Originally a Southern California girl, interior designer Dawn Stiles now lives and works in Edmonton Alberta, Cananda. She was patient enough to answer my laundry list of questions and send along some photos. I hope through reading this you'll adore her and her style as much as I do.
Who are you and what do you do?
Probably the biggest part of who I am is people... my family and friends. I am all about relationships and that definitely extends into the workplace for me. My relationships with clients, trades, suppliers and specialists are all very important to me. I love working with people and I think that shows in how I interact with them. What I do for a living is very personal, people share their homes and lifestyles with me for a time and I hold that trust very dear. I actually miss clients when jobs are done... so I am always excited when they call me back for something else!
What is your most surprising source of inspiration?
My husband will be mortified... but salvage yards and dumpsters! I love repurposing items and coming up with new uses for them, either in the house or in the yard. I go pretty much every week to second hand stores, salvage houses or garage sales and look for items I can use in a different or new way. I would also have to say nature. I am forever bringing home interesting rocks and bits of wood from travels to use in decor. One friend mentioned recently that they had counted at least eight different places where I had bowls or groupings of stones around the house.
How would you describe your decorating style to someone who's never seen your work?
When working with clients, I really like to tailor my design to their dreams, so I do not have a specific style that you would recognize just to look at any job. That being said, in my own home, and what I do try to encourage clients to do is not take themselves too seriously. Whimsy and eclectic are two of my favourite words to consider when being creative. I think it reflects who I am as a person as well. I really like to inject a bit of fun into a project, even if it is just a little wink at it.
What trends are you loving right now?
Mid-century modern furniture is a nice change from the big, sometimes over stuffed furniture we saw a few years ago. I like the honesty of the wood and the clean lines with the fun hits of colour like orange or green. It really is amazing how current culture and shows like Mad Men have renewed peoples interest in this era of design.
Are there any trends you could live without?
There is one store that sells oversized airplane inspired furniture that I am not loving so much. Not sure if it is a trend as much as it is just one store. (I feel so mean saying that.)
Aside from design, how else do you like to express your creativity?
Gardening. I designed our front yard a few years ago and I continue to have fun with the native grass plantings and creek bed. This summer I am growing quite a few heirloom tomato plants and am excited to see how they do. I also like to play with clothes. Mixing colour and pattern and texture, playing with an accessory...I guess since that is what I do in homes, it makes sense that I like to do that with clothes.
I hear you are a bit obsessed with Meyer Lemons, what's the deal?
Ha! I am! It all started back when I was little. My Great-Grandmother had a Meyer lemon tree in her back yard in Anaheim (on Citrus Street no less) as did my Grandmother in Orange. I grew up drinking lemon-aid that Great Grandma would make and eating baking made with their lemons. I could never figure out why lemons from the store tasted so horrible compared to the Grandmother’s lemons. It was not until adulthood that I realized it was the variety that I loved and had been spoiled by my entire life, that and the love of two amazing women.
Tell us about your house and what look you're going for with it.
Our house actually turned 100 this year. It is a prairie box also known as a foursquare with a hip gabled roof. I love the big mouldings, solid fir doors and long windows. A few years ago we rebuilt the double brick basement and enclosed the porch in the front for a larger living space on the main floor. We really tried to keep the integrity of the era on the exterior while creating more usable space inside. As much as I loved our veranda, we needed the space for the colder winter months rather then our short summers.
As far as where I am going with it, that has really evolved over the years. At first we wanted to restore it and then we realized we wanted to do our own spin on old rather then living in a museum piece. There are nods to the houses history as well as ours all over the house, mostly done with a sense of humour. We like to laugh a lot at our house.
What is your favorite feature?
Can I say a room? After we added eight feet of length to the living room and six tall windows that face south and west, I love our living room! We added crown moulding, Cumaru hardwood, bigger baseboards, silver ceiling, a new fireplace insert, but really, it is the light that makes this room. The windows are low enough that when our friends are on walks or runs, they wave at us through the window, this is where the family usually is. This would drive some people crazy, but we are pretty social people.
What's the hardest renovation you've ever done in your own home?
Refinishing the hardwood floors!!! We actually had a prenup saying we would never attempt to refinish the hardwood together. Unfortunately, our budget was tight and I wore Rick down after time and he gave in. I wanted to try a dark stain and maple does not take stain well. There were actually salt stain tear marks on one of the boards because at the end of 5 coats of stain, I was weeping with frustration and exhaustion. I highly recommend hiring a professional, you know, to save your marriage...and tears.
Quick! ...
Dream vacation: Bali
5 things you can't live without:
1. My Family
2. Burt’s Bees Chapstick
3. My black Sigg Water Bottle
4. Saskia, my white VW Golf diesel station wagon (seriously, so much of my job is in the car) + My iPhone (when I am working, if I am not in the car or with a client, I am on the phone)
5. My homemade Meyer Lemon Limoncello (each year it gets a bit better)
Dream source/product:
Right now I would have to say IZM Furniture. They take such amazing pride in craftsmanship, you can really see the love that they put into each custom piece of furniture that they design and hand build for clients. I am so lucky that they are in Edmonton even though they have clients all over the world. Not only that, they are the nicest guys to work with!
{eyeful coffee table via IZM}
Thank you Dawn for answering our questions and for the fabulous photos of your home and clients'.
You can see more of Dawn's portfolio here. She is also on Twitter and Facebook where you can follow along as she shares great resources and inspiration.
xo, Sunshine
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