and more about me...

Hot off the presses, the September issue of Canadian Living magazine featuring - me and my house of crazy stuff. Imagine my delight when I was contacted by editor Karen Kirk saying they wanted to do a feature on me and my digs. Well, more specifically, my possessions. It's a great read (if I do say so myself) so run don't walk to your nearest newsstand and get a copy.
Perhaps it is because my work in both interior design and prop styling requires that I report on and shop for the newest decor trends that for my own home I prefer the old, well-loved, full of character, and unusual things I don’t see everyday or in magazines that just make me smile. My Aunt Vi and Uncle Chet started to recognize my love for antiques and such years ago when during one of my visits to their home in Cape Cod we hit some antique shows. Antique dealers themselves they loved that I was so interested in so many things and started to send me “guess what this is” presents for holidays. They always found the perfect thing to keep me guessing such as a glove stretcher, a chainmail pot scrubber, cherry pitter, and last year it was a counter mount nutmeg grinder that is easily 200 years old along with a lovely Victorian sterling silver tea strainer which was part of my aunt’s collection. My work still keeps me sourcing the latest decor styles but my new project lets me marry my love for unique finds with that current aesthetic. While still working as a prop stylist, my newest project covetgarden.com, (which September 1) is an intimate look into the homes and lives of Canadians with inspirational style.

me likey

Check out these hand-printed, assembled dollhouses from Petit Flaneur. They come with assembled furniture, made of birch micro-plywood and all inks are water-based and non-toxic. You can even have them custom make dolls! I could have mini me and Lily. At what age is one too old for a doll house?

my house

Sometimes I forget how much I like my home. I get so caught up in other peoples stuff, shopping for stuff and writing about stuff that it slips my mind. The other day photographer and friend Jodi Pudge asked if she could shoot a couple of things in my home and of course I said yes. When I look at these pictures they make me smile. I don't have a house full of designer objects in carefully laid-out, newly- renovated rooms, but I do have a space which I'm happy to be in. Sometimes I forget this because work is too busy or work is too slow but when Jodi took these pictures it allowed me to see what she sees, what I sometimes don't see, my house is pretty darn fabulous.

design show 2010

Okay, so the Toronto Design snore - I mean show - was a couple of weeks ago. My friend Jess and I decided to go check it out and basically we were both disappointed. Too many taps and fireplaces not enough 'new'. Also, for some bizarre reason, more than a few booths decided to play loud 2000 club music. There were a few things I liked well enough to snap some photos starting with Jess holding a note book titles, fuck you and your blog which cracked us both up. Loved the dresser from north on sixty made out of reclaimed barn board. A beautiful 6 foot long pine cone made from weathering steel. Gorgeous wood and ceramic "But-tee" lamps in every colour by Tahir Mahood - f anyone is wondering to get me for my birthday - look no further. And, Heidi Earnshaw's handcrafted wall unit filled with lovely treasures.

dreaming of spring

Winter is back. after many lovely days of plus temperatures today it is cold, windy, snowy and all things miserable. So, to turn my thoughts from grey to warm sun-filled days, here is a sampling of yellow happiness.

bed time

Sleepy, so sleepy. Lily still thinks we are on day light savings time and wakes up promptly at 6:40 every morning. This isn't so bad most mornings but today I really, really wanted another hour of sleep but once I'm up there is no goings back. Couple this lack of sleep with the fact that it is foggy outside - no sun what so ever and, well, all I can think of are beds, big, comfy, come sleep in me-beds. And, the first one comes courtesy of Anthropolgie Toronto, it was all I could do to keep myself from crawling into it.

piecework textile show

Spent some time checking out stuff at the piecework textile show at the Gladstone hotel yesterday. Two artists in particular caught my eye, the first, Anna Zygonski. Anna screen prints her illustrations on reclaimed fabric and sweater pieces to create mitts of various styles that are unique and affordable. Second, Nathalie + Terra of Fluf sustainable designs made from chemical-free hemp, organic cotton and wool. Their bags and pillows were pure eye candy for me plus, you can buy their fabric from their studio.

bed time

My friend Sarah has been in Cambodia for almost a year. She has been in Kampot town, a small fishing village in the south that we stumbled across and fell in love with while we were traveling together 2 years ago. Recently, Sarah has gotten sick and in order to see a doctor she had to travel 6 hours north to the city of Phon Phem. Sarah's last letter was not about how she was feeling or the amount of traveling she had to do to see a doctor but how much she loved having to stay in a hotel with soft pillows and a comfortable bed. So, in homage to Sarah here are a few beds which I would gladly travel hours to sleep in.

sigh

Although contemporary design is something I truly appreciate it's a little too cold and impersonal for my taste. That being said I am ga-ga over this design, in particular the garage door-style wall which opens flat to the ceiling expanding the inside-out. My friends Rhonda and Scott are renovating their home and I am going to suggest they implement this idea. And, yes I am aware that our Canadian weather and wildlife might not lend itself well to this concept but Rhon loves squirrels and so having them running around her living room hiding peanuts (most likely given to them by Rhonda) before the snow falls might be considered a plus.

day dreaming

Once again I find myself day dreaming about spaces so lovely that I have to pretend - if only for a moment - that I live there. So, if it were at all possible then the front of this house in Melbourne would have a back yard ( and guest house) like second image. Then there are the last two shots from apartments in Paris - come on, by honest, I'm not the only one who dreams like this am I?

paper lovelies

Linda Filley's paper couturier dresses are extraordinary. Using newsprint, discarded gift wrap, and scraps of paper, Linda twists and rolls, folds and pleats these stunning costumes onto life-sized wire dress forms. If you are planning on being in Rhinebeck, NY you can check them out in the windows of the specialty stationary store - Paper trail.

todays favs.

Sometimes a pretty picture can make my whole day. And, when that picture is of simple, well loved, beautifully aged, unexpected objects then my eyes just dance all over them.

happy friday

I knew that September would be the new July. People didn't believe me when I said it but who's laughing now. The weather has been delightful and I'm giddy from all the sunshine.

outside - in

I love Amy Butler. I love her stationary, fabrics, patterns and her overall design style. So, it is really no surprise that I also love these flower-inspired carpets she created for Chandra. Simply gorgeous.

total cuteness

Check out these fruit-shaped sticky notes by D-BROS. And, as if they aren't cute enough already, you can buy them individually or in crates of 6!