In Anticipation of Spring

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Today we are greeted by the first day of March which really means only 19 more days until the first day of spring!  Thinking of it this way makes it a little easier to get through these last days of winter.  The greys of winter will soon be banished by the colours of spring.  I can’t wait.  When I saw this photo I was reminded of spring flowers. 

New for spring from Ikea www.ikea.com is the GAVIK table lamp.  Made of coloured transparent double glass the lamp when lit spreads beautiful effects in any room.  In anticipation of spring I thought I would also share with you a poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson about flowers.  Enjoy

The Flower by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
Thro’ my garden bower,
And muttering discontent
Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o’er the wall
Stole the seed by night.

Sow’d it far and wide
By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried,
“Splendid is the flower!”

Read my little fable:
He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now,
For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
Call it but a weed.

Electricity – Food for Thought

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This morning when I sat down at my computer…..no internet service.  Arrrggh!!  I got it up and running after a while but not without a little frustration.  Soon after while researching for today’s post I came across a photo I had taken.  The photo actually stopped me in my tracks and made me reflect.  I had risen this morning to the sounds of my clock radio.  I had turned on the light in the bathroom to brush my teeth.  I had plugged in the kettle to make a cup of tea.  I had cooked my oatmeal in the microwave.  I had started the dishwasher.  And of course there is always another load of laundry to do so I started that too.  So by the time I sat down in front of my computer, with or without internet service, I had used electricity several times; without even thinking about it.  I had subconsciously assumed it would be available to serve me in all my requirements.  And it had.  So when I saw this photo I realized how fortunate I am to have electricity.  Most houses were connected to electricity in the 1920’s to 1930’s.  This photo showing an advertisement from the February 1925 issue of The Ladies Home Journal magazine stating “Does the Home You Love Love You?”  gave me a reality check.  With the introduction of electricity into the home the method of boiling water, cooking food, ironing clothing, cleaning house, heating bath water or warming baby’s milk became as easy a “pressing a button – or pushing a plug into a handy convenience outlet”.  In the advertisement Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company asked if your beautiful home gave you anything back in return for the love you bestowed upon it.  “Does it make your days easier and your evenings brighter?  It both can and does, if it is an electrified home.”  Remarkable!!  Could you imagine life without ‘appliances’?  And I was annoyed because my internet was slow. 

All images via Modmissy

Liyuan Library – Stick Memories

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I came across an article in the recent Azure magazine www.azuremagazine.com titled Brand New Chapter written by Dan Levin about the new Liyuan Library in the Chinese village of Huairou located 2 hours from central Beijing.  The library, designed and built by Beijing architect Li Xiaodong, helped resurrect the once forgotten rural village into a bustling weekend retreat for city dwellers.  Upon visiting the village Li was “struck by the villagers close ties to the seasonal rhythms of nature and how natural textures define their constructed world, particularly the ritual of gathering sticks from the surrounding hills; they tie them in bundles for firewood and store outside their homes.”  In his plans for the library Li decided to convey the ‘gathering of sticks’ philosophy into his design with a 2-storey steel frame building clad in 40,000 sticks.  Nestled in a valley below the Great Wall of China, the library has become a sanctuary devoted to reading and a natural site for nesting birds.

 After reading this article I was reminded of a childhood memory of the gathering of sticks.  Seasonal rhythms are no more prevalent than here in Canada.  With the changing of seasons we learn to adapt our life to nature.  Our lifestyles change, our activities change with the changing seasons.  For example, in summer time our activities are swimming, biking etc. whereas in winter our activities are hockey, skiing etc.  When I was a kid everybody’s brother played hockey.  More brothers, more time spent at the hockey arena.  I have 2 brothers so I spent a lot of time at the hockey arena.  I remember hearing about one particular father who used his time spent at the arena in the gathering of sticks – broken, discarded hockey sticks.  Hockey sticks back then were made of hardwood, often birch, ash or maple and it was sad to think that after breaking from a hard slap shot these beautiful pieces of wood were castoffs.  But this father had a vision; a repurposing idea.  After years of collecting many sticks, this father with great pride and workmanship paneled his ‘rec room’ walls with hockey sticks!  Except they were no longer hockey sticks, they were beautiful pieces of hardwood applied to the wall vertically to create a natural wall treatment.  How very industrious and green-thinking of this father.  Bravo!

All images courtesy of Li Xiaodong

Fur Throw

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Okay don’t shoot me.  I know wearing fur is politically incorrect but it was the 1980’s when I bought my fur coat; big hair, shoulder pads and fur coats were in.  I had just started my first full-time job and even before I bought my first car I bought a fur coat.  I guess I thought that standing at the bus stop at 5a.m. and taking 2-hour rides on public transit each day to work was not an inconvenience if I wanted that fur coat.  I still remember the day I purchased my coat. I was with my Mother.  We headed to Spadina Avenue in downtown Toronto where there were numerous furriers to choose from.  I selected a mid-length coyote trimmed in fox.  (I know, I know, even as I write this I am feeling bad!)  Truth is I never ended up wearing the coat very much as I always felt a little suspect.  Years later the coat still hangs in my closet.  I do not wear it and probably never will.  I can’t justify having a fur coat but I also can’t justify throwing it out.  So I keep it.  But recently I have been noticing in home design/décor magazines the appearance of furs as throws.  I would like to think that no recent animals were hurt in the process and that these furs are vintage.  So I have pulled my coat (now vintage) out of the closet and lay it across the sofa – in tribute.  And oh, by the way, I bought my first car soon after the purchase of the fur coat.  A 1974 VW Beetle – but no animal was hurt in the process.

PS. Sorry, no photo.

Upon Closer Inspection

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My Friday space this week is a living room designed by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy of Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates or ODADA.  This Cuban-born American designer has had a significant impact on the contemporary practice of interior design.  With degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture and City Planning, Diaz-Azcuy is a master in residential interiors, architecture, landscape design, furniture design and urban planning.  While researching for a room that I would like to spend time in this weekend I came across this photo that depicted a lovely calm space; a bit more traditional looking than I usually prefer.  But upon closer inspection I realized that the furniture was actually a ‘dramatic experiment’ in curved plywood.  “Sweeps of glossy white vinyl lie atop a plywood “over-floor” and rise onto and over the simple plywood furniture forms—coffee table, daybed, and chairs. Beneath them an exposed ebony floor serves up high contrast to highlight the beauty of negative space.”  Refined elegance but innovative modern at the same time.  Outstanding!

Image via Matthew Millman

The Dinette Table

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Entertaining at home has never been as popular as right now.  With all the cooking shows on television and the fabulous cook books now available, so many of us have now found our ‘inner-chefs’.  The dinner party has become the ‘au courant’ style of entertaining; sitting around the dining table sharing wonderful conversation, food, wine and laughter (more wine, more laughter!).  The party often starts in the kitchen but usually ends gathering around a table – the dining table.  Most homes have a dining room but so often the space must serve double or triple duty therefore the dining table is also a work desk, craft table, place to do homework or just a handy surface to place all stray belongings.  For small spaces a dining table is not always a possibility given square footage restrictions so a surface to dine and entertain at becomes a design challenge.  The kitchen island is now being designed with entertaining in mind.  Coffee tables that convert into dining tables are becoming popular.  A console table can be pulled into duty also.  Of course there is always the door removed from its hinges method – I have a client who has done this for years.  So I thought I would share with you my own dining table solution for small spaces.  My dining table, originally my parents’, is a mid-1950’s Duncan Phyfe style that was built by Drexel Furniture.  The table and matching buffet are both made of dark stained mahogany and have bow fronts.  It is a lovely table that blends well with my contemporary décor.  Mind you I would like to replace the chairs with something more modern i.e. Panton, Eames chairs.  But the best part about this table is the ‘secret’ small space design adaptability.  With 3 leaves my table seats up to eight people comfortably but with the removal of the leaves and the flip of the top, my table converts to a small desk.  Ingenious!  My ‘dinette’ table was the ‘high tech’ solution to small spaces during the 1950 and 1960’s.  An idea that is well worth copying.  

Dining Table extended to sit 6

 

Dining Table converted to Desk

 All images via Modmissy

 

Cabaret du Lapin Agile

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As I have previously written, I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto.  When my parents moved to the ‘burbs’ the neighborhood was then located next to farmland and was somewhat removed from the services and conveniences of the city.  Therefore we had a milkman deliver our dairy products, the Fuller Brush man sell us brushes, the tinker man mended our household utensils and a man sell us vacuum cleaners; the list was lengthy.  Don’t get me wrong, we did have stores nearby but I guess these ‘vendors’ saw a wealth of opportunity in all the new residents setting up house.  Out of all these door-to-door merchants the ones I found most interesting were the artists selling their paintings.  My parents had a lot of blank walls in their new suburbia home to fill so they bought 3 pieces of art from an artist who came to our door one day.  I remember the artist was a young man who stated he had just returned from Europe where he had been painting the sights.  All 3 paintings were done in oil; a water scene, a street scene and one with 3 children (Renaissance-style).  These paintings became well-loved features in our home but sadly when our house was robbed in the mid-1980’s the thieves’ stole off with one of the paintings – the renaissance children one.  I always found that rather curious – thieves with art knowledge!?   Now years later the street scene painting hangs proudly in my home.  I have looked at this piece of art for years (and loved it) but it was not until recently that I thought to do some research on it.  The artist’s signature in the corner is undecipherable but on the side of one of the buildings is a name that I discovered after some ‘Google-ing’ reads Cabaret du Lapin Agile.  French for the Nimble Rabbit Cabaret, the Lapin Agile is a famous Montmartre cabaret located in Paris, France that to this day is still open for business.  The Lapin Agile originated in the mid-1800’s and over the years became a favorite spot for struggling artists and writers to frequent including Picasso, Modigliani and Utrillo.  Around 1915, Maurice Utrillo painted in oil on board the Le Lapin Agile which recently sold for over $200,000 at Christie’s auction.  My painting was painted circa 1960’s and sold to my parents for a fraction of the cost but to me it is priceless.

Modmissy's Lapin Agile

 

Maurice Utrillo's Lapin Agile

 Image 1: via Modmissy  Image 2: via Christie’s

Benjamin Moore Color Pulse 2013

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Last night I attended Benjamin Moore Color Pulse 2013 for a look at emerging design and colour trends.  The presentation took place at the Corus Quay in downtown Toronto, which in itself is a very ‘colourful’ building thus creating a very vibrant evening.  Travelling to the far corners of the earth throughout the year, Benjamin Moore gathers their inspiration and translations of world trends.  They visited furniture fairs, art shows, met with artists, attended fashion events the world over.  “Where our physical spaces intersect with our desire for expression, we seek to balance the dynamics of everyday living with cultural, environmental and personal reflections through design and color.  Benjamin Moore’s color forecast for 2013 explores these tenets and translates them into tomorrow’s color palettes”.  This year’s main theme was Intersection – the convergences of space, time, ideas and relationships.  Divided into 4 sub-groups:

  • Interflow: reintroducing colour and texture of the past.
  • Intercylce: repurposing and upcycling, new potential for useless objects
  • Interanimate:  escaping the everyday with bold and dynamic colour
  • Interconnect:  technology evolving into organic form.

In a previous post I wrote about Pantones Color of the Year being Tangerine Tango whereas Benjamin Moore’s colour of the year is not just one colour but rather the ‘pulse’ of many colours.  Benjamin Moore’s ‘pulse’ of colour for 2013 are:

  • Sophisticated reds
  • Soft pinks
  • Deep coral and camel toned oranges
  • Red/orange toned yellows
  • Kelly green and pale green
  • Watery blues
  • Mauvey purples

 

Balance vs Symmetry

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A room that is designed with symmetry is a room that is in a state of equilibrium.  Every ying has it yang.  A sofa in the centre of a seating arrangement, flanked by two end tables, coffee table and a pair of chairs. Matched and a sense of harmony.  Whereas balance being a room with deliberate lack of symmetry.  Not matched but feeling coordinated.   It took me a long time to realize about myself that when it comes to my own personal space and décor, I prefer a room to look balanced without being symmetrical.  Case in point – my living room.  This room took me 3 sofas, actually 2 sofas and then finally a sectional sofa to realize that the room functions better and feels best when it is not decorated symmetrically.  The wall between my living/dining room had been removed creating one large open room.  On the long wall is the fireplace. Where it used to once sit centered in the living room the fireplace now sits at what feels like the end of the long wall.  When I placed my sofa/furniture symmetrically on the fireplace the living room occupied a small space of the overall room.  The living room felt small and there was too much space allotted to the dining area.  I decided that the solution to this problem was to decorate asymmetrically around the fireplace and a sectional sofa allowed that to happen.  My living room has been enlarged and occupies more of the space in the living/dining room.  After this lengthy and $$$$ exercise I realized that I preferred my rooms when they were not symmetrical but rather balanced.  I like my ‘vignettes’ mismatched and I favour items in odd numbers.  I feel the asymmetrical ‘tension’ created makes the space more appealing to me.  

   

    

             

                All images via Modmissy

Happy Valentines Day

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I am not a ‘red’ person right now.  Meaning I am not decorating my personal space with anything that is the colour red.  Christmas ornaments – yes.  But furniture, accessories etc. – no.  I used to have a red living room sofa, my family room was red and gold and my cottage had red painted walls.  To be honest, I think I tired of red.  But in honour of Valentine’s Day I thought I would show some fabulous items that could possibly inspire me to add a little red back into my décor.   

The Eames Molded Plywood Chair. www.hermanmiller.com

 

The IPAL by Tivoli Audio www.tivoliaudio.com

 

In an ‘ode to Edison’ the Utility Red Pendant Lamp by CB2. www.cb2.com

 

The Tiuku Clock by Finnish designer Ari Kanerva.  www.arikanerva.com provides a contemporary remake of the traditional Grandfathers’ clock.

 

Kartell’s La  Bohème Stool by Phillippe Stark – cheery and fun. www.kartell.com

 

And finally if February has you feeling ‘blue’ what’s not to love about lounging on some ‘red’ – Pottery Barn Chesapeake Steamer Chaise and Cushion.  www.potterybarn.com

Happy Valentine’s Day!!