Places & Spaces: The Star Cafe & Grill

This post is for my local followers because today I'm writing about a hidden gem of a cafe in small town Saskatchewan. Maple Creek is a beautiful little town in the South West corner of our province and is the gateway to the wild and breathtaking Cypress Hills Inter Provincial Park. It is also home to The Star Cafe and Grill. If your not from Saskatchewan you may not realize what a rare find this cafe truly is. It's not just "pretty good for a small town" - as I've heard lots of local fair described. The atmosphere and the culinary delights would give any high end restaurant in Regina or Saskatoon (or any other metropolis for that matter) a run for their money.   

As a designer, the thing I appreciate the most about this little establishment is the way it's heritage has been lovingly and carefully restored to its former glory. There is not a thing I would have done differently. (I hope the owners read this and take it for the compliment it is, because I almost never enter a space without thinking about what I would do to improve it.) From the original floors and tongue and groove ceilings and walls, to the newly built wainscoting and bar that have been matched so handsomely to the style of the space (my compliments to whomever did the custom mill-work on this place). And that thick stone wall! It spans the entire back length of the cafe and is the focal point of the space. Our waitress told us that it was thought to have been the dividing wall between what was the original general store in the front and stables in the back. How cool is that?

A visit to Maple Creek or to Cypress Hill would be incomplete without a little detour to this unexpectedly culinary delight. Besides the decor, the menu is a list of well curated dishes that have been refined to perfection. Trust me! No one is paying me or has even asked me to write this article. It was simply one of those chance encounters that I am so glad I didn't miss out on and I don't want you to either!

Places & Spaces: My Bathroom

It has been a BUSY few months for Ryley and I. We are getting ready to sell our house and thus, have been working like crazy on all those little things that need doing before putting it on the market. I have to say that we would never have gotten the amount of things done without the help of friends and family! Thank you guys!

Some of the renovations are recent and some have been done for a while, but I thought I would take this opportunity to share my home with you one room at a time. I've been taking photos for the listing, but also for the memories. It is bittersweet putting this house on the market since we have done a lot to it over the years and have so so so many memories here. Part of me doesn't want to leave this place!

So (since it was just cleaned) I thought I'd start this process by sharing pictures of my bathroom with you that my husband and his dad painstakingly tiled, dry-walled, painted, etc, etc, etc. Thank you Ryley and Larry, I love my bathroom!

Places & Spaces: The Happy Camper

Cutesy Camper

It's summer (yay!), and with summer comes thoughts of getting away, camping, cottages and the great outdoors. My husband and I recently had the opportunity to get away for a couple of days thanks to friends who lent us use of their lovely little cabin on a lake, and it got me thinking about finding ways to make our own little getaway. We are far from being able to purchase our own cabin, but camper? Maybe.... How fun would it be to buy and renovate a little vintage camper or RV? While we are still far from making such a decision I thought it would be enjoyable to research vintage renovated campers and share my findings with you.

Red & White Delight

What a little blue paint can do

Modern and Minimal

Eclectic Camper

Tonke Camper

Airstream

Modern Airstream

Loving this cozy white camper

Adorable Hugo Camper

Colourful Camper

Happy Camper

Pretty in Pink

Seriously, how much do you love these little beauties? Way cuter and way more personality than the ones you buy straight off the production line with their notoriously ugly upholstery. So fun, so summer. Makes me want to get back out into nature again!

Places & Spaces: Fireplaces

One of my very favorites, probably cause I like concrete so much...

Okay, I know its spring and this is more of a fall/winter post really, but I wanted to showcase some of my favorite fireplace ideas. This came to mind, really for my mom (love you mom) who is looking to install a fireplace and wanted some ideas and visual inspirations. So I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite fireplace finds from over the years. Without further ado, here they are:

Tiled Kitchen Fireplace

Bohiemian Bliss

Pod fireplaces give me rainbows in my heart (also digging the rope chair)!

An old fashioned cozy brick fireplace with the most wonderful thing I have ever seen directly below

Simple and Fabulous

Black Brick and Wood Fireplace

Lovely Outdoor White and Concrete Fireplace

Nice Style

Modern Stable Conversion

This metal bench/firewood holder attached to a wood burning stove is perfection (along with the metal shelving)!

Okay, at some point someone should stop me, cause this is getting to be a BIG post. But I can't help it, it's just so fun! Guess I will just overwhelm you with options, hope you don't mind.

Black Fireplace with Elongated Concrete Hearth

Mod Round Theme

Love this metal and brick fireplace!

White and Woody and Concrete!

Nice Concrete Fireplace

Elegant Concrete Option

Modern, Elegant and Simple Fireplace

Not a fan of the stucco, but love the modern simplicity, off centred-ness and the long, floating hearth

White and Bright Fireplace

A fireplace under the stairs? Not a bad idea...

Nice white brick fireplace with off centre firewood niche

Places & Spaces: The Shift Home Project

I came across an article discussing The Shift Home Project and I just had to share it because it is such a fresh take on design and just happens to be a local (Saskatoon) project that will, hopefully, turn into a movement.

The Shift Home during construction

Housing here in Saskatchewan, particularly in Regina and Saskatoon has become a major issue. While the rest of the country is in a recession our province is in the middle of a boom. Which is great cause it means lots of jobs and a low unemployment rate. However, it also means housing prices have skyrocketed and properties, particularly rental & low income housing are almost completely unavailable.

This is a big problem and one that the City of Regina and the province has largely ignored and instead decided to focus on building a football stadium. Yeah, that's right, a stadium, a resource stealing, life blood sucking stadium. I'm not going to go on and on about how ridiculously silly the stadium idea is except to say that if enough private companies/investors thought it was a good, profitable idea then there should be no problem in getting a new stadium privately funded. And if it were privately funded, I have no problem with it - people can do what they like with their money. However, if the vast majority of the money is coming from the city and provincial governments then that is a major shift in priorities as far as I'm concerned. Public money should be used for things that benefit the majority of the public like rental and low income housing or like not closing down 11 inner city schools because they've let the infrastructure go unmaintained for so long that the upkeep would now cost them a fortune (plus they want bigger classroom sizes so that more kids can fall through the cracks). Seriously people!?!

The Shift Home Project's Energy Recovery System

 Sorry about that, I'm done ranting now. Anyhoo, two smart, young fellas from Saskatoon decided to take on the challenge of low income housing in their own unique way. They came up with the idea behind the Shift Home, which is that a person making only $40,000/year can afford to build a brand new (& nicely designed) modern home for $289,900 (a major feat in Saskatchewan's booming economy). The main floor is an open concept, small, modern home for the owner & the raised basement is a suite with separate entrance for the owner to rent out. The home isn't just pretty though; it has radiant heat, rain water harvesting, domestic hot water, low flow faucets & toilets, and heat recovery and ventilation to further reduce living costs. What a brilliant concept! The City Councillors of Regina & Saskatoon should takes notes from theses guys!

Rendering of the Shift Home

Completed interior of the Shift Home