Design & Decor Blog

The first of October. Where is the time going? Before you know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us. Then Halloween. Then it’s head first into the holidays and the end of another year. As we welcome this harvest month, check out our list of 10 things to do in October. You’ll find 10 easy ways to welcome autumn into your home. Plus, download our Home & Living Checklist for October.  Put it on your fridge as a reminder of all the things you might want to do this month. Did we forget something? Use our checklist to write down your own notes, too!

Want to attend the Fall Home Show this year? You’ve come to the right place! I’m giving away 10 pairs of tickets to the annual decor and design event you don’t want to miss. Here’s what you’ll get the opportunity to check out:

* 250 + retailers
* Save at the Home + Style Studio Tour
* Free advice at Destination Renovation by BILD
* Decor consultations at What’s Your Design Dilemma?
* Entertaining and Renovation on The Planning Stage by Lowe’s
* Tech Style with ConnectPro by Future Shop
* Wine & Spirits in the Modern Living Lounge
* Bryan Baeumler and other experts at the HGTV Workshop Series

So, how do you win? Simply leave a comment telling me why you want to attend and I’ll choose my 10 favourite responses! Don’t forget to include your email address so I can notify you if you’re chosen as a winner! The Fall Home Show runs from October 1 to October 4 at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. For more information, visit fallhomeshow.com.

Contest closes September 28, 2009 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.

Well everyone, the deadline for submitting entries for the Style at Home Makeover Contest 2009 is drawing near so I invite you to submit your entries before it’s too late! Brought to you by the Fall Home Show, the contest is a great opportunity to win gift cards from Home Depot that can help you turn your decorating dreams into reality. Visit the Style at Home Makeover Contest for full details. Deadline for entries: September 24, 2009. Good luck!

Above is a photo of a bedroom from the West Elm website. Love it! This is the kind of look I’d aim for in my bedroom if I were in makeover mode. Alas, I can’t win the contest; better luck to you!

I love answering poll questions and I think you do, too! We’ve put up a number of poll questions on styleathome.com and readers seem to love ‘em! So here’s another one for you: Would you rather grace your living room with a chair that’s modern, vintage, romantic or transitional? Tell us which chair’s style you love the most! The options are below; click here to answer the poll. And check out our poll section for lots more questions! Plus, follow the style at home team on Twitter! Here’s a run-down of who’s tweeting about what!

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!

Which sofa style do you like best? Click here to vote!

Plus, follow the style at home team on Twitter! Here’s a run-down of who’s tweeting about what!

Are you following the style at home team on Twitter? We’re there, twitting and tweeting about all things decor and we’re having a blast – so join us, won’t you? Here’s who’s on deck at Twitter:

Natalie Bahadur: that’s me – tweeting about all the cool stuff that’s happening online at styleathome.com. Follow me @styleathome

Jane Francisco: style at home’s new editor-in-chief. Follow her @janefrancisco

Laurie Grassi: Laurie is style at home’s executive editor and writes the blog Natural Chic. Follow her @natural_chic

Lauren McPhillips: Lauren is style at home’s senior editor and she’s got her finger on the pulse of everything that’s hot, hot, hot, in the world of technology. Check out her blog Tech Style and follow her @tech_style

Brett Walther: Associate design editor Brett can always be relied on to fill you in on what’s at the forefront of design and what’s going on behind the scenes, too! Check out his blog Style Sleuth and follow him @stylesleuth

Margot Austin: style at home senior design editor, DIYer, renovator, shopper and lover of French bulldogs. Follow  her @margotaustin

So, please — join us for the ride!

If I were a rich girl … These absolutely gorgeous pieces from Anthropologie are simultaneously rustic and romantic and are enough to make me swoon. The prices are a little steep for my modest means but that doesn’t mean I can’t desire from afar. From left to right, here’s what I’m drooling over:

Battersea sofette
This statement piece has a hand-tufted back and seat and is made of a flax linen upholstery. Looks a little like something you’d find in grandma’s living room but retro never looked so good!
Price: $3,934.58

Cascara side table
Made of iron, MDF and brass, this rustic-looking, barrel-shaped side table is original and sure to be a conversation piece.
Price: $522.34

Dawn song rug
These beautiful rugs are a sure way to bring spring into your home. Pictured right, this robin egg blue rug features a mother robin feeding her young. Sweet. Made of tufted wool and rayon with a cotton backing.
Price: $391.10 to $1,965.98

For more information: visit anthropologie.com.

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

The craziness of the holidays is behind us now. I don’t know about you but my December was frenzied. So I’m happy to welcome the slower, more civilized pace that January brings. But I don’t need to come to a complete halt either. If you’re looking for easy, practical things to do around the house this month, you should check out our story, 10 things to do in January, written by styleathome.com contributor Carmen Taylor. I’ll give you a sneak preview, but to read the rest, click here.

1 Review presents and hostess gifts
Of course your friends and family love you and were grateful for your hospitality, but no doubt you don’t really need all the tokens of affection you received. Surely someone else could make better use of that collection of tea, those pot holders or that picture frame? Hold on to what you love, by all means, but get rid of the rest by dropping it off at Goodwill, Value Village or your favourite charity.

2 Tapers, tea lights, scented …
Candles make the season and since you’ve probably gone through a whack of them, replace your stock now. They don’t have a shelf life so it’ll be one less thing to shop for next year.

3 Move the furniture
You may be surprised what you find there. Take the cushions off sofas and chairs, vacuum along the wall behind the furniture and then turn your attention to the inside of the furniture itself. After the hosting you’ve done, no doubt it needs it.

Image courtesy of Crate and Barrel

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