Best Sellers with Style

If there's one thing I love, it's decor & design books. They're not only full of pretty pictures, but they offer great tips and inspiration which will get you excited about your home decor.

My Collection:

Last week I added two new editions to my burgeoning library, Sarah Richardson's Sarah Style and Erin Gates' Elements of Style. Are you sensing a stylish theme here? We've seen Sarah's work over the years on her show Design Inc. and the HGTV series Sarah's House, but it's such a treat to have all of those spaces (and more!) compiled in one volume. Erin's book also features her own design work, most of the featured spaces have never been seen before and all of them are gorgeous. (I wanted to jump up off the couch and rearrange my front entry when I hit page eighteen.) If you aren't familiar with Erin Gates, you should take a few minutes to check out her blog, Elements of Style.
 

If you are starting to think about the upcoming holidays, I highly recommend that you add both of these books to your wish list!!

Photos by moi via Instagram.

IDS 2014: The Bold & The Beautiful

As a design blogger, it's an annual highlight to attend the Interior Design Show at The Metro Toronto Convention Centre here in Toronto. The show is open to everyone and continues until Sunday January 26th (click HERE for tickets). There are so many great ideas for kitchens and baths, which is great if you're renovating, but since I'm in a condo that's just over a year old, my personal interests lie more with the "softer" side of the show.

Which participants "wowed" me this year? Hands down the top award goes to Ikea - it was one of the few booths (#926) that made me gasp just a little. The ensuite/dressing room vignette had me swooning at "hello"...

The Ikea booth designers had a vintage daybed upholstered in a 

sweet combination of the Berta Ruta check & whimsical Algort fabrics.

 

The mirrored gold tile was a showstopper - it was all over Instagram.

We should all have the nerve to try something like this at home.

GOLD = BOLD!!

 

Simple & sleek, Ikea's white Dalskar faucet is a rare creature.

Above the space hung a celestial grouping of Stockholm chandeliers.

The Ikea booth designers really know how to "wow" a crowd.

 

Sebastien, the creative director at Urban Barn, obviously loves his job. His vision for the company's IDS booth (#2234) was visually striking, whimsical and amusing all at once. The colour, the vignettes, the accessories...it all made me want to pay a visit to an Urban Barn location stat!!

Each vignette had a tagline, developed by the Urban Barn merchandising team.

Funny, right?

The bedroom vignette below was super feminine. I wish I had taken more photos.
Think creamy white with accents of soft grey & blush. Loved it!!

Cocoon Furnishings was another top contender for fabulous booth design (#1628). This interior design showroom has just launched the Aerin Lauder home decor & furniture collections, available in Ontario exclusively at their Oakville location. I wish I had more photos, but the booth was very popular and it was tough to get a good shot.

The Cocoon merchandisers always delight visitors with chic vignettes.

The green & gold scheme offers the promise of spring.

The entire Aerin collection is so chic, and yet so liveable.

On my wish list: That creamy shagreen tray. Love!!

With a small display (#SN18) in Studio North, Vancouver's Edgewater Studio always manages to make a big splash. Their glass tiles are enough to make me want to rip out a wall of perfectly good tile in my main bath and start over. Trust me, these tiles are just so good!!

The simplicity of this matte & gloss Honeycomb pattern drew me in.

This would be beyond amazing in my master bath ensuite shower.

I can think of so many ways to use this Maven tile.

Backsplash...Accent Wall...Inset niche...

Total showstopper!

 And how about this art glass Tiara tile?

So many possibilities!!

There is still so much inspiration at this show, even if you don't think you need it. Sometimes a small detail is just the spark needed to create warmth in a home.

Before I close off this post, I just want to mention a few others for beautiful booth design:

Living Lighting on King

This booth (#740) had a special theme: Once Upon a Dream

Stunning!!

Sarah Richardson Design

Everything, and I mean everything in this booth (#1510F) was covered with

Sarah's new fabric collection for Kravet.

The team at SRD must have spent many hours prepping all of these details.

That's a studded & fabric covered ladder below.

I loved this creative corner of the Masco Canada booth (#710).

The sleek & modern freestanding tub filler is a work of art.

Enjoy the show!!

All photos in this post were taken by Pamela Graham (me)

for Cherish Toronto.

Sarah's Back!!

Hello all,

I just wanted to pop in to let you all know (if you haven't already heard) that Sarah Richardson's new series, "Real Potential" premiers on HGTV Canada this Thursday, September 19th at 9 pm. In this series "Sarah's real estate know-how, expert advice and innovative thinking help buyers see past the one disaster room preventing an offer."

I'll be watching, will you?

Pretty Crystal Door Knobs!!

A couple of weeks ago I swung by the Ginger's warehouse sale hoping to score a few more of the crystal handles that I used on the vanity doors in the master bath. No luck. However... I did spy two crystal door knobs in a brass finish. A necessary purchase? Not reeeeally. But at 67% off regular retail, I was dazzled by the sparkle and the price!

These crystal knobs replace two of the annoying lever handles in the master suite (I say annoying because they would always catch on my belt loops and pant drawstrings). Now one of these sparkling beauties leads into the closet and the other into the master bath. So lovely, don't you think?

Now if I can just find five more on sale.

PS - I looooove the way the master bedroom colour looks in the Instagram photo above. The colour is Gown (SR9), part of the Sarah Richardson Designer Palette for PARA Paints.

Weekend Organization: PAX Wardrobes

For the past 6 weeks I've been living out of suitcases in my own home. As a Virgo, this has been driving me craaaazy!! The builder's "step in" closet organization system was comprised of a single wire shelf with hanging below - such an ineffective use of vertical space. Since the room is tight on space (10'5" x 11'11"), I needed to get everything into this one closet.

Exhibit A:  Before

When I found out that the Ikea bedroom event (15% back in Ikea gift cards) started last Monday, I printed my shopping list, jumped into the work van, grabbed a friend and headed straight to aisle 17 at Ikea's Vaughan location. Take heed people - do not attempt this alone, these boxes are H-eavy!!

Time to start my weekend project:  Closet Beautification. The first step was to remove the existing shelving which literally had to be torn out of the walls - that meant spending Friday night with a putty knife and a bucket of drywall compound. Saturday morning arrived, the patches were dry and after a touch of sanding it was time to paint. I used Para Paints* Dusk (SR39), another colour from Sarah Richardson's Designer Palette, and it covered really well in just ONE coat - bonus!! Next up, I assembled the wardrobes and managed to squeeze the boxes through the door frame and into position, although not without a lot of sweating, a touch of swearing, a moment of crying and finally a huge sigh of relief.

The rest was a breeze - assemble the drawers and insert them into the wardrobe boxes along with the shelves and bars. The most time consuming part was figuring out how to get all of my purses to fit. What a pleasure to be able to open the closet door and see this. It was a weekend of time well spent :-)

*A big "Thank You" to Para Paints for supplying the paint for this closet project. I was beyond happy that it went on so well in a single coat, it certainly made the job much easier and quicker!!

First Glimpse: Campaign Dresser Makeover

It's been 10 months since I came across a brand new vintage campaign chest in Value Village and I still can't get over my luck!! When I saw this furniture piece sporting the original hang tag and with brass handles neatly wrapped in brown tissue paper, I ran to find a Village assistant and told them not to let anyone else look at it, touch it, or even attempt to purchase it - that baby was Sold!!!

 

"Fast" forward 9 months to November and it was time to get started on this little makeover. Originally I wanted to spray paint this piece, since I love the smooth, glossy finish that comes easily with the spray, but colours were limited and I wasn't finding anything that would tie in with the living room rug (still to be revealed). That meant that I would have to use regular paint and roll it on, but that reality check came with a huge bonus:  the world was my oyster in terms of colour choices. I opted for Sarah Richardson's Blue Box (SR26) from Para Paints, and it's a shade which I'm absolutely crazy about:

 

The painting process was not so difficult as it was time consuming. It was business as usual: Sand, Tape, Prime, Paint, Paint, Paint. Below are some "in progress" shots from the warehouse space at my office where I do all of my dirty work. Each day I would arrive at work early or stay a bit late to complete a step of the project. Big shout out to my employers for allowing me to use the space for this project!

As often happens in my DIY world, things got a bit tricky on the last step of the process, and I ran into a  bit of a SNAFU. I wanted that smooth glossy finish - for both the look as well as for the protection factor, and so I decided to spray a clear top coat over the Blue Box. Unfortunately, the spray gloss did not turn out well - not well at all. Since the drawer fronts offered a small surface area, they were fine, but the top of the dresser was an uneven mess. Imagine a swamp with alternating pools of gloss and untouched dry patches. Crap. A Twitter friend recommended that I try Minwax Polycrylic Gloss in lieu of the spray gloss, so off I went to Lowe's and picked up a quart to try the next morning. Armed with a small sponge roller, I applied a coat of Minwax to the top of the dresser. It was bad. Apparently a roller is the last thing to use when applying a coat of lacquer - one million bubbles in the finish can't be wrong. Long story short I sanded off the layer of bubbles along with one layer of paint, repainted, and applied the gloss with a sponge brush. (Trust me on this one, folks, always use a brush when applying a clear topcoat). Five coats of gloss later, and the finish was perfect. Finally!! 

The freshly painted campaign dresser now acts as entertainment unit in my living room with plenty of space for electronic components and storage. I love the way it looks!! What do you think?

From this angle you can see the pattern of the wood grain in the drawer fronts. I had briefly considered applying a heavy grain filler but then decided against it, and I'm happy that I opted to leave the wood surface alone. I like the texture it gives to the piece.

This is where the five coats of gloss topcoat really shine (literally). The surface is so smooth that it's reflective:

This shot includes a sneak peek of the living room rug. When I matched the paint swatches to the colours in the corner of the rug, it was easy to make a decision, Blue Box was clearly the winner!

I would like to thank Para Paints for supplying the paint for this project. The colour really makes this piece special, and it's definitely the focal point of the living room in the new condo.

Sarah 101 Premieres May 29th

Sarah & Tommy are back at it, my friends. For those who haven't heard the news, the second season of Sarah 101 will premiere on HGTV Canada with back to back 1/2 hour episodes on May 29th @ 8pm EST. Clear your calendars and set your PVR's!!

(Click image below to enlarge)
Images courtesy of HGTV Canada.

Last Chance for Sarah 101

*Alert* *Alert* *Alert* *Alert*

The word is out!! Sarah 101 is looking for someone in the City of TORONTO with a room in need of a decorating makeover. There is room in the production schedule for one more episode of the show, so if you have a single room in need of serious design help, apply ASAP!!

Requirements:

• This is a decor makeover only, there will be no renovation.
• Single rooms only, not combined (such as living room/dining room).
• Must be within the City of Toronto (due to time constraints).

How to apply:

• Email room photos, budget and wish list to: info@designinc.ca

Good Luck!!!

Photos via HGTV Canada.

Sarah's House 4: Basement Rec Room

They may have saved the best for last for this season of Sarah's House 4 - I think we can all agree that it certainly was the BIGGEST!! The best decision made in this rec room was to invest $15,000 from the upgrade budget to create a basement walkout. This not only allows for direct access to the backyard, but the opening floods the space with an abundance of natural light.

A Persian rug spotted in the window of Karakashian (on sale for just $1400), kick starts the colour scheme for the basement rec room. Sarah & Tommy pull paint colours from the carpet, as well as a plethora of coordinating fabrics in shades of red, grey and white.

End Walls: SR38, Barn, Para Paints
(Sarah's Hint: Use a neutral base instead of clear
with a strong colour for better coverage.)

Walls: Stainless, P4244-24 Para Paints

The custom William Birch style sofa and loveseat are both covered in a sturdy felted wool, while the drapes draw attention with a red and cream awning stripe. The cozy Henny blanket from Ikea adds another layer of texture to the sofa.

Felted Wool

By placing a deep table at the rear of the sofa, it creates another seating area - perhaps a spot to enjoy a board game or a card match. How about the side tables Sarah chose for this room? They're Russian Doll end tables, designed and built by her brother Theo's company, Rich, Brilliant, Willing.

The coffee table originally stood at full height, but since it was an inexpensive piece, there was no harm in shortening the legs to bring the table down to size. The original oil paintings in the window alcove are lively and relate back to the colours in the space.

Donna Andreychuk, The One & Only
via Canvas Gallery

Donna Andreychuk, The Only One
via Canvas Gallery

The games area of the room is perfect for an informal billiards match while catching a Sunday afternoon football game. Sarah & Tommy chose the mid range table from Brunswick Billiards and chose to cover it with a charcoal grey felt. The teak chairs in this area provide a spot to relax during a break in the action.

Fabric: Schumacher, Chenonceau, Charcoal

All room photos courtesy of HGTV.

What did you think of this large, bright, basement rec room? I think it would be a fabulous place to spend good times with friends and family.