Thanksgiving Inspired Tables

Without a doubt, fall kicks off the busiest entertaining season of the year with the arrival of Thanksgiving. It’s a wonderful time of year to seek warmth indoors.

Q: What kinds of trends are we seeing when it comes to fall tabletop decor?
A: The idea of ‘back to nature’ is at the top of the list - think of mini pumpkins and gourds, stems of fall leaves - get inspired and creative by looking outdoors!

Q: What colour combinations are hot this year, that can be used when setting your fall table?
A: Fall hues of olive, plum and peacock blues with grey as a neutral is the main colour story this season. Bright oranges, deep reds, muted greens and browns are also great colour choices. More neutral tones layered with white dishes create a rustic or traditional feeling table. For a more urban or formal look, choose deep jewel tones of red, blue and purple used with grey as the neutral.

Q: Are there any new trends in serving ware?
A: In serving ware, the trend is toward the use of bright white dishes in interesting shapes and sizes, with elegant straight lines. For example, consider serving dessert on a long rectangular tray or dinner on a large square plate. From kitchen to table, stylish and practical ovenware, dinnerware and serve ware is being used for everyday and entertaining. There is a trend toward mini-servings in smaller dishes, for example, serving three mini-desserts on a long narrow dish.

Q: How can people keep their entertaining environmentally friendly?
A: Be natural with accents such as using things from your fall garden, use your old dishes but add a few new accents to complement the colour.

Q & A: 2009 Fall Decor Trends

Q: What decor trends are leading the way for fall 2009?
A: Rustic glamour, reclaimed wood furniture mixed with fabulous lucite and chrome accents - design elements that reflect both modern, glamorous pieces mixed with unexpected raw materials like concrete or wood, super tactile, great layering.

Q: What are we seeing when it comes to:
Colour
A: Every shade of white is strong. Grey continues to be a strong colour, with soft mixes of brown, inspired by nature, stone and soil.

Furniture
A: Green is making a play. We're seeing a lot of 60s-inspired lime green, leaf green, muted pastel and earthy tones, but done in luxe fabrics with graphic patterns and lots of texture.

Walls
A: Wallpaper has exploded! Three-dimensional fabric both layered and embellished - everything from glitzy damask’s to fabulous organic birch inspired.

Accessories
A: Again, upscale eclectic chic is evident in accessories. Think: Accessories that incorporate old and new, like an oversized, ornate mirror done in a stunning ornate shiny black laminate frame. Eclectic "found" objects, such as old bottles and curiosities continue to be popular.

Q: Is eco-design/decor still a “trend”? How can people make greener choices for their homes?
A: Yes, I think it has surpassed being a "trend" and become a way of life. People think before they buy. I think it changes how we shop. We ask ourselves what or who was harmed in making a particular product, will it last, will it end up in a landfill? If everyone starts thinking this way, a greener way of life (and probably a more stylish one) will evolve.

New Art Section

As more and more Calgarians turn to us to find that perfect piece of art for their space, we have stepped up to the plate and expanded our art displays as well as introducing this NEW art section in our monthly e-newsletter! Keep up to date every month with our newest artwork, as well as tips, trends and info about our local original artwork.

For our first edition, we are delighted to introduce you to our fabulous artists ...

Annette Sicotte
Annette is our top selling artist. She has consistently been in demand for the six years she has been with us. She has an exquisite eye for colour and detail. Anywhere from abstract to suggestive landscape, if your house is transitional (a mix of modern and traditional) you’ll be sure to find a piece that’s perfect for you.

Robyn Millar
Moving to Calgary from the mountainous terrain of the BC interior, Robyn is inspired by nature and scenery. She is a versatile artist with a broad range of styles, all the way from abstract to realism and landscape. No matter your style you’re bound to find a piece to suit your taste.

Miranda Coleman
Originally from Australia, Miranda now calls Calgary home. With a focus on bold colour and texture, she executes minimalist landscapes and abstracts with ease. Miranda is one of our larger scale painters, so if you haven’t had much luck finding that large high impact piece, be sure to come by and see her work in person.

Pat Wondynski
Pat is the sole artist to work in oil. For the majority of her work she uses a palette knife, creating exquisite patterns and textures to create trees and florals. She is bold when it comes to her use of colour, creating vibrant landscapes and depictions of nature. If you like natural subject matter but are looking for that *pop* of colour, then Pat could be right for you.

Be sure to check every month for features on new work, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
If you would like to be added to an Art e-mail list, send us an email to design@essentialliving.ca with the subject title as 'Art Email List', to receive exclusive invites to ART nights and updates on your favourite artist or style.

Myths About Exterior Stains

High quality wood stains do not peel
False
Regardless of the product used, if the surface is not prepared properly and the wrong application method is used, it could peel. Whether your wood was previously stained or not, you must start by washing the surface. It is important to remove loose grey wood fibers and stains caused by mildew, dust and moss since these contaminants will keep the stain from adhering properly.

New wood surfaces do not need to be sanded before staining
False
To remove imperfections and prepare wood’s pores to receive stain, the new wood surface must absolutely be sanded using 80 grit sandpaper. On vertical surfaces use 120grit sandpaper for a finer finish. Check that you have sanded enough by sprinkling water on the surface - if it pearls then you must continue sanding, if the water penetrates the wood then the stain is ready to be applied.

Applying stain with a roller is much faster than with a brush
False
Since wood warps with time, it becomes difficult to reach certain areas with a roller. A brush is the best tool for applying stain evenly. There are specifically designed brushes whose length and width allow for quick application. You can also attach the brush to to a long handle so you can work standing up - way more comfortable.

It is better to apply more than the two coats the manufacturer suggests
False
A coating that is too thick compromises one of stain’s main advantages - it's flexibility, which allows it to follow woods movement without cracking or peeling.

Exterior Stain can be applied on any nice summer day
False
If it is warmer than 25C or if the surface to be stained is very hot to the touch, stain will not have time to penetrate the wood deeply or blend with the former stain, which will lead to peeling. As well, if the stain dries too quickly it is difficult to apply and will leave behind brush marks and and uneven look.

Paint Your House: Tips For Choosing Exterior Colors

Here's How:

1. Begin with colors suggested by your roof and masonry. An effective exterior palette consists of three main colors including body, trim and accent colors.
2. Consider the color schemes used inside your home. Exterior colors should harmonize with the interior.
3. Don't clash with your neighbors! Choose colors that coordinate with the buildings around you.
4. Large surfaces make paint look lighter. Consider selecting darker shades - also, colors appear paler outside, therefore always chose final paint colors outside and check them in the morning, noon and especially at dusk - when daylight becomes more purple, taupes can often look pink.
5. Remember that very bright or very deep colors will fade.
6. To emphasize architectural details, outline them with an accent color that contrasts with the background.
7. Use darker colors to emphasize shadows and lighter colors to show projections.
8. Avoid extreme contrasts. Choose colors that are related.
9. You can minimize attention to vents and gutters by painting them the same color as the body of the house or by choosing a trim color that is similar
10. Photocopy a sketch or photograph of your house. Use watercolors or colored pencils to try color combinations.
11. Before buying large quantities of paint, buy quarts of your selected colors and paint one area of your house.
12. Take your time ... be creative ... and have fun!

Tips:

1. The simpler your house, the fewer colors you'll need. For an elaborate Victorian, plan to use four to six colors.
2. Light colors will make your house seem larger. Dark colors or bands of trim will make your house seem smaller, but will draw more attention to details.
3. For some accents, consider using darker or lighter shades instead of changing color.

The Voice of Color:

Picking house paint colors isn't just difficult. It's terrifying! Pick colors that are blah, and your house will seem flat and featureless. But if the colors you pick are too bold, they might overwhelm the architecture... and upset the neighbors.
The best colors will highlight the most beautiful features of your home. Skillful use of color can even disguise design flaws, boosting the curb appeal and market value of your home. How do you find that magic color combination?

Follow these tips:
1. Honor History
If you're planning to paint an older home, you'll probably want to use a historically accurate color scheme. You can hire a pro to analyze old paint chips and recreate the original color. Or, you can refer to historic color charts and select shades that might have been used at the time your home was built.

2. Jazz Up The Past
In some neighborhoods, homeowners fly in the face of history. Instead of choosing historically accurate colors, they paint their houses modern colors to dramatize architectural details. Using bright colors on old architectural details can produce startling and exciting results. But before you buy 10 gallons of bubblegum pink, it's a good idea to look at what your neighbors are doing. A fluorescent colored Victorian that looks splendid in San Francisco will seem wildly out of place in more conservative neighborhoods.

3. Consider Your Neighbors
The house next door can give you paint color ideas, but don't copy your neighbor exactly. Choose colors that set your house apart, without clashing with nearby buildings.

4. Borrow From Nature
The landscape around your house is blooming with color ideas. Trees may suggest an earthy palette of greens and browns. A beach setting might suggest vivid blues, turquoises, and coral colors. Even the garden in your front yard can inspire exciting color combinations.

5. Check The Roof
Your house is your canvas, but it is not blank. Some colors are already established. What color is your roof? Your paint color doesn't need to match the roof, but it should harmonize.

6. Look For Things That Won't Be Painted
Every home has some features that will not be painted. Does your house have brick walls? Vinyl windows? A natural wooden door? Will steps and railings remain their existing colors? Choose a color scheme that harmonizes with colors already present on your house.

7. Find Inspiration In Your Living Room
It may seem comical to paint entire house based on the pattern of a pillow case, but this approach does make sense. The color of your furnishings will guide you in the selection of your interior paint colors, and your interior paint colors will influence the colors you use outside. Once again, your goal is to harmonize.

8. Focus On Details
Depending on the size and complexity of your home, you may want to choose two, three, or as many as six colors. In addition to color for your siding, select accent colors for shutters, moldings, doors, window sashes, brackets, columns, and porch decks. But beware: too many colors will overwhelm your house. Too few can make your house seem flat and uninteresting.

9. Use Light To Add Size
It's no wonder large, grand estates are often painted white. Light colors make a building look larger, and white is the favored color for traditional classical architecture. You can add to your home's sense of size and dignity by using white or a pale cream color.

10. Go Dark For Drama
Dark siding or dark bands of trim will make your house seem smaller, but will draw more attention to details. Darker shades are best for accenting recesses, while lighter tones will highlight details that project from the wall surface. On traditional Victorian homes, the darkest paint is often used for the window sashes.

11. Discover Color Families
Contrasting colors will draw attention to architectural details. But, extreme contrasts will clash and actually detract from details. To be safe, consider staying within a single color family. For some accents, try using a darker or lighter shade instead of a different color.

12. Strike A Balance
A burst of a single color on just one part of your home may give it a lopsided appearance. Strive to balance colors over the entire building.


You thought you only had to pick colors?
Sorry! Here are a few pointers to keep in mind as you choose paint for your house painting project.

House Paint Durability
The more intense a color, the more likely it is to fade. After a few years, vivid blues and deep reds might seem more subdued. Dark colors can also pose more maintenance problems. Dark colors absorb heat and suffer more moisture problems than lighter shades. And because dark paint fades, it can be difficult to match exactly when you do small touch-ups. But, don't rule out dark colors. They won't show dust and stains, and can give your house a sense of dignity or drama.

House Paint Sheen
House paint comes in several sheens, ranging from glossy to flat. The glossier the surface, the more likely it is to show imperfections, brush strokes and touch up marks. On the other hand, glossy surfaces are easier to clean. Many homeowners opt to use flat paint for walls and semi-gloss or glossy paint for columns, railings and window sashes.

Paint Color Deceptions
Color swatches look very different when they are brought out of the store and viewed in natural sunlight. Also, colors appear lighter on large surfaces than they do on small samples. Chances are, you'll need a much darker color than the one you first picked. Always test your selected color in one area before buying gallons of paint.

Create the Ultimate Outdoor Kitchen

There are few things in life more enjoyable than an outdoor cookout, especially when it takes place in the comfort of your very own backyard. Most open air chefs simply get used to running back and forth between the outdoor barbecue and the indoor fridge, arms laden with condiments, utensils and essentials such as refreshing libations. However, outdoor kitchens, which are fast becoming a popular modern day home splurge, can change lives. These sophisticated al fresco dens of culinary mastery can transform your yard into the envy of the neighbourhood and add a new dimension of living space to your home.

Outdoor Essentials: Outdoor space is becoming more and more popular as people give up their dream of exorbitantly-priced waterfront property. Some opt for an outdoor cooking product like the GE Monogram Gas grill with stainless steel storage doors, and build that into an island, with a dual burner cook top, and an outdoor refrigerator. Stainless steel gas grills provide added convenience because they allow for big batch cooking – perfect when you're attempting to cook steaks for a group – and they're all-season weather resistant to boot. It's also possible to upgrade to natural gas models, which can be hooked directly into your home's natural gas supply and mean no more empty propane tank blues!

Hot Stuff: True heat seekers can pony up for infrared barbecues (Solaire, TEC and Napoleon make quality models) which heat up at warp speed and can produce the perfect steak in six minutes flat. Large, multi-burner infrared units generally cost at least two to three thousand dollars, but smaller, portable versions of these cutting edge cookers are available for a fraction of that price. Outdoor aficionados can also purchase smokers and wood burning ovens (perfect for pizza!) to augment their outdoor digs.

Cooling it Down: Drinks, marinated meats, salads and condiments can be conveniently kept on hand with outdoor refrigerators that are designed to stand up to the elements. Kitchen Aid and GE both make these.

Room to Work: Cabinetry, storage and work space are also essential to a complete outdoor kitchen, but not just any old materials will do. We obviously have a punishing climate for outdoor materials, so be sure that you're using something that will stand the test of time. Standard kitchen cabinetry will simply not be enough to withstand the elements if used out-of -doors. You need something that won't crack, split, warp or rot when exposed to wind, rain, cold and heat. Polymer is a wise choice of medium for cupboards, and stone or brick make good island bases.

Getting the Job Done: Before leaping into your outdoor kitchen project headfirst, take the time to consider materials and execution. In terms of eating areas and patios, cedar makes a great addition to any backyard space - its moth-repelling properties are well known, and it smells great.

Backyard Furnishings: Choose outdoor furniture with as much care as you choose your outdoor kitchen appliances. Make sure table tops can stand up to hot plates being placed on them – you don't want to have to be as fussy outdoors as you are inside. Invest in a few extra chairs, too, since your backyard haven is sure to have guests flocking to your place for dinner parties under the sun and stars. Also, consider an extra sets of affordable cutlery, plates and culinary utensils so that cooking outdoors doesn't mean emptying out your indoor kitchen.

Divine Details: Little extras can't hurt when designing what will undoubtedly become the icing on your cake. Consider retractable canopies to provide shade from the sun and umbrella shaped outdoor propane heaters, portable backyard fire pits or chimneys to heat things up when the sun goes down. If your pocketbook can handle it, go big with a custom built outdoor fireplace, and make sure your are wired for sound and your luxurious little getaway spot will be complete.

5 Common Landscaping Mistakes And How To Solve Them ...

Summer is the time for home improvement projects to move outside. But in the rush to get something started, good planning and design can be left behind.
Landscaping projects can be perfect for the do-it-yourselfer. Plantscaping work doesn't require a building permit, and there are endless resources available to help with the design and construction of decks, patios, pergolas, and screened porches. The key is planning, and that's where a design professional can be a valuable partner in helping prevent costly mistakes.
The same planning oversights seem to happen over and over again - the following is a list of common outdoor living space mistakes, and how to avoid them:

Problem #1: Lack of an overall landscaping plan. Like any other design project, a good landscape considers the entire environment. It isn't uncommon to see a landscape begin with one style in the front yard, and finish with a completely different style by the time the work gets around to the back. A chaotic and disconnected landscape is the result if a coherent plan isn't prepared up front.
Solution: Start with an overall plan for the whole environment - including what not to do and where not to do it - and implement it in stages as time and budget permit. Even if the design evolves as it's executed, a clear road map will assure that a consistent character is maintained throughout.

Problem #2: Decks and patios are undersized. A sense of scale is hard to grasp without the familiar architectural landmarks of walls, doors, and furniture. A deck or patio may seem quite large when it's laid out and built, but it's often too small once tables and chairs are in place. If a deck or patio is too small to move comfortably around in, it won't get used.
Solution: Arrange all of the table, chairs, benches, or other furniture on the ground first, and then plan the space around them. Leave at least three feet from the edge of a table to the nearest edge of the hardscape element. Plan several smaller, connected areas for each outdoor activity or furniture arrangement and use a variety of materials; combine a wood deck with a brick patio, for example.

Problem #3: New plants are not thriving. A source of much gardening frustration is that beautiful flowering plant that looked so nice at the nursery, but never took hold at home.
Solution: Choose plants that are appropriate for the regional climate and the microclimate of your yard. Don't assume that every plant for sale in the nursery is automatically appropriate for your yard, or even for your part of the country. Many common plants are very sensitive to the amount of light and water they receive, and to the quality of the soil. Too many amateur landscapers choose plants strictly on looks without giving proper consideration to suitability.

Problem #4: Underestimating the cost of the project.
Solution: Start with a rule of thumb - for a new house, it takes a landscape budget of about 10% of the cost of the construction of the home to install a fully developed outdoor environment. For more budget-minded projects, establish your spending limits first, and then concentrate that budget on one or two areas of the landscape. You'll get much more enjoyment from smaller areas of high quality than you will from cheap work spread over the whole landscape. Determine which parts of the landscape are the most permanent and implement those projects first. Build the decks and patios now and add the plantings later.

Problem #5: All available options not considered.
Solution: Your ability to visualize creative solutions is limited by your experience. Just seeing a wide variety of landscape designs can open your eyes to new possibilities for your yard. Go to backyard garden tours, walk public gardens, hit the home and garden shows, and visit your local library. Ask your landscape professional for tours of projects similar to yours. You'll be surprised by the variety of creative solutions you'll find.