Category Archives: Style

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.

 

 

 

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

 

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!

 

 

 

Art – Wherever, Whatever

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Art.  A word that describes a diverse range of activities.  Visual art – painting, sculpture, photography, film etc.  Interactive art – music, theatre, dance, literature etc.  Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that is art.   Last year while shopping in NYC I saw this store display of all white mannequins dressed in all white clothing. (I don’t even remember what store; there were lots!)  It was the layering of white that the stylist had assembled with pops of colour which made me stop and admire.  Art – and it was not in one of the many NYC galleries either.   I took a photo and loved the result. Reminds me of a room with all the furniture slipcovered in white and the beautiful azure blue ocean just outside the window.

Photo #1 – Modmissy, Photo #2 Houzz.com

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.

Smile – it’s the Weekend!

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This past week has been a little grey outside and the weekend is calling for rain.  Therefore I believe that the upcoming ‘colour’ forecast calls for some cheery yellow.  Add a splash of yellow in your life like this Pantone Yellow M colour chip.

If you are brave enough paint a feature wall in a guest bedroom, the inside of a cabinet or a small piece of furniture.  If that’s too much how about listening to soothing sounds from a Tivoli radio. www.tivoliaudio.com

How about pumping up the energy of a neutral kitchen with the Jake chair from Room and Board www.roomandboard.com .  Takes tea time to a whole new level.

This contemporary yellow sofa from www.bebitalia.it would definitely create a statement.

So wherever you find yourself this weekend I hope it is a cheery one. And remember – smile!!