It’s that time of the year again, post holidays, when you might be considering getting a gym membership to get a fresh start on the New Year. But before spending the money on gym fees, have you considered creating a home gym instead? You can work out around your own schedule, you don’t have to drive anywhere and you don’t have to share fitness equipment with anyone. In addition to those...

I just love starting the New Year with a new calendar. This year I bought an oversized stylish wall calendar that plays double duty:  it keeps track of our family’s schedule and acts as a piece of modern art on our walls. This is the kind of calendar you don’t want to hang behind the pantry door or inside a kitchen cupboard hoping that no one will see it. Au contraire, you’ll want...

If you have only a few minutes to decorate for Christmas, hang a holiday wreath. It’s a simple and easy way to add instant holiday cheer to your house. They come in all styles, shapes and colors so you’re guaranteed to find one to match your décor or holiday theme.  According to Elle magazine, these are the best ones you’ll find this season.   Here are some of my my favourite ways to hang a...

With party season just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to brush up on etiquette to avoid any embarrassing moments. Those table manners our parents taught us are always good to review when we’re rusty, and to share with children too. They’re life skills that come in handy not only for parties, but for business lunches or even when dining with the in-laws for the first time.   Here...

Since we eat with our eyes first, I always like to create a good first impression by dressing up my dining table with an eye-catching centerpiece. I also like to keep things simple, so creating something that doesn’t require much work is always a priority. Here’s a quick and easy Christmas centerpiece idea that can pulled together in minutes and is guaranteed to deliver a soft elegant glow at the table. I...

What’s hanging on your walls reveals a lot about your personality. These days almost anything goes for wall décor. There are so many options available, you can have fun finding something that expresses who you are. So what do you want your wall décor to say about you? Here are some of my favorite quirky things to get you inspired. Art with spots When I saw this large canvas featuring a dalmatian with...

Do you want to know if grey walls, faux fur throws or orange pillows will still be on trend in 2016? I’ve searched high and low to get a sneak peek of what to expect in the home fashion world for next year. Here’s what I’ve discovered. Starting with paint color trends for walls, two of the top paint companies in the USA – Benjamin Moore (BM) and Sherwin Williams...

I love this time of the year when stores are all decked out for the holiday season, it gets me in the mood to get my house holiday ready earlier versus later. So here are a few of the things that caught my eye while shopping for decorating ideas. Let’s get festive! I took this picture at one of my all time favorite home accessory stores in Montreal, Zone Maison. They do...

I walked past this multi-colored barnwood vignette admiring its blue gray repurposed wood finish, but as I got closer I realized it was self-adhesive removable wallpaper. It completely fooled me from a few feet away; that’s how real this faux reclaimed wood pattern looked. When shopping in Montreal at Item Maison, a trendy furniture and accessory store in the new community of Griffintown, I fell in love with this new self-adhesive...

If you find yourself staring at a blank wall in your home, you’re not alone. When Jennifer over at the Clean and Scentsible blog wrote a feature on our picture hanging tools, we were reminded just how common it is for people to procrastinate about hanging things on their walls. The comments posted by Jenn’s readers really hammered the point home (pun intended!). Here is a sampling of the comments: “I’ve got a STACK of...

As most of our regular readers know, we’ve spent a lot of time renovating the Purple Door Cottage over the past few months. It’s fun to reflect back on the journey, and it seemed like the perfect excuse to try out Flipagram. We used the app to create a video slide show highlighting our favorite scenes captured as the renovations and redecorating came together. The video was super easy to create, and it seems to...

When choosing art for your home, consider the shape of your walls and place pieces to fit the space. Here, the short, wide space between the window and table is perfect to display anything horizontal in shape. Since I didn’t have a single landscape sized piece, I hung two small pictures horizontally. First, place your furniture exactly where you want before you start hammering nails in your wall. Take all the accessories...