Antiquing: Vintage Finds

My favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon is to go for a drive out of the city in search of antique sales.  Sometimes I'm looking for something in particular for a client, other times I'm just browsing for whatever catches my eye.  I love to scour thru the smaller items and seek out mid century treasures.  I came home from this trip with a bag full of goodies with no particular reason for buying any of them other than I was attracted to their form, colour or texture.  I'll hold on to them to accessorize a clients space, or give away as a hostess gift, or use in my own home.

Mid century glass bowl.  I'm always drawn to the fluid shape and the movement of these pieces, I couldn't resist this one in a smokey gray.

Teak barware (I think they're teak?) I scooped these up in a split second, I'm crazy for the form of the handles and the beauty of the natural wood.  One of the corkscrews is stamped 'made in Japan' the others are unmarked - how cool would it be to tie one to a bottle of wine for a hostesss gift! (If I could bare to part with it).

Studio pottery.  My eyes are always peeled for studio pottery you can pick up some original hand made pieces for only a few dollars.  

I definitely have a thing for bowls, mainly because they're just so super functional and so beautiful to look at.  I couldn't resist this small one with its tortoiseshell looking glaze.  It now lives on a tray in my front hall and is collecting coins.

A small mid century glass dish in fluid smoky gray looking glass. I like these on a stack of books or side table filled with candies or nuts or in a bathroom filled with soaps.  A pretty interesting piece for only a few dollars.

Austrian crystal candle holders.  They just look like chunks of ice and will bring a beautiful sparkle to any table top.

As usual, I want to keep all of these finds for myself.......but instead they'll stay packed away awaiting the perfect place for them to shine again.  Well, except for the tortoiseshell bowl, I'm keeping it.

All Photos:  Carol Reed

Modern Love: Living Room Progress I

Living Room - In progress

Yesterday I spent the day overseeing the installation of some draperies and furniture in several rooms for a project I call "Modern Love" that I wrote about a short while ago here.  I'm working on six different rooms at the same time for which there are still several things on order and now, there's a bathroom reno added to the list (as of yesterday!) so I'm doing the installations in stages.  In the living room yesterday we delivered and installed draperies, area carpet, ocassional tables, lamps and a large abstract canvas (partially seen on right wall) then this room will be complete after one more installation.  I'll be adding some framed photography or artwork on the wall opposite the sofa (above a pair of lounge chairs that you can't see in the above photo), a side table for the day bed, a couple of floor lamps, a throw blanket, some accents pillows and a few small table top accessories.   

Some designers do a complete room install all at once but I prefer to see all the main elements in place first so then I can assess and focus on all the smaller accent pieces needed to pull it together.  I think there needs to be a degree of flexibility in the plans for those unexpected finds or 'impulsive must haves' that allow the room to evolve in its own way.  Often some of the best things about a room are those unplanned or unimagined additions.  I also always find that once a client sees the room at this stage, and they love everything, it makes the process of selecting all those final accent pieces so much easier for both parties - they'll have more confidence to just let you 'do your thing' and you have a clearer vision of what's needed to make the space sing.

It was a long day and although its still a work in progress,  I love to see the pure happiness on my clients face when they see the room at the end of the day.  My happy young client was beaming as he stared at his almost done living room,,,,,remembering what it looked like when he bought the house.......

  

Living Room - Before.

......this is what the living room, and pretty much the entire house looked like when my single bachelor client became the new owner of this large suburban family home. Yikes.

Its come a long way baby,,,,,,,and he's come a long way too, new baby and all!

More updates on this and other rooms coming soon.

All Photos:  Carol Reed

IDS 2011

Light Installation by Commute Home

In case you were one of the few design enthusiasts who didn't make it to the Interior Design Show in Toronto last weekend here's a limited mini tour of what caught my 'eye-phone' while I walked the floor of the show over the course of two brief visits.  To my eye most of what I see at the show isn't new to me because I frequent showrooms regularly and am pretty familiar with all the newest and latest.  What I enjoy seeing at the show are the ways the products and items are interpretted into creative exhibits, and inevitably,,,, I also do see a couple of 'new to me' sources from out of town.

Without a doubt I'd have to say one of the most common trends on display was the colour black. Black walls particularly, in fact probably more than half the exhibitors incorporated black walls in their booths.

My favorite exhibit space of the show was the Ikea booth where they had designed and built a 900 s.f. kitchen.  The entire kitchen was black. 

 The kitchen had black cabinets, black hardware, black counters, black tile backsplash, black appliances.  It was stunning and dramatic and all the different textures and sheen levels made the single colour work.  If you want to use an 'accent colour' to create impact, black is a favorite for me that I think works better than blue or green or red which in this case for an entire kitchen, wouldn't have the classic look, sophistication or longevity that black has.  Personally I get bored of strong colour very quickly and I think it gets tired and dated very quickly.  So I think the popularity of black is that you get that graphic impact that you'd get with a bold colour but its neutral.  Its moody and dramatic, it can be nostalgic or edgy, its always chic - so that has to be the feel you're after,  and don't ever attempt to use a lot of black in a space unless you pay extra attention to lighting!  Floating above and continuing the length of the kitchen was a sea of paper laterns.

Natural woods and various jars of food items make a striking display against the black metalic tile backsplash.  I loved that everyone else loved this kitchen as much as I did - it received the Gold award for best booth.  A perfect example of how you really can be creative and make a design statement with product regardless how much it costs!

Commute Home always has some of the most innovative lighting and furniture I've ever seen.  Their booth at IDS simply consisted of this striking metal rod light sculpture inspired by hydro towers.  Althoug this lighting is displayed in an abstract way, it can be installed in a variety of settings as the L15 Spike Chandelier- I've seen this fixture suspended over a dining table, its STUNNING - for sure, my favorite 'product' at the show.

Another favorite of mine were the products at the 18 Karat booth.  Natural, organic and hand crafted elements seemed to be the theme, I was crazy for these wood bowls.  

This row of chairs used as display shelves were cleverely hung on......... a black wall.

The accessories were all displayed like pieces of art atop the sculptural like chairs.

You know how much I love Style Garage and Gus Furniture,,,their modern industrial Canadiana styled booth was definitely one of the most popular with the crowd.  I've been a fan for years, and this booth made me fall in love with their product and philosophy all over again!  Note,,,, the black wall.

This sculptural bookcase was an eye catcher.  It was made of corian, and was the feature wall of the Selene furniture booth.

Personally I was surprised to see UpCountry at IDS.  After virtually being non-existent on the design scene since they were taken over by new Management a few years ago, they resurfaced at IDS featuring a new collection designed by Brit, Timothy Oultan.  You might recognize the look,,,Oultan designs a collection for Restoration hardware so its no surprise these pieces bare a strong resemblance to the new RH 'hand crafted' artisan look.  It certainly made for a theatrical looking display at the show but for everyday residential use I think pieces like these (union jack sofas) come across as very "staged" or unauthentic.  Everyone seemed to be raving about this collection, but quite honestly, it just doesn't appeal to me.... 

The Style At Home booth was a standout amongst all the dramatic black,,,the innovative use of colour was a clever way to show off their new Beautitone line of paints.  The entire exhibit was refreshing and utterly creative.  You can read all about the inspiration behind the design of the booth by Margot Austin here. 

Snob, always a favorite.  

The colourful display of dishware at John Paul & Co. was irresistable.  This collection is by Missoni.

There were several other exhibitors I was fascinated with which I didn't get booth photos but I can tell you natural wood slabs or planks were the common denominator I was atttracted to - mostly featuring hand crafted joinery techniques in clean contemporary silhouettes. 

The consultation tables at the IDC booth where I was participating in Design Dilemma consultations with the public.  The entire back wall of the IDC space was also.....black.

 If you weren't able to make it to the show and you'd like to see more, just google IDS11 or IDS2011 and you'll find links to many feature articles and blog posts by journalists and other bloggers.

All Photos:  Carol Reed