Monday Meandering & Giveaway Winner

And here we are again! It’s Monday, the middle of October already! Hope you had a happy weekend!

1) My latest Houzz ideabook is live and it’s entitled “20 Finds for Staging Your Home” or just to freshen up your home and add personality.


I love this print by Yangyang Pan – the vibrant colours and composition are brilliant.  I have recently commissioned her to create an original painting for one of my client’s and can’t wait to see it when it’s finished.

2) Last week, I attended a book signing at CB2 hosted by Style at Home with none other than Bob and Cortney Novogratz.   Their latest book, “Home by Novogratz” features 20 homes that they have decorated so that you too can get the “Novogratz look.”  Read my interview with them here and read more about the event and enter to win a copy of the book in Style at Home’s post here.

Yep, just a regular night hanging out with our besties. :)  They were so charming and friendly and it was surprising to hear that even though they have lived in NYC for the past 20 years they have never visited Canada.

This table, chairs and area rug are part of their collection with CB2.

3) That same night, we attended the opening of the FLOR Toronto store. FLOR creates 20” x 20” modular carpet tiles in all sorts of cool patterns and colours.  You can arrange them to create one of a kind area rugs and runners. Here’s a fun photo of my girls and I at the photo booth – note the floor tiles in the background.

 
4)  The winner of the $200 Paint it Like New Giveaway (chosen by random.org)  is Michelle of Sweetsuite 10.  Congrats! Please email me so that I can pass along the details to you.  And please be sure to send me the Before and After!

Have a happy week everyone!

If you require decorating/design advice, please email me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis.com.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Just popping in to wish  my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Columbus day to my American friends. And I’m sure I’m missing holidays in other parts of the world, so Happy Day everyone!

via

And with that, I say thank you for reading Decor Happy! It means a lot that you would take time out of your busy lives to read my posts and I really appreciate that!

We’re heading to my Mom’s to celebrate Thanksgiving today.  So looking forward to seeing everyone and enjoying mom’s home cooking. Hope you have a family-filled fun day!

(PS I have been working on Mr. Decor Happy’s Den and will share the design with you this week.

Also, there’s still time to enter the Paint it Like New giveaway here and take advantage of the Geovin sale here.)

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Building Hope: A Home Depot/Habitat for Humanity Build

Being involved in a Habitat for Humanity build has always been on my bucket list of things to do.  So when the folks at the Home Depot/Home Depot Canada Foundation contacted Jennifer and I to walk through two of the homes that were being built, we both jumped at the chance.  (Next year, we’ll participate in the actual build, right Jen?)

I’m sure most of you have heard of Habitat for Humanity but on the off chance that you haven’t, they build affordable housing for families in need.  Their vision is simply:

A world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.

For the past 10 days, (you read that right, 10 days!) Habitat for Humanity Toronto and The Home Depot Canada Foundation  constructed two fully-accessible, semi-detached houses from the ground up.  Over 300 Home Depot employees participated in the building blitz which provided two deserving Toronto families with simple, affordable homes just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend.

This is how the home looked when we arrived Tuesday morning.  Just eight days before that, it was a plot of land.  

A room with a view and a place where dreams can be made:

 

The interior of the other house which was farther along.  These are corporate Home Depot employees volunteering their time and expertise - what a great team building exercise!

A backyard backing onto trees.  

And this is the completed house yesterday just after when the keys were handed over to both families.  It was taken via a camera that provided real time images during the duration of the build:

(L to R) Erika Botond | The Home Depot Canada, Angela Solomos | Habitat For Humanity Toronto, me, Paulette Minard | The Home Depot Canada Foundation, Jennifer Hills | The Home Depot Canada, Jennifer

Angela was so inspiring to listen to and had so much passion for what Habitat for Humanity stands for – not just building homes but building hopes and dreams for the future of the families.

Thanks for this opportunity ladies!  It was truly inspiring!

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Wallpaper + a Guest Post

Happy October 1st!  Hope you had a great weekend (and week for that matter as blogging took a back seat to client work these past few days.)

My friend Tim did a wonderful post on my home last week for his “Our Home” series. He even showed a couple of spaces that I haven’t shown on the blog before. I have shown sneak peeks on Instagram (follow me so you can see them too!)

 Photo credit:  Leah Kirin

This is my powder room now with a bold blue and green floral wallpaper and an original drawing from a local artist.  I can’t tell you how much I love it and I love hearing people’s (positive)reactions when they open the door. 

Below is the previous wallpaper which I liked for the six years it was up but when it comes to decorating “change is good” is my mantra. I think what I like about the new wallpaper is that the background is an off white so it looks fresh whereas the previous one had a beige background and it looked a bit dingy. (Also, and I had no idea – the wallpaper below was hung upside down all these years! It’s hard to notice but yes, I see it now.) 

I’m thinking of changing out the mirror or painting it navy and I am also looking for a new light fixture.

Photo credit:  Leah Kirin

This is my small entry way with another bold floral wallpaper although this one has a watercolour effect. 

When you enter my home, you really get a sense of what my favourite colour is! (PS One day I will change my front door to something other than the standard builder issue.  I have painted it a few times though!)

Speaking of Tim, he is featured in the new Style at Home special issue (available on newsstands only) called “100+ Easy Renos & Makeovers.”  Like me, he is a serial decorator and always changing things up in his home. So, make sure you pick up the issue to see what he has been up to.  Oh, and for my US readers, I just heard that the Organizing issue that I am featured in is on select newsstands there.

There’s still time to enter the Paint it Like New giveaway here and take advantage of the Geovin sale which you can read about here.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

If you have a room in your home that requires attention, please contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis(dot)com. The cut off date for ordering furniture before Christmas is rapidly approaching!

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Sponsor Giveaway…Paint It Like New

Happy Monday! Hope you had a beautiful weekend!

I have special news for you today! One of my oldest sponsors on the blog, Paint It Like New is kindly giving one lucky Decor Happy reader $200 to use for painting. Yes, $200! That could be used towards painting anything – a table, chairs, your entire kitchen cabinets, perhaps?

Remember, I had them redo my daughter’s dresser because I really mucked up the red paint:

And then, one of the best things I ever did was transform a dated pine TV armoire into linen storage (I have a bit of a pillow obsession.) Paint it Like New painted the inside and out and it turned out beautifully plus I love reusing what I already have. 

I’m a big believer in leaving things to the pros when you don’t have the time or know-how to DIY (yes, my hand is up on that one! Time is at a premium these days!)  I love painting items (and kitchen cabinets) in shades of white and cream as they never feel dated and the pieces will work in any room. But that’s just me! With PILN, you can choose any colour!

You can read this post about Paint it like New and their process.

To enter:

• Leave a comment and tell me what you would like to have painted. (And if you haven’t hit the blue “Join this Site” button in the sidebar on the right yet, I would appreciate it if you did! That way you won’t miss any updates including finding out if you are the winner!)
• For an additional entry, “Friend” Paint It Like New on Facebook and leave an additional comment letting me know.
  Note: If you don't have a blog and/or your email isn't evident, please include in your comment so I can get in touch with you if you win!

The giveaway is open to Ontario residents (or any Canadian resident willing to delivery and pick up their item!)  The giveaway closes Monday, October 15th at 8:00 am  EST. The lucky winner will be randomly selected and announced that morning.

Good luck and thank you Paint It Like New for this generous giveaway!

Have a great week!

PS I’m at a preview of Style at Home’s new Limited Edition Home Decor Collection tomorrow am from 8-10. You can follow all the fun and see sneak peeks on their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages.  The cozy throw above is calling my name!

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Where I’ve Been…etc.

Friday already? Thank goodness!

1) You can find me over at the Fieldstone Windows blog where I share what’s been catching my attention lately (and that of every other design blogger!)

2) House and Home wrote a fun post about the event at the Princess Margaret Showhome.  You can read it here. I have my (winning) ticket – do you have yours?

(I really must stop wearing these shapeless tops – even though I love this one from Top Shop in NYC. You don’t realize until you see a photo of yourself, how unflattering they are! )

3) I attended a trade show for designers and decorators this week. Besides catching up with designer friends, I loved seeing all the new fabrics for Fall 2012. You know I’m a big fan of grey and yellow/mustard as shown in this bathroom and this bedroom, so when I saw these, I was very happy. I can see them on a headboard,  chairs and you may just see them in Mr. Decor Happy’s Den. They are even more gorgeous in person. Fun, right?

 

4) Don’t forget about the Geovin Sale!  Pop by the store this Saturday, if you get a chance!

Have a happy weekend!

If you need help creating the room of your dreams, please contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis.com.

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Sponsor News: Geovin Furniture Sale

Happy Wednesday!

I’m happy to announce that  Geovin Furniture is offering 20% off their furniture for Decor Happy readers until October 15th. How great is that? (You can also show the flyer on your phone rather than printing it!)

It’s not too early to be shopping for furniture for Christmas as lead time is often 8-12 weeks.

They have just moved to a new showroom and are showcasing their new products.  I am in love with many of their pieces including this upholstered headboard:

And this dining table which I have used in a project to be shared soon!

I can’t say enough about this company and their Canadian made, solid wood furniture.  You can read a previous post here and see a dining makeover here.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis.com.  Happy shopping!

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