'Tis the season for autumn decorating

Thanksgiving lends itself to decorations including horns of plenty, turkey-themed candle holders, luxe linens and loads of pumpkins, which can later be turned into jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween. Small changes, but they can do a lot to set the mood for this now-past holiday.

Maybe Yourhome readers were hitting the road this weekend to spend time with friends and family, but nearly 50 per cent of those who voted in last week's poll said they weren't decorating for the holiday.

Twenty-two per cent decked their halls with Thanksgiving touches, while 14 per cent took the holiday as a chance to spruce up their dinner table.

Fall decor already fit the bill for eight per cent, and an additional eight per cent relied on their Halloween decor - which leads into this week's poll question (find it on the bottom left of the front page).

When do you decorate for this spooky time of year? Are you an early bird or a last minute decorator? Cast your vote and I'll update you on the results next week.

And, for some fall inspiration, check out Colin and Justin's column on making seasonal adjustments as easy as pie.

Miss Reader Exchange? Don't fret!

I've been getting a lot of e-mails asking about the fate of the paper's Reader Exchange column. The editors felt the feature had run its course and decided to discontinue it, though they say it could return in another form sometime in the future.

If you miss your regular fix of tips and tricks for around the home, check out our weekly tips. And, we'd love to hear from you!

Share your tips for speeding things up in the kitchen, organizing the mud room or anything else that comes in handy around the house.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The leaves are changing colour, the air is crisp, and I'm just a few hours away from heading out to spend the weekend over-eating with family. Yes, it's Thanksgiving!

It's a time to give thanks for family and friends, enjoy wonderful food (check out our recipes and tips) and perhaps even show off your mad kitchen skills. (Learn how to roast a turkey here).

Personally, I'm thankful that this year I am not solely responsible for feeding those near and dear to me! I'm no slouch in the kitchen, but a Thanksgiving feast can be a really big responsibility - which is why last year, I abandoned the oven and grabbed a Thanksgiving feast of won ton soup and spring rolls with friends.

On a more substantial note, I'm thankful that this year I'll get to share the holiday with my in-laws and my husband. It's still hard being away from home on the holiday - I particularly miss my mom's apple dressing, made from a secret family recipe, and peeling apples with my dad for pies, but I'm very grateful to have family in Ontario to share the weekend with.

So share your reasons for being thankful, check out Yourhome.ca's Thanksgiving guide and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

New green section

Got a penchant for an eco-friendly home? Want to know what paints to use in your upcoming reno?

Interested in trying your hand at mixing up your own green cleaners or learning more about car-sharing?

Well, then you're in luck - just check out our special living green section for info on all these topics and more.

Newspaper furniture

I saw this great product in my blog roll this morning (thanks to Inhabitat) and just had to share it!

The U.K.'s David Stovell design uses tightly rolled newspapers for its Sunday Papers series, which includes stools (pictured), chairs and tables in a range of sizes and styles.

What I love about it, beyond the obvious eco-friendly aspect of re-using newspapers, is how you can pretty much read the headlines.

Admittedly, I'm a bit of a nerd, but can you imagine getting a stool made out of the leftover papers from major events? It sure would beat scrapbooking!

Pac-Man and Mario and Donkey Kong – oh my!

My husband, who works in the tech media, is a huge video game fan, dreaming of the day when a corner of our home (likely his office) will be decorated to reflect his passion and display his ever-growing collecting of swag.

It’s an industry largely marketed with child-friendly cardboard cut-outs, stickers, posters and plastic statuettes, so I must admit that I was very impressed with his latest game-inspired décor finds, many discovered via gaming blog Kotaku.

So impressed, in fact, that I just had to share two of them with you.

First up is “Poufman” from QAYOT, a line of seating sets that evoke classic video game hero Pac-Man - had he eaten squares instead of pellets and been covered in stain-resistant fabric.

Poufman is available in red, black and turtledove (classic Pac-Man yellow is notably absent) and shoppers can mix and match their sets of cube and round Poufmans, even combining multiples to meet seating needs for groups on those long nights of gaming.

The second find is a thoroughly authentic – and licenced – series of Nintendo wall decals from Blik. The $75 sets offer surprisingly stylish scenes from Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and the New Super Mario Bros, shown right.

As an added bonus, the decals are made using Blik’s Re-Stick – which means video game buffs can move and reuse them.

With these great seats and decals, it looks like video game decor - while still child-friendly - is growing up with its fans.

We love living rooms

With the wide range of options available for decorating the living room - pillows, slipcovers, throws, picture frames, vases, rugs, media centres, occasional tables and art, to name a few - it's not surprising that Yourhome readers voted it the most enjoyable room to redecorate in last week's poll.

Roughly half of the voters chose their living space as the best to decorate, with bedrooms coming in second with just over 20 per cent of the votes. Bathrooms came in at 13 per cent and kitchens at 11, while study/den and other spaces racked up three per cent of the vote each.

Personally, I'm a big fan of redecorating the living room. It's the part of my house where I spend most of my time when I'm awake and it's also the room where my husband and I entertain - so we put energy into keeping it neat and comfortable and see it as a good place to show off our personal style.

It's also a room where small changes can make a big impact - a cheap slipcover can breathe new life into a boring but serviceable sofa, while switching up framed photos and art provide new places to draw the eye.

This week's poll looks forward to Turkey Day, asking readers about their plans for Thanksgiving decorations -- will you dress up your table, add some fall inspiration or are you already preparing your haunted house? Cast your vote on the bottom left of the front page.

Colin and Justin's new column

Popular design duo Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan, who host Colin and Justin's Home Heist on HGTV, will be dishing on decor for us every week in the Saturday Star and right here on Yourhome.ca.

Their weekly column launched last week (it's available here if you missed it), and this week they tackle the issue of themed rooms and why taking your theme of choice too literally can lead to a disaster.

And, if you're looking for more tips, they also have a new book, Colin and Justin's Home Heist Style Guide (Penguin Canada), which you can read about here.

Enjoy!

Condo show sneak peek

Last night I had the pleasure of hitting up a sneak preview of this weekend's Toronto Condo Show at the Metro Convention Centre.

By going early, I got to miss the crowds and actually spend some time speaking with exhibitors. The downside was that not everything was set up yet - one booth was still receiving its first coat of red paint when I left - but I still got a taste of the show (as well as a Pravda vodka sample).

This year's event is focused on all things green - it's zero-waste, bullfrog powered and features green-themed speakers and exhibits.

A personal highlight was the chance to poke around the Canuhome, pictured right.

The Canuhome, so named because it looks like an upside down canoe from the outside, is a 850-square-foot residence exhibit built to meet environmental standards and outfitted with eco-conscious products. Canuhome has been on tour for a while, but this was my first chance to see it up close.

From adorable ant-printed pillows from MADE (I know, it doesn't sound cute, but trust me on this one) to the lime green quartz countertops from distributor CIOT (it's available in 25 other colours), the model home also helps show that green can be fun and trendy as well as environmentally responsible.

As I wandered along, listening to a great presentation by keynote speaker Andrew Bowerbank on the role homes and houses play in representing our concerns as a race and the role we, and our buildings, have to play in combatting climate change, I couldn't help but find myself drooling over the condo-sized furniture at casalife - which had a fab black lacquer-finished desk that expands to full table size - and the space-saving, trendy designs at Roomy's exhibit.

I also eyed some movable, and wall mounted, condo-sized electric fireplaces, which, with the temperature dropping like crazy this week, seem like a particularly alluring investment. My last home had a remote-controlled one, and the extra warmth (without any cleanup!) was very welcome all winter long.

I snagged some great 'greening' tips from the Ontario Centre for Green Building Design and Development - like turning down water heaters and using ceiling fans to help ease heating and cooling - as well as super simple step-by-step tips on buying new and resale condos from Heenan Blaikie's reps.

I also had a nice time chatting with folks from home staging company designedtosell.ca, who said working as a stager - while obviously enjoyable - was also a little bit like moving every day.

One thing I did miss out on by coming early was the near-legendary condo site bus tours, which ferry you around to the latest developments. While many developers were at the show - with mini condo towers and gorgeous renderings on display - nothing beats actually checking out the location.

The condo show runs all weekend. Tickets are $12 for adults.

The fruit fly invasion

In what appears to be the standard tale of fruit fly woe, I forgot   about a pack of strawberries in my kitchen and am now battling a full-on infestation of the little black pests. Yuck.

After Googling my problem, it seems like there is no tried and true method for killing the little buggers.

Most articles and message boards agreed that homeowners should create a trap of some sort – using either a bowl, bottle or can, covered with either aluminum foil or plastic wrap that has been pierced a few times to let the flies in.

For bait, the possibilities seemed endless. I came across suggestions of cider vinegar, beer, balsamic vinegar, red wine, pop, rotten fruit, fresh bananas and water with dish soap, just to name a few.

So, relying on my sometimes questionable DIY skills and supplies within arm’s reach in my kitchen, I built a trap out of a pineapple tin, balsamic vinegar and aluminum foil.

I’m still waiting for my kitchen to become fruit fly free as promised.

Meanwhile, my husband’s forgotten and abandoned drink seemed to do an excellent job of catching them in the night it spent in our computer room. Obviously, fruit flies are not immune to the qualities of a 12-year-old scotch