Let's Go To The Movies Again....

Oh how I love to check out fabulous decorating!  The movies have some of the very best set designs you will see.   They usually have decent budgets, many sources and talented designers/decorators to pull it all together.  We can dream and get great ideas from these sets to interpret into our own homes. I know I have been down this road a couple of times previously with some of my favorites but here I go again....

By now everybody has heard about the incredibly funny movie "It's Complicated" and once again a great set design by Nancy Meyers.  The home of the lead female character, played by Meryl Streep is a little eclectic yet comfy/casual.  This home is cozy and has a "lived in" look that is so relaxing.  You just want to drop in and have a glass of wine there!

One old favourite for anybody who loves Traditional Design is the

"Father of the Bride Movie(s)"

And of course "Franck" designed the most elaborate Nurseries

Another great set design was the movie "The Nanny Diaries"

Outside Hallway

Interior Hallway looking into Living Room

Living Room

Another great kitchen - I love kitchens even though I don't cook.

Very elegant traditional bedroom

OK, I WANT THIS SHOE CLOSET!

Red, White & Drunk all over.... (This is the title of a wine book by Natalie MacLean)

Yes, you guessed it.  I am talking about one of my favourite beverages - wine!  I am no connoisseur but know what I like and enjoy drinking it.  I do happen to be married to a connoisseur so that does help!  If you are interested in more wine info regarding storage  please visit Oakville Wine Cellars, http://www.oakvillewinecellars.com/.  My own personal wine connoisseur suggests that you also follow Natalie MacLean as she has incredible knowledge, http://www.nataliemaclean.com/.   The important thing about wine is the storage and here is where a little decorating advice comes in.  When we renovate our kitchens, or purchase a new home we feel really on trend if we add that "built in" wine rack somewhere, perhaps over the refrigerator or some such place in the kitchen.  Well..... if you didn't know it before, I am telling you that is just not a nice way to treat your wine.  You must keep wine in a dark place, with consistent temperature, hence the kitchen is the absolute worst place to store your precious wines.  It is sunny, with varying temperatures and humidity levels from cooking, etc.

Wine is best stored in a cool, dark place, however if you really want to showcase your stock, be kind to the wine and purchase a nice wine cooler.  They come in many different styles, sizes, shapes and price points.  Many have a dual control for both red and white wines.  And... yes red wine can be kept a little cool, just not as cold as white.  When you remove it for drinking it is always a good idea to decant the reds for better flavour.

Below are a few samples of how to store your wine - everything from a simple wine rack to a wine cooler which can be installed anywhere (even the kitchen) as long as it is not in direct sunlight and then the ultimate -a complete wine cellar.  How devine!

National Home Show 2010

This past weekend I attended the National Home Show at the Direct Energy Centre.  I like to go to as many design shows & events as I can in order to keep up with what's new and exciting in the world of design.  I always look forward to viewing the Dream Home. This year the Dream Home presented by CityLine and the Toronto Star. The 2010 home will be built by Brendan Charters and Jim Cunningham of Eurodale Developments with Architect Richard Librach and project manager Kendall Christie. The interiors of this year’s home are designed by CityLine’s Janette Ewen, Ramsin Khachi, Karen Sealy, Sharon Grech and and exteriors Barry McCague Landscaping, landscaping design by Landscape Planning Ltd.  It really was quite the house - very interesting with a little of everything including a nod to the eco concerns.  Here are a few photos I took in case  you didn't make it to the show....

How about this room - very creative and different...

and this room...

It was difficult to get a good picture of this kitchen with so many people milling around constantly, but it was fantastic!  Extremely well designed and with some "glam" feaatures like the counter of crushed glass and just a little crystal thrown in under a layer of clear glass...

   

And my personal favourite for today's great kitchens - a post with your electrical outlets lined up but... it goes down when not in use and has a contemporary stainless cover built into your counter - now that's good design, functional and good looking!    

 When it is closed it looks just like this...

 

The picture above is a wonderful item for today's living -

- a built in composte container which can be lifted out and

 emptied when necessary, making prep and clean-up quick

and easy, and when not is use, it just looks like a circle of

 stainless on your counter - like the picture above

If you watch Cityline you would have seen  these items mentioned last week and here is another wonderful design for living - a decorative wall sculpture, BUT... it is actually a new take on the hot water radiators found in most older homes - WOW!  this takes on two purposes by replacing those difficult to decorate around large radiators and the bonus is that you also get wall art.  Makes me want to buy an older house just to install these.

This tiny sink could be used where there is a space issue in a small washroom

 

And of course we can't forget our four legged family members. The Dream Home even had a "doggy" shower in the mud room area. I would love one of those. 

 

Throughout the show there were many great exhibitors and here is some of what I saw...

This is a quartz countertop that looks like it is full of crystal - so beautiful and the design was interesting in that the edge was very thick and cut back towards the cabinets for a little interest.

 

This product is a medium density fibreboard about 1/4" thick and not too heavy.  It comes in many designs which replicate all types of wood like beadboard, wainscotting, this 24" square pattern below and many more.  It can be applied easily with adhesive to walls and ceilings.  Best of all it covers imperfections like a ceiling full of cracks, or possibly those "stipple" ceilings.  It also can be used as a backsplash.  The possibilities are limitless.  It can be painted or stained and looks just like wood panels.

Here is a ceiling covered in this product

I saw this at the IDS a few weeks ago and there was a display of 5 sheds designed as alternative use space.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them, but when I saw this one at the Home Show I had to snap it so you could see what an innovative idea it is.  The designer used a basic shed and created a place to "get away from it all"  How splendid.

Last but not least I visited the beautiful gardens and dreamed of summer coming. There is so much more available to enhance today's outdoor living spaces which have become just as important as our indoor areas. Have a look at some fantastic garden designs......

And of course the waterfalls and ponds...

 

And there were outdoor fireplaces as well

 

A very relaxing and zen like garden spot

I liked this idea of a stone wall with a door in it but it doesn't have to go anywhere, it just gives the impression that you can go through to another space.  Great way to camoflage anything unsightly in your garden.

Lovely in the garden filled with tiny tea lights of mini lights

  

"Feeling Floored? - Let's Talk Flooring"

Last evening there were a group of local decorators, members of CDECA who attended a very informative presentation by Carl French, of Speers Road Broadloom , which also stocks a fabulous array of tile, wood flooring, area carpets, ceramic and so on.  There is always something new to learn about and one of a decorator's responsibilities is to keep up to date on new  products and technologies so they can pass on this information to their clients.  Carl was gracious enough to speak to our group for going on 3 hours and gave us much to think about.  This was like taking an updated course on floorings in that he explained different labels and ratings listed, which are very important especially when we are looking at the "green" issue.  Speers Road Broadloom is definitely a leader in the field in that they are members of many different advisory councils, as well as being one of the few dealers across Canada to be able to offer specific products, one in particular label - the Disney line.  Excellent service, the top brands, extremely knowledgeable staff and conections with the best installers make Speers Road Broadloom  an obvious choice for your flooring needs.   Here are a few pictures of some of their products from their showroom .....

Flooring Presentation by Carl French

Fabulous cork  

More cork

Oh, the beauty of wood!

Samples of some of the many beautiful wood floorings available

Multi toned wood flooring

 Sample of Wood Flooring with inlays around perimeter - There are other styles so you can have a very unique design

Now here's something special - it looks and feels like a ceramic/stone flooring but is not.  It is a vinyl tile that can be applied on top of current flooring such as ceramic, wood, etc.  It is attached to a special paper liner and then just laid on top of the current floor which means it could actually be removed easily in order to make repairs (if necessary) .  It then has a thin grout applied which again, makes this even more like ceramic.  It has another characteristic in that is is slightly flexible which means you can use this on floors that are not entirely level and you do not have to build a new sub-floor.  This tile is perfect in areas where you do not want to remove the old tile.

 

Even though we are featuring flooring materials, I couldn't resist a picture of these lovely stone wall tiles....

... and these glass tiles

A contemporary Area Carpet

Love this one! 

 Nice traditional Area Carpet

 and of course.... the softness of Broadloom.  Available in many colours, textures, fibres and eco conscious etc, etc.....

 

How about this fab "Shag" style carpet, it's much nicer and better made that what we had in the 70's

Dale Hickinson, beside a display of luxe Ralph Lauren carpeting which is much nicer in person that this photo.  Dale was on hand at the presentation and was responsible for our wonderful "goodie" bags full on wonderful flooring information and "chocolate".  Dale knows what we love!

Thanks again Carl and Dale for a very informative evening.