Debbie Travis debuts a new home decor line at Giant Tiger

Debbie Travis has a welcome prediction for 2022: “I feel the phrase of the yr goes to be ‘pleasure.’”

She’s speaking concerning the form of pleasure that comes from the easy issues in life, like “a stroll within the park, a beer glass with some holly in it, a well-made mattress,” says the standard British-Canadian design knowledgeable.

That final one is courtesy of her husband, the tidy one, she says as she laughs over the cellphone from London, England.

If the DIY adorning diva has beds on the mind it’s as a result of she’s introducing Canadians to a brand new dwelling decor assortment she created in collaboration with low cost retailer Big Tiger. Launching on-line and in shops on Jan. 26,it options pillows, throws, quilts, bedding units, tub linens and curtains with costs starting from $3 for a facecloth to $50 for an eight-piece comforter set.

“As a designer, I’m at all times searching for methods to carry pleasure into areas and other people’s lives, and Big Tiger is a accomplice that shares this imaginative and prescient,” explains the award-winning tv character and bestselling creator.

Described as “modern and complicated” in mushy, muted shades of blue, gray and impartial, the gathering provides a simple and reasonably priced option to refresh residing areas, based on the Canadian-owned firm that has 263 retail places throughout the nation.

“Debbie Travis is a design icon, and collaborating together with her to carry this unique assortment to life provides our prospects an entire new stage of pleasure,” mentioned Brian Hession, senior vice-president of soppy items, arduous items and world sourcing for the one-stop retailers that promote groceries, household fashions and family items.

For Travis, affordability is vital. “I’m the queen of ‘low-cost as chips,’” she quips, referring to the English time period for french fries. She grew to become a family identify for do-it-yourself portray and adorning with quite a few books and a collection of hit decor TV exhibits between 1995 and 2010, together with “Debbie Travis’ Painted Home” and “Debbie Travis’ Facelift.”

Greater than a decade in the past, the previous freelance contributor for the Toronto Star purchased a property in Tuscany, Italy then spent 3-1/2 years renovating the Thirteenth-century farmhouse together with her husband Hans Rosenstein and a group of specialists. Villa Reniella grew to become a rural retreat for company seeking serenity and ease.

And it impressed Travis’ eleventh and newest guide, “Pleasure: Life Classes from a Tuscan Villa,” printed in late 2021. With sensible recommendation starting from the advantages of contemporary, wholesome meals to the ability of sleep, the guide has prompted “1000's” of optimistic messages from readers that “have introduced me to tears,” says Travis.

Over the last couple of years, she’s hung out in her “triangle” of Italy, England and Canada. After she and her husband, who're each vaccinated, got here down with a light case of COVID on Christmas Day, she says: “Now I really feel like Superwoman!”

The couple — “like everybody else” — has added a furry bundle of pleasure to their household of 4.

“He’s stunning and really shiny,” Travis says of Alfie, their border collie pup who unleashes his personal ray of sunshine after they stroll out the entrance door “and somebody says, ‘Oh, I really like your canine!’”

The pandemic has highlighted the necessity for a “buffer” in your residing house, Travis notes. “Houses have been revolutionized within the final 18 months. It’s much more essential that you've got an area the place you possibly can recharge, categorical your soul a bit extra, and be serene.”

Bedrooms are best-suited as a quiet spot to learn, get away from laptop and children, or simply curl up for a snowy winter’s nap, she says. “It’s a particular place, and must be cosy and heat.”

Cue Big Tiger’s new assortment. Impressed by two nations, the items mix “la dolce vita of Italy and the fantastic thing about Canada,” based on Travis.

Bedding is an easy “place to begin” to which you'll add different design components, she suggests. The impartial palette is straightforward to work with in bedrooms the place partitions are usually white or mushy colors, whereas the completely different patterns and textures present a tactile and visible increase, she says.

The gathering consists of: a three-piece double/queen comforter set, $39.99; six-piece queen sheet set, $29; tub mat, $10; tub towel, $8.97; bathe curtain, $9; fake fur pillow, $12; and ribbed velvet, fake fur or quilted sherpa throw, $20.

Requested about her earliest reminiscence of high quality bedding, Travis recollects her mom’s “horrible nylon sheets” she slept on as a toddler. “Once I moved to London in my late teenagers I bear in mind shopping for my first cotton sheets and I used to be like, ‘wow, that is how different folks stay.’”

She calls DIY adorning, whether or not portray or refreshing a room with new equipment, an “essential psychological well being device” that brings pleasure.

“You'll be able to’t really feel unhappy taking part in with paint and cushions and comforters.”