Forget about the cutesy animals and Disney characters, Lavish Lamb baby bedding from Winnipeg creates a stylish nursery as sophisticated as your living room. With a great mix of graphics and prints, you can choose to layer in a coordinating blanket with crib bedding or make a statement with a contrasting print. Either way, this makes it easy to shop local.

Meet my brand-new, 2-day-old nephew! I have scooted to Edmonton to meet this little guy and help his tired mom and dad settle him into his new home. I’ll be cozying up the nursery and getting the last few things on the new baby checklist.

I have to admit that baby decor is new to me but, in trying to influence some decor decisions, I’ve found there are so many chic, cute and organic options out there I have no idea how sleep-deprived parents can choose! Over the next few days in Edmonton I’ll be showing you some choices from our excursions to feather the nest.

As you can imagine, even when I go out for dinner I check out my surroundings and get totally distracted by great interiors. It was no exception when we went to Colborne Lane for my boyfriend’s birthday a little while ago. It was hard to be distracted from the great food, not to mention rare, attentive service, but I was in love with the dark alchemy of this space. The walls are primarily black but the strong accents of aged wood and mad-scientist-inspired glass fixtures keep it from feeling somber. A tufted banquette along the outside walls of the dining room tie all the tones together in a veriagated striped upholstery.

That’s the great thing about restaurants and hotels – you can get inspired by different styles and see what turns you on without picking up a paint brush or hiring a designer. It may even be cheaper than making a mistake at home……unless you’re paying for dinner.

How many times have you been inspired by a colour and wished you could translate it into a paint colour? Or better yet, you bring a sample of your new favourite colour to a matching machine, only to find out the technology can’t read the fabric/surface/swatch. This has happened to me many (too many) times. But, Benjamin Moore has just jumped on the iPhone “App” revolution to put an end to my colour-matching madness: the ben Colour Capture App allows you to point your sleek iPhone (read: life-altering device) to a colour, where it will translate it to the corresponding Benjamin Moore colour and direct you to the closest retailer near you to buy the paint.

Now if only the iPhone could do the painting for us.

Wm Perry Studio

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a woodworking class in Toronto’s Leaside area. A first for the city, Wm Perry Studios offers hands-on project and skill workshops in a well-designed classroom – putting many of the community centre and school shop facilities we have known to shame. Run by a husband and wife team, Bill imparts his years of time-tested craft wisdom on attendees, while Catherine brings in gourmet goodies and runs comprehensive evaluation/feedback and marketing sides of the business.

I missed woodworking. I loved it as a kid and was spoiled to have access to my dad’s industrial arts classroom growing up. I am a chick with a selection of saws and other tools. And, much to my father’s pleasure, can hold my own in a hardware store – but I don’t have the space or tools to work on larger projects at home. So when the opportunity came to visit Bill’s studio and create my own shaker-style step stool I jumped in line.

Bill’s own custom and commercial projects hang around the studio in the finest of form. His take on a traditional Windsor chair is nothing short of spectacular in its emaciated silhouette and body-hugging flexibility. His work is inspiration for the day ahead. Although one perch in this chair and you admire the man’s patience.

WM Perry Comb-back Windsor chair

Bill provided us all with the choice of quality cherry or walnut planks to make our stools. A few hems and haws to match or mismatch grain, and we were ready to get our hands on the table saw. Bill walked us through each step of the process and sturdy industrial equipment, each with a solid safety precaution, and added his tips for the best possible product.

The best part of WM Perry’s workshops is the start to finish project. We started from scratch and walked away with a quality piece of crafted furniture that we made with our own hands. At no point was my wood taken from me for Bill to complete a step – I did it all. Not only is this stool useful (I’ve been thankful for it so many times in the past weeks as I reach for the top shelves in my kitchen) but it is also decorative and a streamlined take on a furniture classic.

At a time when crafting has become both entertainment and necessity, it’s amazing to find such an affordable set of seminars. You can hardly buy a finished shaker stool for the cost of a one-day class – let alone have the instruction, wood, experience and transferable information (did I mention the gourmet lunch??) for the price of admission.

Seminar Prices

1-day seminar: $125.00 plus GST

2-day seminar: $200.00 plus GST

3-day seminar: $275.00 plus GST

For die-hard woodworkers, Bill also maintains a blog covering topics such as chisels and fixed angles, eco-friendly cleaning for table saw blades and some tool reviews.