Steven and Chris (last post, promise!)

I’m sad that March break is over! No more staying up until the wee hours and sleeping in. No more hanging out with my sweet daughter. Didn’t we have the most amazing weather last week? Back to reality.

I know some of you were asking if/when the Steven and Chris episode I was in would air again.  I’m unsure if it will in the future so here’s a link to my appearance.  (Not sure if you can view it outside of Canada – let me know.)



Here I am looking like a deer in the headlights when they threw a question at me that I wasn’t prepared for.  Note to self: Know why you started your blog.   That’s all I will say negative – we are always so hard on ourselves, aren’t we?

Here’s where they called me dynamic (now that’s more positive!):  


And here’s a screen shot of the Steven and Chris home page with my living room – how cool is that?



It references an article that I wrote and their web editor tweaked which you can read here.  (I have already changed the top row of the gallery wall – much happier with it now. It never stops I tell you!)

Now I wish someone else ( a magazine perhaps?) would come by and shoot some other rooms in my house so that I would have a deadline to get them finished!

I just want to say another big THANK YOU to the Steven and Chris team for this wonderful opportunity!  And congrats on your 500th show last week! Here’s to another 500!

Have a wonderful week!

(I’m extending the Posterjack giveaway another week, so if you haven’t entered, enter here.)

If you need decorating advice, please contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis.com. (The @ is written out to avoid spammers/bots.)

A Few Thank You’s!

If you are on March/Spring break, hope you are having fun!

As you know, my short (if you blink you could miss it) segment airs today on the Steven and Chris show at 2:00 EST on CBC. It also airs at various other times during the day and in all parts of the world!  Read my previous posts here  for some behind the scenes and background!
 
Thanks again to all the staff at Steven and Chris. Later on today, there will be an article on their site that I wrote on gallery walls. I have included two photos here that appear in the article and will update this post with the link once it’s up.

I want to give some love to all of the suppliers, trades and artists that came through for me within a 2 week timeframe to make my home presentable for national/worldwide television.



*trades/suppliers:

- my new blog sponsor, the Floor Shop who provided hardwood for my daughter’s bedroom.  Stay tuned for a post from this company – just love them!

- my amazing upholsterer (who sewed slipcovers for my sofa and chairs), sewing room (who sewed drapes for my living/dining room and ribbon onto my daughter’s drapery panels),  contractor (who built the long desk in my daughter’s sewing/craft room and other odds and ends), my wallpaper hanger (who was meticulous) – please contact me through Vanessa Francis Design if you need design help with any of this!

- Lia who updated my chandelier shades by changing the fabric to a linen I purchased and adding navy trim.

- Chanee who created the graphic indigo pillow on the sofa just for me (the circle pillow is from her Fall line.)

*retailers:

- huge thanks to West Elm and specifically Neil (asst. store manager) for having items in stock that I could purchase. I ended up buying a couple of their jute rugs, a striped handmade ottoman (see below) and some other items.  I have never met anyone in the retail sector that bends over backwards like Neil does.  He even let me stay in my car (just outside their shipping door) while he ran in to ring everything through. Crazy!  If you haven’t visited the store, you are missing out! And if you see Neil, give him a hug – he likes hugs!



Thanks to Kelly at K West Images for taking some photos after the shoot. Love how they turned out. There are a few more that I will share with you later!

* art: 
- I purchased new art for both art walls from local artists Robin and Jody
- and last but not least a big shout out to Posterjack who turned a photograph that my daughter took while we were on a hike into an oversized piece of art.  When she saw it, she said “is that my photo?”  I loved her reaction and love this company! 

I haven’t had a giveaway in ages, so…


Posterjack has kindly offered a Decor Happy reader an 8x12 canvas print of one of their photos (value: $44.99).  This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only.  To win:

* follow Decor Happy by clicking on the “Join this Site” (with Google Friend Connect) button on the right sidebar and leave a comment.  If you are already a follower, just leave a comment. (If you don’t have a blog with your email, leave your email in the comment!)

* for an extra entry (leave a separate comment):
- tweet the giveaway mentioning @vanessajfrancis and @posterjackdotca

I will draw the winner on Monday, March 19th.  Good luck!

If you are new here, welcome!  Thanks for stopping by. The blog received some recent tweaking from the fabulous Brittany. If you are looking at designing or redesigning your blog, contact her. She was a doll to work with!

If you require design or decorating services, please contact me at vanessa(at)vanessafrancis(dot)com.

The S&C Shoot and Taping

On Monday, the Steven and Chris team were here taping a few rooms in the house: living/dining, daughter’s bedroom and her sewing/craft/hangout room.



The producer (Melissa), camerawoman (Ally) and assistant (Ian) were here for about 6 hours – setting up, shooting and doing retakes.  Being on camera is more difficult than it looks!   My daughter was home sick that day so she loved observing all of the goings on and texted the photo of the cameras in her room to all of her friends.

Yesterday was the taping of the show in the studio, so I saw the taped piece which was only a few minutes long.  They didn’t end up showing two of the rooms – just the living room and my daughter’s room. That was a bit disappointing but what can you do.  That’s show biz!



My beautiful sister came along for moral support – love her to bits!  Because I was “on” the show, we had the best seats in the house.  They threw a question at me that I wasn’t prepared for and stumbled a bit (nerves and all.) So, please be kind when you watch next Tuesday!

Thanks to Melissa and the entire S&C team for this wonderful opportunity!  They are looking for blogger homes to feature so contact the show if you are interested or email me for Melissa’s contact info.

Today is the Day…

That the Steven and Chris show is taping a few rooms in my house.   Blogging has taken a back seat these past 2 weeks. 

When the Steven and Chris show called to feature my home in 2 weeks I said yes – sure, no problem, the rooms are pretty done!  Boy, was I wrong.  There were things I lived with that I wasn’t happy with (like my perfectly fine brown sofa) and couldn’t stomach the thought of being on national television showing these rooms.  Sure, I could have turned it down in hopes that I could be featured later (but they already had another blogger lined up after me and they stop taping in April.)  Sometimes, you just have to step out of your comfort zone and go for it!

So, I went about getting my trades/suppliers on board to paint, install hardwood (one room), slipcover, wallpaper, build and sew. They all delivered! Thank you to all of them.  I shopped, re-arranged my art wall, fluffed etc. 



This is a sneak peak with my new slipcovered sofas, re-arranged art wall and my beautiful new pillow from Chanee’s new Spring 2012 line.

Wish me luck!

My Big News!

The Steven and Chris show will be filming some rooms in my home as part of their Blogger series! Beyond excited!  You know how much I adore them.



So, I have been busy decorating and crossing off the TO DO’s that have been on my house list for awhile.  Nothing like a deadline and being on national TV to light a fire under you!

I will be showing my dining room which I have never shown on the blog and you may not recognize some of the rooms you have seen!

Can’t wait to share.  The show will air on March 13th. There will be a taped piece of my home (3 rooms) and then I will be in the audience answering some questions from Steven and Chris.

Stay tuned!

Steven, Chris and I Go Way Back!

Ok, so I hooked you in with the title and I will get to that in a minute.  But first, just a quick recap of yesterday’s taping of the Steven and Chris show that I was invited to along with other bloggers – not just design bloggers, but fashion, makeup, lifestyle and mommy bloggers too.  The show will air this Friday, October 22nd and it is also airing in the US as well.

I didn’t even tell my friends or family I was going because they must think I am a talk show groupie, what with flying down to NYC for the Nate Show and all.  Plus I had also been in the Steven and Chris audience with some girlfriends the first week of taping this season because I simply adore them.  Being at a show taping is a lot of fun, but as I said in my Nate post, the added bonus is being in the company of other bloggers.

Waiting to get to our seats with my NYC girls, Kerry, Sarah and Christine.  I also met some other fab bloggers including Jennifer and Shannon.  There were quite a few design bloggers I wanted to meet but it was really hard to tell who was who.  Next time.

Guests on the show included chef Rodney Bowers and none other than actress Jenny McCarthy who was promoting her new book Love, Lust and Faking it.  Even her mother couldn’t read through the book so you can imagine some of the topics!

After the show taping, there was a yummy lunch for us and we ALL got a chance to have our photos taken with the boys.  I can’t say enough about how well we were treated while there.

A  Q&A followed and Steven and Chris talked about their inspiration, brand, fashion and being true to yourself.  They always have and that’s why they are as successful as they are today.  They were candid, charming, authentic (Chris got misty eyed when talking about their relationship) and funny.

So how far back do Steven, Chris and I go?  In the late 1990’s when I was working as a manager in Human Resources and had the money but no time to decorate my first home, I decided to call in my design crush…Steven Sabados.  He was a regular on Cityline at the time and I just loved his personality and style, not to mention he was so darn cute.  Chris came along to the design consult as well providing design advice and comic relief - he is so darn funny! I remember thinking that these guys should have their own show - talent, charm and humour all in one package.  This was way before The Designer Guys and their other shows.

I was able to find the notes from our decorating consult (4 moves later.)  They provided help with paint colours and a sketch for a built-in in the kitchen which I did end up having installed.  That’s Steven’s business card as well.

I think that’s it for attending show tapings for awhile – need to get some work done so that maybe, someday, I can be a guest on a show rather than an audience member!  A girl can dream.