Blue Monday...or Not!!

Years ago, laundry was typically done on Mondays and it was a hugely laborious day. Housewives and daughters gathered up all the dirty clothes, boiled up huge pots of water, used their hand made soap and scrubbed article after article of soiled clothing using rocks - and later, scrub boards and brushes, and wrung them out using a hand ringer. It was painstaking and dreaded work and that is where the term Blue Monday originated.

Fast forward decades later and we still complain about doing laundry despite the many creature comforts afforded us. Today, we are faced with incredible choices with regards to our laundry needs. In fact, even the aesthetics of washers and dryers have become quite important to us! We can choose between top or front-loading, steam wash options, heavy-duty/extra capacity- whatever our fancy. One can purchase steel blue or tangerine coloured machines, steam machines to do our ironing, the list goes on and on...

photo source: Pottery Barn

I, and many others, am fascinated by the laundry implements of yesteryear. I have searched for and found a hand wringer, scrub board, soap cage, and fan-style drying rack to bring vintage charm to my own laundry area. I placed large laundry soaps and clothes pegs in old jars, vinegar and dry bleach in large glass containers with labelled metal tags, and emptied out my modern day laundry soap into an enamel bin that is labelled LAUNDRY. I love this nod to the origins of "wash day", however, I can't help wondering what our great-grandmothers would say if they could see us now. They'd probably shake their heads and scowl at such a silly pre-occupation with a chore they so detested!!!

**the top two photos show my present (left) and former (right) laundry rooms. **

Destination... Target

I can't wait!! On Mother's Day weekend, my Mum, sister Wendy and I are going to Bangor for a girl's weekend of shopping, celebrating (belatedly) Wendy's 40th birthday, and Mother's Day all rolled into one!! It is a trip long overdue, and we are going to have a blast!! We will be hitting all our favorite spots including TJ Maxx, Christmas Tree Shop (in Augusta), and TARGET!!! We will likely spend a couple of hours just going from aisle to aisle, careful not to miss any treasures. I love Target...you get such great bargains and can copy pretty much any look for so much less! It is one of the stores that I enter, pause, inhale... exhale... and let that happy feeling take over!!! My favorite shopping method in that kind of store is to put everything I want in my cart, pretend I'm getting it all, and then at the end- let reality sink in and start the editing (and emptying) process. Target is where I spend the bulk of my shopping budget and every penny is usually worth it. They have the Rachel Ashwell/Shabby Chic collection with the most beautiful sheets and dining chair slipcover collection. If you have a baby or toddler, the Amy Coe bedding and decor collection can't be beat. They also have great versions of virtually everything Pottery Barn Kids and its regular store carries. Target is truly heaven on earth for the budget-minded decorating type!
The pictures above are some of the things I am hoping to get my hands on from their store. Living in a small town, I am going to be in full "shopping mode." Look out Bangor, here I come!!!

The appliances of my dreams...

I shouldn't want what is not necessary. We all feel this to an extent, so why can we not suppress these decorating urges? Luckily, in my case, the sheer cost of these beautiful kitchen appliances stops me in my tracks! That's not to say if money was no object they wouldn't be mine...
These appliances are from Elmira Stove Works, a Canadian company (gasp!!) and can be viewed online at www.elmirastoveworks.ca . I love the gorgeous colours and would be torn between the butter yellow and robin's egg blue. However, if I was a single gal the pink would be standing in my kitchen with a huge chandelier hanging over my island! The other items on my wishlist would be a farmhouse sink, a tin ceiling, and a fireplace with a gorgeous cream chaise in front of it. Obviously the kitchen would have to be the size of my whole house of the moment! Hmmm... perhaps the chaise would have to be for the "single me" as my kids and cats would ruin it with sticky fingers and dirty paws. I'll dream on and hopefully I'll get to decorate such a kitchen for a client someday. That would be more practical!!

Making your guests feel at home...

House guests... we all have had them, enjoyed them, and no matter how pleasurable their stay, have breathed a wee sigh of relief when they have driven down the driveway!! It is perfectly natural and acceptable, because if we didn't ever want them to go, we'd have to build an addition and move them in!! The one thing we don't want to see is our guests squealing out of the driveway to escape their home away from home! We have all been guests as well, and we want them to feel as comfortable as we would like to feel when the roles are reversed. Does this mean we all have to have a guest room as beautiful and inviting as the ones pictured above in order to open our home to friends and family? Well no, but we do have to remember the details...

Ideally, it is nice to have a quiet room set aside for our guests with a comfy bed, nearby bathroom and a place for their belongings. If you are fortunate enough to have such a space then you are ahead of the game. For those of us who don't, here are the options: 1. relocate one of your children and have them bunk up with a sibling. They will likely enjoy the adventure of it all and hopefully feel flattered that "granny" thinks their bed is the most comfortable. 2. Place a futon in an office space for use by guests and for a relaxing place to review notes/work when not in use as a guest bed. 3. Relocate yourself and offer up your master bedroom to older guests (like grandparents) or couples with small children. Usually the master bedroom has the largest bed and sometimes access to an ensuite bath. This offer is often met with resistance especially by the older generation, but I throw out the question to them,"would you put your own parents on a futon in the basement?" Besides it is usually just for a few nights and everyone will "survive."4. For visiting children, purchase a roll-a-way cot or B.Y.O.B and put them in with your own kids for a fun, if not noisy stay.

To make any guest room more inviting to your guests, include the following: 1. Provide new/fresh pillows, pretty bedding, towels and offer spare robes to your guests so they may feel comfortable joining you at breakfast before dressing. 2. Create a reading area in the room. Place a comfy chair, reading light, favorite magazines, books, etc. so your guest can "escape" and have peaceful time away from the crowd. This can benefit everyone! 3. Put a water carafe and glass, clock radio, telephone and t.v. (if possible) in the room for easy convenience. 4. Local maps, a blank journal and pen are added luxuries and help your guests be "tourists" to your area. 5. Remember many people like a nightime snack. Provide a bar of good chocolate, bagged treats and some fresh fruit so your guest can nibble without feeling guilty about asking for a late-night bite (not that many guests would dare, anyway). 6. Empty out some space for your guests' clothes. Place a few empty hangers in the closet, empty a drawer or two, and hooks for their robes or towels are especially convenient. 7. To really pamper your houseguest, place fresh flowers in their room. It can be as simple as flowers picked from your garden. Including a nice bottle of hand lotion will be appreciated too.

Most importantly, enjoy your guests; plan simple meals, a few special outings, and don't overdo it. If you are relaxed, your guests will feel that way too. You'll feel like a wonderful host, and your visit together will be memorable.

Giving Thanks...

Today is a very meaningful day in our household. Thus, I treat it like any other special holiday and break from my "work" and will not write about decorating today. Two years ago today, our youngest son suffered a life-threatening injury to his spleen. He fell from an eight-foot foundation wall of a home we were building. He is an extremely active boy and "thinks before he leaps." Well, he did just that on that day. My husband had promised to take him to see the jobsite as he loves back-hoes and excavators, etc. and the thought was that there might be one there. When they arrived, he raced out of the car ahead of everyone else and headed straight to the wall. Then the fall...

At the hospital, he was diagnosed as having a severe laceration to his spleen. They wanted to airlift him to the IWK, but there was too much fog and rain to do so safely. A long, scary drive lay before us and we were not even allowed to travel in the ambulance with him. They had sent members of the pediatric trauma team down for the transport (an agonizing 2 and 1/2 hr waiting process) and there was no room for us. They were so kind and gentle to him. When they opened the ambulance doors and we could finally see him, he was clutching a teddy bear they had given him and they told us he had named it Ginger. This from a boy who had long since rejected teddy bears...

Eight days of a slow and painful (physically for him, emotionally for us) watch and wait period followed. The staff at the IWK were excellent and I truly felt he was getting the best care possible. We had so much kindness shown to us from family and friends. Close friends stayed with our kids that first night in hospital. My mum, sister, niece and nephew came to see him and lift his spirits. I was also touched by the thoughtfulness of a kind friend who drove an hour and a half to just sit with us, and then treated me to a beautiful scarf to put in my hair. I had been wearing what seemed like the same "uniform" for days that I kept re-washing and she must have taken pity on me and my son. I will never forget that she instinctively knew I needed a friend to be there. My mother-in-law helped mind our other children and my husband travelled back and forth as much as possible.

The intense love we feel as mothers made me feel like the proverbial mother lion protecting her cub. I did not want to leave his side for fear he would be afraid. Pain and fear are a huge part of traumatic injury. Indeed, I felt like my son and I truly connected on an even deeper level as mother and son. It is not often a mother gets to spend that much one on one time with her child. His recovery was a gift in many ways and I actually felt like I missed him when we returned home.

Twelve weeks of very restricted physical activity followed. We kept up with his schoolwork at home and did quiet outings like beachcombing at our local beach where he couldn't trip and fall and re-open his fragile spleen. It was so hard to keep him still! As he grew stronger, he wanted to do more and more. Luckily, once the surgeon sternly told him his spleen was like jello, he eased up on me a little bit.
I try not to think of what might have been. We know how lucky we were that he did not have head or spinal injuries and that his laceration sealed instead of hemorrhaging. We are just so thankful that we got to keep this beautiful boy and that he is now 100% back to good health. Angels on our shoulders?...perhaps. Whatever the reason, we are indescribably grateful, and that is why we celebrate his recovery on this date forever more.

Displaying family photography...gallery style!

I love to see pictures of people's families and friends on their walls. What is not so great is when they are displayed with little or no thought to presentation. I have a fair number of family shots on my own walls and I am always careful not to let the number or quality exceed good taste. When I say quality, I mean is the picture one you adore, is it artistic and/or does it reflect who you are as a family? Some of us have a lot of guilt when it comes to displaying family pics. We feel that every school, Christmas , or child-related photo must go on the wall ( or mantel) in order to honor the subject properly. I say no, with some guilt of course. We have all gone into someone's home where they have hung every school or family portrait ever taken on the living room wall. How distracting that can be!! Even worse if they are mixed in with a few circa 1970 shot of everyone in yellow or orange/brown polyester. Yikes! Add to that, mismatched picture frames hung too high, and no longer are the subjects honoured!!!

I am not too matchy-matchy, but I do like co-ordination and flow. The frames do not all have to match, but they should complement in style and colour. The pictures we display should make us smile when we look at them, not shudder. One of my favorite photos is one of my boys at 16 months of age. It is black and white and it is a profile shot of him looking out the window at birds. It is a perfect reminder of the perfection of babies and it will never look out of place. These are the type of pictures to display as "art"- not the wedding photo of Aunt Marion and her husband, dressed in a blue tuxedo. You can display that more quietly in a smaller frame in the basement family room!

If you have a large number of photos you want to display, try creating a gallery wall (see pictures above). Use co-ordinating frames and before you hang them, lay them out on the floor to test the arrangement and/or trace the pictures onto paper, cut out, and then "test hang" them on the wall to see the effect. This will keep you from having too many unnecessary nail holes! Have fun with it: hang what you love, stand back and give it a good once over and invite your friends and family to come see your "gallery." Don't forget to take "Aunt Marion" past her wedding photo in the basement... She will probably be thrilled to not be on display for all to see in her polyester wedding dress beside a blue tuxedo!!!

More than a playhouse...

When I was a little girl, my sister, Wendy, would tell me all about the playhouse my Uncle Jimmy had made for her in Ireland. We left Ireland when I was only five so I have very limited memories of my birthplace. I remember feeling envious of this playhouse that I had no memory of. It was called "the Wendy house" and it sounded like a dream. How I wished I had one of my own...
As I grew older, I vowed that if I ever had a daughter, she would definitely have her own little outdoor oasis. Fast forward to now: I have a six-year old daughter and no playhouse. But all that is about to change this summer. My talented husband, who is a very doting daddy, is going to make her the play house of my dreams!!! We are putting in an above-ground pool with a deck all around it and attached to the side wall of the deck will be her playhouse. We have a very small backyard, so the width is not there for a pool and playhouse. We were stumped as to how to incorporate the playhouse until a lightbulb went off in my head! It will obviously be at deck level so it will have a slanted ladder going up to it and she will climb up to her little house. Essentially, she will be playing in her house while behind her is the side wall of the pool deck- they will have a shared wall. Confusing I know, but do-able. I am so excited and cannot wait to bring it to life! I picture it with window boxes, cedar shake roof, pale yellow clap-boards, and a gothic style window in the peak. It is to be seen whether hubby will go along with all that!!!

I had originally thought I would incorporate a playhouse into a garden shed for us. The idea was to have the playhouse as the front of the structure and the shed in the back with its own door. This would definitely be a good idea for anyone with a proper sized backyard and really means only building one structure with a dividing wall in between. You could even have the playhouse be a cabin for boys or a fun hangout for pre-teens. In my case, we had better get at it. Time is a' wasting! I want Sophie to have her playhouse while she is still young enough to really enjoy it!!

Letting our pets in...with style

It used to be that dogs had houses and cats, well cats roamed the "jungles" near our homes. Smelly wet food was served in an old kitchen bowl and water, if we weren't looking , came out of a toilet with its seat up! No more for our pets. Pets today are treated as well as our guests and we actually care if they have a comfy bed of their own (that they never use) and their food bowls are trendy and sometimes even monogrammed. Just go into any home decor store and you'll see what I mean. Baby gift sections are being squeezed out in place of shelves laden with hip and happenin' dog and cat collars, pet placemats and pink and blue "Burberry plaid" beds. Do our pets even care? They don't say if they do, but we sure seem to. Although I'd hardly call myself animal crazy, my two cats do have stylish food bowls and a fun container for their food (see above photo). It is a glass canister and I got a great scoop for it all at Walmart. A fairly frugal $10 purchase that I think looks great and actually resides on my counter quite stylishly (especially with the MEOW metal stick-on sign I picked up at a scrapbooking store). My only other frivolous pet owner purchase was a little metal sign that says Bon Appetit. I hung it above their food dish and I get a chuckle at my attempt at making pet paraphernalia more fun. That's as far as I go, though. When I find myself toting a plaid cat bed in Winners, I give my head a shake, drop it and head straight over to the Seasonal aisle. Money much better spent!!

Pink is for Sophie

Sophie has loved the color pink since she was able to voice her opinion. On her third birthday she requested a pink party and so it was. When we built this house, we asked her if she wanted to change the colour, and she said yes, BLUE, with lots of PINK!! She has a sleigh bed her Daddy made her that is painted a pale yellow, and a pretty vanity dresser we inherited from a previous flip. I re-upholstered its bench in yellow and pink toile. She has a pink and white gingham chair just the right size for our goldilocks and a pink crystal chandelier. I am actually getting tired of pink and am looking forward to the day she decides she wants to change some of it! The bottom half of her wall is painted in blue as she requested, and I didn't know how I was going to separate the two colours. I absolutely love pompom fringe so one day I decided I would try it as a border. A few hundred (or at least it seemed) pushpins later and I was done. I love the effect and I satisfied my desire for pompoms. It was cheaper than chair rail, and I think, more creative. I will only regret it when she actually does want to change her room and I have lots of little nail holes to fill! Hopefully, that won't happen too soon!!!

For the love of Lighting

Ikea
Canadian Tire




Some people just don't notice lighting. At least that's what one might be led to believe if you drive past the homes in a new subdivision. House after house has outdoor lights that you know the builder has picked because that is what they have always picked. I am not one of those people. When I drive past a house I instantly search for the lights. If I see spectacular lights, it tells me a lot about the homeowners. I just know their home inside will be good. I'm not always right, but in general this theory works.
I take a lot of time selecting my lights. In fact, I draw up a lighting plan for every home I live in. You've heard the saying, "lighting is the jewellry of a home." How true that is. I have discovered that you don't have to spend a ton of money on your lighting to have it be special. I have only shopped at a U.S. source for lighting once and although the place I shopped from had truly spectacular lights, the price was exhorbitant!! I get most of my lighting at Kent, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, HomeSense, and our local building supply store. I have found beautiful chandeliers, outdoor lights, schoolhouse lights, wall sconces, you name it. I believe in using grander lighting in unexpected places, using outdoor lanterns in foyers, and even as wall sconces.
My absolute favorite light fixture that I have is a glass star pendant which hangs pride of place above my staircase. I bought it specifically to hang in front of the window looking out onto my front porch. It makes me happy when I look at it and sometimes people slow down as they drive by to look at "the star." I laugh when those people drive by... they must be lovers of lighting- like me!!

Message Centers... at your service

The picture to the right is my first message center:



A message center was something I decided I had to have in my last home. I was tired of losing my phonebook, having nowhere to post notices/pictures, having a jumble of pens/pencils/crayons, etc. So off to the drawing board in my mind.
I took a large,plain bulletin board I got for $1 at the fleamarket and covered it with black and white ticking fabric and painted the frame black. This was mounted on the wall. A great storage caddy from Ikea I used for the kids' pencils and pens. I framed all my families frequently used numbers on the wall near the phone; and used the large drawer for the phonebook, stationery, craft supplies and paper. In the bottom cupboard I placed extra school supplies, play-doh, coloring books, etc.
In my present home, I have a smaller message center and a great chalkboard across from it. I hang my calendar near the phone ready to jot down important dates and I keep Sophie's colouring books in a great vintage metal picnic basket I got at a fleamarket. I think I will add a curtain to the bookshelf area so I can hide the inevitable junkmail that ends up on the shelves. I absolutely love the chalkboard that my husband made me and consider it "my brains." I think I depend on it too much as I was at a complete loss before he finally made it and hung it on the wall. He said he never rushed a project so much because I was forgetting everything!!!
Great organization thrills me and it's probably a blessing in disguise that my husband is messy because I could get quite obsessed by it. I wouldn't mind if he was tidier, though. I admit to my clients that I struggle with organization issues too, because of my family. One of the favorite aspects of my business is when I get called on to do an organization job. My mantra: a place for everything and everything in its place... words to live by, or at least strive for!!

p.s. the desk phone is one I got at Walmart a few years back. It is identical to one found in Pottery Barn. I love a bargain!!!

Bigger and better Bathrooms.

Bathrooms are one of the toughest areas to address when I do
consultations for clients. They are easy to stage for sale, but making one pretty for living,without doing expensive renos, is more challenging. A lot of the time, the bathrooms in many homes have wood vanities with very traditional door profiles, tiles tend to look a bit dated and they often have those large strip lighting bars over the builder basic mirrors. Some people are opposed to doing much in the way of painting the cabinetry as they think-small space, why bother. Even though kitchens are much more work, people are more open to making changes and updates as it is a much viewed room. However, the second most used room in a home by your guests is the bathroom. Therefore, it should reflect the style in the rest of your home. With the new trend towards spa style in bathrooms, why not borrow a little of that aesthetic and bring in some "light " and freshness to this vital room.
My top recommendations for updating your bathroom are: 1. paint out those cabinets to white or a shade compatible to it (the color of most toilet/sink/tub combos) 2. Add new hardware to the cabinetry in a metal finish that complements the finish on your taps and lighting fixtures 3. add a beautiful shower curtain. If you are afraid of pattern, select one in a white waffle or diamond weave reminiscent of hotel style 4. install a wow sink faucet and vanity lighting fixture. Go for vintage styles that will never go out of style. 5. Get rid of mats- make that toilet lid covers, plush bath mats, etc. Less is always more in a bathroom 6. Accessorize with style. Apothecary jars (which you can pick up at the Dollar Store) filled with cotton balls, soaps, or q-tips look attractive but not distracting 7. Add substantial moulding trim to your flat mirror or purchase a new one. Bevelled edged mirrors in interesting shapes can be found at Kent, Home Depot, even Canadian Tire (thanks Debbie Travis!) for approx. $50 8. Avoid fussy window treatments. Bathroom windows tend to be short and squat and require only privacy dressing (i.e. white faux wood blinds look great as do plantation shutters) 9. I buy only white towels for my towel bars. They are bleachable and never clash with your colour scheme 10. Last but not least, consider hanging a chandelier in your bathroom. It looks luxurious and makes you feel quite decadent as you lie soaking in your tub looking up at it.
Have fun updating your bathroom. After all, it is not only our guests who see it in all its glory. Pretty it up and have fun with it!
** my bathroom is the top right photo with the medicine chest- a real bargain from Canadian Tire...I got it for $60 (reg. $100). It looks just like the ones in Restoration Hardware! The pedestal sink was purchased at Home Hardware for $220. I love getting high end looks for less!!!

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

We all have belongings we love, or "treasures" as I like to call them. They are the things that when we look at them, they make us happy- no regrets- and it seems as if we will never tire of them. As someone who easily bores, that is a big job for my poor accessories. There are a few items that make me feel that way, though. I'm not guaranteeing that I'll never change a few of them out, but for now, they make me smile and feel as though everything is right with my decorative world for the moment- (I truly am deeper than this, but this is a decorating blog, remember!).

I love lighting!! I really feel it is the jewellry of a home and you cannot scrimp on this!! That said, I am not dictating that you have to spend a fortune on your lighting needs. I have been very lucky and found the vast majority of my lights at local sources... more on this in a later entry. I also love to frequent my local flea market for vintage finds. I love things that have been loved and used by someone from the past. I have purchased old toys, an antique (I use the term loosely) baby sled, milk glass, handmade folk art dolls, my vintage Sunbeam mixer, etc. I don't go as much lately, but those first few outdoor markets reap a ton of fun stuff. I love the challenge of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear and have even found treasures at the Dollar Store like my glass knobs (used as shower curtain rings) altered for use as a way to hang my kitchen window valances.

The above photo shows one of my daughter's baby dresses fastened over a lampshade to dress up her bedside lamp. Safe, because the top is open and looks so pretty lit up. Look at your own objects and see how they can be used in different ways. You will feel more pride of ownership if you make or tweak things yourself into objects of beauty. What are your favorite things...??

Great mudrooms

Another of the crucial elements I consider before selecting a houseplan is the ever important mudroom. I have two boys, a little girl and a husband who all have difficulty with eye-hand co-ordination (this is my guess) and cannot get a coat on a hanger and onto a closet rod. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I explain the process or how important it is to me. It just doesn't happen. The house I am in now is the first house that has a well-planned, large mudroom. It is truly thrilling!

My husband, Paul, built me my much anticipated lockers. I wanted cubbies for boots, overhead baskets for ball caps, skipping ropes, etc. and enough hooks for a couple of coats each and their schoolbags. I absolutely love my mudroom and always recommend to my clients to somehow incorporate a similar set-up for their own mudroom needs. I painted the lockers in a soft sage green which does not show the inevitable dirt from their things and labelled everyone's baskets (I'm big into labels).

My sister has a great mudroom, too. She has painted hers in a bolder colour than mine and it is very welcoming and fun. I love her large closet, slate tiles and rack displaying her vintage wicker purse collection. We both love our mudrooms and the fact that they are actually working for us!!