Take a Seat for Sustainable Design

Let’s hear it for design with a conscience. The Vancouver Home + Design Show is marrying charitable giving and sustainable design with Ultimate Upcycle Challenge: Take A Seat. Armed with a $50 budget and an array of Rust-Oleum products, 14 of Vancouver’s top media personalities and local tastemakers each revamped a piece from ReStore into a seriously stylish seat to be put up for auction at the show, happening October 22-25 at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. 100% of proceeds raised directly benefit Habitat for Humanity Society of Greater Vancouver and its affiliated ReStores, so swing by the show for your chance to bid on good design for a great cause!

Here's a sneak peek at our favourite upcycled gems:

Left: Julia Dilworth leant cozy luxury to a mid-century modern chair with a fur seat and clean coat of white paint.

Middle: Christie Lohr transformed a tired armchair into a throne fit for royalty.

Right: Leigh Kjekstad created a bright, contemporary look for her chair with fun fabric and a fresh, mint palette.

Looking to take on a pre-loved makeover of your very own? Don't miss DIY expert and Rust-Oleum Consumer Brands Canada spokesperson, Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault's presentation on how to discover, transform, and repurpose old decor on the Vancouver Home + Design Show Main Stage on Saturday, October 24th at 6pm and Sunday, October 25th at 12pm.

Don't have tickets yet? Buy 'em early to SAVE BIG. Right now you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Facebook. Treat a friend or family member to the show, and skip the box office lines!

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This or That: Dining Room Dilemma

It has seen home cooked meals, take-in, extra chairs, heated arguments, roaring laughter, spills, and so much more. It may not be the place where you eat every meal, but it hosts a lot of them. Sometimes it’s reclaimed for homework, science projects, sorting your tax receipts, and several other tasks that require a large surface area. But whatever its purpose, it’s always there when you need it, and it’s a great spot to spend time as a family. That’s right, we’re talking about your dining room.

Typically one of the larger spaces in the home, the dining room can host a wide range of decor. Traditional, modern, and everything in between – all are welcome. So we’ve got ask: what does your dream dining room look like? Which aesthetic is your favorite for this space? Do you prefer Option A’s rustic modern blend? Or would you rather Option B’s more traditional motif?

Option A

Image via Dig & Mig 

Option B

Image via Better Homes and Gardens

Our Choice: 

As much as we enjoy the stately look of Option B, Option A feels more inviting. It’s bright and open with less imposing furniture and lighting. The exposed brick is a fun touch and we’re big fans of the more contemporary chairs. Option B certainly has an undeniable elegance, but it also appears a bit stiff.  Option A seems less imposing and has the potential to be a more versatile space. Don’t agree? Share your opinion with @HomeShows on Twitter – we’d love to know what you think!

Here’s something we can all agree on: saving money is great! Right now you can get 2-for-1 tickets to this fall’s Marketplace Events Home shows. Visit our Facebook page to learn more, and don’t forget to Like Us while you’re there!

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Kitchen Inspiration: Seven Stylish Ideas

When it comes to upgrading your home decor, sometimes less is more. You don’t always have to take a sledge hammer to your space to achieve a big change. If you want to spruce up your kitchen without breaking the bank or the walls, we’ve got just what you need. Transforming one or two strategic pieces can have as big an impact as completely remodeling – you just need to be clever. Consider the following ideas as you begin to revamp your space; we’ve got a list of seven fun things to try in your kitchen.

Beautiful Backsplash – Getting a little creative with your backsplash can go a long way. Have fun exploring styles and colors before selecting a new one. There’s a myriad of options available to you, so think carefully about what will work best for your kitchen and your taste.

Image via Mobile Home Living

Cute Chalkboard – There are few spots in the home better suited for a chalkboard than the kitchen. Write messages, shopping lists, recipes, notes, and more! Help get your family more organized and your kitchen more stylish.

Image via Hunted Interior

Fun Fixtures – This is a grate light fixture! It’ll add tons of zest to your kitchen. Ok, we’ll stop, but seriously, how cute is this cheese grater light? And the best part is, it’s a breeze to make!

Image via RecyclArt

Sweet Seats – Why not use this project as a chance to experiment with color and patterns? Not everything in your kitchen has to be entirely uniform, so get a little playful. We love these unique chairs – they’re clearly part of a set, but their different patterns have a great effect on the rest of the white kitchen.

Image via Rue Daily

Happy Herbs – Improve the look of your kitchen and the taste of your cooking by making a fun and functional herb garden! These gorgeous plants will freshen up your space and food.

Image via Camille Styles

Wonderful Wallpaper – Wallpaper can add some much needed warmth to an otherwise icy kitchen (stainless steel appliances and white walls are classic and stunning, but they can also be a little cold). Try using a nice pattern to create an accent wall. Heat up your space without going overboard.

Image via Better Homes and Gardens

Cozy Color – Instead of making your space more cozy using wallpaper, you can be a bit bolder and try paint. We’re loving the mint green they’ve tried in this kitchen. Make sure to pick a hue you’ll love for a long time; painting is a more serious commitment than wallpaper. 

Image via Apartment Therapy

We hope these ideas help inspire you to try something new in your kitchen. Will you update your lighting or try growing a herb garden? Make sure to share your kitchen transformation with us @HomeShows on Twitter and Instagram! We’d love to see what you cook up! 

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Get Your DIY On At The Jacksonville Home + Patio Show

Aspiring DIY gurus who comb Pinterest, pinning projects that never seem to make it into real life, take heart. The Diva of DIY herself is coming to the Jacksonville Home + Patio Show to inspire guests to dive into DIY head first!

Leanne, a blogger and expert in upcycling, known as the Diva of DIY, won Marketplace Event's nationwide search for the Home + Garden Trendsetter of the year last year, and she's been sharing creative and trendy ideas with audiences ever since.

Can't wait to see her at the show? She's got tons of step-by-step projects on her website. Here's one popular project on painting chairs.

Painting Chairs

From The Diva of DIY

One tip that I like to give my clients is that not all chairs need to be the same. If you are in need of seating pick up chairs at your local garage sales and thrift stores. I love to paint each chair a different color to brighten up and add fun to a room. This is also great for a kids playroom!

Supplies

• 220-grit sandpaper or medium grit sanding block
• Krud Kutter
• Amy Howard High Performance Furniture Lacquer in "Golden Egg" (or your color of choice, of course!)

Directions

First you need to remove the cushion. To do that, flip your chair over and remove the four screws that hold it in. Now the chances are that the fabric is worn. You can either recover the cushion or you can paint it.

Next, lightly sand the wood frame of the chair and wipe clean with degreaser. Note: Amy Howard's At Home paint instructions say no sanding required. You all know that I am a professional painter so I believe in sanding. Feel free to skip this step if you like, but don't blame me if you aren't happy with the result!

In a well-ventilated area, spray the frames of the chair with the Golden Egg Furniture Lacquer (or whatever color you chose). Let dry completely and give the chair a second coat.

Once everything has dried, you can re-install the seat cushions. You not have a gorgeous looking chair that your friends and family will envy! They may even ask you to paint their chairs!

Leanne will be appearing live at the Jacksonville Home + Patio Show Friday March 6th at 1pm and 4pm, Saturday, March 7th at 12pm and 5pm, and Sunday, March 8th at 12pm and 3pm. To see our complete list of expert appearances, please check out the Fresh Ideas Stage Schedule.

The Jacksonville Home + Patio Show takes over the Prime Osborn Convention Center march 5 - 8, 2015. Don't have tickets yet? Get 2-for-1 on Facebook - avoid box office lines and get a great discount!

MARCH 5 - 8, 2015.
PRIME OSBORN CONVENTION CENTER

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Ultimate Upcycle Challenge 2: ChairLIFT

The Calgary Home + Design Show is back at the BMO Centre, starting tomorrow. From then until Sunday, you'll find limitless inspiration for redesign and renovation - even culinary creations. With so many fantastic features it's hard to pick a favourite, but the Ultimate Upcycle Challenge 2: ChairLIFT is definitely up there!

So what is it? We've gathered a group of ten local media personalities, designers, and tastemakers to upcycle a pre-loved chair, rescued from ReStore Calgary, with only Rust-Oleum products and a $50 design budget (plus a little elbow grease), for silent auction. With 100% of the proceeds benefitting Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta, you can bid on your favourites for the chance to walk away with a one-of-a-kind masterpiece and rest easy knowing you helped support a worthy cause.

The best part? We're giving you, our loyal blog readers, an advance sneak-peek at the finished products! Eye up the goods now, nab your favourites, then get down to the show to place your bid. Don't forget to check in on its status - we have a feeling these beauties won't go without a fight.

Here's a glimpse of a few of the fine chairs you'll find:

Wanda Weston of WW Design Studio created this loveable love seat.

Ricky Zayshley of Avenue Calgary went for gold with this gorgeous chair.

Patti Pon of Calgary Arts Development was inspired to craft this pretty in pink creation.

Swing by the ChairLIFT exhibit tomorrow through Sunday to see the rest of the designs from:

• Amy Jo Espetveidt of Calgary is Awesome 
• Heather Draper of The Heather Company
• Jaelyn Molyneux of Avenue Calgary
• LeAnne Bunnell of Elle Design
• Lindsay Saunders of Cinder & Sage
• Nyla Free of Nyla Free Designs

Don't miss out - buy your tickets to the Calgary Home + Design Show online now and save $3 courtesy of HomeStars. We can't wait to see you there!

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FEATURE FRIDAY: Preloved Living + Learning Lounge

Everything old is new again at the Preloved Living + Learning Lounge presented by BC Living at the Vancouver Home + Design Show. In less than a week you can learn how to tell a story with your space, thanks to this immersive interior design experience curated by A Good Chick to Know.

Catch design duo Jennifer Scott and Megan Baker of A Good Chick to Know at the show, and get the inside scoop on sourcing antique treasures and incorporating pre-loved pieces into any modern space. Find inspiration for your next interior design project by viewing pieces from the city’s most popular vintage shops and browsing replicas of some of design history’s most iconic chairs..

The Barcelona Chair, designed in 1929 by Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, is one of the stylish seats to be featured. Originally created for the Barcelona Industrial Exposition as part of Van Der Rohe’s Weimar Republic’s Pavilion, these chairs were meant for the King and Queen of Spain. Today, these now-iconic chairs reproduced by Knoll, a furniture manufacturing retailer, still to Van Der Rohe’s exact specifications.

The Panton Chair, first designed by Vernner Panton in 1967, is as groundbreaking today as it was back then. At the time, plastic was a new, innovative material never before seen in furniture form. Verner’s goal was to use it to design a single-piece chair that would be at home anywhere. Today, one of the original Panton Chairs is displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as an example of classic modern furniture design. Luckily for us, Vitra has been producing the chair continuously since its introduction in 1967.

For mid-century furniture lovers, the Ant Chair, designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1951, might be your favourite seat in The Preloved Living + Learning Lounge. Initially, the Ant Chair was designed using only three materials: teak wood, chrome legs and rubber feet. The scarcity of materials in Europe after World War Two forced designers to get creative with the materials they had available. Jacobsen pioneered the technique of bending a single piece of teak to create a seat, creating several similar designs that we still use today.

Learn more about design history, sustainability and how to incorporate pre-loved pieces into your modern home when the ladies of A Good Chick To Know take the HGTV Main Stage on Friday, Oct 18. at 2PM, Saturday, Oct 19. at 6PM and Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1PM. You can also find the ladies on Twitter or check out their website and blog for more interesting decorating tidbits.

Purchase your tickets online today and save $3 off regular adult admission. See you at the show!

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