Tips for Styling Your Home Office

Create a warm, welcoming space that promotes productivity By: Janette Ewan The office space is one of the hardest-working rooms in your home. Whether you work from home or manage your family from your home office, you’ll want a warm, welcoming space that reflects your style and promotes productivity. The question is: How do you […]

6 Home Styling Tips

Find your passion and style home spaces you’ll love to live in A little change in our decor can really liven a space up and help inspire our lives. Since our homes are the backdrop to our lives, it only makes sense that we would want to mix it up now and again, or risk […]

Ideal Shared Bedroom for Young Girls

I love working on bedrooms. They come in all shapes and sizes so a cookie cutter approach doesn’t work, especially when the space is small and/or awkward. That sums up my spare room, which I was challenged with turning into a home away from home for three little girls under the age of six. With […]

Bring A Piece of Mykonos, Greece Home With You

By Kellee Merrell The Inspiration: Absolut Mykonos In the heart of the Cyclades along the Aegean Sea, you’ll find an 85.5 square-kilometre slab of sun-drenched rock. Named after Apollo’s son Mykons, the island of Mykonos has quickly become one of Europe’s most sought-after summer destinations. The whitewashed island with its charming sugar cube homes, curling […]

Tiny Home With a Huge Transformation

This year I jumped on the Tiny Home trend and worked with my parents to remodel an old 5th Wheel Trailer. After lots of bumps in the road, we created a space worthy of full-time occupancy. First things first! Being 15 years old and stored in damp locations for years, we wanted to ensure the […]

Interior Trend: Get the Parisian Look

Art Deco Revival Inspiration from Paris, France, by Kelle Merrell. In the heart of Paris, mere steps from the Opera House and the Louvre, sits Hôtel Saint-Marc; an ultra-chic hideaway where luxury, design and exclusivity are one. Built in 1791 on the private residence of the Duc de Choiseul, the property was once the most […]

How to Decorate a Rental Property

Did you know that 1 in 5 Canadians have rented their property in the past or are considering doing so in the future? With the trend moving toward creating short term rentals to earn a little extra income, designer Jo Alcorn shares tips on how to stage and protect your home. My Home is Your […]

Transform a Boring Apartment into a Relaxing Home

By Nicole Sweetman-Rice Moving into an apartment can be daunting. There are so many restrictions and guidelines when renting, it can be difficult to make the space your own. Having recently moved into my first apartment, I discovered some basic concepts that made the pro-cess go smoothly. Here are the three key things to keep […]

Feng Shui Tips and Techniques

Improve your well-being at home with tips and techniques from this ancient art. Feng Shui is the practice of arranging your environment so that energy or ‘Chi’ flows gently Through your home. Feng Shui helps make your space feel good and can support what you want out of life, whether it is a better career, […]

Time Management for Busy Moms

By: Lisa Canning Here’s the thing about time: we all have the exact same amount of it, and how we use it will determine the happiness level of our lives. And while we cannot control how much time we have, we can control how we spend it. Here are my essential tips for managing time well in […]

The 4 Perfect Tequila Cocktail Recipes!

Blame Hollywood. For the fact that tequila is such a bar star, that is. Long before HBO’s Entourage plugged Avión (even giving the spirit its own storyline that persisted through a couple of seasons), tequila was on a pretty friendly basis with the heavy hitters of stage and screen. Bing Crosby fell in love with […]

Jo Alcorn’s Perfect Living Room

  As many of you know, I recently renovated my kitchen and turned it into the kitchen of my dreams. (Click here if you want to read all about the end result, or here to read about the in-process blog.) Well, after doing my kitchen, I had to update my living room. There wasn’t anything really wrong with it; […]

How to Achieve Kitchen Bliss

I recently completed a tough kitchen make-over. Maybe the toughest yet as it was my own personal space! Follow my tips below on how to create a space you will truly love. I chose my appliances first. I knew I wanted something completely different and when I saw the new Fingerprint Resistant Sunset Bronze collection from Whirlpool I made […]

10 Tips to Help You Host the Sunniest Outdoor Party This Summer

When planning an outdoor event, choose a theme and let it guide your decor, activity, food and 
beverage choices (and maybe even your attire!). Hot themes for summer 2018 include “Palm Springs in the 1960s” (croquet, Pucci-inspired colour palette, retro cocktails) and a “Great Gatsby” garden party! Welcome your guests with a signature cocktail. Fill […]

At Home in California with Grease actor Lorenzo Lamas

Janette Ewen interviews Grease actor Lorenzo Lamas For more than 30 years, actor Lorenzo Lamas appeared on our TV screens as a leading man on popular shows like Falcon Crest and Renegade. Lamas got his break early, by playing the role of “Tom” in the worldwide phenomenon known as Grease; set to celebrate its 40th […]

How to Incorporate a Home Office in a Master Bedroom

I recently created a gorgeous bedroom space that incorporated a home office. Here are my top tops when creating multi-use spaces. 1. START WITH A BEAUTIFUL BED All hard working mamas and papas DESERVE a beautiful bed. After a hard day of raising kids, working outside and inside the home, MOMS (AND DADS) ARE TIRED! […]

How to Keep Children Entertained at Your Wedding

You’ve heard so much about these beautiful invitations that you can hardly wait to see them for yourself. It’s arrived. You excitedly remove it from its envelope, unfold its delicate lace paper and you begin to read…. Mr. John Smith and Ms. Jane Doe request your presence as they celebrate the next steps of their […]

Bring a bit of tropical elegance into your home this Summer

Trend: Tropical Inspiration: The Cayman Islands White sand, crystal clear water and an amazing culinary scene—The Cayman Islands have it all! These three stunning islands just south of Cuba are home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, including the illustrious Seven Mile Beach. Safe to say, you’ll never want to leave. […]

Organizing Your Makeup: A How-to for Makeup Hoarders

Fine, I’ll admit it… I’m obsessed! Whether it’s a new foundation, or an eyeshadow palette, I’ve probably bought it. In fact, I at one point had so much makeup, that certain things often got neglected.  All of those beautiful new goodies I owned were lost in a sea of clutter – and my money had […]

A living room to last a lifetime

There is nothing worse than a living room that is poorly laid out and/or lacking function. I recently re-formulated a family room so it is comfy, cozy and a room the family wants to gather in. I did something that some might think is radical; I converted this family’s gas fireplace to an electric fireplace. Electric fireplaces have […]

Jo Alcorn’s Top Spring Trends

I love spring! It’s a time to switch things up, refresh and renew your home and, more importantly, your backyard! I’ll be at the Backyard Living Expo coming up on April 6 for an on-stage presentation at 1:15pm and would love for you to join me to talk about all things backyard décor and design! […]

Tropical Decor. Enjoy a South Seas getaway without leaving home

Luscious lounger We’re currently coveting this comfy Pretzel Lounge Chair, made of sustainable rattan and covered in natural linen with a charming black velvet flock pineapple motif. The frame is available in dozens of colours, including this delightful Turquoise Teal. Ships internationally, $1,240, ecochic.com.au Bamboo beauty A cut above your typical bamboo blinds, this elegant […]

How to Create the Ultimate Craft Room 1000 X 1000

How to Create the Ultimate Craft Room

I wouldn’t exactly call me a crafter (my lifestyle of 6 children and a business means I am more of a DIFM than a DIY-er), but I might change my ways after creating this space for my most recent makeover! We created a craft room that I think is pretty ultimate- here are some essential things to […]

Laundry Room Small Space

A Small Space Laundry Room Makeover

In my newest makeover, I created a customized space that presented quite the design dilemma as it has to serve a lot of purposes. This home has no garage, no basement, and no outdoor shed. So this room has to fit off-season clothing, sports equipment, paint cans, and random odds and ends. Plus, it has […]

Jo Alcorn’s Top Trend Picks for 2018

I love when the new trends for the upcoming year are revealed. It’s the perfect time to update your décor and freshen-up your home! This year I am seeing (and loving!) all things dramatic! Bronze décor, patterned wall treatments, beautifully bold pillows, and all things brass. Here is a sneak peek at the trends I […]

Tips and Decor Ideas for Holiday Entertaining

Tips and Decor Ideas for Holiday Entertaining

By Janette Ewen Where do you start if you’re planning to entertain over the holiday season? I always start with a theme. For example, I held a vintage 1930s Christmas party last year. A theme will shape the decor, cocktail menu, food, invites, gifts, music—even the scent of your home. For 2017, the top holiday […]