Good Friday Etsy picks

What a beautiful day here in Toronto – bright sunshine, clear skies, warm temperatures... couldn’t ask for a better start to the long weekend.  As I get ready to set up for Easter around my house, I thought I'd share with you some cute Spring/Easter decorations I found on Etsy. 

Happy Easter!
 

1) Beautiful handmade robins eggs in vine nests:

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2) Wooden eggs, dipped in pastel colours – such a good idea!

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3) Cute burlap baskets  – because you can never have enough storage:

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4) A fun little pillow:

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5) A sweet wreath with a birdhouse:


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Spring fever and fabulous art from Michelle Armas

Lately, ever since my visit to Target, I’ve been itching to update my whole house with fresher, brighter, sunny colours. There’s just something about Spring and I absolutely love the various shades of blues, greens, yellows, pinks and corals that you see at this time of year. I could honestly live with those happy colours all year long. But for some reason, I’ve never committed to this whole colour palette fully. I mean, my house is currently clad in more neutral, very muted shades of blues, greens, and greys. I love those shades because they are calming and would never go out of style, but deep down inside, I’ve been longing for a more “fun” and brighter home, especially since I’ve had kids. I want our home to feel more “happy” and warm. I should mention that my husband doesn’t like bright colours, so every time, I have to introduce accessories in subtly, so he could get used to brighter colours. Let’s just say that I’ve had to return a few things back to the store couple of times. He’s not exactly design savvy but he’s got a strong opinion! Since this is his house too, I’ve got to find a happy medium. I don’t necessarily want to change the wall colours, but I definitely want to introduce more colours through new accessories, rugs, and artwork.

I’ve never really invested in great original art before, mainly because it was too expensive, and I used to buy whatever would fit my decor best. It was almost like the last piece of the puzzle. But things have changed. Now that I’m more ‘grown up’ (and have more disposable income), I feel like this is an area that I really want to spend time to invest in. I’m looking for pieces that I absolutely love and that speak to me on a deeper level.  Chances are, you’ll end up loving your home more because you’re surrounded by these great pieces that will make you smile every day.  And since I only want 3 major (i.e. big) pieces: one for above our mantel in the living room, one in the entry, and one in the dining room – I’m justifying that spending a bit more for each should be manageable. The rest of our house is filled with black & white photographs, which we’ve taken from our trips to Europe, and other original photography.

On my quest to find art that speaks to me, I came upon Michelle Armas. Her work is absolutely amazing and these beauties are calling my name. I want them ALL!!!



Laura Canvas Print



That Bowtie I like Canvas Print

Adrian Canvas Print

Louisa

 

Trellus Print
(I wish this one would come in a big size canvas!)

From looking at what I was drawn to in art, I also noticed a pattern emerge and discovered that I did indeed tend to love those more happy bright colour of Spring. I’m telling you, this is the year I’m going to commit and transform my home to really reflect what I love! Let's hope hubby will be on board.

Anthropologie and my new plates

One of my all time favorite stores is Anthropologie. I still remember the first time I visited an Anthropologie store in Florida years back. It was like I found a special treasure. I spent so much time in there, and I couldn’t believe the beautiful things they had, from the clothes to the home decor section, jewelry, hardware, everything.  I had never seen any place quite like it before, and I couldn’t stop talking about it to all my friends when I came back, and wishing it would someday come to Canada.  Luckily for me, my wish came true and 2 stores opened up in Toronto (one in Yorkville and the other one at Shops at Don Mills) couple of years ago and I was beyond excited.

I must admit, I never bought any clothing there before, but my money goes to their home ware and accessories.  They always seem to carry the most unique and prettiest finds.  It’s really the perfect place to find special gifts for my girlfriends who already have everything, or just special hostess gifts. Their house and home selection is just so amazing. I like that the items have that certain touch of whimsy, with an artisanal quality to them. It just feels nice – and original.  And I love the compliments I get from new guests in my house about certain of my finds. I’m so proud when I tell them it’s from Anthropologie – even if most of them never even heard about the place before!

During my recent visit couple weekends ago, I went in particularly to look for some dinnerware. I had been seeing a lot of plates used as artwork before, and I wanted to try to find something I love so I could do a similar installation at my house. It was perfect timing, they were having a sale, and I found the most beautiful colourful, happy dinnerware.   

Look at these:

 

Aren’t they simply gorgeous? I couldn’t decide if I wanted to buy the whole set to eat on, or to display. They had so many other great collections to pick from, but I was drawn to this design because of the colours, and the bird/motif, it just drew me in. They fit so perfectly with what I already have in my dining room, I totally lucked out. I decided to buy 2 of each plate. But I haven’t decided if I’m going to do the plate installation – as it could take me a while to grow my collection and I’m not that patient. I’m leaning towards framing the plates in shadow boxes instead.  We’ll see. 

I must have super timing or something because as I went to look at Anthropologie’s website right now, guess whose plates are on the front page. Coincidence, or  good taste? I chose well indeed.

Anthropologie

 

And the best white kitchen goes to...

If there was an Oscar for best kitchens, this one would take the statue home, hands down. When I first came upon these gorgeous pics on El Mueble months ago, I was almost salivating.  My own personal preference tends towards white, bright, and light kitchens.  However, for a while there, I had been feeling like they all looked kind of the same. Then when I stumble upon this one, it was just AMAZING and had that extra oomph of je ne sais quoi.  I told myself that one day, when I decide to have my own blog, I must remember to share this with the rest of you. Well, this is your lucky day.  Seriously, I don’t think I’ve come across pics of this beauty anywhere else (probably because it’s from a Spanish site). Indeed, you’ll come to learn that I also browse through French and Spanish design sites too – might as well put my multilingual talent to good use!

So without further ado, here’s one of my all time favorite kitchens (source):

 



 

 

Did your jaw drop just like mine?  This place just feels timeless, elegant and refined, has a beautiful blend of function and style, and is a perfect harmony of transitional style (did you notice the “modern” boards on the horizontal & vertical?). What totally elevates this kitchen are all the precious details: the hardware, the cabinet profile, the special touches like the tea drawer, the spice drawer...OMG.  And how about the pantry/coffee station area? To die for.  So clever and stylish, and probably super organized as well. Don’t even get me started on the banquette/eating area, it feels so luxurious, like you’re in an upscale restaurant. Can you imagine eating there every day, sipping your morning coffee with your newspaper? Sigh...

The amazing glass windows separating the cooking from eating area is also pure genius.  You don’t see that everyday, but it’s perfect for that space because of the super tall ceilings. It actually reminds me of a similar installation in Nate Berkus’ NY apartment’s kitchen (which I also adore!).

I also love that there is a great combination of open and closed storage. It’s balanced and unexpected at the same time. On one end, you have the sliding glass upper cabinet, super chic, showcasing the china so beautifully, and on the opposite side, you have these more simple open built-in shelves in a recessed wall.  The play of contrast with light and dark is perfect.  I really just want to move into this place! Every time I look at this space, I’m still in awe. I told you this deserved the Oscar for best kitchen.  There’s just so much beauty everywhere you look, in the details and the entire space itself.  The natural light that floods the space also makes it that much more special.

Now, if I really had to be super picky about one thing, it would have to be the counters. OK, it’s pretty nice already, but from the picture, it looks like a non real stone - almost some kind of silestone. I would have preferred to see a natural material instead, like soapstone, or a dark granite in a leathered finish instead.  Otherwise, this kitchen is absolute perfection! Aren’t you glad I shared? Now, imagine if we could get the tour on the rest of the house? I bet it’s just as equally fabulous.

REVIEW: My first encounter with THRESHOLD by Target...LOVE

The excitement was palpable. Like so many others, I had been eagerly waiting for the opening of Target in Ontario with great anticipation. I mean, who doesn’t love Target, and how many times have we, Canucks, crossed the border to check out the store?  There’s just something about it, right? When I found out that some stores opened up last week, I just HAD to make a visit over the weekend ( even if it meant having to drive like 2 towns away to get to the nearest opened location!) I could hardly contain my excitement when I finally got to the store. This was a grand moment, and I was so giddy.  And let me tell you, it was well worth the drive, as I fell in love...with Threshold.

I was completely blown away by the new Target brand. As I hadn’t heard about it before, I had no idea what this was.  My first stop was in the bedding section, and what caught my eye were these beautiful bedding – the prints were gorgeous, the colours so yummy, and bonus, it was organic. And this is when I was introduced to Threshold. I mean, the packaging alone was so beautiful – so simple, but perfectly elegant at the same time.  I’m a sucker for pretty packaging, and fonts, and this one had me at hello. You could feel the quality, the design – which is so fitting to their tag line: Quality & Design.  I just wanted to grab everything – the blue green floral bedding, the grey ikat, the pink and grey floral, and so many more. I literally raided what was left – and didn’t get some other duvet covers because they ran out of King size. How could I pass them up? I love a beautiful bed, and these were right up my alley and totally reasonably priced.  See what I mean below?

 

After my excitement in the bedding section, I was met with more goodies in the lighting section. This is when I realized Threshold was a collection that extended to other products , not just limited to bedding.  Hallelujah. Again, I was taken by the selection of pretty lamp bases and totally on- trend lamp shades of every style.  I love that you could mix and match to your heart’s desire, and I still couldn’t believe that this was all offered at Target?!  All these decorating redesigns of my home were rushing through my head. I had to contain myself from going overboard, so I decided to be reasonable and only picked a new beautiful blue lampshade, which had this rustic vintage feel, and selected a wooden lamp base to go with it. These would be going in our guest room (really the grandparents’ room), to coordinate with the new blue green floral bedding I had picked out earlier. Oh, how lovely this was coming together already!  Just thinking about the freshened room in my head made me smile even more.

And then there were so many other beautiful accessories, stools, pillows, candles, dinnerware, etc.   I was literally feeling like a kid in a candy store. I wanted EVERYTHING! They did such a good job with the displays in the stores, and I loved also how they showcased the Threshold products in a home environment on the product’s package, so you could imagine how it would feel and look like in your space. Kudos to the creative team - very well done, and in such a sophisticated way. It gave me so many ideas and I was trying to be discreet, snapping pictures with my phone of the package photo so I could remember how to style things at home.  I know, I’m crazy like that but it’s an awesome visual to have.

I could have spent more hours in the store if it wasn’t for my daughter telling me she was hungry – poor girl, it was well past lunch time, and I was so enchanted with all the goodies that I totally didn’t realize how late it was.  We would definitely have to come back – and very soon.

After I returned home, I looked up more information about Threshold and sure enough, it is the new Target home brand – which was in the making for awhile, but is making its full force debut as we speak.  I also came upon this tv ad for it. Fantastic. Captures the spirit of Spring beautifully, don’t you think?

I also love this ad spread, which I found here -  it’s so well styled and fresh, and makes me want to infuse my home with all those pretty things! I can’t wait for my next visit!!  They say first impressions are everything, and I’m totally crushing over Threshold’s Spring collection. In my opinion, it’s a total home run as a first introduction on Canadian grounds.  But don’t just take my word for it, and check it out yourself if you’re lucky enough to have a location popping up in your area. I have a feeling my love affair with Target/ Threshold is just going to keep on getting better - and I couldn’t be happier!