Sarah Richardson's Ideas for Celebrating Christmas in the City

I adore Sarah Richardson's decorating and have written about it frequently. I spent some time recently reading articles and watching interviews and holiday shows to find out how she decorates for Christmas.  I was curious to know what ideas the very stylish Sarah uses that might inspire us as well. 

Sarah and her husband and two daughters sometimes spend Christmas at their home in Toronto and sometimes at their farmhouse in the country.  Sarah is a firm believer in decorating to suit your location. Today we will look at her tips and tricks for Christmas in the city and in my next post (which you can read here) we look at Christmas in the country.

LESS IS MORE
Sarah definitely keeps it simple.  She decorates the tree, adds a few decorations to the mantel, puts fresh flowers on the table, and calls it done.  She does not decorate the entire house.

Hello! Canada, January 2008, via Sarah Richardson Design

The Globe and Mail 2011

Apart from the two silver conical Christmas trees on a chest in the back corner of the room, you almost wouldn't know her dining room was decorated for Christmas.

Hello! Canada, January 2008, via Sarah Richardson Design

ADD THE UNEXPECTED
The square wreaths on the front door add a modern touch to all the natural elements like the wood pile and evergreen boughs in the planters.

Canadian House and Home

ADD A LITTLE SPARKLE

Decorating in the city definitely lends itself to using a little more sparkle, reflective surfaces, and mirrors.  Some of Sarah's favourite ornaments are the clear glass ones with a bit of frosting that she purchased years ago from a discount store.  

HGTV

The Globe and Mail

PUT A BOA ON THAT

One of the more unusual items Sarah uses in decorating for Christmas are feather boas.  She used one wrapped around an LED wreath on the front of her house.

HGTV

And she used feather boas as a series of wreaths on the wall and as garlands on the stairs and the fireplace in this Design Inc Season 3 Holiday episode.

     

EMBRACE UNCONVENTIONAL COLOURS
Sarah doesn't like to decorate with the traditional Christmas colours of red or green.  Instead she selects colours that suit the location.  According to Sarah, decorating in the city calls for bold, vivid colours.  She embrace unconventional colours like hot pink, orange, turquoise, and apple green.

HGTV

HGTV

The Globe and Mail

SARAH'S THOUGHTS ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Sarah's Christmas tree of choice is a Fraser fir (similar to a Balsalm fir) which has short soft needles.  She always gets a real tree and one that is as big as possible.  She does not usually use a tree topper mostly because there isn't room for one, but also because she hasn't found one she loves. Sarah also believes in using tons of white lights on the tree.  She takes on the job of putting the lights on the tree and makes sure to put lights close to the trunk and around the back of the tree.  Sarah and her husband decorate the tree while drinking champagne and listening to the Messiah.

SARAH'S THOUGHTS ON ENTERTAINING

For Sarah, once the house is decorated it is time to open the doors and entertain family and friends.  Every year Sarah and her husband throw a Christmas party for over 200 people.  The key to entertaining, according to Sarah, is to create warmth - light up the tree, group candles together to set the mood, and turn on the music.

TABLESETTING TIPS
Sarah likes to look at each place setting as a party outfit for the table.  Try unusual pairings of colours like red and pink, instead of the usual red and green. Mix up the dinnerware by combining antique plates with modern Wedgewood plates.  Add personal touches to the table, such as using a name threaded on the stem of a flower as a place card.

Food and Drink Magazine, 2005 via Sarah Richardson Design

ENTERTAINING FOOD TIPS
Sarah likes to use white serving dishes as they are classic, inexpensive, go with everything, and make the food look great.  She believes that presentation of the food is important - don't forget colourful garnishes or serving veggies in glassware.  Also, make sure you have something for everyone to eat - from sweet treats to healthy fruit and veggies.

HGTV

And finally, here are two recipes that Sarah makes for her Christmas party - Pecan Puffs and Spiced Nuts.

Candy and Cakes

SARAH'S PECAN PUFFS (source)
1 cup butter
2 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp. brown sugar (like Demerara)
2 Cups pecans
2 Cups cake flour, sifted
icing sugar for dusting

1. Add pecans to food processor. Puree until well ground and fine, almost to the consistency of pecan butter.

2. Add butter and brown sugar to food processor and mix until mixture appears frothy.

3. Add vanilla and mix again.

4. Add flour a little at a time, pulsing food processor between additions. Resulting mixture should appear as a thick paste.

5. Chill in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes until firm, then scoop out small amounts of dough and roll into balls.

6. Place balls on a non-stick baking sheet (they can be close together as the dough does not expand much when cooking).

7. Bake at 300 degrees for about 35 - 45 minutes, depending on the size of balls. Remove from oven when slightly golden on the outside.

8. Transfer carefully to a cooling rack while still warm (best to use your fingers so you don’t crush the cookies with a spatula), then use a flour sifter to dust icing sugar over the top of the cookies while warm. Allow to cool completely, and dust again.

Canadian House and Home

SARAH'S SPICED NUTS (source)

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and 1/4 cup cane sugar (like Demerara) in a pan over low-medium heat.

3.  Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon each of cumin, paprika, cayenne, and salt.  Mix well.

4.  Add 1 cup each of almonds and pecans, stirring to coat.  Cook until mixture becomes sticky (at least 5 minutes).

5.  Turn nuts out onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crunchy.  Let cool and serve at room temperature.

Chatelaine Holiday 2008 via Sarah Richardson Design

I love the simplicity of Sarah's decorating for Christmas in the city - it is about the sparkle, the unexpected, bolder colours, the tree, and time with family and friends.  What a great combination!

Linked to Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now

Gallery Wall

I know, I know, I can't believe it either. I finally got the gallery wall done I've been yakking about for a couple of years now.   The family room looks much more complete with something on that wall.  I'm thinking we can add to the sides and keep taking over the whole wall with pictures (kind of like a fungus - only prettier).

Here's what we hung on the wall:

-- two photos I took, one of baskets of seeds and grains at a market in Bangladesh and the lower one of the interior of Rouen Cathedral in Normandy, France

-- a photo I took of the cliffs at Étretat in Normandy, France

-- a photo of a half-timbered house in Rouen, France

-- a painting of Ritchie Falls that I did this past summer.

-- an art print taken by my friend Kat Warren from Low Tide High Style (by the way, do you want to know the most recent photo of Kat's that I'm obsessed with - check out this blog post and go down to the last photo.  Gorgeous, right?)

-- and finally two paint-by-numbers I found at a thrift store last year.

There you have it - a tour of our gallery wall. I think I'm going to change the waterfall picture when I paint new ones that I like so we have a rotating display.  I just glued a hook on the back and hung the canvas up which will make it easy to change it with new paintings.

 And here is what that poor wall looked like in all its nakedness before the gallery wall.

Have you jumped on the gallery wall bandwagon?  


Linked to Open House Blog Party at No Minimalist Here

Green and Navy

Our family room has been on the needy side for a long time.  I decorate the mantel and change it up seasonally, but the rest of it is pretty plain.  We were given a super comfortable, super cozy, super long sofa when our friends moved and couldn't fit it into their new condo.  We love watching TV lounged/sprawled all over it, but I hadn't ever got around to adding any cushions or art on the wall above it.  We also didn't have a rug in the family room (apart from the little mat that was needed to help Juno get some traction for jumping on and off the sofa).  

I debated long and hard about what colours to use in the family room given that everything is pretty neutral.  The sofa and walls are both a soft gray-green and the rest is white and wood.  

I was inspired by the photo that Kat from Low Tide High Style gave me, which you can see on our mantel in the picture below (you really should check out her website for this and other amazing photos that she has for sale).

I love the blue of the door and wanted to use something like that colour or even a bit darker - somewhere between cobalt and navy.  I wondered how it would look with green, but was reassured by the colour of the boat surrounded by gray-green grasses and trees in this watercolour in my friend's living room.

So I did what any sensible person would do - I went to Home Sense and bought every navy pillow they had.  I decided I would channel my inner Sarah Richardson and decorate the sofa with many different patterns as long as they were navy/cobalt and cream/beige.  I also remembered that we had a blue and cream striped rug from IKEA and it matched perfectly.

Now I need to work on the gallery wall that is going to go above the sofa and possibly a bench to go along in front of the sofa to put our feet on.

Here's one more before and after.

I think the deep blue is a little unconventional with the gray-green, but I happen to love blue so it works for me.  I can see a dark brick red working as well so who knows what things will look like down the road.  Are you a fan of pairing green with blue?  What colour would you have used with the gray-green sofa and walls?

11 Canadian Designers' Favourite Rooms

If you are in the mood for some great design inspiration and a dose of Canadian talent (and who isn't) then have I got the post for you. Over at Style at Home you can find a story about 11 Canadian designers who were asked to share their favourite rooms and what inspired their projects.  

I love pouring over rooms that are well-designed and obviously created with talent and inspiration.  I like to play the "what's my favourite part game" so I thought I would share with you what elements I was drawn to in each room.  Be sure and click on the photos, though, so you can see the entire room and read more about them.

Here's what caught my eye:


1.  The gorgeous Egyptian doors in Samantha Sacks' home that frame the doorway between her dining room and kitchen.



2.  The ultimate mix of traditional and modern (and especially this Windsor chair) in Jonathan Legate's Nova Scotia home.


3.  The iconic Aga stove which is the perfect compliment to Beth Gold's classic white kitchen.



4.  The wallpaper above the built-ins that make a bold statement in the living room designed by Alykhan Velji.



5.  The layered window coverings (and especially the trim on the leading edge of the drapes) that Erin Feasby and Cindy Bleeks used in this living room.



6.  The fabulous combination of gray-blue on the walls paired with coral in the headboard and patterned pillows in this bedroom designed by Meredith Heron.



7.  The timeless classic look of ticking stripes that Michael Penney used on the chairs in this Ontario farmhouse living room. 



8.  The worn rustic table contrasting with the dark chairs in this kitchen designed by Carol Reed.



9.  The perfect blend of pink, gold, and white in the gorgeous magnolia wallpaper, oval mirror, and headboard in Karla Amadatsu's daughter's room.



10.  The glass-fronted cabinets framing the simple dark fireplace in Ingrid Oomen's living room.

11.  The long bank of windows with views of Howe Sound from this kitchen designed by Emma Comesotti.

It makes me proud to be a Canadian when I see a line-up of talent like this.  Do you have a favourite room?