SilverBeam Homes Blog

The Important Stuff for Holiday Season 2020

by Bevony on 19 November 2020 Comments Off on The Important Stuff for Holiday Season 2020

This year we have talked about many important issues. For many of us, these conversations were not ones we had much choice in. With the holiday season right around the corner, many people are reflecting on what this year’s Christmas will be like. What it will look like for themselves as well as their families. One particular charity event is taking a look at children. Looking at those living in unsafe homes and also those struggling with issues related to mental health. 

Home for the Holidays has been in operation for 16 years. For this event floral artists and interior designers give their expertise and time to decorate some of Vancouver’s more beautiful homes. The homeowners allow tour goers to visit their homes over the weekend and all ticket proceeds go to the Kids Help Phone

Kids Help Phone is the only 24/7 free counseling service in Canada. They offer help via text in Arabic, French and of course English. The help service shares statistics from their calls this year and it showed 3.7 million young people had reached out. This is an increase of 112% over 2019. 

Amounts of calls started to increase because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the calls are from kids reporting:

  • Grief 
  • Isolation 
  • Eating issues
  • Body image issues
  • Anxiety issues
  • Emotional abuse
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse

Home for the Holidays 2020

This year, Home for the Holidays will be held virtually on November 28 and 29. Tour goers will contribute $35 and get the opportunity to see five beautiful Vancouver homes that have been professionally decorated for the holidays. The event will be hosted by Krissy Vann from CTV and Anicka Quin from th Western Living Magazine. 

East Vancouver Home and Designer 

Karla Dreyer, interior designer from Vancouver was drawn to take part in the Homes for the Holidays event this year because of the involvement in Kids Help Phone services. She notes that she has daughters of her own and so feels like she needs to support children that do not have a loving home, or loving parents. 

Her task was to decorate a home in East Vancouver. She notes the home was decorated in a mix of family fun and traditional style, also some formal styles thrown in as well. She notes how she used various small animal ornaments to decorate the home to include tiny bears, felt mice and more. 

This holiday season we can all have your surroundings looking and feeling festive. Now more than ever you should do that Christmas Tree. She believes that design has a big impact on wellbeing. For instance, even a small tree on a stool, and even a simple wreath on your door as well as a splash of lights. These are the little things that can make a difference in how you are feeling. 

West Vancouver Home and Designer 

Gaile Guevara of the Gaile Guevara Studio was selected to decorate a property with a modern British flair. She is known for designing with a focus on sustainable practices. For instance, her studio has the aim of being a zero footprint studio by 2025. We can see this in the approach she took in decorating the house she was given in West Vancouver. 

Guevara began her task by looking through the homeowner’s inventory. She was happy about their red feature wall. She took the decision to focus on dehydrated flora. Because, as she notes, they are good for the planet and are “super hip”. Gaile found flowers and plants from the neighborhood and the homeowner’s garden and these were dehydrated over one month. 

As a result, the front door got a beautiful hanging made from eucalyptus, allowing her to incorporate its scent and the theme of health and wellness.  She also created an Icelandic library of books which is a reference to the homeowner’s origins.  She also sourced items from Barter Design and Provide Home to ensure she was using items designed and manufactured in Canada. 

Guevara notes this holiday season is also one where we all have something to reflect on. For many people 2020 gives more details to reflect on than any other season. 

What are your plans for this holiday season? Will you be decorating also or not? 

BevonyThe Important Stuff for Holiday Season 2020