home decor

The finalists in each category for the Made in Blog (MiB)  Best Canadian Blog awards  as determined by reader voting have been announced.   This is the first year I participated in the  awards process ( Home Design category).   Thanks to everyone who voted  for this blog because you helped Designing Home make it to the top ten.  A panel of judges will now decide the winners in each category.  Stay tuned for that big announcement.  One of the advantages of my participation was an introduction to other Canadian blogs that I didn't know. Perhaps there's a blog or two in the list that you might like  to check out or follow.   Click   here  see the  top ten  list for home design.  You might also like to check in on   A Pop of Pretty , another St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador  blog that's also in the top ten for home design. source Kerri  of A Pop of Pretty is currently participating in a Canadian Blogger Christmas Home Tour.  There are loads of close up photos of all

Ah, the dreaded question.  What colour draperies should I have? Part of being a decorator is making informed decisions about design.  Keeping current with trends  through reading and viewing is a must, but trend knowledge is not enough.  You have to understand what affect your choices will have on a space. I posted this picture on Designing Home Facebook Page as an example of a style board I create for clients.  I am not one for vivid colour, but I didn't have to live with the colour, a young lady who loves rich colours did.   Should I have argued with her and said you shouldn't have bright draperies. NO!  I have to balance my client's likes with the principles and elements of design. Vibrant  draperies  Let's look at what this colour choice  did for this room.  You can't ignore this window treatment, it's not only the vibrant colour, it's the placement and amount of it. That means a lot of colour jumping forward in the space. The draperies also serve to  fr

 Rituals are an important part of our lives, even if they can be boring at times.  My official marker for winter is an appointment to get the tires changed on our car.  It's happened. Winter is officially here, even if we only had a dusting of snow followed by torrential rain.  Each year as I  approach the end of November, Christmas creeps into my thoughts. source  While I love to look at all the seasonal additions other people make to their homes, and I marvel at the time and creativity it takes to decorate, I keep things as simple as possible.  I'm a vicarious decorator,  enthralled by others' efforts and the numerous possibilities without the physical work and outlay of cash.  Here's a good example. Every time I visit my daughter's house I am greeted by her inviting red door (now there are boxwoods in the planters) ... and covered porch large enough to have two tables, a bench (made by her dad) and a chair.   This space is calling out for Christmas decorations no

source I bet you have stacks of photos in albums or boxes  (if you are of a certain generation) or stored on external hard drives, on online sites like Flickr or in the cloud.  When you sort through all of them you may be surprised how few of them actually reference  the physical attributes of your home through the years.    I went looking for photos to do an entirely different post,  and ended up writing this one instead because I didn't find what I was looking for. Whenever I see panelling I am instantly brought back to my teenage years.  I don't need a photo of my siblings at that time.  That one decorating trend conjures up all sorts of memories, and is as powerful to me as a photo of my family. Add orange and avocado chintz fabric on a sofa and the memories are complete.  That's the power of our physical environment, the power of place.   And who can forget avocado green and harvest gold if you lived in the 60s and 70s? It was the backdrop for my post secondary educati

Part 4 of 4 Accessorizing your home I am intrigued by the designs of Vicente Wolf.   I've studied them as I study compositions by famous artists  in an effort to dissect  the lines of design, and the thought processes he engages in as he creates beautiful spaces.  In my opinion a good  design never looks too put together, too matched, but has  an effortless, collected feel. His always do. source source source Pale backdrops  and a mix of antiques and cultural artifacts are his trademarks, but there is so much more to his designs.  When you observe his work closely you find that there are design features he is drawn to that get repeated in variations in different spaces.  While each space is unique, you can see similarities in  his choice and arrangement of objects. source His background in photography obviously informs  his interior design aesthetic or maybe it's the other way around.  When I look at any space he has created, I see so many compositions within compositions, laye

Accepting a visitor/decorator into your home to deconstruct it in words and pictures is not for the faint of heart.  There's  an element of trust in this endeavour, trust that I will represent the home in a truthful and pleasing way. Knowing this, I am always so pleased when homeowners accept my proposal to highlight their home and discuss elements of their decor that I am interested in writing about.  Once again I have willing participants in my At Home series.   Come along to see what the Erls have been up to for the last six months since they moved into their new home in the east end of St. John's, NL. WELCOME The entrance to this home provides a pleasing welcome with it's bold colour scheme and inviting landscaping.  As you move inside you soon realize that the exterior is an extension of the overall feel and colour schemes utilized inside.  A neutral background It is very obvious that Gail and Gary are  detail oriented people because  great attention is given to  both