Happy Exclusive Plum Year!

I’m not the kind of person who follows trends. When it comes to fashion and music and home decorating, I march to the beat of my own drummer. But purple is one trend that I’m all over! Pantone recently announced that Radiant Orchid is their 2014 colour of the year. And soon after after, Sherwin Williams announced that its colour for 2014 is Exclusive Plum.

“This dusky, filtered violet is refined without being stuffy, elegant yet easy, and layered with romantic potential.”

Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams director of color marketing.

It just so happened that I had been thinking of repainting the ocean-inspired gallery wall in our hallway purple. The perfect spot to try out Exclusive Plum! What was charcoal grey…

…is now pretty in purple :-)

Oh yeah, feelin’ the purple love! In fact, I was so in love with the colour, I needed more of it! But where… no way was I painting the whole hallway. I did that a few years ago and just about peed myself painting the front entry on wobbly scaffolding with only the chandelier to grab onto if I went down. Nope, not happening. Hmmmmm… there’s no reason why I couldn’t paint one end of the hallway purple…

And now all dramatic and sexy in Exclusive Plum :-)

I love how the purple works with the dark brown doors and the flooring and the colour at the other end of the hallway. And it’s totally satisfied my need to have more purple in my life :-)

What’s your colour of the year for 2014?

Sock Snow People

Some of the dog rescue people that I know got together to make adorable sock snow people to auction off and raise money for a variety of local rescue groups. They’ve been given the name Breenie Babies in honour of a wonderful lady who does the most amazing things to help animals in need.

Please say hello to my three Breenie Babies – from left to right are Jaunty Janna, Seductive Samantha, and Thoughtful Theodore. With a colourful penguin tossed in for good measure :-)

These are a few of the other fun sock snow people that this creative team came up with :-)

 

Don’t ask ;-)

There are lots of tutorials online – click each image below to go to the web site and see how these sock snow people were made.

I’m totally making some of these next year!

Ravishing Radiant Orchid

Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2014 is Radiant Orchid.

“While the 2013 color of the year, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, served as a symbol of growth, renewal and prosperity, Radiant Orchid reaches across the color wheel to intrigue the eye and spark the imagination. An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.”

“An enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm.”

You know me, I love my purple! In fact, I happen to be wearing this sweater as I type this…

And as soon as I saw it, I thought of my favourite colourful designer, Jamie Drake.

Image via New York Social Diary (Table is painted BM Mulberry 2075-20)

He was way ahead of the forecast with these rooms!

 
Images via Drake Design Associates

Eileen Kathryn Boyd has also used this gorgeous colour…

 

And another one of my favourite designers, Amanda Nisbet…

Do you like Radiant Orchid? Would you use it in your home? Yes on both counts here!

Published!

I’ve FINALLY achieved my goal of being published in a magazine! Yeah! A couple of months ago, I did a phone interview with Patrick Langston at the Ottawa Citizen for a story he was writing about decorating for Christmas. I gave him some decorating tips and sent him some pictures, and this morning there they were in Ottawa Citizen Style magazine!

My tips…

    
And my friend, Sarah Kidder of Sarah Kidder Design also has a great tip for decorating a condo for Christmas:

You can read the whole article online here. And if you’re an Ottawa Citizen subscriber, you probably received the printed version with your paper this morning.

Thank you Ottawa Citizen Style!

What are some of your favourite Christmas decorating tips?

Looking to stage or decorate your home on a budget?

Then Barbara Pilcher’s blog DIY Home Staging Tips is the place for you! Barbara’s blog has all sorts of great information and tips on how to stage your home on a budget for that quick sale. She also shares lots of simple and inexpensive DIY projects that you can incorporate into your home staging.

What I really like about Barbara’s blog is that although her focus is on staging, the information that she provides is helpful to anyone, not just people who are trying to sell their homes.

With Christmas a month and a half away, you may be looking for some projects to do and ways to dress up your home, either for staging or for your own enjoyment. Barbara has a tutorial for creating this cool square pine cone wreath.

And I love this nautical Christmas wreath that she created:

Want to change up your family room or living room? Check out Barbara’s Five Rules for Staging a Mantel.

Not sure how to combine textures and patterns? Barbara has that covered with How to Make Patterns Work for Your Home Staging.

On top of providing a wealth of information on her blog, Barbara has also written two eBooks on home staging.

If you order either of these eBooks, Barbara will include her eBook on furniture arranging for free! She focuses on using what you already have, which is the best way to decorate :-)

Go check out Barbara’s blog and be inspired!

Remember

The 11th month on the 11th day at the 11th hour…

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae