Debbie Travis wrote an article titled “Simple decorating makes for hassle-free summer” on thestar.com. It’s got some great tips on how to keep things simple this summer so you can enjoy the weather.

This weekend I received a comment asking where I got my inspiration.

Not knowing where to get inspiration terrified me when I first started my design career. What if I have an amazing project to work on and I don’t know how to create something beautiful? To be honest this fear lasted until 2006 when I decided to take a course at Alberta College of Art & Design (ACAD) called Design Inspiration by Anna Hergert. Anna specialized in quilting and about 80% of the class were quilters, however there were graphic, fashion and floral designers in the class as well.

We covered topics such as textiles, starting a sketch pad, starting an inspiration book from magazine clippings, mixing paint to creating art out of something you’d normally throw out. The most important thing I took out of the class was: inspiration can come from anything: a skyscraper, magazines, stores, a friend’s clothes, a water fountain, even a rusty vehicle. You just need to focus on that one element that catches your eye and after that everything seems to fall into place.

For example, take this photo to the right, we see a man with a brief case walking down some train tracks. If this was your inspirational piece for a living room, you could install hardwood flooring (like the wood in the tracks), metal a metal picture frame (like the metal in the tracks), add striped throw pillows (like the man’s tie), a boquet of flowers in a clear vase with rocks on the bottom (under the tracks) and sepia toned artwork to finish the room. You could also add some old luggage for décor items. It’s amazing what can spark an idea.

Images: iStock Photo (November 5, 2007), iStock Photo (July 5, 2010), iStock Photo (July 5, 2010),

Samantha Mastai posted an article on HGTV’s blog titled “Real Estate: What Does $500K Get You in Toronto, Calgary and Montreal?”. It’s interesting to compare how much of a home you can get in the different cities. Which house would you choose?

When you’re in a bind for some colour in your kitchen, why not try something a little more organic? Fruit is naturally colourful and smells wonderful. One staging trick I would like to share. If you don’t have enough fruit to fill and entire bowl, add a smaller bowl flipped upside down to the big bowl, then add your fruit. Your bowl looks 2-3 times fuller.