Canadian Living – September 2019

Gallery walls
The most effective yet inex-
pensive way to turn a blank
wall into a stunning show-
piece is with an array of
framed keepsakes. Whether
it’s with a display of family
photographs, vacation snaps,
greeting cards, concert tick-
ets, items of clothing, mixed-
media artwork or an arrange-

ment incorporating all of the

above, celebrating your per-

sonal history immediately sig-

nals that your house is, in fact,

a happy home. Your display

doesn’t need to be too finicky.

Various subjects, a rainbow of

colours, different frames—or

no frames at all—are all okay

to highlight the items that are

meaningful to you.

Bookshelves

We firmly believe that every

home needs at least one sub-

stantial bookcase, especially

if it holds more than just your

favourite reads. Make your

bookshelves the highlight of

the room by decorating them

as you would other surfaces

in your home. Work with odd

numbers, stack your books

both horizontally and verti-

cally, incorporate photographs

and mementoes and voilà!

Textiles

Love a fabric but reupholster-

ing your old sofa isn’t in the

budget? Purchase just a small

piece and make a toss cushion

instead. Utilizing fabrics and

organic fibres is a great option

to add interest to a room with-

out breaking the bank. Mono-

chromatic and neutral rooms,

especially, need subtle layers

of textures and patterns to

add interest and keep the eye

moving. It’s a no-fail trick that

designers have employed suc-

cessfully for years.

CANADIAN LIVING SEPTEMBER 2019 | 67

Play Up the Personal

No one wants to live in a

showroom, and unless your

home reflects who you are, it’s

just not complete. Adding char-

acter is essential to creating

comfort and style, and it’s easy

and inexpensive to do it. Below

are just a few of our favourite

methods of injecting some indi-

viduality.

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