In Canada we are blessed with four wonderful seasons that inspire our fashion choices year after year. In the spring and summer we tend to dress in airy fabrics like cotton and linen, and our colour choices are often bright and light. In the winter we cozy up in wool, fur, and down, opting for darker, jewel tones. The cycle of home décor trends works in very much the same way. Pay attention to the displays in your favourite decor retailer, and you’ll notice how the weight and colour of home fabrics changes with the season – lighter in the summer; darker in the winter. This is not to recommend that you change your decor as often as every season, but perhaps a little sooner than your next overhaul, 5-10 years down the line. Design a la ModThe easiest way to refresh your decor is through colour. Though accent walls have a mixed reputation among design experts, it's all in how you approach it. Using moulding to create panels on a plane expanse of wall in a dining-, living- or bedroom, is a fun way to kill two birds with one stone: create a focal point while allowing for a low-commitment area to experiment with colour. Painting the moulding or the wall within it is much more manageable than painting an entire wall. And look at all your options!Choose a wall that would intuitively make sense as a feature wall and using painter’s tape, determine the size and frequency of your framed panels. If the wall is fairly large, the traditional approach is to space your panels 4-8 inches apart. The panels should start 4-8 inches above your baseboard or chair rail, if you have one, and stop equidistant from the ceiling, crown moulding or bulkhead. For a good width ratio, 1/4th to 2/3rds of the panel's height usually works well. Apartment Therapy; Porterhouse Designs If you're feeling a bit more daring with respect to colour but not so much with respect to panel size, try painting just the molding. You can go brighter with the colour if you're painting just the frame, but bright colours will draw the eye, so you might want to use a more elaborate moulding or create a more intricate panel shape to justify attracting such attention. Whatever you decide remember to choose a moulding that compliments your baseboards and existing trim, thought it doesn’t have to match exactly. Simple Picture Frame Panels
You will need: painter's tape, wall moulding, wood glue, finishing nails, finishing cocking or dap, pencil, ruler, measuring tape, level, primer and paint. 1. Choose a wall and decide on the size and pattern of your panels.2. If you are handy, great. If not, enlist a handyperson to apply your moulding to the wall: a. cut your moulding pieces to size with a mitered end point (cut on a 45 degree angle) b. the bottom piece should be glued first. Decide where to glue your first piece by drawing a faint line the desired height above the baseboard or chair rail and use a level to insure the line is straight. c. place some glue on the mitered corner of bottom piece and on the back of your next piece, which will be a vertical piece, and affix it to the wall, taking care the corners meet as accurately as possible. d. repeat until panel is complete. e. wipe away excess glue f. nail to the wall with finishing nails g. use cocking or dap to fill in nail holes, gaps between wall and moulding and gaps in the corner joints.3. Prime moulding and the interior of the frame4. Paint out the moulding in your desired trim colour, the same colour as the wall itself or to match your existing trim, and allow 24 hrs to dry.5. Use painter's tape to isolate the moulding or the interior of panel
6. Paint on your accent colour as you desire, or if you're feeling more adventurous, try wallpapering the panels instead!
Written by Prop Stylist, Alanna Davey, of The Style Dept.
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Hey there West Coasters, we've got a giveaway just for you! I'm giving away four pairs of tickets to the B.C. Home and Garden Show running from Wednesday, February 22 until Saturday, February 26 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.
Over 425 experts will be on hand to help with your design, renovation, and landscaping dilemmas including Bryan Baeumler, contractor and host of Leave it to Bryan. Don’t miss The Kitsilano Home by Karoleena Homes,10,000 square feet of Dream Gardens and The Ultimate Man’s Backyard.
All you need to do to enter the giveaway is answer the following question:
Name three shows Bryan Baeumler has appeared in the past, or is appearing on in the present.
Email your answer to giveaways@hgtv.ca with BC Home Show Tickets in the subject line. Please include your full name, mailing address and phone number. Read the Giveaway Rules.
Good luck!
Last month, I caught up with iconic designer Karim Rashid at the Interior Design Show's Conversations in Design series. We chatted on a variety of design- and non-design-related subjects, in what by the end felt like a real heart-to-heart. He's charming, has incredible insight, and his passion for enriching the human experience through good design is truly inspiring. It was a conversation I won't soon forget!
In last week's interview, Karim Rashid gave his views on good design. This week, in keeping with February's theme, I bring you his views on Colour. Karim's use of colour is one of the most distinctive aspects about his work and it was fascinating to hear him explain how colour factors into his creative process. Bonus fun: his take on the Pantone colour of the year -- check out my video below, and leave a comment to let me know if you agree or disagree with his views!
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We're late with February's theme, but in our defense, we're trying to make February seem as short as possible. Though I must admit that this year, February has been a real peach. I don't know how Feb's been treating you in your part of the world but in Ontario, Fall shoes have been enjoying an unusually long season.Onto Colour. Even dry and sunny, February is not a looker. Throughout its remaining 20 days we shall blot out the blech with colour, colour and more colour! How to make friends with, choose, use, mix, pop, complement and contrast, colour. February can keep its dirty asphalt, bald lawns, soggy cigaret butts and dog poo (too graphic?): our HGTV colour goggles turn everything rosy!
New This Month:
Discuss photos from new show, Home by Novogratz:
Blog Posts:
Articles
Video
Sam Pynn is a nice person. She knows that we read a lot of magazines and blogs that teach us how to apply 'quick fixes' in our own homes, and she is sensitive when the results of our efforts don't quite turn out as planned, as in the case of this Toronto woman's bathroom...From Veena: "Dear Samantha,I need a new shower curtain and wonder if you have any suggestions. Most that I've seen really look like, well, like shower curtains. The en suite is visible from the living room so a bathroom-y curtain probably isn't ideal.Can you help?Thanks,Veena, Toronto"Sam Pynn suggests:
Medallion shower curtain, West Elm
Dear Veena,I love the pale blue colours of your art, as well as the stacks of books in your living room. I can tell from your photos that you have a very relaxed style and love blues and soft white. I'm also happy to see that your vanity, tub, tiles and toilet are white. I recently worked on a bathroom with sea foam green fixtures!
I noticed, however, that you have a bright lime green ceiling...I'm guessing you were going for a punch of colour in a small space? Decorators and designers are always talking about how powder rooms can be bold and play by their own rules. And they can. But if you're concerned about your seeing the powder room from your living room, I suggest you bring the bathroom colour more inline with the rest of your space.
Woodlawn Blue, Houzz.com; Marimekko Pippurikera Wisteria curtain; Unikko Yellow curtain, Crate&Barrel
I'm thinking Benjamin Moore's Cloud White OC-130 for both the walls and ceiling, as a close match with the rest of your home. If you'd like to continue with the blue vibe, you could test a square of Woodlawn Blue HC-147 on your wall. It's a soft blue with a hint of green that always looks gorgeous in a bathroom. If you're leaning toward a curtain with pattern, I suggest going with the Cloud White so that your curtain can be the real hero (see West Elm photo above). I'd also suggest a solid weave fabric instead of your current organza and a good quality white shower curtain liner. You have a couple of options for a shower curtain: you can go the custom route and pick a really gorgeous fabric or see what you can find off the rack. For custom, Designer Fabrics Outlet is an inexpensive resource for fabric, and Designer's Guild is known for fabrics with vibrant colour and pattern, available through a designer at Primavera. If you don't have a your own sewing resource, Fine Interiors by Susan does a wonderful job of sewing shower curtains. For store bought shower curtains that will have no trouble being the star, try West Elm's Medallion shower curtain or Crate and Barrel's Marimekko line. The Marimekko Pippurikera Wisteria curtain will give you a softer look and work well with the Woodlawn blue. The Unikko Poppy in yellow is a bit more bold and will pick up other yellow accessories in your home.Happy Decorating! Sam
How do you feel about the lime ceiling?
Have your own dilemma? Send in your questions and pictures to stylesheetAThgtvDOTca!