These fab frocks aren’t destined for any catwalk… They’re crafted from wallpaper! The clever cut-out confections are part of York Wallcoverings‘ drool-worthy display at the Heimtextil 2009 home textile trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany. Which one is your fave?
From left:
Flocked Floral in Black on Cream, Candice Olson II Collection (CX1304)
Selene Glass Bead Scroll on Teal, Bella Rosa Collection, Antonina Vella Designs (LS6156)
Carla in Purple With Metallic Silver, Francesca Collection, Antonina Vella Designs (TX5392)
Price: From approximately $88 US per single roll
Available at: Ontario Paint & Wallpaper, Toronto, 416-362-5127.
What a horrible start to the new year… I actually felt sick when I heard rumours this morning, and an Associated Press story confirmed my worst fears this afternoon. Waterford Wedgwood has just filed for bankruptcy protection… This comes in the iconic china and crystal maker’s 250th anniversary year, and sets a terrible tone for the year ahead. If Waterford Wedgwood — a name that epitomized quality and style for two and a half centuries — couldn’t survive this global recession, what’s around the corner? It’s been suggested that the lines may continue under new owners, but it almost certainly spells the end of Waterford Wedgwood’s British manufacturing plants. So sad…
In the February 2009 issue of STYLE AT HOME — subscribers already have this in their hot little hands! — I’ve featured the gorgeous Murano glass designs of Steve Jensen in our Home & Style column. I had the opportunity to meet Steve himself at the gorgeous Joan Eiley showroom a few months back, and found his passion for the thousand-year-old art of Murano glassmaking absolutely contagious. It truly is one of those situations in which the story behind a product is as beautiful as the design itself!
DID YOU KNOW…
* In the 13th century, glass production moved to the island of Murano to protect Venice from glass furnace fires, and to safeguard the secrets of the Murano ‘maestros’.
* Trainees in the technique of Murano had to live on the island for the rest of their lives, allowing them to hone their skills.
* Gas bills for Murano glassmaking furnaces are now upwards of $300,000 a month — hence the hefty price tag.
* During the Austrian occupation of Venice in the 19th century, Murano glass production came crashing to a halt, so as not to compete with the Austrians’ own Bohemian glass empire.
* Aventurine is a form of Murano glass spun with gold.
Fascinating stuff!
Photography by Tracy Cox
Orchidea 22-inch candlesticks in Carnelian, 32-inch Marco Polo lamp in Gold with parchment shade
Price: Collection starts from $1,020
Available at: Joan Eiley, Toronto, 416-968-0778
Samantha Pynn is back at STYLE AT HOME, having wrapped the first successful season of Pure Design on HGTV, and she’s laying down the law on holiday decorating! Just how long is it acceptable to leave those holiday lights strung up? Samantha gives her opinion on HGTV’s Question Of The Week!
Have you visited Etsy yet? It’s an online community of artisans — a bizarre bazaar, perhaps? (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase!) — and a fantastic source of unique gifts. While prowling the site the other day, my friend Jenn came across the Etsy space of New Zealand artist Trixie Delicious who takes vintage china and reworks it in totally irreverent and unexpected ways that she calls “Vandalized Vintage”. These adorable tea cups and saucers are frumpy Crown Lynn pieces from the 1960s adorned with seven heavenly virtues in heat-fused ceramic paint. So fun! A word of warning, though — some of the content on Trixie Delicious’s Etsy page runs a little on the racy side, so I’m gonna have to slap a PG-13 on this one. 
Seven Heavenly Virtues Tea Set
Price: $175 US
Available at: Etsy
Palette #3: ” Unexpected Synergy”
Hadley Red HC-65 (chimney breast)
Dried Mustard 2158-10 (adjacent walls)
Gray 2120-10 (base)
“For the daring and adventuresome seeking a design statement that surprises, delights and jolts all at the same time, ‘Unexpected Synergy’ uses the power of colour to achieve unique patterns,” says Benjamin Moore Canada’s colour and design manager, Sharon Grech. “The ‘Unexpected Synergy’ palette unites intense, warm colours with cooler, organic neutrals. It’s a palette that could serve well when a room refresh is called for, rather than a complete recreation.”
Available at: Benjamin Moore, 800-361-5898
So… Which of these three palettes strike your fancy?
Palette #2: “Nature’s Essence”
Timid White OC-39 (right wall)
Sea Haze 2137-50 (left wall)
Pale Avocado 2146-40 (ceiling)
Sharon Grech, colour and design manager for Benjamin Moore in Canada, says the “Nature’s Essence” palette is all about bringing the outdoors in. “Palest tints are inspired by sand, shells and hazy skies. Deeper organics are borrowed from peat, rust and exotic fruits. Raw materials help tell the interior story of Nature’s Essence.”
Available at: Benjamin Moore, 800-361-5898
The January issue of STYLE AT HOME is hitting stands now, and that means it’s paint predictions time again! I’ve opened our Home & Style section this time around with a gallery of hues that the various paint companies are forecasting as faves for 2009. Each of Canada’s major paint manufacturers have design teams who keep and eye on colour trends — largely influenced by couture — and it’s always cool to see how creations for the catwalk translate into colours for the home.
Benjamin Moore has summed up the look of 2009 in three different colour-trend stories as part of their “Colours For Your Home 2009″ colour card that will be available at retailers in the new year. Which one is your fave? I want your verdict on each!
Palette #1: “Personal Imprint”
Black Satin 2131-10 (fireplace)
Gossamer Blue 2123-40 (lounge area)
Brookside Moss 2145-30 (home office nook)
Does the code “CC-40″ mean anything to you? Chances are, you’ve painted your ceiling and/or trim in this colour — better known as Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White — at some point over the past 20 years. The iconic warm-white was, for a very long time, the *only* white in the Canadian design community, and a staple of any design show’s “Ask An Expert” solution to your decorating dilemmas. But why this particular white, amongst the hundreds of options out there? Maria Killam, a Vancouver-based colour designer, addresses this very question in her lovely blog, “Colour Me Happy”. Check out Maria’s tips on how to get white right, and exactly when in the design process that white should be chosen.
What’s your fave white? I’d love to hear from you!
Tickets always make for a great gift, in my opinion. Buy someone a pair of tickets to an upcoming show, and more often than not, they’ll feel obliged to take you as a guest. Nice how that works out, isn’t it?
For only $16 a pop, available throughout December, you can order tickets to the Canada Blooms Flower and Garden Festival online — a thoughtful prezzie for any greenthumb on your gift-giving list. From Wednesday, March 18, to Sunday, March 22, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre becomes a haven for horticulture’s latest and greatest: a staggering six-acres of plantable projects and expert advice just in time for spring seed-selection. What a great stocking stuffer!
Ticket price: $16 each ($18 at the door)
Available at: Canada Blooms
