About Modmissy

I am Modmissy; the lady inspired by design and devoted to décor and style, interiors and exteriors, architecture and art. Life is a visual world and Design is Everywhere.

IDS15 – Interior Design Show 2015

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Modmissy

Last weekend was Toronto’s Interior Design Show.

Innovative design, inspirational exhibits and influential speakers make for an event not to be missed.

Each year exhibitors try to cook up some new eye candy with booth displays that are truly notable and statement worthy.

It’s always an exciting show.

I toured the show for 2 days and took lots of photos.

Here are just a few.

Paint colours were demonstrated in a variety of styles by Benjamin Moore, Farrow & Ball and Para Paints.

Colour was definitely the theme at the Smeg booth with these colourful 50’s-style retro refrigerators.

‘Retro’ was present in a big way as evidenced at the Hauser booth with colour, scalloped skirting and flower-power.

And at the Roche-Bobois booth the sofa originally designed in the 1970’s by Hans Hopfer has maintained a lasting sense of style and ‘inventiveness’ due to its infinite compositions and fabric. Loved the fabric created by well-known designer Jean Paul Gaultier.

And you could feel the ‘groove’ at Missoni Home with the riot of colour, iconic fabrics and the renowned zigzag.

I loved the Montauk Sofa booth, it was so fun. I mean literally you can only re-invent a room display so many times!

The new SEKTION kitchen line from IKEA was introduced at the show with Canadian home décor magazines, House and Home and Style at Home along with IKEA creating 3 different kitchen layouts. Very similar, very different. Very inspiring!

Bathroom fixtures abound but PierDeco Design takes ‘sitting on the throne’ one step further with their Aquamobilia line!

And don’t forget to look up; there are many amazing light fixtures. And on a playful note, Canadian designer Philippe Malouin appealed to the child in all of us with this interactive swing set at the Caesarstone display. Yup that’s right….a full scale swing with each seat made from a different sample of Caesarstone!

I have barely introduced you to the many amazing exhibits that were present.

Absolutely a show not to miss!

All images by MODMISSY

A New Year, A New Beginning

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Modmissy

Welcome 2015!

A brand new year is upon us. Fresh and full of opportunities.

Anything and everything lies ahead. It’s exciting!

So instead of writing about binding New Year resolutions I thought the year should be about encouragement and breaking free or as Ralph Waldo Emerson remarked,

Be unique. Create your own.

Climb great heights,

Reach for the top,

Make your space sing with colour – choose a colour that’s outside your comfort zone,

After all, 2 of the industry leaders in the world of colour, Pantone and Benjamin Moore, announced their Colour of the Year 2015 – total opposites on the colour wheel. So anything goes!

Find your balance,

Take time to smell the roses,

Find your happy! (a ’66 Chevy Impala)

But honestly, at the end of the day it’s all about finding your peace,

Here’s hoping that 2015 is a stellar year.

Cheers!

All images via MODMISSY

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Modmissy

Ho ho ho! Here we go.

Tis Christmas time again!

As you know I love the season but I have a hard time with all the decorations (read clutter) in my home.

But alas I found a solution.

This year I am hosting Christmas dinner at my home. I wanted all of us to celebrate together so we built one long table that would seat 20. We had to rearrange the furniture in the living room so everyone could move around freely. (Nothing worse than being stuck in a corner and 10 people having to get up and move when you decide that a 2^nd helping of mashed potatoes and gravy would be nice!)

This arrangement of furniture meant there was no space for a Christmas tree!

Oh darn.

Don’t worry I did not ‘Scrooge’-out, instead I placed my fully decorated Christmas tree in the front porch! Everyone at the table can still see the tree. Sans needles and mess. Perfect!

And then creativity struck, I wrapped the gifts and tied them all up with a bow and wouldn’t you know – a Christmas tree appeared!

And on that note a MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

See you in the New Year.

XXXOOO

All images via MODMISSY

What’s in a Name?

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Modmissy

“What’s in a name?”

That iconic question asked by many.

But none so famous as that asked by Shakespeare’s Juliet when it came to her lover Romeo,

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name;”

A conundrum for sure as the name meant (spoiler alert!) death for the star-crossed lovers.

Names are important.

Just as Juliet asked, “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet?” would a name of an item influence your choice or sway your decision?

The reason I ask is that while flipping through a recent Sears® catalogue I found it interesting the names now used for colour choices of décor items such as furniture, linens and drapery.

(Boring) beige is now named Moon Rock, Bamboo Beige and Shiitake Mushroom conjuring up something more contemporary.

(Mundane) grey has been pumped up to Volcanic Grey, Molten Lead and Fossil Grey. Feel the excitement!?

(Blah) brown is now Earth and Dark Fudge. Sound yummier?

(Stale) green has become Shale Green and Smokey Sage. Sexier?Even the automotive icon, Porsche® known for its truly distinctive design and breathtaking dynamics has given emotional impact to yellow with the 2014 colour option Racing Yellow. Can’t you just feel the race-inspired colour philosophy!?

Got me swooning!

All images designed my Modmissy

Sold In A Day

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Modmissy

Recently I staged a home for Real Estate sale that sold in a day.

And it sold for well over asking!

I’m going to credit that very quick and prosperous sale in huge part due to my staging services.

(Hey, when the horn can be tooted, toot it!)

Yes, the home had great bones but was buried in the ‘stuff’ of hectic daily living!

Often when I arrive on the scene the home is in a state of disarray whereby I must then ‘turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse’.

Or…take an ogre and turn it into a princess!

Fortunately I love what I do so when I first walked into this home I was not daunted but rather excited. Actually excitement is what I put into the home. I try to create a space that has energy; positive energy. And a vibe that says, “I want to live here”.

Livingroom before

Living Room after

Dining Room before

Dining Room after

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

Bedroom before

Before after All images via Modmissy

Happy Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Modmissy

These are my ‘carved’ pumpkins. Enjoy your day!

Images via MODMISSY

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Modmissy

Remember when I recently said a sad welcome to summer?

Weird I know.

But my thinking was the longer I have to wait for summer the longer summer will feel.

My case in point, “where did summer go?”

Summer in all its glory with so many wonderful moments…..

Watching the sunrise,

Being one with nature,

Spotting in the back of the ski boat,

Admiring the scenery,

Relaxing in the backyard,

Enjoying long bike rides,

All these wonderful moments are but distant memories now.

But oh well……autumn does have glorious colour like the view out my kitchen window.

All images via MODMISSY

Location, Location, Location

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Modmissy

It’s often said that where you buy a home is all about location, location, location.

And I agree.

But the neighbours are a big part of that detail too.

Good neighbours are good, great neighbours are great.

And so it was on a recent Friday evening that I dined alfresco with my great neighbours at our annual Laneway Party.

(A laneway being the lane at the back of houses shared between 2 adjacent streets providing each neighbour access to their parking/garage/backyard.)

Introductions were made,

There was a meet and greet for all ages,

Entertainment for the kids – a piñata stuffed full of candy,

Metro’s finest on horseback visited (entertainment for the adults!)

The table was set with white linen and real utensils – no plastic here.

Platters of food, candlelight and plenty of wine kept the revellers going into the night,

Plus it helped that the kids were occupied with movies in ‘Bill’s Man Cave’. Remember Bill (& his lovely wife)?

A head count was done around the table and 53 neighbours were seated for dinner!

These 2 ‘party planners’ were pleased! Thanks to all who helped to make the party a great success!

All in all a fabulous evening shared with my ‘great’ neighbours making my home’s location the best!

All images via MODMISSY

Canada Flag Pillow

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Modmissy

Last summer I wrote about being inspired by a pillow I saw in the July issue of Canadian House and Home magazine and decided to design and sew my own version. I wanted my pillow in neutral colours to match the cottage décor so I used linen and canvas. See here.

This summer, my son requested a Canada Flag pillow for his bed at university – in the “true north and strong” colours.

So I started with this,

And cut and sewed,

And ended up with this,

I frayed the edges,

And used a striped fabric for the backing,

Love it! And my son is thrilled.

All images via Modmissy

Sewing a Silver Lining!

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Modmissy

In my Junior High years (grade 7 and 8) my school principal decided to try out a new method of teaching/learning and used my class for the experiment. We were his lab rats!

Needless to say I did not learn much in those 2 very crucial years. (The principal was fired soon after!)

But for all negatives there is a positive and the silver lining here was that my school thought it would be useful for us teens to learn some life skills.

So we were bused one afternoon a week to another school that had facilities to teach us in ‘home ec’ and woodworking.

Home ec (as in home economics) taught us how to cook and sew.

And the woodworking class taught us how to use tools and build things.

I eventually learned what an adjective was and how to do fractions, finished high school and went on to higher learning but those life skills I was taught in grade 7 and 8 have been invaluable.

And well used.

Cooking is something I do on a daily basis with rave reviews from the family.

And I always have a sewing project on the go.

My sewing projects are usually quite basic but I do turn out some good results. I have sewn a million cushion covers over the years and if you’ve ever been to a fabric store you may understand how fabulous fabrics have a way of following you out the store and inspiring sewing projects. I recently fell in love with this colourful ‘mod’ fabric,

and thought the fabric would be the perfect accompaniment to my retro bedside lamps.

Apparently everyone at university is ‘Irish’ and celebrates St Patrick’s Day in a big way so this past March my son requested a pair of ‘celebratory’ pants to be sewn by his obliging Mother.

Three yards of this,

Produced these,

A big hit with all the St Patty’s Day revellers.

I even got orders for next year! NOT!

My woodworking skills have been used much less. Although I did produce my initials in woodworking class and have kept them all these years as a reminder that I can indeed build things,

Instead I married a man whose building skills far outweigh mine and we decided early in the relationship that I was a better cook/sewer and he was a better builder.

That’s fine by me.

Cheers!

All images via Modmissy

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