It's always excited to see other couples tackle home ownership, and the discovery of design and what works for them. Not too long ago I discovered Shannon and Dean's Blog , and was impressed with how swift the action was when buying a new home. They started gutting and getting to business in only six days! Read the interview below and let us know what you think of AKA Design! We are super excited ot have them visit!
1. What's Your Name and URL: My name is Shannon and my hubby's name is Dean. We've been happily-ever-after-married for almost fifteen years and counting. We have three beautiful children and one fur baby. Our blog is {aka}|design
www.akadesign.ca.
2. When did you start blogging? What drove you in the cheap and chic design?: We just started blogging this summer. When we bought our war era (read: OLD) bungalow late last year a dear friend suggested we start a blog. But things were so hectic with our renovations that we just posted pics on facebook for awhile. This summer when we had time to slow down a breathe (although only briefly) we started the blog, initally to catch our family up on what we'd been up to. Pretty quickly though we realized that it would be great to tie in our home decorating and organizing business and to offer up some great diy projects and tips and ideas for other do-it-yourselfers. As for cheap and chic design, we've lived on essentially one income since our first child was born over ten years ago. If I didn't look for cheap, there would be no chic!
3. What has been your favorite post?: I think my favourite post would have to be our Pink and Green Girls' Room Redo Reveal. It was such a fun project and I couldn't wait to show our friends and family. I am a girly-girl at heart, so making the room pretty for our two girls was a total blast! And the huge response to our fabric art post surprised me. Our readers loved it, yet it seemed like such a simple project.
4. Where do you go to for inspiration?: I have several blogs that I check almost daily (see the section on our site called Blogs We Heart) for inspiration. Also I love shelter mags like House and Home and Style at Home, stores like Pottery Barn, Bouclair, Ikea and Homesense. Oh and nothing beats google search for images. You can find almost anything for home decor inspiration on google. Want ideas for a front entry way, search for front entry. What about starburst mirrors? Search google images. It's amazing really.
5. Every artist should: Every artist should make time to create. This can be really tough because life just naturally fills up time. But it is so important.
6. If you had unlimited funds you would buy: I hate to admit it, but my want list is huge. It's embarassing, really. I am truly totally happy with what I have, but there is always something pretty that catches my eye. I have no idea what I'd choose first. But I think if I had unlimited funds, I'd finish my entire house and yard top to bottom, every single inch all at once.
7.Where would you buy a second home and why?: Do you mean like a weekend house or cottage? Definitely in Muskoka. Right on a gorgeous lake with a view of the rocks and trees. I spent my teen years living up there and although I love the city for living in, I adore Muskoka for holidays. It's just so peaceful and relaxing.
8. What's your favorite piece of furniture in your home?: I like the versatility and durability of our black leather sofa and chair. They make a great backdrop for any colour scheme and they are perfect for messy little hands. I tend to like change (if you could see all the hair do's I've had...), so the fact that I can switch up throw pillows and even artwork around the sofa and chair is so much fun.
9. Your homes style is: Hmmm. Good question. O-l-d. Lol. Just kidding. Simple and organized. I love pretty things, really I do. But most of our house and it's contents have a purpose. One set of dishes, one set of glasses, enough seating for our family and guests, throw pillows that get, well, thrown...and sat on and left on the floor. We have a busy house and family and while nice to look at (on most days), our home has to be durable and functional too.
10. Three words to describe your personal taste: Pretty. Comfortable. Simple.
Monday, September 27, 2010 
Reader Comments (1)
Thank you Joey and Lana!!! We are so thankful and thrilled that you wanted to feature us! XO. Shannon