Clear Day Farm

We are not high maintenance people by any stretch.  But we have something in our home now that might make you think otherwise.  Remote control blinds.  Sounds fancy, right?

I have been selling blinds for nearly 20 years now.  It’s all part of my job to help my clients find window coverings { or furniture or flooring or whatever } that suit their needs and home.  And I have to admit, after selling thousands of blinds, I never knew just how much I would enjoy having blinds on our living room windows.

For us, privacy isn’t an issue, we live in rural Nova Scotia and our road isn’t very busy. Even the north and eastern exposure doesn’t cause too much trouble, except on the rare day when the sun shines in on the right angle and hits the TV.  So, really we don’t need blinds.  We have curtains on the windows but they are very rarely closed.

Part of the thing about selling blinds is knowing what products are out there and of course, I like the ones that are a little on the expensive side.  But when a special sale for Hunter Douglas dealers cames up and your boss makes you an offer you can’t refuse, you go all in.

And that’s how we ended up with two PowerView Silhouettes in our living room.  And guys, I can’t imagine life without them now.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Hunter Douglas’ Silhouette line, it is a shade that has two layers of sheer front and back, with a fabric vane in between the sheer layers.  This means it will filter and diffuse the light coming in the room when the blinds are open but when they are closed over, they offer privacy.  And they also provide a nice layer of insulation, too.  They also can roll completely up into the headrail when you want the wide open view to the outside.  So they are a very functional product, but they are also oh so pretty.  The fabric we selected has a nice natural texture to it so it doesn’t feel too formal.

Then with the remote function, it means you can easily open, close or louvre the shades from the couch.  No stretching over the furniture to access a cord to raise or lower them, just the simple push of a button.  I’ll be honest, I never really saw the need for the average room to have remote blinds.  Unless you had very obvious windows that were out of reach.  But, let me tell you, the PowerView is awesome.  When we had our tree up in front of the window, the remote was perfect.  Really, we use it nearly every day now.

Here’s a reminder of what our living room looked like when we moved in…

And now….with blinds opened and closed….

It’s so cozy at night.  Or if the girls are watching TV, then they love to have the shades closed so that it’s darker and all snug.  I always loved our living room, it felt inviting but I really do think it has now come up a level.  And I should know this, right? Lol, and yet, here I am gushing about the difference it made.

Even though this isn’t a sponsored post, I do want to give Karl, my boss, a shout out for offering this special to us. { and for being an amazing boss in general! }  I didn’t know I needed these blinds but now that I have them….

If you want to chat blinds with me, let me know.  I love geeking out over the products and possibilities that Hunter Douglas offers for solving UV, privacy or light control issues.  Or if you have a design project you are thinking about doing or are in the midst of and need expert advice, I know we can find a way to help.  You can find me at Costandi Designs on Facebook and Instagram.

I’m off to play with the new blinds 😉

Colourfully yours,

Lori

Our home is still all decked out for Christmas and since I didn’t get a chance to share before Christmas, I thought I’d share it now.  Better late than never, right?  Truth be told, the garland I was making for the tree isn’t even finished and there are still more decorations I had plans for…  But it is still fun to document and share how things looked this year!

Our tree is plump and full, very different from the tree we found in the back woods last year.  It takes up a large amount of the living room and if you are sitting in the chairs on either side, you have to lean very far forward to be able to talk to the other person.  But when there are only 6 huge trees left on the lot when you finally get around to going for your tree, you take what you can get and we do quite love it.

I’ve been toying with doing a bird themed tree for the last few years and finally decided this was the year.  I wanted it bright and colourful, using some of the coloured balls that I’ve had for years.  I also wanted to add a bunch of pompoms, too, so I dug into my yarn stash and started whipping out some while watching Netflix with the handsome Mr. Byrne.  I especially love the finishing touch Lena added to our rustic star to help tie it in….every star needs a bright toque, right?  And note the lack of ornaments along the bottom, Penny has been knocking them off with her enthusiastic tail, so they’ve been relocated higher on the tree – and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!!

I was scrolling through Instagram a while back and saw a collection of milk glass vases with tapers in them and knew I needed to do that this year.  I gathered up all my vases and grabbed some tapers from the dollar store and made it happen.  And I love how it turned out, I’m sure it’ll be sticking around for the winter season.

And of course my NOEL and angels had to come out again.  I’ve had those little angels for more years than I can remember and I love how vintage and special they are.

Another addition to the Christmas decor this year is the ‘wreath’ on the basement door.  I had this tray for a long time and had used it as a magnetic board for a while in the studio but when I redid the studio, it came down.  And the sugar dish and creamer were given to me by a friend who found them in the loft of her barn, you can see what they looked like HERE. The idea of hanging them all together was one I came across on Pinterest and really liked it. I used some real looking faux cedar from Michaels so I didn’t have to re-do it each year.  I think it’s perfect for our kitchen, don’t you?

The china cabinet got decorated as well this year, but Lena was the one to do all the shelves over.  I love that she wanted to do it and took the time to create a new look.  It’s neat to see the same things we have had for years being used in a new way.

Last year this lintel was in the studio and I finally convinced the handsome Mr.Byrne that we needed it at the bottom of the stairs.  I think it was the right call, don’t you?  I also love the stockings hung off it and not the railing, like previous years.  The crocheted stars and red bead strings are enough for the stairs with a few puffy pompoms to finish it off.

The mirror just across the way got a simple strand of pompoms and bells.  I picked this pretty garland up at a local craft sale a few years back and I do quite enjoy it still.  So simple and yet the perfect way to dress it up without being over the top.

The other DIY project I did tackle this year is this oh-so-easy wreath.  I was scrolling Pinterest and found an unassuming pin that lead me to a simple but impressive wreath idea for our front door. { even though I have it in the kitchen for the picture } I can’t tell you how easy this was.  If you can wrap a circle with yarn, you can do this.  I’m not going to give you a tutorial because there is one HERE, and if you make it, I’d love to see!!

I had these bottle brush trees tucked in another display in the living room but wanted them in this wreath so I pulled them off the cabinet and hot glued them in place.  Now my wreath looks amazing and the other display looks like crap but whatever.  I love seeing how everyone is using their bottle brush trees for their fall and Christmas displays.  Retro is the new cool and I’m on board.

Our table got a wicker tray paired up with a few vintage finds and rose hips from the back yard.  I’ve had this table cloth for years but it was ticked away.  Lena pulled it out and I thought, why not?  Why do we keep things for special occasions when life is so fleeting?  We had it out, it got spilled on, so we washed it and yes, holes appeared, but we put it back on the table to be enjoyed, holes and all.  When it gets really bad, I’ll cut it up and turn it into something else!

I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into how we decorate for Christmas here.  It’s pretty simple and different every year, which is fun.  You can see 2016’s post HERE and 2015’s tree HERE.  No idea why I didn’t do a post last year….no going back THAT far now!!

To be continued,

Lori