There are so many fabulous bloggers out there, and we want to
highlight them on CityLine.ca. We’ll be profiling different lifestyle
bloggers from month to month — they might write about food, fashion,
beauty, decor, parenting, entertaining, gardening, you get the idea! Our
latest featured blogger is Christine Dovey, the woman behind the fab and fashionable decor blog Bijou and Boheme.
Here’s our Q&A with Christine:
What inspired you to start blogging?
My eldest daughter actually gave me the push I needed to start blogging. After selling every ounce of furniture we owned in the matter of a few weeks, I slowly began putting things back together. I spent hours on decor blogs trying to figure out what my point of view was, and over time, began to feel the urge to share my burgeoning perspective with others. My daughter insisted that I take the leap and put myself out there…so one sleepy Sunday afternoon, I opened Blogger and started playing around. Voila, Bijou and Boheme was born.
When did you launch Bijou and Boheme, and what did you want the blog to be?
I started Bijou and Boheme on October 6, 2010…so almost exactly a year ago. At the time, I wanted it to be simply a visual record of my design musings.
How has the blog evolved over time?
When my blog first started, it was very interior design-centric. As the time passed, I found myself drawn to so many other mediums and began logging the seemingly endless stream of inspiration through the framework of my blog. Bijou and Boheme now truly encompasses ‘all things pretty’ and I really try to explore any avenue that speaks to my aesthetic…be it art, culture, fashion, music, typography…B&B is, hopefully, a daily visual diary of my constantly evolving point of view.
There’s so much incredible eye candy on the blog…what are you drawn to aesthetically?
I’m drawn to so many different things but I think ‘feminine pretty’ is very much at the center of my aesthetic. I adore gold and pink…girly glam. I’m also very much a lover of whimsy…to me no space is complete without a little unexpected charm. I love colour and pattern…textiles and wallpaper will always be a true passion of mine. Recently, I’ve also been very smitten with typography and the beauty of a well-executed magazine page. I think at the core, I love just love beautiful things.
How do you decide what to feature on the blog, and where do you find these gorgeous images?
I post about what I’m drawn to and that can change on a daily basis. I try not to plan too far ahead because I truly want my blog to reflect what is inspiring me at the time. I have a rough schedule that I like to follow (i.e. Wallpaper Wednesdays, Sunday Style in Seven etc.) but I always write my posts either the night before or the morning of. I love incorporating my actual life and funny antidotes into the pages of B&B and try to balance more serious design reviews with some light hearted and witty repartee…all in moderation 🙂 I find a huge number of my images on Pinterest and more recently on Style Page. Designer portfolios and retail lines are also a favourite source of inspiration.
What’s your personal style?
I love ‘feminine pretty’… my house is filled with plenty of pink, grey and animal prints…most notably leopard…there’s also buckets of gold and hints of sparkle thrown in for good measure. I love the elegance that comes from understated glamour…I want any space I’ve designed to feel curated and collected, rather than decorated…same goes for my wardrobe…I love that beauty that comes from a sense of ease.
The blogging community, and by extension the Twitter/FB community, seems so supportive — have you found this? What has blogging meant to you in terms of ‘e-meeting’ new people?
I’m constantly amazed by the wonderful world that is the blogger community. Being able to share my thoughts, ideas and inspirations with others who are so similarly inclined, is very empowering. I have truly developed friendships that I treasure and feel very blessed to have. I count myself very lucky to have ‘met’ and grown to know so many fabulously talented and endlessly supportive people through this little adventure. I truly look forward to my blogging time each day and feel as though it’s helped me to discover what I’m actually meant to be doing. What has surprised me most about the whole thing is how utterly rewarding it is. Blogging has honestly given me a whole new confidence in my creative voice. I’ve also been surprised at just how quickly it’s created such fabulous personal and professional opportunities…it truly feels like a fresh start to a new phase in my life and I couldn’t be more excited.
What posts are you particularly proud of?
I love my series on my ongoing kitchen renovation…entitled Project Kitchen Gorgeous, this series of posts has given a real behind the scenes look at the process of design/renovation from both a client and designer perspective…based on the fabulous response the whole thing has garnered, it seems as though readers have really enjoyed seeing everything unfold so I’m thrilled. I’m also very proud of my fictional story posts (eg. A Girl Named Fallon and her Friend Named Fenton ) — I think they show my quirky/funny side so I love those. The posts (Bijou Rooms) that I design spaces for are my favourite to put together…I adore creating spaces that really reflect my aesthetic and find the feedback I get on each so rewarding. Of course, the entries about my kids and family are always the most dear to me…I hope those will remind me years from now, how blessed I was at this moment in time.
What blogs do you enjoy?
So so many….I couldn’t possibly list them all and would feel terrible about leaving anyone out…I think my blog roll is a pretty good reflection of what I love reading every day.
What do you hope people take away from your blog?
I hope people will take away that I truly adore my blog and that it reflects all my great passions in life. I want it to be a little escape from the everyday…a place where people can go and find new sources of pretty, and perhaps enjoy a little laugh at the same time. I those who read Bijou and Boheme see it as an authentic reflection of its writer and that they genuinely look forward to seeing new beautiful things in each and every post.
Why pink over red?
Now that’s a question…it’s just a gut
feeling I suppose. To me pink has that understated charm I so love.
It’s not screaming for attention but does seem to demand notice. Pink
is so layered in its appeal….it can be so many different things and
doesn’t hide behind one personae…blushy rouge is for lack of a better
term, an eclectic colour…and so unabashedly girly at that…I just adore
it.
We want to hear from you! Do you know a blogger we should feature on CityLine.ca? Maybe it’s you! Email us at submissions@cityline.ca
and include “CityLine Featured Blogger” in the subject line. And don’t
forget to include a link to the blog! Look forward to hearing from you!