easter

Happy Easter! Oscar, 2 months shy of his 3rd birthday, totally got the Easter egg hunt this morning. It was ridiculously cute and it brought back a lot of childhood memories. I hope you all have a lovely Easter. xo Linds

Ps., I think the Easter bunny found the Frog & Bunny eggs from the newly opened Target in our neighbourhood. The set also came with a fox and a chick.

Happy Easter!

Je ne suis pas du genre à décorer ma maison pour Pâques, et je n'ai pas d'oeufs peints maison à vous montrer non plus... A la place, je vous souhaite de très Joyeuses Pâques ou Glad Påsk avec cette photo colorée de Svenskt Tenn - reposez-vous, profitez-en et mangez plein de chocolats! C'est en tout cas ce que je vais essayer de faire :)

Mais si vous êtes plus décorations de Pâques que moi, vous trouverez plein de jolies idées de dernière minute sur Pinterest, par exemple ici ou ici, mais également ici.

I'm not the kind to decorate my home for Easter, and I don't have any home painted eggs to show you either... Instead I wish you a very Happy Easter or Glad Påsk with this colorful picture from Svenskt Tenn - relax, enjoy and eat lots of chocolate! That's what I will try to do at least :)

But if you are more into Easter decorations than I am, you'll find lots of nice last minute ideas on Pinterest, for example here or here, but also here.

 Photo Svenskt Tenn

Spring One of a Kind Show

My Mom and I went to the late night shopping event at the One of a Kind show last evening. So much fun. I found that there was a lot of reasonably priced art and sweet little items. I appreciate not everyone that reads my blog is from Toronto (or can make it to the show) but every vendor I asked has a website and ships, so I thought you'd like to see some new artisans that I enjoyed. But if you ARE close to Toronto, I highly recommend visiting. It's a super fun show. :)

The top photo is of one of the items that came home with me from Graham Blair Woodcuts.

Here are my picks from the show - in most cases the links are to the One of a Kind Show so you can find the vendors booth number, but from that page you can visit their website.

1. Ele Willoughby, Minouette on Etsy  - Graphic punchy art that would be awesome for a kids room.
2. Cashmere booties by Boogaloo Bubby Wear almost came home with me and I don't even little feet to dress. That's how cute they are.
3. Felted animals by Carolyn Misener caught my eye and at $35 they were amazingly priced. Mom bought a little Beaver for Oscars room. It's soooooo cute.
4. Tissage Magély Weaving - The most gorgeous blankets - this king blanket my Mom purchased.
5. Graham Blair Woodcuts - The first aisle and, my first purchase. His work is gorgeous and amazingly priced. I ended up picking up the top piece of art called "The Three Bears".
6. Heyday Design - Needs no introduction on my blog, love her stuff. And I met her and she's ridiculously sweet.
7. I'm still obsessed with mason jars + candles so I picked up some tealight holders for my mason jars from Pietersma Tinworks
8. Tissage Magély Weaving - Same as photo #4 but you can see some more of their blanket styles
9. Morico (Etsy Shop) - This little circus elephant caught my eye - I think it was around $70 and the only one they had made, and were making because it was so labourous to make. If I were designing a nursery I'd grab that one.

DIY Weekend Projects

Now that we have a bed in the guest bedroom, it's time to rework that room a bit to make it work. Right now the bed is so large (and the room is so small) that the door won't even open all the way!! So one of the things on our to-do list for the near future is to put in a sliding door, and maybe even this cute corner night table!!

Inspired by my to-do list for the next month, here are some great weekend DIY projects I've stumbled across and wanted to share!

Corner Night Table
DIY Pillow Cases
Sliding Door

What are you DIY'ing this weekend?

Spring Fever

Even though it doesn't feel like it, Spring is coming. I just have to keep reminding myself that I won't be trapped in winter forever.

So boy, do I have Spring Fever. All of the retailers have their patio furniture out, and I'm itching to buy some things for our "new" house, but until the snow melts I have no where to put it!!

Here's my shopping list for our Springtime update!

And everything is at Target! I love how I won't have to spend a ton of money to make an outdoor space at our house.  I'd like new Patio Furniture and some matching outdoor pillows, a new gas grill and an outdoor rug to tie everything together.

Does anyone else have Spring Fever and are itching to buy patio furniture with no place to put them?!

L'usine de chapeaux de paille... suite

Vous vous souvenez peut-être des photos du projet de réhabilitation d'une ancienne usine de chapeaux de paille à Stockholm? Elles avaient circulé un peu partout l'année dernière... Et bien, l'architecte Andreas Martin-Löf a été tellement séduit par son projet qu'après avoir dessiné les 39 appartements, il a emménagé lui-même. Aujourd'hui, ce lieu d'exception dégage une sorte d'élégance industrielle discrète, qui pourtant semble chaleureux grâce au parquet en chêne et à la palette de gris, bleu-gris et orange.

Et psst... Aujourd'hui est le dernier jour pour profiter de la livraison gratuite (FR) ou réduite (hors FR) dans la boutique avec le code PRINTEMPS13! Une bonne raison de se faire plaisir ;)

You might remember the photos of the restoration project of an old straw hat factory in Stockholm? They could be seen everywhere last year... Well, the architect Andreas Martin-Löf liked his project so much that after having designed the 39 flats he moved in himself. Today this unique place has a kind of discrete industrial elegance about it, which still feels quite warm thanks to the oak flooring and the  shades of grey, blue-grey and orange.

And psst... Today is the last day to get free shipping (FR) or reduced shipping cost (worldwide) in the shop with the code PRINTEMPS13! A good reason to give yourself a treat ;)

Photo Åke E:son Lindman / styling Lotta Agaton, published in Residence

One of a Kind Show, Easter Table Design

The One of a Kind Show starts today, and I was honoured to have been one of two people asked to design an Easter tablescape that was on display at the show. The task was to design an Easter themed table setting the incorporated 3 items from artisans that are exhibiting at the show. More after the jump!
Right away I decided that table setting obviously was going to revolve around family. I went with the theme of an "Easter family brunch" as it allowed for some playfulness yet still some formality of a sit down meal.

For the design I decided to do a kraft runner for my table.  Kraft runners look sweet but also really are really practical as kids can sit at the table and draw ON the tablecloth.  As a parent you want the little ones to stay at the table long enough to develop some recognition of taking part in a meal with family - but often these big family dinners can't hold the attention of kids. By giving a kraft table runner and a  little package of crayons - the littles are more likely to stay with you at the table.

Next, my concept of a traditional holiday meal with family involves pulling out some special family pieces that you use year after year. I incorporated a vintage teacup and saucer and the little bunny candle holders. Although the candle holders are new to me this year, the thought is that for the family that was hosting these would be something that comes out every year. The playful Carrot pepper mill from Sylvain Tremblay (show exhibitor) is also something that would likely be super sweet to use every Easter and would have a place at the table. (Ps., My Mom has one of his pepper mills and they are GORGEOUS)

You obviously need flowers and I thought I'd line my table with mason jars. Then I remembered Heyday Designs was at the show, so I incorporated one of her ceramic mason jars. A little laid back, but still mixed with other flower arrangements, candles and decor it plays into a little formality. My table was 2 feet x 2 feet so I didn't go too crazy with flowers but the thought is that you would have a row of flowers in different jars. (My friend Kareen gave me a Heyday jar awhile ago and it is still one of my cherished pieces)

What's Easter without some treats at the table so I included Cadury Mini Eggs (because they are the classic Easter treat) but one thing I *always* pick up at the One of a Kind Spring Show is a cookie from  Mad Batter Bakers - so one of their cookies needed to be at the table.
And then you have the bunny seating card I made - again, it just plays into something that a Mom may do for the kids at the table. I tried to keep the table relateable for others and not too over the top.

There you have it! I'm pretty happy with the look of the table but now but the setup yesterday wasn't without some frantic texting to Aubrey panicking that I didn't have enough on the table. I didn't appreciate how hard it would be to style a 2 foot table! I think it's a relateable table design, so I'm going with that mindset. ;)

Anyhow, I hope you like it and it provides maybe a wee bit of inspiration for your decorating this year. I'm off to the One of a Kind show tomorrow night with my Mom and can't wait to do a little bit of shopping.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of a Kind Show Shopping Guide:
Beaver Mason Ceramic Jar ............. Heyday Designs  Booth F-05 at the One of a Kind Show
Cookie ...................... Mad Batter Bakers Booth C-52 at the One of a Kind Show
Carrot Pepper Mill ............. Sylvain Tremblay Booth F-49

My Own Item Shopping Guide
Kraft Paper .......................... My own stock, but find at business supply store
Vintage Teacup .................... Vinatage Shop
Crayons ............... Dollar Store
Bunny Candle Holder & Candles .............. William Sonoma
Bunny Place Card Holders ................. DIY, See how to make here
Cloud "mini" card (used as seating card) .................. The Penny Paper Co.
Cloud Invitations ..................... The Penny Paper Co.

Ps., Tim was the other table! You can see his design inspiration over on his blog.

Broberg & Ridderstråle

Les designers/architectes d'intérieur suédois Broberg & Ridderstråle font partie de mes designers contemporains préférés. Prenez leur collection Tati pour Asplund par exemple: des lignes épurées, un beau mélange de matériaux, des jolies nuances de couleur - la perfection pure! Ils ont également créé d'autres produits superbes pour Swedese, Muuto et Klong, entre autres.

Voici comment ils se présentent sur leur site:
BASES A STOCKHOLM, SUEDE, NOUS SOMMES DES COLLABORATEURS CREATIFS QUI TRAVAILLENT DANS UN STUDIO D' ARCHITECTURE ET DE DESIGN. NOUS CHERCHONS A RAJOUTER UNE VALEUR EMOTIONNELLE A NOTRE DESIGN, EN COMMUNIQUANT AVEC L'UTILISATEUR A TRAVERS LA RECONNAISSANCE DE SYMBOLES ET DE SENS. NOUS TIRONS NOTRE INSPIRATION DE LA VIE DE TOUS LES JOURS, ET ESSAYONS DE COMBINER UNE APPROCHE RATIONNELLE AVEC UN CERTAIN ESPRIT ET LE CHOC ENTRE LE PASSE ET LE PRESENT.

The Swedish designers/ interior architects Broberg & Ridderstråle are two of my favourite contemporary designers. Take their Tati collection for Asplund for example: clean lines, beautiful mix of materials, lovely colour shades - pure perfection! They have also designed other amazing products for Swedese, Muuto and Klong, to name a few.

This is how they present themselves on their homepage:

WE ARE CREATIVE COLLABORATORS BASED IN STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN WORKING IN A MIXED ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PRACTICE. WE STRIVE TO ADD AN EMOTIONAL VALUE TO OUR DESIGN THAT COMUNICATES WITH THE USER THROUGH RECOGNITION OF SYMBOLS AND MEANINGS. WE OFTEN DRAW INSPIRATION FROM EVERYDAY LIFE AND TRY TO COMBINE A RATIONAL APPROACH WITH A BIT OF WIT AND THE CLASH BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT.

Tati / Asplund

Patina & Bumble / Klong

Leaf / Muuto & Divido / Swedese

Par / Zero

Striped Curtain Inspiration

I've given you all a preview to the striped curtains I'm DIY'ing for my living room here, and they're starting to come together. It's been a long, long process - much longer than I planned - but I'm getting there! I have four of the five panels painted, and three of the five panels hung up on the wall.

Whew! I can't wait until they're done.

P.S. They're looking awesome.

I knew they would look awesome because of all the inspiration I've found on sites like Houzz.com. I knew that striped curtains were exactly what I wanted when I stumbled across these beautifully styled rooms.

Now everyone go out and buy/DIY some striped curtains. They're great!

1 Kanal Plot House Design Europen style in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan

bunny place card holders

I decided to make some seating cards for the Easter table. Originally I was going to use just some sculpey and make a circle to hold a card - but then at the last minute I added ears and I think they are super cute. Here's how I did it. 

Step 1: Roll a circle out of Sculpey + take your seating card (or something of the same thickness) and create a slit in the centre. Next, create some ears out of Sculpey. To attach the ears, with your fingers wedge open the slit you created with the seating card, and gently attach the ears to the front half of the bunny head.

Step 2: Take your seating card and put it back in the slit and mould the head again around the card so the card fits snugly, but you know it will be able to act as a card holder. You do this step because after fiddling around with attaching the ears, your bunny head likely got slightly distorted.

Step 3: Follow the instructsion on the packaging and bake. (Mine took 15 minutes)

Step 4: Mix some light pink paint and paint the inside of the bunny ears.

And ta-da! A simple seating card holder for Easter. I purposefully decided not to put a face on the bunny to save it from going too cutesy. 

Materials Used: Clay; Sculpey. Seating Card; Cloud Mini Card via The Penny Paper Co. 

Ps., Sorry for hitting you with so many posts in a short amount of time. Typically I space out posts but because this project is related to a holiday that is right around the corner, and this project was 100% last minute, I figured I should publish it now. 

Grasshopper

J'ai repéré quelques jolies lampes Grasshopper dans cet appartement à Malmö... Dessinée par Greta Magnusson Grossman en 1947, la lampe sauterelle a été rééditée en 2011 par Gubi. J'en prendrai bien une pour chez moi. Je prendrai bien tout l'appartement d'ailleurs.
Bonne semaine!

Spotted a few Grasshopper lamps in this flat in Malmö... Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman in 1947, the Grasshopper lamp was taken up in production again in 2011 by Gubi. Really wouldn't mind owing one. Wouldn't mind owing the whole flat actually.
Have a great week!

Source Bolaget

gold scissors, take two

As much as I liked (and still use) my DIY gold scissors I continued to lust after the "real" thing even after my spray paint project. That's the thing about DIY's - Sometimes a DIY will hold you off from spending big bucks money. Like our Rast side tables. (They are still going strong, still love them and haven't had the urge to replace them ever.)  But the scissors, oh, my scissors. I blame Steph who told me via the comments that West Elm had a pair. Granted, they cost me under $30 so really aren't that expensive.  They make me smile whenever I see them on my work table in my studio.

The DIY'ers and a DIY curtain preview

Who knew that painting grey stripes on white curtains was so time intensive?? My mother/daughter DIY weekend resulted in leg & back aches and only three of five curtains painted. Whew!

So here's a preview of my DIY painted curtains. Hopefully I'll finish them up later tonight.

And now it's your turn! Show off your latest DIY projects below. 

<a href="http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20DIY%27ers" target="_blank" title="Running on Happiness"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8492982155_c22507aecc_t.jpg" width="100" height="100" alt="The DIY'ers" /></a> />

The Rules? They're simple!

1. Take a picture of your DIY and link it up below. 
2. Text link back to Home Coming or pick up The DIY'ers button from the left sidebar and include it in your post so others can get involved in The DIY'ers.
3. Become a follower of Home Coming. I'd love to have you! 

Pastel Colors: Good or Bad for Staging Your Home?

If you want to stage with pastels, there are dos and don'ts to learn.

When you think of pastel colors, do you envision sickeningly sweet pinks, lackluster yellows, and hospital room greens?

That kind if thinking is so yesterday. Pastels can be just the ticket not only for home staging, but for home decorating in general.

But only if used in the right way.

In order for pastels to flatter your staged rooms, they need to be the background and secondary colors. Not scattered through the room as accents.

By definition, a pastel color is any color mixed with white. Think soft blues, delicious peach, smokey lavender, creamy yellow, dusty greens, and sea glass shades of teal.

If you had to choose one word to describe the effect of pastel colors in home décor, the word would be “soothing.”

Sure, you want to wow home buyers visiting your home for sale, but you don’t want to blow them away with highly saturated, vivid colors that might night be their first choice.

Need more reasons to paint some walls or furniture pastel tones in preparation for the spring home buying season? Or for refreshing your window treatments, laying down an area rug, buying bedding, or recovering some chair seats that cash in on pastels' appeal? 

Pastel-toned furnishings are less likely to fight with each other for attention,
and accessorizing them is a no-brainer. Photo: diadapolenta.com.

You can easily build a color scheme around various shades of one or two pastel colors,
as in this lavender and blue room. Photo: housetohome.

Eight Reasons to Love 'Em.

• Pastels are more benign than bright colors. They’re less likely to offend buyers because they are never garish.
• Pastels are comforting and relaxing. They’ll encourage buyers to slow down and linger.
• Pastels are not distracting. They make it easy for buyers to appreciate your home’s important qualities, like layout, flooring, room size, focal points and other features.
• Pastels are cheerful colors. They are reminders of happy celebrations like birthdays, showers, weddings, and springtime holidays.
• Pastels combine well with accents of brighter colors, with wood tones, with white, and with touches of black that give definition to a room.
• Pastels are appropriate for almost every décor style. They're at home in rooms decorated in Contemporary, Colonial, Asian, French, Scandinavian, Shabby Chic, and any combination of styles.   
• Pastel colors are easy to paint over. If your home’s new owners want to choose their own colors, pastels are more likely to need only one coat of paint rather than two.
• Pastels look fresh. They build confidence in the buyer's mind because they "feel clean." 

Do you have some pastel colors in your home on the market? Pastels aren't perfect for accent colors, but they can be the perfect background and middle color of any room. Keep the entire room in a pastel scheme, and you'll look stylish and well-staged. 

Want more advice on staging your home? Download my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips to Sell Your Home Fast and for Top Dollar. You can access it immediately, for just $5, and it comes with my money back guarantee.  

top photo: Sam Allen Interiors.

easter goodies

So just a few Easter things going on over here. First, it's worth re posting this project that will occupy your time with the littles this week. Simple DIY painted rocks that look like Easter Eggs will give you hours of fun and not to mention some pretty cool decorations for the house. I'll probably be heading to the beach to collect new rocks with Oscar to do this all over again. Here is a link to the original post.  See more of our decorating around the house after the jump.

I picked up these two candle holders at William Sonoma on Saturday. I typically buy things in threes but a set of two of these was just shy of $20 so I opted for just two in our house. I decided to just let them be little "ah-ha's" in our Easter decorating vs. being a major part of a tablescape. Aren't they sweet? They would be equally as cute for a baby's first birthday or a baby shower. (You can tell I was justifying the purchase in my head)

I've pulled out my Easter bunny that I picked up for Oscar's first Easter from Ddavis Objects here in Toronto and it continues to be something I look forward to bringing out and having on display. Even though I love my classic decor I can't resist the super kitchy decorations from the dollar store so the house has some of them hanging up.  (Like this awesome pouf one of the Easter Bunny)

That is so far our Easter decorating in our house. :)

Vente éphémère!

Je suis ravie de vous annoncer que nous préparons une nouvelle vente éphémère à Paris! Du 10 au 14 avril, en plein coeur du Marais, vous pourrez (re)découvrir les univers de Happy Home, Le Repère des Belettes et La Maison d'Anna G. Des objets de décoration contemporaine, vintage et scandinave, de la papeterie, du textile, de la vaisselle, de la déco murale... Bref, un évènement à ne pas manquer si vous êtes à Paris!

I'm so happy to let you know that we will open a pop-up store in Paris again! From April 10-14, in the heart of the Marais district, you will be able to see and shop the collections of Happy Home, Le Repère des Belettes and La Maison d'Anna G. Contemporary, vintage and Scandinavian accessories for your home, stationery, textile, kitchenware, wall prints... In other words, an event you don't want to miss if you're in Paris!

DIY Weekend Projects

I'm so excited for this weekend to be here because my mom is coming for a mother/daughter DIY weekend!!!

Even though she only lives three hours away, I haven't seen her since Christmas and I can't wait for her to get here.

She'll be bringing her sewing machine to teach me how to sew (or try!!) so we can make curtains and maybe a few pillow covers for my house. So in preparation for our big weekend, here are a few of the blogs I've been reading up on so I know what I'm getting myself into.

As you know, I'm on the hunt for some great fabric. I've found some patterns that I like for my grey curtains and pink pillows that I shared with you in my post here. But today I fell upon Pink Chalk Fabric's online store and they have some awesome fabric styles!

Since I have never sewed before, I've been searching for some really simple DIY Pillow Covers options. And Pinterest has a plethora of how-to's like this one, this one, and this one.

And last but not least, how the hell do I know how much fabric to buy for the curtains I'm making? Imagine Design tells you here!

Happy DIY'ing!

bits + pieces

Another "iphone" post for my blog. Again, this is howI feel my week has been - random. I feel like we're all over the place trying to fit everything in that we need to do. Anyhow, here are some things worth sharing to end the week. xo

• My friend Jenny has a super cute Easter post on her blog. She just has an all around sweet blog.
• Saw this on my friend Steph's wall. Are you a social farter? 
• Thinking about balance bikes for Oscar. How cool is this one? 
• You have a chance to win a custom stamp over on Shannon's blog!
• Aubrey and I went to a birthday party for friends at Big House Pizza on the Danforth and I had a bite of the "Sir John A. MacDonald" pizza and it tastes like a Big Mac. They deliver. Order. I assure you it's good. 
• We're thinking of going with a pre made vanity for our washroom reno and hacking it so Aub and I browsed vanities at Lowes. More on that later. Can you tell I'm dragging my feet with this reno?
• The photo in the bottom right just makes me smile. Oscar and I went for a date - we went swimming at the sports club and shared an ice cream in the restaurant. Actually, he ate the ice cream and occasionally offered me a bite. And we played cars. :)

That's it! I'm off for an afternoon tea (not high tea as some refer to it) at the Windsor Arms hotel with some lovely ladies on Saturday to celebrate my sister's birthday. Have you been for an afternoon tea before? If not, I highly recommend endulging one day. ;) Anyhow, I hope you have a nice weekend. xo

Un peu d'inspiration danoise...

Une sélection de jolis espaces de vie, trouvés sur le site du magazine danois Alt for damerne.

A selection of beautiful living spaces, found on the website of Danish magazine Alt for damerne.

Source Alt for damerne