Pillow Switch

I am not big on seasonal decorating, but this year I had the itch to change things up for winter.

The easiest way to change the look of a room is with accessories, so I figured I'd switch out the cushions in the living room to something more seasonally appropriate.

A few frustrating fun shopping excursions later, and everything looks like this!

The cushions are all relatively inexpensive and were picked up at Urban Barn, Pier 1, Home Sense and The Bay.

With the change in cushions and the addition of our new custom cabinet, this room now looks and feels like a whole new space.

Living Room Artwork

The wall above my living room sofa needed something. After trying several different arrangements here, and repainting the walls, it had remained empty for quite awhile. It was time to fill the emptiness.

I wanted something a little outside of the box (sorta like me). Colour-wise I wanted to bring in some of the warmth that my oak cabinets have on the other side of the main floor. I wanted one large piece, rather than several smaller pieces. And let's be real, people, I didn't want it to break the bank.

I looked online for oversized posters and artwork. I ordered the 42" x 54" giclee print from All Posters. I thought it was a pretty good deal at $131 with shipping.

When it arrived, I built a canvas to match it's size (I used to build and stretch my own canvas all the time when I was a student, it felt so good to be at it again). I Mod Podged the poster onto the canvas (I only recently stopped calling it modge podge...doh) and I liked that the process created a few ripples in the print, it made it look a little aged and gave it character - a happy accident! I painted the sides of the canvas to match the background of the poster so it's all blendy and stuff.

I cannot tell you just how much Mr. Mel and I love this in our living room! We really do! Everyone who visits our home comments on this proud man, and I just love that it's a conversation starter as well as a lovely piece of artwork.

It's a nice contrast to our more formal living room, and makes the room feel really welcoming.

Quick Home Holiday Touches

I really scaled back on the amount of holiday decor in the house this year. But, I have a touch of Christmas in nearly every room...it's just not smacking you in face as it has in previous years.

Enjoy a peak at my holiday home!

I couldn't resist decorating that little princess tree for my vanity. Who doesn't love Disney princesses and Barbie?!

Another Christmas Tree!

Last year Mr. Mel and I went away for the holidays and decided not to set up any Christmas décor. This year has been a lot of fun and a lot less pressure than I usually feel. Maybe doing this every other year is the best way to keep it fun for me.

The second tree this year is in the bonus room upstairs. We spend alot of time up here so I like to have decorations going on around the holidays.

This year's tree is my good buddy the 7' (unlit) tree I've had for many years now. The cost of this tree was a significant investment at the time and the quality shows many years later. Nothing against discount or big box store brands, but this tree is truly beautiful and so well made. Well worth the money...even if I do have to string lights on it.

Again, the storm before the calm wink wink.

Lots of colour going on with this tree...which makes me smile. I went with shades of gold, turquoise, red, green and purple. A few touches of whimsy in the form of a purple owl and a tutu wearing hippo, and it's complete!

I honestly don't think I could fit one more ornament on this tree...it's stuffed full. While it may not apply the rest of the year, at Christmas time MORE is definitely better!

I Love When it Looks so Festive 'Round Here

Ok, Ok, I know I;m a few days late...but time has a way of  getting away from this chick these days.

No lie, folks. I begin to plan my Christmas tree themes/colour schemes in early October. A tad obsessive, yes. I get so inspired by all of the beautiful trees and decorations out there in the blogosphere that I can't help myself.

This year is bittersweet for me. It will be the first Christmas since my mom passed away and I will miss our little traditions, most of which revolved around obsessing about our Christmas trees!

My mom just loved the attention I gave to my trees, and it revved her up to beautify her own tree. Every year we'd go ornament shopping and hit up all our favourite out-of-the-way boutiques and shops, always spending far more money than we intended to. My mom would not-so-subtly gather intel on the theme I was working on and buy ornaments that matched, then "surprise" me with them at the end of the day. I always knew what she was up to, but she enjoyed doing it so much I couldn't bear to ruin her fun. She'd take home her own new treasures and carefully select the perfect place on her tree for each of them. It was always an awesome day, and I will miss spending it with her.

Onto happier thoughts....

This year's main floor tree is new; a 7 1/2 ft flocked tree from Martha Stewart. I've wanted a flocked tree for a few years now so decided to finally go for it.

I have never done a tree in blue, and decided it was about time. My sister often does her tree in shades of blue and I am always struck by how pretty it looks.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is the scene when I decorate a tree.First, approval by the kitties, then the massive sort. Mr. Mel typically makes himself scarce for this process, as my OCD goes into full effect!

Almost 500 decorations, 5 hours (plus or minus another 30 mins to vacuum up the flocking that was everywhere)...and this is the finished product, I hope you like it. My only regret here is that I should have used a ribbon or garland. But, despite that, I am so happy with my blue tree!

 

And for my mom, a memorial angel...

Home Office Inspiration

Mr. Mel and I always planned to have a dedicated home office space. But we figured that we'd wait til the basement was done, then relocate the guest room downstairs and make the upstairs third bedroom into our office/craft space. It all seemed to be going swimmingly...until Mr. Mel decided to work from home!

Mr. Mel is what I like to call a "dabbler". When people ask me what he does for a living, I usually say, "he's a businessman". Truth is, he directs several companies, does financial and corporate consulting, accounting, and real estate investment. He's a busy boy!

So the plan to do the office was sped up. Time to get to work!

This is the room now. Besides plunking the furniture in it when we moved in, we haven't done a thing to it. It's not huge, just over 10' x 10' with a small alcove. It's the guest room but has quickly become the drop zone  for random crap. What...like you've never seen kitty litter boxes and a carpet shampooer before?!

The wall colour will stay as is, Benjamin Moore Limesickle. It's a fairly neutral colour and can look more grey or green depending on the light and accent colours.

Mr. Mel has given me carte blanche with this room. He's happy as long as he has a place to sit and work. Ok by me!

I made a list of what this room needs:

• two workstations/desks.
• desk large enough to use as a sewing table.
• credenza or buffet. The room has a double closet so we have lots of storage space, but I want something that can hold printer, copier, fax, random office supplies.
• chairs.
• desk lamp(s).
• curtain panels.

These are some room schemes that have inspired me and will work with my wall colour:

Kendall Wilkinson Design

Liz Carroll Interiors

Muse Interiors

Photograph by Keith Scott Morton

I hope to have this room together pronto as I need to reclaim my kitchen table!