interior decorating Archives - Joanna Anastasia

interior decorating

Bedroom spring refresh

February 16, 2018 / Home decor / 0 comment

Spring is just around the corner, or et least while living in cold Canada this is what I hope to belive! So to charm spring in to coming sooner, I decided my bedroom needed a little spring bedroom refresh.

Now, if you follow me for a while now, then you’ll notice that I didn’t do any drastic changes to this space but there is one major one!

The new chandelier! I was eying these beaded chandeliers for a while now, but with their price around 1000$ I couldn’t afford getting one. But I also was really tiered of our old lamp that I bought over six years ago when I was pregnant with our first daughter!

Here’s the before photo is case you haven’t seen it:

So I was really craving more texture in this room and more colour – but without losing the calm and serene feel that as a busy mom, I really need !

And so I went on my favorite type of shopping – online Wayfair shopping! I was really surprised to find a lot of affordable beaded chandeliers, including this one, in a perfectly charcoal shade, not too big and for a little over 200 $!

I was also looking for a new duvet set, as all white with blue started to feel cold. And so I found this pintuck mint one, for 150$ ! If you are a decor obsessed like I am, then you now that these type of textured duets are usually triple that price!

So with these two changes, I feel like my bedroom is ready for spring: there’s more colour, more texture and more contrast!

So here are my tips for bringing spring in to your bedroom:

Add more colour! It can be subtle blush tones, or bright and bold, but colour will definitely make your bedroom look fresh and new again!
Add some flowers – be it fresh flowers, faux bouquets, or a flowery pillow or quilt, you’ll feel like spring is round the corner with these blooms around!
Change lighting – sometimes a small change of nightstand lamps or a chandelier above the bed can make a space look and feel all new and fresh.

Now, if only spring would get the memo and come sooner! I’m ready!

Disclosure; this is a post in collaboration with Wayfair, all opinions remain my own.

How to make electric fireplace look real

December 6, 2017 / Home decor / 5 Comments

Winter is here, there’s no doubt about that. The days are shorter, sweater weather is in full swing and snow is slowly starting to fall. Some may rejoice, but for me it means one thing: it’s freezing outside so the sozy up season is starting! And what feels more cozy than curling up with a hot tea and a book in a comfy velvet chair in front of a fireplace? Nothing really. Unless of course it’s snuggling up with two little girls while looking at the fire!

So I wanted a fireplace since the day we decided to sell our old appartement and buy a house, that is four years ago. But of course, we couldn’t afford houses with a fireplace that also had a great location, so we settled on our little city cottage. Without a fireplace.

Fast forward four years and here I was, last month, facing another cold season and desperate for one. I was scrolling through Wayfair, when I discovered that they carry so many pretty electric fireplaces to choose from! . And I have literally made a happy dance because it was just too good to be true!

It comes in a box, doesn’t need any ventilation system, looks amazing and actually heats the space!

I love changing the decorations around it and I just love how it ads the charm and coziness to my living room!

Now, to make it look even more real I added two cabinets, on each side of it, and the prettiest affordable velvet chair I could have find, I just love how it looks, and how much bigger my room actually feels.

And if you’re thinking about getting one too, but you’re worried it won’t look real, here are my tips:

Pick an electric fireplace that is at least 40 inches high ( the higher the more realistic it looks).
Add symmetrical cabinets on each side. ( they don’t need to be as high as mine though, but if they are lover then do hang art on each side) or hang 3 shelves on each side of the electric fireplace and put baskets on the floor and accessorize the shelves. .
Decorate it! Add drama with a big mirror or a high piece of art. Just remember to keep it in scale and don’t hang anything on top that is wider then the fireplace itself.

And I think it looks really great in any season, even with fresh flowers around- it just adds instant interest to any room!

I couldn’t be happier with my electric fireplace: I love the look of it, how it warms up the room, and how realistic the flames are. And I love the fact that it’s actually more ecological and more economical choice than a real fireplace would be. Not to mention the fact that I can turn the flames on without the heat, and I don’t need to worry about kids and babies walking around it! I think it’s really perfect for families with kids!

Disclosure: this is a post in collaboration with Wayfair, all opinions remain my own.

What to do when your child has nightmares

October 26, 2016 / Lifestyle / 4 Comments

We all know that real happiness for a parent, is nothing more than a child that falls easily asleep, and stays a sleep all night! And so once the baby phase have passed, I thought that the sleep issues are over. But my both daughters have very vivid imagination, which is amazing during their play time, as they can amuse themselves for hours! But when it’s bedtime, and they can’t fall asleep because they’re scared of nightmares, or they wake up in tears, than it’s rather heartbreaking.

That’s why I’ve been trying for months to find a perfect solution to this problem, and here’s what I came up with:

1. Bedtime routine that involves talking about their day

Small kids need routine to feel secure, and even more so, kids who tend to have nightmares. So make sure your child goes to sleep at the same time every night, and that they follow at least two steps of routine before falling asleep ( like bath, then potty, then story time and cuddle, or potty, washing teeth with mom, story and cuddle) Make sure your child knows what are the steps, and what will happen next.

After you finished their bedtime routine, and once your kid is ready to fall asleep, talk about their day. Ask them what they liked the most and what they liked the least. And if there was something that surprised them or scared.

That’s the opportunity for them to talk about any scary and surprising events of the day. And talking about anything that provoked strong emotions, will help your child deal with it better, and therefore avoid nightmares!

3. Introduce magical objects.

Young kids under six/seven years of age, don’t think with the same logic as adults, which is called magical thinking. (And thanks to that, they can feel reassured with mommy kisses when they’re hurt!)

And that’s why I got a white plush unicorn for my daughters room, and introduced it as a Night Guardian of Dreams! Lili and Rose love it and are convinced now that bad dreams can’t get to them anymore because of Clara, the Night Guardian (yes the unicorn real name is Clara).

I got it from Brooklyns Room, a Canadian based kids accessory boutique ( where you can choose among other animals like flamingos and lions) It hangs upon my daughters beds, and it’s as soft and fluffy as at can get, while being calming and reassuring in their eyes! Honestly it’s one of the best decorating decisions I made to date!

Also, when I ask them with which little animal they wan’t to be sleeping and dreaming sweet dreams, there seem to be some that have more “magical powers” then others. So for example, lately the most magical of all is this little tooth pillow, and they are both taking turns for sleeping with it!

4. Reassure.

Let them know that even if they would end up having a nightmare, they are not alone, and that they are safe. Tell them that they can always come and cuddle you (or call you), and promise to lave that small light on. Tell them it happens to you too, and tell them how you deal with it. ( Do you get up to drink water, do you turn around and cuddle?). Let them know it’s normal and that it will pass.

So know, before falling asleep Lili will always point on the Clara the unicorn and reassure Rose that it will protect them! And while I’m always there for them, I’m happy to see that they feel safer and that they sleep better too.

Disclosure: This article was brought to you by Brooklyns Room, all opinions remain my own!

Girls sheared bedroom reveal

June 27, 2016 / Home decor / 8 Comments

If you’re following me on Instagram then you know that my daughters have been sharing a bedroom since last summer. It started as a one-night-at-grandmas-place kind of thing, and later became the best solution for putting them at the same time to sleep! Also, they love waking up together and cuddling in bed before breakfast, so sharing a bedroom for them was only natural. But since the change happened very spontaneously, I didn’t really have the time to change anything in Rose’s nursery. Quite frankly adding my hubby’s old childhood bed and hoping they’ll sleep through the night without waking each other up, was all I could have thought of. And here is how it looked:

But what I really wanted for them is a space that would grow with them. A space comfortable and calming for the evening story time. A space colorful and inspiring for their morning laughs and giggles. So when Leon’s furniture approached me and proposed to make this makeover finally happen, I was beyond happy!

And since I really believe in white as the perfect neutral, I decided to stick to all white furniture. I added some personal touches, the monogrammed prints, the pastel accessories, and the DIY shelves for some extra storage. I found the cutest free printables on Pinterest, that I’ve printed at home (you can find them here), the sweetest pastel tassel garland and matching cloud pillows from my favorite small Etsy stores.

And since Lili’s room downstairs became their shared playroom, I could have really concentrated on making this space all about resting and relaxing, with as little toys as possible. ( Although if you’ll look carefully, you’ll see a couple of boxes underneath the bed with little figurines and some wooden blocks for quiet play! )

And because this room is really small, I decided to take out the closet doors, paint the inside purple ( yes, it’s Lili’s favorite color) and put in there our new dresser! With another free flamingo print from Pinterest, it sure makes for a cute little corner in their bedroom!

It’s definitely one of my favorite rooms in our home now, and if you’d ask my daughters what is it that they like the most about it, it would probably be their matching white beds, big enough to snuggle and read together!

You can read more about it in Leon’s Hello Sunshine Lookbook , where I share more photos, tried and tested tips for making bedroom-sharing work and the full story behind putting them together in one bedroom!

And of course, the picture wouldn’t be complete without the cat claiming the space! Honestly, I don’t blame her..