Merry Christmas

Just checking in. Been months since the last update. Yours truly is aiming to publish a post soon. Happy holidays.

Welcome Back

   I'm finally back. Back from my holiday. Back to my blog. Back to school. Back to work. I'm exhausted from a whirlwind of organizing, cleaning, and running errands. But with a clean slate (no pun intended) I'm ready to take on the new (fall) year. As usual, we have spent hours renovating.
   No room in the house is one hundred percent complete and the decor is continuously evolving but our basement hallway is the best it's ever looked.  The basement originally had wood panelling and was dark and dingy. The mister replaced it with tricky drywalling and updated the lighting. I found an old bench near my house and brought it home. It was not worth reupholstering but I liked the size and it fit perfectly in the hallway. So, I just steam cleaned it, painted the legs white, and threw a sheepskin to hide the worn material. There are many minor jobs still to be done but the addition of doors, trim, and baseboards freshens up the whole space.

The basement hallway - the bench was a curb side find. 

   On this eve before chaos, I shall turn a blind eye to all the million chores that remain undone and enjoy a cup of tea and reflect on my productive and fun-filled summer.

Happy Birthday!

Happy first birthday to simplycolourblind.

Blue skies, blue water

   June is a very busy month for me, which meant no blog entry. Then at the beginning of July we went down to California on vacation. Before I leave on any vacation, I do a thorough cleaning of my house and take care of all paperwork. And while everyone is waiting in the car, I take a grand tour of my home, soaking in the dreamy tidiness and order. When I return from holiday, I repeat my scan before the rest of the family comes spilling in, bringing with them the reality of noise, dirty laundry, opened suitcases, and chaos.
   The beauty of Lake Tahoe is my type of aesthetic with its clear, blue lake and snowcapped mountains. On this beach, there were white chairs and an arch, the site of that evening's wedding. So fresh and pretty.


Lake Tahoe

    I also admired some of the decor accents in the old historic homes that we visited. These vintage cannisters caught my eye - very Martha Stewart.



vintage cannisters

   It's nice to be home but I'm glad I have vibrant photos to display and remember my vacation by.

Child's play: pretty in pink

The toyroom in my home has gone through many evolutions, as my children have grown. However, it has been difficult trying to decorate a space that follows my own decor sensibility but is playful without being sterile. Recently, I've decided to feminize the toyroom with the approval of my boys. They have adopted a mini-toyroom in the crawlspace behind the basement stairs to house their Lego creations instead.  So I was able to create a girly space for my daughter that carries a monochromatic colour scheme: pink. Everything is hidden in bins and buckets which I love. Here is the current look:

Children's toy room

As always, I tried to get a deal on all the furnishings in the toy room. Most of the items were sale or clearance items, from Craigslist, or used. Ikea, Pottery Barn Kids, and Restoration Hardware Baby and Child pretty much make up the whole room.

The wall letters are from RH - they were final sale and only 99 cents each. Most of the letters were sold out so I had to be really creative to spell something meaningful with the available letters. I came up with THINK, TRY, and FUN to replace my original words. The washing machine was actually a floor model at PBK. The biggest splurge was the tent, which is from RH, and although it is pretty, the quality isn't that great.

It is pretty girly so we'll see how long this space lasts before the kids grow tired of it.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Without evil, there is no good.

To truly appreciate a beautifully designed room, you must see what ugly decor is.
 

Here are some decor faux-pas:

- the oversized comfy couch

- mismatched rugs

- '80s floral 

- dark, dreary drapes

- brown, oak, country cabinets

- matching wood dining room sets

- tacky, overly-ornate furniture

- too many mismatched picture frames

The ugly :

The bad:

And the good:

Ahh...my idea of heaven

Taste requires restraint.

Tiffany's

I just returned from a spontaneous trip to New York City. My previous experiences in NYC were pre-9-11, (the last one was only 3 weeks before the tragic event) and pre-children. It entailed playing clubs, wearing black, having pink hair, and involved minimal touristy activities. This time, however, we did the tours and put in some time at the Central Park playgrounds.

Although, I have one in my own city, I had to go to Fifth Avenue's Tiffany's. To buy something in Tiffany blue.

I bought a small porcelain Tiffany Blue Box, the only practical thing I could afford really without breaking the bank.  As I left, I had in mind to take a picture of me holding my pretty blue bag by the Tiffany sign, and felt really cliche when I saw every other woman emerging from the store doing the same thing.

Now back at home in my element I have made good use of my special souvenier, the blue box it came in, and the bag itself. I'm certainly not Park Avenue calibre but the robin's egg blue looks perfect against my grey walls.

Doing what almost every other female tourist does. Not exactly Audrey Hepburn.

Tiffany porcelain box

Too lovely not to display

A new throw to match the box

Pilgrimmage to Target and Marshalls

Recently, I made a pilgrimmage to Target and Marshalls, as part of a mini-vacation south of the border.  I was not the only Canuck who had the same idea on this long weekend, as we spotted many provincial license plates in the parking lot on our way back to the car. We are scheduled to have our own Target stores in the next year and a half but that is still far off.

Anyway, this particular visit was not all that successful, particularly on the home decor front. However, I did find a retro, cream-coloured wall clock. I have this thing for clocks - it's really hard to find an interesting, beautiful one. At Marshalls, I picked up a lovely pale blue lacquered jewellery box, It had a little scratch for which I received a 25% discount. Here's a tip: if you don't mind a few imperfections in your furniture, then invest in floor models, and choose items with scratches and minor, hidden dents and ask for a discount. We almost always get one and we walk away with a great deal. No matter to us, since with kids everything you have gets ruined to some degree : ).

Alas, I would have purchased more finds, if not for that darn personal tax exemption, which only benefits my bank account. But in the end, at least I had something to bring home to beautify my space.

A retro clock from Target

Tiffany Blue

I have been scouting home decor magazines for the trends of 2011 and have seen nothing intriguing. But I have always loved Tiffany Blue in anything.  It's fresh, elegant, graceful, and bold. As a dominant colour or accent, it works on walls, cupcakes and sashes alike.  



I must embark on a mission to find the perfect Tiffany Blue paint now. Will keep you posted when I do.

Stylist spotlight: Jeanette Ewen

I enjoy watching home decor shows, however, most of the shows on HGTV these days are about house hunting or renovating, which I find very boring.  I like Cityline's style and home decor panel, particularly the shows that feature stylist, Jeanette Ewen. Ewen has great taste and I can appreciate not only her interior design sense but her fashion ideas, as well. Her style blends romantic and modern and is always fresh with a little edge. Jeanette is currently co-hosting a new show with Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, called Inside the Box. I have yet to see it but I look forward to seeing her style stamp on these homes.

Ewen's studio apartment

Ewen's Dream Home room at the Toronto Home Show in 2010 - I love the surreal gothic feel.

I have been looking at getting a ghost chair for years now but have yet to do so. However, this vignette by Ewen inspires me further to do so.

Styled by Jeanette Ewen