Andrea Ford (interior designer and former Home editor of Chatelaine) and I spent an afternoon decorating a basic full-length mirror and voila! Here are the easy step-by-step instructions to transform a boring basic mirror into a unique decor piece. PLUS comment on this article to WIN this one-of-a-kind mirror!

Materials

Glass rocks (shells, beads, gum balls, small beach rocks, broken ceramic tiles, pom poms) – John Bead Outlet (pictured left)
Basic framed mirror (Canadian Tire)
Glue gun & glue sticks
Goo gone adhesive remover – Canadian Tire
Paint (optional)
Plastic drop cloth
Tape

This easy décor update is a perfect for the hot glue gunner. Within a few hours you can take the simplest of framed mirrors and transform it into a scene-stealing custom art piece that rivals trendy Venetian plaster looks. Look for an appliqué material that is lightweight  – we chose small glass rocks about the size of the beach combing sort – so the mirror doesn’t become too heavy and break under its own weight.

Step by step
1. Sort glass rocks (or any of the other appliqué materials) into 3 categories – large and flat, small round, large pieces

Step 2

2. Glue the large flat pieces along the top surface of the frame to cover the most surface

Step 3

3. Fill the inside edge of the frame mirror, trying not to get glue on the mirror surface

4. Work your way around the frame in one layer

Step 5

5. Go back to cover any of the frame showing through, building the layers one by one along the whole frame

Step 6

6. Try to move along the entire frame as you build each layer of material. This will help keep the treatment even and make you feel like you’re making progress. When you’re done your appliqué material you should not be able to see the frame.

7. In the event that you make a few slips and get glue on the mirror, dampen the corner of a cloth or cotton swab with Goo Gone and soak the glue residue until it dissolves and you can scrape it off.

Your new frame can also be painted to match your décor. One caution: if you opt for glass pieces, you’ll loose most of the transparency with paint so look for a coloured version that works with your style. Once you have finished applying the new texture to your frame, tape a plastic drop cloth (garbage bag, grocery bags) over the mirror making sure to hide the entire mirrored surface. Spray the rocks (paint made for plastic covers most materials) with 3 coats of paint – rotating the mirror each time to make sure you get into all of the crevices. When the surface is dry, remove the tape gently.

Ta da!

Comment on this article for your chance to win this very mirror designed by Andrea Ford. Contest is open to anyone as long as you’re willing to pick-up the mirror in Toronto.

Truth: you usually pick stuff out for your home because it looks pretty/sleek/cool or whatever adjective you’re going for (that, and it’s got an attractive price tag). I don’t blame you. But guess what, honey, the same ethical quagmire that applies to the world of cheap clothes shopping applies to the design realm. So put the vase down and read up on some ways to bring a little soul back into your housewares shopping.

100-Mile Decorating:

You might be trying to eat more local produce in season, but let’s face it, the stuff we buy to deck out our kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms tends to be about as local as a hunk of pineapple in Yellowknife. Finding a couch made completely of materials grown near you is near impossible (you try finding native latex and cotton sprouting on Canuck soil—even most of the hemp fabric out there comes from eastern Europe or China), but you can make choices that bring your house’s style closer to home, literally. Ask for furnishings and decor items made in Canada or, better yet, in your home province or town. No, they won’t be as cheap as that oh so inexpensive stuff imported from China or India, but they should be more affordable than those European designs that get fawned over in design circles.

Though, of course, just because it’s made in Canada doesn’t mean it’s made with sustainable material. The greenest pieces are both local and made with earth-conscious components. And the greenest of the green designers form their furnishings with recycled or reclaimed objects. That means candle holders made from old wine barrels (grassrootsstore.com), a lounge chair made with the conveyor belts from a felt machine (brothersdressler.com) or a coffee table made of driftwood (wildwooddesigns.ca). For more Canadian-made designs, ask around at storefronts like Vancouver’s m-smart design (m-smartdesign.com), Toronto’s Made (madedesign.ca) and Koma (komadesigns.com) or Galerie CO in Montreal’s Mile End (galerie-co.com).

Fair-Trade Decorating:

The complete opposite of 100-mile decorating in many ways, fair-trade shops are rammed with items that come from all corners of the globe, just like most of the household items you buy in conventional stores. The big difference here is that the workers were actually paid fairly to make wonderfully unique tablecloths, vases, teapots, sculpture, chairs, you name it. Certified fair-trade goods tend to be made by independent worker cooperatives with an emphasis on fair working conditions, gender equity and respect for the environment. Bringing fair-trade projects to a group of artisans with weaving or pottery skills, for instance, creates amazing economic opportunities for those who might otherwise be peddling their wares for pennies. And more and more fair traders are folding green materials into their product lines. One of the easiest places to access feel-good furnishings and housewares is at one of the dozens of Ten Thousand Villages storefronts across Canada. They sell all sorts of ethical and eco-conscious items, including recycled glassware, vegetable-dyed tablecloths, coconut shell salad servers, salvaged wood bowls and furniture, and a slew of super-cool decor items made with recycled phone books and magazines (tenthousandvillages.ca).

Excerpted from Ecoholic Home Copyright © 2009 by Adria Vasil. Excerpted by permission of Vintage Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved.

Join the Ecoholic Nation on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ecoholicnation

If one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, than thrift stores could definitely be described as hitting the mother load, especially for home décor. By Melissa Reynolds

Whether you’re cash strapped, or simply a frugal shopper, thrift stores could well have what you’re seeking. Sara Noel, owner of www.frugalvillage.com, a frugal living community that offers money-saving strategies for everyday living, notes that she has many household items from thrift stores, and no one would even know the difference unless she was to tell them.

“I just replaced my old wok with one from the thrift store. It was new, in the box, and $1.50,” Noel says.

Thrift stores can be a money-saving alternative to hitting the local shopping mall and a haven of unique finds to either stock your home with the essentials or redecorate when the mood strikes. Beyond those benefits, thrift store shopping is also environmentally-friendly as you keep those unwanted goods from ending up in a landfill as well as supporting some good organizations doing charitable work, such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

Thrift store shopping tips

With thrift stores full of merchandise, it’s important to know what to look for amongst the mass of merchandise, and what a good deal really is. Noel advises that the key to making good finds is to know your prices.

“Know your retail prices on new merchandise, your typical garage sale experiences or eBay.com to compare to thrift store prices,” Noel says. “I suggest not buying an item unless it’s at least half the cost when buying it new.”

What’s hot right now in thrift stores:

- Bedding
- Kitchen items: storage containers, serving dishes, utensils and cookware (Pyrex and Wilton)
- Bread makers
- Dehydrators
- Slow cookers

And don’t limit yourself to the kitchen. Thrift stores can be a treasure trove of artwork, even if you only intend to use the frames, seasonal decorations, table linens, candle holders and even candles if they haven’t yet been used. Furniture is also often a good buy. If it isn’t in the condition you’re looking for, it can probably be fixed up as a do-it-yourself project!

As opposed to discount stores and shopping malls, thrift stores are also a great place to go if you’re looking for vintage items. Although you may have to go with a set of dishes that do not match, you can score some unique patterns and prints in both dishes and glassware.

How to sort through the junk:

Some people are somewhat daunted by the prospect of digging through mounds of merchandise to find what you are looking for. It doesn’t have to be that difficult though. Leah Ingram, writer of the frugal-living blog www.suddenlyfrugal.wordpress.com, advises visiting often to catch the latest additions, as well as visiting before the end of the weekend when everything will have been picked over.

If you visit regularly, find out when restocking days are and plan to hit up your favourite store either that day or the next to check out the new merchandise. Similarly, if you live in a city or town that has a university or college, try visiting thrift stores in the spring time when many students may have left a lot of stuff they don’t want to take home to their parents. And, like many other stores, try stopping by during the week if you can.

What not to buy at a thrift store:

While Ingram admits that the sky is the limit for what you can find at a thrift store, there are some limits on what you should buy. When it comes to fabric items, Ingram says she would steer clear of anything that could not be washed, such as stuffed pillows or fabric-covered furniture. “It’s hard to know what’s lurking beneath,” she says. She also advises recovering couches or chairs with new fabric, while washing everything else well in the dishwasher or washing machine.

Noel adds that she buys pillows that have zippers so she can remove and wash their covers. Furniture she cleans just as she would new furniture while carefully following cleaning instructions.

Noel says that when it comes to appliances, small appliances are great because you can usually plug them in there to test them out. Noel also advises looking them over carefully, checking for rips, stains or missing pieces, and checking to make sure they meet safety standards.

Creative shopping tips:

- Bring cash as most thrift stores have a cash only policy
- Wear comfy clothes to dig into those boxes that may be stashed on the floor
- Use your imagination to see what can be reused or refashioned into something usable – - Know your stores return policy in case you are unsure
- Take your time looking as some items may have been misplaced.
- If you won’t use, don’t buy it!

No matter what your needs, thrift stores can hold an abundance of useful goods from clothing to furniture to household items. Now, it’s just up to you to seek them out!

Creative book display is the key to making your clutter look more interesting. Mary Bannet, owner of Just The Thing Interiors offers up these suggests for sprucing up your book collection.

1. Cover all books with the same coloured paper to give them a more organized and streamlined look.

2. Deviate from the standard library-style and try stacking books on a shelf instead.

3. Place other items on your bookshelves, such as plants to break the space up.

4. Use an old music stand to display a favourite book.

5. Stack books under tables or use them to prop up something, like a lamp or vase.

Get rid of clutter by using it to decorate your place, plus some creative storage solutions to hide the rest it.

We all have it and while some of us hide it better than others, it’s a universal decorating concern – clutter. Read on for some decorating tips to help you get rid of clutter by learning how to accessorize your place with it.

Barbara Nyke, owner of NIKKA DESIGN, notes that clutter is not necessarily a negative thing. She suggests that you take stock of your clutter and decide what you would like to display. She offers three tips for organizing your clutter:

1. Edit large collections of items
2. Only display the pieces you absolutely love
3. Leave room around those items when you display them so they do not look crowded

Organizing your clutter

- Gather magazines in attractive magazine holders.
- Group framed photos together, keeping in mind that the frames do not have to match.
- Put multi-use items to work. Objects such as vases, bowls or decorative boxes can be multi-purpose, and used to hold fruit, mail and keys or even gloves and scarves during the winter months.

And for the clutter that can’t be displayed anywhere, consider storage. Sharyn Kastelic, an interior designer with Primed By Design, notes that she is very anti-clutter and that her motto is “restrained accessorizing.”

“If a client doesn’t want to get rid of things, then I recommend putting them in storage. The only exception I make to this rule is to accommodate appropriate displays of collections that have a unifying element,” says Kastelic.

However before simply throwing items into storage, really consider if you even like them anymore. It may be time to take a trip to Goodwill or host a garage sale if you still find yourself swimming clutter you no longer love.

Need more creative clutter solutions? Check out this article on 5 ways to display books.