Written by : Helen McIntyre

The Olympic Torch is coming to little Sidney By The Sea! Come cheer on the torchbearers as they sprint through Sidney!!!!!

You won’t want to miss it! The Olympic Torch is arriving at Victoria International Airport on the morning of Friday Oct 30. It is from there, where the torch begins it’s 45,000 km journey across Canada.

Sidney has such an amazing sense of community. At 11:30, there will be activities, refreshments and music set up at The Mary Winspear Center to kick off the great anticipation of the torch arriving in Sidney. There will also be video presentations being shown that highlight the stories that some people in the community have regarding the Olympics. All this sounds like A REALLY fun day.

We, at The House Dressing are big supporters of the Olympic Torch Relay. I have dressed up one of our windows to show our appreciation, spirit and support for the Olympic Games and Torch Relay. While your in Sidney come take a peak at this colourful display. The colours on the posters are quite vibrant and fun, so I decided to try and mimic this in the decor!

The Torch is actually aimed to arrive in Sidney around 1:00 pm. There is lots more fun going on in Sidney during this memorable day: Town Hall also has some great Olympic activities for the community!

Tulista Park is the final place in Sidney where the Torch will be. You will definitely want to be there, to enjoy MORE music and entertainment and also to wish the Torch Relay a wonderful time on their journey  across Canada!

I encourage everyone to come out and support The Olympics and show Canada and the World that Sidney knows how to cheer on the Torch!

If you would like some more information regarding the events and schedule of the Olympic Torch Relay, or you would like to find out how to participate/volunteer, please follow these links: http://www.sidneytorchrelay.ca/ or http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-torch-relay/

What I think is really fun…..is that you can view the actual route that the Torch is taking across Canada on any given day. Use this interactive map – http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/

Have a great week! Hope you are able to come out and cheer!

Written by : Helen McIntyre

Good Morning!

Some of you will be a bit frightened when I say…………”I have started to put out CHRISTMAS in the store!!”. I know…..I know…..It was only last week that I blogged about Halloween. However, in the retail world you don’t have a moment to spare when it comes to seasonal changes. Its SO much fun putting Christmas out – This process will be slow…….but in order to get everything just right, these things take time! I am super excited about all the wonderful items we’ve picked for this year!

Some of the themes that will be trickling  around the store include:

• Elegant, Woodsy (a take on last years woodsy…but with a touch of elegance and shimmer)
• Crisp White and Red (very classic with a tiny bit of whimsy)
• Antiqued Silver (some mercury, dulled silver – very sophisticated)
• Red Berries, Snow Berries and Greenery (a mixture of traditional berries with some fresh updates)
• Traditional Gold (very warm and elegant)
• Silver, Sparkle Glamour (lots of glass and bling)

For all you lovers of Christmas out there…………be sure to come in and have a look at our gorgeous collections!

Early Christmas Shopping is also a GREAT idea!  Bring your list…and we can help.

Have a great week!

Written by : Helen McIntyre

Hello Everyone!

The Holiday often associated with ORANGE and BLACK is fast approaching! Yes…you guessed it- HALLOWEEN. This year it lands on a Saturday! It’s wonderful for all the children who are trick -or-treating! The Jack -o-Lantern, a carved pumpkin, is also a very unique and strong symbol associated with Halloween.

I was reading a bit about the history of Halloween from “Wikipedia” and this is what I found. I thought it was quite interesting and could make a fun story to tell your children.

“Halloween has origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain [pronounced: sow- wen] (Irish pronunciation: [ˈsˠaunʲ]; from the Old Irish samhain, possibly derived from Gaulish samonios). The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the “Celtic New Year”. Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient Celtic pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Celts believed that on October 31st, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks being worn at Halloween goes back to the Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them, in Scotland for instance where the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white.”

There are many activities that are part of the Halloween tradition: ghost tours, trick -or- treating, bonfires, haunted houses, costume parties, scary stories, horror movies, wearing costumes, carving pumpkins and funny pranks. No matter what age you are………there are lots of  fun ways to celebrate Halloween. My fond memories of Halloween consist of my dad and I carving pumpkins together, and me dressed up in my favourite “white” witch costume.  I used to love sorting all the candy in different categories when I got home.

We have lots of Halloween goodies in the store right now! Doormats, Pumpkin stands with eyeballs, bat candles, paper napkins, crows and spiders!! I have set a Halloween table at the store. Its so much fun on the round cream table! The black place-mats sure stand out! Have some fun with your table decorations! You could use black licorice as napkin rings. You could also pour that orange hard Halloween candy in small glass votives for a base for all your twinkling tea-lights!! Bring in some twigs from outside and place them in a vase as your centerpiece. The artificial crows would look fantastic in amongst the twigs!!

Take a look at these great Pumpkin Stands! There is no need to carve your pumpkin. Just simply place it in the stand. The crazy attached eyeballs extend out to create a fun face!!

I am fortunate to drive by the pumpkin fields everyday on my way to and from work! Take a look at some of these great shots. We sure live in such a wonderful place!

Halloween would not be complete without a SPOOKY recipe!! There are loads of great ones at these websites: Just click on the links below

http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/halloween/index.html

http://www.britta.com/Hw/hwr.html

One in particular that is really yummy and that look so creepy are the “Witches Fingers”  A friend of mine makes them every year!

Enjoy this great time of year and make the most of this fascinating Holiday!

Written by : Helen McIntyre

We just recently staged a home for a lovely couple that are about to put their house on the market. The transformation is fabulous and I want to share some of the areas in the home we addressed and of course show you some before and after photos!

The home itself had great bones and some great key pieces of furniture and art work. All it needed was some accessories, splash of colour, and some minor furniture shifts. Initially we went to the clients home and had a really thorough look around and took lots of photos. We got a feeling for the space and proceeded to jot down some ideas and thoughts. We wanted to use as much original art and accessories as possible from the homeowner. After all, this is their home and its important to utilize these memorable possessions!

Lets discuss the entrance way first since this is the room/area where people will see right away. You never get a second chance to make a first impression! So your entry should be very pleasing and friendly! This area is fairly long and narrow, so naturally we wanted to put down a really cozy, colorful runner. Already the space looked great! We changed the mirror above the small table to achieve some cohesiveness between the woods. The picture beside the door was great except, we felt a series of two would compliment the shape of the space better. We also added a neutral cushion to the chair  and some greenery on the table to inject some life and freshness! I’m really happy with the way this turned out!

Hallway Before

Hallway After

The kitchen is probably the room where we added the least amount of change. Typically you do not want to over clutter your kitchen counter tops, so a minimalistic approach is far better! In this case we added a great iron wall hanging above the eating bar to add some visual interest to the vacant space. The photo of the tulips on the adjacent wall adds the pop of colour that is always so welcoming! On the counter tops we just added some vases with bright coloured flowers to compliment the photo on the wall. We also rearranged some of the small appliances so they would be hidden and out of the direct eye sight of people walking in.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Next, lets move on to the dining room. This space transformation is my favourite! One major change is – We chose to remove the tall buffet and hutch from the long wall and move it to the smaller wall. You’re probably thinking “that doesn’t make much sense”.  In this situation the larger wall was actually feeling overpowered by the large furniture piece. By removing this big item and putting it on a less prominent wall, it actually created a much more airy, open feeling. The radiator unit also was quite visible and also needed to be addressed. We placed an over sized textured basket in front of the infrequently used unit with a whole bunch of thick greenery stalks sticking out. This definitely allows your eye to focus on more pleasing items. By added floating shelves on the large wall, the feeling of the room automatically became calming and 10 times BIGGER! We had a lot of fun accessorizing the shelves with the home owners collectibles, flowers, photos and decorative items. Wall photos were also rearranged and rehung in this space to complete the NEW look! Oh and I can’t forget the beautiful bowl and runner down the table. What a great way to add colour and interest to your dining table!

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After

Moving on to the Living Room. This was another fantastic transformation! There was some great elements to work with in this room. Large Windows, Neutral coloured furniture and a large fireplace. We injected some major colour into the space that brought it alive! First we started with the fireplace…..and brought in a colourful canvas print of Italy. We simply leaned it on the mantle and placed some white decorative candle stick holders beside to anchor the print. In order to have the colourful print feel as though it belongs, we also injected some more colour with the help of an amazing area rug. The texture, pattern and colour of this rug is definitely the focal point of this room! We chose coordinating pillows to use on the sofas and a warm, textured cream throw to complete the look. We also changed the lamps in this room to provide a more modern, airy look. As you will see in the photos there was a long, low table off to one side of the room which we wanted to re-purpose in the space. We decided to keep the table and create a focal point around it. By doing this we added 3 identical baskets underneath to house books, magazines etc…..We took a mirror from the entrance downstairs and rehung it above the table off to one side. A large textured, creamy vase now sits on top of the table with some other decorative items such as picture frames, sculptures and flowers. The mirror also creates more light and visual space in the room while reflecting the the elements from the outside window indoors! A large, over sized cream bowl piled with textured and grass balls completes this amazing look!

Living Room Before

Living Room After

The main bathroom didn’t need much attention, just a few accessories and a new white shower curtain. We hung a beach themed print, added some fresh white towels and a fresh white bathmat. The glass vase in the corner is filled with sand, rocks and curly white twigs. Use your imagination and have some fun with different elements! This bathroom is left feeling very fresh and soothing!

Before & After

The Master Bedroom also did not need much. The feeling was already quite beachy, so we decided to play on that theme! We added another large canvas print above the bed to anchor the furniture – acting like a headboard. We  took an existing, slender folding table from another area in the house and used it as another surface do display accessories. In the corner of the room we filled a glass vase with curly white twigs to add some visual interest on the other side of the room. Some greenery on the bedside table really brightened up the room! A great idea is to also place a throw at the end of your bed – adds to the completeness of the bedding ensemble.

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

This transformation was such fun for us to do. We love being creative and most importantly having the homeowner love their NEW home! If you are thinking about staging your home for resale or just simply want a fresh new look……….give us a call! We would be happy to help.

Written by : Helen McIntyre

Hello! I’m back from my relaxing but very busy holiday in California. I am so glad to be home. Its great to travel, see new places and get away from your day-to-day routine, however I am always so happy to come home to my own house! and of course my doggie, who I missed so much!

I wanted to talk today about incorporating your holiday memories  into your homes.

Before I left on holiday I had hung a series of frames up my staircase wall. I had purchased the frames a while back and not really knowing what I was going to do with them. I then thought of creating a photo frame collage wall! If you have stairs going up to a second level in your home, then you must have the “awkward” wall that leads there! Its hard to know what to do with this space. Well, a collage of frames is a great idea!

The first step I suggest you do, is collect a series of frames. For this application it works best if the sizes are all different. Depending on what your style is, you can choose frames that are all the same colour or mix it up to create a more eclectic look. The easiest way to tackle this process is to place all your frames that you want to use on the floor and then proceed to arrange them in a way which is interesting to you. Keep in mind the slope of the wall……..and try and create a grouping that mimics this slope! Once you have a desired layout then draw the plan on a piece of paper, so you will remember all the random placements of each frame. Try and leave the same amount of space between each frame, in order to create unity. Once you have them all hung on your wall then the fun begins……….(have someone help you hang the pictures, because there are lots of measurements to be done!!) This brings me back to my own photo wall at home. I had not yet put any photos in my frames….and was not really inspired by anything.

VACATIONS are the best way to get inspired! I always tell my clients to use more of their own photos in their homes. Why not use your own photo memories in your house…….Its great to be able to see them all the time and take a walk down memory lane! So, I am doing just that! With all my photos I took while my husband and I were away, I will choose my favourites and get them blown up and place them in my frames. The once “awkward” wall leading upstairs will then be transformed into a California Oasis! Our trip started in San Francisco and ended up in San Diego. We drove down the coast and stopped at some amazing places along the way. I have some great shots of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Sausalito, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Del Monte Forest, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Carmel Valley Wine Country, Big Sur Coast Line, Hearst Castle, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, San Diego Zoo, La Jolla and also Coronado Island…and this isn’t even everything!!!! I’m not sure how I’m going to narrow it down, but here’s a look at some of my favourites!

Lone Cypress, Foggy Golden Gate Bridge, San Fran Sky Line etc….

Carmel Valley Vineyards, Monterey Harbour, Santa Cruz Coast

Hearst Castle, Santa Barbara Beach Walk, Pismo Beach Pier

Once you are finished your photo wall, you can always add more! I started mine with not many frames, but in time I will probably add more to the collection! As you can see, I chose a light wood colour for my frames to compliment my staircase…and a white matting because I find every picture looks great beside it! Take a look at my work in progress! I’ll be sure to post again when I have my photos up!

I have also completed another frame wall in my house. I have a very long hallway that connects my front entrance to my kitchen……To create some interest down this hallway I created a Gallery Wall. I used the same frame size and colour for all of them. I chose a white frame with white matting and a square size. The white frame and matting was to add some brightness, as the hallway does not get much natural light. As you will see in the photo, there are a series of frames, 5 in a row with 2 frames high. My ceilings are 9′ so I could take advantage of the height. I love the repetition!  In these frames I chose to do some photos of my doggie Hana, some wedding photos and also some scenic shots taken while we were on a vacation down the Oregon Coast.

Some of the photos on my gallery wall

Hopefully you are all inspired to look through all your old photos of holidays and special family gatherings, so you can create some magical photo walls in your own home.  Till next time…..happy framing!