blog

blousy blooms

2010-03-19T01:35:16Z

The Ban.do hair ornament in full bloom

I'm so pleased to be back here. Missed you all dearly. Today my head is filled with blooms. Great giant massive huge painterly blooms. It may be the weather (though I've never been a spring freak -- April is the cruelest month, lilacs, dead land and all that), it may be my work life (we're well into June there), and it may just be my trendspotting radar on high alert. Blooms are everywhere. The cool kids (Anthro et al) have hopped on this trend and I love how they breathe new life into fusty florals. But you see, while the newbies do it well, the oldbies got it right in the first place. My all time favourite forever and ever floral is Bowood from Colefax & Fowler. Oh John Fowler, thank you thank you thank you for this lovely gift to the world of decorating -- a tidy rose print. My favourite colourway is the white/grey/green combo, and my dream would be to do a whole room in it -- windows, walls, furniture, bedding. Oh I really must have that fabric in my home some time. I will. Here's my bouquet of pretties to enjoy.

John Fowler's perfect pattern:

Bowood in my favourite colourwayBowood in pink: walls and windows

Blithfield, a lovely new washed linen fabric collection I spotted at the Lee Jofa showroom in Toronto a couple of weeks ago. So femme and delicate.

I saw these unbelievably gorgeous hand-painted wallpapers by Brit Kevin Dean at the Sept 08 Maison et Objet. Will never forget them. Classic English roses on a large scale. True romance. And he does dinnerware and fabric, too.

Urban Outfitters super fun Springtime duvet and shams look like a painting blown up to 400%. And below, two sweet dresses. I'd like the first one with a cardie à la Mrs. O.

Anthro's Blooming Filigree wallpaper mural is pricey but WOW: this is art. The top gives me a case of the wants -- maybe as a treat when I'm in NYC next week....

Oh, and one last thing: I have something VERY exciting on my calendar for this Sat. Can't WAIT to tell you more about it!!

fabric find

2010-03-10T04:22:44Z

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

2010-03-09T05:14:56Z

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!

opposite of simple

2010-03-04T00:48:46Z

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.

ode to simple

2010-03-01T05:55:27Z

Mud Australia

Sometimes you just don't need gilt or filigree, or carving or cabriole. Sometimes, well, quite often actually, simple is best. Simple is good, straightforward honest design that just makes you go, ahhh, perfect. Nothing to hide, not a bell or whistle in sight. It comes down to quality materials and just enough design, but not too much. You might cheat on simple occasionally, but you will always come back. You can't live without simple. Here's my celebration of the best of simple. Do you have any simple faves?

seating for dining, Ilse Crawfordmortar & pestle, Labour & Wait

brush and dustpan, Labour & WaitFarm table, Design Within Reach

Robin Day chairchinos, Gap

carafe, IKEA

notebook, Muji

brogues, J. Crewstapler, Swingline

laundry tote, Muji

Kulla, IKEA

Canadian flag, designed by George F. Stanley and John Matheson

the spades

2010-02-22T05:00:14Z

You know, it's funny, because I've been seeing the Kate Spade brand expand expand expand -- the jewelry, the fashion, outlet stores etc etc. And while I've been loving it (and even blogged about it here), there was a little part of me thinking hmmm, it just doesn't jive with the "we like to keep it small" philosophy I got from Kate when I interviewed her for an article for the Holt Renfrew magazine a couple of years ago. I shrugged it off thinking, well, I guess if you have such a good thing, you just go for it and pull out all the stops. So now I know the real truth. My hunch was right on the money. The Kate Spade and Jack Spade brands of today are neither of them. The whole kit and kaboodle is in the hands of the Liz Claiborne company. They cashed out. And they clearly did OK by the sale. Kate's living the life as a Park Ave Mommy, Andy's being the cool guy about town doing a lot of everything. Very Interesting! I can't believe I didn't know this until now! Don't think I'll blog about anything Kate Spade again -- 'cause every time I see something Kate Spade I'll always wonder -- but would Kate have liked/done this? -- and I'll never know the answer. Dang.

So now, for a moment just scroll back up and check out this pic of them in their Park Avenue place. Please. They kill me with their coolness. Art on every inch of wall, the gilt mirror, the fine furniture, the fresh colours. Hello -- dinosaurs on the table in the foreground! Andy's outfit: schlumpy cords, button-down and blazer, Kate in cheery yellow with retro bracelet sleeves. I have often thought how I would so love to be a guest at a party given by them. It would have the best music, the most interesting guests and a neverending supply of cocktails. And there would surely be dancing until the wee small hours.

To learn more about Kate and Andy and their biz check out this article in New York mag, which I found through my guilty pleasure The Fug Girls blog here.

who styled it better? smith vs cohler

2010-02-19T06:55:59Z

The console table is second only to the mantel as a tableau for beautiful bibelots. Remember when these 2 images ran in the same issue of House Beautiful? I had great fun flipping from one to the other trying to determine which was my fave. Here's my review.

designer: Cal glamour girl Windsor Smith. photog: Victoria Pearson.

Loves: 1. the table itself is all marble and gilt gorgeosity. 2. the fashion photo - glorious. 3. Orange as an accent colour (but more on that later). 4. the photo composition and lighting are flawless.

Beefs: Styling. 1. jumble of vintage empty bottles - meh. 2. a stack of Hermès boxes screaming at me "Hey, look how rich I am. I've got a bunch of stuff from Hermès!" OK, the colour is fab, but those boxes are the most overworked prop since the chunk of coral. 3. Windsor, why are there riding boots in your master bathroom? huh? I can only think of 2 reasons: either a) you are knocking me over the head again with the Hermès narrative. or b) you and Mr. Smith get up to some shenanigans in your master suite with the wearing of boots. (if so, I don't want to know about it). A styling colleague (and sometime reader of this blog) and I once agreed -- tomatoes and red peppers don't belong in the living room. Likewise, riding boots don't belong in the bathroom.

designer: NYC designing gentleman Eric Cohler. photog: Jonny Valiant

Loves: 1. this console could wipe the floor with the other one -- check out those legs! 2. the art, the art, the art, the art. Um hello, a Picasso etching beside a junk shop sketch. genius. 3. the mini easels. they give great presence to the smaller pieces. 4. The painting leaning on the floor below the table -- nonchalance = confidence. 5. the way the shape of the sculpture echoes the shape of the table legs - sexy.

Beefs: a blossom or leaf or some speck of nature would be welcome here.

So, the winner IMHO is Eric Cohler's lovely console. I know, it's a shocker, especially since the bloggonet is all quivery over Mrs. Smith. But don't get me wrong, her whole place is wonderful, but in the console styling smack down, I'm going with Cohler for the win. BTW, His place is right up my alley too -- it's all Farrow & Ball and Cole & Son and great legs and layering and collections. Am looking forward to hearing him speak in Toronto this week.

inner life

2010-02-16T05:42:28Z

some days feel fuzzy and you just need to put your head down. just because.

photo: Lillian Bassman via Tatar gallery

pursuit of beauty

2010-02-13T15:27:32Z

You'd be forgiven if you thought this was a painting above. Doesn't it look so artfully created brush stroke by brush stroke? In fact, it is a room designed by John Saladino. The interior is inspired by the movie The Girl With the Pearl Earring, but of course there wouldn't have been a movie without the painting. I like these show house type spaces where extraordinary talents are allowed complete creative freedom. Such pure inspiration. I was recently asked to name an iconic design of the 20th century. I'd like to change my answer to the Saladino Lamp. The thing is a small masterpiece.

And finally, some words of wisdom from the man himself:

sources: 1&3: Veranda. 2: saladinostyle.com

feeling like atlas

2010-02-11T23:57:31Z

Some days aren't as good as others. This has been one of those not as good ones. When one is surrounded by words like murder, assault, cheating, lies, suicide and sickness, one can sometimes feel the weight of the world -- and the world is heavy. But a taste of Paris and some magnificent cherry blossoms help a little.

source: the cherry blossom girl