Category Archives: Design

colour

My White Bedroom

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‘Change’…..it’s time for change again.

When the weather starts getting warmer I change all the linens and accessories in my bedroom.  The room faces west and receives the hot afternoon sun so my summer bedroom gets the all-white treatment giving both a cooler look and feel.

Layers of white cotton linens on the bed give a ‘cool as cotton’ sensation.  I made the duvet cover from 2 sheets that we (hubby and I) brought back from Venice while travelling through Europe many years ago.  Hubby carried these king-sized sheets plus 2 cotton tablecloths in his knapsack for a month!  (had to throw out some of his clothing to fit them in!!)  The cotton chenille fringed bedspread is vintage and originates from the same era as my beloved orange lamps.  The cushions from West Elm provide the pop of colour on the bed.

The bergere chair is slipcovered in white cotton and the art above the dresser is exchanged for a white mirror.

My otherwise contemporary home gets a shabby chic makeover in the bedroom.  Bring on the summer!

 

Summer Porches

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Yesterday I wrote about my front porch and how in summertime it is my oasis.  Today I thought I would share some other porches.  Enjoy.

Nothing says ‘hazy, lazy days of summer’ better than a porch swing.  This one from Better Homes and Garden magazine is the ideal spot for an afternoon nap with its green and white ticking on a watermelon colour swing piled deep with vintage-inspired floral pillows.  Languor away!

Wicker, rockers and wood suggests a country cottage feel.  This porch from Canadian House and Home says “you’ve arrived”, now sit back and unwind.

Nothing says ‘calm and cool’ like a porch decorated in blue and white.  This porch’s appeal is the combination of indoor furniture – a drop leaf dining table and mirror, mixed with director’s chairs and vintage finds.  Cut flowers from the garden appeals to the senses with both beauty and scent.

A porch doesn’t have to be big to be great.  Carving out a spot needn’t be about large square footage but rather any nook can fit the bill.  This porch from Houzz shows how a small space, appropriate sized furniture and a great view is a perfect recipe for ‘drinks at five’.

While away the day drifting into a dreamy evening on this all white porch.  The mixture of a white wicker settee with an industrial-style coffee table provides a nice contrast.   But what I really loved was the unique table.  This large white table top sitting on 2 huge white bases combined with wooden benches is a fabulous update of the age-old ‘picnic’ table.

So…..where will you be spending your lazy, hazy days and relaxed evenings of summer?  Let me know.

Images: 1,3,5 – Better Homes and Garden  2 – Canadian House and Home  4 – Houzz

My Front Porch – Summertime

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I love going to fabric stores.  It is like an overload on the senses – looking, touching and imagining.  As I walk amongst the bolts of fabric, admiring the many beautiful fabrics, running my hands along them to feel them, my mind starts racing trying to envision where I could use them all.  So many gorgeous fabrics – not enough projects!

On a recent fabric store adventure I came across this fabulous orange/white fabric that I fell in love with – I bought 2 yards.

I decided to use the fabric for seat cushions on the chairs in my enclosed front porch.  My sewing skills gained from grade 7/8 Home Ec. are fairly rudimentary but I can sew cushion covers.

My front porch spring/summer cushions were looking faded and boring so the new orange/white gives the needed punch.  The patterned pillows which coordinated perfectly came from HomeSense thanks to a good friend who found them for me!  The twig furniture (hubby and I made many years ago), lots of potted flowers, good lighting to read with and candles in the evening makes this porch my summer oasis.

All Images via Modmissy

 

 

Blog Podium 2012

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This past Saturday I attended Blog Podium “The Business of Blogging” at the newly renovated Arcadian Room at The Bay in downtown Toronto.

With over 200 bloggers in attendance it was a fun-filled, thought-provoking, information gathering event of which I gained so much great advice, knowledge and inspiration from. Phew….now to start processing it all! Blog Podium’s generous sponsors were Para Paints, EQ3, HomeSense, The Home Depot and Blurb.  Sharing her wisdom on how to successfully monetize a blog was Blog Podium’ keynote speaker Nicole Balch of Making it Lovely.  Nicole explained the options of direct sales, ad networks, text links, affiliate links, Google ads and sponsored ads.  Also, how bloggers should sell themselves to businesses and how businesses benefit from bloggers.

A panel discussion followed moderated by Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault of Benjamin Moore/Cityline TV with Christine Dovey  of Bijou and Boheme, Lindsay Stephenson of Little House Blog , Laura Muirhead of Tribal DDB and Cheryl Kozoriz of GlucksteinHome. I appreciated these bright women’s honesty and candor about the business of blogging.

Of course fabulous food had to be involved! A ‘delicious’ cocktail reception with a vendor ‘meet and greet’ took place giving everyone the chance to relax, mingle and enjoy. Lots of laughter coming from the Smilebooth where we had our photos taken by Mango Studios. That would be me in my best pose (covering my face – hate having my picture taken) with Melissa.

Also a big shout-out to Blog Podium’s creators and organizers Lindsay Stephenson and Jennifer Flores of  Rambling Renovators because if it were not for these 2 wonderful ladies I would still be trying to figure it all out on my own!

Thank you to Blog Podium Sponsors and Vendors.

Time to Recline

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There is nothing better than getting supine in the summertime!  Stretching out and enjoying the sunshine atop a fabulous chaise lounge.  As we head towards the weekend I thought I would share some beautiful chaises to put you in the mood to lay back and relax.

The first chaise is the Faz Tumbona by Vondom.  www.vondom.com.  This contemporary modular chaise designed by Ramon Esteve is available in 11 fabulous colours.

The Canasta Chaise Longue by Patricia Urquiola for B & B Italia www.bebitalia.it is both traditional and contemporary in design.

Next is the Tropicalia Chaise from Moroso www.moroso.it.  The design envisages a tubular steel structure with complex geometrical shapes, embellished with a clever weft of threads that alternate solids and voids to a specific pattern, paying meticulous attention to detail.  Fun!

The Papillon Contoured Chaise by Michael Berman for Brown Jordan www.brownjordan.com is a contemporary take of a design classic.  This chaise’s curvilinear and cocoon-like shape with wing details echoes that of the papillon (butterfly).

The Bask Lounger from CB2 www.cb2.com is a study in sleekness.  This minimalist reclining lounger in grey-on-white stands on its own or looks great en masse poolside or dockside.

Have a great weekend!

The Tulip

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Significant to spring is the tulip.  A perennial favourite but too short-lived.

But the long-lasting variety, the Tulip™ Chair Collection, designed by Eero Saarinen has been around since 1956.  Stating that he was designing a furniture collection to “clear up the slum of legs in the U.S. home”, Saarinen created furniture that had a single pedestal or ‘tulip’ base versus the 4-legged style.  Inspired by a drop of high-viscosity liquid the cast aluminum base became Saarinen’s “one piece, one material” furniture philosophy.

Designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll® is the Tulip Armchair.

The Tulip Stool.

The Tulip Side Table

The Tulip Table

So whether your tulips are in your garden, in a vase or one of the pieces from Eero Saarinen’s Collection, enjoy.

Furniture photos via www.dwr.com

 

Donald “Duck” Dunn

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Donald “Duck” Dunn, the legendary bass guitarist of Booker T. and the MG’s died this past weekend at the age of 70. Dunn was notable for his 1960’s recordings with Booker T and as a session bassist for Stax Records. It was Dunn’s bass lines recorded on many songs of the 1960’s that gave the world its ‘groove’; Otis Redding’s “Respect”, Sam and Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign”. The influence of this ‘groovy’ music also had a large impact on fashion and décor of the 1960’s as you can see in these photos.

The popular Better Homes and Garden Decorating Ideas was the magazine of the time that captured home décor as seen in this 1960 issue.

 

Colour blocking and swirls were very popular for patterns of fabrics as seen in everything from furniture to clothing. The Rive Droite chair designed by Patrick Norguet covered in Pucci fabric.

 

Airline stewardesses circa 1960.

The lava lamp was invented in 1963.

 

‘Mid-Century Modern’ furniture was in full swing with Eames, Platner, and Panton to name a few creating the design classics of the 20th century.

 

This white Panton Chair designed in the 1960’s feels very similar to these ‘mod’ Go Go Boots designed by Clark Shoes in the 1960’s.

 

Fringes on lamp shades, doorway curtains and clothing were all the rage. Tie-dye, shag carpet, peace signs were signs of the times also. As we bid a final farewell to Donald “Duck” Dunn his legacy will live on forever in the music and the ‘groovy’ influences of that music that reverberated into décor and fashion.

BHG.com/Allmodern.com/Planetlava.com/Vitra.com/Candysays.co.uk

 

 

 

Breakfast in Bed

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Mother’s Day. A celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March, April or May. This weekend is my time to honour my ‘Mothers’. And what better way than to start the celebration with honoring thy Mother with breakfast in bed brought to her on a beautiful breakfast tray. Thought I would share some beautiful examples of breakfast trays.

The first tray is the Tiffany from Habitat, UK. www.habitat.co.uk. Constructed from oak with folding legs this handy wooden wonder will work every time.

Next is the Bent Wood Bed Tray from The Bed Tray Shoppe www.breakfasttray.com. Molded from birch veneers this tray includes 2 cork-lined beverage holders and a side slot to hold Mother’s morning paper or favourite magazine.

For a pop of colour there is the injection molded Le Petit Dej from ByWhiteDesigns available from Dwell. www.dwell.com. Peter White designed this acrylic tray with a built-in vase to solve the problem of ‘wet toast’ caused by the inevitable topple over of a water filled vase containing Mother’s flowers.

The X-Tray designed by Claus Langhoff available from dk Vogue www.dkvogue.com makes the delivery of Mother’s breakfast a cinch with the addition of the chrome base equipped with castors.

 

I love the Clear Acrylic Breakfast Tray with Magazine Rack by Wrights Plastics Ltd available from www.amazon.co.uk.

Whatever your style, breakfast in bed whether it is for Mother or yourself is a surefire way to start your day. Have a great weekend. And Happy Mother’s Day to all.

 

 

 

Yonge and Adelaide St

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Sitting at the corner of Yonge St and Adelaide St in downtown Toronto are the Lumsden Building and Dundee Place. A picture of contrasts; old architecture and new architecture. Bricks and mortar. Granite and glass.

I always write about change; that change is good. But sometimes change is not by choice but is the result of modification to fit the present and accommodate the future. In 1909 a transformation took place, one of Toronto’s early skyscrapers was built. Standing at an impressive 10 stories high The Lumsden was unrivaled by the 3 and 4 story surrounding structures. In 1909 Yonge St was lined with drug stores, Biltmore hat shops, YWCA Cafeterias, tea rooms, menswear shops, luncheonettes and tailors. But the future was business, and businesses needed upscale addresses. The Lumsden provided that. Fast forward to 1991, more opportunities were needed at the corner of Yonge and Adelaide so Dundee Place was built providing 31 floors of business opportunities. So….which building will stand the test of time?

Here is a photo showing The Lumsden on Yonge Street in 1939.

  1. Photo Courtesy of City of Toronto Archives
  2. Photo by Modmissy

 

 

Birthday Celebrations

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Ok, no one likes to admit they are getting older but is there any day more special than your birthday!? It is the one day of the year when it is ‘your day’. There are ~7 billion people on this earth but the day you were born feels as if it belongs to you! Whether you choose to share the celebration with anyone or keep it all to yourself the day you were born is special.

As tradition goes balloons are often part of the celebration like the Balloona Stool from Umbra www.umbra.com with its playful personality and punch of colour. With over 500 balloons this stool is guaranteed to make a ‘pop’ in any décor.

Who doesn’t love cake on their birthday! The Modular Kar Sofa makes lounging a piece of cake chair. Each ‘slice’ clicks into one another creating a piece of furniture that allows you to mix and match towards a design of your choice. 4-6 slices creates a chair, 10-12 slices forms a sofa.

Flowers, another beautiful addition to your day just like the striking design of Giovannetti’s Flower Chair. A true centerpiece with wit, style and naïve simplicity in visual impact.

And not to forget – the birthday toast. One must raise a glass and the Martini Chair designed by Zoran Svraka www.svrakadesign.com does just that. A flexible molded plywood chair connected with rubber string is both screw-less and glue-less.

To anyone celebrating a birthday today, this weekend or this month – enjoy!

PS. Happy Birthday Modmissy!

Images via: 1. Umbra 2. & 3. Opulentitems.com 4. Contemporary-home.co.uk 5. Svraka Designs