home decor

Have you ever looked for similarities in rooms you are attracted to in magazines or online? That's one of the best ways to determine what you like for your own decor.  If you don't know where to start here are several suggestions to set you on your way to finding your personal decor look. Develop a vocabulary for your style  Initially you may not have the words to describe  why you are attracted to a space or why you find it interesting, but you will over time if you do enough looking and comparing. Start with some rooms you  don't like at all.  When you have about 10 or so look at them and decide what you don't want in a space.  This is just as important as what you do want. Here's a room that doesn't  particularly ring my chimes because it has too much glitz and materialism.  It reminds me of  a woman who has on too much makeup and bling,  but there are lots of people who love a glam look.  I'm not judging, just saying it's not for me. source    2. Hav

  Analytics are always interesting when you keep a blog and they can provide insight into your readers likes and dislikes.  I keep a close eye on my blog analytics and also Pinterest. While I look for patterns of pins on Pinterest there often aren't any, but last month was a little different.  Do  these images  indicate what is popular on Pinterest or do they reflect what I like personally or both? Here's a selection of  my most liked/repinned pins in order of popularity from last month: source  source  source  source  source    What we can say ... clean lines are evident in all designs versions of gray are very popular paired with lighter walls texture is a dominant feature especially from wood and brick lighter woods are used to add texture and warmth contrast is an evident characteristic  nature is present in fruits, plants, woods That's what Pinterest told me last month. Of course I know what is popular on my feed is influenced by my own aesthetic.  If I pinned all glam

St. Patrick's Day gets lots of attention where I live because so many of us have Irish roots.  While the partying and music happened last weekend, I'm doing my own bit today by recommending green as a colour to consider in decor if you like to bring the outside in.  When someone says they hate green, I'm  flabbergasted.  How can you hate the the most prominent colour in nature? You can have a little green woven in with any other hues and it always looks good.  Think plants.  Is there any room a plant doesn't work in?  Or you can have a green statement piece or green accessories mixed with another colour.  The possibilities are endless when you think about the variety of greens and the proportion of use in a space. A green statement piece  source  A green velvet sofa is daring and this one sings because of the white walls and light artwork above it.   source  This is still a statement in an otherwise white room,  just a more subtle one.  Green  furniture and accents  sou

March is the month when my heart beats a little faster because spring is on its way and opening our summer place begins to be a reality. Each year at this time I plan what the coming year will bring in repairs and DIY projects.  This post summarizes some of our past projects and how they have come together to create our special place. It is modest and quite ordinary looking when viewed from the outside, but  we have a million dollar view, and an interior that reflects our interests and skills.  We are perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland and through the seasons we see icebergs, seabirds, whales and beautiful full moons.  One October I even saw my first display of the Northern Lights. Come along for a virtual visit to Ryall's Seaside Home and Studio. View outside the studio window mid summer After the storm Full moon over Bonavista It's a magical place and it hardly matters what goes on inside, but over our years here things have e

If you've decided your decor is predictable after reading my last post, and you want to spice things up a little this post is for you. Here goes.... 1. Rebel against  over-matching  accessories If you choose an accent colour everything does not need to be that colour!   Consider breaking up the accessory load with a complementary colour scheme  or by choosing several colours side by side on the colour wheel. source  source  A lively mix of pattern and colours brings energy to neutral spaces. Imagine this room without the colour. source  And for those who like a more traditional space, here's an adventurous mix of patterns to create a very soft look.  Notice how the orange is repeated in the flowers, and the pink in the flowers on table and the books, but the yellow stands alone. That makes it a 3, 2 and 1 colour distribution.  Subtle but everything counts for interest and variety. Now I want to repaint the walls soft white. 2. Mix old and new together in one space  Briggs Solom