Winter Sideboard and Mantel

After the whirlwind that is Christmas all I want is to create simple sideboard and mantel arrangements that will see me through until the spring. Something calm and easy on the eyes, but still pretty.

I added some colour to the sideboard by embracing the warm side of the palette - red, pink, and orange. I was inspired by the fresh colours in the plates that I re-hung on the wall ... after not being able to find them for TWO YEARS.  Yep, two years ago I took them down to hang up the Christmas plates and very carefully put them away so they wouldn't get broken. When I went to put them back up, I couldn't find them anywhere and it has taken all this time for them to reappear.  Welcome back fruit plates.

I like that I can change out the flowers when needed to any red, pink, orange, or even white flowers or maybe even add a potted plant (which is a good thing because shortly after I took these photos the hydrangeas wilted and only half of them recovered). The carved oranges are fully dried now - with the more orangey ones being from the Christmas craft party this year and the more brownish ones being from the craft party last year. They are honestly the easiest hit of natural colour ever. I went wild with the tablecloth just because I love how cheery the colours are. And I couldn't figure out any other place to put the red tissue paper flower I made for the husband's birthday so I hung it from the top of the mirror.

The mantel is still very neutral with a collection of white stoneware across the middle and warm browns on either side with the bracket fungus and the brown pot holding the plant on the other side. That plant has been alive through two summers in the garden and this is its second winter indoors.  I love how it looks like a bonsai.

Do you change up your mantel and sideboard. It's one of my favourite ways to decorate our home.

A Nasturtium-Inspired Home

I took these photos of the nasturtiums in our garden a few days ago. They are finally hitting their stride now that they are days weeks away from being done-in by a killer frost. They are full and lush and gorgeous. I just love the yellow and orange flowers against the gray-blue table. It's one of my favourite colour combinations.

All those dreamy blues and yellowy-oranges got me wondering what a nasturtium-inspired home would look like. Thanks to Pinterest and Google and other internet wonders I was able to bring my blue-mixed-with-yellow-gold-orange house to life. Let's have a look.

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I'm glad you found us. Isn't it just as I described it - dark blue gray siding with a bright sunny yellow front door. Not everyone is as flowery in describing colours as I am, but it took me ages to find just the right shade of blue and yellow so I have to gush a little.

Come on inside. Do you like the wallpaper? I just had to use it somewhere in my home. It creates a big impact in a small space, don't you think?

the Hunted Interior

Please have a seat in our living room. Would you like something to drink?

BHG

Why is it that everyone ends up in the kitchen when you entertain. Come in and make yourself comfortable while I finish dinner.

Katie Rosenfeld Design

I hope you're hungry because I've cooked lots of food. Please have a seat and I'll be right back with dinner (and maybe some cutlery since I seem to have forgotten to set the table).

Homedit

It's such a cool evening - why don't we move to the library so we can sit by the fire and chat. Don't worry about the chairs - they may look like they are falling apart, but they're really tough as nails.

It's getting late isn't it? I'll show you to your room. This first room is our bedroom.

Southern Living

And just down the hall is the kid's bedroom. They are very tidy children, aren't they? Maybe that is because we only allow them to have one small, handcrafted wooden toy. It certainly helps keep the house in order.

BHG

Here's your bedroom.  I hope you are comfortable. There's everything you need - with some magazines to read, lots of pillows in case you are a two or three pillow type person, and a bowl ... hmmm ... can't remember why I left you a bowl?  I'm sure there was a good reason, but I can't remember it. At least it looks pretty.

Thistlewood Farms

And here is your bathroom. Careful you don't bonk your head on the light. I just had to have it even if it is a bit big for the bathroom.

Architect Design

I'm so glad you were able to come for a visit in our nasturtium-inspired home. It's not everyone that can fall in love with a colour combination and then stick with it ... thoughout ... every... last ... room, now is it?

p.s. you guys are the best with all your delightful comments on my last post - totally filled me with joy!

Blue is the New Black

I'm embracing the new blue trend.  

Last summer I painted our banker's chair in the family room a light navy shade (see photo below).  I love the colour and decided to paint the dining room chairs in it as well since they are in an adjoining room.

The blue is a bit lighter than a navy and not exactly royal blue.  It is sort of a marine blue.  And sort of like the centre of a blueberry. It's a really livable shade of blue - not too dark or light or bright.

We usually use a mix of chairs around the table which I wanted to unify by painting them a single colour.  Also our dining room chairs get heavy use so they were chipped around the edges and in need of a new paint.  The black of the IKEA chairs looked a bit dark with all the greens and blues and grays in the rest of the kitchen-dining-family room so I thought it would be nice to introduce the blue to the dining end of the room. 

I painted some of the IKEA chairs and one other blond wood chair in the navy.  Although I liked the light wood, we didn't have any other wood that colour and the chair had paint splotches and signs of wear on it.  So paint it, I did.  I love its lines and love how it looks in blue.

How do you feel about the blue trend?  Navy especially is all over the place these days - everything from clothes to interiors. I have always loved blue so this is a trend I love!

Alice's First Apartment

My friend's daughter, Alice, also happens to be my daughter's friend.  Don't you love when things like that happen.  The four of us share an interest in decorating and interior design. Back before our daughters went off to university we would go and visit Designer Showhomes together.  It was always fun to see who liked which rooms best and what features appealed to each of us.  Now that my daughter is studying in Halifax on the east coast and her daughter is studying in Vancouver on the west coast we can no longer go on outings like these, ... sigh ... but we still indulge our hobby in different ways.  

Alice recently sent me some photos of her first apartment which she has been decorating and I loved them so much I wanted to share them with you.  She lives in a little bachelor apartment in a building that is almost 100 years old so it is an apartment with lots of character and charm.  Alice is still in university so decorating her flat is a work in progress and everything so far has been a combination of DIY, Craiglist, thrifting, and bartering, which, frankly, makes me love it all the more.

So let's have a tour, shall we.

The kitchen is simple with white cabinets and pale blue walls, but Alice injected her own personality by adding touches of red in the art, tea towels, accessories, and mismatched door knobs which she is replacing one-by-one as she finds pretty red ones on sale.

The tall skinny area by the wall in the photo below was really an unused cupboard because of the awkward shape.  Alice removed the door and added shelves so that it could be used to display cookbooks and bring in a few touches of red.

The bird silhouettes are wall decals that have been on Alice's walls in different bedrooms and apartments for years.  She carefully applies them and then removes them again when she moves so she can add them to the next house.

The built-in bookshelves between the kitchen and the rest of the flat are the perfect place to display favourite items like skull vases and candles and lollipops - all necessary items for a university student.

Since it is a bachelor apartment the space had to be used very efficiently.  The area that was originally designed to be the eating area was better suited to being a study area given that Alice is a student.  

The living room has an L-shaped sectional that Alice got by trading a chair for it with a friend.  All I can say is that she is a mean barterer. The sofa makes into a bed so it is good for when she has guests. Two IKEA bookshelves - one placed vertically and one horizontally - are the perfect place to store books, the stereo, and the TV.

Alice and her family have traveled extensively and little touches of her interests and travels are found around the apartment.  The brass tray in the living room was Alice's grandmother's and she uses it to display meaningful items, like a rock from the base camp at Mount Everest (dark gray rock in the centre), the key to her flat in Switzerland when she went to school there, a sand dollar from Vancouver Island, a camel bone box from Qatar, a camel from Oman, a gun shaped piece of coral from Curacao, and a silver acorn from her father.

The living room has a fireplace which, although it doesn't work, provides a wonderful focal point and is used for displaying more treasures - the most important being her two black goldfish!

Alice's bed is right beside the fireplace so she uses a stack of large-sized books as a bedside table.  She covered the bed in a black duvet so that it won't show the dirt if anyone sits on it.  Alice's mother is the friend I went to Bangladesh and India with and I remember buying the embroidered cloth Alice has on her wall when we were in Dhaka.  The cloth helps make the bed appear more couch-like, but also helps conceal an unused door.

You have to walk through Alice's closet to get to the bathroom so she has worked to make it not only functional, but attractive as well.  Alice added a row of hooks to hang her extensive scarf collection on, which adds a nice rainbow effect along the wall.  

The dress, in the photo below, was hung on hooks from the closet doors to decorate the hallway.  The dress was given to Alice and doesn't actually fit her, but she liked the design of dancing girls so hung it in her hallway.  Note the shoes along the top of the cupboard to make good use of the space and add a little interest. 

And finally, the round chalkboard was one that we brought back from Bangladesh.  It originally had a mirror in it, but when the mirror broke my friend painted the back with chalkboard paint and it is now part of Alice's closet surrounded by mini mirrors from Bangladesh.  That wall is the perfect place for the most frequently worn shoes and boots - I love how they are all black and grow in size from one end to the other.

And finally, the shower curtain in the bathroom was fabric bought from a vendor on a popular beach in Vancouver and Alice turned it into a shower curtain.

I love all the personal touches and the can-do attitude that has gone into decorating Alice's apartment.  Way to go girl!  

Do you remember decorating your first apartment?  I don't think it was as easy to find good second-hand deals back in the day because thrift stores weren't as popular and it was long before Craigslist and Kijiji.  What do you think?

Sarah Richardson's Ideas for Celebrating Christmas in the Country

In my last post we had a look at how Sarah Richardson decorates for Christmas when they are at their city home in Toronto.  However, Sarah and her family also like to spend Christmas at their farmhouse in the country.  Let's have a look at how her country Christmas differs from the city one.

Canadian House and Home

EMBRACE DECORATIONS FROM NATURE
Sarah likes to keep things cozy and casual, especially when she is celebrating Christmas with her family at her country home. Here she embraces decorating with elements found in nature. There are evergreen wreaths hung on mirrors and pots of paperwhites and amaryllis on mantels and tables.

Canadian House and Home

Canadian House and Home

USE EARTHY COLOURS

Sarah uses lots of soft earthy colours, such as rust and olive green on the Christmas tree and her tablesettings - colours which suit the countryside.

Canadian House and Home

USE RUSTIC AND HANDMADE DECORATIONS

When Sarah is decorating her Christmas tree at the farmhouse, she likes to include decorations that she and her mother. Now that her daughters are getting older, decorations they make will likely be added to the mix.

FAVOURITE TRADITIONS

Sarah loves making gingerbread houses with her daughters at Christmas time.  She often buys kits from Habitat for Humanity which have the houses already assembled so they can get right down to the fun of decorating.  

The whole family makes an expedition of finding the perfect Christmas tree on their property.  Naturally, it needs to be a big tree and when the right tree is found it is cut down by Sarah's husband.  Warm mulled cider is enjoyed by everyone afterwards (recipe at the end of the post).  

Entertaining is kept simple.  The table is a charming mix-and-match combination that might include (as it did one year) silverware from her mother-in-law, antique Limoges plates from her own other, dinner plates from her grandmother, and placemats made from an Irish linen runner.  Family and friends are treated to her Molten Chocolate Cake (the recipe is below).

Room Service

SARAH'S HOLIDAY MULLED CIDER 

Ingredients:

Whole allspice berries

Whole cloves

Ground nutmeg

Cinnamon sticks

Cheesecloth

Kitchen twine

Tins or jars for packaging

Wrapping paper for labels

Shipping tags for gift card/ instructions

Method:

1.  Cut the cheesecloth into 7 by 7 inch squares (you may want to use a double layer)

2.  Mix equal parts of allspice and cloves together in a bowl

3.  Spoon a tablespoon of allspice/cloves + 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg into the centre of the square of cheesecloth

4.  Tie closed with a length of kitchen twine

5.  Trim the excess cheesecloth away from the top

6.  Package into tins or jars – ideally 4 to 6 sachets per gift, top with 2 cinnamon sticks per sachet

Serving instructions:

Heat 4 cups of unsweetened apple cider with 1 sachet of mulling spices and 2 cinnamon sticks over medium heat until cider is warm and spicy.  Serve with a cinnamon stick as garnish (be sure to pour into heat safe glasses or mugs).

Room Service

SARAH'S DECADENT, DIVINE, AND DELICIOUS MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKES
1/3 c unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
3 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a pan over low heat (you may wish to use a double boiler if you have one)
2. Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until they form stiff peaks – set aside in separate bowl
3.  Blend egg yolks and sugar using electric mixer on med speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy
4.  Add vanilla and chocolate mixture to the egg yolks and beat on med-high for 2- 3 minutes until it resembles whipped pudding
5. Fold the flour into the chocolate mixture by hand, but do not overmix
6. Fold egg whites into the batter lightly until blended
7. Grease a muffin tin
8. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
9. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin (this recipe makes 6 individual cakes)
10. Bake for 5 – 6 minutes (the key is have a liquid chocolate interior)
11. Use a knife to carefully loosen the cakes from the tin

Raspberry Puree:

1 container frozen fresh raspberries

1/2 c brown sugar

1/2 tsp lemon or orange zest (optional)

1 tsp orange juice

1. Cook on medium to high heat for 10 to 15 minutes stirring constantly (or until raspberries have dissolved and mixture has started to thicken – it should not be as thick as jam when complete. If it won’t thicken, add a bit more sugar and turn up the heat a bit). You may put the mixture through a sieve to strain the seeds, but I like it with the seeds

2. Serve individual cakes on a puddle of raspberry puree while still warm

3. Garnish with fresh whipped cream (or ice cream) and chocolate shavings

Christmas in the country is definitely a change of pace to Christmas in the city.  While Sarah is the master of keeping Christmas simple, this one really seems warm and welcoming and calm.

Which would be your preference - Christmas in the city or Christmas in the country?