Decorating & Design
This Quirky Design Blogger’s Home Will Make You Smile
Published on October 29, 2020
In our new series, Following Now, we go inside the homes of cool Canadian creatives.
The very last place where you would expect to find campy decor is in military housing. “Everything is beige and brown, it’s so boring!” says Fredericton’s Ariel, the flamboyant blogger behind PMQ for Two (the old acronym for military housing which stands for Permanent Married Quarters). Ariel lived in several rental PMQs with her husband, Dan, who serves in the Canadian Armed Forces, unleashing her exhilarating aesthetic along the way. “Since we knew we weren’t in a place for long, it was always an opportunity to explore a fun colorful take on any number of spaces,” she says. “It really sparked my love of color and pattern.”
Ariel parlayed a master’s degree in War Studies into a successful blogging career, where she shares tons of tips and tricks over at PMQ for Two. “These days, it’s more like PMQ and a Zoo,” jokes Ariel, who has over 22,000 followers on Instagram. She and her husband live in a joyfully jammed mid-century home, which they bought in 2018. Their roommates include their toddler, June, and a menagerie of animals: two cats named Boots and Toby, Bruce the dog and a brood of hens. “They’re indoor cats, so the closest they get is gawking and drooling at them from a window,” says Ariel.
Scroll down to tour this family’s vibrant 1960s fixer-upper home that Ariel took from “mid century to mid-century modern,” as she likes to say.
Classic black and white is a teaser to the whimsy beyond the door. Ariel gave the stoop graphic groove with outdoor paint from Behr.
Ariel’s adorable retro kitchen was pulled together on a budget. She revived the 1950s cabinets with teal paint and brass hinges, topping it with a Cherokee marble countertop from Quebec. Cement-tile floors and Hygee & West’s Copper Peonies wallpaper add to the fun, though there was some sweat involved: “We found five layers of wallpaper in the kitchen, and as many layers of flooring,” says Ariel who was pregnant at the time of the kitchen makeover.
Ariel’s retro glam DIY nook in her kitchen is crushing it in the color department. Boots the cat likes it, too. Dan built the banquette (it hides a baseboard radiator) that Ariel painted. It provides seating and storage. Sunshine-y yellow custom cushions made out of Sunbrella fabric were worth the splurge, she says.
Mid-century modern furniture really suits the home’s spacious layout, which was made for such easy-to-live-with pieces, like the tulip table and Ariel’s beloved teak sideboard, which she drove 10 hours with a friend to pick up. At the time this picture was taken, there was a patch of plywood under the rug. “It’s a quirky feature of homes built in the area at the time that was used as a way to save money on real hardwood,” says Ariel.
The living room doesn’t feel too precious — Bruce and Boots bask in the sunshine. The buttery leather sectional and matching ottoman feel extra cozy thanks to textured throws in contrasting hues.
“As you can see, my usual mix of every single color – backed by Behr’s Noble Blush and Ultra Pure White – really shines,” she says about her whimsical home office.
A pocket door leads to this unforgettable powder room, which has the cheeriest Bloom (Poppy) Wallpaper by Hygge & West. The console sports lucite legs (not shown) and gold detailing carried to the gorgeous brass faucet.
Ariel zebra-fied an Ikea shoe cabinet with paint and attached hardware to it. “It’s perfect for holding out-of-season shoes,” she says. “The ledge is a nice spot to put my jewellery holders.” The yellow and green wallpaper is the same print as the one in the kitchen, but in a different colorway.
With its lilac-lashed dresser and cute gallery wall, baby June’s room is the sweetest. Ariel brought it together with art, frames and Command Velcro strips.
Check out the DIY rainbow-painted door in June’s nursery. So simple and lovely!
This is one part of the balcony that runs the entire length of the house, which is atop a leafy hill. Ariel created a quaint sitting area for two with wood decking, sunburst mirrors and a tin pendant light. She often has coffee on her queenly perch while watching the action below.
Courtesy of PMQ for Two