Monday Meandering

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was filled with all kinds of holiday fun!

1)  The new issue of Lonny went live today and I am smitten (as I always am) with art walls in the issue. 

In fact, this entire Denmark home in shades of black and white was jaw dropping. 

The above two images are one wall in a small studio apartment.  It expands the space and just goes to show that if you hang art that you love, it works. There are no rules!  I would love to have an art wall in every room in my home but two are enough for now!

2)  As many of us predicted, the Pantone Colour of the year for 2013 is Emerald Green. My friend Cecilia and I have an annual bet on what the colour is and it wasn’t difficult to choose a green as the “it” colour for next year. It has been everywhere the past two years – in both fashion and decor.

via

I really don’t have any green in my house save for the wallpaper in my powder room (although it’s more of a greyed olive green).  I am working on my bedroom next year and think that green may make an appearance – maybe an upholstered headboard in a green velvet like the sofa above?

3) If you have a favourite family cookie recipe, then take part in Style at Home’s Holiday Cookie swap. You can win a KitchenAid Stand Mixer. But hurry up, the contest closes this Friday, December 14th. Read the contest details here and get baking!

4) Did you see Jenny’s DIY stair runner using Ikea runners? Amazing as usual.  See it here.

5) Everything about this mantel makes me happy.  The moulding, the antique mirror, the scones, those sweet birds…See  more photos here.

Have a happy week!

Make 2013 the year that you have a home that lifts you up! Contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis.com to book a design consult.

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My Holiday Mantel

Happy Tuesday!  Are you getting into the Christmas/holiday spirit yet?

The folks at She Knows Canada contacted me to share a Christmas decor tip with their readers awhile back.  So, I got cracking on decorating the mantel.  I didn’t even pull out the boxes of ornaments and decorations from the basement as I wanted to do something different from Christmases past.

                                                        

I had seen an owl print as part of a Christmas display at a retailer and I remembered that I had taken a photo of a snowy owl at my local conservation area a few summers ago.  I was up close during one of their bird presentations.  I had the photo enlarged and popped him in a frame.
This set the stage for a wintery woodland theme. I bought the woodchip heart from HomeSense, the two deer from the Superstore and the glittery gold and wood bird from my local greenhouse. Then,  I just added in some burlap and my vintage brass candlesticks and that was that!
I have since added in some greenery and of course the stockings are added closer to the big day. Oh, if you looked back at my previous mantel displays, you may have noticed that the wall colour changed. It was a light buttery colour and now it is Para’s P5223-24 (aka Sarah Richardson’s Lily). It’s the perfect greige – not too grey and not too beige. It’s become my go-to colour as it really goes with everything!

(Excuse the terrible photos. Next year, I’m going to invest in a big girl camera - an SLR so I can take better quality photos. I know I have said that once or twice before but it’s time!)

Have you started decorating for the holidays yet? Do you change things up every year?

You can read the She Knows article here.  And I am linking up here. If you are visiting for the first time, welcome!

Have a great week!

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