science-inspired design

Anthropologie has a funny sub-category of room decor called "Science-Inspired" and it made me giggle. But then when I checked it out I realized we were totally 2 years ahead of Anthro when we re-decorated our Dad's bedroom! Our Pa is one smartsy pants with a PhD in BioChem AND a biotechnology company. Since finishing his PhD and starting his first diagnostic company when he was only 25 years old, he proudly held on to his lab beakers and erlenmyer flasks and would sometimes stare at them all lovingly as they were getting all dusty in the basement.

When we re-did his master bedroom, we decided to add his "vintage" science tools to the room decor and used them as a cluster of "vases" on his dresser. In his bathroom we set out apothecary jars filled with bathroom stuff to keep the theme going. So Anthropologie, us Bloomers were the real trendsetters here!! I just needed to say it one more time because it sure makes me proud.

But, I'm thinking most people don't have a brilliant science smartsy fartsy of a Pa who kept his potentially radio-active lab paraphenilia, so you can get some knock-offs at Anthro instead!

fuschia and taupe

I have been in a couple of situations now as a wedding designer where a bride really wants a pink "girly girl" wedding, but her fiance isn't down with doing the whole feminine pink thing. Fair enough! You can't force a body to like a colour! Enter Fuschia and Taupe - the next fabulous colour palette from Martha Stewart Weddings (of course!) which I think could appease both parties, without making a sacrifice. I love this colour combo - it's absolutely fresh, modern and beautiful. I love the way the modern beige looks so crisp next to the vibrant fuschia.

beautiful piles of dirt!

As Shayna Bloomer jets off to Israel to plan +design her own wedding, I will tell you the latest design project in my own life. I, Melanie Bloomer, just bought a house - well, actually, just a pile of dirt right now. It won't be built until 2010, but that excites me more. Now I have, with the help of my Bloomers, a year and a half to plan the way I'd ideally like my house to look! FUN FUN FUN.

Take a look at my beautiful pile of dirt. I want to just plod right in there on my horse at top speed and drive my flag right into the ground, just like Tom & Nicole did on Far & Away!



There's something sort of cool about that Warning sign!



Oh the possibilites this blank space offers!

I must say, I have always loved the Oprah Winfrey Show episode where Nate Berkus decorates his small Manhattan apartment. I love how simple it is with the stark white walls, the large artwork, brown leather couches, but when he painted his doors a glossy blue/black, I was SMITTEN. Nate says painting your doors offers architectural interest to the space. Sigh, did I mention that I love him?

Come and appreciate dreamy Nate and his dreamy apartment with me (photos compliments of on the Oprah.com) ...



Love this layout - very natural looking, very open.



I absolutely love this colour blue, but also, look how great his stainless steel backsplash looks?



I like the way the vintage lamp looks in his modern bedroom.



And oh, I could design some pretty amazing events from this workspace.

Oh the possibilities....this is what I call fun!

tea for just me!

I spent the weekend with my great friend in Montreal. She has been an environmentally aware, nature loving, animal adopting, vegetarian since before it was trendy! And being the ridiculously talented, creative artist that she is, pretty much everything in her adorable little apartment is hand-made, salvaged, re-purposed, and meaningful. Funnily enough however, the defining moment for me in that weekend was her drawer of cloth napkins. It was like a trip to design heaven in one little drawer. Every colour and pattern you could think of was there! It made me think a lot about the way I've been living. I do love the environment and always try and be conscious of my footprint but somehow it never occured to me that I was worthy of a cloth napkin. It just seemed so luxurious and I'm really not sure why! So in the name of the environment (and a smidgen of guilty pleasure) I gleefully made it my mission to use beautiful cloth napkins for my every day enjoyment. Why shouldn't I drink my tea in delicious indulgence while at the same time helping the environment? And so that is just what I did...and it felt great!

My lovely new chartreuse green linen napkin from Teatro Verde just happened to perfectly match my tea pot!

show and tell

inBloom recently created some papery details for my friend and beautiful bride Jessica, who just got hitched this past Sunday! She had an art deco theme for her wedding, with little birdie touches thrown in (she got married at the old Eglinton Grand theatre in Toronto, and used bird cages of all sizes as her centrepieces). The very elegant 'Paris Retro' invitation was customized in deep red and black, and little birdies were added in to symbolize the bride and groom. As mentioned before, and probably again, I do love a birdie! A matching program was created too...voila! A set of wedding stationery as lovely as the bride herself.

wedding eye candy

I love decorating. If I could sit all day and just come up with inspiration boards for wedding after wedding I'd be in design heaven. There are just so many delicious things to look at in this world. So many odd little ways to put it all together. Here are a few things that I've collected over the last little while that have been inspiring me for my own wedding[s]. I'm so happy I get to decorate two of them. My big "real" wedding seems to be shaping up to be a elegant, beachy affair with breezy layered fabric, bushy sprays of orange flowers, flower pots and jars of candles. My "practice" wedding more of a whimsical combination of found objects, vintage inspiration, lace and old-fashioned tent circuses.

These next pics are inspiring my practice wedding. I'm thinking of hanging objects from the trees on my family property. I've picked a section of the property that is mixture of old evergreen trees with spindly arms and big maple trees that create a beautiful natural canopy. It gives a feeling of an enchanted forest that fits perfectly with my whole circus tent vision!

Top picture of mason jar candles courtesy of East Side Bride. I think I'm tempted to double this idea for both my practice and my real weddings. Mason jar candles are equally appealing in both venues! Pictures two, and three from adorable vintage wedding found on Snippet & Ink. And the last two pics are from Martha Martha Martha!

And not to forget the beachy wedding inspirations of my real wedding. These are a few of the things I've added to my list of desires:

The flower pot is from IKEA. The invitations are courtesy of Kenzie Kate's Something Old, Something New blogspot. Message in a bottle guest favors originally from Martha Stewart (of course!) but found on Bridalwave site. And the succulent guest favor was featured in the InStyle Weddings Fall 2008 issue.

role reversal - planning my own wedding!

So, I’m getting married in Israel next year. What a strange place the Holy Land is for planning a wedding. The guests apparently wear jeans, they laugh at the idea of seating plans, they don’t give guest favors, they roll their eyes at spending too much money on flowers and décor but they very willingly pay over $10,000 just to rent the venue alone! And I'm not even going to mention the guest list....OY! Not exactly an easy task for a wedding planner who doesn't speak hebrew and has spent the last few years collecting wild, whimsical and wacky ideas for her own future wedding! But prevail I shall...I'll keep you posted on my continuing saga!

Luckily we (ok…so maybe me!) have decided to hold a “Wee Practice Wedding” a month before our real one for all our friends & fam who aren’t keen on the whole Holy Land thing. My mission is to have the event of my wildest, warped and wacky dreams on the most ridiculously teensy tiny budget imaginable. I don’t think future Mr. Husband quite knows what he is in for (hee hee!) but here is a sneak peak of just a few of the things that have been inspiring me.


Oh how I love the big hair and veil!


Yummy old-fashioned (teal!) armchair found online at www.dkimages.com/.../Furniture-623.html


Oh so cute table for two!

Who doesn't want a vintage popcorn maker?! You can rent a similar one from Hart Entertainment or Woodbridge Party Centre . But I think I might just buy my own!