Fall Decor Around the House

Buh-bye, Summer!  We've had a beautiful and hot summer in Toronto, but as much as I love this sweater season, I'm not loving the gloomy and rainy days of Fall.  I know I may be a bit late in writing about Fall decor, but I still want to document this transition with it being our first decorated Fall at this house.

I got my hands on some Fall decor accessories early on, back in first week of September!  I was incredibly honoured that I was invited to participate in HomeSense's Fall campaign.  It was such a fun experience to work with industry pros, from hair and makeup, to professional photographer and videographer, and of course the whole HomeSense crew involved in this Fall campaign.  Not to mention, how fun it was to be invited to go shopping for my fave home decor items!!

Here's my haul in the cart on the day of the shoot!  I was looking for warm metallic decor, but don't we always add a little more to our cart at HomeSense?  ;-)

The one item I was really hoping to get was the gold lantern, and wow, I found it!  The throw was a nice add-on item...  well, so were the rest of the goodies!

One that caught me by surprise was the tiered tray!!  I've always been on the look out for one, but never really found THE ONE.  I loved the bamboo details on this one and it was love at first sight!!

Throughout the past 2 months, I've gradually added these items around the house.  As the weather gets cooler, the use of warm metallics complements the woodsy Fall decor, enhancing our home with a cozy ambience.

Here's how I used the goodies from my shopping spree to decorate for Fall around our house.

The pack of Fall decorative balls in vignettes:

Here's the copper tiered tray from my haul, together with the decorative balls.  It adds just the right contrast to our cool-toned kitchen.

This is the vignette at our entry way's console table.  I decided to make good use of this copper tray by moving it upstairs from its usual spot on our basement family room's ottoman.  I love the mix of warm metallics by adding the gold lantern from my shopping spree.

The wooden top of this console table helps break up all the gold tones in our entryway:

Just me showing some love for the gold lantern by moving it around the house =) ... Here it is on our living room's coffee table.  I've also added my beloved new throw on our couch:

I changed out the blue pillow cover to this darker neutral...

... so that the pillow covers are a neutral backdrop when I add Fall colours in the new silver earthware bowl:

Then I realized, I still prefer soft colours in the living room over the bold Fall colours:

When I finally put out all the Fall decor, which wasn't long ago, I finally packed up these summer decor accessories:

Yes, I know, my transition in seasonal decor is, umm, slow.  Thanks to HomeSense once again for the invite to this unforgettable experience!  I was able to get the early bird dip in shopping for Fall decor and have my hands on these goodies. 

Now that I have our Fall decor down to a T, I think I can start making way for Christmas decor. I'm not really into bold red and green Christmas decor.  This beautiful display of soft metallics and pastel winter wonderland at the HomeSense showroom is just my cup of tea.

Have you started decorating your home for Christmas?  Do you have a colour theme?

Adding Glam to Your Boudoir - a Blog Hop

Is your morning routine a mad dash around your wardrobe trying to find your favorite piece of jewelry?  Has it become more of a chore than an enjoyment?  Then you need to slow down and smell the roses, and perhaps this blog hop will make your ideal morning routine a reality!  

If you're linking over from my friends Kim and Lacey's blog, Styled with Lace, welcome!  I'm so thrilled you are here!  If you're a regular reader, welcome back as I share some boudoir styling tips with you today. 

Welcome to our master suite!  The dressing area greets us as we step in, so I try to style the built-in vanity with a welcoming view.  I'm sure you've heard many times that being organized makes your morning routine much more efficient.   My goal is to keep my vanity organized while staying pretty. 

I share this vanity area with the hubby.  So nice of him to let me hog the vanity, while he gets the space of that marble dish on the right 😁

I've styled the vanity in several different ways over the months since its completion, and I always use some common elements to keep all the stuff from looking like a hot mess. 

Trays

I have two main trays on the vanity; one for perfume bottles and the other for jewelries.  The trays help to corral like items together, and make cleaning much easier.  

I love how the mirror trays add glam and sparkle to the vanity.  The perfume bottles seem to sparkle even more with the light reflected from the mirror tray.

I don't own a huge collection of perfume, just enough for the different seasons and occasions.  I'm lucky the fragrances that I love come in such pretty bottles to be displayed!

Pretty Dishes

On the jewelry tray, I keep several pretty dishes of daily jewelries for easy access; one of each for my bracelets/ bangles, rings holder and earrings.  

It's fun to discover how objects can be multi-functional. I'm using a crystal pillar candle holder as a dish for earrings, and a tea cup for my bracelets.

I love how they serve up some sparkles and add color and dimensions to the vanity.

Display Items

Some jewelry boxes are pretty enough to stand on their own as part of your vanity's decor. The rarely worn and precious pieces can be kept in their pretty boxes and displayed in a cloche. 

With such a pretty display of jewelry boxes, you would want to elevate it so that it's easily visible.  The simplest way to achieve this is to lift the display on cute books or boxes to create a beautiful vignette.  

I decorate the vanity as with any vignette, by creating different layers of height.  My tray of perfume bottles is at the lowest. The lifted display cloche creates a mid-tier.  A tall gorgeous bouquet of roses completes the vignette by adding a touch of femininity and glam to the vanity.

But we're not done!  I didn't want to hide my statement necklaces in drawers; I love seeing their colors and bling!  This glass display box heard my calling and it's perfect for the necklaces!

What's better than waking up to beautiful jewelries at your bedside table?

And those perfume samples that I collect?  I love keeping the light scents by my bed on a pretty dish.  Spritz away at bed time, and fall asleep with a delightful scent.

Your jewelries aren't only for dressing you up; by decorating with them, they become an extension of you.  I'm a believer that you should display items that you love and make you happy. Seeing the beautiful and organized display on your vanity would give you a great start to your day.  As your day ends, you once again enjoy the view of your beloved possessions as you retire for the night. 

Remember, the simplest way to pamper yourself is by beautifying your surroundings.  Then why not start with your boudoir so that it gives you a happy boost to your day?

I hope you feel inspired to look through your pretty things and find a way to display some of your favorite pieces.  Thank you for joining me here and I hope you come back soon!  Remember to sign up for our blog updates as we continue to DIY our way to add personal touches to our home.  I invite you to hop on over to Bethany's blog The Posh Home and find even more inspiration!  I am loving the ideas shared today.  Don't forget to share these ideas on Facebook or pin them on Pinterest so that you have them when you start decorating!

Don’t miss the rest of these glam boudoirs:

SheLeavesALittleSparkle.com

Moth-Design.com

LoveYourAbode.com

StyledWithLace.com

ClassyGlamLiving.com

ThePoshHome.com

LetsDazzleDarlings.com

TheBlissfulLane.com

My Love for Navy Blue and the Next Big Plan

Summer is officially here!!  🙌  🙌  Nothing spells summer like good ole' navy blue; its nautical vibe automatically lends a tranquil and relaxing feel to any decor.  At times giving off a relaxing casual vibe, at others, the deep hue is also seen in more traditional setting, such as the navy blue and white porcelain wares.  It's such a versatile colour for home decor, that it also takes the middle ground between a casual and traditional ambience - a contemporary colour anchor of choice as an alternative to the modern black.

How can I not love navy blue?  It's a softer contrasting colour over the harshness of black, and I especially love a blue and white theme in our home.

The first time we encountered the power of navy blue was probably at our previous home.  We used a navy blue as the background colour of this DIY office built-in, where the colour not only helped ground the unit but the whole office amidst a cream and greige palette.

Our love of navy blue continues as we decorate our current home.  A blue and white porcelain chinoiserie vase lends its contrasting touch and adds some colour to this otherwise light-coloured foyer vignette.

I experimented with the same vase in our kitchen, and I loved how it draws the eyes full circle and back around the kitchen.

In our living room, the pair of navy blue pillows complement the blue tones in the statement painting, and ground the soft toned space.

I keep these blue agate coasters on the coffee table to provide continuance of the navy from the painting and the couch.  These lime rocks that little man collected from the school playground completes the blue and white touch to this crystallized vignette.

A vignette on our dining room console isn't complete until you add a touch of navy on it.  It echoes the French blue of the console table, while acts as the contrasting object in this simple setting.

The family room is the best place to extend the casual vibe of navy blue.  This pair of nautical pillows suits the theme perfectly, while the tufted navy ottoman by Sarah Richardson keeps the space from being too casual.

Sometimes I wonder if I would still use navy blue in a girl's room.  Well, good that we have a boy!  I scattered navy blue pillows on his bed to balance the grey and white softness in his room.

Of course I didn't leave his playroom alone!  It's the perfect space to add some navy blue with this fun union jack rug, and picked up by the navy chevron pillow in his work space.

And I couldn't leave our master suite alone either.  Our dressing room and master ensuite across are both in soft white and grey.  I always prefer to have a contrasting colour in any room, so the navy blue bench at the foot of our bed helps to draw the eyes inward.

So, as you can see, navy blue is all around our house.  Where do all these lead to?  Well, I've been contemplating about some big plans for our master ensuite.  Can you guess how navy blue relates to this plan?

Let me give you some hints:

Mindy Gayer Design Co.

Studio McGee

Fiorella Design

And I changed yet again...  I was originally going for a spa-like feel in the ensuite, so I had previously wished for a white and grey master ensuite in this design board, ie. grey cabinets.  Yet, everytime I see a deep rich navy vanity (thank you Pinterest), I would fall head over heels with that luxurious contrast it gives to the bathroom.  Oh, especially when it's paired with a marble countertop and brass hardware...  I think I'm totally in love.

It may be a daring move, but I feel all the more certain that this rich luxurious look is the perfect match for our master suite's decor.  A navy blue vanity would offer great contrast to the light grey dressing room that's right across from the ensuite.

What are your thoughts about a navy blue vanity?  Would you consider it for your bathroom reno?