Holiday Vignette in 3 Easy Steps

I've never been one to indulge in excessive holiday decoration. I tend to like things simple and understated.  No garlands.  No tassels.  No fuss.  This also usually translates to easy clean up and storage after the season's over.  My Christmas decoration usually involves just a simple and super tiny tree, a wreath at the front door, and a vignette over our buffet table.  Today I'll share with you how easy it is to create that vignette, whether it be over a table, or fireplace mantel.

My Kitchen

If you look at the original layout of our house before the renovation, you can understand why a kitchen renovation turned into an entire ground floor overhaul.  We felt the kitchen was much too small and the overall layout just didn't work for a young family with kids.  A bigger kitchen and a more open layout where we would be able to keep an eye on the children at every angle, would serve our needs much better.

The Beautiful Edible Landscape: Final Steps

The Boston ivy and silver lace vines are slowly making their way up the pergola!

As I wait patiently for my garden to become established in order that I can snap some great photos to round out The Beautiful Edible Landscape series, I realize summer is really moving along quickly!  Although many of the plants will likely take a few seasons to begin to produce, we've been able to harvest a few vegetables, including lettuce and swiss chard, and a variety of herbs.  It's been much more fun accessorizing the garden as one of the final finishing steps as opposed to the physical labour involved in the early construction stages.  However, the most rewarding experience for me has been watching the numerous seeds sprout into tiny seedlings and then seeing them form into beautiful mature plants.

A Luxurious Reception Area

I was commissioned to come up with a few concepts for a real estate broker's new reception area.  They wanted to welcome guests with a luxurious & classy reception that's not too over-the-top.  The reception work area also needs to be large enough to accommodate up to three receptionists.

Simple Tree Branch Decor

I spotted a fallen tree branch in an alleyway one morning this past May and for some reason the shape of it caught my eye. Then I realized that it would be a perfect fit for that odd space created by the interior curve of our stairwell in the front foyer.  I hauled it home, gave it a little TLC, found a nice container to sit in and voila! I had an instant (one of a kind) sculpture, fitted to this curved space and to be enjoyed by all who come through our door.

An Historical Facelift

We have recently completed a project to restore the facade of a century and a half-old building on the south side of Broadway, the main street in Orangeville.  Our client was the current owner of the building originally built and operated as the Queen's Hotel.  We began this project in 2011 and completed it in January of this year and while this project was not what we would term 'large', it definitely captured our interest.  The reason for this was that it involved 're-claiming' a piece of Orangeville history. The original hotel was constructed in the early 1870's and has undergone many changes in its lifetime.  We always love to 'breathe new life' into an old, tired structure and this building was no exception.

The Beautiful Edible Landscape: Focal Points

Before we move on to discuss the next step in designing the beautiful edible landscape, let me give you an update on the patio and pergola project we talked about in the last post, The Beautiful Edible Landscape: Permanent Elements.

Herringbone interlocking in progress

The paving contractors are making good progress and it is looking great. They compacted another 4"-5" of limestone screening onto the base we had already laid down last summer.  This should certainly provide a really solid and well-drained foundation.  One item of note...if you intend on having your interlocking pattern laid on a diagonal or have designed curves into the edge pattern, it will require significantly more cutting so be prepared to pay a little extra in the labour costs. I had chosen the herringbone pattern in order to provide a subtle design link to the herringbone pattern of tile we had installed inside the house throughout the entrance hall and Kitchen.

The Beautiful Edible Landscape: Permanent Elements

Now that the planning stage for our edible garden is done, it's time for the next step - arranging permanent elements such as patios, pergolas or arbours, fountains, garden sheds, and pathways.  As suggested by the books I've been reading it makes sense to locate these features first, as they will be of a permanent nature serving to better define the space. From a practical standpoint it just seems prudent to install these elements at the earliest stage due to the fact that their construction often results in significant disruption to the surrounding area. This is where a lot of blood, sweat and tears are shed because it often requires major digging and some heavy lifting.

The Beautiful Edible Landscape: Planning

Having grown tired of spending a big chunk of our monthly budget on overpriced organic groceries, I decided to explore growing our own organic vegetables and herbs.  I'd made my mind up a few years back about taking this step but was somewhat reluctant to begin this process because I was actually worried about the appearance of the garden.  It's an 'occupational hazard' but I can't help it:  I'm fussy about the look of everything and I'd always believed that it was an either/or situation when it comes to gardens: a beautiful garden that wasn't edible or an edible garden that was...well...not so beautiful.