Sarah's House 4: Boy's Bedroom

Sarah and Tommy kicked off Tuesday night's episode of Sarah's House 4 by selecting a dark charcoal and white chevron fabric as inspiration for the boy's room and ensuite bath. Working from this initial choice for the upholstered headboard, the designers add a lyrical print (pillows), a star print (more pillows), a cityscape print (another pillow), and a windowpane check (duvet cover) to add softness throughout the room.

Headboard Fabric: Zippy (Charcoal)
Available at InVU


Pillow Fabric: Schumacher New York, New York

A pair of inexpensive Anita drapery panels from Ikea receive a custom touch by adding a band of the chevron fabric along the leading edge of both sides (seen in mirror reflection). The glossy black art deco desk from foc! and the large bolt mirror from qwac add to the room's masculine vibe.


With so much grey in the fabrics and accents, Sarah and Tommy decide to paint the walls a shade of greyish green to lighten up the room. This colour also ties into the tiles chosen for the adjoining bath.

Wall Colour: SR27, Fog, Para Paints

The furniture in the room is an extremely eclectic mix, with the vintage art deco desk, a traditional upholstered chair, a pair of Egyptian mashrabiya bedside tables, and a country dresser. After reworking the room's layout, Sarah and Tommy manage to make it all look cohesive. The key is to repeat the wood and the black elements throughout the room in order to achieve a balance of both.


Sarah allows an upgrade budget of $8,000 to be spent in the adjoining boy's bath. Selecting a simple soft grey 12"x 12" square tile for the floors, Sarah & Tommy try something more interesting for the bath enclosure. Working within a reasonable budget, they decide to combine elongated white subway tiles with a double band of 1" x 1" glass mosaics surrounded by a second double band of 4"x 4" square ceramic tiles.



A large chunk of the upgrade budget is consumed by a custom vanity with marble top and undermount sink. Dark grey Ant Bee industrial sconces on either side of the mirror add a masculine touch to the bath and relate back to the adjoining bedroom.


Great spaces, right? It's amazing how a black and white concept space can encompass so many various shades of grey. I loved the chevron headboard with nailhead detail, and the industrial bolt mirror over the desk was an interesting touch of whimsy. What did you think?

All room photos courtesy of HGTV Canada.

Sarah's House 4: Weekly Preview

Sarah's House 4 tonight on HGTV Canada!!

Fabric & Paint Highlights

Boy's Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Powder Room Puzzle

The completion of a puzzle can be extremely satisfying, having gathered all of the correct pieces and interpreting how they will work together to form the final picture. Decorating a room from start to finish is a similar process, since each piece must join together perfectly with the next.

After several months and numerous decisions, the powder room in my Mom's home is complete, and the finished picture is well worth the time and effort spent piecing it together. It looks great, Mom!!

The Completed Puzzle:

The Puzzle Pieces:

Porcelain Floor Tile
Countertop with Integrated Sink
Base Cabinet Doors & Knobs
Single Handle Faucet

High Efficiency Toilet
Tempting Chrysanthemum Wallpaper
Polished Chrome Hardware
Quatrefoil Mirror

Sarah's House 4: Craft Room

They say there's a first time for everything, and Tuesday's second episode of Sarah's House 4 proves that to be true. This was Sarah & Tommy's very first craft room design! With just one small window in the room, Sarah wanted to keep the space light and airy by using a sky blue colour on the walls and ceiling. Pairing a pretty shade of blue with a dynamic woven fabric, the ideas started to roll.

Wall & Ceiling Colour: Para Paints, SR17, Robin's Egg
(Ceiling band painted in a 1/3 tint.)

Retro Groove Fabric

For this space, Sarah and Tommy decide to prioritize work surfaces and storage. The perfect solution is two Ikea Stenstorp kitchen islands, re-purposed for use as craft tables. Sarah and Tommy choose these islands for their sleekness: solid oak tops, stainless steel shelves, and glossy white legs. Add four brushed aluminum Spin Barstools from Crate & Barrel and you've got yourself a work zone!


Ikea kitchen cabinetry is added along the room's back wall and then topped off with a length of butcher block. This provides ample storage for crafting items, and additional work space. The large chrome Glira knobs add a modern touch to the cabinets.

This Ikea Sinka cabinet provides
additional storage for small items.

A custom bulletin board covered in the retro fabric
runs the entire width of the back wall.
A great spot to keep inspirational objects and images!

Sarah & Tommy had fun shopping at
Neat and Ikea for clever storage ideas.
These magnetic tins come in handy for storing
small objects like buttons.

Although Sarah and Tommy designed this space as a craft room, they kept in mind that the home's future owners may not have the same wants or needs. All of the furniture can easily be removed and the room can be converted back to a fourth bedroom.

Room photos provided by HGTV Canada.

Sarah's House 4: Girls' Room

The girls' room in this week's episode of Sarah's House 4 is a cheerful, happy, exuberant space, starting with the initial inspiration for the room, a colourful confetti dot fabric. Tommy felt that this fabric was better suited to a baby's room, but Sarah reasoned that used in the right way, it would come across as mature.

The confetti dot fabric is used for full length drapes
and repeated on the upholstered desk chair.

With such a vibrant fabric as the jumping off point, Sarah decides it best to keep the furniture neutral. Finding several affordable Eastlake pieces, the bed ($175), desk chair ($75) and chest ($200) are all sprayed with a few coats of SR29, Snowfall. Keeping things light and bright, Sarah also chooses to upgrade to a 100% wool white broadloom with a waffle texture.



The room gets another hit of colour, this time on the barrel vaulted ceiling in the room's alcove. A splash of bright orange (pulled from the quilt) brings attention to the ceiling's architectural detail, while at the same time highlighting a vintage pagoda chandelier.

Vaulted Ceiling: Para Paints, SR7, Apricot

Salvaged corbels from The Door Store support a
desk top rescued from the adjoining girls' bath.

Tommy finds these patterned disks which complement
all of the colourful, patterned fabrics used in the room.

Kathryn M. Ireland, Suzani Safi, Fiesta

The girls' room has an adjoining bath, where Sarah keeps expenses in line by spending just $2,058 of the upgrade budget to add a few special touches. A combination of cream and white subway tiles laid in a unique pattern are an affordable option in the shower enclosure.

An antique desk is repurposed as a vanity.
The original top is removed, and a marble top,
backsplash and vessel sink are added.

To provide much needed storage in the bath,
the desk was modified to include a low shelf.

A chrome faucet from Rubinet stands
tall above the vessel sink.

I'm sure any young girl would love to call this space her own! What did you like about this room? Anything you didn't like? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

All room photos courtesy of HGTV Canada.