R & R

I havn't been motivated to blog much since my last post because I've been taking some time to recupperate, recharge and re-energize before I dive head first into a major renovation project for a client.  After just completing 2 projects that kept me going at a hectic pace for the past 5 months - I'm mentally and physically drained!  I have so many topics on my mind to write about and so many projects to document and post that its overwhelming at the moment to sift thru and organize those thoughts,,,,,but I'll get to it soon. ; )

I'm one of those people who just goes full throttle,,,,not slowing down or stopping until I run out of gas, or hit the wall,,,,burn out,,,,whatever you wanna call it, then I shut right down.  When this happens I go into serious idle mode and do absolutely nothing at all - this usually involves falling hard into a marathon sleep session,,,spending days in bed.  I could easily sleep around the clock, I've always been a big sleeper and if I go long periods of time without the occassional big sleep, I'll eventually just crash.  My love of a good sleep probably explains why I've become obsessed with bedding lately, there's nothing more luxurious and indulgent and comforting than a bed layered with soft plush linens.

My new favorite store in Toronto is LIV by Au Lit.  Its a sister company of Au Lit Fine Linens but is more of a lifestyle store offerring both fashion and home decor. They have exquisite linens including their own line of bedding, a collection of furniture that's french/swedish/californian inspired along with the most beautiful selection of clothes and accessories I've ever seen in one store.  I'm in LOVE with this store and everything they sell.

Since I'm not quite fully out of my rest and rejuvination mode - I thought it would be a perfect time to share some of my favorite images from the LIV by Au Lit website that reflect the essence of this mood perfectly!

You can also keep up to date on all the newest arrivals at the store by visiting the LIV Blog

All Photos:  LIVbyaulit.com

Back to Brian's Condo - Artisanal Accessories

Vintage Studio Pottery

Furnishing Brian's Condo from scratch in one fell swoop was a challenge in itself, but making it look and feel personalized was the bigger challenge.  You can fill a space with all your major items like sofas, coffee tables and media units,,,even area carpets but until you layer in some artwork,,,,books,,,,,and interesting objects a space will always look unfinished and bare.  There's definitely no shortage of great looking and affordable accessories available at all the retail stores (trays, baskets, vases etc.) and I often rely on those sources for filling in the gaps, especially when starting from scratch but I also really think its important to leave some room for pieces that you'll acquire over time.   I deliberately try to avoid filling a room with all new, mass produced type accessories and make an effort to find at least a few hand made or one of a kind items.  For me, I think its more interesting  to display some old objects, some found objects, some inherited objects, vintage or personal collections all mixed in with some books, photos and artwork.  Its so tempting to just head over to one of the big chain retailers and fill the condo with their pretty accessories and be done with it,,,,,,,and I did start there, with a few basic items but I can't resist checking out vintage shops and antique markets for something more original and unique.

I visited an Antique Mall a couple of weeks ago and was on the look out for some interesting and inexpensive pottery or art glass for Brian's place.  Its a hit and miss process, sometimes you luck out and score some great finds but other times you can spend an entire day or weekend scouring shops and markets and come up empty handed.  It can be a great way to find some really affordable and unique things that have character - as long as your willing to spend some time to seek them out.

My approach when I visit an antique fair or vintage shop is to quickly scan - I'm a scanner, not a browser.  I go really quickly up and own the aisles, focusing on one side at a time while scanning for specific things, 95% of what's there I'm not interested in.  If I'm looking for a variety of different items, I'll make two or three passes, each time changing my focus.  In this case,,,I arrived at the antique mall and I spotted a number of amazing pieces at the first booth, the vendor had a great collection of small studio pottery pieces.  At the end of my 'scanning', which took less than 45 min., I left with a couple bags full of some amazing finds and only spent about $85!  Here are some pics of what I bought that day all of which I plan on taking to the bachelor pad this week.

I picked up 4 beautiful pieces of studio pottery....

I love the shapes, the colours and the beautiful quality of the glazes.  All are hand made and ranged in price from $8 to $15 ea.  

I thought these ones made a perfect little grouping...

I love the imperfection in the glaze on this one, creating a pattern and I was instantly drawn to the pale grey blue colour.

All of the pieces were signed on the bottom.

This is my favorite, the matte finish on the glaze is gorgeous but the detail on the top is spectacular.

This little one was soo tiny but I couldn't resist it,,,the subtle ribbed texture was really beautiful and there's something about a bulb shaped vase that I love,,,but the metalic glaze on this is what sold me on it.  These little pieces are great for placing on top of a stack of books or on a shelf beside a photo....or grouped with other vases as I showed above.

This one had a beautiful shape and as much as I love my neutral beiges and greys, I'm always drawn to the colour green.

This one had an Austrian studio label on the bottom and small initial markings on the rim (yikes,,,this pic is really out of focus!)

Then I found these vintage ribbed glass and teak canisters made by Dansk.  I thought they'd be perfect at Brian's which has some vintage teak furniture.  For only $24, these were a steal and so versatile.  They could be used in the kitchen, bathroom or office and the best part is ,,I've never seen them anywhere else before!

The following week I picked up these two throw blankets for him, the cream coloured cable knit is 100% cotton and hand made, the grey one is a mohair wool blend and I love the fringe detail.  Again, some great texture and artisinal quality.  I thought these were a steal too at $89 and $59 each from Union Lighting & Home Furnishings.

The small finishing touches are finally coming to completion at the condo so I'll have my final after pics of the entire condo soon.

Happy Hunting!

All Photos:  Carol Reed

Dream Home - Some After Pics

Friday night about 1am, it was all I could do not to collapse into this beautifully made bed and sink into a deep sleep!!  Friday was the scheduled completion day for the 70's sidesplit I was furnishing for a single mom and her young daughter.  After a month of planning and 3 months of purchasing, everything was finally put in place and ready for mom and daughter to move-in their personal things this weekend.   With brand new flooring and new wall paint already installed before I came on board this project,,,,my job was to plan the furniture layout and purchase all new furniture, window coverings and lighting to work with the house as it was.  My client was starting from scratch and everything needed to be purchased, right down to the small accessories.  The house is a 3 bedroom sidesplit with an eat-in kitchen and family room.   Her taste....... is very traditional leaning towards elegant and feminine,,,the budget was very very modest considering an entire house needed to be furnished top to bottom,,,and the lead time was extremely ambitious to say the least.

With such a short time line most items had to be ready-made, in-stock options but I did have a few select pieces custom made. So after what was nothing short of a purchasing marathon these past 3 months, Friday was the last day for deliveries and installations and I spent the past week making sure all the final last minute purchases were made and the wallart was hung etc. Although it was early Saturday morning when I had finally packed up all my things and locked the door behind me for the last time,,,,,,,there will still be some more accessories to be sourced (not critical but on the 'would be nice to have' list) and 2 or 3 back-ordered small items awaiting delivery. But despite that, the house is move-in ready and my client and her daughter were excited beyond words when they arrived Friday evening. For me it was exhilarating to finally be done and heartwarming to see their emotional response at seeing their new home and realizing how positively it will impact their lives from here forward on a day to day basis - the happiness they'll enjoy in the house and how many memories they'll make there.

I had a chance to take some preliminary 'after' photos on Friday, however, because the sun had gone down and I didn't have my tri-pod with me, the photos are on the dark side, so sorry about the poor quality but...I'll be returning one day in the next month or so, during daylight hours to take my time and get a full set of photos for each room.  (I like to photograph my projects myself using natural light, and more importantly - without props or staging, using only the things the homeowner actually owns!) Hopefully by then, the rest of the accessories and and final furniture pieces will all be in place.   I'll post those photos as soon as I have them along with the details of each room.  In the meantime, these will have to do!

The Dining Room. With grocery store flowers (that's all I had to work with!)

Mirrored Sideboard in LR/DR

Living Room,,,small artwork over side chairs one either side of sideboard still to come.  More grocery store flowers that weren't in bloom yet!

Living Room

Kitchen Table overlooking family room.

Front Hall,,,a wall of sepia photos on opposite wall still awaiting a pair of benches, and top of this chest of drawers still needs a tray.

Little girl's room with custom headboard, ikea drawers customized with paint and new crystal knobs.  Framed prints still to come.

My favorite room of all, the Guest Bedroom.

Master Bedroom....I'm thinking of raising the headboard a tad higher now that the last minute bedside lamp is in place (I could wright a novel called the Tale of Two Lamps, its easier to build an entire house than it is to find a pair of matching lamps in stock in this city!)

Master Bedroom,,,still some ironing/steaming to do after these shots were taken!  Bench for end of bed will be delivered next week along with second bedside lamp, fingers crossed.  And i'm still on the hunt for some accent pillows...

Family Room

Lots more after pics to come!

All Photos:  Carol Reed