Style at Home’s 20 Questions With Me!

I’m so happy and honoured to be featured on the Style at Home site answering their “20 questions.”  Over the years, they have asked the questions to a number of talented designers and bloggers.  So, I am thrilled to be amongst them!

Yes, that would be me on their homepage!

Have a read here and let me know what you think.  I chose “Don’t Stop Believin” by Journey as the soundtrack of my life not so much for the song itself but the meaning of those words – don’t stop believing in yourself/you are never too old/good things happen to those who wait!  (I know as I have been a late bloomer in all aspects of my life!)

Sorry if you have seen this already on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram – not too excited! Thanks for all the cheerleading - really appreciate it!

I’m in Style at Home’s SIP on Organizing which will be out on August 27th! If you live in the Milton area, can’t promise you that you will find it on newsstands as I may be buying them all up! (Yeah, pretty excited!)

 

My kind of town…Milton is

Kate came up with the idea to have bloggers share their favourite (or favorite!) things in their town.

Milton is one of the fastest growing towns in Canada but has still maintained its small town charm.  I moved here six years ago as house prices were a lot less than where I was living (15 minutes east in Mississauga.)    It’s close to the 401 and 407 (our major highways) and approximately 45 minutes northwest of Toronto.  New venues such as our Center for the Arts are being built to meet the demands of the growing population.   Here’s what else  I love about Milton.

1) The architecture and beauty of the historic homes.  The oldest homes date back to the mid-1850’s – certainly not old when compared to the US or Europe.  I love driving through this neighbourhood.  The historical homes have plaques indicating the year they were built and who lived there. (I hope the homeowner’s don’t mind having these photos up!)











The second home built in 1882 with the gorgeous manicured garden always incites a smile whenever I drive by.  I can only imagine what the inside looks like.

2)  Wonderful restaurants including my personal fave,  La Toscana.  It was once the historic Thompson Hotel which opened in 1847.

 

3)  Farms nearby and a thriving Farmer’s Market with produce from all over Ontario.



4) Hiking trails, parks and streams close by.



Milton is situated near the Escarpment so we are  fortunate to have hiking trails within a few minutes of where we live. We always buy a family annual pass which gives you unlimited entry to six parks/trails in the area – totally worth it! I took this photo of one of my favourite trails and look forward to those crisp Fall days which are ideal hiking weather.

Click here to read the entries of the other bloggers and find out what they love about their town.
Do you love where you live? 

If you need design help, please contact me at vanessa (at) vanessafrancis (dot) com.

Blog for Digs: My Childhood Bedroom

I’m happy to be participating in the Blog For Digs campaign organized by Claudia at Stonehouse Love to raise awareness for Dwell with Dignity.   Dwell with Dignity is a non-profit group of Interior Designers and volunteers dedicated to creating comfortable homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty.

Bloggers were asked to write about their childhood bedroom and it has been fun to read everyone’s posts.  It’s interesting that no one has posted actual photos of their childhood bedroom.  I don’t have any photos either, nor do I have any clear memories. I had to rely on my Mom to fill in the details for me.
By the time I was 7, I had lived in three different countries.   We came to Canada from England via Jamaica, each time leaving behind our possessions and starting new.  I guess it was too expensive to ship everything.  Our first house in Canada was a 3 bedroom bungalow.  I shared a bedroom with my older sister and my younger sister had her own room. 
Our bedroom had twin beds with white vinyl tufted headboards,  a table in between and a white dresser.  We had red and white floral comforters and red drapes. I do remember that it had parquet flooring. Sounds very Scandinavian and may be why red is an accent colour in my home today.
Even though I have absolutely no recollection of this room I do have warm and fuzzy memories of playing “Movie Stars” with my sister before we fell asleep. 


An updated red and white colour scheme via decorpad.
I shared a bedroom until I was 12 when we moved into a two-storey, four bedroom house.  Because of my Mom’s love of wallpaper, no bedroom was left untouched.  My wallpaper was a green and orange floral and the carpet was rust which was THE carpet colour of choice back in the 70’s.  The wallpaper was similar to this.

Etsy
This girl’s bedroom with a bold Marimekko  floral on one wall is an updated version of what I grew up with.

I still love an upholstered headboard (but not in vinyl!) like this shape.

Decorpad
Dans Mon Boudoir posted here  and Style Swoon will be posting about her childhood bedroom on Jan 4th.  To see the schedule of bloggers participating, go here.   Most importantly, please visit Dwell with Dignity to support their efforts.
What do you remember about your childhood bedroom?

What’s Your Style in One Picture?

Ally of From the Right Bank has another “What’s Your Style in One Picture?” challenge.   As the other participants have lamented, this was so difficult to do.  There were a lot of images in my files that really spoke to me but didn’t feel as authentic as this one.

I was smitten with this image when House of Turquoise posted  photos from designer Liz William’s portfolio.  It’s from a beach condo on Amelia Island in Florida and was featured in Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles.

This image wasn’t in the magazine article and I didn’t have any details such as whether the pieces were antique or reproduction.  Liz kindly and quickly (within a few minutes!)  responded to my emails asking for some details.

I love that this space within a master bedroom doesn’t look contrived.  The home is near the beach but it doesn’t scream “beachy”  and an antique French settee is unexpected.

Why do I love this room?  Let me count the ways:

• has just enough colour
• mix of antique pieces with current  fabrics
• antique carved French settee with one bench cushion, recovered in a beautiful blue Calvin Klein fabric
• ottoman in a graphic Duralee fabric
• books as accessories
• vintage wire basket
• antique lamp (unique and quirky)
• antique painted side table
• serene,  pale white-grey wall colour (BM OC-25)
• original painting
• beautiful, custom pillows (love how the blue in the pom-pom ties in with the painting)

Thank you Liz for answering all of my questions (while on vacation!) about this beautiful space.  Thanks to Ally for hosting the challenge.  Join in the fun here!

If you need help figuring out what your style is, please email me at vanessa@vanessafrancis.com.

Happy Birthday!

One year ago today, I wrote my first blog post. Happy Birthday Decor Happy! (I didn’t really post over the summer, so I didn’t officially start real blogging until October of last year.)

I hope to keep writing and posting beautiful photos of beautiful spaces. (I also need to get a thesaurus to find other ways to say beautiful.)

I want to thank a few of my blogging buddies who have been supportive of my blog through their comments, emails, links or advice: Victoria and Kelly, Nancy, Maria, Greet, Paula and Holly. The first person to comment was Liz – that was a happy day.

In honour of my 1 year blogging, I thought I would share 10 random bits of information about myself.

1) I have a degree in Commerce and Political Science from the University of Toronto. Boring, right?

2) In a previous life, I was a Human Resources Manager for a large municipality and a software engineering firm.

3) I went back to school for interior design (BCIT in Vancouver.) It was challenging, rewarding, and inspiring all at the same time.

4) We adopted our beautiful daughter when she was a few weeks old from Georgia, USA. If anyone is considering adoption, I can tell you that it is an amazing journey.

5) My husband is also American (from a small town in NY). His company transferred him to Toronto 16 years ago and we met here.

6) We lived in Vancouver, BC for 4 years. Our first home was a 15 minute walk to Kits beach and our second home was in North Vancouver nestled in the mountains. I miss that!

7) I used to teach yoga and hope to do that again someday soon. I still practice but not as often as I should.

8) Like most people, I love to travel. Did the Europe backpacking thing with girlfriends after university; visited warmer climes in the winter – Barbados, Jamaica, Curacao, Venezuela, Dominican, etc; would love to rent a villa in Italy or France for the summer (just putting it out there.)

9) I live in a booming town called Milton, which is about 45 minutes northwest of Toronto. We are fairly close to the Escarpment where there are a number of hiking trails (love hiking.)

10) I love to help clients create a home that makes them happy.

Thank you for reading my petite blog. I hope you feel inspired to create a home that is comfortable and beautiful (there’s that darn word again.)

Vanessa

About Me

Hi There!! I’m Patricia Torres!! I’m an accountant by day and a design enthusiast by evening time… Seeing beautiful things and enhancing their beauty challenges my everyday being. I’ve always been interested in the creative side of life and love colours ~ anywhere!! everywhere!! I simply love arranging, re-arranging, de-cluttering, DIYs, easy crafts and wall paintings.. Creating a beautiful environment is my everyday passion!!

My blog is a journal about my home, the colours I love and the zest to make it look stunning..



Colours Dekor ~ is a platform to capture the simple DIYs, easy crafts or wall paintings & murals or just rearrangements I do in my home…



I also share this platform with a Anpu (who posts on Wednesdays) and Rose (who posts once in a way)... and both these girls... are equally enthusiastic as I am!!

Here is introducing.... Anpu & Rose... *smiles*

~ Anpu ~

I am Anu Somanath [also called Anpu], coming from Bombay and settled in Atlanta
for the last 10 years. I am an "IT Geek", and I love my job. My mom and aunt
introduced me to the world of “ART”, when I was probably 3 or 4 years old, and
since then, have always dabbled in all forms of creativity…but my passion lies
in needlework, sewing, painting, pottery, cooking, gardening and designing
jewellery! I enjoy travelling, and coming across and learning new cultures,
architecture, history and interacting with the local people and their customs. I
love the blogging design world, as I have come across and been inspired with
many artworks and some wonderful design friends…

~ Rose ~

I'm Rose!! The www amazes me. Such a magnitude of information, all accessible
from my good ol' laptop. So this is my space in the galaxy, my bean bag in the
corner. Come sit with me and dip your fingers into my cookie jar of memories -
perhaps you'll find we have something in common. I’m a banker by profession and
a dreamer in my heart ..

Do read my personal blog – From my corner.

Hope you enjoy ‘Colours Dekor’…

Do drop a note and say ‘hello’!! Email me on coloursdekor@gmail.com... Would love to hear form you!!