Style Trending 2016

Elle Decor has posted the top 1o home decor trends for 2016 and I’m excited to give you my personal spin on it.  They have announced that a formal dining room will be one of the biggest trends you will see in homes this year. This is the year of entertainment, but even more importantly, the family abandoning the television to spend quality time with each other around a dinner table.

House Beautiful talks about making everyday rooms glamourous by adding texture and patterns, creating depth and conversational interest.  I chose the picture above because it is a perfect idea of how I would marry these elements together to create the perfect formal dining room.  The wallpaper is a good example of a traditional textured base to begin a room’s appeal. Next, comes the bold black and white striped curtains, and chevron pattern ‘marbled’ rug that adds drama to the room and allows a traditional space to borrow a chic and contemporary style. The mix and match of white upholstered captain chairs and dark leather side chairs give a a bold and daring statement to the room, topping everything off with a showstopping crystal chandelier.

This is a fantastic example of combining new trends as well as conserving old ones, in order to make a typical room look like a million bucks! I am down for that. So, I guess your next question would be, “Is this a space that family can kick back and feel comfortable in?” Well, I believe that life is what you make it. Everyday that we are alive and have breath, it should be a celebration. What greater way to celebrate the simple things like spending time with family, by creating a living space like this one? Bring the kids into your new dining room, put out the cereal and milk, and make a mimosa toast to new beginnings and another beautiful room to live in.

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End of Season Sales

I was watching Rachel Ray on tv the other day, and she had a shopping expert on her show talking about the best items to buy in January. After the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, you should always be sure to save a few dollars for retail’s “down time”.  The time where the Christmas rush has died and the stores are preparing themselves for spring. The expert mentioned that purchasing furniture at this time of year guarantees you the deepest discount, along with exercise equipment as it is in excess, and priced to move out the door.

However, if you are looking for those smaller purchases, the sale end of a department store is your best bet! I recently visited the Superstore and was pleasantly surprised at the items they had priced to go. Items such as wooden serveware, dining stemware, and my personal favourite, cookware. Yes! Cookware that blew my mind given the quality and the discounted price.

This is a five quart, enamel coated cast iron pot with lid that I purchased in the Christmas sale aisle at Superstore for…$22.00! Crazy. But true. Along with half-priced chocolates, and wrapping paper, this was one of the best purchases of the year, and the year has just begun. So, if you are out there, take the time to look at all the clearance racks, tables and aisles. There is something sitting there just waiting for you to pick it up and score that deal. In my opinion, end of season sales are definitely worth a peak.