When Chronicle Books asked me to join in on a new type of blog tour to promote Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom‘s new book Happy Home I almost said no. Don’t get me wrong I love Jennifer & all things handmade + Chronicle but my life is pretty mad with renovating, selling and planning to move + homeschool and work. The sad truth is my sewing machine is buried under a mountain of dust in my in-laws basement with no signs of being rescued any time soon. But the intent of this blog tour was to take a different approach to the standard review and instead of only reviewing the book to share my handmade home with you. I can’t really say no to that! My home is a haven of handmade goodness, simplicity rubbing knuckles with chaos and bright splashes of colour-even though it has been stripped of all but the essentials for viewings I think it radiates all the things I love most about handmade. Everywhere I look there are objects made with love that tell a story. I want my home to welcome you into it like a hug and I do that by carefully choosing and crafting what surrounds us with intention. So I was immediately called to Jennifer’s introduction to her book and knew it would connect with many of you:
“At the core of any happy home is love. This book is all about expressing love with handmade projects and creating a happy home-a home that feels like a warm hug and brings a smile to your face…To me a happy home is a place where you can truly relaz, celebrate and appreciate the moment. If I held out for absolute perfection in my home, I’d drive myself crazy, and worst of all I’d be too preoccupied to savor the most meaningful moments: quiet time with the kids, getting messy with the dog…try to remember that you are right where you are supposed to be, and that is where happiness lies. We are all unique and that should show in what we create.”
Amen! Today I would like to take you on a tour of my Happy Home and share just some of the treasures that bring me happiness every day. Stay tuned to the end of the post to enter a giveaway to win a copy of Jennifer’s book!
Our living space is filled with handmade touches from many generations and we chose a soft grey-white as a palette and backdrop to showcase my collections and specifically my Nana’s artwork and textile pieces. Top: Decal from Cherrywalls, octagon blanket and pillows of hand-dyed, cut and stitched wool by me. Bottom left: paper mache dolls and fabric/copper bookends by my Nana, far left print by Tiffany Moore, centre print by Jessica Swift, right print by Mary Kate McDevitt from Inkwell Boutique. Bottom right: My Nana’s silk hand-dyed tapestry on the wall & her hand-painted people table, woven basket from my New Mexico Spark Retreat trip, turquoise chair found on the curb.
This is a small space so we kept it simple and I love the way the room looks with the gray floors! The table and chairs were a buy & sell score by a girl who likes refinishing retro furniture. I finished the room with bright flowers and the wonderful culinary prints by EvaJuliet from Montreal. I’ll have to do a before and after reno post so you can see how icky this room was not so long ago.
I showcase handmade in my kitchen with an ever changing display of tea towels…it might be a bit of an obsession. I loved this mountain print towel by Oh Little Rabbit so much I framed it!
Upstairs in the bathroom I made three art deco prints by Matou en Peluche the focus of the room, the downstairs 1/2 bath has two matching ladies also. The handmade triangle print ceramic bowl came back with me from New Mexico and my soap is handmade by contributor April of Anointment.
Our bedroom is fun and vibrant showing off a number of pieces of my Nana’s hand-dyed textile art on either side of the bed and on the dresser we salvaged from the trash and repainted. In the top left pic two antique Balinese carved heads are from my Grandmother on my Dad’s side and the centre statue of the goddess Tanith is from Spain by way of my aunt Jennifer. The Goal clip board I gave Chris for his birthday is from Decoylab.
The girls rooms are filled with handmade loving! I had to tone it all down for staging but Ila’s room is still a space where she is held close by stories of how much she is loved. Some of the pieces I shared in her room makeover last summer like the pom-poms over her bed from Sela’s 2nd birthday, the wall art, and the flower wands. I love looking in her room and seeing my years of time on OMHG there! I made the Waldorf style dolls for Ila’s 6th birthday and their silk dresses this past Christmas, the hand-dyed silk wand is by a local lovely, Caitlyn of The Sparrow Tree and I got it at the Spring ECMC fair, and the tutu dress from Lilybug Tutus. It makes me happy to know that other mamas made the toys that my girls use and remember, and now our stories are interconnected. Isn’t it a beautiful handmade world we live in?
Sela’s room has less stuff in it because she is a force of nature! I only keep toys I love putting away because if I have to pick them up a bazillion times I might as well enjoy it. I made the big whale in my first summer as editor here, my dad and Chris’s grandfather both have a presence in the furniture. On the bed is the family of dolls I made for Sela’s 2nd birthday, a Jane Foster stuffed rabbit we bought at Dots & Loops in Lunenburg, and on the left a ukelele slinging ‘mama’ doll I bought at Love Me Boutique.
And that, more or less, is our home. That we will soon be leaving-the thing that makes me ever joyful is that our home is us and this collection of things I love made by hands I also love and we can carry it with us to Lunenburg or wherever the journey might take us. One thing is for sure, once we settle in I’ll be dusting off the machine and making the awesome octagon pillow pictured below and some of the other beautiful projects in Happy Home that want to live with us.
Now it is your turn! Tell us a story about your handmade happy home or share a picture, instagram, memory, (get creative!) of how handmade makes your home happy in the comments and enter to win a copy of Happy Home by Jennifer Paganelli from Chronicle Books! I’ll choose a random winner on July 5th and post the winner at the bottom of this post. Be sure to also share your stories with the Happy Home community by tweeting your story with the hashtag #happyhome.
{Note: I received a copy of Happy Home from Chronicle Books to review but everything else was my idea}
This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Sadie Hartmann with comment #14, hooray for your happy home building:)
