studioalbertazzi

studioalbertazzi Created by artisans for the pleasures of your life. Interior design studio in Vancouver BC

10/20/2026

What’s a day in the life look like as an interior designer??? Well, if a project is in construction it can be quite a full day! A quick flat lay capture in the morning (c**k the hip!), site visit, checking layout details and confirming grout colours with the tile setter, site measurements, site communication sketches on the fly (a very valuable tool), confirming paint colours, hardware, LUNCH and final trim selections for a custom bench. Days are full, days are fun (especially with NV) and job satisfaction is on high. Like the song from Flashdance tells us: “…find your passion and make it happen…”!!

Our client already had chair that fit her space quite nicely, but the upholstery was not suited to the room’s new scheme...
10/02/2026

Our client already had chair that fit her space quite nicely, but the upholstery was not suited to the room’s new scheme (and an off-the shelf slip cover wasn’t any better).
The piece had sentimental value to our client. So, rather than replace it, we found a washable cotton-linen and had a properly fitted, piped slipcover made for it, cut just high enough to reveal those rather wonderful carved wooden legs.

The floral embroidered Schumacher cushion via AnneStarr Agencies gives it a little more presence and connects it to the room’s other florals, including the new drapery using Maxwell Fabrics which takes the idea in a more modern direction.

Not everything needs replacing: the most magical rooms are ones that contain things with a past. A slightly worn-in, well-loved piece does something that a room full of entirely new things simply cannot. And our client gets to keep the chair she already loved - only now it belongs in the room all over again.

Design & Photography Studio Albertazzi

Years ago, I met a design student fresh out of school who told me she loved red, but had been advised by her professor n...
09/25/2026

Years ago, I met a design student fresh out of school who told me she loved red, but had been advised by her professor not to use it. Too strong. Not in style. Better to stick to neutrals. I remember being rather shocked by this! Here was a designer-in-the-making who loved a colour and had somehow been talked out of it. Told her there were certain ‘rules’…. I told her to ignore the advice and fly her own flag, in whatever colours she fancied.

Perhaps that stayed with me, because I had quietly set myself a goal to use more red.
So when our Hippie House clients mentioned red for the dining room, I was all in.

Finding the right red was another matter (but then, so is finding the right white...). We landed on ‘Geranium’ by Benjamin Moore - a reference to a book cover of our client’s, which was bleached, worn and had a touch of orange to it. As a backdrop to their collection of Chinese paintings, it feels completely at home.

So yes, use red. Or blue. Point is: break whatever rules you may think are out there and use whatever colour makes the room feel like yours.

Design & styling: Studio Albertazzi
Photography: Janis_Nicolay
Custom dining table: Gimli Wood & Steel Co.
Customized buffet: Scott Landon Antiques & Interiors

This room was begging for wallpaper. From the first moment we met (the room and I, that is!), there was a charm that the...
09/10/2026

This room was begging for wallpaper. From the first moment we met (the room and I, that is!), there was a charm that the space longed to have, it simply needed a gentle handling...

Located directly off the front hall and open to the kitchen, this room still felt like it’s own space. Giving it a unique treatment allowed for a different and more intimate experience than the larger, open kitchen has. But, it needed something cozy, a little weathered... lived-in perhaps. When I came across Calista by Penny Morrison Ltd through Memo Showroom it clicked immediately. We had already been hovering around yellows, brick reds, copper and greens for the client’s kitchen, so the colours in this print felt meant to be. The hand-blocked style has a beautiful charm to it with a pattern size that is not too large to overwhelm, not to small to fade away, but just right for this space.

The effect is an affectionate one: intimate, comfortable and distinctly its own. A space for our beautiful clients to feel softly cocooned in which is what a home should do.

Photography: Janis_Nicolay and Studio Albertazzi

A big empty space: this is what our clients had, and it wasn’t working for them. There was no where to anchor furniture,...
09/09/2026

A big empty space: this is what our clients had, and it wasn’t working for them. There was no where to anchor furniture, introduce layers of lighting or have artwork on walls look like anything other than a vast gallery...

I pride myself in problem solving (it’s the main aspect of the job) and this living/dining room challenged me for sometime. After circling around it for a while, I finally landed on a solution which involved introducing architectural elements into the rooms: a fir-clad squared arch, dropped ceiling, built-in bookcase and feature lighting.

We drew on our clients’ appreciation for architecture - West Coast modern and heritage - and a touch of their Chilean aesthetic, to provide them with what they needed: a charming home, one to hold their collected family treasures, new and old, and one that speaks to their personalities.

Open concept? Yes, but not one void of soul.

Millwork: Gimli Wood & Steel Co.
Custom cabinet: Studio Albertazzi x Gimli Wood & Steel Co.
Photography: Janis_Nicolay

First look at a project completed earlier this year for wonderful clients in Vancouver who exuded a European-esque welco...
08/12/2026

First look at a project completed earlier this year for wonderful clients in Vancouver who exuded a European-esque welcoming from day one (they just needed their home’s common spaces to level up!). Drawing on their ritual and love of coffee and old-world coffee houses, we created a scheme anchored by natural materials which would age well over time: solid ash cabinetry and copper hood shroud by the exceptionally talented Gimli Wood & Steel Co. basaltina countertops and beautiful to look at as they are to use Fulgor Milano appliances. The new spaces feel softened and appropriate to the character home as well as supportive of impromptu dinners with friends and Saturday morning coffee dates.

More on stories and on Studio Albertazzi website.

Design: Studio Albertazzi
Millwork: Gimli Wood & Steel Co.
Construction: Westward Projects LTD
Photography: Janis_Nicolay

A few captures from our home as we progress the design. A sunny grasscloth in the bedroom - I tried paint but once I saw...
06/12/2026

A few captures from our home as we progress the design. A sunny grasscloth in the bedroom - I tried paint but once I saw the grasscloth glow in the sunlight….there was no turning back (thank goodness for a supportive husband Sandy Blair who said yes to grasscloth!). Experimenting with stronger colours, a designers home is, after all, her laboratory, the terracotta coloured shelves (that was a bit scary) and so many fabrics I have loved for years, what a treat to seeing them at home.

The ensuite needed more layers and, after a full YEAR of looking at different wallpaper options, we pulled the trigger with this Tree of Life by Sandberg. I adore the connection to the botanical sinks and the simple blue on cream backdrop serves beautifully for my darling plants and, may I just say that white isn’t the brightest a room can go - the room is brighter now with wallpaper, I assure you! Dead Salmon on the walls, again, a little scary but I have always loved the colour - thank you NV for the encouragement!

Design tip: surround yourself with what you love and you’ll never go wrong.

A few of my own photos of our client’s completed home while we *patiently* await captures from (she just took the phot...
03/05/2026

A few of my own photos of our client’s completed home while we *patiently* await captures from (she just took the photos yesterday, let’s give her some time..!).

Our clients are wonderful, generous, beautiful people who have nestled into this new home of theirs after an ‘intensive cosmetic’ renovation of the main floor. Wider views of the spaces to come but it’s these details that have my heart: collected shells, books, plants, all feel so very much at home now in these colourful, earthy spaces. We didn’t ‘style’ the spaces for our photoshoot (a word I detest) we showcased their life with their own pieces and this is what I love: creating a nest for these personal treasures, for a life well lived.

More photos on stories.

Design:

HELLO 2026 - I want one thing this year (and I wrote about it on ) - I want more beauty, a more personal, from the bone ...
01/24/2026

HELLO 2026 - I want one thing this year (and I wrote about it on ) - I want more beauty, a more personal, from the bone and from the heart kind of beauty this year. For everyone.

Here’s a snippet:
Beauty is not skin deep, it goes right to the marrow of it all, it’s created from the earth up, from the soul outward. Beauty is built to last. Beauty is the opposite of ‘cheap and cheerful’ (how much cheer, and for how long, did we ever derive from purchasing something with this tag-phrase? Not long, not long at all…). A client said to me recently “it only hurts once when you buy quality”, very true - it may sting a little to make that investment but that’s the last little bit of pain you’ll ever feel - it’s comfort and happiness from here on out.

See link in profile and stories to my post.

The pond project. Selected views of the new pond in my garden - it’s her first season so a lot still needs doing (unlike...
10/03/2025

The pond project. Selected views of the new pond in my garden - it’s her first season so a lot still needs doing (unlike furniture, you can’t move plants in the middle of summer!), but a lot is already taking shape mostly by leaving Mother Nature to do her thing. I had envisioned a raised pond made of reclaimed bricks with a ‘rip-rap’ laid patio - turns out rip-rap is expensive (labour intensive) and though some compromises were made I could not back down from steps laid out in a soldier course and a basket weave patio layout. I adore how the lamium has broadcast itself across the bricks and the mingling of Mediterranean herbs, self seeded feverfew and nicotiana amongst the planted perennials.

More to come as this patch continues to evolve and the pond settles but it’s already provided oodles of loveliness. Keep an eye out for my next newsletter for more photos and the design sketches.

Photos of pond areas, in progress and of Rudy, site supervisor (awaiting a biscuit as compensation for approving the work) by me ( )

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