Category Archives: Design

colour

Paris in Spring

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Paris in spring.  How lovely.  My friend visited Paris recently with her husband.  I was not invited as three is a crowd!  Instead each day my friend sent photos of her sightseeing adventures so in spirit I was there too traveling to all of Paris’ beautiful attractions.  The wonder of technology!  The gears are already in motion planning my ‘Paris in Spring’ adventure for next year.  In the meantime I thought I would share some of my/her photos to showcase some sights of Paris.

When one thinks of Paris the Eiffel Tower always comes to mind.

And the Eiffel Tower at night is just as beautiful.

Of course a bit of culture is always on the travel agenda.  This is a photo showing the veil of undulating glass of the restaurant in the Paris Opera House – Palais Garnier; named in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier.

 

One must shop in Paris.  My friend knowing I would love the streetscape and window dressing of CHANEL sent this photo just for me.  Quite dramatic isn’t it?  My friend’s husband could not figure out why this photo was taken.

When in Paris one must dine like a Parisian.  Quand à Paris il faut dîner comme un Parisien.  This is a photo of Steak Tartare with a raw egg in the middle!!  Apparently ‘we’ scraped the plate clean!

Not being able to see all the beautiful sights of Paris (in reality) my friend brought me home a ‘taste’ of Paris – French macaroons from the famous bakery Ladurée.  The decoration of the original 1862 pastry shop was entrusted to Jules Cheret, a famous turn-of-the-century painter and poster artist.  Cheret sought inspiration from the painting techniques used for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Garnier Opera.

What a great vacation!

 

 

 

Have a Royal Weekend!

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Luxury is often associated with royalty.  But must we be royalty to indulge in royal living?  This weekend marks the 1st anniversary of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton.  To commemorate the first year of marriage, tradition calls for gifts of paper or in the UK, cotton to be exchanged.  How sweet.  Instead I thought you would rather have a glimpse into royal luxury where details like original, hand carved, gilded come to mind.  And silk, velvets and hand-woven damasks are the norm.  Soaring ceilings, grand staircases, opulent drawing rooms are everyday.

The 1st photo is of the Grand Staircase of Buckingham Palace.  Notice the magnificent gilt-bronze balustrade with detailed scroll work which is duplicated in the gilt-plaster on the walls.  And the larger-than life family portraits are grand in size too.

The next photo is the White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace.  The word ‘opulence’ comes to mind here.  Large gilded mirrors, yellow silk, massive crystal chandeliers.  Notice the doorway and the detail of the trim.  Beautiful!

This is the Crimson Room of Windsor Castle.  Is the colour combination of crimson and gold not totally stunning!?  Once again, massive crystal chandeliers, gorgeous silks and an area carpet that is probably larger than the square footage of my entire home!

This is the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle.  Notice the length and shine of the very, very long table.  Like all the above photos, it is the soaring ceiling heights that have me mesmerized.

We can’t all live in Buckingham or Windsor Castle but our home/condo/apartment is our castle.  This weekend in honour of the anniversary indulge and pamper yourself with life’s luxuries.  Soak in a bath with scented soap and a stack of fluffy towels.  Drink tea out of a china tea cup and nibble on ‘petit fours’ served on silver.  Toss some silk cushions on your sofa.  Sit back and be served!  Enjoy.

My Corner Fireplace Dilemma

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When we purchased our home the basement was finished. Although many different definitions of ‘finished’ abound! The house is ~100 years old so a century ago the ‘cellar’ was never meant to live in. The basement was cold as insulation was not a factor in the home’s original construction. The previous owners tried to rectify this problem by installing a fireplace. A corner fireplace. Often considered to be the bane of designers! They also had a Santa Fe décor (note the purple wall colour) I believe to emulate warmth!? Due to the room’s layout the only place for the television was above the fireplace – terrible neck strain! Also, that meant that our sofa/sitting area was in the most narrow part of the room while the rest of the space was unused. We rectified this by flipping everything around. We got rid of the [ugly] corner fireplace and our solution to the cold factor was…..wait for it….insulation! In the process of figuring out the best solution as to how the room could be used we moved everything into different positions and lived with it for a while. After a long and dirty (we found out where at one time the furnace coal used to be stored) we now have a fabulous new ‘media’ room.

All images via Modmissy

 

 

Martha Sturdy

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In the sidebar of my blog I have the ‘Modmissy Wish List’; the location where I place the item I am ‘wanting’ (not needing!) at the moment.  My current obsession – Martha Sturdy resin bowls.  www.marthasturdy.com.  Actually I have been enamored by Martha Sturdy resin bowls for some time.  I would love to have a large resin bowl on my dining table.  For over 30 years at her studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, Martha has been creating statements in resin.  Each resin design is exclusive to itself; having its own colouration, air bubbles, irregularities and textures. The unique quality of each handmade piece makes it a true original piece of functional art.  (Functioning as a salad bowl?? – never!!)  With an international reputation in art, sculpture and design, Martha Sturdy is known for her distinctive style that is sophisticated, minimal and bold.  Martha also creates in steel, brass and aluminum.  Her three-dimensional sculptures are made from resin and hand cut hot rolled steel.  Architectural by nature Martha designs the artwork with cutouts to capture light and form drawing people in and asking them to interact with it; touch it, feel it.

Martha Sturdy Resin Bowl in Shimmer Red

Resin Bowl in Soft Grey Marble – looks like real marble

Resin Bowl in Plum

Martha Sturdy Brass Trays

Three Dimensional Sculpture “Marmalade” – resin and steel

The Thornton-Smith Decorating Company

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I recently wrote about the dining set I inherited from my parents.  https://modmissy.com/2012/02/23/the-dinette-table/.   The table, 6 chairs and buffet are mahogany with a French polish finish.  My mother steadfastly protected the beautiful sheen of that table and buffet. i.e. “Get your sticky fingers off that table!” (I heard that a lot growing up!)  Along with the china and silver, the buffet was the place where my mother stored her ‘important papers’.  So when I inherited the mahogany dining set I also inherited my mother’s decorating history.  Underneath the drawer liners were the receipts and invoices of many of the furniture pieces my parents had purchased over the years.  My mother took her interior decorating seriously.  She did a lot of research and inquiry before making any purchase.  In the late-1960’s my mother decided that what the living room needed was 2 occasional chairs.  So she began her research.  That research took her to The Thornton-Smith Company; Furnishers ·Decorators· Designers located on Yorkville Avenue in downtown Toronto.  Thornton-Smith was a legendary Toronto design influence that helped to single-handedly define Toronto interiors for nearly a century.  Thornton-Smith sold custom furniture, fabrics, rugs, drapery; decorated the Royal Alexander Theatre, parts of Massey Hall, the former Walker House Hotel, the Senate Chamber in Ottawa and painted stencil decoration for many Ontario churches.  For my mother Thornton-Smith provided her with 2 bergere-style chairs.  But this was the late 1960’s, long before technology, so before my mother purchased her chairs her initial inquiries, received via Canada Post, were artist sketches of the different chair designs.  From these various sketches my mother decided on 2 of the chair styles.  The first chair she chose was the chair I wrote about last April https://modmissy.com/2011/04/15/my-purple-chair/ .  I have recovered and re-stained the chair but the style is the same.  The 2nd chair I also still have.  I like to think that I not only inherited 2 nice chairs but a piece of Toronto decorating history.

Here is the original envelope my mother received.  Note the date stamp – Nov. 18, 1968.

Here are the artist sketches of the various chairs my mother received. The first photo is the original sketch of my purple chair.  The 2nd photo is the original sketch of my other chair my mother purchased.

All images via Modmissy

The Ottawa Collection by Karim Rashid

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Yesterday I attended the furniture launch of ‘The Ottawa Collection’ by designer Karim Rashid at BoConcept www.boconcept.ca.  BoConcept is Denmark’s leading global retail furniture chain and design brand with 250 stores located in 54 countries around the world.  Catering to the urban-minded shopper, BoConcept offers very functional modern designs.  Karim Rashid, considered one of the most prolific designers of his generation, has to date over 3000 objects in production and works featured in 200 permanent collections in over 35 countries.  With the recent collaboration, Karim Rashid has designed a complete dining collection from cups and lamps, to dining tables and chairs for BoConcept.  Karim shared with us yesterday that this collection is the “fingerprint of him”; about going back to his roots when he graduated 30 years ago from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada where he received his Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design.  At the start of his relationship with BoConcept, Karim visited Denmark many times and found that there was a similar feeling, a similar climate to that of Ottawa.  So in paying homage to his 30 years in design and drawing inspiration from the landscape of Ottawa and Denmark the Ottawa Collection was born.  Many of the pieces in the collection are inspired by nature.  The Ottawa Chair is leaf-shaped with a forest of legs.   The collection is also about being very practical and extremely functional.  The Ottawa table is extendable and can be easily expanded by one person to seat up to 14 people.  I thought this engineering feat was brilliant. Taking his inspiration one step further, Karim explained that the Fingerprint Rug is literally his own fingerprint!   Karim answered many of our questions; the process of designing the collection, the time it takes to get an idea into production, his journey with the collection.  It was a great event and along with a ‘swag bag’ what I took away that really resonated with me was Karim’s words, “design is about being honest”.

Karim Rashid and The Ottawa Collection

Karim Rashid and Modmissy

 

Jeff Goodman

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It is with deep regret that I write this post to inform you that Canada recently lost a preeminent glass artist.  Jeff Goodman passed away after a valiant battle with cancer.  Jeff was an outstanding artist, passionate creator, designer and so much more.  He was a loving husband and father.  He was a great neighbour and friend.  I met Jeff many years ago when our children were babies.  When I was introduced to Jeff and told he was a glass artist I didn’t quite understand – prescription glasses or drinking glasses?  Silly me!  I have come to understand that Jeff’s talent of creating with glass has ‘wowed’ the world over.  Jeff’s dramatic blown glass vessels and chandeliers, as well as his architectural glass installations can be seen in public spaces, galleries and centers throughout the world.  In my own home I have a few pieces of Jeff’s glass, ok…..12 to be exact, that I cherish.  Here are 2 of them.

But the pieces that I hold near and dear to my heart are the ones that Jeff truly showed his talent of his thoughtfulness and generosity.  When our children were small, Jeff invited us into his studio to cast in glass our hands and the children’s little feet.  As you can imagine 3-year olds would be very excited and rather rambunctious running around the studio, but Jeff always had a smile on his face and seemed to be truly happy creating one-of-a-kind masterpieces with all of us.  One year we even cast our faces into glass!  Here is a photo of Jeff and my then 3 year old son pushing his hands into a special sand mixture before the liquid glass was poured into the cast.

My son’s hands and feet.

Jeff is no longer with us but his generosity, passion, talent and love will live on forever.  I encourage you to visit the Jeff Goodman Studio website www.jeffgoodmanstudio.com and have a look at his beautiful creations and lasting legacy.

All images via Modmissy

Street Furniture

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Garbage.  No one likes to talk about garbage but our trash, waste, rubbish is a reality of everyday life.  My axiom of, ‘design is everywhere’ includes the lowly garbage bin.  Last summer I wrote about ‘the garbage bin as art’ in my post, https://modmissy.com/2011/08/23/art-in-the-country.  This time I want to write about Toronto’s newest garbage bins, the ones located on main streets for public use.  Referred to as ‘street furniture’ these futuristic bins were designed by Kramer Design Associates www.kramerdesign.com, a design firm specializing in street furniture, signage programs and media architecture.  I would believe that hours and hours were spent at the drawing board creating the design of these newest and innovative garbage bins.  In the last few weeks I have been curious about these bins and in truth have been studying their daily use by the general public.  First off, I like the fact that the bins were designed as closed containers – I don’t have to see the garbage or smell the garbage.  The closed container also keeps varmints and wasps out.  The containers cannot be knocked over spewing nasty contents all over the sidewalk.   I appreciate that they offer recycling options with different sections.  The colour is somewhat bland but do we really need to highlight a garbage bin!?  But here is the interesting detail about this street furniture and the real reason as to why I am even writing about garbage bins.  Located at the bottom of the bin is a foot pedal that when pushed, opens the flaps allowing garbage to be disposed of without having to make any contact.  Great design because I hate touching yucky, contaminated surfaces.  But it was not until just recently that I became aware of this design detail, prior to that I was pushing my garbage through the flaps.  And I don’t think most users are aware of this detail either because every time I pass by a bin there is garbage hanging out of the flaps.  I also asked many friends and they were not aware either that a foot pedal even existed.  I don’t believe anyone stands in front of a garbage bin reading instructions prior to use.  These garbage bins were unveiled to Toronto in 2008 and most of us are just figuring them out now.  As Ray Eames once said, “What works good is better than what looks good, because what works good lasts.”  Hhmmm??

Image via Modmissy

EJ 144

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This past weekend I visited the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).  I love visiting galleries and museums not only to view the outstanding art and exhibits but to be witness to the architecture of the building that houses the outstanding art.  Often the architecture is as much a spectacle as the art.  The most recent renovation to the AGO, architect Frank Gehry’s design made the connection between art and architecture.  Upon entering into the first part of the gallery you walk into a large open hub; Walker Court.  Immediately you are hit by the spectacle of the architecture; the dramatic spiral staircase, the abundance of Douglas fir and the high arched doorways.  As gallery-goers entered and walked around this space I noticed that most were looking up taking in the amazing sights.  Often overlooked in public spaces though are details that although do not take centre stage are just as interesting.  In Walker Court were 2 upholstered benches.  Unlike all the art in the gallery, I was able to touch and inspect these benches.  So I got down on my hands and knees and discovered that the tag on the bottom (no easy feat) indicated that the bench was made in Denmark by Erik Jørgensen www.erik-joergensen.com.  The bench – EJ 144 (One for Four) was designed by Anne-Mette Bartholin Jensen and Morten Ernst.  The big horizontal surface, smooth black fibre-glass construction and transparent base gives “the appearance of a membrane separating heaven from earth”.  The bench is also available in a single version, EJ 141 (One for One).  I am sure the intention of placing these 2 benches in this outstanding space was a well thought out design decision because what you sit on to experience art and architecture is just as important. 

The Pouf – High vs Low

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Pouf, beanie, bonnet, ottoman, stool – whatever name it goes by this orbit-shaped legless chair is quickly becoming a popular décor addition.  The pouf as I like to call it is both fun and functional, offering an extra seat solution and a fabulous hit of colour to your room.  Of course like many items there is always the High vs. Low scenario.  I have found 2 different companies selling their version.  First is the Beanie from the Dutch design company Montis www.montis.nl . 

The Beanie “a knitted cap that is warm and comfortable to sit on” is made of wool and available in a choice of 5 colours; orange, moss green, pine green, blue and grey.  The cost of the Beanie is approximately $550 – reflecting the High version.  The Low version is the Pouf from CB2 www.cb2.com . 

This chunky hand-knit sweater-looking Pouf is made of 100% cotton and available in a choice of 4 colours; blood orange, graphite grey, pool blue or camo green.  The cost…..$100.  Both the High or Low version will offer a sculptural element to your room; the decision is what colour, what cost.