Welcome Home!

Hopefully many of you are already aware of the Welcome Home Sweepstakes, which raises much needed funds for the Princess Margaret Cancer Care Centre. The Grand Prize this year is a gorgeous home valued at more than $4.3 million and located in beautiful Oakville, Ontario. Thanks to the hard work of Lynda Reeves and the House & Home design team, this home is 100% ready for your family to move in and enjoy!!

Last Thursday, a group of bloggers were invited by Canadian House & Home for a special preview of the house, and it was such a lovely place to spend a late summer evening. I'm willing to bet that the beautifully landscaped yard will enjoy many barbeques, picnics and parties in the future :-)


I snapped a few "sneak peek" photos of the home (which you can see below), but be sure to pay a visit in person if you have the chance. Viewing just started this past Saturday, so stop by the home weekdays from 4 pm to 8 pm, and weekends from 12 noon to 5 pm.

A modern but classic and family friendly kitchen.
Best Feature(s): Marble island, Aga stove.

The perfect dining room to entertain family & friends.
Best Element: Chandelier.

Restful Master Bedroom with Ensuite Bath.
Best Element(s): Private deck, Soaker bath.

Welcoming Guest Room in Shades of Gold and Grey.
Best Element(s): Hickory Chair bed, duvet cover.

If you don't have a chance to visit the home, at the very least do yourself a favour and buy a ticket!! You can't win if you don't have a ticket, and really, everyone wins if you do get one :-) Help conquer cancer in our lifetime!

Click on this link for more access to videos and photos of this year's show home:
House & Home Presents

Above photos by Pamela Graham for Cherish Toronto.

Pantone Colour of the Year for 2012 Is...

...Tangerine Tango!!!!!!

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When Honeysuckle was introduced as the colour of the year for 2011, I was inspired to add a dash of pink to my living room, and I'm still loving the energy and warmth generated by Flamingo's Dream. Since I'll be moving out at the end of the year, I won't be adding another coat of paint to the walls, but Tangerine Tango is a fun, bold colour choice that we'll be seeing this year in both home decor and fashion.

And on that note, have you seen the January 2012 issue of Canadian House & Home? The home pictured on the cover was designed by Tommy Smythe, and the living room features two plump orange pillows. Right on trend, Tommy!!

The Many Homes of Thomas Smythe

Over at Canadian House & Home, there's a great feature on Toronto designer Thomas (Tommy) Smythe. Most know Tommy from his television appearances alongside famed Canadian designer Sarah Richardson. It would seem that in his spare time, Tommy likes to relocate and redecorate. I find it interesting to see how each new space influences the design aesthetic, and how several of Tommy's key pieces of furniture and decor items are used in different ways in each new home.

Tommy's Kitchen Remodel
Featured in Canadian House & Home, 2004

Tommy's Victorian Semi
Featured in Canadian House & Home, 2006

Tommy's 180 Square Foot Rental

Featured in Canadian House & Home, 2007

Tommy's Current One Bedroom Rental
Featured in Canadian House & Home, 2009

To see the entire Canadian House & Home feature, click here.

All images courtesy of Canadian House & Home.

Habitually Chic: Heather Clawson

On my last trip to New York City, I met with Habitually Chic blogger and designer, Heather Clawson. We spent an hour chatting over coffee while I picked her brain and asked a million questions about her life in Manhattan and about how she became involved in interior design. I learned from her that life is an evolution, and that it's never too late to make a fresh start and do what you truly enjoy. For Heather, being laid off from her position with a prominent design firm gave her the push she needed to go out on her own and it's probably one of the best things that ever happened to her. Today Heather is busier than ever, writing daily blog posts while taking on design projects for Habitually Chic Design.

Just this month, Heather was featured in both Canadian House & Home magazine, and in the premier edition of Rue Magazine, an online publication. Congratulations, Heather, and thanks for the inspiration!!

Rue Magazine Feature:
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Canadian House & Home Feature:

IDS Highlights: Design Talks

As planned, I attended the IDS today at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Since I didn't get out of bed until 11:10 am, it was no small feat to get myself ready and over to Front Street before noon to see House & Home editor Suzanne Dimma speak about Design Trends for 2010.

Photo courtesy of HouseandHome

Suzanne's presentation highlighted the popular trends we can look forward to seeing in home decor this year:

• Renegade Regency
• Tailored Gypsy
• New British Colonial
• Belgian Farmhouse
• Black Magic
• Organic Modern (Suzanne's Favourite Trend)
• Luxe Loft
• New Country
• Traditional Remix (My Personal Fave - I love a good mix!!)

Fabric of 2010: VELVET
Colour of 2010: Dark GREY

At 2pm, host Mark Challen was joined onstage by guests Suzanne Dimma and designer Brian Gluckstein for a presentation about Enduring Design. The discussion was quite lively, and I was surprised to discover that Brian Gluckstein is quite the funny man. Very interesting and entertaining!!


There were a lot of ideas, and these are the key points to Enduring Design raised by the panel:

• A well designed space should be COMFORTABLE.
• For effective lighting, DIMMER SWITCHES should always be used.
• The key to adding personality to a space is with ART & BOOKS.
• Creating TENSION in a room stimulates interest.
• The less colour a room has, the more TEXTURE is required.
• Add a touch of BLACK to every room.
• Build a NEUTRAL base and add colour with accessories & art.

For the final Design Talk, Mark Challen took to the stage at 4 pm for a presentation entitled Screen Style. For those unfamiliar with Mark's work, he is a style commentator with House & Home media.

Image courtesy of IDSWest

In this discussion, Mark encourages us to look at movies from a different perspective, by looking beyond the actors to the set design. When we notice the set design, we realize how it contributes to the mood in each scene almost as much as the actors do themselves.

Miranda Priestly's Office
The Devil Wears Prada

Image courtesy of AllMoviePhoto

I spent a fabulous afternoon at the IDS, and these Design Talks were definitely a highlight of my visit. Of course there was a lot more to see, so expect more coverage of the show on the blog this week.