Thank-you

A big thank-you..

 to Style At Home for asking me to participate in Blogger's Halloween Tricks and Treats!

It was fun to put together my little "bit".
Loved that they asked me to be part of this article!

Go check it out! 

And while you are there you can read other fabulous Canadian bloggers' Halloween Tricks and Treats!

Today I am busy hanging up drapes, spray painting a few projects and sewing more pillows!

XO Barbara 

Thanksgiving Inspiration

This weekend, we Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving! 

I am so looking forward to visiting with family, enjoying a relaxing weekend without any sport activities {ok, who am I kidding, hockey goes on all the time around this house}, watching the leaves turn into their fall colours and eating turkey and all the trimmings! 


YUM!


 To get into the fall spirit I like to decorate simply, using gourds and my daughter's squash painting.

But nothing is more inspiring than browsing through magazines and websites to get all excited for the upcoming holiday.

Here are some Thanksgiving inspiration photos courtesy of Style at Home 

{one of my favourite decor magazines}

These are so simple and can be a great DIY!

Spray paint some gourds black for a classic touch.

 Fabulous tree screen printed pillows.

Gorgeous bronze place card holders with a name written in a typewriter font.

But....Thanksgiving isn't complete with a fabulous meal.
I love a simple roasted turkey and whip up my famous stuffing.
I get requests for it all the time!

Not only do pumpkins make fabulous decor, but they are simply delicious cooked up as yummy pumpkin pie.

How do you like to decorate for Thanksgiving? 

What are your favourite Thanksgiving recipes?

XO Barbara

Fall Trends

With fall officially upon us, I find that we start to gravitate towards things that make us feel cozy and warm, through colour, accessories and furnishings that help create that cocoon for the crisp fall days.

Recently Style at Home shared their top 3 trends for fall, starting with...

Trend # One: The New Neutrals

Gone are the days of beige being the only neutral!

 We are embracing neutral greys, whites with a hint of colour and soft pale lavenders, on our walls to create that perfect backdrop.

Style at Home

source

My go-to neutral has been Stonington Grey by Benjamin Moore, it has created a fabulous backdrop for my teenage daughter's room.

Two: Wood

Wood has been in people's homes for centuries, not only to build our homes but to warm them with kindling, for building furniture and flooring. Wood truly warms up a space, giving our homes that true "down-to-earth" feeling. A classic and enduring material, nothing creates a layer of warmth in our homes better than wood.

Style at Home

Style at Home

Tommy Smythe

Three: Modern Global 

With everyone embracing suzani prints and ikat, we have brought that global vibe into our homes. The modern global channels that earthy and homespun feeling in our homes.  It is that connection with the handmade and craftsmenship that we all so crave, a rebelling against all the cheap "made in China" junk that seem to line the store shelves. Modern global represents the simple yet "rich" look we want to surround ourselves with.

Amber Interiors

Marion House book by Emma Reddington

Even my own home, I have touches of modern global.

I have this fabulous ebony bowl that my sister carried all the way from Tanzania for me, which then in turn was carried by my mom from Vancouver to my former home in Virginia. It has such an organic, rustic feel to it. Brings a smile to my face everytime I see it knowing it was made lovingly, carved and polished using nothing but hands. 

What fall trends are you embracing in your home?

XO Barbara

So Canadian, eh?: Margot Austin

Today I am beyond excited,
I am ecstatic that this amazingly talented Canadian designer agreed to be interviewed by me!

She is ...

Margot Austin!

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Margot Austin has impeccable taste, creating and designing spaces that are always amazingly beautiful.

Her taste is refined, elegant, yet simple, creating spaces that are inviting, not pretentious.

For most Canadians design devotees, you will also know that Margot Austin is the senior design editor at one of my favourite Canadian design publications, Style at Home. 

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I have been a fan of hers for years, admiring her design style. Most of her rooms have been filed away in my inspiration folder. I find I am drawn to her style, where she has managed to create spaces that anyone can replicate, mixing high with low and a bit of DIY thrown in.


Even the recent paint job of my daughter's end table was inspired by a room Margot designed for her niece.

 Photo: Donna Griffith

We were first introduced to Margot, who now has become a presence in the Canadian design world and publishing scene, when the home she shared with her husband, Kevin Austin, was featured in the April 2001 issue of Style at Home

On a side note: Kevin, is also a contributor to Style at Home, where every month he shares fantastic upcycle projects, that anyone can do no matter what the budget.

A few of my favourite spaces she has designed:

Photo: Paul Chmielowiec

Photo: Donna Griffith

Photo: Paul Chmielowiec

And one of my all-time favourite kitchens...

Photo: Donna Griffith

She has also styled some amazing sets for Style at Home, most recently this one for

the IDS show in Toronto.

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You can read about how she created the space here.

A few DIY projects she has created for the magazine.

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Photo by Virginia MccDonald

Not only does she have, in my opinion, a fabulous job scouting for and styling featured spaces, she also writes a wonderful blog, simply named, Margot Austin where you can view even more of her gorgeous spaces and projects.

Want to know more?

1.    Tell us a bit about your background? Your education? Has design always been in your blood?

1.     I studied English and History at the University of Toronto. There are lots of teachers in my family so that was kind of assumed for me. But I knew it wasn’t what I wanted. It was the journalism bug that I caught at a young age. The subject matter of the publications I’ve worked at over the years has mirrored my changing interests. My first full-time job was at TV Guide – when it was a print magazine. My interest in interiors grew gradually, but got a real kick start when I started dating my now husband Kevin. At the time he often travelled to outdoor antique sales to buy and sell -- we had great fun doing that together (though way too many early mornings). That started to get me more and more interested in furniture design and interiors. Then, our first place was featured in STYLE AT HOME and I was kind of hooked from then on.

2.   Before you became the Senior Design Editor at Style at Home, what did you do?

      Before STYLE AT HOME I worked at several different magazines. At every one I learned skills that are so important to me today. At TV Guide I learned to write in a concise and pithy manner – “the art of the blurb”. At Canadian Living I was a fact-checker and copy editor. I will never forget fact-checking a story about Marilyn Denis and somehow not catching a spelling error in her name. I was mortified! I also got my first taste of working on decorating stories at Canadian Living. When I worked at IMAGES magazine (a predecessor to GLOW) I got to write fashion and beauty stories and had my first experiences with producing photo shoots. It was also there that I got to work with David Livingstone. He is brilliant – a superb writer with encyclopedic knowledge of fashion, art, film, photography. He’s a real character and the journalist I admire the most. When I worked at the Home Depot magazine I got to meet and interview amazing designers such as Barbara Barry, Tricia Foley and Darryl Carter. By then I had become a complete interior design devotee.

3.   How did you get your big break?

      My big break. Hmmm, I’ve just worked hard and always been keen to try new things, to pursue new goals, learn new skills. Timing and luck are important, but I’ve worked very hard to get where I am. One defining moment was when founding STYLE AT HOME editor in chief Gail Johnston Habs promoted me from senior editor to senior design editor. It’s not that common for the “words” people to move over to the styling side of things. Gail let me style some stories while I was a senior editor to try it out, and then when the opportunity came up she gave me the job. That was seven years ago. I still love the job.

4.   Even though most of us would feel that your job would be our dream job, what goals or aspirations do you have?


     I’m really interested in the new publishing world. I’m keen to get involved in creating enriched digital content, podcasts, becoming more involved in social media. I don’t see publishing as a world of editors and readers, I see it as a community of like-minded people – a world where a design blogger, a stager, a designer, an editor, a retailer can all meet and chat and share ideas and inspiration. It’s already happening, but it feels like the very beginning and I’m anxious to move forward.

5.    What do you like to do in your free time?

      In my free time I’m likely napping, antiquing, golfing, canoeing or tweeting and feeling guilty about not doing laundry or cleaning….

6.   As a design editor for a fantastic Canadian publication, where do you find inspiration for the magazine and for your own home/ design work? 

      Inspiration is absolutely everywhere. For example, a couple of weeks ago I was in Maine and I found those gorgeous Araucana eggs at Whole Foods – you know, the pale blue-green ones that Martha Stewart often has in her magazine. Well, I’d never seen them in a store before. I was so inspired. My mind is still mulling over ideas inspired by the eggs: 1. A paint colour for a bedroom ceiling. 2. A story on decorating with eggs – egg botanical prints, shadow-boxing egg specimens, faux nests as accessories, decorative objects inspired by eggs, dishes and textiles featuring eggs and nests, colour schemes combining the hues of yolks and shells. 3. A food story on easy egg recipes for entertaining. 4. Easter brunch table design ideas. 5. A design scheme for a nursery. The wheels never stop turning. Sometimes I just see a dried oak leaf on the ground and think – oh, that would be an amazing paint colour, or I imagine that colour of velvet on a sofa… 

7.   What is involved in being a Senior Design Editor, briefly fill us in on your typical day and the role you play at the magazine?

      As senior design editor I lead the team of people who find the interiors we feature in the magazine, comb the market for new products and trends, and style studio shoots and home shoots. I do all of these things, too. The thing I like best about my job is that I don’t have a typical day. It’s always something different. I might be at the office doing web research, writing copy and proofreading stories. I may be out all day in my car going from store to store, scouting for a big shoot coming up. On those days I always forget to eat, so I’m munching a granola bar from my handbag. And I also need to keep aware of where the decent public washrooms are – an aspect about scouting that I dislike! In one day I might have to source items at Home Depot in the morning, attend a Tiffany & Co lunch at midday and then pack up my car full of buckets of flowers and props for a shoot the next day. Everyday is a new wardrobe challenge! One of my roles is to be on top of what and who is hot in design – and what’s not. Saying no is the hardest part of being an editor. Well, not true, sometimes it’s really really easy…;-)

8.   What tips do you have for aspiring designers in getting their design work published or to hone their skills?

      Oh my, this topic is HUGE and I could go on and on and on. Mostly, I think what aspiring designers need to do is use their own home as their laboratory, their showcase. If you don’t have many clients yet, or much money, that shouldn’t matter. If you have style and skill, you can make any room look fabulous. Experiment at home. Change it up often and most of all – TAKE GOOD PICTURES OF ALL OF YOUR WORK, or ask a friend who’s good at photography to help you. And when your career is launched, avoid banality at all cost – bring the magic. If you want to get published, become familiar with the publications you are targeting. What types of rooms do they feature? What special themed issues do they have? Who works there? Deliver content that fits the publication’s needs.

If you could meet anyone or do anything who or what would it be?  


Some people on the top my wish-I-could-meet list are Margaret Russell, Gil Schafer and Albert Hadley. As for something I’d like to do – I’d really like to learn drafting and rendering. I see rooms in my head all the time and would love to be able to bring them to life on paper, if not real life

     

     You are surrounded by such amazing design inspiration, how do you decide what and how to decorate your own homes?

     I’m notoriously indecisive when it comes to making decisions for my own home. Ask my husband. He rolls his eyes while I collect and paw a million fabric samples for months and even years before a project. That said, for any project I start with the architecture and character of the space, then fabrics. The room tells you what it wants to be.

      Your husband, Kevin Austin owns the well known shop Chair Table Lamp, how do you two work together in designing your homes? Who has the most say, or the most influence, he or you, or is it pretty even?

      Kevin and I are both feisty and opinionated so you’d think it would be a challenge to come to consensus. But we make a great team in decorating and in life. We stick to our own territory or areas of expertise to come up with a finished space we both love. I handle the big picture -- floor plans, paint colours, fabric choices. Kevin finds all of the furniture and we choose accessories together on our travels. We both play around with styling. The downside of our work is that our homes can sometimes become a jumble of props and extra furniture bits coming and going along the cycle of car, house 2, shop, photoshoot, house 2, office. 

     What are your views on the role of Canadian design on the world stage? Do you feel that Canadians have a unique sense of style, the way we design and decorate our homes? If so, what do you think sets us apart?

1.     I wish there were more Canadian designers on the “world stage”. I think the main reason why there isn’t as much of a design celebrity culture here is because Canadians are notoriously hesitant when it comes to self-promotion. It’s a shame really, but I think blogs and social media are making self-promotion easier for everyone.

I     I think how we like to live is informed by our climate and architecture and social customs. So, in as much as we are a distinct society according to those criteria, our interiors follow suit. Canadian style is definitely a multicultural and regional mix. I see influences coming from northern Europe and Britain – places that we share climate and architecture styles with – and then it all blends with the North American way of life. 

I would like to extend a great big thank-you to Margot for taking the time out of her busy life to be part of my "So Canadian, eh?" series. I am deeply honoured and flattered.

XO Barbara


*All photos courtesy of Margot Austin Interiors unless otherwise noted.

{dreamy kitchens}

I love kitchens. 

 I dream of having the perfect kitchen {one day}as it is the heart of our home.

We are currently renting our home while we wait to find our perfect home, in the meantime I have serious kitchen envy. 

I am not saying that our current kitchen is bad, I have seen worse. It is just stuck in a 90's oak time warp. It has great bones, solid oak cabinets, lots of counter space and tons of storage. It has so much potential. But...

I don't think the owners of the home would appreciate me painting their cabinets, they are of the "never-paint-perfectly-great-wood"generation.

So instead I dream.......{and wait}

source: Canadian House and Home

to have a kitchen like this one day.

 This kitchen by fabulous Canadian designer, Tommy Smythe has to be one of my favourites. It is in my {dream} kitchen file. The mix of black, white, stainless steel, marble and rustic elements makes it an absolute dream.

Another fantastic kitchen in my {dream} kitchen file is Margot Austin's kitchen. Margot is the senior design editor at one of my favourite Canadian decor magazines, Style at Home. If you think you have seen this kitchen before on my blog, you have. It took part of a What's Your Style in One Picture challenge From The Right Bank

Lastly, this gorgeous kitchen from the January 2010 issue of Style At Home, has also made it into the {dream} kitchen file. Even the stools are fantastically glamourous with their nailhead trim.

So while I cook and bake in my not-so-glamourous-oak-with-mismatched-appliances kitchen I will {dream} of one day washing dishes in my gleaming farmhouse sink while tap dancing on hardwood floors, rummaging for canned goods behind white cabinet doors, rolling out cookie dough on marble counters and whipping up a Kraft gourmet dinner on a shiny stainless steel stove.

~Giveaway Winner: Style At Home Magazine~

The lucky winner of the June 2010 Style at Home Issue is........

drum roll please........

{i have tried everything to embed the random number generator into this post - finally just took a photo of it - anyone have tips?}

#5 : 

 prairiewhisper said...

I'd love to recieve a magazine. Thanks for the chance.

prairiewhisper: email me you address so I can pop the magazine in the mail!

Congratulations!

My projects for the week:

I have been busy working on several projects around the house, one of which required a lot of spray paint.   I think my neighbours are starting to get annoyed with me, as I spray paint in the back yard and have been all week! Sorry neighbours :)

A little sneak peek!


 The weather turned rainy and put my spray painting on hold AND I ran out of paint and need to head to the hardware store to stock up.

Ongoing (never-ending) project: Girl's bedroom


The boxsprings for the girls' beds were picked up on Sunday. My son felt like it was Christmas as he got the girls' beds put into his room as a bunk bed. He is in heaven, now he has two beds to choose from, can sleep up high and make a fort out of the bed. 


His comment was "Mom, quick get the blog camera out, aren't you going to take pictures?" 


That is another post, for there is a whole story to tell about how we, my sweet husband spent his Sunday afternoon.


My 14 year old took some convincing that her bed was going to look great once I was done. All she saw was a mattress, boxspring and frame and was quite UNINSPIRED. What she was really itching to do was to take the bed on the street and have bed races. The 14 year old is a quite a character, with an interesting sense of humour, she is a cute quiet slender blonde that says the funniest things and loves snakes {yes - I need help incorporating a snake and its  habitat into her room decor}


This photo is the almost 16 year old's room with the green wall that makes me cringe, I did let her pick out the colour and willingly painted it, but can't wait for Stonington gray to go on the wall.

My goal this week is to source out some foam, batting and find a jigsaw to borrow, so I can finally finish the headboards. The crunch is on, the almost 16 year old is off for her week long hike and I said I would finish her room while she is gone. Darn - why do I say such things, now I need to paint her room, find an end table, hang up art work, find a new blind, spruce up her drapes and put the whole room back together in one weeks time!

**excuse the layout. I am attempting to create a 3 column blog and am trying to fix the margins - argh!

~A Giveaway: Style At Home Magazine~

I just received a second June issue of Style at Home in the mail. There must of been a mailing glitch.

 So instead of tossing it into the recycle bin I thought....

 I would give it away. 

Most of my Canadian readers can get this publication easily at the grocery store but in the US that is a different story. While I lived there I couldn't find it anywhere and paid the extra $$ for a subscription. So for my American readers (and Canadians too - why not get a free magazine?) I am giving away my extra copy of Style at Home, June 2010. 

Now you can enjoy some Canadian goodness in the comfort of your living room, or wherever you curl up to get your latest decor magazine fix.

This issue is full of exciting budget decorating ideas and features a few DIY bloggers such as Censational Girl, Three Men and a Lady and Aubrey & Lindsay (fellow Canadians)

The giveaway will close on Thursday, May 20 at 7 AM PST.

To enter:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Join my lovely group of followers for another entry, {or if you do follow} leave another comment for a second entry.

There it is: simple and sweet.