veganfamilyadventures

March is the month when my heart beats a little faster because spring is on its way and opening our summer place begins to be a reality. Each year at this time I plan what the coming year will bring in repairs and DIY projects.  This post summarizes some of our past projects and how they have come together to create our special place. It is modest and quite ordinary looking when viewed from the outside, but  we have a million dollar view, and an interior that reflects our interests and skills.  We are perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on the Bonavista Peninsula in Newfoundland and through the seasons we see icebergs, seabirds, whales and beautiful full moons.  One October I even saw my first display of the Northern Lights. Come along for a virtual visit to Ryall's Seaside Home and Studio. View outside the studio window mid summer After the storm Full moon over Bonavista It's a magical place and it hardly matters what goes on inside, but over our years here things have e

If you've decided your decor is predictable after reading my last post, and you want to spice things up a little this post is for you. Here goes.... 1. Rebel against  over-matching  accessories If you choose an accent colour everything does not need to be that colour!   Consider breaking up the accessory load with a complementary colour scheme  or by choosing several colours side by side on the colour wheel. source  source  A lively mix of pattern and colours brings energy to neutral spaces. Imagine this room without the colour. source  And for those who like a more traditional space, here's an adventurous mix of patterns to create a very soft look.  Notice how the orange is repeated in the flowers, and the pink in the flowers on table and the books, but the yellow stands alone. That makes it a 3, 2 and 1 colour distribution.  Subtle but everything counts for interest and variety. Now I want to repaint the walls soft white. 2. Mix old and new together in one space  Briggs Solom

Have you ever gone into someone's home  and it was so perfect in every way that you were almost afraid to sit down or move? When everything looks new, co-ordinated and just so, you end up with an unwelcoming and often boring home.   Such spaces can make visitors feel confined and uncomfortable.  Nothing invites you in because when  everything is  perfectly matched objects become a blur.  Is there a middle road? What makes an interesting  and inviting space? Do you need a large budget to have a great home? Fortunately you can have a very interesting space on a modest budget.  It just takes a little ingenuity.  As with most things in home decor what someone finds interesting  or inviting is dependent on their likes and dislikes;  I can only write about what I find interesting in a space.  Here are some of the characteristics I think   create interesting spaces. It has a collected feel That simply means that the home has objects that have been acquired over time and in different ways.

When someone says dining room, what picture appears in your mind?  Try  it.  List the elements. For many of us these words conjure up a dining room set with everything matching, a chandelier and some sort of hutch or maybe buffet.  Probably a picture of some sort will be included.  I bet matching is the most obvious characteristic. It doesn't have to be that way unless that's what you like.  Here are 5 ways you can  make your dining space stand out a little. Mix and match your chairs and table The days of dining sets have moved behind us.  In many magazines you will see all sorts of mixing of styles, materials and colours. I love the look of upholstered chairs with a wood table. They soften the hard edges and provide some relief in the "wood" department. Some adventurous types will go for two different styles of chairs.  Adore magazine  Another option if you aren't too adventurous is to upholster each of your wooden chairs with a different, but co-ordinated fabric