Thanksgiving Ambiance

Last weekend, the family celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving at my home, which has become an annual tradition in recent years. We celebrated one week later than the rest of the country, since we had the good fortune to have my eldest sister join us from Milwaukee (she was here to run in the Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon). The day was so busy that I felt it best to keep the decor simple with PartyLite Gifts.


For ambiance during pre-dinner drinks in the living room, I grouped the Woodland Retreat™ tealight/taper trio on the coffee table with spiced cider scented tealights. I love the modern look of the faux bois ceramic, and the scented candles add a touch of autumn.


When it came time to serve dinner, I moved the Woodland Retreat™ trio to the dining table, removed the tealights, and inserted a set of unscented tapers. The easy switch from tealights to tapers is such a cool idea!!



What do you think of this year's Thanksgiving table setting? I used the coordinating Woodland Retreat™ Pillar Garden Tray in the same faux bois finish to serve warm dinner rolls. Yummy!!

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving

with friends and family!!

All products provided by PartyLite Gifts Canada.

Sarah's House 4: Premiere Episodes

I feel like I'm the last design blogger to the table to prepare my post about the premiere episodes of Sarah's House 4. But regardless, I'm here to share the pics and divulge what I learned from the first hour of the season. I love that HGTV Canada has opted to air two episodes back to back each week, meaning that we get to watch Sarah and Tommy for an entire hour.


The first half hour dealt with Sarah's search to find the perfect "new build" home in the suburbs. Her mission for this season of Sarah's House is to transform a new build home from cookie cutter to custom. Sarah pointed out several good points and bad points in each of the new homes she visited, but none of the properties truly made the grade. Eventually, Sarah opted to purchase a pre-construction home in a neighbourhood with unique exterior designs. She chose to work with Double Oak Homes to build a home on a ravine lot, with both a school and park nearby. This builder would allow Sarah the flexibility to make non structural changes to the home's interior layout. Her first alteration was to create a long, spacious living room, which would allow southern light to flow through the living room and into the kitchen beyond.


For the living room's colour scheme, Sarah chose to keep the fabrics neutral, but opted for a pale lavender on the walls, inspired by a decorative shell ball which Tommy picked up at InVU. As she often does, Sarah combined a myriad of coordinating fabrics to flesh out all of the upholstered pieces, decorative cushions and draperies in the room. I count at least ten fabrics in this space!!

Walls, Para Paints SR9 Gown:

Ceiling, Para Paints SR15 Cotton:

Trim, Para Paints SR29 Snowfall:

The Fiona couch is Sarah's custom design and the
chrome coffee table is from [U]nion:

In classic Sarah style, the pillows on the couch
are a mixture of prints and stripes.

Bamboo and Birds

Tonal Stripes

Sarah and Tommy found the unique
fireplace mantel at The Door Store.
It instantly lends a vintage vibe to the room.

Sconces in a combination of satin silver and brass
introduce both cool and warm metals into the room.

Although largely covered by a herringbone
seagrass rug, Sarah chose Vintage Flooring
Pioneered hardwood in Red Oak Estates Pewter.

This pair of chairs from Queen West Antique Centre
gets updated in a tonal leaf patterned fabric:

The vintage 3 tiered brass stand
was found at Chair Table Lamp.

What did you think of the premiere episode?
Did you love it? Did you (gasp!) hate it?

PS - Do you love Sarah's wardrobe in these episodes? She's wearing several blazers created by Smythe Les Vestes, a company owned by Tommy's sister, Christie Smythe and Sarah's childhood friend, Andrea Lenczner. How cool is that?

Room photos via HGTV Canada.

Sarah's House 4 Premiere: October 18th

This may not be news to some of you , but for those who haven't heard, this is a last minute "heads up" that Sarah's House 4 will premiere October 18th (tomorrow!!) on HGTV Canada @8pm EST. According to the schedule, it looks as though each of these episodes will air for a full hour, which should be very satisfying compared to the shorter half hour episodes we saw for Sarah 101. Is everyone else as excited as I am? Woo Hoo!!

Photo courtesy of Sarah Richardson Design

Check out these Cherish Toronto "preview" posts:

Sarah's House 4: Been There, Seen That

Own 8 Pieces of Sarah's House 4

Sarah's House 4: Brass Easel

Chinoiserie Wallpaper: Fromental

A small feature in the Discoveries section of this month's Architectural Digest managed to catch my eye and spark my imagination. I stumbled upon Fromental, an AMAZING fabric and wallpaper source out of the United Kingdom. I would love to have just one wall covered in any one of these gorgeous chinoiserie papers. The Paradiso pattern (pictured above) has inspired me to start planning a lavender scheme for the master bedroom in the new condo.

All images via www.Fromental.co.uk

InVU Drapery Event:: Fall Trends

This past Saturday I attended an in store seminar at InVU's Mississauga location to celebrate the arrival of autumn, and discuss home decor trends for the season. The store itself is a great resource, and I love that it is a "one-stop" shop for decorators and home decor enthusiasts. The visual team at inVU always puts together fabulous in-store vignettes featuring drapery panels, cushions, mirrors, vases and decorative accessories, all of which are available for purchase.



The inVU team presented four distinct trends for autumn 2011: Carbon, Equinox, Woodland and Natural Eclectic. Here's a review of the inspirational vignettes presented at the seminar:

Trend #1: CARBON

Love, love, love this look!! As soon as I saw this vignette, I was wowed by the combination - a rich, deep navy accent wall, highlighted by gold tone metals and hits of bling. The midnight blue velvet accent chair with nail head trim detail summarizes the trend: Ooh la la!

Trend #2: Equinox

This trend is inspired by the outdoors, incorporating the rich colours of Mother Nature's fall palette: burnt orange, crimson red, harvest gold. These colours can easily be brought into the home by adding vibrant fabrics, whether it's a bold print on a wing back chair, a pair of velvet drapery panels or a kilim inspired toss cushion. Though not for the faint of heart, this time worn look is definitely warm and welcoming.

Trend #3: Woodland

The woodland trend is also nature inspired, only this trend has us seeing green. You name the shade - army, moss, chartreuse, teal - they all work beautifully together, particularly when paired with chocolate brown or warm grey. Texture also plays an important role in this trend - fur, knits, felts, velvets - these elements add warmth to the cool green palette.

Trend #4: Natural Eclectic

This colour palette trend is more subtle than the previous trends, but if you prefer to play it safe, this is a beautiful choice. Grey is the new neutral, but that doesn't mean it can't mix with the beige and taupe you already have in your home. Combine those neutrals and add a dash colour for interest; here it's a touch of blue. Again, don't forget to add texture - velvet, pony hair and faux fur all add warmth to the vignette.





I would like to thank all of the ladies at inVU for providing such an informative and inspirational seminar. Visit inVU online or drop into one of their retail locations for a visit!!