Transition To Spring At MDC

Good morning! As spring makes its way towards me, I have the desire to redecorate and de-clutter. In winter, I tend to display more things around my home and in spring, I feel the urge to clear them out. Does that sound crazy to you:) 

I like to update my home for the season. Each space in my home has a few permanent elements and some that are temporary. For this reason I am very partial to a neutral palette for my furniture and my walls. I only need to change the pillows, add some plants and a few accessories to give the room a new look! For Winter and Fall I like everything warm and cozy with a lot of layers. For Spring and Summer I like to remove the extra rugs on the floor, reduce the accessories and try and make the space look more breezy and open! 

I strive towards making "my dream canvas" clean, refreshing, light and tranquil. I am trying to attack the clutter in my home. It is taxing work but rewarding. While, I am trying to clean the home on the surface, I am also attacking my closets, shelves and drawers :) Sigh! I am going to be working for a long long time.....

Do you have some ideas on how to effortlessly transition into spring?

The light this morning was just brilliant. I could not resist taking a few pictures to share you. I have switched to lighter curtains, added more house plants and reduced 
the pillows around the house! Of course, I have added a new berber pillow:)

Images; My Dream Canvas! Subject to Copyright

A Spring Sale!

Hello there! I could not let March end without hosting our first ever SALE at The Shop At My Dream Canvas! This month we celebrate two birthdays, yours truly and my little store:) To celebrate, and to thank you for your constant loyalty, encouragement and support, we have a one week sale going on at the store just for you!

Make sure you stop by and get what you want :) Remember these are one time buys and truly one of a kind! 

Have fun Shopping :) Click Here to be directed to the store! 

Suzani's At The Shop At My Dream Canvas

Its a cold dreary day in my part of the world! However, I am clapping my hands in glee looking at these gorgeous suzani pillows from Uzbekistan which are listed on The Shop At My Dream Canvas!

"Suzani"  as you might know means needlework, but to most collectors, the word has a more specific meaning. "suzani" is synonymous with embroidery from Uzbekistan, in Central Asia.  In recent years, there has been  a remarkable revival of this old traditional art form. We are so excited to have these beauties as part of our collection!

Find them here!

Images: My Dream Canvas!

What is Vintage? Join In With Your Views!

What is vintage? 
This has been a question at the back of my mind for a few years. I have been fortunate that I have had the opportunity to use family heirlooms as part of my decor for years. Not all my heirlooms can be called "vintage or "antique" but quite a few of them can! For me, the attachments to these pieces are purely sentimental. They have very little to do with their current value. However, I have always been intrigued and fascinated with objects from a bygone era. What can I say, objects from my Grandparents' time and older fascinate me way more than ones from my parents' time :) My quest to know more about my heirlooms motivates me to do research on the Internet and read books about them. There are times that I have stumbled upon information that shows that some of the items I own have a ton of history and value.  Some, don't. This process is becoming a hobby and I love it :)

The same thirst for antiques and vintage finds has been my inspiration for the "Antique Store finds at The Shop At My Dream Canvas." I have inadvertently used  terms like vintage and antique in the past, but I try not to do so today unless I have evidence of the provenance. It has always been my endeavor to trace the history of each product that I list. I do my research online.  I also grill the antique store owner while purchasing the product!

Off late, I am dismayed by the use of the term "vintage " across the blogging world and on other social media platforms! The Indian brass products  sourced for "My Dream Canvas" are certainly not vintage or even old for that matter! They may draw inspiration from a different era but cannot be sold as a vintage item or as an antique. The style may bring out an old world charm but that is about it. Similarly, the silver toned items listed are not silver but a type of metal designed to give it a silver look. Please do yourself a favor and look carefully before you buy. The term vintage is being used frequently by businesses and online stores to give you the illusion that you are buying something old and valuable! So called "vintage textiles" and vintage products are everywhere and the term is being seriously misused! 

At my end, I shall persevere to find out the history and vintage of the products that I source from antique stores and flea markets. If you are a buyer, feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions! MDC wants to curate a beautiful collection for you.  A collection that you will cherish through out your life :)

During my research on the term vintage, I came across this article in Apartment Therapy which gives a pretty clear insight into this topic. I am sharing a few lines with you...........

"If antiques are things that are 100 years old or older, what are vintage pieces? The definition of vintage is trickier. According to Merriam Webster, the term vintage relates primarily to wine and is an altered form of the French word vendage, meaning "the grapes picked during a season." One of its secondary definitions is "a period of origin or manufacturee" (e.g. a vintage 1960s Mercedes) or "length of existence: age." Ruby Lane provides a much more helpful explanation, noting that "an item described as 'vintage' should speak of the era in which it was produced. Vintage can mean an item is of a certain period of time, as in "vintage 1950's" but it can also mean (and probably always should) that the item exhibits the best of a certain quality, or qualities, associated with or belonging to that specific era. In other words, for the term vintage to accurately apply to it, an item should be somewhat representational and recognizable as belonging to the era in which it was made." Ruby Lane also suggests that 'vintage' should not be used in reference to objects less than 20 years old"

What are your feelings on this topic? I would love to hear your views?

Image: My Dream Canvas