http://stylenorth.ca/blog Real Canadians decorating Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:25:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 en 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/oqx260GBP-E/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/03/how-could-i-say-no/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:37:30 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13589 I know you're not supposed to buy art to match your sofa but how about a rug? The minute I saw Scott Young's textural blue photo, left, I knew I had to have it for my kitchen to go with those amazing flat weave carpets of mine. Scott's image of an old door at the Distillery District received honourable mention in Toronto's Building A Great City Together photo contest. I tracked Scott down and he was most obliging -- he sold me the 11" x 17" print, matted and ready to frame for just $99.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/03/how-could-i-say-no/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/03/how-could-i-say-no/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/wR7PgMPbsRQ/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/with-a-little-help-from-my-friends/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:45:05 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13565 Mike moved out on Saturday leaving me with what felt like a nearly empty apartment. Of course, it wasn't empty at all, it had been stuffed to the gills before the movers arrived. Fortunately, my dear friends Nicola and Victor dropped in Sunday bearing breakfast and flowers and even more importantly, muscle. I needed help moving the bird's eye maple credenza out of the office and into the living room where it ably filled the vacuum left by the dearly departed Louis XV settee. The room isn't functional at all without a sofa but by God, it looks good.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/with-a-little-help-from-my-friends/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/with-a-little-help-from-my-friends/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/NgSg7YnVMZ4/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/ah-wilkens-tries-to-fill-the-auction-gap/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:03:56 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13192 If nature abhors a vacuum so does the auction business. WIth Ritchies in bankruptcy new kid on the block A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals is stepping in to fill the gap, or would be if they could get their proverbial shit together. In my in-box this morning was a notice about the next AHW decorative arts auction, which happens to be TONIGHT! How about a bit of notice boys? Maybe a weekend-long preview to give folks a chance to peruse the goods?]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/ah-wilkens-tries-to-fill-the-auction-gap/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/02/ah-wilkens-tries-to-fill-the-auction-gap/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/X-Zhc5F8iYo/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/discount-standards/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 11:12:11 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13534 Mike and I popped into a swish bedding store on the weekend in search of a sheet set to go with our amazing new crewel-work duvet cover. We found an expensive set of ivory sheets marked down 25 per cent but not even the discount made them affordable. This got me thinking about my discount standards and I came to the conclusion that generally speaking, I need be saving at least 30 per cent off the suggested retail price before I'll reach for my wallet. How about you? How big a price break do you require before your trigger finger gets itchy?]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/discount-standards/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/discount-standards/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/-nMgrWa-rLQ/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/continuum-transformation-inspiration/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:07:20 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13510 Continuum, a new decor store at Pape and Danforth in Toronto, is not what I expect from a "vintage" shop. For one thing, a lot of the inventory isn't especially old, it just isn't brand new. And much of the stock has been reborn under the fearless direction of store owner Daina Liepa who has a definite knack for updating tired furnishings.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/continuum-transformation-inspiration/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/continuum-transformation-inspiration/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/cDiYieLxHTE/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/brave-new-kitchen/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:30:39 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13498 Mike and I spent yesterday afternoon installing a couple of recent purchases at the new apartment. We've had the amazing chrome table base for a few years but just last week we scored a spectacular marble top on Craigslist for $200. The vivid flatweave rugs were originally joined along the long side to make more of a square (St. Lawrence Market, $100) but we've elected to break them up and use one as a runner in the galley kitchen. It's weird to have the kitchen set up while the adjoining room is a riot of boxes -- the room will be our oasis of promise amid the chaos of the move, inspiring us to make the rest of the place just as exciting.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/brave-new-kitchen/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/brave-new-kitchen/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/_GKksxf7DQA/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/caution-decorating-ahead/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 11:15:55 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13488 Welcome to 2010! And what better way to start a new year than to pack all yourworldly possessions into boxes and cart them across the city to a brand new address. Mike and I are ushering in the lunar Year of the Tiger by moving house, which means there will be lots of decorating in our future. We're already hard at it actually, having made a couple of big-impact purchases that I'm dying to unveil.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/caution-decorating-ahead/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/caution-decorating-ahead/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/gTA5zm1jcOM/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/guest-post-fabulous-fornasetti/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:10:31 +0000 Troy http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13426 Apparently, not everybody loves Fornasetti as much as I do. When I proposed this piece to Chris, he made a face and said, "Ew, I don't care for Fornasetti at all." Love him or hate him, Pierro Fornasetti (1913-1988) was the most prolific designer of the 20th century. There was a major retrospective of his work at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 1991, however, it has only been in the last decade or so that there's been significant commercial interest in his work.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/guest-post-fabulous-fornasetti/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/guest-post-fabulous-fornasetti/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/2AU9E9J7MjI/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/holiday-windows-at-the-bay/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:09:45 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13428 One of my fondest Christmas memories is my family's annual trip downtown to see the seasonal window displays at Toronto's duelling department stores, Eatons and Simpsons. The window unveiling was a newsworthy event in 1960s Toronto and crowds gathered on the snowy streets to see the curtains pulled back to reveal merry, mechanized scenes of the north pole come magically to life. This year, I was happily surprised to see a lively moving display in the windows of The Bay's flagship store at Yonge and Queen Streets (former home to Simpson's).]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/holiday-windows-at-the-bay/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/holiday-windows-at-the-bay/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stylenorth/~3/L-wIJpGO3V0/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/o-christmas-tree/#comments Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:17:05 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13419 I spotted this poinsettia Christmas tree in the lobby of my dentist's office last week -- isn't it amazing? If red and green are the colours of Christmas then this tree has the season all sewn up. Poinsettias are native to Mexico but they grow wild all over Central and South America. In Brazil, I saw poinsettia trees 40-feet tall! Some folks are suspicious of the potted plants believing them to be poisonous, especially to pets, but my research suggests there's actually nothing toxic about poinsettias.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/o-christmas-tree/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/o-christmas-tree/