Margot Austin

If you know me at all, you know I'm a fabric nut. Fabric is definitely my favourite ingredient in the decorating tool kit. Today I was trolling Designer's Walk in Toronto. Well, what can I say about Designer's Walk fabric showrooms -- HEAVEN. I couldn't possibly pick a favourite -- they all have something lovely to offer. But today's discovery is a collection called John & Henri's. It's just a single small book of samples I found at the Primavera showroom. What did I love about the fabrics? Absolute simplicity. No embroidery, no ikat, no damask, no toile, no birds, no flowers. Just stripes and checks in very honest classic colourways and pure and simple fibres. Aaaah. Just perfection -- and completely unpretentious. I don't know if you've heard, but unpretentious is tough to find in the design business sometimes. A little digging reveals that the John & Henri's collection comes from a Dutch family textile business -- six generations no less! Visit their site here, plus I've added a few more pics for inspiration below.

Lutyens bench, Restoration HardwareI just so love this piece. It's the Lutyens bench, named for its designer Sir Edwin Lutyens. Sir Edwin, or Ned as he was known, was a totally bril architect and landscape designer who lived and worked in England in the late 19th and early 20th century. To be honest, I don't know enough about him, but what I know, I like -- stunning country houses, beautiful gardens designed with the legendary Gertrude Jekyll, and this lovely garden classic. Ned created the kinds of spaces where novels unfold. Fantasy worlds of allées and knot gardens and grand terraces. Like living sets for costume dramas. Dreamy!

 Hestercombe gardens, Taunton, Somerset, UKsuper fun red lacquer version!

Oh fickle fickle fickle me. Last post was all about the beauty of simple. But today is another love story. This is my fave thing in Hubs' shop ChairTableLamp currently. Isn't she pretty? All gilded and curlycued and filigreed and fancy pants. She's a beaut! I would cheat on simple for this. Find more yummy stuff from his shop at his little bloggy blog. Hubs is a fresh-baked Mac addict now that he's the proud papa to a spanking new clean white MacBook (again, simple is good), so he's getting going on his web space (with a little help). Do visit here.