A Day At SOFA

The GTA West Chapter of CDECA are on the road again..... we were up at SOFA http://www.visitsofa.com/, (Source Of Furniture & Accessories) a Trade Only Resource Centre at the International Centre in Mississauga, and an affiliate of CDECA.  We were offered a window space to showcase our association and highlight what we actually do; so we decorated it of course. 

Our mandate was to bring attention to the Canadian Decorators Association and to impress how important it is to hire a qualified Decorator and that by hiring a CDECA Decorator or Designer, you can be assured that you are getting a qualified Decorator or Designer and the and the end result would be successful.

Our theme is  'GLITZ & GLAM' and we were highlighting the Pantonne Colour for 2011 - 'Honeysuckle'

 a mix of red and pink.  Such a fun colour especially after all the neutrals and it really makes one think of Spring being here - Hooray!!

Our window focuses on a small area which could be anywhere in the home and illustrates how to bring it together with the correct balance, proportion and continuity of a theme.  We also used several different textures which gives interest the overall look. Our glitzy space flows well with just the right amount of bling without going overboard.  Selecting the correct accessories is really like 'the icing on a cake' so to speak, when you have finished with the furniture, flooring, window coverings, etc.

The CDECA Banner is displayed and it depicts all the 100's of Decisions people have when looking to decorate their homes.   A decorator can take away the uncertainty and give you expert advise and in turn you you have a cohesive space designed to your specific needs and budget.
We had a great time selecting our accessories and furniture, most of which was donated or loaned to us by our generous affiliates and the showrooms located at SOFA.  I have to say the craziest part of this undertaking, was the five of us trying to attach a very  gorgeous but extremely heavy chandelier to the ceiling beams and getting is level.  We finally lured Sid, a rep from Van Gogh Furniture to help us and he was incredible.  Thanks so much Sid.  We can do most anything in our profession but we really did need another pair of capable hands and you fit the bill.  We laughed about 'how many decorators it took to hang a chandelier' as you will see from the photos below.

Drop in to one of the many seminars and events held at SOFA and the International Centre and look for our fabulous window -we hope you like it!

We had a lot of  laughs and fun doing this window

 Here are 4 of the eventual 6 people it took to get this chandelier up - It was extremely heavy but well worth the effort.  We know it is a wee bit high but when you spend as much time as we did with this baby, you are glad it is up and you just leave it alone.  In person it looks great and our sign is not blocked so much.

This chandelier is nothing short of magnificent with all its crystals hanging.  It was loaned to us by an affiliate of CDECA, Royal Lighting in Toronto.  http://www.royallighting.com/

Below are some of the photos of our completed space.  In the very near future, we will some magnificent floor to ceiling window blinds as our backdrop, from another of our affiliates, Sun Glow Window Coverings, http://www.mysunglow.com/,  and at that time I will take some updated photos

Here is the space we are so proud of - Our gorgeous chair is on loan from Van Gogh Designs http://www.vangoghdesigns.com/,   and the black and gray area carpet is from Beaulieu Canada http://www.beaulieucanada.ca/,   both located at SOFA

Artage International    http://www.artageinternational.com/, also from SOFA, loaned us a classy transitional glass and chrome coffee table

A secondary vignette with another area carpet donated to us by Prosource Flooring, Mississauga  http://www.prosourcefloors.com/.   We wanted to show how the two different selections could work together or separately.

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED AND LOANED US THE PIECES IN THIS WINDOW