a shawn cornell project » my home

grandma’s tea tray gets a new life

shawn cornell — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:01:09 +0000

this silver tray came from m’s grandmother when she recently moved. i have never liked a cluttered counter, besides it is too difficult to clean when there is bottles of this and containers of that everywhere. this tray allows me to keep often used things close to the food prep area and move them out of the way when i am cleaning up after dinner. and yes, i do use the disco-ball vodka bottle all the time.

teaser

shawn cornell — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:49:00 +0000

i realise that i have been absent from my relatively new post in the blogging world so i thought i would just check in. there has been plenty of action at our townhouse since i last wrote. the small back patio underwent some changes with the addition of a cedar deck, more planter boxes and a built in bench. the weather really has not been nice enough to treat it yet, so you will have to wait for less abstract photos of it until it fines up.

in the house there have also been some things that have come together recently. the spare room/office/den is a few steps closer to being ‘finished’ with some new shelves and computer desk as well a fresh coat of paint. it will be a while until any artwork (which still lives on the walls of our toronto house) comes west – but i can live for a while longer without it. the kitchen pantry also went through a bit of a mini face-lift by adding more usable shelving, a bulletin board and a small desk to store the laptop, cell phones and the dreaded catch-all bowl – all behind closed doors, but completely accessible to the main floor. a few more tweaks and i will be able to post some more pictures.

other than building, i have actually been gardening. with the last frost FINALLY out of the way i have had the chance to bring out some more tender succulents and bedding plants – though to be honest i lost a few when i jumped the gun a little in april. the warmer days have also allowed the banana plants to start to unfurl their first leaves of 2008 without the risk of being punished by the frost.

almost time to pick-up j from school. enjoy the moments.

life on the coffee table

shawn cornell — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:40:31 +0000

put these together the other night – i love the dangley stems of the purple ones along side the fluffy green fern… and it’s cheaper than cut flowers!

sunlight on shanghai alley

shawn cornell — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:00:31 +0000

i took this photo of the backside of the townhouses looking up from shanghai alley. you can just see the tip of the sun tower rising up over my neighbours’ roof.

it has been nice to be able to show my friend around in the sun! as we drove out to horseshoe bay along marine drive he quipped how awful this road must be in winter – i had to remind him it was february. the hellobora looked so beautiful blooming at whytecliff park. i feel some gardening coming on.

bright outlook

shawn cornell — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:51:06 +0000

when i help someone create a place for themselves it is easier if i know them at least a little. if at all possible, i like to interact with the owners in their existing space. to that end i simply invite myself over, either with a group of their friends, or for a quite evening with the inhabitants. i think the perfect home should reflect the owner’s past, work perfectly with their present and give a hint to their future.

while we vancouverites are fortunate enough to have mountains and the ocean at our doorsteps we are not blessed with alot of space for our buck. our downtown townhouse is a well designed place; but – with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, den and a living/dining room packed into 1,212 sq. feet – it’s small.

the den is the first room one encounters when they enter our house, it is also an extension of the kitchen and opens out on the larger of the two outdoor spaces. between the entertaining m and i do on regular basis, j and his friends and our own family activities this room will face an onslaught of use and abuse. it will also act as the formal receiving room for us. on our itunes speakers network it is called the club lounge, pretentious i know, but honestly it works!