http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog Real Canadians decorating Wed, 16 May 2012 13:17:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://feeds.feedburner.com/stylenorth?format=skinhttp://www.stylenorth.cahttp://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/logo.gifstylenorthhttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with FeedLoungeSubscribe with Live.com http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/V-w0qVXsmnY/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/of-bugs-and-butterflies/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 10:50:17 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20193 I was strangely drawn to this beetle, preserved forever in acrylic, when I saw it lurking on a shelf at the wildly eccentric Toronto vintage shop, The Chief Salvage (1493 Dundas Street West). Stocked with taxidermy, faded pennants, old photos, religious icons and a boatload of ephemera, The Chief summoned American designer Thomas O'Brien who has a special knack for composing vignettes incorporating everything from star charts to junk shop castoffs. Priced at $18, the beetle came home with me. It was one of those harbingers like a newly-learned word that suddenly starts appearing in everything you read. Soon, I began seeing beetles and butterflies in vintage shops far and wide.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/of-bugs-and-butterflies/feed/ 1 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/of-bugs-and-butterflies/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/7Tdk_PSye1o/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/anatomy-of-a-great-garage-sale/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 12:39:25 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20254 In response to reader requests for a taste of what's in store at the Wychwood Gallery this Saturday I canvased my hoarder/collector cohorts and received these images of what will be on offer. Nelson, Noguchi, Fabricius Kastholm, Robsjohn-Gibbings are just a few of the bold-face names you'll find for sale at the second annual styleNorth garage sale. Fellow decor blogger Tim Lam of Design Maze is joining the party with a first-rate selection of tasteful goodies including the rehabbed Louis chair above, a range of stylish fabric remnants, a starburst mirror, a rattan coffee table base, custom cushions, and accessories galore. Hope to see you there at the Wychwood Gallery, 601 Christie Street (just south of St. Clair West), Saturday, May 19, 9 am - 2 pm.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/anatomy-of-a-great-garage-sale/feed/ 5 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/anatomy-of-a-great-garage-sale/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/NZNXMmoYLuM/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/philippines-via-dundas-west/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 22:11:06 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20226 On the weekend I made a reconnaissance sortie to Magiks Home Furnishings, a quirky little shop on Toronto's Dundas Street West (near Dufferin). Proprietor Rodel San Miguel was very sweet: "Everything in the store is from the Philippines," he said, "including me." The shop window proclaims, "Authentic. Majestic. Divine." which struck me as a rather odd tagline until I went in and confronted the perplexing range of religious icons and statuary peppered among the plantation-style furnishings and lighting. "The Philippines is a very catholic country," Rodel said solemnly, and then he explained a bit about the Spanish colonial tradition of folk art santos and bastidor sculptures. Magiks' lighting in particular caught my eye: this enormous capiz pendant is $800 and I especially liked the range of woven kabuti lamps.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/philippines-via-dundas-west/feed/ 6 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/philippines-via-dundas-west/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/c9NzQJWDp7E/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/picasso-via-homesense/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 10:41:08 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20196 Last week I was lucky enough to attend the press preview for the Art Gallery of Ontario's new blockbuster exhibition, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris. As usual, I took special interest in the post-show gift shop and I was flabbergasted by the inexplicable selection of faux Parisian tchotchkes and assorted kitchen clutter, most of which had nothing, and I mean NOTHING to do with Picasso. Yes, there were glasses, mugs and snack plates adorned with the master's whimsical line drawings but candles, soaps and pillows? It felt like a Homesense tribute to Paris. Very weird.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/picasso-via-homesense/feed/ 8 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/05/picasso-via-homesense/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/4Z1B7uY1V0k/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/2nd-annual-stylenorth-garage-sale-may-19/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:23:47 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20176 Last year's styleNorth garage sale was such a success we're doing it again May 19 at the Wychwood Gallery in the Artscape Wychwood Barns (Wychwood Avenue, 1 block south of St. Clair West). I've pulled together several inveterate collectors with great stuff to pass along at fantastic prices. We’ve got stools, tables, chairs, rugs, mirrors, art, vases, lamps, decorative items, you name it. Sale starts at 9 am and we’ll be there until the last kick-knack is sold. So save the date and plan to join us . . . please.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/2nd-annual-stylenorth-garage-sale-may-19/feed/ 3 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/2nd-annual-stylenorth-garage-sale-may-19/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/kaWFaObkfg4/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/shade-parade/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:42:53 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20143 When I spotted the lamp through the window of High Park Antiques (342 High Park Avenue, 416.534.3833), it called to me like a glowing, blue beacon. The shop was closed so I phoned and left a message. When the proprietor rang back to inform me that the lamp was still available priced at $60 I committed to taking it, never mind that I hadn't actually seen the piece up close and personal. My new lamp is a Stiffel and when I got home and did a search of 1stdibs.com where I found the examples pictured. That's right, my $60 lamp is a 1stdibs habitué and you know what that means . . . crazy, stupid prices.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/shade-parade/feed/ 20 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/shade-parade/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/kU6AFJgGsQE/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/madame-or-madames-designer/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:43:08 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20136 Estate sale spaces are typically very ho hum and have never before inspired me to create a post but there's an exception to every rule. The image above — attached to a sale being held this Saturday (April 21, 8 am) in Toronto — really made me wonder about the woman who chose to live with the blue walls and the blue and white rug and those chairs, my God, those chairs! Love them or hate them, and I suspect some of you will divide into each camp, they're just sooooo designer. You'd certainly never find anything like them at Elte. There's nothing as interesting as this seating set in the rest of the house, which begs the question, why just this one flight of fancy? Did madame decide on a lark to go up and over the top or did a designer give her a push? And if she was coerced, did she come to love them or did this one risque gesture embarrass her ever after?]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/madame-or-madames-designer/feed/ 12 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/madame-or-madames-designer/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/o5Zc4JvFOeQ/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/take-this-sofa-best-of-cl-toronto/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:39:59 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20127 I've never met Claire Pfeiffer but I love her! Claire is the founder of a terrific little blog called Take This Sofa, in which she scours Craigslist Toronto for the best of the best, a job that makes her readers lives a whole lot easier. Claire sifts through all the CL chaff and brings us the wheat. What I love most about Claire's blog is that she's not just looking for "cheap," she's hunting for value. The Baker sofa shown is $4,000, which definitely isn't cheap but new it retails for $13,500. The Tom Dixon copper suspension lights are on CL for $220 each as opposed to the original retail ticket of $700. And the tiered vintage rolling cart is $125 which is a lot of look and function for the price.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/take-this-sofa-best-of-cl-toronto/feed/ 14 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/take-this-sofa-best-of-cl-toronto/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/DrTVht8ZkcI/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/spring-tulips/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:37:09 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20109 I've stumbled upon a couple of great tulip tables recently that I can't justify bringing home so I'm turning them over to you, dear readers. The black top piece is stunning, a 5/8" thick oval (25" at its widest, 18.5" at its narrowest) of the highest quality black marble with grey/gold veining and a hint of white. What I love is that it could easily serve as a coffee table in a tight spot; it's 18" high so taller than a standard cocktail perch but not as high as most side tables. And the dealer, Francis at Anthemion Gallery (197 King Street East, 416.368.6628) will let it go for just $200.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/spring-tulips/feed/ 2 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/spring-tulips/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/PN--joGdyVY/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/return-to-matchy-matchy/#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:13:15 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=20084 Two of my favourite decor books of the past season were Amy Lau's Expressive Modern and Katie Ridder's Rooms: both designers conjure with confidence creating spaces that whisper serenity and scream luxury. One thing that surprised me about both books, however, was the tendency of the decorators to fall back on matchy matchy solutions that I mistakenly imagined were passé (photo by Roger Davis).]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/return-to-matchy-matchy/feed/ 9 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/04/return-to-matchy-matchy/