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Fanned placemat set, $17.06 (set of 2), West Elm.
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{ Archive for the ‘Entertaining’ Category }
The holidays are the perfect time to take out your elegant tableware and put together a beautiful setting for your friends and family. Growing up in France, I spent most of my holidays at our family home in the south of France, in the Pyrenees region, right at the border of France and Spain. The region is breathtakingly gorgeous and while a white Christmas is very rare, our home always felt festive and charming. The holidays has always been the one unique moment in the year where our entire family is in the same place for a few days. It’s all about simple pleasures, spending some time together and sharing some delicious home-cooked food. There is no messing around with food in my family! Each year, the menu changes slightly, but some of our favourites are always foie gras with onion jam, truffled mashed potatoes, a selection of cheeses and a frosted yule log with a few dark chocolate truffles. For the occasion, we usually dress up our dining room table with lightly golden tulle and make simple centerpieces using small ornaments, ribbon and rustic pine cones.
With the holidays in mind, we would love to know: What’s your best holiday entertaining tip? Leave a comment below and share your best tip. You will be entered to win a beautiful tableware set from Serena & Lily. I’ll choose a winning response on December 2nd, 2011.
The winner will receive Serena & Lily’s Mombasa Collection which includes:
1 Tablecloth, $98
2 Runner, $68
3 4 Placemats, $48 for the set
4 4 Napkins, $38 for the set
5 Cheese Knives, $38
Approximate retail value: $338
Read the rest of this entry »
Creating a cozy dining room that will stand the test of time can be tricky. The best way to achieve a classic, yet current, look is to introduce subtle, neutral elements that are rich in texture, plus a hit of colour to up the drama factor.
Provide, located in Vancouver, carries a number of gorgeous designer lines. If you live in the area, then you’re lucky enough to be able to visit them in person. If not, you can visit them online and take a look at their carefully curated collections of home decor.
Using pieces from the Chilewich and Niche Modern collections, I’ve crafted my idea of a dream dining room.
This tablecloth introduces subtle texture & pattern, without being too busy.
Chilewich Croc-Sand Tablecloth
Take your cues from their styling and top it with smoked glass dishware. You can find great vintage smoked glass collections at antique shows, vintage shops and even thrift stores. Mixing high-end pieces with thrifty ones creates an eclectic and layered look. If done correctly, no one will ever be able to decipher the two.
Next, bring the drama with these jewel toned, smoked glass pendants. A small hit of colour is all you need to take an otherwise neutral space from bland to bold.
Niche Modern Pharos Pendant – Chocolate, Crimson, Smoke, Plum and Amber
Group several of them over your table in a straight line, or gather them in the centre and hang them at varying heights to create a really dynamic statement.
Lia Fagan is an interior designer and the creative mind behind Mod Pieces, an online boutique, specializing in restyled vintage lighting. When she’s not in her studio, she’s offering up tips for how to “design outside the lines” on her blog, Mod Nest.
This past Monday I had the pleasure of attending the Taste Ontario! event. Set in the stunning Ritz-Carlton hotel in Toronto, 54 of Ontario’s most talented winemakers were present to talk about their wineries and showcase their local wines.
We live for the summer at Andrew Richard Designs and couldn’t be more excited that it’s finally time to head up North. Whether you’re lounging lakeside in Ontario or Quebec, alongside the Rockies in BC, or seaside out east, these cottage furnishing tips will set you up for a summer of relaxation and ease.
1 Shade products
Shade is essential on the dock to provide some relief from the hot summer sun. Shade producing products near the water always need substantial support to ensure they don’t fly away in a strong gust of wind! When choosing shade products for the dock, make sure that they are adequately supported to avoid flight issues; an umbrella base of 150 pounds or more is recommended.
2 Sunroom set-up
Treat the Muskoka room like an outdoor space. Most of these screened-in porches are not heated and are exposed to extremely cold winters and constant sun rays in the summer. Using outdoor-friendly pieces and fabrics in this space is highly recommended to maximize the longevity of your furnishings. Outdoor furnishings can better take the harsh changes in weather and constant variations in sunlight, with minimal deterioration and fading.
3 Comfortable furnishings
Cottage country is a place to unwind and relax with family and friends. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the great outdoors with more room to spread out. It’s nice to have large communal outdoor pieces where family and friends can relax together while enjoying a summer day or night. Outdoor beds, double chaises and large sectionals can really add a great place to socialize outdoors on the deck or dock. Mixing in some natural wood or teak furnishings and accessories will adapt your outdoor entertaining space to the natural environment at the cottage.
Enjoy your time lakeside this summer! Put your legs up and enjoy the sunshine.
Designer and entertaining expert Andrew Bockner is the owner of Andrew Richard Designs, a Canadian luxury furniture brand celebrated for its materials and designs. Andrew Bockner creates custom, unique experiences to enhance both the space and lifestyle of his customers.
While I have a passion for space and furniture design, once a year in June, I get my ultimate event planning fix! This year, we decided to host a themed party called Secreto de Verano, meaning Summer Secret. Our concept was ‘A Night in Buenos Aires’, where we focused on creating a lively atmosphere that was both beautiful and romantic. We wanted to generate an experience full of rich culture for our guests by offering the best caterers, music, and entertainment.
Our wonderful caterers started up their ovens and supplied all of our guests with delicious and authentic appetizers, ranging from warm Argentinian ravioli and mango salad to nitro dulce de leche ice cream from Origin Restaurant. We also had vivacious dancers and performers from Axe Capoeira and a crowd inspiring DJ from Bellosound spinning all night.
Throwing a themed party is a fun and playful way to way to celebrate, be it with 10 friends or a thousand. Here are some tips to help you create the perfect event, whatever size your party.
Stay focused on your goal and follow these simple steps:
1 Have inspiration
If you are hosting a themed party, keep it simple and stick to your topic. Themes do not have to be cheesy! You need to draw from exciting, genuine sources for inspiration and keep your party plans authentic.
2 Offer simple menus
Make sure your food choices are concise and delicious. There is nothing worse than being overwhelmed with food at a party. Flavourful appetizers and delicious finger foods are easy to manage, make less of a mess, and are still filling.
3 Create a mood
Lighting is one of the most important parts of a party. An event should begin with brighter lighting, followed by dimming as the evening rolls on. A quick way to add extra glow in any room, day or night: tried and true candles.
4 Play a perfect playlist
It is very important to take the time to create a playlist suited to your guests and your theme. This way, you are not being constantly interrupted to change a song or switch a CD and are able to enjoy the celebrations.
5 Invite compatible guests
Extend invitations for your party to people that are like minded. Regardless of whether they are strangers or not, they will have something to talk about. Your guests should feel comfortable and be entertained by one another; this will make your party a true success!
6 Game on
Get your guests engaged with optional games or dancing. It helps to create interaction and memories, creating an overall experience.
Designer and entertaining expert Andrew Bockner is the owner of Andrew Richard Designs, a Canadian luxury furniture brand celebrated for its materials and designs. Andrew Bockner creates custom, unique experiences to enhance both the space and lifestyle of his customers.
I have a little love affair with bunting flags. They are super sweet in children’s rooms and pretty darn cute for party decorations. Not having a sewing machine, I struggled with how to make some for my son Oscar’s nursery a year ago and came up with a paper version that cost me no money.)
But with Oscar’s first birthday around the corner I wanted to create a family keepsake that could be used year after year, and so I decided to tackle a new version of the bunting flag, something a little more permanent compared to my paper flag that hangs in his room.
No-Sew Bunting Flags
Step 1 I bought a stack of felt on Etsy seller ILoveFelt. I was able to pick the colours I wanted making it a great option for someone like me that is pretty particular about colours. Although I picked a rainbow of colour you could pick a series of blues and greens if that matched your decor. Buying online made it easy to find the widest selection of colours.
Step 2 I came up with a triangle template to maximize the amount of felt I used. I wanted to use as much of the felt as possible, but by fitting too many triangles onto one felt sheet, the flags were going to be too small and too hard to work with. So I decided to fit two triangles on the sheet, and saved the remnants for a future project with little Oscar.
Step 3 I used my paper cutter to slice the felt, but you can also use scissors.
Step 4 Get a hole punch, scissors and string. I had a smaller whole punch that you can get from a crafting store like DeSerres.
Step 5 Punch a hole in each side of the flag.
Step 6 String them together, cutting off the excess string after you have tied each flag to one another.
Ta-da! No sew bunting flags! Perfect for a nursery that you are designing or, like us, for an upcoming birthday. The countdown is on for Oscar’s birthday where the house will be filled with many more of these easy-to-make flags.
Lindsay Stephenson is our guest blogger who has her eye on all things fabulous in Toronto. When not scouting out the coolest stores and the fabbest finds in the city, Lindsay runs a graphic design business (Penny People Designs) and blogs about her life and home decorating projects on Aubrey & Lindsay’s Little House Blog
As spring and warmer temperatures are settling in, an abundance of colourful flowers have made their way to most local markets. I like to gather a few different vases and fill them with a beautiful array of flowers that I then spread out on my dining table — simple and sweet centrepieces. This vase is from a quaint home décor store in Montreal called Buk & Nola — I like how the blue hue brings a hit of brightness to the table.
Jennifer Bartoli is a Toronto-based food writer, photographer and recipe developer who grew up in Paris. Her longstanding passion for food took her to New York City, where she studied at the French Culinary Institute. For delicious recipes and more, check out Jennifer’s blog, Chocolate Shavings.
When I first ventured into baking (and I can sadly say I’m still venturing), I thought a blender and a food processor essentially did the same thing. Whenever a recipe called for a food processor, I didn’t have one, so I just thought, “Meh, this blender will give the same effect.” Wrong, Lauren. So very wrong.
And that, my friends, is why I’m thrilled to be giving away this top-of-the-line food processor from KitchenAid. Their Architect Series is made up of professional quality small appliances (think of the classic KichenAid stand mixer), and this 12-cup processor is no different.
To enter, leave a comment below sharing your favourite summer food (or drink!).
*Contest closes May 25th, 2011 at 12pm EST. Open to all residents of Canada, except those in Quebec. Not open to any Transcontinental Media employees, their families, or any other persons with whom they reside.
Countdown to the Royal Wedding — 7 days left!
‘It Should Have Been Me’ bone china plate, $32; kkoutlet.com
Okay, so we all love Kate and she’s completely fabulous, but don’t we all secretly wish it had been us? This sassy, bone china plate from KK Outlet stands out amidst all of the other celebratory items that commemorate the Royal Wedding — it’s nice to have something with a little bite.
Stay tuned for TV Guide‘s Royal Wedding Special Issue, edited by Style at Home‘s Erin McLaughlin — available May 9th!
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