Every year, Christmasworld dedicated a section of their fair to 4 trends that represent customers’ desires according to style expert. The general theme for Christmas 2009-2010 is “Express your dreams”. It is declined in 4 decorating trends: Airy, Sweet, Comfort and Obsession. Each trend also represents a season. So feel free to be inspired by the Comfort decor theme to decorate at Thanksgiving.

Airy = Spring

Airy is characterized by lightness and transparency. It feels romantic in a modern way. Soft pastel colours, blurred motifs and fluid structures lure the observer into a fairylike fantasy world. Plenty of glass vases, baubles and crystal are a must.

The colour parameters are created by chalky pastels ranging from cream to pink and pale grey, all combined with lots of white. Transparent, translucent materials are as light as the colors.

Sweet = Summer

Sweet is the most feminine decor. It is unusual to see pink floral patterns at Christmas. Do not be afraid to use a multicolor palette. This decor feels fresh and girly with a hint of kitsch. The milky palette extends from sand, aqua and turquoise to violet, lime and slate grey. Materials include plastic, varnish and porcelain, tulle and satin ribbons. Surface are over-sugared, candied and glazed.

For me, this decor screams more bridal showers and tea parties than Christmas. For that reason, I am not sure about it as a good Christmas theme. On the other end, you will probably reuse most of decorative elements the rest of the year.

Comfort = Autumn

Comfort is an evolution of the birch bark, the deer and the natural theme that was popular on the last two years. Comfort plays with contrasts in textures, materials and styles. Make sure to include pieces made with natural materials. Feel free to oppose modern style objects with driftwood. A must are the touches of red or orange to enliven the decor.

Comfort is the only trend that is sure to appeal to both genders. I guess that it will be theme used by Boyd Ferguson (re: modern rustic kitchen).

Obsession = Winter

This is by far the most glamourous decor for Christmas. I see Obsession as the next wave of the Hollywood Glamour theme. You mix metallic colors. Quartz pink and mauve lighten up mahogany, aubergine, violet and gold. I am impress with the lilac against the silver and gold. It might be something I try this year. You will need to look for curved lines, ornate objects, luxurious materials and fabrics like velvet and silk to reproduce the Obsession look.

MORE:
+ via Christmasworld

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I told you on my other blog that Twitter can be an efficient marketing vehicle for businesses. One type of business that benefits well from the free marketing platform that Twitter provides are local restaurants.

What I like is that I decide which local stores and restaurants I want to follow on Twitter. This way, I can learn in advance what is on today’s menu and when they host special events.

Cheap and On the Spot Survey

The benefits for small businesses do not stop there. Twitter is great to survey the opinions of customers. You can directly ask questions. Or you can set up a Twitter poll in less than a minute. I recommend twtpoll.

Myers + Chang’s chef and co-owner Joanne Chang used this method to validate a request from a customer. She tweeted: “Should cilantro be listed on menu item when it’s an ingredient?” Four hours later, she received enough answers to be convinced that plenty of customers would like to know which dish has cilantro in it. She went further and decided to give the option to have the dishes without cilantro.

Twitter allows businesses to quickly find information, features and services valued by their customers and to react accordingly. In a competitive market, it is an opportunity that small businesses cannot afford to miss.It costs almost nothing to tweet a few times a day. You can tweet with any smart phone. It does not require a computer or any technical knowledge. Your account can be up and running in less than a minute. Unlike a blog, it could take only a few minutes a day to maintain.

I now follow a few Boston restaurants and restaurant reviews accounts on Twitter. I will be in the know when I will go there next August. You could also explore the Alfresco dining options in Boston for some clues on where to eat.

MORE:
+ Restaurants using Twitter for cheap, effective marketing by Devra J. First for The Boston Globe
+ Pictures: L’espalier on Twitter and Myers + Chang on Twitter

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Yesterday I browsed the photo coverage on Core77 of the 2009 International Home and Housewares Show that happened March 22 to March 24 at the McCormick Center in Chicago, IL.

One common element is that the new housewares products are available in a big spectrum of happy colors. I like that! Although there are many European brands like Bodum and Brabatia, Canadian and American companies are embracing the color movement. I think of brands like Kitchenaid and Trudeau that have been introducing colors for several years now.

I will review my favorite products in details in the coming weeks but I wish to give you a head start.

+ Images by Caroline Linder & Lisa Smith for Core77

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I took the pictures of the citrus solid dinnerware set as I came back from dinner last night. It happens that it matches the Mini Iced Easter Cookies at Williams-Sonoma. The carrot, chick and bunny cookies have a delicate lemon flavor.

I spot the Mix & Max dinnerware collection by Maxwell & Williams available in lime, yellow or orange at Linen Chest. Maxwell & Williams is an Australian brand. Their housewares are available through in Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, Europe, Israel, South Africa, Honk Kong, New Zealand and Australia. Not bad for a company founded in 1995.

The two will look great for a casual Easter lunch. I like the fact to use the trendy colors of spring 2009 instead of the predictable pale yellow and mauve Easter colors.

SOURCING:
+ Mix & Max dinnerware collection by Maxwell & Williams $2.50-$29.95 CAD at Linen Chest
+ Mix & Max dinnerware collection by Maxwell & Williams $2.95-$29.95 CAD at Rob McIntosh China
+ Mini Iced Easter Cookies $22.95 USD

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I had good words for the home cooking trend last January. With many recent cookbooks preached a back to basics culinary approach and a change in our eating out habits, simple home cooking grows in popularity.

To prove my point, the March 2009 edition of delicious revealed drastic changes in food shopping and food consumption over the last year. A total of 3558 British people answered their survey. The conclusions are:

• 82% are eating out less often
• 51% are buying less takeouts (I found some conflicting data with Australia reporting an increased in takeout sales; but it may vary per country)
• 40% have started taking lunch at work
• 54% are making more meals from scratch
• People also prepare more and more homemade desserts and bake cakes.

These facts put pressure on finding new recipes. The cooking magazines and cooking blogs will continue to be popular. I hope that as a society, we will recover the pleasure of home cooked meal. It is healthier and better for our wallet.

Takeouts Vs. Home Cooking

To measure how much you could save by cooking a home meal, Francesca Percy of Taste.au compared takeout prices versus home cooking on typical British takeout dishes. The comparison is based on recipes published on Taste.au. You will save

• $4.40 per serving if you do your own Margherita pizza
• $4 per serving if you cook your own Fish and Chips
• $6 per serving if you prepare your Pad Thai
• $4.10 per serving for Indian Chicken and lentil korma

Tastespotting features 15 Pad Thai recipes and 2 Margherita pizza recipes. FoodTV.ca proposes plenty of Fish and Chips recipes.

By the way, have you heard of these food acronyms popular in Britain?

• CREAM which stands for Cancel reservation, eat at mine
• STAGS which stands for Stand at Home Gourmets
• STAYCATIONS which means that you stay at home during the holiday instead of going away

Thanks to Matthew Drennan, the editor of delicious for sharing this evolution of verbal communication.

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+ The excellent kitchen designer Susan Serra of The Kitchen Designer shares her top social kitchen design tips on Twitter. Go for a large kitchen door access for outdoor socializing. The glass wall with the sliding doors is the ultimate but classy French doors work as well. I love what the Dublin-based design studio Fuse Interiors did.

+ You have a narrow long space. Do not worry; it is possible to bring several elements of the social kitchen in a long narrow kitchen. Look at how Colin & Justin did it in one episode of Colin and Justin’s Home Heist. Here a butcher’s block doubles as an entertaining bar or buffet station. The lounge area at the back allows the cook to be with her guests without the kitchen feeling crowded.

+ I love the look of a fridge hiding in a flat wall unit. But for practicality reasons, you need a 12-inch wide flat surface on the opening side of the door so you can deposit things when you get food in and out of the fridge. One solution is to integrate a sturdy pull out tablet on either side of the fridge. For more kitchen design tips, check out what Marissa Ponikowski wrote for HGTV.ca about the Top Ten Kitchen Layout Mistakes.

MORE:
+ Top Images from Fuse Interiors
+ Colin and Justin’ Home Heist TV show
+ Via The Kitchen Designer

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If you cannot splurge in the mid-century iconic clock by George Nelson or the Eames Hang-It-All coat rack, UK retailers Heal’s sells a Saturnus magazine rack and a coat rack. The Saturnus coat rack looks so so but maybe it is the picture. They are not as sophisticated as the iconic pieces but at that price we will not complain.

Closer to home, I spot the Sunburst Multi-Color Wall Clock. I think it is cute. I may buy it for our office. There is also the Orbit wall clock, a copycat of the Nelson clock. I am not a fan of reproduction but I thought you should know.

Color Blocking Home Décor Trend

I spotted the Saturnus magazine rack while reading about the color-blocking trend on the February 2009 edition of Living etc. The current look stays away of the primary shades. You do not want to reproduce the Mondrian color blocks.

Use it to bring life to your space. You can simply paint the walls or furniture, customize your curtains or use color blocking on accent pieces. The Stack drawer tower unit is build by stacking multi-colored floating drawers. It is a clever design.

SOURCING:
+ Multi Colored Ball Clock by George Nelson on sale at $268 USD at DRW
+ Eames Hang-It-All $179 USD
+ Sunburst Multi-Color Wall Clock $39.95 USD
+ Saturnus Magazine Rack £39.15
+ Stack drawers designed by Shay Alkalay for Established & Sons 8 drawers, green multi-color £1763
+ image of Donna Wilson’s Hue Armchair at SCP
+ Swag Leg Desk by George Nelson for Herman Miller $1899 USD

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The home cooking trend is not just about money saving. It is also triggered by our desire to control what and how much is in our plate.

Many experts in the food industry predict a return to smaller plates for 2009. The sooner will be the better if you ask me. Almost everyone complain about excessive portions in US restaurants. It is a fact that we do not feel great after we ate too much. Small plates may be a way for restaurant owners to stay profitable and keep up quality in a harder economic time.

I hope the calories on menu boards regulations imposed In New York and California to tackle the obesity spread will swell this trend further. Even at home, I feel that we are eating too large portions. It seems like the right time to rectify that bad habit.

Changing Our Eating Habits

On our last trip, my husband and I adapted how we ordered in restaurants. One thing we did was to order each an appetizer and then, share an entrée. We have more than plenty of food each time.

This means that we must coordinate what we eat which defies the purpose of eating out. Other times, we checked the portions before entering the restaurants and opted for restaurants that served smaller portions.

I had lunch at a small French bistro restaurant last Monday with a girlfriend, the blogger behind En direct des Iles. The food at Bistro Justine was delicious with reasonable portions. We had too much fun talking that I forgot to take pictures on our meal.

What are your thoughts on the small plate issue?

CREDITS:
+ Images from Bistro Justine – get” directions=”directions”>p 514.277.2728
1268 Avenue Van Horne, Outremont, QC, Canada, H2V 1K6

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It seems that all magazines lately make the eulogy of comfort food and a return to the simple ingredients commonly used in rustic cooking. This winter, all my friends order French onion soups.

Since I have never been a fan of molecular cuisine or any of the creative recipe movements, I would not complain. I feel that it is about time that we are returning to proven recipes. This does not mean that we cannot adapt that to suit today’s taste.

The classic recipes have survived for a reason: they taste great. Instead of the fancy restaurants, bistros, modern taverns and small local restaurants are gaining in popularity. Bistro food books are displayed in hip local gift stores.

Menu Ideas

This picture from a dish at Leméac café bistrot located in Outremont illustrates this movement. A roasted black cod served with fennel flavored white bean mash feel inviting. This is a food presentation that you could try at home. After the extravagance of the last decade, you steal ideas from restaurant chefs that you can reproduce at home.

Chef Frédéric Morin shares his signature Joe Beef’s Lobster Spaghetti. The recipe is not complicated. A lobster recipe is sure to make a great impression on your guests. Joe Beef has its fans and its detractors. Do not be foul by the shabby cottage décor of the restaurant. The trendy Joe Beef is an expensive restaurant.

Canadian House and Home published the black cod dish recipe and a tasty dessert citrus-passion fruit blancmange by Leméac.

This is one of many trends for 2009. I explore the others over time.

MORE:
+ Leméac café bistrot – get directions p 514.270.0999
1045 Avenue Laurier Ouest, Outremont, QC, Canada, H2V 2L1
+ Joe Beef – get directions p 514.935.6504
2491 Notre Dame Ouest, Montreal, QC, Canada, H3J 1N6
+ Food photography by Virginia Macdonald for Canadian House and Home – February 2009 issue

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People+Places set may be the coolest Rolodex you can own but on my book, it is not enough to stop the paperless trend.

When was the last time you used a Rolodex? Even if the trend starts with email software, the advent of the smart phones rendered the Rolodex completely obsolete.

What It Used to Be

When I worked as an event designer, I placed business card holder sheets on my cute Russell+Hazel mini-binders with 100% linen cover. It was handy to carry around the list of my favorite caterers and other suppliers between home and the office. I do not use this cute binder anymore. I still love its look but I prefer to move around lightweight with my iPhone.

This year I wondered whether or not I should renew my red Moleskine pocket Weekly Planner with an integrated notebook. I did it since I often write appointments and I took many notes last year.

Social Networks Role

Nowadays almost every business contact that I meet either becomes a friend on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Social networks provide us other means to keep in touch. They are often more efficient since we get access to a new range of information.

The Ultra Mod Rolodex

It is clear that Russell+Hazel makes the ultimate modern chic Rolodex. Like I commented on The People St. Clair Studio, it is second to none from a visual point of view. The People+Places set comes with kelp or multi-color tabs.

Sadly for them, I would not spend $56 on something that I will not use. Moreover, I am looking at streamlining my interior. So less is more on my desk. But if you wanted one, the People+Places set would be it.

SOURCING:
+ People+Places Set by Russell+Hazel $56
+ Red Moleskine pocket Weekly Planner $12.99 USD
+ Via The People St. Clair Studio

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A travel trend is luxury camping with five star accommodations. You sleep in a comfortable bed set in a 10-feet tent equipped with furniture. You eat gourmet food prepared by chefs sitting at the resort restaurants. At night, you dine with fine wines. It is the next frontier of eco-chic travel. Behind all the glam of these resorts, I saw an opportunity for an amazing party theme.

Glamping is not a new idea. The upper class has been traveling in style with their furniture for centuries. In fact, it reminded me of the first season of the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones when Indy and his parents went to an African safari.

How Can You Make this Idea Yours?

You can make your own tents and use them as guests room at the cottage for a big family reunion. Imagine this setting for a destination wedding that you set in the countryside instead of an Island.

Tents are not just to sleep. Clayoquot Wilderness Resort designed 2 lounge tents: a game tent, and a library tent to entertain you during your stay. They reproduced the Gentlemen’s Clubs of the past. It reminds me of the Library of the Gold Floor at The Copley hotel in Boston.

You can design a fun version for a kid and even a teen birthday party in your backyard. Plan the game tent to suit the theme of your party.

For safety reasons, I suggest you rely on battery-operated candles.

About Clayoquot Wilderness Resort

You can see that emulating the ways fortunate people spent their summers roughing it one hundred years ago was the heart of the concept of John and Adele Caton for their wilderness destination resort.

If you are thinking of staying at this premier eco-safari destination, Clayoquot Wilderness Resort specifies on their Web site that the months of May and September are perfect for couples. They advertise the summer months as better suit high-energy family gatherings.

And since you get complimentary wireless Internet access for personal portables, you can share with us your wonderful adventures.

SOURCING:
+ Photos: Clayoquot Wilderness Resort in Tofino, British Columbia – rate this resort
+ Via Liberty Post and Apartment Therapy

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More couples decide to stay in the city after they gave birth to kids. It is far from the norm but we begin to see more examples. In fact, two families amongst my friends opt for city life instead of moving to the suburb. They did not want to endure the long commuting to go to work.

Some parents go as far as redefining the concept of a family house. Canadian House and Home January 09 house of the month features one of this amazing home. The owners are the architects Christine Ho ping King and Peter Tan of Studio Junction. The couple lives their two pre-school children. They converted a warehouse in a back lane. They minimize the demolition of the building which results in an unusual design.

Here are ideas to steal from Christine and Peter’s home design:

They incorporate a main courtyard and a second floor terrace that both serve as playrooms and art studio for the kids during the summer. The rest of the year, these spaces bring the outside in.

Christine and Peter place their home office next to the living quarter to be closer to the kids. A small studio the across the courtyard provides more privacy.

The storage is integrated into the walls to reduce the clutter and to create the illusion of space. In a home without a basement, every inch counts. They insert seamless drawers into the stairs. Integrated wall storage is what I wish for if we were designing a new house.

To fully appreciate the house design, watch the 2-minute video interview with the owners.

In the same Canadian House and Home issue, top designers are predicting that houses will go back to more manageable, human scale. What do you think?

PHOTO CREDITS:
+ Courtyard House by Studio Junction – photography by Rob Fiocca

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