wishing you

a weekend of breathtaking beauty....

spending the weekend packing for the beach and having friends over for dinner... see you all monday! x am






image sources art cafe books fabric  

the entertaining posts: dining room

No. 2 of the entertaining post series...




Last time we looked at kitchens, 

and part of the discussion we got going was whether or not we like formal dining rooms.

Not everyone likes a formal dining room, 

but we have one here, and it is well-used.

(although we won't be using it this weekend, as it's currently under a bit of an upheaval - 

we've just painted the walls, have to hang the art, change out the chandy, and add a carpet... 

both of which i also have to paint :) You can see the previous incarnation here....)

We try to have friends in at least every other week for dinner, 

and we host all the big holiday celebrations for both sides of our family.

Nothing makes me happier than the house being full of our favourite people.

I've gathered up a few beauties here for inspiration...

any of them tickle your fancy?


for the maximalist, a plethora of pattern...

for the elegant country home...

for the organic mod -

in black

or white......

(I really, really love the welcoming feel of this room,

truly one of my favourite spaces, ever)

for those of us that adore "junktiquing"....

the classics, happily re-imagined....

a room for stilettos and champagne, non?

If space is an issue

(and who isn't it an issue for?)

a dining room and office combine perfectly...

How about adding a piano, or a DRUM SET?!!

I love these rooms - 

the decor not be quite my style, 

but the idea of that little munchkin rocking out in the corner just makes me smile.

speaking of kids, 

these clever kids have found a way to ensure it's not a wasted space...

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

So, how about it?
Do any of these make you long for a formal dining space?

Since we are revamping our own,
I've come up with a short list of the elements I prefer -

I'm particularly partial to round tables, I think they encourage good conversation.
I like striking art, to peruse during dinner. 
An unusual, dimmable chandelier as your focal point.
Lastly, since this isn't a space you normally spend long periods of time in,
some daring colour and pattern to fill in the space visually.


What does your list look like?













(next up, sometime during the next few days....
a post looking at entertaining-friendly living rooms-
hope you'll stop by..)

the entertaining posts

How about a theme week?

Are you up for it?

Fresh from a wonderful weekend filled with some of our favourite friends,

and one which we were at their houses, not ours,

my thoughts today are all about entertaining.

Of course, the company always makes or breaks the evening,

but I love to go over to a friends home and try out a new gem of a recipe,

or enjoy an old favourite,

to relax, inevitably, around the kitchen table,

and catch up over a bottle of wine...

It makes our family happy to have our home filled with the laughter of those we love,

and so we have company almost every weekend.

I think that D and I tend to be attracted to people who, like ourselves, are very relaxed about entertaining.

Are you the same?

Even at holidays, while the table may be a bit more spiffy,

the atmosphere in our home is always one of relax, eat (I am half-italian, after all!), and be merry.

It's all about the food and the company.

That said :) I'd like to know how you all entertain.

This week I am going to open discussions about what type of kitchen you prefer, where you entertain in your home, what's on your table, the cocktail area,

and entertaining with children, and see where you stand.

Sound good?

Let's start with the kitchen.

Are you an open kitchen or closed kitchen sort?

Do you choose to serve food that can be prepared in advance and left to roast away in the oven,

 while you are off somewhere else?

Or too you chop merrily away while chatting with your guests?

I tend to do quite a lot of prep ahead of time, and always try to have some appetizers ready to go,

but no matter who comes over, we always settle in at our kitchen table,

or if the kids have claimed that space,

our dining room table, which is also open to the kitchen.

The country style kitchen, with the table literally at the centre of it all,

is the most intimate type of dining.

As a bit of a klutz, I love an open kitchen, but one where the cooking are is clearly delineated,

so that you don't end up with major traffic while you whirl around with pots of boiling water

and enormous, sharp knives.

And in smaller spaces, the galley kitchen is perfection.

and of course, somewhere comfortable to sit is an absolute must - entrer dans la banquette.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

Now let's hear about your kitchens -

do you spend a lot of time there when you have company?

What do you love about your space?

What would you change?

creativity fix

hullo, hullo!

You may have read that one of my resolutions this year is to get back to making,

to take the time to create.

So, since I've had some interest in featuring the 10 Rooms headquarters on a rather fabulous venue,

(akkk!)

and I've got to get busy zhushing up the place,

it seemed like the time to was nigh to break out the paint brushes.

It's been a LONG time,

so please be gentle in your comments :)

Whether or not they are masterpieces, it felt wonderful to be playing with paint on canvas,

ans I think they are going to the the first of many more...

We got a foot of snow here last night,

and I have a consult across town, so off to shovel before heading out -

have a lovely day!

2012: Looking Ahead

Hello lovely friends :) How are you? I've missed you.

I love this time of year, don't you?
We've had heaps of great visits with people we don't get to are all that often...,
it's a glorious snow globe out the front door,
and after the great rest of winter,
I can feel the energy of spring beating just around the corner.

Just spent a few hours attempting to catch up on all your news from around the blogosphere...

Sounds like you were as busy as we were!

It was a wonderful mad holiday here, as always.

We hosted Christmas, plus three other dinners, and two birthday parties;

attended two dinners, a cocktail and a birthday party;

and managed to squeeze in a few days of skiing.

Quite happy to get back to regularly scheduled life, 

& squeezing in some time for design love!

Having said that, the new year always finds me setting some personal goals, and this year they are....

to embrace the changes ahead

(it's on it's way, the most change in a long while, and it's due....

more about that later x)

and to spend more time MAKING -
life has become so busy, and I dearly miss painting and crafting.

source 1 2 

Of course, that may also mean cutting down on the hours minutes spent on my pinterest "habit"...

maybe that should be a resolution?
Hmm. Nah. :)

What are your goals for this year? 

Do you set any?

( btw -have you seen the pantone colour pick for the year?

of course you have :)

I'm going to be doing a post about it shortly.... hope you'll pop by and share your thoughts.

Happy Holidays!

Hello lovely friends!

 t's been a week of highs and lows, 

and one that has made me realize a few things...

the first is that I need to make more time for my family right now...

and that means certain things need to take a backseat... like this blog.

so thank you for sticking by me, and dropping in and reading,

but,

I am going to take a blogcation 'til the new year...

I'll come back happier and more inspired, with heaps of useful colour posts - promise!

and...

 since I had a couple of giveaways lined up for the holidays,

 they will be here for the taking in January!

Also, last year we did a really cool re-organizing link-up party, with The Great Clean Out.

Since January seems to the the time to clean up and clear out,

I'm thinking about hosting another one this year.

I've got at least six or seven spaces that could benefit from "the treatment" around here :)

We found it was really motivating to all do it together last year -

because when you really just wanted to stuff everything back in and shut the doors,

you knew you weren't alone, and that all the other ladies were feeling the same thing!

You also knew you had committed to a reveal, and so you just got it done -

and it felt so great after!!

So, if you'd like to tackle something around your place

(anything, from a cupboard to a room!)

please email me at amezeard@10rooms.com

and we'll figure out a posting date late jan/early feb that works for everyone....

Hope you all have the Merriest of Christmases

and Happiest of New Years Eves.

x

Tech, design and eye candy :)

A few years ago I had no idea what blogging was all about.

No twitter account, no linked in account, and my Facebook was checked monthly, if at all.

Oh, how life changes!

After three years of refusing to pay huge amounts of cash, I finally got the dot com for 10 Rooms - success!

I was checking each day to see if it became available, and one day, poof - there it was...

I'm going to set up a wordpress site, and am trying to decide if I should move the blog over there, as well.

Thoughts?

Do you think an integrated site and blog are more effective?

I think the less clicks to a destination, the better!

Also, a blog format will certainly be easier to update, and add portfolio pics to....

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In any case, I have today off, and am spending the day learning wordpress - 

which will require a few hours of shopping and be-sparkling of some objects around the house

to decompress, I'm sure....

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Tonight should be a breeze after the party we had this weekend!

25 12-years olds, some spooky decor, heaps of junk food and really LOUD music

all morphed into some unforgettable memories....

Bones kept bar..

and watched out over the action...

empty wine bottles filled with coloured water and re-labelled upped the creepy factor...

even water became arsenic :)

the gallery wall beyond...

The food table -

a folding table, with a piece of wood placed behind, 

the whole shebang covered with dollar-store tablecloths and destroyed old cheesecloth.

Added some string lights and strobe lights for twinkle, black lights for effect.

Pickles became ogre fingers,

spider dogs became baby arachnids.

The tray was heaped with pizza later..

Chips served up in cauldrons.... such a healthy menu!!

We had a guest with life-threatening nut allergies

and so have been nut-free for a month..

but I was still relieved when they all went home safely.

First guests arriving, checking out their "fortunes"

(we did up a basket of spooky ones)...

On the floor you can see a few of the balloons -

this was the greatest idea, and so simple -

we placed glow bracelets inside 30 white balloons and they floated around the floor all night, luminous.

That was the last moment of calm,

from here on in it was all shrieks and giggles...

Miss N was Katy Perry, and in true form she danced the night away :)

Hope you all have a happy halloween,

we'll be walking the 'hood,

spiced apple cider in hand....