Style & Decor Blog

If you’re someone who knows what I mean when I say “Comic Sans Serif” was the un-funniest thing to happen to typography - EVER - you’re probably a typography junkie. The design of written characters is an art unto itself, and has a passionate, cult-like following within the larger pool of design aficionados.

Even IKEA’s jumped on the typography bandwagon with the rather splendid new Olunda framed artwork. I love how the vowels are printed in red, including the deliciously Swedish additions at the end. Did you actually know that the Swedish alphabet recognizes these variations of “A” and “O” as three distinct letters, thus bringing their alphabet to 29 characters? Fascinating! (Yes, I’m a junkie.)

Olunda picture, $60, IKEA

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Pint-sized (they run up to 48″ - perfect for apartments and other small spaces!) and oh-so-so pretty, Pottery Barn has revived its popular faux firs for another holiday season.

Amidst all the glimmer and glamour of the holidays, these petite pines exude a simple charm. They hit just the right rustic note in their burlap-wrapped pots, and look just as great on their own as they do decorated. I’m actually partial to the minimal dusting of pinecones throughout the trio above, which is how the trees come - totally in-keeping with the back-to-basics appeal of the trees themselves.

Here’s my snap of one of the pines in situ at the Bloor Street Pottery Barn in Toronto, sprinkled liberally with Pottery Barn’s ornament collection.

Although I’ll always associate Canadian designer Martha Sturdy with her stunning and pioneering work in resin, she’s recently turned her attention to other materials - including brass. These recent brassy releases from her Vancouver-based studio really struck a chord with me, as I’m on a warm-metals kick and can’t seem to get enough of these autumnal-hued accessories…

Brass Tray #1210, 48 x 5 x 1″

Brass Lanterns #915 (5.5 x 5.5″); #916 (5.5 x 9″); #917 (5.5 x 12″)

Steel candleholders with brass wire wrap, 18″, 24″ and 36″

Martha Sturdy Studio, Vancouver, 604-872-5205

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If you associate fall decorating with dusty garlands of plastic burnt-yellow leaves, you might want to take a look at what I found at Vancouver Island’s Indaba Trading…

This stunning wire garland takes on-trend bird motifs and weaves them into an equally trendy warm copper-coloured wire garland.

“This fall it’s all about bringing the outdoors in and using motifs and objects that reflect the wonder and beauty of the natural world,” says Irene Gillespie, Indaba’s owner and CEO.

I’d love to see this garland on a tabletop, weaving its way through various centerpiece ornaments, or even crumpled into a bird’s nest (pardon the pun) and displayed in a rose bowl… So pretty! What’s more, this garland has seasonal staying-power, and will work just as well over the holidays.

Photography by Felix Wedgwood

Indaba Trading wire bird garland in copper

Price: $10 per three-foot strand

Available at: Urban Barn, Chintz & Co., or Indaba Trading for all stores

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I was chatting with Tommy Smythe from Sarah Richardson Design the other day, and he told me I just had to stop in at Decorum Decorative Finds to check out their malachite accessories.  (Tommy’s crazy about the colour of malachite, and his passion is highly contagious.)

Look at those whorls! The fascinating patterns on this malachite plate remind me of a whacked-out contour map. And that rich blue-green combined with the gold key motif absolutely screams luxe…

A smaller hit of malachite, but no less luxe is this little sphere on a gold dragon/fish plinth. Pure Art Deco deliciousness.

Decorum Decorative Finds, Toronto, 416-966-6829

Did you get your copy yet???

Here’s a smattering of the yumminess inside IKEA’s new 2010 catalogue…

Loving the grey!  IKEA’s pronouncing it the achromatic hue of the year, and you’ll see it on its own and paired with bright colours throughout the book. 

Ektorp Pixbo three-seat sofa-bed in Svanby grey

I’m really falling for the geometric print (Figur grey) on the IKEA Stockholm easy chair. Here’s a detail:

And for all you naysayers who think grey can’t be “pretty”… 

Edland four-poster bed frame in white, Alvine Kvist duvet cover and two pillowcases, Alina bedspread in dark grey, Alvine Rand rug in grey/white/black, Ritva cushions and tie-backs in grey

And of course, my personal favourite… The new Edland series. It absolutely rocks in grey, and the curvaceous leg is a stunning little detail…

Edland night stand in grey

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The pineapple – already recognized as the universal symbol of welcome – just got even more welcoming.

Celebrity scent-master Harry Slatkin has just added this frothy pink concoction to his ever-growing collection of fragranced candles at Bath & Body Works, and I think it’s absolutely adorable. Even once the Island Nectar scent has burned away, you can totally re-use the ceramic pot as a so-sweet stash for pens and pencils.

Slatkin & Co. Island Nectar Figural Candle 

Price: $19.50, 5.5oz ($14.50, 3.5oz.)

Available at: Bath & Body Works

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I’m feeling very Scandi today.

Having come straight from CityLine, where I styled a very merry Marimekko-inspired tabletop (the episode airs Tuesday, July 28th - check it out!), I’m seeing Scandinavian style everywhere - including (new this week!) the stunning Muuto collection at Hollace Cluny.

Muuto is a Nordic design company that hand picks designers from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark for a high-impact line of furniture and accessories that follow a “less is more” approach – products that are light, bright and airy, but also pack wholloping great bucketloads of punch.

Just check out some of the Muuto pieces that Hollace Cluny is carrying…

As I mentioned in Home & Style in the August issue of Style At Home, origami-inspired whiteware is totally hot, and Julien De Smedt’s “Crushed Bowls” is another architectural twist on this trend. “The Crushed Bowls show big-scale architecture applied on small scale objects,” says Julien. “The bowls are composed of equilateral triangles and principles we use for big-scale computer modeling.”

Louise Campbell’s “The More the Merrier Candlestick” marries baroque decadence with spare Scandinavian style - two forces normally at odds with each other, but melded together, make for a striking centerpiece. “As the saying goes, the more elements you join together, the merrier the result,” says Louise. “The design is a blend of the formal and informal.”

Although it’s a sculpture in its own right, Jakob Wagner’s “Flow” is actually a fully functional jug. “With the shape of the jug I wanted to tell a straightforward story about its functional anatomy,” Jakob explains. “A large hole to fill up the jug, a small hole to pour, a low centre of gravity, and a middle area to get a firm grip.”

And how’s this for a splash of summery brights? (After the summer we’ve been having, we can all use a touch of this uplifting hue…) Jens Fager’s “Raw”collection of chairs, side tables and candelabras are made from wood that’s hand-carved with a band saw machine, and finished in an array of vivid colours.

For a “virtual tour” of Susan Fowlie’s impeccably curated collection at Hollace Cluny in Toronto, check out the September issue of Style At Home – on newsstands soon! (Subscribers will be getting their copies this week!)

Muuto at Hollace Cluny, Toronto, 416-968-7894

When I was browsing the aisles of Copenhagen’s Illums Bolighus – hands-down the most impressive store I’ve ever been in…EVER – I came across these impossibly pretty little fine bone china bowls. I was running low on Danish Krone at the time (it tends to happen in the land of the $6 coffee), and I couldn’t put my finger on where, but I was sure I’d seen them somewhere much closer to home…

Only about 3.5″ high, “Gold Dots” designed by great Dane Rikke Jakobsen, stood out from the rest of the amazing offerings at Illums as a super-sweet “small”.

Check out the pretty “Silver Abstract” design, too… Stunning!

So dainty, but such captivating detail in the metallic designs… You can understand my dilemma - to buy, or to wait until I got home to find out if it is indeed available in my home and native land?

Luckily, Rikke Jakobsen fine bone china is indeed available right here in the Big Smoke – just pop down to the 7,000 square-foot Shop at the Art Gallery of Ontario for a dose of these Danish delights!

Art Gallery of Ontario, 877-225-4246; Toronto, 416-979-6660

Making a statement in a home’s entryway is so important. It’s the first glimpse a guest has of your interior, and as such, it’s got to make an immediate impression. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to get away with something daring, as it’s a space that you don’t spend a great deal of time in, and can afford to go beyond beige without getting sick of it too quickly.

The pairing of a console table and mirror in the front hallway is a tried-and-true formula that is both practical (your last chance to check your lippy before you dash out the door, and a surface to toss your keys) and an opportunity to inject some “pretty”.

I was struck by the pretty pairings of consoles and mirrors this morning while touring the showroom of Barrymore Furniture. Their visual merchandisers have really got a handle on how to pair these two front hall furnishings without falling into the “matchy-matchy” trap. Just look at these stunning vignettes…

I love the exotic eastern flavour achieved by pairing the glamorous gold leaf bombe chest with an artisanal painted glass mirror. The radiant metallic chest would be a perfect solution to a dark and dreary foyer.

Ooh, shiny! (I’m such a magpie!) Mirrored furniture is still so hot, and against a backdrop of luscious lilac, it brings the notion of a beautiful boudoir to the front hall. I like the subtle nod to trendy chain-link in the mirror frame.

Stunning Chinoiserie wallpaper from Cole & Son frames the white lacquer pairing of Christopher Guy console and mirror. Gotta love those curves! 

A similar pairing, but in black. I like how the striped-paint treatment on the demi-lune chest redefines the traditional form of the piece.

Alright, so this is a piece of art in lieu of a mirror, but the idea’s the same. The symmetry makes for a truly arresting arrangement.

All pieces, Barrymore Furniture, Toronto, 416-532-2891