Wednesday 31 August 2011

YAM magazine – Living Large in a Small Space

This has been a great month for us, great projects on the go and some sweet yummy media.  This time by our favourite local magazine, YAM  [ You and Me :: Living Smart ]

 

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Their Fall Style Issue is full of great articles, particularly special is a very well thought-out article by David Lennam.

 

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We feel very privileged that YAM magazine included my insight in their article "Living Large in a Small Space" by David Lennam.  It is great to see the thoughts of some of my favourite peers in the city like Katherine Roberts and Patricia Stafford from Acacia ID Studio, Lana Lounsbury, Ben Brannen and Heather Draper, and Donna Riddell of Artistry Design Group all together in one article alongside my own input on design.

 

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Go get your copy today!



MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

Friday 26 August 2011

BC HOME–FRESH WHITES

Today you must rush out to buy the latest issue of BC Home out on newsstands. We are excited to announce that Ivan Meade has been interviewed in the recent instalment about using the colour white in interiors. Yaaaaaay!


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You can find the article “Fresh Whites” on page 109. We are delighted to share our input alongside esteemed designers, Patricia Gray and Valerie Edwards.

 

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As always, we were very pleased to have our input featured in this great magazine. The text by Catherine Tse was a pleasure to read and the layout and photography is stunning as always.


For photographs of projects where we have used white in our designs, check out our website under Interior Design and take a look at Spring Bay and Persimmon Drive in particular.


We hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!



MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

Friday 12 August 2011

Eye Candy of the Week - Papyri Cocktail Table

 

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Top Detail in Polished Bone

 

PRODUCT

Papyri Octagonal Cocktail Table

 

MANUFACTURER

Ironies

 

MATERIAL

Base - Available in standard and premium brass finishes.

Top - Polished pieced bone.

 

DIMENTIONS

39.75"W x 39.75"D x 17"

 

DESCRIPTION

The Papyri Octagonal Cocktail has all the qualities that make a piece of furniture memorable.  First of all, I love furniture that is transitional –The Papayri Cocktail table can look as good in a contemporary setting as it can in a traditional one, the quality of the materials are exceptional, and overall has a distinctive design that will bring a quite but profound conversation to any room.

 

The shape of this table is so unconventional and is one of my favourite parts of this piece.   Lately, I have been tiring of round and square tables, so finding a shape as simple as an octagon makes a world of difference.  I love the scale of the table and the subtle design on the top that really draws your eye to its center.  The legs are like fine stilettos carrying the weight of the design.

 

Can you tell that I want one! just a little ;)

 

YUMMY FACTOR

HOT!!!



MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

Friday 5 August 2011

IN CONVERSATION WITH CAMERON MACNEIL

imageCameron MacNeil

 

I am inspired by Cameron's warm personality and approach to design that he makes look so effortless. His spaces are eclectic, warm, and totally liveable. His new website and his blog certainly makes his design aesthetic clear; Cameron embraces rustic, worn elements that bring so much personality and patina to a space. And he seems to take great pride in finding that perfect, affordable work of art, accessory or furniture piece that he plans to give new life with a new coat of paint, an unusual purpose, or an updated fabric. He uses his blog to share his excitement in not only his recent finds, but videos showcasing one of his newly designed spaces, inspiring links, locations or images, and personal anecdotes relating to the latest trends.  I clearly remember when he was first published in Canadian House & Home, a beautiful bachelor suite in blues and browns - Back then I thought 'that is exactly the space I would love to live in'.

 

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Vignette by Cameron MacNeil

 

Cameron has been blogging since 2008, but his design career started much earlier. He knew he wanted a career in design from an early age, and after graduating from the Interior Design Program at Sheridan College, earned himself a position at Canadian House & Home Magazine in 2000 as an editorial assistant. He now focuses his time on freelance design work and his blog, but is still a design editor with CH&H, where you will see his name pop up amongst various features, including the monthly 'Ask a Designer' column.

 

I am ready to get Cameron's input on the design industry, and I am sure he has piqued the interest of my readers as well, so please read on to get in on the conversation…

 

Ivan Meade - What was your first experience by design?

 

Cameron MacNeil - I'm the youngest of five children by about 13 years, I have two sist ers and 2 brothers and they're a creative bunch including my parents. When I was four or five, I remember my sisters would always be making their own clothes, and my brothers would be painting model cars.  So I followed a lot of what they did. Like most designers I played with a lot of lego too! When I was eleven I decorated my own room. It had hunter green wall paper, and the wallpaper border (of course) had ducks - it was all the rage back then. I made the bedding and curtains myself, my sisters and mother had taught me how to sew.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - Do you consider being young in the business as advantage or a disadvantage ? Even when we know you have been in the business for a long time.

 

Cameron MacNeil - I've never seen it as being as a disadvantage. At first people may not take you seriously but when they start to year you talk, they realize I know what I'm talking about. ha!!  My clients are typically older than me, but lately I can tell i'm getting old when my clients are in their twenties and I'm not anymore!

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade – What is the most practical thing you own and what is the most rare?

 

Cameron MacNeil - My iPhone and a wool blanket that I permanently borrowed from my mother. It's gray with a blue stripe and it must be over forty years old.  It seems to work everywhere, on the back of a sofa or at the end of a bed, it looks great.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - What should every room have in it?

 

Cameron MacNeil - A place to sit (and if it's comfortable - even better), even if it's a little bench in a vestibule or a bench at the end of a bed.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - You have become a very familiar face thanks to Canadian House & Home - What has been the best lesson you have learned as editor of the magazine?

 

Cameron MacNeil - Great design never has to have a large price tag attached to it. Contrary to some design TV shows of the past, you also can't design a living room for under $1000.  One of the House & Home signature looks is a mix of styles, with high and low priced pieces that are new and vintage. A space with all brand new stuff can be soulless.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - What do you think Canadian homes are missing?

 

Cameron MacNeil - Humm, where do I start? I don't think their missing much, a lot of homes I go into have way too much stuff! 

 

I find a lot of possessions people have can hold them back on bringing out their true style. I was helping a client who's husband had purchased some expensive and ugly sofas before they were married. They felt they had to work with them because they were so expensive. I told them they might have been expensive but they were not worth spending money on entire room of furniture just to make them work. Luckily the next time I went buy they were sitting on the curb. Ha! If you have purchased something that doesn't work anymore, sell it on craigslist, take a loss and learn from your mistakes.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - As the editor of a very popular design magazine, you must have seen several interior design trends come in and out of fashion. Do you have any that you miss? Or, any that you are very glad have not returned?

 

Cameron MacNeil - I miss the popular bar code stripe of the the early 2000s. It sounds funny, but I don't think you really see much of that any more.  I saw that in a lot rooms and I loved the graphic quality and colour it added. It was usually on a pillow, or wall treatment. It's been about 10 years, perhaps I'll bring it back! 

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade – You seem to really enjoy blogging, which is part of what makes your blog so much fun to read. What is your favourite thing about blogging?

 

Cameron MacNeil - I do like to blog, but I find it can be really hard to come up with an interesting topic which is why I don't do it as much as I should.  A lot of bloggers will use a bunch of images from magazine articles or other blogs to fill a blog post but lately I tend to shy away from that on my own blog.  My favourite thing about blogging is receiving comments about a post.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade – It’s great that you share some of your personal life with your bloggers as well, such as your own personal projects. What has that process been like?

 

Cameron MacNeil - As I mentioned receiving comments on the blog are nice to see and they are always quite positive. It's fun to see that someone from across the globe has been reading your blog.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - What is the best advice (design related or otherwise) that you have ever received?

 

Cameron MacNeil - As cliché as it sounds - to trust your instincts. I've learned to offer a client edited options of what I know will work in the space. I'm best when I tell them what I think, not what I think what they want to hear. Sounds obvious but it took me a few years to figure that out.  ha!!

 

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Interior Deign by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade –  What is next for Cameron MacNeil?

 

We are most likely going to sell our house in September and move - not sure where but It's time to work on a new project for myself.

 

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Interior Design by Cameron MacNeil

 

Iván Meade - Lastly, you have created a stunning body of work in a multitude of mediums – what would you like your legacy to be?

 

Cameron MacNeil - That sounds so serious! I'm not sure if I fully know what I'd like that to be just yet - in a few years I may be able to elaborate on that. For now, I'd like to be known as a designer who offers a contemporary style with an appreciation of classic elements and materials.

 

I invite you to visit Cameron MacNeil’s website and blog at:

 

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Potography by Michael Graydon, Kim Jeffery & Angus Fergusson



MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011

Monday 1 August 2011

Design Collective

We have recently learned of yet another great resource for our design community, and this time it is not limited to interior designers alone.

 

The lovely and talented ladies at Inoui Design Collective, Amber Kingsnorth and Kyla Bidgood, are now taking their studio to the next level. They are renting studio space to small firms that are currently working from home or cannot afford the overhead of a full studio.

 

It's an affordable way to have a professional, and well-designed space to work and meet with clients. Inoui is hoping to lease the space to an array of creative professionals - graphic designers, architectural designers, interior designers, web designers and the like - to create an environment that encourages one another's creativity and allows tenants to add a social aspect to their work day.

 

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INOUI – Design Collective

 

The studio is bright and fresh while maintaining a completely functional workspace, and the location is terrific; right on 2002 Fernwood Rd, Victoria, BC, with plenty of exposure. Amber and Kyla are also open to the tenants adding signage to the existing space, as well as an addition to the Inoui website where tenants will be listed as part of the "our collective" page (coming soon).

 

I can't wait to see where this new venture takes them - congratulations ladies!

 

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INOUI – Design Collective

 

I invite you to discover Design Collective at their website at:

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Ivan Meade is a local designer and principal of Meade Design Group, a multidisciplinary interior and graphic design studio in the heart of downtown Victoria – www.meadedesigngroup.com



MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011