inspiration for decor

OCHRE is a British based furniture, lighting, and accessory design company and they have the light I NEED.

via OCHRE

The dining area in our new home is just begging for this lovely “Arctic Pear” chandelier.

via Pinterest and Elle Decor

via Elle Decor

I want to channel the look of Keri Russell’s laid-back but chic home but dang, the OCHRE  Arctic Pear is expensive! In the Toronto area, I sourced the OCHRE light at South Hill Home (for many, many more pennies than I have to spend), or I could get this Robert Abbey crystal drop fixture from Universal Lighting:

An excellent alternative I think.  Should I go for it?

There is nothing better than a fresh cut tree brought into the home at Christmas time. That unmistakable  scent puts you in the holiday spirit with just one whiff.  The real downside of an artificial tree in my opinion, is that you miss out on that wonderful holiday smell.  But Bath and Body Works has come to the rescue!

“Holly Wreath” smells JUST like the REAL THING!  It’s awesome.  We’ve been burning it day and night.  Faking it with a candle and my nose and spirit can’t tell the difference!

I love many of Bath and Body Works’ candles (but not all – some are just gross – I guess it depends on your taste).  Their candles, unlike many others, actually give off a strong aroma and fill your home with a lovely scent.  I buy several of their candles seasonally. “Leaves” is my #1 fav, especially through the Fall and Winter.

All candles are currently on sale at Bath & Body Works (2 for $25 CDN), so make sure to pick up a couple while you’re out doing your last minute shopping (click here for locations in Canada).  Happy Holidays everyone!

A fiddle-leaf fig tree.

Don’t you think these fig trees add so much to the overall vibe of the rooms?  The ultra-large leaf is bold, organic, untamed, earthy. Just right.

This tropical plant is gaining in popularity, as I’ve seen it popping up more and more often in home decor.  So the question is – where can I find one? I’ve read they can be quite pricey at specialty nurseries but  I’ve also heard they can be found at Home Depot. Hmmm, doubtful in Canada but I am definitely going to look into it.

If you are interested in other hip house plants, check out this article from Elle Decor.

(images: 1-grant k gibson, 2-angie hranowsky, 3-emily henderson, 4-peter dunham, 3-the marion house book)

I have a new Etsy addiction: pillows.

It’s not the worst addiction I suppose.

The versatility of pillows render them a key design element in a room since they can be changed up on a whim.  Don’t make the mistake of upholstering a large piece of furniture in the latest trendy fabric or colour that you may regret next year.  Instead, go with something neutral and classic, then add personality to your room with colour, texture, and pattern with pillows!

Here are eight of my favourite pillow vendors on Etsy:

• The Cottage Cupboard – a Canadian shop with lots of lovely suzani, ikat, and modern designer fabrics
• Sukan – amazing collection ethnic/global  pillows – think suzanis, ikats, and kilims
• {me}longins studio – gorgeous Eco-friendly handprinted textiles
• Nicole Tarasick – for a good dose of chic Canadiana
• Turquoise Tumbleweed – huge selection of modern and traditional designer fabrics
• Lajoyade – I am obsessed with this silk ikat
• Woodyliana – nice selection of Schumacher, Robert Allen, and Kelly Wearstler prints
• Aletafae – ok, so these aren’t pillows but awesome fabric ottomans! I just purchased one for a client

Do you have any favourite pillow sources? Do share!

(images: 1-country living,

Last weekend while in Montreal, I came across a store with the coolest concept for indoor plants:

How it works: Flowerbox Gallery offers a selection of cardboard, ceramic, and stainless steel boxes, as well as specially sized plants and flowers to insert into the flowerboxes.  Then you hang it on your wall. Cool, eh?  Such a modern way to bring plants into your home! I can see this is a kitchen, a bathroom, a sunroom,…really the possibilities are endless.  I think a Flowerbox is especially brilliant  for apartment and condo dwellers where horizontal surfaces  space can be limited.

Every Flowerbox is totally customizable, from the box itself, to the plants you choose.  From succulents and moss, to mini orchids and peace lilies, they have just about anything you could imagine.  Depending on the plant(s) you choose, you would simply take the box off the wall to water, then re-hang.

Flowerbox Gallery is located at 440 rue St-Denis, Montreal. All other locations are in France.  Ok – so who will open a Toronto location for me?

(images: all by moi)

I hope I’ve dazzled you all week with beautiful images of beautiful, bright, white spaces -so gorgeous and inspiring.

“White expands the space, it creates the sense of having no boundaries. White makes a strong foundation.” (Vincente Wolfe)

White provides a gallery-like backdrop for you to display your art, it highlights architectural details, it reflects light to make a small room feel larger, it can unify an eclectic mix of furniture, and it provides an uncluttered look to calm a space.

But it is time for a reality check – Is white achievable for everyone?

Sadly, the answer is….no.

You may have noticed one common theme this week – most of the spaces had huge, un-adorned windows that provide tons of natural light.  If your space is lacking ample natural light, white walls may look downright dingy.

Do you have kids? Dogs? You may want to think twice about going all-white, as things are bound to get messy pretty quick. Still, if you are willing to give this look a try, think about using white materials that are easily cleaned – white tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, semi-gloss white on the walls,  white slipcovers over furniture, and good quality white bedding that can be bleached again and again.

If you want more advice on choosing the perfect white, check out this great post over at 10 Rooms: Getting White Right.

And in case you missed any of this week’s previous White & Bright posts, here are the links: white & bright [room of the week], white & bright: bedroom, white & bright: nurseries & kids rooms, white & bright: living room.  And a few other old favs: elements for the perfect white kitchen, more white kitchen inspiration.

(images: 1-dwellings, 2-one hour, 3-rue mag, 4-pinterest)

We had a blizzard today! Spring where are you?  We are in serious need of sunshine and warmth ’round these parts.  It’s time to do away with the winter blahs and give us a little more of this:

(images: 1-here, 2-marimekko, 3-cb2 , 4-here , 5-here , 6-cb2 )

This past week I was seriously inspired by two blog posts.  The first was the brilliant entryway by Emma over at the Marion House Book.  Both the console table and oculus (which she then turned into a mirror) were found at an architectural salvage store here in Toronto (!). Totally laid back but with loads of personality and style.

Isn’t it lovely? So welcoming.  I also really liked how she styled her console table.  It’s too easy to junk up your console with all those things you walk into the house with and drop on the first horizontal surface.

Then I read this post over on Decor by Christine, where she gave a rundown on how to create a beautiful tablescape or vignette.  So that got me thinking about all the junk that gets piled up on our entryway console and on our bedside tables. Especially on our bedside tables.

Exhibit A:

I would like to point out this isn’t my side of the bed.  That said, I will take full blame for leaving that frame picture-less.  As you know, our bedroom is a work in progress but that is no excuse to ignore the piles of junk as they grow and grow.  Please tell me this isn’t just us – you have junk on your bedside table too, right?

Anyway, as I said I was inspired to clean things up and now I’m proud to say, this is my side of the bed-

Exhibit B:

I am almost certain I’m going to be able to keep my bedside table this nice and tidy.  The key is this lovely tray I picked up at West Elm – because what you can’t see is a bunch of little items sitting inside the tray (necklace, rings, chapstick, nail file, some change, etc.)  Not only does the tray corral those books and mags I’m so inclined to keep on hand, but it also nicely hides all those random items you toss off at the end of the day.

Ok – time to go tidy up your bedside table and try your hand at an attractive vignette.

(images: 1-the marion house book, 2-me, 3-me)

Hey Moms. I know time is precious when you have one or more lil’ munchkins running around so I thought I’d save you some time and do a round-up of some super cute and affordable decor items for the kiddos.

Etsy is such an excellent source for access to fresh, creative, inspiring, handmade items and art. If you aren’t a regular already, I hope this post will inspire you to browse the online market-space and sign up for an account.

First I’ll start with all things girly:

1. Wall decal – Windy Tree Fabric Reusable Decal  ($87.00 USD) by trendypeasdecals

2. Print – Small Map of Canada ($20.00 USD) by englishmuffinshop

3. Pillow – Baby Pink and White Zebra Print ($35.00 USD) by MiCasaBella

4.  Print – You are so loved ($8.00 USD) by  jessgonacha

5.  Pom poms -  ($4.00 USD) by orangekisses …..(psst- you can totally make these yourself, just Google it!)

And for the little men in our lives:

1. Mobile – Nova Baby Mobile, in Spectrum ($68.00 USD), by thewonderlandstudio

2. Prints (set of 4) – Royal Safari Nursery Print Set – Unframed ($92.00 USD) by LeoLittleLion

3. Bunting – Vintage Little Golden Book Bunting ($30.00 USD), by collectingfeathers

4. Wall decal – Baby Zoo Lion King ($49.00 USD), by  LeoLittleLion

5. Print – Personalized ‘Big Deal’ 11.5 x 11.5 Size ($25.00 USD), by pennypeople

And for you parents who want to keep things strictly gender neutral, I’ll have a post next week just for you.

If you’d like some help decorating your nursery/child’s room or want more decor advice, feel free to contact me!

RELATED POSTS:

1. Nursery for a baby girl

2. [inspiration board] Green & brown nursery

3. [diy] Where did I come from map?

I am going to ignore the fact that there was snow on the ground yesterday morning. La la la la la. It didn’t happen.

It’s time to start planning for summer 2011!  Our condo balcony has space for exactly two medium size chairs and one side table -small but just enough room to sit out on a warm summer night to watch the sunset and have a glass of wine.  I’ve been scouring the internet for an affordable but stylish set available in Canada (sigh, the selection is so much better in the US), but I came up empty-handed because all ‘sets’ are very traditional and usually pretty ugly.  So instead, I did some picking and choosing from a few different sources and came up with three options.

There is a fairly big price difference between these sets but before you look at the prices, what do you think?

Option 1: $647.00 CAD

(1) Outdoor rug by Martha Stewart available at Home Depot, $119 CAD, (2) Garden stool available at Target, $169.99 USD (this will require a trip over to Buffalo), (3) Mojito rocker by CB2, $179 CAD (we don’t have a store yet but CB2 now ships to Canada!)

Option 2: $349.95 CAD

(1) Outdoor casbah rug by CB2, $ 99.95 CAD, (2) Nordano armchair by IKEA, $85.00 CAD, (3) Stool/table by Tikki Offi available at Modern Karibou, $79.99 CAD

Option 3: $758.00 CAD

(1) Linear outdoor rug available at Costco, $79.99 CAD, (2) Sawyer chair by CB2, $299.99 CAD, (3) Stool/table by Tikki Offi available at Modern Karibou, $79.99 CAD

Which would you choose?