Read about Debbie’s exciting discoveries — today’s stylemakers, iconic products for the home, and irresistible decorating tips and trends. Debbie gathers news of great design from around the world and shows you how easy it is to bring your favourite looks home.
House to Home appears weekly in newspapers across North America. Produced by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle, the column is syndicated by Torstar in Canada and King Features/Hearst in the United States.
The kitchen is such a busy space with so many jobs to do. As the hub of the home it is important that you feel happy and industrious here. When setting up a kitchen from scratch, there are a mind-boggling number of elements to consider, from floor to ceiling, backsplashes, cabinets, counters and the major appliances. Whether you are starting from scratch or embarking on a facelift,
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Dear Debbie;
I am learning how to paint with glazes and love the hints of colour you get when you add a layer of glaze over colour. I’m trying a gingham pattern in the nursery and taping like mad. Around the taped edges and corners I am getting an uneven appearance on the wall. Is there any way around this?
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You hear me say this so many times … your home is all about you, make it look the way you feel, layer it with the moods that please you, that feed your soul, that make you smile. Just as no two people are exactly alike, no two rooms are a mirror image of each other. There is a commonality in the requirements,
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Dear Debbie;
We have installed a very small bathroom in the attic, under the pitched roof, and would like some ideas on how to decorate. I’ve heard that light colours make a small space bigger but find that quite boring. Thank you.
— Sean
Dear Sean;
Oh, I do love to break the rules,
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One of my passions is wood, old boards that make up walls or benches or doors, boards piled up for recycling, abandoned tables whose planks have so many stories to tell. Wood in its multitude of varieties is a universal building material. It’s readily available and can be sawn, carved, drilled and shaped to create the materials we use every day.
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September 21, 2018
ONCE upon a time… there was a girl who lived in a magical place. Just being in this place made her feel healthy and she brimmed with vitality. In fact she felt so good about herself that she decided to share the sense of utopia with other like-minded girls. She invited them to join her amongst the olive groves and vineyards at her villa in Tuscany.
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July 9, 2018
You probably have dreamed of a next chapter, even kept a seed of an idea, or two or three, tucked away. And I’m sure that every now and then you find yourself thinking about that idea, wondering what it would really be like to dance to a new rhythm…
I had my own dream. Mine started with a tentative conversation with my husband about buying a simple holiday home in Italy,
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June 1, 2018
As fifteen classic BMWs cars sauntered through a tiny medieval village there was a earth shattering roar. Alongside us the entire mesh fence in front of
a school yard was filled with excited young children shouting and waving at us. Our bumper to bumper line of beautiful old cars stretched along the
cobbled street. Some of the kids escaped the confounds of the school and ran along side us whooping with joy.
March 1, 2018
As spring approaches, the fashion news is shouting out the new trends. Oh, what to wear this spring? This year I am thrilled to say that I am 18 years
ahead of everyone. I have had several sarcastic comments already, mostly from my kids. “Look mum, you are finally in vogue!” Yes, the onesy, boiler suit, jump suit,
January 18, 2018
Love design, love decorating. Fancy a trip to both London and Tuscany with me – then read on:
These first weeks of the new year have so many of us giving up on something. No more booze as you tackle ‘dry January,’ not one more Quality Street
until next Christmas, puddings after every meal – done with them and enough with the binge watching of constant Netflix series…
