Design & Decor Blog

Sometimes we could all use a little nudge in the etiquette department. Today’s find: linens that remind us to mind our manners. This set of six linens boast phrases like: Try it, you might like it, Take your dishes to the sink, Chew with your mouth closed and Elbows off the table. Chic and cheeky, these linens in a lovely willow green a sure to spark conversation at the dinner table!

Available at: etsy.com
Price: $36 for a set of 6

It’s like someone was reading my mind! The last time I baked ooey-gooey chewy chocolate chip cookies (here’s the recipe from CanadianLiving.com), I emailed the recipe to my Blackberry and checking the ingredients and directions with my flour-covered fingers was not ideal. This digital recipe reader can hold your entire recipe collection in one easy place and the touch screen is easy to clean with a damp cloth. The font can be enlarged for easier reading and the built-in timers mean your cookies won’t burn when you turn your back. It quickly converts measurements and even offers up ingredient substitutions in a hurry. Does this thing wash the dishes, too? I love its sleek look and impressive number of features. Why didn’t I put this on my Christmas list? Check out more fabulous kitchen gadgets and find more great tech products in Lauren McPhillips’ blog Tech Style.

Visit: mydemy.com for more information.

Decorating inspiration can be found anywhere and everywhere. Maybe the colour of a leaf catches your eye on the street. Maybe you’re inspired by the colour of a new sweater. Or perhaps the set of a movie totally captures your imagination. At Style at Home, we’ve found that our readers love movie sets and often draw inspiration from the details of some of their favourite films. We’ve also discovered that the movie Something’s Gotta Give has really made an impression! The breathtaking Hampton’s home that belongs to Diane Keaton’s character is full of beachy style, made oh-so-inviting through attention to detail, particularly the airy colour palettes throughout and the no-muss, no-fuss approach to decorating. Pictured above is the serene kitchen, whitewashed and wonderful, exuding a sense of both form and function. We picked some other movie sets we love and have provided some tips to help you bring the look home – check them out here! So, what movie set has made you swoon. Leave a comment — I want to know!

I love my condo. I really do. When I first moved in, I spent so much time choosing the paint colours, furniture and accessories. The result is a warm and cozy space that I just love to spend time in. But … as the editor of a design and decorating website, I’m continually surrounded by new and exciting ideas. My mind is always whirling with just one more change I could make to my home, a tweak here, a new item there … it’s a hazard of the job, I suppose! Pictured above are rooms that totally capture my imagination. It’s a hot and sticky August here in Toronto and these interiors are light and bright and if I could, I’d makeover my home to look like these! (Photography by Gap Interiors.)

Do you have a room in your home that’s in desperate need of a makeover? If you said yes, then I encourage you to enter the Style at Home Makeover Contest, brought to you by the Fall Home Show. Simply upload a photo of a room in your home that’s in desperate need of an overhaul and tell us why you need a makeover. You could win one of two $2,000 gift cards from Home Depot to help you turn your design dreams into reality. Visit the Style at Home Makeover Contest for full contest details and for your chance to win. Good luck!

There’s something about Fridays that makes me want to shop. But of course, I’m so busy at work there’s no time for shopping (but for a few stolen moments on my lunch break, of course!) And then there’s the issue of funds. But sometimes, a dose of window-shopping can be just as much fun and just as satisfying – you get the high of browsing but the satisfaction of the fact that your money’s still safe in your bank account! Here’s what I peeked at during today’s window-shopping session, online at tiffany.ca:

1 Black shoulder coffee pot
$1,500

2 Tiffany Sierra votive
$70

3 Audobon cheese serving set
$410

4 Tiffany blue box, porcelain
$100

5 Tiffany summer mug set
$230, set of four

For more great decorating and design ideas, follow me on Twitter!

I don’t know about you but I’m not in a position to undertake a major renovation right now. Sure, I’d like to remodel my bathroom and turn it into a serene, spa-like sanctuary. I’d love to go to town on my kitchen and transform it into a space that’s not only a visual delight but a practical and efficient place to prepare meals. Alas, funds do not permit. And so I, like many, have to either a) learn to live with what I’ve got or b) save, save, save until I can afford to take on some large-scale projects. This week, we have a handy story on styleathome.com about how to save for around-the-house projects. We’re not talking full-scale renovations, here. Just small changes that can have a wow impact. By making minor adjustments to your spending habits, you can scrape together the money to make some of your decor dreams a reality. Want to find out how? Read the story: Easy around-the-house projects on a budget

For more great decorating and design inspiration, follow me on Twitter!

Image courtesy of Home Depot

This blog post is designed specifically to make you salivate. These Rice Krispie treats (pictured left) from The Crispery are available for order only in the U.S. (boo!) but they look so yummy, I had to share! They come in a variety of individual flavours like: Caramel and Marshmallow, Peanut Butter, Coconut and Chocolate Dipped Crispy to name a few. Mmmm! It’s not like my hometown of Toronto doesn’t have its own fair share of bakeries that make mouthwatering treats. This blogto.com blog post lists the best cupcakes in Toronto, for example. And Rice Krispie squares are easy enough to make at home (though The Crispery certainly adds an original twist to an old favourite!) If you’re interested in making your own squares at home, here are a few recipes from Canadian Living: Cocoa frosted Rice Krispies peanut squares, Rice Krispies fruit and nut granola bars.

Anyway, I’m just feeling mighty hungry now. If you’ve got an insatiable sweet tooth and are looking for more ideas, check out our Food & Entertaining section, full of easy recipes for delicious desserts! The weekend is the perfect time to try your hand at a new recipe.

Here are a few of my faves (pictured right):

Chocolate dream scone with mascarpone spread
Cranberry pistachio biscotti
Baby butter and jam sandwiches

One of the great things about Facebook, besides reconnecting with long lost friends (and maybe a few you’d rather have remained estranged from), is being able to check out your friends’ latest and greatest pictures. Thanks to Facebook, I’m able to stay in touch with friends in a way that we just didn’t seem to have time for before the rise of social networking. I can get instant updates on their travel plans, see every angle of their newborn’s smile and check out what they were up to on the weekend. It’s great fun and while nothing replaces the necessity of face-to-face contact over drinks, it’s a pretty decent alternative when you’re busy. Anyhow … all of this is by way of explanation for how I stumbled upon this fab new find! Whilst snooping, I mean … casually perusing a friend’s photos of a baby shower she’d recently attended, I spied the loveliest, cupcake-shaped cake adorning the buffet table. Love at first sight! Where, oh where did she get the pan to make this, I wondered? But I wondered only momentarily because, in perfect Facebook fashion, everything I needed to know was right there in the comments section with a list of retailers for curious gals like myself. So I hunted it down at Williams-Sonoma and now I’m sharing it with you. Drum roll, please! I give you … The Great Cupcake Pan!

Available at: Williams-Sonoma
Price: $36

Every now and then, you find a product that you never knew you needed. And then suddenly, there it is, in all its glory and you wonder how you ever lived without it. That’s sort of how I feel about Simple Human’s sensor soap pump. We’ve all used sensor pumps in public washrooms but it never occurred to me how brilliant it would be to have one at home. Well, now that I’ve used this, I realize just how great it is. Particularly in the kitchen, this soap pump makes a lot of sense. Let’s say you’re working with raw meat and you need to wash up frequently. With this pump, you don’t need to touch a soap dispenser with your contaminated hands. Just place your hand underneath the sensor and voila! Just enough soap comes out for you to wash up. So simple, so smart.

Available at: Home Outfitters or visit simplehuman.com for more information
Price: $49.99

Happy New Year! I hope each and every one of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday. I know I did. But it never ceases to amaze me how quickly it goes by. It seems like Christmas Eve was just yesterday and now it’s January 5 and I’m back at work. Boy, I hope this winter goes by fast!

So, I don’t know how many of you made new year’s resolutions this year – you know, those dirty little promises we tend to make and break? While personal resolutions are private, we asked the Style at Home staff about their around-the-house resolutions for 2009. You can read about them here.

My around-the-house resolution is to finally get around to updating the backsplash in my kitchen. I hate the one that’s there and I dream of something more striking like glass, which can be illuminated beautifully with under cabinetry lighting. I was originally thinking of one-inch by one-inch glass tiles but then I saw this backsplash (pictured here), which is also quite lovely. This is from New York-based Grayglass. Grayglass will custom-make glass backsplashes with coloured and patterned glass, according to their clients’ specifications. Ooh! The options! Now I can’t decide what I want to do. But it’s only January; I have time, right?

If you’re thinking of doing a kitchen renovation this year, check out our kitchen section; it’s full of helpful ideas for creating your dream kitchen.