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I’m not saying art is easy to copy but this felt

I’m not saying art is easy to copy but this felt within our reach. And there are a number of artists doing this grid technique.

Greg is the real painter in this relationship but I did study fine arts after university, so between the two of us we felt reasonably qualified. 😄

We primed the board, taped the grid, and added modelling paste to a few squares for texture. Then we poured some wine, put on some music and started painting.

I took one half, he took the other. I knew the palette I wanted — greens, blues, pink, burgundy, black and beige. Different brushes, a palette knife, no rules. A few hours later, Sky Garden was finished.

I may have snuck over to his side to speed things along. He’s a little slow. 🐢 But he did put more effort into his squares. @artbygregmais

Every square is its own little painting. Different marks, different textures, different energy.

It now hangs alongside the vintage paintings on the adjacent wall in our family room and I love the mix of modern and traditional.

Plus it was so much fun! We're going to do a larger one next. 🎨

Would you try it?

#artist #abstractart #interiordesign #painting

One of the most asked questions about our kitchen

One of the most asked questions about our kitchen renovation is:

What backsplash tile is that?

It’s authentic Moroccan Zellige tile. ✨

It’s one of the best decisions I made in the kitchen. There is nothing like the charm and the imperfections in this tile. It is handmade so every tile is different. Yes there are tiles that mimic these but it’s not the same.

I saw something written saying that Zellige tile is a trend. It’s been around for hundreds of years, so it’s here to stay.

Save this for your renovation.

#kitchendesign #kitchenremodel #kitchenrenovation #oakvilledesigner #cottagecoreaesthetic englishkitchen sodomino homewithrue zellige
designertips beforeandafterhome

Thd silence after that word is its own kind of wei

Thd silence after that word is its own kind of weight.

You can ask how someone died. That’s a natural question and it’s okay. It’s what comes after the word suicide that matters: the pause, the way someone’s face changes, the conversation that suddenly doesn’t know where to go.

Rick died ten years ago (March 26, 2016.) And in ten years, I’ve had a lot of those silences.

As the years have gone by, I’ve felt Rick fade - his name spoken less, his face growing distant in other people’s minds, his existence slowly dimming in a world that has moved on.

That is one of the quietest griefs of losing someone. Not just the loss itself, but watching the world forget.

So when you ask about my person, when you say his name, when you want to know who he was, you give him back to me, just for a moment. You remind me that he existed. That he mattered. That he was here.

My husband Rick was so much more than his hardest moments. More than anything, he was Maya’s dad — her biggest fan, her soccer coach, the one on the sidelines who believed in her the loudest.

And after ten years, this is what I know for certain.

If there’s one question to leave unasked - it’s how. That question belongs nowhere near someone’s grief. It doesn’t honour the person. It doesn’t help the one left behind. It only opens wounds that have taken years to heal. What matters is not how they left, but how they lived.

Instead, try this:

Tell me about your person.
What was their name?
What were they like?
What do you miss most about them?
What’s something that still makes you smile when you think of them?

These questions make room for the life they lived, not just the way they left. They say: I see you. I’m not afraid of your loss. I want to know the person you loved, not just how the story ended.

Grief doesn’t need to be handled carefully so much as it needs to be witnessed. You don’t have to fix anything. You just have to show up and talk about their person.

Rick deserved to be known fully. So does every person we’ve lost.

Save this. Share it with someone who might need it - whether they’re the one grieving or the one trying to find the words. 🤍

#grief #widow #suicideloss

Let's call it goals. ✨ #cottagecoreaesthetic #i

Let's call it goals. ✨

#cottagecoreaesthetic #interiorinspiration #homeinspiration #interiordesign

I call it my happy little home. 🏠 #interiorde

I call it my happy little home. 🏠

#interiordesign #homerenovation #nancymeyersaesthetic #cottagecoreaesthetic

The 90’s were a big decade… Moved to Bordeaux

The 90’s were a big decade…

Moved to Bordeaux, France for love (wrong guy.)
Bought my first house.
Met Rick.
Got married.
Moved across the country to Vancouver.

Some of the biggest and best plot twists of my life happened in that decade.

Including meeting Rick…hard to believe it’s been almost 10 years without him. ❤️

Feels like another lifetime.

Also, it was the 90’s so finding the right foundation match (for brown skin) was nearly impossible as you can see! 🤭

#grief #widow #90s #griefandloss

You bring the inspiration. I'll handle the 47 deci

You bring the inspiration. I'll handle the 47 decisions that need to be made. 🩵🚿

#bathroomremodel #bathroomrenovation #wallpaper

Dear Dad, I will always remember your stories of

Dear Dad,

I will always remember your stories of growing up in McCluskieganj (India) like taking a train to boarding school alone at age 8 and being chased by a panther while riding your bike. Or arriving in London (England) in the 1950’s and washing dishes to survive and finally landing a job in your profession. The boss who gave you advances on your paycheque so you could put a downpayment on a house for your growing family. You remembered that kindness right until the end.

There were so many stories that existed before me. But what I do remember is this:

Endless family camping trips across the US and Canada.

You tried to get us to play tennis as kids and were thrilled when we all took it up as adults.

The Crosstyx field hockey club you founded in the 70s - the tournaments, the picnics and the community you built from scratch.

The squash club you designed, built and owned and the camaraderie of the sport you loved.

You renovated every house we lived in all by yourself. There was no YouTube or internet. You had all these creative ideas and you figured out how to implement them. You loved arches and built them everywhere, inside and outside the house. You were ahead of your time!

You died the same day as Jesse Jackson (Feb 17) and certainly not to compare, but you always fought for what was right and good. You instilled that in me along with your steady work ethic, your resilience and your belief that family is everything. You weren’t perfect, but who really is?

It was painful to watch someone so athletic, fit and smart become a frail shadow of himself. But 90 years is a long and meaningful journey and I’m grateful for the time we had.

We will miss you forever Dad. Please give Rick a hug from me.

Love you, Van xo

#dementiasucks #dadloss

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