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“Decorating is easy,” says stylist/blogger Arren Williams, but finding inspiration is sometimes the hard part for people decorating their homes. Hershey’s challenged Williams and designer Karen Sealy to reinvent a small suite at Toronto’s Delta Chelsea Hotel using Hershey’s newest milk chocolate bar collection as their inspiration. Each designer was given $2,500, a week to plan and two days to transform their spaces—Williams took the bedroom, above, Sealy got the living room, below.

The 525-square foot suite, “was a tired leftover from the 1980s,” says Williams. This particular tower of the hotel had been an apartment block and is currently under renovation so the hotel agreed to let the Hershey’s team come in and work their magic. Light beige Berber carpet was installed throughout (Carpet One) and both designers chose chocolaty shades of Para Paint in a velvet finish.

Sealy re-imagined her space as a family room. From the chocolate brown walls (Para’s Valise) to the large, leather sectional, the room feels spacious and relaxing. Sourcing many of the main items from Elte, Karen included a large shelving unit, an oversized, curved floor lamp, a glass coffee table, plants, games and a low credenza for media storage and the flat screen TV.

Karen picked up the teal blue and bright orange from the new packaging of the Hershey bars as her accent colours. There was a great use of texture –- leather couch, cowhide rug, plaid throw and silk pillows. Karen discovered a mystery crossword puzzle called C is for Chocolate, a fun find. She also sourced several retro brass plates and painted them teal – a unique twist for an item long out of vogue. Her arrangement of IKEA frames with historical Hershey’s images and quotes about chocolate was a fun nod to the Hershey’s bar shape and a great way to create a larger art piece from smaller components.

Williams’s starting point was a Graham & Brown anaglypta wallpaper with a textured pattern that resembles the Hershey’s bar design; he had it painted with Para’s Steamy Hot Chocolate. Furniture was sourced from Elte, pillows from West Elm and Teatro Verde and mismatched lamps from HomeSense and L’Atelier (1224 Yonge St.). Layers of brown linens, patterned silk pillows, vintage-looking side tables, tall white lamps with blue and brown shades, and a white baroque mirror combined beautifully in the bedroom.

Williams commissioned photographer Angus Fergusson to create a Hershey’s bar photo triptych and he had illustrator Paul Dotey create an “I heart Hershey’s” poster. A tweed chair from Elte worked well with a vintage side table from Zig Zag. Arren also referenced the Hershey’s H on a coffee mug and a wooden letter used in a sidetable display. My fave accessory was the “chocolator”, a chocolate shaped calculator sourced from Indigo.

The key to both these rooms is texture – I wanted to touch everything. We can all be inspired by everyday items so next time you’re having a snack, think about how it could transform your home décor.