Design: The Claska Hotel in Japan

If I do make it to Japan like I have been planning to, I would definitely like to check out the Claska hotel. It looks ridiculously clean and calm. The 21 rooms are designed in 5 styles: modern, tatami, contemporary, DIY, and weekly residence.

The Modern:

japanese_room503_slide1-thumb-1260x840-453japanese_room503_slide2-thumb-1260x840-454-1The Tatami:

tatami_room605_slide1-thumb-1260x840-457 tatami_room605_slide2-thumb-1260x840-458The Contemporary:

contemporary_room704_slide2-thumb-1260x840-462 contemporary_room704_slide1-thumb-1260x840-461The DIY:contemporary_room701_slide1-thumb-1260x840-493 contemporary_room701_slide2-thumb-1260x840-494The Weekly Residence:

weekly_room602_slide1-thumb-1260x840-501Images via Claska.

The Friday Five: Pretty Diamond Jewelry

It has been a really long time since I featured jewelry on the blog, so I thought I’d feature some gorgeous pieces of diamond jewelry.

31657091_909725_ED Tiffany Hearts arrow pendant, $2050

30610539_931365_EDTiffany Enchant fleur earrings, $25,600

van-cleef-arpels-frivoleVan Cleef & Arpels frivole between the fingers ring

B6035816_0_cartier_braceletsCartier Love bracelet, $10,800

HPI00585_0_cartier_watchesCartier Tank Anglaise watch

Pretty gorgeous, right? A little bling is always good for the blog!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

DIY: Painting with CIL

If you’re a regular reader, then you know that my parents have helped me with just about every reno project I’ve done at my home. They are both very handy people. Dad’s great with electrical, plumbing, and BBQ cleaning projects, and mom is a genius sewer, stylist, gardener, and painter. I’d be dumb not to cash in on their talents. (Mom, Dad, I hope you’re amused by this introduction.)

So it goes without saying that if they have a project that needs me, I’m happy to help. Most of the time this means that I’m moving a piece of furniture. But recently, my help came in the form of painting. I worked with CIL and helped my parents paint their garage doors. The doors weren’t in terrible shape, but since my parents recently replaced all their outdoor eaves and trim, the existing door colour didn’t work.

We opted for this CIL exterior doors and trim paint:

CIL-Doors_trim-exterior-paint-101CIL Smart3 Triple Weather Protection Doors and Trim

I picked up the paint at my local Home Depot and had it colour matched to a piece of the eaves. Perfection!

My dad took the lead on the painting. Since this was an outdoor painting project, we waited for the weather report to call for a few days of warmth and sunshine. CIL suggested  (via Twitter) that the ideal temperature for exterior painting is 15°-20°C. (I’m pretty sure that those temps are good for the paint application and the painter’s fingers!)

We didn’t need to begin with a separate primer because the CIL Smart3 already has a built-in primer (cue the confetti!). Dad liked working with this paint; he reported that there were no bad smells, no splattering, and that the application was very smooth.

Here’s a look at the after:

White-Cabana-CIL-paint-exterior-garage doors102_1261The garage door is a taupe-grey-stone colour that is a perfect match to the eaves and trim. The colours of the whole house are now much more cohesive. It was an easy weekend project that made a big impact to the home’s exterior.

Thanks to CIL for sponsoring this post. Photos by Jordana and Dad.

Real Estate: A Villa with Views in Alicante, Spain

I have recently featured some gorgeous properties in Puslinch and Toronto, but now I’m taking you all the way to Alicante, Spain to view a beautiful villa with incredible views.

Have a browse through the photos and let me know how much you think the property is listed for!

The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-08-850x1133The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-12-850x478 The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-10-850x566 The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-13-850x1133 The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-11-850x478 The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-09-850x477 The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-10-3-850x477  The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-07-850x1133The-Cliff-House-Blueport-Altea-04-850x1133 Isn’t it amazing? This house is currently on the market for 5.8 million Euros (about 7.8 million Canadian dollars).

Images via Meg van Amstel International Realty.
Read all of my real estate posts.