Fresh Fall Inspirations

Fall is upon us. One of my most fav times of the year. Though you wouldn't know it from standing outside the last few days, colder weather is just around the corner. I thought I would share some tips on enhancing that delicious, crisp, cool, fall weather feeling, indoors.

1. When tidying up the landscape and leaves around the house, don't just throw away all the coloured leaves, pine cones, twigs and stones. Add them to a wonderful vase or dish in your front hallway to welcome guests.

3. Choose full draperies and rich pillows, in deep earth tones like moss green, birch brown or red maple, to add warm layers to your rooms.

4. Make the most of the warm sun as our daylight gets shorter. Add accessories with a reflective quality, like glistening chrome or nickel, polished silver or bronze, and crystal or glass.

5. Bring the beautiful harvest colours from the yard indoors by placing a mirror adjacent to a window.

6. Proper lighting can also add warm layering to a room. Ambient lighting (like pot lights) allows you to move through the space easily. Task lighting (like table lamps) is essential in living, family and bedrooms. Throw a dark shade on, versus a bright white shade, and instinct drama is achieved.

Have fun decorating your place for fall. Before you know it, the winter season will be here.

Make a Grand Entrance

Your entryway is the first impression people get of your home. In terms of décor, you can change things up for the seasons, which adds great style, but there are certain common elements every foyer should have. Here are some designer essentials for every entry:

Console table- Not only for a great look, but also helpful in that it provides extra storage. Label a basket for each person in the household and place them just underneath your console. You can also use the drawers for hiding-away sorted mail with an in-box and an out-box.

Change/key holder- Every man loves to unload his pockets of loose change when coming through the door. Why not display an elegant tray or a clever storage box to collect the coins, keys, and mobile devices.

Fresh flowers- Always a nice greeting and great way to bring the outdoors in.

Mirrors- For last minute checks as you run out that door…..and a smart way to reflect the natural light coming from your front doorway into the hallway.

Coat rack- Functional and sculptural, all in one. There are many unique ones available to suit all décor tastes. The alternative when you don’t have the space for a rack is wall hooks. Just remember to try to keep them clutter-free.

Benches- A bench provides an area to tie shoes or place bags and groceries when you're coming in the door. Inside, you can put smaller items, like towels for after dog walking, or extra scarves and mittens.

Umbrella stand- If you don't have closet space to hide them, an umbrella stand can stand umbrellas or canes, even rolled up newspapers, very elegantly.

Extra baskets on shelves- Use these for seasonal or less used items. A shelf and mirror cabinet is great for really small spaces, when you have no room for a console tables.

Until next time......

Big Ideas for Small Spaces

Bigger is not always better. It’s what you put into your place and how your arrange things that creates balance, harmony, even luxury into the smallest of homes. Many design ideas and inspiration for small spaces come from Europe where the average living space is a quarter of what we’re used to in North America.

Here are some big ideas for creating beautiful design in your smaller rooms:

Mirrors & reflective materials – add instant square footage by adding mirrors to your walls or art with reflective, metallic materials, like nickel, chrome, bronze and gold. Not only are they one of the hottest design trends (still going strong after many seasons), but they add a little luxury and depth to your space. Strategically placed across a lighting source or window, and watch your room explode.

Lighting – table lamps, floor lamps, overhead pot lights, pendant lights, wall sconces, chandeliers or plain natural sunlight from windows all help to create layers of lighting in a room, which in the end, helps achieve the feeling of greater space.

Consider colour – not only does paint colour create a mood for a room, it can also give the feeling of more space. Generally, the less intense shades of colours add space and airiness. Monochromatic colour schemes have the same effect. Keep brighter, contrasting colour schemes for rooms that have lots of natural light.

Scale & Placement – the size or arrangement of furniture and decorative items you place in your rooms also make a world of difference. A collection of small vases, knick knacks and frames covering your mantel or tiny console table only creates repetition and clutter for the eye. Whereas going with one larger scale vase or candleholder on that same surface, creates visual space or pause between larger items, naturally creating the illusion of a bigger room. Another neat trick is to place your furniture on angels in a room. This leads your eye along the diagonal of the room, which tends to be the longer distance (rather than along a shorter wall).

Spring maintenance is in the air.

Whether you have Spring cleaning in mind, are getting ready to sell your house, or just need to refresh after a long, cold winter, here’s a plan to put new life back into your home.

Clean like a machine!
Wash your walls, baseboards, floors, windows, and inside the stove, fridge, and cupboards. Clean your curtains and window frames to bring in clear, warm sunlight.

De-clutter.
Remove cluttered family or personal photos, paperwork, and knick-knacks. Opt for larger pieces of artwork and display items, in small vignettes around your space.

Sort your stuff.
Organize your closets and cupboards. Now is the time to throw away those half-full moisturizer containers and bulky sweats, sitting in your cupboards since the 90’s!

Scents make sense.
You may have become immune to the pet, cigarette or cooking odours in your home. It’s important to air out your house, thoroughly. Use sprays, scented candles or some old-fashioned white vinegar in a dish to absorb all lingering odours. Or give your whole home the scent of a warm, Parisian bakery, and bake some fresh croissants or apple pie in the oven.

Do small repairs.
Patch up walls, re-grout tiles and replace damaged flooring. Professionally cleaned carpets could also do wonders to a room.

Paint.
A fresh coat of paint is the easiest and most inexpensive way to give your home a facelift. Try colour blocking, by painting only a few feature walls.

Don’t forget the garage.
Organize your garage, as much as possible. Built-in cabinets or big storage tubs can hide everything from tools to toys.

Bring the outdoors in.
Nothing says Spring like fresh flowers and plants. They always bring new life in to any room. A really hot accessory this season is wall or table top lanterns. What was traditionally seen only outdoors in Moroccan or Asian inspired settings, is now an indoor accent, as well.

Inspiration at the Toronto Interior Design Show

Held at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, this year’s IDS08 was a true hit for those in search of new products, ideas and inspiration.

This year's show highlighted the latest and greatest in Canadian and international furnishings, fixtures and accessories for home design. Everything from appliances and home theatre technology, to pillows and wall coverings, the show had it all. Also exciting were the outstanding LIVE design spaces created by hot, celebrity design teams, Brian Gluckstein, Sarah Richardson, Lynda Reeves and Designer Guys, Allen Chan, Anwar Mukhayesh and Matt Davis. Gluckstein Design group featured his signature luxury home style, while both Sarah Richardson and Lynda Reeves had more of Canadian and international comforts in mind. The Designer Guys pulled off an ultra modern but warm great room, which included a “plasma” wall. Super room of the future!

Check out some of our pics from the show.

Your Hotel Suite for Valentine's Day

Set the scene for Valentine’s Day! Here are some easy tips you can use to add romance in the design of your bedroom:

Lighting - Soft lighting is essential for a romantic mood. Candles are great for romance, just be extra careful near your flowing fabrics. Use light sources from all directions. Side table lamps soften lighting with lampshades. Or put your overhead lights on dimmers.

Colours - When you think of love, you probably think of red. Red does increase your heart rate, but a room that is all red can also make you feel agitated – not great feelings for igniting romance. So use red sparingly, as accents in the bedroom. The most romantic and soothing color is pink, but it’s probably the least preferred colour with men. Shades close to pink, like mauve or lavender, are nice compromises that evoke romantic feelings in both women and men. Soft blues with creams are very soothing and romantic, and because they slow your heart rate, they can help you get a great night’s sleep too!

Fabrics - Create the ultimate Four Seasons Hotel luxury with luxurious, sensual fabrics in rich textures like silk, satin, chenille, and linens. Make up your bed in high thread-count cotton sheets, a full, down-filled comforter, and piles of fluffy pillows. Cover your windows with neutral-coloured, sheer fabric panels that appear to be blowing in the breeze.

Entice all your senses - Set the perfect romantic mood with soft music, scented candles and fresh flowers. Or really spoil them with a romantic breakfast or treat in bed - a large bowl of plump strawberries and chocolate should do the trick!

The next time you think about adding more romance in your bedroom, do it through a little redecorating. Have fun with it!

Trend Watch at the Canadian Gift & Tableware Association Show

Our recent visit to the Toronto Canadian Gift and Tableware Association tradeshow brought to light a wide spectrum of innovative international trends. The CGTA Show is Canada's biggest and best gift show, displaying the most comprehensive selection of gifts, tableware, bed, bath, linens, decorative accessories and occassional furniture.

Amidst the hundreds of vendors and importers from around the world, one commonality remains when selecting your signature style preference - choose classic neutrals for your basic, larger pieces (ie. couches, chairs, dining furniture, flooring), and top off with hits of trendy accessories that can be replaced by season (ie. pillows, vases, decorative display pieces, occassional chairs).

Some of the trends that were large at the show:
- Overscaled patterns - Damask still lives, but also look for organic, leafy patterns to be bold.
- Global influences - French-country is fading, British-colonial is alive.
- Wood tones and all things 'green' - slightly lighter tones of wood like ash and elm, or white-washed natural wood. Organically produced fabrics, carpets and furniture were seen like never before.
-"Miami Vice" colours - as interior designer, TV celeb and producer Sarah Richardson mentioned in her trendwatch seminar, and vendor's booths consistently showed throughout the show, the return of pale colours like robbins egg blue, sky gray, lemon yellow, apricot and others we saw in the '80's, will be big in the upcoming seasons.

Whatever you choose, create balance and dimension in your home by mixing up from your favourite trends. Mix old and new. Create groupings to achieve eclectic modern. Most importantly, have fun with your place! It's your greatest reflection of yourself.