home decor

 Old is good. What is old can be new again with a little ingenuity, and I don't mind admitting that the art side of my brain has lots of that.   I think reclaimed wood  is beautiful, and this summer I made great finds on the beaches near our summer house. Are you wondering how this connects to decor?  Keep reading! Atlantic Ocean beach wood  Storm tossed and sea sanded house/shed remnants  were dragged home against my better half's judgement. At the time I answered the strong call emitted by these materials, but  I didn't know why I needed them.  My art often begins with the call of materials rather than with sketches and preconceived notions of a final product. Not a pretty site/sight No this is not the home decor section! Move over hubby,  I am taking possessions of your precious workshed and tools.  Yep!  I know my way around drills, bandsaws, chopsaws and sanders and I discovered construction adhesive will stick most everything together. Drop paintbrushes, fine papers a

  I have lots of love affairs and Scandinavian design is one of them. I developed this passion in my teenage years when I discovered a book in our local library.  Just to put you in the loop, it was a new book then.  It  is  hard to believe that one event can impact one's design aesthetic for life, but that's the case because  I've woven various elements of  mid century Scandinavian design into every home I've  had. Here's my take on  the elements of  mid- century modern Scandinavian design and how I've interpreted it in my own home.  Form   function is the priority, and then  form is pared back to its simplest statement  materials are chosen for their beauty and longevity the lines are clean and  minimal , often with sinuous curves or  very "boxy" craftsmanship is flawless 360 degree design -  looks good from every angle   prominent use of wood , followed by  plastic and metals emphasis on nature and organic forms; bring natural materials in Scandi

Santas are an important part of Christmas decorating  in my house.  Rather than buying them over the years, I've enjoyed creating my painted Santas.  I began with tall wooden  Santas that stood like sentinels on my stairs each Christmas. Birdhouse Santa For many years  this family of Santas  provided a great topic of conversation for guests who were eager to see what the new Santa would be.  As time passed, so did  my interest in just a little too many Christmas decorations.  These  Santas now  lie in my storage room lonely, covered in dust, and  reminiscing about better times.  Perhaps they will become the illustrations for  Christmas stories for my granddaughters.  The Santas that still hold a special place in my heart, and get displayed on my  tree each year, are the small ornamental ones. No material was sacred: slate, driftwood, balsa wood, cinnamon sticks, light bulbs etc. . Today they all sit proudly next to glittery balls, sparkly stars and other finery.  It is never the gl

Wooh!  I am overwhelmed with all those over the top Christmas home tours popping up on Pinterest and blogs.  Is it me or have people gone totally overboard  with Christmas decorating? The practical in me rebels.  Where do they store all those new decorations each year?  How much money is invested yearly when one does a complete decor  change at Christmas?  Where is tradition in all of this?  It's was so refreshing to visit  my sister's home this week and see that nature and thrift inspired much of what she has done to invite Christmas cheer. We both love a good bargain and forage our gardens for materials to decorate.  Some of the objects get used year after year in different ways and a small portion are purchased new.   So come along and see what she has done..... Christmas Welcome She  has the perfect roofed entry for welcoming  Christmas decor. A centre layout doesn't hurt either.  She couldn't pass up these  lovely birch pots even thought she went looking for someth

The news is out and after much  guessing  by designers the world over Pantone has declared Radiant Orchid as the colour for 2014. 2014 Pantone Colour of the Year  It seems to leave people a little speechless.  Now I am a purple lover and have hits of it around my house, but I lean toward the bluish purples.  Even my front door is BM french violet. I have lavender  front porch cushions  etc.  I wear lots  of purples in clothing.   But this is more pink. It is a far cry from last year's emerald.   If you bought into emerald last year here's a combination of the two....  source Certainly colourful.  Notice how white is used to quieten this scheme. But how to deal with this vibrant pink purple....  source  Play it safe and use it to add a  jolt of colour in flowers... Beautiful and temporary.    source Invest in a little leather that can be moved from room to room.   Paint a piece of furniture or a mirror.  source Throw in a daring light fixture.  source   Buy an accent chair in