartered a sailboat to take 15 of my closest friends and family out to celebrate. My parents were on board that night, and I proudly told my Dad that I had paid off the loan and he was no longer on the hook, his reply " I never was on the hook honey." He believed in me, he always knew that loan would be paid off, and that the store would be successful.

Fast forward now to 2013,  Im turning off the lights in the store as I get ready to leave for the night. Im looking around, the beautiful chandelier, the furniture waiting for their new homes. I think back over the last 20 years of success, and Im excited over the years ahead, I love what I do.

I reach the front door, turn off the last light, looking back into the store, I say out loud " thanks Dad, thanks for helping me make it all happen."

With much love and gratitude,

Kristiane