$$$$ My Priceless "Art" Collection $$$$

As I have mentioned before, much of the "art" on my walls are family photos, especially those of my kids. I'm not a big fan of dime a dozen pictures you find in big-box stores or decor shops. I don't mean that in the snobby sense but I just don't believe in hanging a picture I don't really love just for the sake of filling a space. That's not to say I have much in the way of real art. Money and selection have always gotten in the way of me starting any kind of "collection". Instead, I have relied on art my kids have created and pieces I have picked up at fleamarkets and garage sales. Also, I would rather stare at a picture of one of my children as a baby or being natural, than just any old picture. Someday I will invest in art by real artists, but even then, it will likely be work from up and coming artists rather than anything that hints at too much formality.

My sister has some wonderful artwork. She has some very talented friends and also scours ebay and yard sales looking for a piece that "speaks" to her. Also, her kids have done some beautiful watercolours that I have been strongly hinting at acquiring for too many years (hopefully this hint will work). She has a knack for choosing just the right piece and her home reflects that. Art for art's sake as opposed to for pretension...

The stories behind the photos here are (in no particular order): my youngest son as a baby looking out the window at some birds. I love his sweet little profile and this picture will keep him forever as a baby in my memory; the framed top of a pillowcase done in redwork that says, "Sweet Dreams"...perfect; a picture of poppies on a stretcher frame that I got on my Mother's Day trip to the Christmas Tree Shop. I just loved the colours and the price; a portrait of my daughter that I took when she was four. I have it framed with two others like it (but with different natural expressions); a vintage picture of a boy scout and his dog I found at Value Village; a picture her brother coloured of them both in the tub; and a photo of my boys cuddled up on a chair...they have always been the closest of brothers.

So there you have it! Just a few of my favorites from my "collection". I hope I will always keep this unsophisticated approach to art as it is me. I like things to be relaxed, simple and pleasant to look at. I will never have to insure any of it, and most of it will remain on my walls somewhere for a very long time...and when the time comes when I can begin to make some real purchases, I will enjoy every minute of it!!

Boys will be boys...

When my boys were little ones, there was not the selection there is today with regards to clothes or room decor. If you didn't want to decorate with planes, trains, or automobiles, you were left with toy or t.v. related themes, or maybe nautical. Today the market has exploded with decor options and with the added allure of vintage decor schemes, you can have a lot of fun designing a room for the little man in your life.

The most important thing to remember when decorating any child's space is that the child will grow up! Don't invest too much money on small-scale furnishings. Instead purchase beds, desks, and dressers that will grow with your child and have fun with the accessories and bedding instead. In my experience, boys are even quicker than girls to outgrow "baby" themes. They want to feel like big boys and will shun your attempts to style their space at quite an early age.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if my boys were smaller, one of them would have a vintage cowboy-themed bedroom. Unfortunately, I missed my opportunity and have had to relinquish much of the control over their rooms to them. So have fun while they are little, and don't be a "momzilla", trying to stick decals on their walls and hang cutesie curtains long after they reach that tween phase...

When decorating an older boy's space, try to incorporate a desk area, a comfy place to sit, and a display area for their treasures. This photo shows an excellent way to display those trophies that they are so proud to have won, and they look more like wall art than clutter (which they only are if they are our husbands trophies...not our precious sons'). If you have more than one boy sharing a room, find their common ground and let it be a starting point from a decor perspective. If they both love to ski or snowboard, try adding accessories like in this room. If it is a shared sport they have in common, add tasteful nods to it and try to get them to agree to matching, or at least coordinating, bedding. If you are brave, and they are not too daring, give your son the option of choosing the paint colour. If you are not so brave, narrow the colour down to three shades you are o.k. with, and let them choose from there. Baby steps...

Have fun with lighting. Opt for something modern in design or use an exterior fixture. They tend to be more masculine in style and can be used in a variety of themes, especially nautical. If hockey is the style, hang their curtains from hockey sticks used as rods. If they love geography, frame a world map and hang three clocks set at different time zones above it. Add some vintage globes and a "wordly" theme is born. You can have lots of fun thinking outside the box with boy's rooms. The colours can often be bolder (think red) and the accessories more rugged. Scour flea markets for fun stuff like old oars, skis, skateboards (to be made into shelves), sports equipment, etc. I have even gone as far as taking a bare-limbed tree and hanging it from the ceiling, added fake bugs to it, and put mini lights in it for a twinkly night light. Cheap, easy and different. My little bug-lover was thrilled!

Enjoy this opportunity to create a special room for your son(s). Include them where you think they will be of help, get them to draw and frame their own wall art, and if you are opposed to posters (as most mothers are), help them to create a collage of their favorite magazine pictures/posters and pin them to a cork board. They can change it at their whim, and you can feel like a cool mum who is showing their boys how not to decorate like the boys of old!!!

***next up...I will discuss how to create teen/tween friendly lounge areas to encourage your big boys and girls to bring their friends to your home...where you can keep a closer eye on them...!!!***

A Room With A View

I know a lot of people with little girls. I came across these great photos and decided I'd share some more room ideas for decorating a little girl's space. I tried not to focus on only pink rooms, but there sure are a lot of pink rooms out there! I was thinking back to the rooms of my girlhood and I think I have always gravitated towards pink. I know I certainly had my share of seventies decor, but once I found my feet, I think I had pretty nice rooms. Of course, in those days, wallpaper... the busier the better, was all the rage. I remember some of my rooms being more of a kaleidoscope of colour than anything...

I often marvel how times have certainly changed since I was a girl. The overall attention we pay to our children is unbelievable. Even with regards to decorating, when did it become the norm to give so much thought to our kid's rooms? All of a sudden it has become very important to give our kids these beautiful, stimulating personal spaces...play rooms, swing sets that have grown in size to monumental proportions, playhouses (hey...there's nothing wrong with those!!!), and even personal "home gyms" geared up to our little monkeys with mini rock walls, gymnastics mats, etc., etc.

Is there anything wrong with any of it?? Are we just pampering our kids or are we indulging our own childhood fantasies? It seems like the more money we have, the more we spend on creating this fantasy land in our homes and backyards for our little angels...

My final word is ( and I'm no expert), it is all o.k. as long as we are doing it for the right reasons, we can afford it, and we aren't doing it to make up for the times we are too busy to just enjoy our kids and what they have to "offer". I have been guilty of trying to create these "perfect" play spaces for my kids to enjoy, when all they really wanted to do was to lay at my feet in the kitchen with a toy car or play with their toy kitchen, which by the way, always entertained them better if it was in the kitchen alongside Mummy and/or Daddy. I've tripped over many a small child playing at my feet...

The times, "they are a changin'..." and we roll with them and adapt and decorate!! It is definitely lots of fun to create these beautiful spaces for our kids, and we really do enter into it with the best of intentions. Have fun decorating these fanciful rooms...but be aware... in some cases they just might never actually play or sleep (right Wendy?!!) too often in these magical settings. To kids, home is where the heart is...and you are the heart, or center, of their little worlds...!!

**Tomorrow, I'll continue this talk about playrooms and outdoor play spaces...and show you some great boy's rooms. **

Curb appeal...building it piece by piece.

You hear it all the time, there are shows about it on HGTV and it is the new buzz word for homeowners, home sellers, and realtors. Not only is it vital when selling your home, but it is the least you can do for your home. Just like in life, first impressions do count.

I remember my sister, Wendy, saying that when you pull up to your home you should feel happy. Happy to be home and happy to see your home- similar to the feeling you get when your kids come in the door from school or your spouse gets home from work. This doesn't mean you have to have a mansion or a perfectly groomed home. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder. We should love our homes; but again in the same way we appreciate clean faces on our kids or a nice new shirt on our hubbies, the importance of taking care of our homes appearance is clear. Spring is a great time to take a good, long look at our home and see if it needs a good wash behind the ears, so to speak! Every time I walk up to my front door lately, I am reminded that I need to wash down the siding. It is covered in a season's worth of road and construction grime and it needs some loving care to show off the creamy color that I am so fond of. I have nail holes on the window trim that need filling, and the windows need a good cleaning, too.

When I look at the front of my home, I am glad that I took the time to pick out lights that I love, a mailbox that I splurged on a bit, and my beloved porch swing. These are all necessary features (o.k. I might be pushing it a bit with the swing) but they make me happy to be home. That is when I know that I have paid the proper attention to the exterior of my house. Things like shutters (often referred to as mascara for windows), an inviting front door colour and mat, planters or window boxes with pretty, abundant flowers are all things a homeowner can do to improve the curb appeal of their home. Taking note of the need for paint touch-ups, weeding of flower beds, replacing burnt out bulbs in exterior lights are cheap, easy fixes and add up to style and perhaps even that happy feeling to aim for when you pull into your driveway!

To be continued...next time, I will discuss picking front door colours, exterior lighting and that perfect mailbox!

For the love of Lighting

Ikea
Canadian Tire




Some people just don't notice lighting. At least that's what one might be led to believe if you drive past the homes in a new subdivision. House after house has outdoor lights that you know the builder has picked because that is what they have always picked. I am not one of those people. When I drive past a house I instantly search for the lights. If I see spectacular lights, it tells me a lot about the homeowners. I just know their home inside will be good. I'm not always right, but in general this theory works.
I take a lot of time selecting my lights. In fact, I draw up a lighting plan for every home I live in. You've heard the saying, "lighting is the jewellry of a home." How true that is. I have discovered that you don't have to spend a ton of money on your lighting to have it be special. I have only shopped at a U.S. source for lighting once and although the place I shopped from had truly spectacular lights, the price was exhorbitant!! I get most of my lighting at Kent, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, HomeSense, and our local building supply store. I have found beautiful chandeliers, outdoor lights, schoolhouse lights, wall sconces, you name it. I believe in using grander lighting in unexpected places, using outdoor lanterns in foyers, and even as wall sconces.
My absolute favorite light fixture that I have is a glass star pendant which hangs pride of place above my staircase. I bought it specifically to hang in front of the window looking out onto my front porch. It makes me happy when I look at it and sometimes people slow down as they drive by to look at "the star." I laugh when those people drive by... they must be lovers of lighting- like me!!