October!

Welcome.

Makes me smile.

Summer in a Vase

It really feels like summer when there is a vase full of Hydrangeas, from the garden, in our front hall:)

Anatomy of a Front Hall

Our Front Hall; before and after...and after...and after...I'm loving number 15. Which one would you like to come home to?

Black Doors + Black Trim

Our Front Hall has another new look:) Another small change with a big impact - black doors + black trim with grey walls (Benjamin Moore's Escarpment).

Always Pretty In Pink

Decided to move The Pink Pencil Mirror to the front hall. With Fall just around the corner I'll be changing it up again soon - keeping in mind a seasonal colour scheme:)

Moving stuff around (again:)

Our Front Hall, always a work in progress. The other day I moved The Silver Pencil Mirror there - glamming things up with some silver.
Baskets - The Superstore.

House Proud

I've been feeling kinda house proud lately.
I like this collective of photos. There's no laundry piled up on the couch, no dirty pots on the stove, no knapsacks on the kitchen island and the beds are all made - just another regular day at our house;)
Since we moved in, August of 2006, making things our own has been a slow process - working one room at a time. There are only a couple of rooms that I'd consider done. There are still carpets we'd like to take up, hardwood we'd like to put down, lighting replaced, molding added...the process continues...but, so far so good:)

Moving stuff around

When we redid Emma's room last May Emma's mirror came down and a light turquoise mirror went up. For the past 8 months Emma's mirror has been in my room, on the floor, leaning against a wall. Knowing it deserved better then the floor I decided to hang it. But where?
Hannah suggested the front hall. No, I said, it won't work in the front hall. Try it, she said. So we did.
This is our ever changing front hall as of today.

Our ever changing Front Hall.

P.S. I have a new design consultant (that's wise beyond her 10 years:)

First new year switch up

Our Front Hall gets switched up a lot. The first before shot was taken over the Christmas holidays (our shortest lived vignette to date). I bought the red table at HomeSense, in early December, with the intention of painting it white and putting it in Emma's room. When I brought it home everyone loved the colour! It was so very festive (and notably? Pantone's colour of the year). On Hannah's begging urging we decided that it would stay red and become part of our 2011 very simple Christmas decor scheme.
We ended up liking it there so much that it almost stayed there. Almost. Three days after Christmas I painted it white, changed the knobs (Anthropologie:) and topped it off with a piece of clear glass.

It's now in Emma's room where, as you can see, it was desperately needed - yikes! And our front hall is back to the way it was - for now.

Decoratoritis!?!

This is our Front Hall. All the shots were taken within a year (and yes there have been a few more changes in between). The bottom right is how it looks right now...
Ok, you're right Mr. Stylenorth, I've got Decoratoritis! Not to worry. As long as I stay on my meds; Design Inc reruns, New issues of Style at Home, back issues of House and Home...everything will be just fine;)
P.S. I'm thinking wallpaper might be a nice addition to this space?

Our 'new' old Console Table

We bought this Console Table on Craigslist ($80) about a month ago. It was all about the 3 drawers. As you can see in the before shot it was a little sad looking. Marathon Man didn't say anything but I'm pretty sure he was thinking I drove all the way to Etobicoke for this?! Little did he know...

We added some trim to the front of the drawers, replaced the knobs (love you Anthropology), painted it black and topped it off with a piece of clear glass. Now he knows...

It looks fabulous in our Front Hall (it was due for a change;) and we all agree that it was worth the drive to Etobicoke.

P.S. Thanks again Marathon Man for driving to Etobicoke* twice! (on the first trip it wouldn't fit in his car - oops).
*For everyone from away -  Oshawa (where we live) to Etobicoke is about 60kms (37miles). That means Marathon Man put in 240kms (148miles) for this baby:)

Again! with the front hall

Yes, our front hall has changed again...

A couple of weeks ago I noticed some brown spots on the white ottoman in our front hall (most likely the result of dirty winter boots being kicked off in an unstoppable mad frenzy?#@*!).

I remained calm. Dabbed with a wet cloth. Dabbed more. Things smeared. Started rubbing. Got panicky. Rubbed more. Grabbed The Prosolve (if it works on pet stains?...). Sprayed without thinking. Sprayed spot turned yellow! Panicked more. Got water! Tried diluting! Stopped and watched the yellow stain grow...finally walked away (admitting defeat). Maybe, I thought, just maybe when it dried somehow the now huge yellow stain would magically disappear and our lovely white ottoman would be lovely and white once again. Didn't happen.

The next day the stain was still there - bigger and 'yellower'. I tried to cover it up with a white throw (magazine-like). Didn't work. It just reminded me of what a mess I'd made!?#@*!?....And so, that's how the 'new look' for our front hall came to be.

The church pew was moved from the upstairs hall, the pine box was moved from the basement, waiting for it's moment, and the mirror is one of mine (Marathon Man has been calling it 'black beauty' which I have to admit seems rather appropriate).

Note to optimistic self: Continue to buy white furniture, regardless of the little people milling about.

Note to Margie: You can always move the vase over if you want to sit down.

Switching up our Front Hall (again)

I don't think our Front Hall has stayed the same for more then 2 months? The other day I started moving things around again (the nature of the beast).
It has a bit of a French Provincial feel now, non? The white mirror is one of mine, from The Glam Series (Karen's Mirror).Why do I switch up the Front Hall so often? I secretly like to put Marathon Man's observation skills to the test. Sometimes he notices the (frequent) changes and sometimes he doesn't (the nature of the beast!?!).

A little lighting switch up

I liked my old Front Hall light when it first went up but then it started to bug me (not a good thing).
The problem: It was too small for the space.
The solution: A new 'bigger' light was purchased (I love you Restoration Hardware).
Then my Dad was invited over for lunch (you have to feed your Electrician) and tada! I'm anything but 'bugged' right now and am loving my new Front Hall light (hopefully for the long-haul).
If you're wondering where the old light went...stayed tuned.

The Loose Shag Mirror, black

For the last couple of months I've had a mirror hanging in our front hall that wasn't 'one of mine'. I was getting tired of answering no to the question that almost every visitor to our house would ask, "is that one of yours?".
I added 'put one of my mirrors in the front hall' to my list of things to do. Months later...
I just finished this 36" in diameter mirror. It's made with hand cut vitreous glass tiles that are put down in a (seemingly) random fashion resulting in a 'loose shag' appearance - thus the name. It's definitely one that needs to be touched.
I make it in a variety of colours and sizes.
P.S. The flowers are Oriental Lilies. Not only are they beautiful but their fragrance is intoxicating. Right now our front hall is a cornucopia for the senses!

Keeping it fresh all summer long!

I'm not obsessed with my Front Hall (really). It just happens to be the easiest spot in the house to 'change up' when decor-boredom strikes (a frequent occurrence for me).

Question: What to do when decor-boredom strikes?
Answer: A big vase and some fresh cut flowers!

Who doesn't love fresh cut flowers?! They come in an array of brilliant colours, they smell nice, they're cheap and they're readily available, especially in the summer. The red glads were just $3.99 (at Sobeys) and the pink glads were only $3.00 (from an Amish road side stand). They all made me smile every time I walked in my front door.
I think I like the red glads the most. Which one do you like?
P.S. The mirror in these shots is not one of mine. This mirror will be moved soon to make room for a new design that I'm working on. Stayed tuned...

A small/big change to Our Front Hall

Our Front Hall just became a bit more welcoming. Thursday was a good day. For starters it was my birthday (yeah!). There was a lovely lunch out with the family (thanks for joining us Margie and Poppa), a new dress to wear, a box of Laura Secord chocolates ('Goldies', my fav) and the piece de resistance - Marathon Man and the girls gave me a new light for our front hall. What more could a girl want!?!
For the past 4 years we've been changing out 'the big tits' (yes, that's what I call them because that's what they look like) in our house, one at a time. Our 'Big Box Builder', apparently, couldn't get enough of them. Lighting fixtures, what a difference they make. To date, we've changed 7 of them (only 10 to go). It's a slow process but I'm confident that one day this house will be 'big tit free'.
P.S. The mirror in this shot is not one of mine. That mirror will be moved soon to make room for a new design that I'm working on. Stayed tuned...

Our 'forever changing' Foyer

The Front Hall or Foyer is the first thing you see when you walk into a house. It sets the tone for what's to come. It's the appetizer to the home’s entrée.
I like to 'switch ours up' from time to time. I'm enjoying the latest look but I'm in the process of making a new mirror and when it's finished I know where I'm going to hang it...