December 2008 - Posts

Dress Up your Extra Chairs for a Celebration

It’s unavoidable but unsightly just the same: you set up your dining room for a celebratory feast, and those extra chairs you’ve put out to accommodate the number of guests stick out like a sore thumb. Here are some great tips to help integrate those
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Question of the Week: What Do You Vow to Fix in the New Year?

I’m not that big on New Year’s Resolutions, but there are a few things about my house that rouse my anxiety, that I vow to finally tackle in the boring months of February and March to come; one such thing is front hall storage. We’ve no closet space whatsoever
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Top 5 Friday, Boxing Day Edition: Top Five Buys Available Across Canada

What are you doing on your computer???? Get out and steal some deals! These are the best deals on home items we could find that are available across the country, at Canada’s national retailers… LG Neo Front-Load Laundry Team, $1699.98 , at Sears Who doesn’t
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Photo Challenge: Deck the Halls Entries

Thanks to all of you who participated in our December Photo Challenge: Deck the Halls ! Take a look at some of the great holiday decor you sent in: You need to upgrade your Flash Player to 9 or greater Related: Edmonton's Candy Cane Lane
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6 Pretty Pillows

I have an overactive obsession with pillows and pillowcases because I live with a man who is obsessed with all things neutral. I live in a sea of brown and beige, so, as a compromise, I get my colour kick from pillows and accessories. And being at work
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Edmonton's Candy Cane Lane

For three weeks each year in the Crestwood Community of Edmonton, a group of residents transform their homes into impressive displays of dazzling holiday lights and elaborately decorated holiday scenes in order to celebrate the season and to spread holiday
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Video: Samantha Pynn Creates Glam, Contemporary Holiday Table

Red and green colour scheme?? Not here! Not unless you mean “green” as in good for the environment. Earlier this month the lovely host of Pure Design , Samantha Pynn , showed me some fresh, contemporary table top ideas swathed in her signature easy glam.
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Question of the Week: The Christmas Sweater? Over my Dead Body, or Bring it on?

Photo: TheFashionPolice.net We laugh at them every year, and yet, a healthy quotient of our family, friends and neighbours turn up wearing their Christmas tree or Rudolph to the holiday soiree. What I want to know is, how many of those people genuinely
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Hanukkah Style and Menorah Makeovers

Hanukkah is not really like Christmas. As holidays go, it’s got a lot less paraphernalia. What this used to mean is a limited choice in contemporary Hanukkah décor, but this year, I’ve noticed just how untrue that’s become. I did a little perusing of
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Before and After: Home To Flip Living Room and Foyer

Last Thursday on Home To Flip , host Peter Fallico worked on the first impression rooms: the foyer and front room. In order to turn this outdated home into a buyer's dream, Peter had to add a closet in the foyer and some class to an ugly living area —
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Question of the Week: Nativity Scenes? Winter Villages? Yea or Nay? Samantha Pynn Weighs in via Video

As I've already mentioned , I'm not big on going over the top with holiday decor, but some of you go all out! Nativity scenes, villages, Santa and his reindeer occupying your front yard and so on... Are you erecting Griswold-like elaborate holiday scenes
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Top 5 –Actually 6 – Friday: Our Top 6 Favourite Ornaments

So this week’s Top Five picks were pretty hard, which is why we’ve made it SIX… There are just SO many amazing ornaments out there – how does one even choose? Well, we took a stab at it, and decided to keep it to our favourite ornaments Canadians can
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Peter Fallico: Before & After Bedroom Makeover

Putting his money where his mouth is, Home to Flip host Peter Fallico gives the inside scoop on how to find, buy, renovate and flip a house for profit. Last week on Home to Flip, Peter transformed a dark and outdated bedroom into a bright and beautiful
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Shoestring Makeover: Remarkable Rebirth of a Dining Chair

This one, I am SUPER proud of. Please feel free to tell me if I shouldn’t be, but do take a moment to have a good look. This is the $9 beauty I rescued from Value Village. Actually, there were four in total, three of which are awaiting the same treatment
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Amazing Holiday Window Displays at The Bay and Holt Renfrew in Toronto

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that one of my most favourite things about the holiday season is window gazing. The holiday window is a longstanding retail tradition that often takes the whole year to plan. Many of the larger retailers, especially in
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Question of the Week: Love'em or Simply Accept'em LED Holiday Lights?

I realize this is may not be the most apropos opinion to hold at the moment, however, I’m compelled to bring it to "light." What do you guys REALLY think of LED holiday lights? I asked the conscientious host of Pure Design , Samantha Pynn , and she instantly
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Xmas Bling at the Office

So remember last week’s Question of the Week? Well, one of my colleagues at the office just completely put me and my balking at decorating at work, to utter shame. Look at this unabashed display of holiday spirit! When I looked at this photo I knew I
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Cheap Artwork Find: Anything You Want, on a Wall Hanging

Did you know that Wal-Mart’s Photo Centre can take any photo and weave it into a wall-hanging tapestry ? That’s right – ANY photo. That means you can completely indulge your inner sentimentalist and transform a photo of a loved one into a fabric feature
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Colin & Justin Design My Dream Home

Don't get too jealous. Unfortunately, the Home Heist boys didn't actually transform my tiny condo — but the magic they performed on Kathryn and Ken's live/work studio loft in episode 9 took my breath away. This is my ideal living space. I love all the
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Trend Report: Decorative Tile Designs

Perhaps it's a backsplash (ha, ha, get it?) from the sleek modernism that’s had a solid grip on tile design for some time now, but I’m seeing bold, decorative tile designs making a real comeback. I’ve mainly noticed this trend in backsplashes, however
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Photo Challenge: Deck the Halls

I'm not that big on decorating for the holidays, but I do like to add a few subtle things around my place for a little festive touch, like my tiny tree (see below). But I know some of you go all out, don't you? So send us pics of your decked out homes,
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A Tool for Tackling Boring Walls

The winner of last month's Photo Challenge , Ryan M. (see Ryan's wall s) will be receiving a gift basket from Hang & Level for any future wall-adorning projects. While I'll admit that the Hang & Level looks like a pretty simple tool, it really
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Modern Outdoor Holiday Decorating

After the Santa Claus Parade passed, I decided that it was acceptable to start decorating for the holiday season. My interior space is always easy to decorate, but decorating my outdoor space is a bit of a challenge because the small space can easily
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Photo Challenge: Tackling Your Boring Walls Winner

We love how this month's winner took his boring white walls and transformed them into a very convincing faux concrete. Congrats to Ryan M. for successfully tackling his boring walls ! Here's what Ryan had to say about the transformation: "I wanted to
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Question fo the Week: Is it OK to Leave Your Holiday Lights Up All Year Round? Samantha Pynn Weighs in via Video

Many people have strong opinions about it and many more still actually do it – leave their holiday lights up all year round, that is. Is there a problem with that? This week, we've asked the lovely Samantha Pynn of Pure Design to weigh in on the topic.
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