My Brick Home: The Easy Way to Win $1500 to The Brick!

Well we're two weeks into the first month of 2018 already - can you believe it?! I thought today I'd refresh your memory of a great giveaway with The Brick where you could be entered to win a $1500 Gift Card!  And the best part? You can enter every month! 

I shared this exciting giveaway last month but in case all of that info got lost in the holiday shuffle, here's the breakdown:

If you have a piece of furniture or a home appliance, accent, or accessory, that's all you need!

Step 1: Place your piece(s) from The Brick in your room

Step 2: Add a personal touch - put a blanket on the sofa, throw in an accent pillow, light a candle... you get the jist! The Brick wants you to show off your personal decor style because every month a guest judge will be choosing their favourite entry for the month so style points definitely count! 

Step 3:  Snap a photo of your piece(s) from The Brick styled how you love them, tag @brickwarehouse and share your photo on Instagram using the #MyBrickHome

Every month a different guest judge (myself included!) will select their 5 favourite photos using that hashtag & who tag @brickwarehouse. Those 5 will be entered into a draw to win a $1500 Gift Card EVERY MONTH! 

If that's not enough, at the end of next year, The Brick will host a grand prize draw to have your whole home furnished by The Brick, up to $36,000! How freaking amazing is that?!

For full contest details click here. Now, since this is such an awesome giveaway, I thought I'd share a few tips for adding those extra style points to give you a bit of an edge over the competition ;)

Tip 1: Style in Groups of 3

A great rule to remember in styling is that groups of 3 always look great. Try to consider styling with pieces that are varying heights, sizes and textures. For example: in this photo below if I wanted to enter the #MyBrickHome Contest showing off my teal Chilton Ottomans, to up my 'style game' I might tuck them under a console table (mine's the North Avenue Collection from The Brick) and place a few decorative objects on top of the table. You can never go wrong with greenery so that's always a fabulous element to add. To contrast the white, I added in this wooden and marble decorative object I picked up from The Brick and completed the vignette with my favourite 3 wick candle from The Brick. Voila! This is a much more interesting (and stylish) shot than it would be with just the ottomans alone!

Tip #2: Style Your Bedside

If you have a bedside table from The Brick, those are great pieces to show off some style! Some of my favourite accents for bedside styling include a cute lamp, books, mugs of coffee or tea, candles or greenery (real or faux). In our spare room we have the Yorkdale Light Bedside Tables from The Brick. I love how they look but truthfully on their own, they might not make for the most exciting photo. But, when you arrange a few books and other accents on the tables the photo becomes a bit more interesting - see what I mean?

Tip #3: Show How Your Piece Adds To Your Space

So let's say you want to enter the #MyBrickHome Contest but you're worried because your piece is too small that your entry might not be good enough. For instance, below I'm showing off the Oryx Mirror from The Brick. It's a stunning round brass mirror that's both classic and on trend. On it's own it's probably not the most interesting photo for the 'gram but when I step back and show off how it compliments the rest of my room, you can see that it picks up perfectly on the other brass accents in the space. Basically, it's okay to pull back a bit and not focus about getting a closeup or photo of only your piece from The Brick, but show off how your piece from The Brick compliments the rest of your room!

Tip #4: When In Doubt, Add Greenery

If you're struggling with styling or adding decorative elements to your photo my go-to tip is always to add greenery! It adds instant color, texture and visual interest. Below you can see how I added a few sprigs of eucalyptus to my vase (that I picked up in store from The Brick!) that instantly adds more interest to my photo with the North Avenue Sofa Table and other accents that I picked up from The Brick (the candles and basket are accents I picked up in store!).

In the next photo rather than just having my simple white Catonia desk from The Brick in the shot, I added a bit of greenery for a pop of color, my laptop to show how I use my desk and a quirky gold pineapple to add a bit of personality. It's all in the details but if you ask me you can never go wrong with a pop of greenery! 

Tip #5: Show Off Your Personality

Last but certainly not least, show off your personality with your photo! My office is much more fun and feminine than the rest of my house and I love how my accents and artwork reflect that. This photo not only shows off my North Avenue Collection Bookcase but it also shows my fun feminine accents that I love which makes for a more interesting and stylish photo!

A few other tips: take your IG photos in natural daylight. Tidy away any extra mess or clutter, wipe your phone camera lens with a cloth to remove any smudges to get a crisp clear photo! 

Have you entered the #MyBrickHome Contest yet? Good luck to everyone who's entered!