A Look at Love It Or List It Vancouver

Hello! It's been awhile since my last post, but there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day. I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way?

Some of you may know that I shoot the "reveals" on a show called Love It Or List It Vancouver, on WNetwork, hosted by Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot. It's pretty incredible what Jillian, and her design team, get done in the space of just a few weeks...and this is a weekly show. Thought I'd share a few pics from one of the more recent reveal days. You can click here, to see some of the "before" pics, the entire resource guide and story.

What do you think? Could you see yourself hanging out in this house? 

Check out Love It Or List It Vancouver, for pics of the bedroom, bathroom and office as well, along with all the before pics. It was a massive transformation. 

Have a good day!

janis

Minimal for Friday

Hello weekend! Hope you all had a good week.

I shoot a lot of homes. The best part about it is, I have the opportunity to meet so many homeowners and see their different styles and tastes. It's so interesting, to me, to see what makes a perfect home for someone. Minimal, country, vintage, or maximal (new word?), etc.

This home was shot for Style At Home, propped by Stephanie Vogler (The Cross) and it's featured in the current issue. The homeowners are minimalists, and don't like to live with a lot of stuff. At all. Lots of white and concrete but, with some carefully selected vintage and antique wood pieces, along with their collection of McCoy pottery, it feels warm.

Homeowner, Patty, has a beautiful collection of McCoy pottery and had built in shelves created to  display it all. Still manages to keep it spare looking. 

I actually shot this couple's last home, a few years back, for a magazine called Canadian Home and Country. Take a look at the new issue of Style At Home for a few pics of their last home, mixed in with this one. It's quite a change. 

Do you think you could live minimally? Let me know!

Have a good weekend!

janis

Cottage Crush

Hello weekend! I'm so happy it's Friday.

I'm wrapping up the week with a cottage that you can actually picture owning. Located on beautiful Pender Island (just a 15 min seaplane trip from Vancouver), it's small and sensible and is completely inviting. I love it. Designer, Carrie McCarthy shares the cottage with her husband, Cameron, their young son, Leighton, along with Billie the dog.  I shot this space with Carrie, for the July issue of House and Home, out now. Here's a look....

What do you think? Would you be happy to spend weekends in a cottage like this? I'd love to know!

I certainly could. Sigh. 

For more info on Carrie, click here. You can read the entire story, and see more pics in the July issue of House and Home. 

Have a great weekend!

janis

Made By Hand - Cathy Terepocki

Cathy Terepocki is a busy mom of three, and a talented ceramic artist, located in a beautiful small town, about 90 minutes out of Vancouver. I had the pleasure of shooting her and her three adorable kids, with the help of my nephew, Jake, for Pure Green Magazine. Her inspiring story is in the current issue (volume 8), out now. Here's a look....

Cathy's kids hanging out at her studio, which just happens to be in her back yard. 

Cathy sells her products online here, and you can also find them at Walrus, in Vancouver, and Spruce in Abbotsford. 

Have a great day! 

janis

A Little Pretty for Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! How's your week going?

I wanted to share some images from a shoot I did for Style At Home magazine, in the May issue. The home was designed by the design team at The Cross, for Perienne Sadler and her family.

Why not have a Marlin on your wall? 

Artwork by Zoe Pawlak

For the entire story, click here. What do you think? Is this your cup of tea? I'd love to know. 

Have a good day!

janis

Tea Party

Happy Wednesday! 

I'm back, after a bit of a break, with some pictures from a shoot I did for Western Living magazine recently. We shot this Mother's Day Tea Party at The Cross. They kindly let us set up shop for the day, while we propped and primped some fabulous treats and flowers. It was pretty handy to have a shop full of the perfect props too. 

Naomi and Lawren set up the food, while Elizabeth and Sylvie get ready for their close-ups. 

This is just a sample of the food we shot that day. You can find all the recipes, of several tea party essentials, in the new issue of Western Living, or online here. 

Our "studio" for the shoot, in a pretty area of The Cross. They were very sweet to hang a light fixtures for us as well.

So much more, from this shoot, featured in the May issue of Western Living. Just in time for Mother's Day! 

Have a great day! 

janis

Baked

Hello all! Hope you've had a good week. Any exciting plans for the long weekend?

This week has been mostly spent in front of my computer, catching up on editing a few shoots. I wanted to make some kind of a loaf/bread the other day, to help ease the pain of editing, but had no bananas. I did have dates, walnuts and coconut though, so tossed them all in a basic bread mix.
Since there are a lot of dates in this recipe, it's already super sweet, so I didn't add sugar. If you want to add sugar, I wouldn't add more than half a cup.

Date Walnut and Coconut Bread - makes one 9"x5" loaf (I couldn't find my large loaf tin, so I used my old Hovis tin, which is smaller. The result was just taller bread!)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
1 cup pitted dates, soaked in hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup large flake coconut
a little raw sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line loaf tin with parchment paper, and set aside. In a small bowl, cover chopped dates with 1/2 cup of hot water. Cover and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
Beat the butter, in a large bowl, until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add dry mixture to creamed butter, a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Drain water from dates, and fold into batter along with walnuts and coconut. Spoon batter into loaf tin and sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean.

If you try out this recipe, I'd love to know what you think!

Have a lovely long weekend!

janis