Search
ONE ROOM CHALLENGE WEEK 5: WE’RE GETTING CLOSE!
It is week 5 of the One Room Challenge, a really fun blogging challenge that I have participated in for many years. It is down to the wire (I have loads still to do) but I am PRETT EXCITED about the outcome. Well decals are up and oh my word, I love them. Love them...
TRANSITIONAL KITCHEN REVEAL: A TALE OF TWO HOUSES
If you have been following me for a while you know I have taken part a few times in Calling It Home's One Room Challenge. I have completed my home gym, and my laundry room in this mad dash challenge, and just this past spring I completed this amazing modern...
WHY EVERYONE NEEDS A MENTOR
I've been running my own business for the last ten years. (Sidenote: I honestly cannot believe it has been ten years. I feel like I have literally blinked and it happened). In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing, Literally no idea. I just kept chugging...
BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPING GUIDE
My friends, I did it. As I shared recently on the blog, I was really determined to not leave back-to-school shopping to the very last minute. In years past, I was the mom staring at empty racks of school uniform clothing, going to multiple stores to try and find Bento...
IS A CRUISE RIGHT FOR YOU?
We recently returned from a week long Caribbean adventure on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. The ship was spectacular and my children had a pretty epic adventure. In my son John's words, "it was literally the best thing ever!" My husband and I, while we enjoyed...
BACK-TO-SCHOOL WITH PLAY-DOH
I literally cannot believe I just typed the words back-to-school [SUMMER DO NOT LEAVE ME], but if I am really honest, this is the year I finally learn from previous years mistakes and actually buy back to school stuff EARLY. [Side note: don't try to buy school...
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SURVIVE A ROAD TRIP WITH KIDS
You guys- we did it again. My husband Josh and packed our six kids into our van and drove 1,946 km to Southwest Florida from our home in Toronto, Canada. You can read about our past trips to Ave Maria and Naples, Florida here, and read my family travel tips here! Like...
PLAYING TOURIST IN MY CITY WITH MY SIX KIDS
With summer upon us one of my favourite things to do with my family is to play tourist in my own city. A tool that helps me do that, with my six kids with ease is my new Bugaboo Bee⁵- a customizable, compact stroller, perfect for urban city strolls. I...
HOW A MELTDOWN IN MY MINIVAN CHANGE MY LIFE
I'll never forget the day- it was a brisk November morning. I was sitting in my minivan, staring out at a thin dusting of snow that had just blanketed the city. I was parked in front of a residential construction project I was working on, with my head on the steering...
How to navigate through life as a working mom
Hello my friends! I feel like it's been a while since I have shared what is going on in my family, so today I am sharing an update on what it is like to be a working mom of 6, and share a tool that has been really helpful in navigating through life as a...
How to spring clean your house like a pro
Spring is FINALLY here and I swear all I want to do is throw all the doors and windows open, diffuse some essential oils and sing Alleluia [cause the Canadian winters are so GOSH DARN LONG]. But the amount of clutter that has accumulated in my house while...
ORC WEEK SIX: MODERN KITCHEN REVEAL
It's reveal time!!!! I am so excited to share with you this labour of love. For the last six weeks, I've been participating in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda at Calling It Home. It's a friendly competition of sorts [we're all winners...
How to survive a renovation
Renovating is hard, yo! It is gruelling. It's costly. It can be the most exciting thing for a family, and the most challenging thing for a family. It is week five of the One Room Challenge, a fun blog challenge put on by Calling It Home. I am...
ORC WEEK FOUR: CREATING UNIQUE SPACES FOR FAMILIES TO THRIVE
Welcome back- I am so excited to be taking part in the One Room Challenge, where Linda from Calling It Home challenges designers, decor enthusiasts, and DIYers to complete a room in six short weeks. I have done this a few times. Check out my home gym and my...
ORC WEEK THREE: MILLWORK AND WHICH ONE WILL FINISH FIRST?
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! I've got some fun progress to share. I'm excited to be taking part in the One Room Challenge, a really fun six-week blogging experience where designers and design enthusiasts "compete" so to speak to the finish...
ORC WEEK TWO: 2 NEIGHBOURS, 2 STYLES, 1 DESIGNER
Welcome back to another round of the ORC- the One Room Challenge, where designers / bloggers / design enthusiasts are challenged by Linda at Calling It Home to complete a space in six short weeks! You can see past rooms I have completed as part of this challenge...
ORC WEEK ONE: A TALE OF TWO HOUSES
Hello hello and welcome. If you are new here, very happy to have you on my corner of the internet. My name is Lisa Canning, I'm a mom of six and I have worked for the last ten years both in front of the camera and behind the scenes on design television shows like...
How to save time and do what matters most
While I love designing homes, I really love to design my life- with six small kids and a business, I have to design it very strategically! So I thought this week over on my YouTube channel I would talk about the important topic of designing your ideal week....
How to make your bathroom look like a spa
If you've been following my blog and my social channels lately, you'll know that self care has been on my mind! So when the photos of this bathroom project I recently completed came into my inbox, the timing was kinda perfect. Who doesn't love a long soak...
How to make more time for yourself
As a mom of 6 little kids and a business owner, time management is basically a necessary survival strategy! Without it I perish! OK, that's a little dramatic but I definitely have had to increase my ability to manage my time as my family size, and business...
How to get over a bad day
Bad days- we all have them. There are days when I get out of bed and everything seems to be against me from the start. I am sure you know what I mean- I'm talking about the kinds of days where things don't seem to go your way, where disappointment and...
The best books I read in 2016
The best productivity hack I discovered in 2016 was audiobooks. The ability to consume information while cleaning the house, driving, and running errands has been a total game changer for me! Last year, I consumed a few books that really challenged me- here they are...
It’s a boy! Welcome baby James
We are thrilled to share the news that just before Christmas we welcomed baby James, our 6th baby, into the world! It has been a whirlwind of an adjustment period- so much joy, so much chaos, so many children home from school (!!!) and so many cuddles with this...
HOW TO MAKE 2017 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER
If you've been following my blog for a while you know I love to plan. When you have almost 6 children, ages 7 and under, and you're an entrepreneur, it's not really possible to get through life successfully without a little planning. But don't think I...
Last Minute Stress-Free Holiday Guide
Are you overwhelmed and feeling behind with holiday prep this year? Do you have a Christmas shopping list so long you don't know where to begin? Are you feeling the pressure of time as Christmas gets closer and closer? Well I have your back! I have created a...
How to keep it simple and stress free this Christmas
This year we are keeping things really simple for Christmas. Mainly, it is out of necessity as I am incredibly pregnant with baby #6 (36 weeks!!!). But it is also out of principle. I just want to enjoy the holidays, and not be stressed in the preparations for...
Why You Should Write Your Own Obituary
I can remember the day clearly. I was sitting on my living room couch, reading Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkevy's newest book Living Forward on my iPhone. I had just finished writing one of the exercises in the book and I could not believe the words I was...
How to pick the best appliances for your family
Renovating is hard. Part of the reason renovating is so hard is the sheer number of decisions that need to be made - many of them costly ones. So to help you navigate one part of the decision making process and hopefully make renovating a little easier...
How to make Halloween fun and stress free
I love Pinterest. I use it all the time for inspiration- however, my schedule doesn't allow me to do many of the labour intensive DIY projects that come up around the holidays. And in truth, even if I attempted them, I can guarantee that many of them would be an...
How to keep going when you have run out of steam
When you tackle a big project- like renovating a house, or creating a new product- you know you are going to face opposition. Regardless of how great your team is, or how strategic your plans are- it can still be really tough. Life can have a way of putting up...
How to create the coziest bedroom ever
The transition from Summer to Fall is probably my favourite- I just love how crisp the air gets and the changing colours of the leaves. It also presents my favourite time to swap out decor- when the furs, knits and cozy textiles come out. If you're craving a...
Saying goodbye to summer
It is hard to believe the summer has come to an end. For my family, it was summer of being stretched- I stretched my design muscles by redoing our backyard, we were stretched to trust in God when our third child was in hospital for 5 days with a stomach...
4 ways to be a better wife and mother
After the summer we have had (which included a sick child in hospital, a car breaking down on our way to Florida, altered vacation plans, increased expenses, and a general necessity to rely on God and be flexible), I've been reflecting a lot on what it means to be...
How to make a small living room feel large
Let me tell you how I live- I live in 1290 square feet on my main floor with 5 kids, one husband, and a baby coming in January! It is small- so if you live small too I FEEL YOU. And fear not, your living room can feel super large with a few strategies. Here are a few...
5 EASY WAYS TO UPDATE YOUR KITCHEN
We all strive to be healthy... right? If you're anything like me, you put working out and eating well on the goals list, eat healthy for a period and then it's right back to old habits again (poutine is my kryptonite). After working with...
How to decorate your room on a budget
I started my career designing a house on HGTV for a whopping $30,000 for the ENTIRE house including the kitchen. It was intense. I dove into dumpsters and flexed some serious DIY. Fast forward almost 10 years and it's not difficult for me to spend $30,000 on a single...
How to plan the best family vacation
As I have mentioned on the blog before, I love traveling with my family. It's not always easy (I would not call 24 hours of driving in a car with small kids "easy" by any means), but the results are so worth it. If you're itching to go somewhere with the remaining...
4 podcasts that will change your life
My work takes me all kinds of places- which means I spend a lot of time in my car. While I love singing along to some Bruno or some Taylor when it comes on the radio, I honestly spend most my time in the car listening to podcasts or books on tape. If the summer...
Super Easy Ways to Make Family Road Trips Amazing
I love to travel- and when I became a parent a part of me thought my traveling days were done. How do you pack for a baby? What if you forget something at home? Forget one baby, how on earth will I manage traveling with multiple babies?!?! Fast forward 7 years...
How to plan your outdoor renovation like a pro
My backyard! It is done! And I cannot wait to share the full reveal with you right here. I approached my backyard in a similar way to how I design my interiors- with strategic and practical solutions customized to my family's unique values and...
Why you should care about interior mouldings
Special thanks to Metrie for partnering with me on this post. When I was just starting out as a young designer, I did not understand interior mouldings. Crown mouldings, baseboards, trim, chair rail- it was all very confusing to me. The vast number of options...
Essential Backyard Gadgets That Your Family Will Love You For
Exciting news! After living with a backyard that was essentially a mosquito haven and where you could barely distinguish the grass from the weeds, we are embarking on a fun outdoor renovation- and of course I am going to share it all with you here. In anticipation for...
How to reduce overwhelm when you are a new parent
Today's post topic makes me laugh out loud because I really need to be reminded of this advice. If you follow me on instagram (or you heard it from my mother) you might know we are expecting baby Canning #6! New life in our house is a really exciting thing- I...
4 essential questions to help you focus on what matters
At the end of 2014 I experienced a really low point in my personal life. My career was on a crazy high- I was earning money, I was feeling fulfilled, but the trade-offs were taking their toll. I was leaving the house before my children would wake up, coming home...
How to create a gallery wall as unique as you
I love a good gallery wall. They can tell a really compelling story, and for this reason I love putting them in the homes of families I work with. But creating a gallery wall can be difficult- what goes in one? What colours do you use? Or do you do them all black...
REVEAL: COTTAGE KITCHEN IN 6 WEEKS
Well 6 weeks certainly flew by! So excited to share this little cottage kitchen project I have been working on for the 6 week #oneroomchallenge hosted by Calling It Home. I had so much fun working on my home gym, and my laundry room in past challenges, I thought...
4 strategies for designing a space in a remote location: ORC Week 5
My friends, the last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. Before I jump into my ORC post, I would love to share a brief personal update on where things are post my sabbatical. My recent break from work and social media gave me a lot of clarity on...
How to dramatically improve a dated kitchen: ORC Week 4
I love designing kitchens- they are like a fun puzzle, especially when you get to start from scratch like I did in this recent kitchen above (photographed by the lovely Valerie Wilcox for Style At Home). But it's not always necessary to start from scratch....
Why stopping social media was the best thing ever
For the last 30 days I have been without social media. And I survived. When my husband challenged me to the concept of a sabbatical that included zero social media for 30 days I knew it was going to be hard. And it was really hard. For the first 2 days I had...
What happened to renovations being easy? ORC WEEK 3
Every time I have renovated some kind of drama has ensued. Sometimes, it's happy drama, like how emotional I got when my new window was installed in my living room. (I cried, you can watch the waterworks here). Other times, it is dramatic drama, like how...
ORC WEEK 2: BUILDING A DESIGN SCHEME
As I mentioned last week, I am taking part in the One Room Challenge, a really fun design experience where designers and bloggers create a space in 6-weeks and capture all the antics week by week. The whole thing is put together by the lovely Linda at Calling It...