What People Are Saying About Us

If there is anything that will make your day, it is positive feedback from the people that matter.  For us that is YOU, our customers.  Our shop isn't loud or franchised or blaring sirens and shining spotlights into the sky.  But what we are is very happy to be a part of Edmonton, and excited to have such wonderful and loyal customers.

We strive to offer interesting home decor and artwork that is European-inspired, shabby chic, cottage chic, casually elegant and even a little steam-punk.  Our furniture is one-of-a-kind, painted with traditional methods and paints.  We are also the central Alberta retailer of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for furniture, floors and walls and we offer all the supplies and hardware you'll need to finish your own DIY project + classes to help you get started.

Because your voice is so important to us, we wanted to share a few opinions.  We are always open to hearing more!

What people are saying about us:

"Lovely, lovely shop!  Everything about it is charming and the unique home decor alone is well worth the visit."

 "Located in the quaint and stylish merchant area along 112 Avenue in the historic community of Highlands, Apple Box Boutique is a gem of a place that once discovered will become your favourite shop for unique furniture and home decor."

"Nice little shop featuring refurbished furniture, flowers and assorted other knick- knacks. It fits well into the Highlands shopping corner, straddling a line between vintage and shabby chic."

"Not just a flower shop, Apple Box Boutique shares the space with Sugar Blossoms Flowers but offers so much more.  Leanne refinishes furniture in a way that celebrates the history of the piece and the home accessories are to die for."

"Edmonton's best kept secret -- but not for long!"

Thank you for your feedback and your support!  As we grow we will always stay the same down-to-earth and friendly boutique, and will continue to value our customers every step of the way.

♥,

Apple Box Boutique

We'd love it if you shared our blog:

Reimagined Monday: Summoning Blue Skies

We're doing something a little different today at Reimagined Monday. It has been a bit grey lately, and we're hoping that surrounding ourselves with summery colours might shoo the clouds away and summon blue skies.

Here are some "reimaginings" that have perked us up here at the boutique -- Get your own beachy, seasidey, cottagey look using the lovely array of blue chalk paint by Annie Sloan.

Annie Sloan summery blue chalk paints...

Aubusson Blue

Duck Egg Blue

Greek Blue

Louis Blue

Napoleonic Blue

Provence

 Mix them with Old White for variations of shades, or mix them together for custom colours.

One more breath of fresh air...

Happy painting!

Here is how to share your reimagined paint project at On the Apple Box:

Send us a description of how you used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint to get from your vision to the reimagined piece, before and after pictures, pictures of your project in progress or a couple of it in its finished state, and you may be highlighted on our blog!

*Where not noted on images, original sources are unknown.  Please let us know if credit can be provided!

"Late Night on the Ave": March 1st

On the first Thursday of each month, merchants along 112th Avenue in the Highlands area work together to create a fabulous night of special deals, meals and entertainment.  This month we are celebrating St. Paddy's Day early by offering "Top 'O the Evening to Ya" on Thursday, March 1st from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

At Apple Box Boutique, we are offering 10% off all home decor items and will have an experienced Annie Sloan Chalk Paint specialist on hand to answer any questions you have about the paint that is causing North Americans to call themselves "Chalkoholics".

Sugar Blossoms Floral Design shares our boutique and is offering 15% off arrangements, lovely mixed cut bouquets starting at just $25.00 plus gorgeous green florals to add to your decor in celebration of the month of the Irish.

May the road rise up to meet you as you make your way to this great event!

Highlands Secrets

Highlands is a lovely, friendly place and a big part of what makes it special are the little gems you find here. Case in point: Sabrina Butterfly Designs.

Local fashion designer Sabrina O'Donnell was featured this week on Breakfast Television and it was especially exciting for those of us who happen to be "in the hood". Her boutique is just a few doors down and is such a unique, unassuming space that we like to think of it as one of our 'Highlands secrets'.

This week brought to the forefront that Sabrina and her fantastic line of clothing are in fact not a secret at all. Hers is a bustling, cozy, friendly shop that beckons a wide range of personalities looking for something special that will not only be beautiful but easy to care for.

Most of Sabrina's designs are wash and wear; she has managed to make dressing well very, very easy and the comfort level gets two big thumbs up. Plus she carries jewelery and other fun items. But don't just take my word for it. Stop in and see for yourself!

Sabrina Butterfly Designs is located in Highlands at #102, 6421-112 Avenue. And don't forget to swing by Apple Box Boutique to say hello!

Repurposed with Purpose

I grew up in a strange and wonderful middle-world where we spent part of our year in an urban environment and the other in a rural community.  I am appreciative of both experiences, and it definitely helped me to cultivate a sense of humour... in the country I was known as 'the city girl' and in the city I was known as 'the country girl'... which meant I had to a) find a way to fit in, and b) learn both Donny's and Marie's lyrics.  Thankfully the rest of my family are easy-going, fun-loving folk so I had good role models and we enjoyed every moment.

This is part of the family homestead known as Garen Carlea Stables.  It is located in the snow belt on a breathtakingly beautiful island in Lake Ontario named Prince Edward County:

Photo courtesy of Tim Vanhecke

Eventually we found ourselves packing up to live here all year, where I was happily surrounded by shabby chic, cottage chic and casual elegance full time.  'Shiny new' may have been hot in the city, but I discovered that re-using items in the country was prevalent and sometimes a necessity.  There just wasn't a trendy furniture and decor store around every corner.

I learned a lot about being creative and even a little fearless from that time in my life, and still today one of the things I relish is when a great find can be bravely repurposed in an unexpected way.  The following has to be one of my favourite examples to date.

Take an old barn door, paint it the perfect colour, add a set of a pocket door rails, and voila!  Instant eye-catching, heart-stopping style that works in a myriad of home designs and decor.

This one I love for its unassuming, country feel:

And this one for its bright, sunny transition into the focal point in a modern space:

I've been wandering my abode looking for just the right place to incorporate a big, bold barn door.  Looks like I need more rooms to outfit.

Honey...  Call the realty agent!

Signed, the country side of

Late Night on the Ave

One of the things I was completely sure of when Apple Box Boutique, the brick and mortar edition was becoming a reality early last spring was that I wanted to find a way to highlight local/Canadian artists, be they musicians,  fine artists, comedians, actors, photographers... well, you get the idea.  So I wrote into my business plan that once a month we would do just that and hold an event at the boutique, wherever that ended up being located, and then started telling everyone I met about it.

Lucky for me we landed in the Highlands merchant district where the 112th avenue restaurant and shop owners championed the idea in their own businesses and together we are presenting "Late Night on the Ave".

Thank you to the lovely Sabrina O'Donnell of Sabrina Butterfly Designs for creating this graphic.

On the first Thursday of each month, merchants in this quaint, historic community will open our doors from 4:00 - 9:00 PM and offer promotions, contests and more.

The upcoming Late Night event on February 2nd precedes Valentine's Day and is a great opportunity for Edmontonians to cash in on deals and get your flowers ordered and gift-buying done, not to mention alleviate concerns about line-ups, or for some particularly busy people who shall remain nameless, forgetting the day and being caught off-guard.

At Apple Box Boutique/Ambiance Events, any excuse for a celebration is worthy and we are very happy to have local up and coming musician Sara Isabel performing at the boutique.  When you stop in for Sara's set, enjoy a complementary beverage and enter to win our "Love is on the Avenue" contest.  (Watch the blog for our 'concert' poster, available tomorrow, with performance times and more.)

Sugar Blossoms Floral Design shares our space at 6507 - 112 Avenue and is joining us in offering the contest prize of a gift card for a Teddy bear and a dozen roses.  But that's not all!  There are plenty of deals to be had at all of the Highlands businesses taking part:

Poster created by Laura England, Mandolin Books and Coffee Company.

That should help make Valentine's Day what it is meant to be... stress-free and loaded with L-O-V-E.

See you there!

Our Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Display

Yesterday was like Christmas all over again with the heaps of goodies that arrived. Which means today is the day our inventory of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is going up on the shelves... and I am still staring down the cabinet I've selected to display it in.

I hadn't really thought about what it would be like to have 28 equally gorgeous paint colours to choose from.  It seemed like a no-brainer at first... the paint labels are white with blue lettering, so it appeared obvious to paint the cabinet in coordinating colours.  Then a feeling overcame me that it might be too matchy-matchy, and I swung the other way... offset the cans by respecting the colour wheel and go red.  But every time I look over at the towers of paint cans, well the deciding starts all over again.

So, I thought maybe some suggestions would be in order, and I'd love to hear yours!

This is the cabinet (apologies for the not-so-lovely picture provided by the perfectly-lovely previous owner):

 And these are the paint cans (yippeee!):

Photo courtesy of Trouvé Antiques

And... here are the options:

I have not included the 55+ colours you can make by mixing these (AS Chalk paint contains very little black pigment, at least all but Graphite, which means pure colour mixes... nothing to muddy them up).  That would just wreak further havoc on the current state of my aesthetic sensibilities (how's that for a mouthful), but we will look at the how-tos etc. on this blog in the future because it's just too much fun not to.

In the meantime, consider this my call for help.  I'm looking forward to your ideas of fabulousness!