Natural Living Style: Inspirational Ideas for a Beautiful and Sustainable Home by Selina Lake

Thomas Allen & Son sent me Natural Living Style in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

“There are many threats to our planet — global warming, pollution, overpopulation and water scarcity — and it’s easy to feel powerless in the face of all this bad news. As a stylist, I wondered how we can make our homes, work spaces and gardens more in harmony with the environment while keeping them beautiful? Can a stylish, comfortable, efficient home be achieved with minimal impact on the environment?” This is the question Selina Lake set out to answer in her new (and ninth!) book, Natural Living Style: Inspirational Ideas for a Beautiful and Sustainable Home. 

What’s in December’s GlobeIn Artisan Box

I received the GlobeIn Artisan Box for free for review purposes. All opinions are my own. This post also appears on A Year of Boxes.

GlobeIn Artisan Box is a monthly subscription box featuring handmade, ethically sourced products from makers around the world. Each Premium Box is curated around a theme and for December it’s Celebrate. I shared the box with my mom, who agreed to help me show it to you. 

She Sheds Style: Make Your Space Your Own by Erika Kotite + Win a copy!

Quarto Publishing sent me a copy of She Sheds Style in exchange for an honest review. So here’s what I think. 

With a backyard not much bigger than a postage stamp we don’t have room for a shed, but if we did I would love to turn it into a little refuge I could call my own, aka a she shed. It would be light and bright with all the mod cons (I BIRTHED TWO BABIES ALLOW ME HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AND WIFI) and space to blog, shoot flatlays, and stretch out with a book. Which might seem like a tall order but people do it. We saw that in Erika Kotite’s first book, She Sheds: A Room of Your Own, which introduced us to artists, yogis, gardeners and others who have turned tiny structures into spaces to work, dream and treasure. Now in her new book, She Sheds Style: Make Your Space Your Own, Erika shows us how to plan and style our sheds (real or imagined) so that they reflect our own design sensibilities. 

Nathan Turner’s I Love California: Live, Eat, and Entertain the West Coast Way + Fish Tacos + Win a copy!

Abrams Books sent me a copy of Nathan Turner’s I Love California: Live, Eat, and Entertain the West Coast Way in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and from the heart. 

Although Nathan Turner didn’t get as much air time as the other stars of Million Dollar Decorators (probably because he stayed pretty clear of the drama), I always wished we’d seen more of his California Casual style. “To me, it means a laid-back room, a friendly host, and a beautiful table with simple recipes and fresh ingredients,” the decorator/author/entertainer and California native says in the introduction to his new book (and my wish come true), Nathan Turner’s I Love California: Live, Eat and Entertain the West Coast Way. 

Hello Color: 25 Bright Ideas for DIY Decor by Rachel Mae Smith

Penguin Random House Canada sent me Hello Color in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and from the heart. 

Sometimes a book falls into your lap just when you need it and that was exactly the case with the with the one I’m talking about today. With the end of the school year not far off and the kids soon home for the summer, I’ve been stressing about finding things for us to do. Enter Hello Color: 25 Bright Ideas for DIY Decor by Rachel Mae Smith. While it’s not a kids’ book per se, it’s filled with all kinds of fun and inexpensive projects my 9- and 11-year-old would love to do with me, and even a few they could do on their own. (And not junky things either — I mean things we could actually use that would add a bit of cheer and crafts we could personalize for a thoughtful gift.) And for anyone looking how to incorporate colour into their home, there’s a colour theory 101, tips on how to create a colour scheme, and how-to’s for colourful conversation pieces for every room. Learn how to set a charming table, how to style a beautiful bookcase, how to stock a bar cart and how to photograph your projects so they’ll shine. And even if you never get around to making anything, there are pretty prints to tear out and frame that’ll add a bright pop of colour to any space. I picked three of my favourite projects in the book to show you here. 

Retail therapy: Talking to Boss Lady Deborah Perlman of COCUS POCUS + A giveaway!

Cocus Pocus gifted me the products I’m wearing in this post in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and from the heart. 

You know when you find a shop that’s so YOU and you just want to BUY ALL THE THINGS? That’s COCUS POCUS for me (and that woman there ↑↑↑ is the boss lady behind it). It’s one of my favourite new online shops for unique, colourful and totally FUN fashion, accessories, home goods and more, like this chunky-knit Santa hat I bought before Christmas — which is pretty cute on, if I do say so myself — along with these socks and these ones (If you can read this bring me a glass of wine, LOL). Today I want to show you some of my favourite pieces for Spring, introduce you to shop owner Deborah Perlman (aka Curator of Happiness), and share a giveaway for an item that I hope you’ll love as much as I do. 

My faves from Foxy Originals’ new Spring/Summer collection + A giveaway!

Foxy Originals sent me some shiny things to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own and from the heart. 

As much as I want to pack my winter coat away in the basement and not look at it again for another eight months, this weekend’s fresh snow makes me think we’re still a few weeks out yet. Which isn’t the end of the world but still, I feel like I’m not the only one who could use a pick-me-up to get me through. Luckily my friends at Foxy Originals were happy to help me out. Today I’ve got a look at my favourite pieces from their new (and very sunshiney) Spring/Summer collection, and a giveaway to share with two of you. So fun, right? I feel better already. 

My Floral Affair by Rachel Ashwell

CICO Books sent me a copy of My Floral Affair in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine and from the heart. 

If we ever have a backyard where we can actually grow anything, I would love to plant a lush cutting garden and create fanciful arrangements of fresh flowers of all colours, shapes and sizes (especially fluffy peonies, also said to be Meghan Markle’s favourite) for every room of the house. But flowers don’t have to be fresh to bring life and light to a space. In her new (and tenth!) book, My Floral Affair: Whimsical Spaces and Beautiful Florals, shabby chic doyenne Rachel Ashwell shows how flower-inspired design — be it in wallpaper, lighting or architectural details — can bring drama and playfulness and calm into bloom. 

Make Yourself at Home: Design Your Space to Discover Your True Self + Win a copy

Moorea Seal has a lot going on. The 31-year-old author of the guided journals The 52 Lists Project and 52 Lists for Happiness runs a Seattle-based retail and online lifestyle store, curates a Pinterest account with nearly 1 million followers, and frequently entertains friends in the tidy, welcoming and Instagram-worthy home she shares with her husband and sister. In her new book, Make Yourself At Home: Design Your Space to Discover Your True Self, she teaches readers how to design spaces for comfort and creative expression through thoughtful personal essays, stunning photography, accessible DIYs and inspiring profiles of creatives and entrepreneurs like Erin Perez Hagstrom of calivintage, Laura Gummerman of A Beautiful Mess and Diana La Counte from Our City Lights. Going room by room, Moorea (pronounced MOO-RAY-UH) examines how each space serves us and how to feel more at home there. Included are practical lessons on colour theory and psychology, a brief guide to the defining traits of the styles featured in the book (folk, rustic, midcentury modern, etc.), and pages for your own notes. You’ll want this one, mes amies. Here’s a peek inside. (Thanks to Sasquatch Books for the copy.) 

The Scandinavian Home: Interiors Inspired by Light by Niki Brantmark

Borta bra men hemma bäst. (Swedish for “Away is good but home is best.”) • Fans of the pared-back, practical style typically warmed up with wood and other natural elements that is true of so many dwellings in Northern Europe will love Niki Brantmark’s new book, The Scandinavian Home: Interiors Inspired by Light. Niki is the creator of the award-winning interior design blog, My Scandinavian Home, and author of Modern Pastoral: Bring the Tranquility of Nature Into Your Home. Her second book takes readers into 10 swoon-worthy city, country and rural homes in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, all of which speak to the tenets of Scandinavian living. “It’s a mindful, uncluttered lifestyle, and one that aligns well with modern thinking about sustainability,” Niki writes. “In many homes … you will find only a few beautifully crafted, high-quality iconic design pieces, antiques and flea-market finds made from natural, sustainable resources. All are pieces that stand the test of time.” Here are some of my favourite spaces from the the book. (Thanks for the copy, Thomas Allen & Son.) 

A tired corner gets a cheery refresh with Thimblepress + A giveaway

It’s reveal day! Woohoo! I’ve been wanting to give my favourite corner a refresh for what feels like forever, and Saturday I finally rolled up my sleeves and got started. I stripped the living room wallpaper, gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, and brought in some colourful accessories my friends at Thimblepress sent from their HQ in Jackson, Mississippi. I’ve loved their cheery art prints and greeting cards and confetti push-pops and pretty much everything they do for a few years now, and here I’ve incorporated some of my new and old favourites to give the space a happy vibe. (The new goodies were free of charge in exchange for this post.) 

Wonder Plants: Your Urban Jungle Interior by Irene Schampaert & Judith Baehner + Win a copy!

Now some of you may say plants never go out of style, but in the past couple of years their popularity in home decor and design has grown in a huge way (pun absolutely intended). Wonder Plants: Your Urban Jungle Interior by Irene Schampaert and Judith Baehner, is a tribute to some of of the most marvellous and magical renderings of botanical style and a primer in plant care for readers looking to enliven their spaces with the same greenery at home.