Lights, Camera, Action....CDECA Goes to the Steven & Chris Show

On Wednesday, March 9 close to 100 members of CDECA (Canadian Decorators Association of Canada) http://www.cdeca.com/  filled the CBC Studios  http://www.cbc.ca/ for a taping of the Steven & Chris Show. 
www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris.   A couple of us had met Steven & Chris at IDS 2011 in January and after saying hello and having our photos taken with them, we were invited to come to the show.  We got to chatting about CDECA and how great it would be to have an entire audience of decorators, and so the thought became a reality.  These two guys are absolutely great and just as nice as they appear on TV.  They took the time out of a busy schedule that evening to talk with us and at no point did they try to rush off.  They give you the feeling that they really do enjoy meeting fans and talking with them; which they actually do!!  How refreshing.  They have incredible sense of humours to go along with their approachable personalities.  We only had a few days in which to fill the studio audience seats and of course we did,  which goes to show that Steven & Chris, have a great following.

The show was great and we were made to feel very welcome throughout the entire event from all of the staff and most especially from Richard Fellbaum, of cbc who was our constant contact in setting up this event.  As anybody who has watched the show knows, it has a various segments and they were all very interesting and definitely entertaining.   The guests are always knowledgeable with information that we all appreciate.

Of course during the taping there were breaks, prizes given out from the show and photo opportunities for us to have our pictures taken with the guys.

At the end of the show we were given a nice gift from the Show which was donated by Wahl . 
Joining us was Linda Kafka,  Director of Marketing  & Tenant Relations from SOFA, (source of furniture and accessories, located at the International Centre) and one of CDECA's affiliates  http://www.visitsofa.com/  who also brought gift certificates from two suppliers - Buhler Furniture, http://www.buhlerfurniture.com/; and Canadel Furniture, http://www.canadel.ca/  as well as a complimentary refreshment card from SOFA to all of the decorators in attendance.  Thank you to everyone for their generosity.

We all left feeling so uplifted even with the horrible sleet  and blowing winds.  We definitely want to come back to this show for a fun time!!

Here are some of the photos taken at our visit to the show.

Here we are lined up and ready to go into the show....



Steven & Chris with Audrey

Steven & Chris with Jeannette (yours truly)

Linda Kafka from SOFA telling us about the gifts and an upcoming fundraising gala where the proceeds will benefit second base youth shelter

The whole gang - what a great group of CDECA members

We all had fun taking pictures in the studio -

The set is really nicely put together

Thanks again to everyone involved in making this such a great day!

Home Show 2011

This year at the National Home Show, held at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, I focused on the two houses on display and the outdoor area which is a personal favourite of mine.

The first home was a 1640 sq ft bungalow built by Quality Homes and furnished by Sears.  It was a very compact 3 bedroom design and came with a complete basement.  Great for a 'starter home',  the 'empty nester' or as a getaway place.  Here are some photos of the home and the interior.....

   

The other home featured was the Glass Home, built by Concept PolygHome with interiors b Debbie Travis.  This glass home was quite innovative and a nod to the future of "green" construction.  Concept PolygHome combines confort and energy savings in their designs and materials.  The concept offers a system of solar thermal sensors wich are integrated within the structure.  It also stores its energy within the building.  PolygHome is eqipped with a special mechanism allowing for recovery of rainwater for recycling of water for sanitary purposes. 



                                                       

                                                      

Another interesting building was "The Ryobi Mancave" built by Summerwood Products with the interior by Ramsin Khachi

The inside of this structure was every man's dream. 



Painters Place presents..... "decorate with style"

Everyone knows about Benjamin Moore paint.  Does everyone know about the Painters Place http://www.paintersplace.ca/;  at the corner of Dundas & Neyagawa in Oakville?  Known within the industry as "TOM'S PLACE" it is a great source of everything paint and wallpaper.  The staff are extremely knowledgeable and the most friendly & helpful people you could deal with.    Now TOM.... he is something else.  Everybody adores Tom.  He has a way of making everyone feel important and  that his sole purpose is to make their personal project and needs something pleasant and positive.  I must get back to the reason for this blog....

Tom and staff invited members from the community as well as decorators to an evening of Paint Trends with Leigh-Ann Allaire-Perrault of Benjamin Moore  http://www.benjaminmoore.com/ as the guest speaker.  She is just as much fun as she is on Cityline and such a warm and friendly individual.  She gave a great presentation with Tom interjecting throughout to give away absolutely great prizes throughout the evening.  Not only did we gain more knowledge on the trends for 2011, we were eligible for many great give aways, and we were treated to a wonderful meal with wine! Everyone who attended this event went home with a great goodie bag with gift coupons, paint, magazines and many more items.

A fair portion of the  money raised from this event will be going toward Cancer Research  and most especially the walk coming up in June in which Tom has a team, known as "Team Merino".  What a great way to help a very important issue.

Now some photos......

 Our wonderful host - Tom

 Tom and Leigh-Ann

 Yours truly and Leigh-Ann  

 A full house at St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre in Oakville where the event was held

A couple of "trend" vignettes set up by the creative staff

 A visit to Tom's Place to pick up some paint and there is Tom taking care of it for me

Well organized shelves makes it easy to see what they have to offer 

 A nice spot to sit and check out wallpaper books, paint brochures of all the different types of paint offered by Benjamin Moore

 A great selection of Wallpaper Manufactures..... Ok, now that I have my paint I think I need some wallpaper and may just re-do my master ensuite!

CDECA checks out two suppliers from SOFA who are available at TDC

As anyone who has been following this blog knows, I am constantly updating on the comings and goings of CDECA  www.cdeca.com;  at events presented by our sources and affiliates.  We are affiliated with SOFA  which is located at the International Centre in Mississauga www.visitsofa.com;  which offers a variety of furniture and accessories to the trade. We are also affiliated with The Decorating Centre  located in Burlington www.thedecoratingcentre.ca  which is a one stop showroom to the trade as well.  A couple of weeks ago The Decorating Centre announced they will be selling WEST BROS FURNITURE www.westbrosfurniture.com  who are Canadian manufacturers of Quality, Sustainable Solid Wood Bedroom, Dining Room, Entertainment and Occasional Furniture.  The Decorating Centre ALSO carries  VANGOGH DESIGNS www.vangoghdesigns.com  another manufacturer of Quality, Sustainable Canadian made furniture who are introducing many new designs, fabrics and styles.  Of course after a very informative presentation by both companies, we were treated to a lovely lunch.  I even had time to source a chair I was looking for at a great price!!  Here are some photos of the great pieces we saw....

Vangogh

 West Bros

 Both companies are environmentally conscious and offer both

traditional and contemporary styling.