I'm very excited about H&H's latest special issue, Best Decorating, which will be on newsstands only starting March 26th!
My colleague Meg Crossley and I co-edited this latest mag over the past several months and we can't wait to finally see it in print. We hope you enjoy it, too, and consider it a keeper issue. It's packed with inspirational images and decorating how-to tips from fellow editors and experts, and it's brimming with product and paint suggestions. (Keep your eyes open for this cover shot, a gorgeous story styled by Joel Bray and shot by Angus Fergusson!)
Working on the issue, we gathered story ideas and inspiration from favourite design websites, books, blogs and magazines — even our own H&H. It was a trip down memory lane pouring over the back issues of H&H, and I had to chuckle every time I saw my living room mantle at home pop up in a magazine spread. It can be slim pickins' for story locations and every editor has, at some point, ponied up his or her house as a spot to set up a photo shoot. For some reason, my living room has had its fair share of coverage. It's small, but has good light and good bones, decent trim work and a timeless mantle (surrounding a fireplace that doesn't work!). There isn't a lot of furniture or clutter in the room (save a sentimental piano I really need to relocate), so that might be one reason the room is often used for shoots. Plus, it's your basic white shell from top to bottom and makes for a clean canvas for editors' creativity.
I've rounded up many incarnations of my mantle. Loyal readers will probably recognize it from over the years. Even our photo editor Leslie Williams knows it well — she's been blurring out the cracks and chips on it for years!
This shot appeared in our July 2006 issue, styled by Stacey Smithers and photographed by Nina Teixeira. Pottery in shades of blue and a faux coral vignette add a summery feel to the room.
This shot from our September 2007 issue was styled by Morgan Michener and photographed by Mark Burstyn. The cubby bookcase was highlighted as an unexpected place to store fireside wood.
This is from our June 2008 issue, also styled by Stacey Smithers and photographed by Donna Griffith. Log wood storage again! This time in the hearth of my sadly non-functional fireplace.
Here it is again in our August 2009 issue, styled by Sarah Hartill and Michael Penney, photographed by Stacey Brandford. The now ubiquitous fallen antlers find a home in the hearth in our Art of Display story.
Here's my living room transformed into a dining room for our December 2009 issue by stylist Sasha Seymour, photographed by Angus Fergusson. The mod artwork conceals the original built-in mirror and totally changes the vibe.
For more mantel styling tips, see our Fireplaces & Mantel Displays photo gallery.
Photo credits:
1. House & Home Best Decorating special issue
2. House & Home July 2006 issue, photography by Nina Teixeira
3. House & Home September 2007 issue, photography by Mark Burstyn
4. House & Home June 2008 issue, photography by Donna Griffith
5. House & Home August 2009 issue, photography by Stacey Brandford
6. House & Home December 2009 issue, photography by Angus Fergusson
I just finished shooting an incredible house for our upcoming March issue about colour. (Look for it on stands February 13th — I think you will love it.) While there was loads of fabulous colour throughout the house, I was most struck by an interior door painted bright blue. For colour shy people like myself, painting a single door is less of a commitment than walls. A fun colour brings so much personality and energy to a space, especially during these dreary winter months. A door with details like panels or applied moulding offers the possibility of more than one colour — double the fun! And of course it's a fairly quick and easy weekend DIY project that doesn't cost a bomb. No rollers required.
Here are some my favourites painted doors:
The perfect blue for a beachside abode or any place that's close to nature.
This may be my fave: a soft blue that still feels fresh. I love it with brass hardware. I'm thinking of doing this at home in my front hall (which is in desperate need of a makeover). I'll paint the stair banister black and re-carpet the stairs with sisal or a striped runner.
Any door style can benefit from a coat of colour. Sunny yellow bridges a bedroom to bath here.
Glossy yellow doors make this entryway.
And how about painting a pair of tall doors for pop?
A powder room is the perfect place to have fun. The pink door and trim reinforce the colour of the grasscloth wall covering and somehow it doesn't feel too feminine.
School house red feels hip and graphic.
Soft grey is subtle but effective, especially when punctuated with hits of black.
For more painted doors and trim, see our Painted Trim photo gallery.
Photo credits:
1. Hooked on Houses blog
2. House Beautiful, designed by Christopher Maya
3. Victoria Dreste Designs blog
4. A Design Story blog
5. Apartment Therapy blog
6. Grant K. Gibson Interior Design
7. CIL blog
8. Little Green Notebook blog
Sometimes all you need to set the holiday mood at home is one big hit!
Bright red baubles suspended from the ceiling (somehow!) add mod Christmas drama to this all-white interior. Additional accessories in red pepper the white table and bookshelves.
I don't think it's actually a pendant light, but rather a unique holiday decoration created by clustering ornaments and suspending them from the ceiling with red ribbon or wire — very reminiscent of Bocci's 28 Series lights. (See our new photo gallery with this light and more designs from Omer Arbel.)
I love the look. Why not try it at home yourself?
A reminder that using just one colour of decoration throughout can be super effective and less busy.
For more holiday decorating ideas, see our photo gallery.
Photo credit:
1-2. Roland Bello
Graphic, colourful and perfect for folks like me who don't have a working fireplace, painted logs are showing up in stylish places everywhere.
I love the way these log ends were painted with bright colours and artfully stacked next to the hearth.
Or in a dormant fireplace...
If you're not crazy for colour, paint the log ends crisp white or soft grey — perfect for wintery decor and at home in a neutral room scheme.
For more ideas, see Andrea Mills' post on Decorating With Wood Logs.
Photo credits:
1. Homes & Gardens magazine, styling by Katrin Cargill, photography by Tom Leighton
2. Jean-Christophe Aumas' Paris apartment, Marie Claire Maison magazine
Earlier this summer, my brother Omar tied the knot with the love of his life, Euriphile, in the Catskills, New York. The venue was an amazing property with open fields, a pond, waterfall and a fantastic barn for the reception, dinner and dancing. Magazine fodder for sure.
It was held at the Roxbury Barn in Roxbury, New York. It's available to rent for events, and the owners, Caspar and Roger, have poured heart and soul into the place over the years to create a truly magical spot.
For the wedding weekend, we shared a house close by with Omar, his wife, and some of her family members. I fell in love with the house and you can see why from these photos. The wrap-around porch, potted ferns and white painted clapboards and cupola contributed to the romance of the event.
I was especially inspired by the interiors and use of colour — always a tricky thing to get right! — and wondered if the owners had turned to nature for colour guidance. The various shades of green, from cool celadon on the walls to accent cushions in sage and moss green, reiterated the palette outside — the perfect complement to hot summer weather.
Palettes inspired by nature: variegated greens and whites...
Velvety grey-green...
Twisting vines in rich, dark brown...
Fallen birch bark — the colour and texture of weathered and whitewashed porch furniture.
The perfect complement to cool green? Vibrant orange. The wall colour in the grand entrance resembled the blooms of an urn planting in the garden.
Upholstery details and vintage billiard balls also added pop to the cool and serene palette.
For more fresh summer hues, see our Summer Paint Colours photo gallery.
Photo credits:
1-12. Hilary Smyth