Blog - cobistyle

my style icons

2013-05-06T15:50:30+00:00

We all admire other women’s style - especially the glamorous ones. Here are four women that I hold high upon the style pedestal: (should we Canadian ladies worry that they’re all American?) Charlotte Moss - Interior Designer Extraordinaire I love the Fabricut advertising campaign that they did with Charlotte… The fabric collection is wonderful too… I love her because she does gutsy interiors with tons of personality…

rainbow connection

2013-04-22T15:54:21+00:00

Right from the time we’re little kids, we’re exposed to colour. It brightens our world and excites our senses. That’s why we continue to have fun with colour as adults. We enjoy it in all kinds of unexpected ways. At unexpected times. And unexpected places. Colour inspires us. And turns everyday things into…

surface chatter

2013-04-08T11:00:29+00:00

Decorating can be daunting - decisions that are costly - not only financially but also in time. Sometimes it’s easier to just make-do with boring stuff and forget about it. Well here are two products that will get the decorating buds going again. Neither is expensive. Both are easy to install yourself and best of all, both will bring more character to your rooms. 1) Chasing Paper - “stylish, removable wallpaper for the urban home”. I haven’t personally used this product but here’s what the website says: “Peel it, stick it,…

warm up to black and white

2013-03-25T16:59:46+00:00

You don’t need me to tell you black and white is huge in fashion this Spring. I suppose it’s always ‘in’. But I find black and white at home can be harsh, even cold, if it isn’t used with a splash of colour…. Or perfectly-imperfect naturals… I like to use it outdoors for the same reasons - the sharpness works great against the organic look of nature and it’s elements…

how one sad laundryroom got happy

2013-03-11T11:00:53+00:00

When we renovated our house last year, I decided to throw in a little tune up to our laundry room. We’re in an older home with a devoted laundry room in the basement and there was no way I could justify the cost of moving it upstairs (or find the space) but I had no trouble justifying the cost of some new tile, paint and decorative doodads to make me feel better when I’m doing the deadly deed. God knows it needed it… So - how to spruce up a yucky…

curtains for cobistyle ~ take II

2013-02-25T10:59:08+00:00

In case you haven’t heard, cobistyle is back in the drapery business! I wanted to scroll you through the patterns we chose for our debut collection - starting with this fabulous blue and white ikat print - so fresh! For a little more subtle look, I love this faded paisley in denim blue and earthy red, printed on a natural, slubby linen. Like something more crisp and colourful? We have a multi-coloured ikat that will work with many solid shades you may already…

be my Chinese Valentine

2013-02-11T17:40:13+00:00

Gung hay fat choy Sweetheart! This past weekend I hosted my (now annual!) Chinese New Year party but this year I merged it with Valentines to give it an even rosier glow. At first I thought it would be an odd combo… …but it worked surprisingly well! Have a look… First the invitations - I found Happy New Year cards (with pink envelops!) at T&T grocery store. They were only $1.49 each and quite beautiful. I wrote the invitation…

soft sell on high performance

2013-01-28T11:00:08+00:00

As you may have seen before, I have a corner banquet in my kitchen for family meals. The shot above was done for H&H magazine in 2005 and you can see by the number of pillows, it was styled more for the camera than family dinners. After a few years of use, and more spilled milk than we’d care to remember, the fabric on the seat cushion was looking a little worse for wear. No, I will not subject you to a ketchup-stained “before shot”….but I will show you the latest “after” as…

cottage around the corner

2013-01-14T11:00:30+00:00

One of the privileges of being a magazine editor (as I was for many years) is that the odd time, you get to feature something of your own personal experience. This home sits around the corner from my own and I have always admired it - as most people in our neighbourhood do. A few winters ago we captured it on film for Gardening Life magazine. The use of red against the winter snow is fantastic and looks great well beyond the holidays.…

ring in the new year - loud and clear!

2012-12-31T11:00:27+00:00

I don’t know if any of you remember seeing my collection of vintage noise-makers when they appeared in House & Home magazine way back in 2004. I collected them for years but seldom seem to find them anymore. I guess I have enough anyway (39!). They range from ‘very old’ to ‘not so old’ - I can tell by the graphics and wood vs. plastic handles, plus where they’re made - Taiwan, Japan, USA and Germany. Apparently some are actually worth a fair bit more than the few dollars I spent on them.…