{ Archive for the ‘Garden’ Category }

how to: keep your cool in the shade

As fun as soaking up the sun can be in the summer, it’s less than ideal for an entertainer, their guests, or their food to roast in the heat. Whether you’re entertaining or unwinding with a book in the backyard, it’s always a good idea to have a place where you can escape the elements – rain or shine!

A sheltered nook creates the perfect retreat to enjoy the outdoors with friends and family. There are numerous ways to create a chilled outdoor oasis. So don’t sweat it… we’ve got three tips to keep you cool:

shade umbrella how to: keep your cool in the shade
1 Umbrellas
Both classic and timeless, umbrellas are a great option to create shade during the summer. Instead of being confined to putting your umbrella in the middle of your table or lounge area, explore the use of cantilever umbrellas. Using two square 10’ x 10’ umbrellas, side by side, looks very chic and maximizes your shade area, while making a strong presence.

shade pavilion how to: keep your cool in the shade
2 Pavilion
Pavilions are a great option for creating shade if you have the space.  Ideal for defining an outdoor area, pavilions create an intimate environment for outdoor entertaining or provide protection from the sun for your family to play under. Combined with a comfortable sectional and low table, a pavilion creates a perfect backyard retreat.

shade awning how to: keep your cool in the shade
3 Awning
An awning is a great space saving alternative to traditional shade products. When you don’t have a lot of room, an awning gives you the freedom to have shade and shelter when you please, at the twist of a handle.

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.

diy floral arrangements

Two years ago, my husband and I had a wonderfully small and intimate wedding in the backyard of my parent’s house. Due to the fact that the day we chose was the busiest wedding date of the year, and that we planned the whole thing in only a few months, there were no florists available. My mum, who has always had a keen design eye and a crafty nature, decided she could take on the task herself. She went to her favourite florist, Sweet Violets, ordered all the flowers and asked a few questions. From there she got to work, designing and executing all of the floral arrangements for the big day.

I asked her to disclose her method for anyone who might be interested in creating their own floral arrangements – whatever the occasion!

For the small arrangements that would be used at the dinner, she cut out a circle of sheer, green organza and pulled it around a small glass vase, using a piece of cream-coloured organza ribbon around the neck to secure it. She trimmed ten ‘super green roses’ and arranged them in the vase tightly, like a bouquet:

dinnerfloral diy floral arrangements

For the larger arrangements used in the ceremony, she ordered green spider mums, green al chamilla, white dahlia, white hydrangea, decorative cabbages and a collection of filler greens. She took 1 ft tall vases and made a grid on the opening using floral tape. First, she filled the grid with the greens, packing them tightly. She arranged the large hydrangea and cabbage and then filled in the rest of the vase using the spider mums, freesia, dahlia and al chamilla:

ceremonyfloral2 diy floral arrangements

ceremonyfloral diy floral arrangements

entry diy floral arrangements

ceremony diy floral arrangements

What do you guys think? Anyone have any great tips for creating your own floral arrangements?

toronto shopping: midge

There are about a handful of stores that can completely draw me in just with their window displays, and Midge {a floral and gift shop here in Toronto} is one of them.

SYLEATHOME Midge toronto shopping: midge

Walking by the store last week, I smiled when I saw their window.  A collection of bath sponges in the shape of carrots were grouped together in a tall glass vase. What an easy centerpiece to re-create! One item grouped together in a simple way like this makes the ordinary seem pretty fantastic.

style toronto shopping: midge

Photos from my visit
1
Carrot shaped bath sponges, $4.95 each

2 & 3 A collection of potted orchids fill the store. I simply adore orchids and think that they look stunning in a house, instantly bringing to life a room. I sadly can’t keep mine alive, but when I do decide to try it again, I think I’ll be visiting Midge as the prices were quite reasonable.

4
If I’m going to a party or a dinner at a friends house, I usually skip the wine and bring an arrangement of flowers for the hostess. At Midge, their specialty is flowers, so take a peek at their fridge of ready-to-buy arrangements.

Midge

651 Mount Pleasant Rd, Toronto
(416) 488-0875

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.

bloggers give back: garden design

You may have heard about this – it’s slowly trickling through the grapevine thanks to Twitter, blog sites and the like – so forgive me if I’m sharing what you already know! It’s just that I’m so thrilled to be participating in Bloggers Give Back. Lindsay from Aubrey and Lindsay’s Little House Blog is the brains behind the operation. She has rounded up a bunch of amazing bloggers from Canada and beyond to re-vamp the overgrown, backyard garden at George Herman House, (a charity which offers supportive programs and safe housing for women with emotional and mental issues). *Side note: If the name “Aubrey + Lindsay’s Little House Blog” is ringing a bell for you, it’s probably because Lauren just profiled Lindsay’s blog a couple of weeks ago. Click here to revisit Lauren’s awesome post!

To set the project in motion, each of the participating bloggers were asked to create a mood board to illustrate their vision for the new garden design. I had so much fun creating my mood board. Not only did I stumble across some gorgeous products, but it also provided me with a much needed escape from the lousy weather we were having in Winnipeg! The jumping off point for my garden design concept was the fresh, yet classic Roxo Outdoor Series by Ikea. I love the beige and white striped cushion cover and white frame of the Roxo Easy Chair. It has a bit of a nautical vibe, without screaming “sailor”! The punch of green on the bistro chair keeps things lively and exciting.

Ikea Roxo Outdoor Easy Chair bloggers give back: garden design

Roxo Outdoor Easy Chair (in Beige), Ikea

Ikea Roxo Chair Green bloggers give back: garden design

Roxo Chair (in Green), Ikea

Just like it is with any indoor room design, no garden design is complete without some fab fabric accents! I selected these vibrant outdoor pillows from Tonic Living. I just love the pillows’ juicy colours and bold patterns.

Tonic Living Outdoor Soho Kiwi bloggers give back: garden design

Outdoor Pillow, Soho (in Kiwi), Tonic Living

Tonic Living Outdoor Soho Mink bloggers give back: garden design

Outdoor Pillow, Soho (in Mink), Tonic Living

Tonic Living Outdoor Cool Stripe Sorbet bloggers give back: garden design

Outdoor Pillow, Cool Strip (in Sorbet), Tonic Living

I hope this was a good teaser for you as you wait for spring to bloom! For more teasers and pleasers, check out all of the bloggers’ garden mood boards on the Bloggers Give Back website. Then leave us a comment sharing which design is most “you”!

amy*

Amy Walters is a Winnipeg-based design enthusiast and blogger. For more design inspiration from Amy, check out her blog aDESIGNdock.

great outdoors with arren williams

Looks like I’m not the only one with a major crush on the outdoor offerings from HomeSense this summer!

Toronto-based style and design expert Arren Williams has put a fresh spin on outdoor decor (no tiki torches allowed!) with the latest and greatest from HomeSense. (You’ll even recognize a few pieces that I brought with me for my HomeSense vignette on Tuesday’s CityLine!)

madeintheshade great outdoors with arren williamsArren’s got repurposing down to an art. That cute, thick-striped canopy over the Lutyens-style teak bench is actually a hammock ($35)! And this chic shade couldn’t be easier to make. “With a quick and easy stitch, create a pocket in the centre of the hammock to insert your dowel and form your canopy’s peak,” Arren says. “Using eye hooks and cord, anchor your new awning to the wall or fence and watch your outdoor space turn into a place.” Arren rounds out the vignette with a delightful mix-and-match array of floral patterned pillows.

gardengallery great outdoors with arren williamsThis is what I mean when I describe something as “Trad Rad”: a traditional decorating idea turned on its head in a completely radical way. Substitute alfresco-fabulous melamine dinnerware for granny’s china, and the facade of your house for the kitchen wall, and you’ve got a stunning summer look. “These melamine plates and platters ($3 to $7 each) in complementary shades of mod blues and greens are bold, graphic and so much fun,” Arren says. “I loaded up on different shapes and sizes, then planned out a symmetrical pattern on the floor before attaching each to the wall with plate hangers and screws to create this striking garden gallery effect.”

verticallyinclined great outdoors with arren williams

No place to grow but up? Consider stacking lightweight (and incredibly inexpensive!) planters. “When building a vertical garden, use a range of planter sizes to stack and create varying heights,” Arren suggests. “Make it look like you have a well-practiced green thumb by overplanting your pots with a mix of lush greenery — adding instant impact to your high-rise patio or back porch.” Here, Arren’s arranged fibreglass planters (from $30 each) top-to-bottom to achieve a striking architectural effect.

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solar lantern love

3201006 2t solar lantern love

You`ll recognize this iconic pendant from Style at Home`s High/Low column (May, 2010). The instantly recognizable Le Klint lamp by Poul Christiansen was designed in 1971 and re-interpreted by many companies thereafter (including IKEA — again, please see our May issue!). Now, Soji Modern has brought the Le Klint-style pendant outdoors and made it solar-powered. The 9″ x 9″ garden light gets about 5 hours of light from 6-7 hours of charging and makes a gorgeous garden addition.

Price: $40 US

Available at: www.greenlivingeveryday.com

garant decorative planters

garantgreen garant decorative planters

garantgold garant decorative planters

garantbrown garant decorative planters

garantrust garant decorative planters

Maybe not warm enough yet in your part of the country to plant seeds outdoors? Start them in Garant’s Enviro Eden Collection planters.

The planters contain 80% durable and renewable materials, including bamboo and rice. Planted, they last for at least three years; discarded and placed in the ground, they biodegrade and turn into compost.

They come in four attractive colours that would look great indoors and fantastic in any garden — Cilantro, Goldenrod, Persimmon and Mocha — and two sizes, 6″ and 9″ in diameter.

Available at gardening centres and hardware stores across Canada.

Price: from $4 each


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Do you have a pretty product you’d like to recommend for this blog? Email me at naturalchic@styleathome.com!

martha stewart’s coming to town!

picture 32 martha stewarts coming to town!

Yes, you read it right. The doyenne of dreamy domesticity is heading north of the border for a very brief stint at Canada Blooms – Canada’s largest flower & garden expo.

Miss Martha’s gracing the Grey Power Stage at the Direct Energy Centre from 2:00 – 2:30PM on Saturday, March 20, where she’ll be giving a demo on gardening, planting projects, and ideas for arranging inspiring outdoor spaces.

Get your tickets for Canada Blooms here!

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cityline – no-fuss flower arrangements

Tracy and I didn’t intentionally coordinate outfits on today’s CityLine. I swear!

citylinecrop cityline   no fuss flower arrangementsImage courtesy CityLine

On today’s broadcast, I showed host Tracy Moore how to craft no-fuss flower arrangements with a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up here at Style at Home – watch the clip by clicking here!

Everyone in the audience was asking me about the gorgeous green tulipiere at the top of the segment. It’s the Aorta flower arranger from Abbott – one of the most chic wholesalers in the country – and retails for about $15 (what a STEAL!). To find a retailer close to you (Abbott supplies some of the best home & gift stores across Canada), just give them a ring at 1-800-263-2955. I loved this tulipiere so much, you’ll be seeing more of it in the May issue of Style at Home, on newsstands the first week of April!

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sneak peek at tuesday’s cityline…

Forsythia, tulips and pussy willows… It must be spring!

cityline sneak peek at tuesdays cityline...I’ll be turning these simple stems into stunning “Instant Arrangements” on the next Style at Home Day on Citytv’s Cityline. Tune in at 9AM EST on Tuesday, March 9!!!

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