Quantcast
Made in Canada – Metro US

Made in Canada

A new decade generates the urge to renew, refresh and redecorate.

With Vancouver claiming the 2010 Winter Olympics, a recharged energy in the country means showing off your Canada as cool again.

Wear your Canadian pride on your sleeve — or better yet, show it off in your home.

“We’re paying a lot more attention to Canadian design as a look,” says Meg Crossley, senior editor of Canadian House & Home magazine. “Quilts and big rustic wooden bowls that give warmth and look natural is a good way to get Canadiana into your decor. We definitely see a lot of birch … Get fallen-down birch branches and stick them in the corner of a room, or in a vase to give a rustic look.”

Create a contrast in your home by treating a room to a kitschy Canuck feel. Place a warm made-in-Canada wood furniture piece among deer and moose knickknacks to mimic the feel of a cottage. Add more true patriot land by mixing in an intriguing Inukshuk statue or colorful dream catcher to elicit a Native ambience.

But Crossley, small-town Ontario born and raised, warns against going Canuck crazy: “You don’t want to go so over the top so it looks like a theme park.”

• Stand a traditional totem pole in your living room, or at least a mini reproduction. Made of black crushed marble, the Beaver — the symbol of a carver and a builder — is on top of a raven with a frog in its mouth (5.5”, top), $22.99. Black Bear (4.5”, second from top), $12.99, Raven (7.5” third from top), $69.99 and the Bear with Salmon (5.75” bottom), $39.99. ROM Store, rom.on.ca.

• These 10” replicas of the Stanley Cup are made of nickel-coated ABS plastic. Each features a pewter disk with an NHL team logo and the year the team won the cup. Hockey Hall of Fame Store, $49.95, cyberstore.hhof.com.

• Go for a Rocky Mountain style decor with this snowshoe hanging picture frame. Rousing memories of the cottage up north in winter, this wooden Aurore frame comes from Stacaro, $39, www.stacaro.com.

• Light up your life with the call of the wild. This Kawartha Moose Floor Lamp and its matching 19” Accent Lamp has a tannery bronze finish with metal moose accents. Canadian Tire, $59.99 and $29.99 respectively. www.Canadiantire.ca.

• This Canadian Moose is just as cute but perhaps not as cuddly as a stuffed animal. Once the snow clears, give this hand-painted moose a new home in your garden. Canadian Tire, $59.99, www.canadiantire.ca.

• Relinquish your cuddles for some visual appreciation, with these Stuffed Animal House wall hangings. Black bear (11x11x11) $39.99; moose (22x18x12) $49.99. Royal Ontario Museum Store, rom.on.ca.

• Throw a little … Inuit karma into your decor with this silver-plated Inukshuk Sculpture, designed by Canadian Native artist Eric Lester, Inuit tribe. Royal Ontario Museum Store, $29.99, rom.on.ca.