Green Home Decor

Here at Greenway we love the colour green, even our offices are painted what we call “The Greenway Green”. In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, we have found some amazing green decor ideas that will take your home interior from St.Patrick’s Day to spring, and even into next winter.

Here are some inspiring options where the rooms have been completely transformed into a green oasis.

Apartment Therapy

http://tohop.com

http://www.elementsofstyleblog.com

Better Homes and Gardens

http://www.shelterness.com

http://theglamlamb.blogspot.ca

Don’t want to paint or tile your walls? That’s understandable and will not get in the way of making your room a little more green. By adding green accessories or furniture, you can get the same look with only a little bit of work.

Better Homes and Gardens

52 Mantels

Martha Stewart

Better Homes and Gardens

Country Living

With the Pantone colour of the year being Emerald, it is easy to see why these spring inspired rooms can be fashionable year round. Happy St.Patrick’s Day and happy decorating!

Store Behind The Door

Cabinets and doors are things we open and close every day. But what lurks behind those closed doors that are not visible to the eye? Storage! Think of all of the potential space that could be utilized to make your home a cleaner and more organized place. I have hunted down some of the most creative and accessible options to help create your hidden storage areas from around the web (and Pinterest of course).

Better Homes & Gardens suggests using none other than a shoe organizer, which in this case has been labelled and re-purposed to hold anything from pencils to kitchen utensils. Shoe organizers are also a great option in children’s closets to hold dolls, toy cars, or stuffed animals.

This super crafty option from Infarrantly Creative saves you the drawer space and hassle of searching for measuring cups while attempting to remember measurement conversions.

The Story of Home Blog has provided a door storage option for wrapping items.

The insides of cabinets and doors can be painted and crafted to match any decor. Chalkboard paint can be used inside of cabinets to add a hidden family calendar or message board.

Things that can be stored behind doors are endless and range from hiding messy office papers to storing cleaning products under the sink so they are easy to find. If you are looking for more ways to utilize door space, Infarrantly Creative offers 4 other equally crafty options on their blog http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/2011/08/5-ways-to-organize-with-cabinet-doors.html and The Story of Home also offers other ways to secretly store items behind cabinets at http://www.thestoryofhome.com/2012/02/use-door.html.

The next time you are rummaging through the kitchen cupboards or closets, ask yourself if these creative storage options would work for you.

Unique Colours for Interiors

I recently stumbled upon this article from House Beautiful titled “Unexpected Color Combos That Actually Work” and while browsing through them realized that many people do not dive into the world of colour and instead opt for beige and white rooms out of apprehension or unawareness. After reading the article I looked for some great inspiring colourful rooms with the hopes of changing the minds of the masses through yellows and oranges…

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/outrageous-color-combinations-for-rooms#slide-1

http://www.trendey.com/colourful-rooms-are-happy-rooms

http://houseandhome.com/design/photo-gallery-colourful-spring-rooms?page=22

Want to know what paint colours will provoke different emotions? This article from Freshome explains colour psychology and how to use it to your benefit in your home http://freshome.com/2010/09/08/20-ways-to-use-color-psychology-in-your-home/

Here at Greenway we like to stick to our signature forest green and earthy tones when decorating the office.

What colour rooms most inspire you?

Clotheslines for Valentines

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

Clotheslines are an amazing way to save money and energy for laundry purposes and contribute to a greener lifestyle. If you have your clothesline at home and use it to dry laundry, why not use it and the accompanying accessories for other creative purposes? Now you can incorporate your old clotheslines and clothespins into your Valentine’s Day Festivities and present ideas.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by using your clothesline and clothespins to decorate the house. When your kids bring home all of their valentines from school or you collect Valentine’s cards from friends and family, they can be showcased by hanging them on a clothesline. If its nice outside, you can even use a clothesline as the center of the party and hang Valentines or cut out hearts from the lines.

These adorable Valentine’s Day cards with clothespin candy holders can be made in any colour or for any holiday http://simplykierste.com/2010/01/clothespin-valentines.html

Decorate clothespins with hearts to close treat bags with this Martha Stewart tutorial http://www.marthastewart.com/271608/clothespin-valentine

Using clotheslines and clothespins for holiday crafts can help introduce family and friends to the idea of clotheslines while saving money through crafting.

Bundle up with a Sweater by the Heater

Today is National Sweater Day. If you don’t know what that is, it is a day created by the WWF to help gain awareness on climate change and help conserve energy. For more information on today visit http://www.sweaterday.ca/ to see how you can help or take part.

Just because today is national sweater day does not mean that you can’t conserve energy this winter by dialing down the thermostat and putting on a sweater. A great way to help save energy and heat only the room you spend the most time in is an electric fireplace or stove.

Electric fireplaces and stoves are very fashionable and compliment any room of the house, while providing up to 400 sq feet of heat. Electric fireplace media stands provide the same warmth of a fireplace while holding your TV, which is perfect since most people spend their time at home in the living room.

http://www.greenwayhp.com/electric_fireplaces/#.URQWg_H_wmU

So turn down your thermostat, put on a sweater, and switch on your electric fireplace to save money and energy!

Toronto Interior Design Show

This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting the Toronto Interior Design Show, better known to the web world as the IDS Toronto 2013.

The show was a great way to see upcoming trends in the marketplace and to check out some amazing art. There were talks from celebrities in the interior design business, including Linda Reeves, Suzanne Dimma, Brian Gluckstein,  and Hudson’s Bay Company president Bonnie Brooks among many others.

Some trends continuing throughout 2013 from the show were copper accessories and bathroom fixtures, studded furniture, bold colours, and unique wall coverings (including the up and coming reclaimed wood wall panels). Reclaimed wood tables were also a popular choice for exhibitors at the show.

Surface Innovation Exhibitor IDS Toronto 2013, http://www.surfaceinnovation.ca/products/barnwood/

Overall it was a great show, and we are looking forward to taking part in Toronto IDS 2014, whether it be another year of visiting or taking part as a business.

Pantone Color of the Year

Every year Pantone releases its color of the year which promptly goes viral and is used in all things design. This year Emerald is the dazzling color of the year from Pantone. Check out a picture of one of our new Greenway fireplaces in an emerald room to give you an idea of what painting with this year’s chosen Pantone color could do for your living space.

To learn more about the Pantone color of the year visit http://www.pantone.com/pages/index.aspx?pg=21055

Last year Tangerine, this year Emerald…what color inspiration do you think next year will bring?