Style & Decor Blog

Pint-sized (they run up to 48″ - perfect for apartments and other small spaces!) and oh-so-so pretty, Pottery Barn has revived its popular faux firs for another holiday season.

Amidst all the glimmer and glamour of the holidays, these petite pines exude a simple charm. They hit just the right rustic note in their burlap-wrapped pots, and look just as great on their own as they do decorated. I’m actually partial to the minimal dusting of pinecones throughout the trio above, which is how the trees come - totally in-keeping with the back-to-basics appeal of the trees themselves.

Here’s my snap of one of the pines in situ at the Bloor Street Pottery Barn in Toronto, sprinkled liberally with Pottery Barn’s ornament collection.

If you associate fall decorating with dusty garlands of plastic burnt-yellow leaves, you might want to take a look at what I found at Vancouver Island’s Indaba Trading…

This stunning wire garland takes on-trend bird motifs and weaves them into an equally trendy warm copper-coloured wire garland.

“This fall it’s all about bringing the outdoors in and using motifs and objects that reflect the wonder and beauty of the natural world,” says Irene Gillespie, Indaba’s owner and CEO.

I’d love to see this garland on a tabletop, weaving its way through various centerpiece ornaments, or even crumpled into a bird’s nest (pardon the pun) and displayed in a rose bowl… So pretty! What’s more, this garland has seasonal staying-power, and will work just as well over the holidays.

Photography by Felix Wedgwood

Indaba Trading wire bird garland in copper

Price: $10 per three-foot strand

Available at: Urban Barn, Chintz & Co., or Indaba Trading for all stores

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In case you missed it… Here’s my last gig on CityLine.

Click HERE to watch!

On CityLine tomorrow morning, I’ll be showing host Tracy Moore how to fold a napkin to create a pretty pocket for cutlery. Here are the step-by-step instructions!

Shot on my Flip Video MinoHD video camera!

Making a statement in a home’s entryway is so important. It’s the first glimpse a guest has of your interior, and as such, it’s got to make an immediate impression. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to get away with something daring, as it’s a space that you don’t spend a great deal of time in, and can afford to go beyond beige without getting sick of it too quickly.

The pairing of a console table and mirror in the front hallway is a tried-and-true formula that is both practical (your last chance to check your lippy before you dash out the door, and a surface to toss your keys) and an opportunity to inject some “pretty”.

I was struck by the pretty pairings of consoles and mirrors this morning while touring the showroom of Barrymore Furniture. Their visual merchandisers have really got a handle on how to pair these two front hall furnishings without falling into the “matchy-matchy” trap. Just look at these stunning vignettes…

I love the exotic eastern flavour achieved by pairing the glamorous gold leaf bombe chest with an artisanal painted glass mirror. The radiant metallic chest would be a perfect solution to a dark and dreary foyer.

Ooh, shiny! (I’m such a magpie!) Mirrored furniture is still so hot, and against a backdrop of luscious lilac, it brings the notion of a beautiful boudoir to the front hall. I like the subtle nod to trendy chain-link in the mirror frame.

Stunning Chinoiserie wallpaper from Cole & Son frames the white lacquer pairing of Christopher Guy console and mirror. Gotta love those curves! 

A similar pairing, but in black. I like how the striped-paint treatment on the demi-lune chest redefines the traditional form of the piece.

Alright, so this is a piece of art in lieu of a mirror, but the idea’s the same. The symmetry makes for a truly arresting arrangement.

All pieces, Barrymore Furniture, Toronto, 416-532-2891

I’m goin’ home!

Join me in my hometown of Norwich, Ont., on Saturday, May 2, for an afternoon filled with gorgeous flowers, fun and fabulousness (I always feel like I owe a nickel to Steven & Chris whenever I use that word now).

I’ll be dropping in at the Norwich branch of the Oxford County Library in Norwich, Ont., at 1PM for “Bringing the Outdoors In” – tips, tricks and the latest trends in bringing spring and summer’s bounty indoors. Find out what kind of container suits certain arrangements best, the trick to floating blossoms, and how can a banana improve the health of your potted plants. Potted, cut or pressed, nothing beats greening up your home with fresh florals from your own backyard!

Bring mom and make it an early Mother’s Day outing! There’s actually a lot going on in on May 2 in this idyllic slice of southwestern Ontario, with the Oxford County Studio Tour. (Make it a point to drop in to see my fave, Shane Norrie!)

RSVP with Lynn at the Library by calling 519-863-3307 – there are just a few seats left! See you there!

My style-sleuthing is leading me to Copenhagen this summer and I came across these crazy Danish digs…

Hotel Fox is situated in the heart of the Danish capital, and touts itself as “the world’s most exciting and creative lifestyle hotel”. Designed by 21 international artists from the fields of graphic design, urban art and illustration, Hotel Fox is a gallery of 61 no-two-alike rooms of sheer, wacked-out whimsy… 

My fave room is the “King’s Court 1″, designed by Birgit Amadori of Germany. A little bit fairy tale, a little bit Manga, it’s spare but strangely sumptuous at the same time. I’m also a sucker for great blue-and-white combos. And the Medusa on the walls is so very Versace!

Andreas Mindt’s startling “Highlights” room breathes life into the stark simplicity of an achromatic scheme with flowing lines and a real sense of motion. Not a room you’d want to be in after a dizzying night of partying, though.

Brisbane design collective Rinzen, conceived the “Dryads” room as a playful little fantasy-land. The raised bed is intended to suggest “walking into the heart of the forest”, surrounded by trees and fallen foliage. 

Light, bright and refreshingly bonkers! I wonder what it would be like in person…

Check out the other 58 rooms here!

All images courtesy of Hotel Fox

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It goes without saying that I love magazines. I’ve got a ton of subscriptions and can barely afford each one a cursory flip-through before the next issues arrives. That’s why I’m almost ashamed to admit that one of the monthlies that I look forward to most is… A catalogue.

Anthropologie’s monthly mail-out catalogue is a showcase of truly atmospheric photography, and I love how each “issue” has an entirely different mood. February’s issue, for instance, was shot on location in the Slovakian countryside, and resulted in some moody, deliciously decrepit vignettes. The new papier machier Paperie Petting Zoo (the polychrome birdies in the image below) is an awesome new release — these birds are handcrafted from recycled cement bags!

Even if you aren’t on the Anthropologie mailing list, you can view an e-version of their catalogues in all their glory here!

Another reason to love Anthropologie? Even though it’s a U.S.-based company, online shopping’s easy for us north of the border, as the website provides up-to-date Canadian pricing for all products. 

Images courtesy of Anthropologie

I’m armed and ready for winter with this fantastic find that every kid — at heart, and otherwise — needs to have handy if a snowball fight is on the agenda for the holidays. The two scoops come together to form perfectly round snowballs for the winter warrior-slash-aesthete. This is also an invention with decorative applications, too, I suppose I should mention. Check out how our talented stylist Andrea McCrindle used a similar to device to create stylish snowy spheres for her outdoor decor story in our December 2008 issue, on stands now!

Pair of instant snowball makers

Price: $10

Available at: Winners, 877-946-6877

A while back, I was flipping through Island Life - a totally inspirational book by the talented and gorgeous designer, India Hicks (as an aside, her new body and bath collection for Crabtree & Evelyn is STUNNING), and one of her simple and summery little projects really resonated with me. To bring order to a chaotic bookshelf, she’d wrapped a bunch of her hardcover books with cut manila paper dustjackets. (You can use kraft paper in a pinch.) The result? A breezy and beachy - yet cohesive - display. Now, anyone who knows me is aware of my soft spot for The Hardy Boys, and I realized that my collection of (sadly) dust-jacket-less (and therefore less valuable) original impressions with their beige linen spines already have this comfy, timeworn yet unified look, so up on the bookshelf they went. The result? My own little slice of Island Life!