visual heart creative studio -

Storage Ideas For Small Spaces

April 14, 2019 2 Comments

Article Lignum shelf styled by @visualheart

We’re coming up on 8 years of living in our 1,000 square foot loft apartment in Vancouver and I often get asked how the two of us manage to live in a fully open plan space. We have no rooms with doors (besides the bathroom) and limited storage space and no storage locker. The answer? It’s all about your perspective on life. Personally I don’t think 1,000 square feet is small, but apparently, 1,000 and under is considered small space living, especially if you do not have a storage locker and you live with another person. The best part about […]

Interior Design

18 Foot Tall Loft Library

April 4, 2019 No Comments

I get a lot of questions about our home library that I share often over on my Instagram account. I thought I’d share a bit of the building process over here. When we moved in there was an existing nook near the front of our loft ideal of a floor to ceiling library. It already had a few shelves but it was sad looking, not being used to its full potential and needed a facelift. Both Andrew and I had a dream of having a tall home library with a vintage ladder so we were determined to make one. […]

Interior Design

Minimalist Bohemian Interior Design Inspiration

February 25, 2019 No Comments

Spring 2019 is all about vintage, the 1970s mixed with modern seems to be a focus. Woven baskets, macrame, tapestries, hanging planters, and shaggy rugs. I’m not a huge fan of the 70s, but if you do it right with a modern twist it can be quite beautiful. Some other elements that are big this season, terrazzo, all the plants to create a home jungle, concrete, matte finishes, warm brushed metallics, velvet everything and unique large scale art. I’m a big fan of large scale artwork, it makes a space feel cleaner and creates a huge statement in a room, […]

DIY

How to Make A Mid Century Style Plant Stand IKEA Hack

January 13, 2019 2 Comments

This project is for those that don’t want to pay high prices for a vintage style plant stand. I created this project by accident with some pieces we had around our apartment. It all started with an odd number of furniture legs that couldn’t be used on a dresser and an old IKEA lazy susan we never used. So here’s what you’ll need to make your plant stand. Supplies:3 vintage style furniture legs (my furniture legs are actually vintage)3 furniture leg plates – make sure to get the ones that angleScrews – 3 per leg plateIKEA lazy susan or round […]

DIY

The Best Paint for Furniture Makeovers

January 4, 2019 No Comments

Over the past several years I’ve been painting furniture as a hobby. It started as a way to furnish our apartment on a budget and then I fell in love with finding pieces of furniture that were in need of love and giving them a new life. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years, including what not to do and what works so well. So I’m here to share a few painting tips and mostly what brands of paint work the best for painting furniture. Firstly here’s a link to all the furniture projects I’ve worked on over […]

DIY, Graphic Design, Printables

Free Printable Modern Christmas Gift Tags

November 28, 2018 No Comments

Free printable Christmas gift tags designed by @visualheart www.visualheart.com

Happy Christmas! Here’s a printable set of fun modern Christmas gift tags just for you! They’re totally FREE so scroll down below and download the file. This year I went with some trendy colours. These colours work well with metallic wrapping paper, kraft paper, newspaper, basically just about any wrap will work with these, have fun coordinating colours and selecting ribbon or string. I find it best to print these at your local print shop rather than at home because the colours come out so much better. I went to my local UPS store and printed 2 sheets on matte […]

DIY, Interior Design

Modern Scandinavian Sideboard on a Budget Using IKEA Besta

November 22, 2018 No Comments

Are you looking for an easy way to build a modern sideboard, credenza or “fauxdenza” on a budget? I’ll share what I did to create this custom piece for our living room. This large 94.5″ white unit is made from IKEA Besta cabinets in matte white with wood legs to make it look like a furniture piece. I often get asked where this piece is from and when I say it’s just IKEA cabinets, people are very surprised. Someday I’d love to add a quartz stone top on it or a nice piece of wood, but for now it’s good […]

Interior Design

Scandinavian Inspired Christmas Decorations

November 14, 2018 No Comments

Scandinavian Christmas decor inspiration

This Christmas I decided it was time to upgrade our style for something more simple and less colourful. My inspiration is Scandinavian themed, which usually means lots of neutral colours, soft whites, black, grey, silver and cream. I wanted to incorporate natural fabrics and a handmade vibe and items that would last for years without being too trendy. I purchased some of the items shown below, be sure to check out my instagram in the next few weeks to see what I ended up buying to make our Christmas more simple and minimalist this year. Most importantly, Christmas and the holiday season […]

Interior Design

Sources for Linen Sheets in Canada

September 28, 2018 No Comments

(photo from H&M Canada Home) I’ve had linen sheets on my mind for years. They were always a luxury item I was saving up for but never got around to purchasing because for some reason the bedroom is the last place in our loft that I update. I know this is a common problem for most people and I think we need to start caring more about where we sleep and making our bedroom space a priority. I was always just buying the cheapest cotton sheets I could find in neutral colours because that’s all my budget would allow for, […]

Interior Design

Concrete Bathroom Accessories

September 20, 2018 No Comments

@visualheart bathroom loft apartment - Danica Studio concrete accessories

I just gave our bathrooms a small update with some new accessories and I had to share. I got a few concrete accessories from Now Designs and they really add personality to our bathrooms and fit with the industrial style of our loft apartment. I first discovered Now Designs/Danica Studio through instagram and a local shop in my neighbourhood. Our soap pump and toothbrush holders were getting tired and needed a refresh and I saw these kitchen soap dispensers and thought they’d work well for a toothbrush and hand soap. I love how updating something so small can make a big impact […]

Interior Design

Fall Interior Decor Inspiration

September 5, 2018 No Comments

You guys, where did Summer go? I can’t believe it’s September, but the good news is that means cooler weather and cozy interiors, personally it’s my favorite season! I’ve gathered some interior decor inspiration, from large brands to small Etsy shops and it seems like a common colour trend is mustard yellow/gold. The 70s and 80s are back in full force but in a fresh modern way. Plants of all kinds are still a huge trend and so healthy for your home. I’m a big fan of low maintenance low light plants such as Rubber trees and snake plants while I’d love […]

Interior Design

Loft Apartment Decor Updated with Article

August 8, 2018 No Comments

Hey guys, I’m here again to share a few updates we did to our loft apartment in terms of home decor. I was lucky to partner with Article again to add in a few pieces to help refresh our space. Speaking of Article, did you catch my recent home tour with them? Article came to our loft apartment and did a live tour on their Instagram, if you missed it, here’s a link to their Articulate blog post sharing some fun details about our loft. So let’s get into it, what did we add and what did we take away? We […]