Style & Decor Blog

As my Style Statement on the last page of the hot-off-the-press May issue of Style at Home (our Colour special!), I chose an iconic Danish dining chair that’s been reimagined in a totally trendy colourway: a rich, cerulean blue. It didn’t strike me until afterwards that it’s actually rather rare to come across dining chairs in this hue. Sage greens, yellows and saturated reds, yes; but true-blues (I’m not counting those anemic pale-grey-blues) are only starting to rock the dining room. Let’s take a look at five of my fave options on the market…

I positively adore Camilla House’s bentwood-style bistro chair. In vintage French blue, the Camargue chair’s deliciously authentic looking cane seat and slightly distressed paint conspire to give it that instant heirloom appeal.

Joining the Crate and Barrel lineup this spring is the beechwood  Village side chair in this lovely Azzuro Blue option. Love the vertical slat back – relaxed country, without being corn-cob.

Venturing into style-for-less territory – which in this case, happens to border industrial chic – we’ve got IKEA’s Jules visitor chair; an absolute steal at only $50 a pop.

Pretty in PVC! Another fab find from Camilla House Imports – the Pop Louis chair has contemporary fun with a traditional frame.

And I know I said this bit of Window Shopping would only deal with rich, saturated blues, but Bungalow 5’s Chloe armchair in light blue lacquer was just too pretty to exclude… The chic Chinoiserie frame looks positively dreamy in that shade of blue.

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I’ve been seeing a lot of metal side chairs recently that meld edgy, industrial chic with flea market charm. They conjure up vignettes of powdery, exposed brickwork dotted with wild and unkempt ivy and potted greens; something you might find in the cobwebby corner of an ancient conservatory, rich with atmosphere and history.

Anthropologie’s Redsmith Dining Chair, $219

I love the burnished copper finish of this piece: a bit of warmth that takes off some of the industrial edge.

Crate and Barrel’s Lyle Side Chair, $199 USD

Like a galvanized bucket reincarnated as a side chair. So cute!

You’ll even be seeing this style popping up at your nearest HomeSense in Summer 2010 in the form of this bargain-priced galvanized bistro beauty – priced at only $149! (Keep your eyes peeled for these dying-to-be-a-dining-chair perches, because these won’t last long with that price tag…)

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I’m horning in on Mr. Sleuth’s territory one more time to give you my final wrap up on IDS10, held in Toronto last weekend. First up are my top three picks of the show.

No. 3 The Giant Steel Pinecone. I’m a bit of a nut for a great chunk of yard art and when you combine that with my belief in the pinecone as nature’s perfect accessory, well, this thing has can’t lose written all over it.

No. 2 Well, it was love at first sight when I met her Thurs. night at the gala as you know, and she’s one of the main reasons this booth — Lightform/Metalarte — was an award winner (more on that later in the post). Still love her, miss her…

No. 1 Oh my, it’s as if this was custom designed for me. Thanks Tristan Zimmermann of Science + Sons. So, here’s the deal: it’s called Radio Canada and it allows CBC Radio-addicted householders (that’s me) to switch from Radio 1 to Radio 2 without moving an old school dial through static (if you’re thinking digital tuning and presets already solved this, well, you just aren’t one of us, so skip along now). As a bonus it has MP3 player capacity for when Jonathan Goldstein is on. Anyhoo, this baby is a prototype so click on over to Science + Sons and sign up for the news on when production will begin.

I caught lots of inspiring speakers, including the PechaKucha — loved that! Met the super talented Ingrid Abramovitch and got a behind the covers tour of what it’s like to be the author of a stunning new book, Restoring a House in the City. V. JEALOUS!  Another highlight was being on the judging panel to distribute the design awards for booths at the show. I breezed in there thinking it would take 30 minutes, but more than 3 hours later I was still debating and assessing with fellow judges. I selected in the 400 sq ft booth category but didn’t hesitate to pressure fellow judges into going with my faves in their categories, too, ’cause that’s just the kind of girl I am.

Here come da judges (we even had official IDS clipboards). From left, John Tong of 3rd UNCLE Design, moi, Clayton Budd of 64th and Queen Design Agency.

For me, the challenge came down to which is most important: the product, the installation, the signage or the layout?? Well, I decided to go with product first, ’cause without that, the rest is gravy. So, I chose Lightform/Metalarte (see  lamp above) and Lema as my winners. Lema had just the most beautiful closet fittings I have ever seen. And the stylist in me loved the black paper suit jackets hanging in their closets. One simple idea to elevate the whole presentation.

Boo, this pic isn’t doing Lema justice, but it’s the best I can find.

See you at IDS11, Jan 27-30, 2011. Thanks Mr. Sleuth. - Guest blogger and STYLE AT HOME senior design editor Margot Austin signing out.

Inspired by the fang-like rock formations that drop from cave ceilings, the Stalac Collection Coffee Table designed by The Practice of Everyday Design was one of the highlights of IDS10 in my books.

I love the juxtaposition of fluid, undulating base with the right angles of the tabletop.

Part of the juried Prototype Exhibition at the IDS, I’ve got my fingers crossed that this prototype gets picked up for production in the future. I had the chance to talk to David Long, one half of the creative duo behind Everyday Design, who said a series of vases and a chandelier were next to receive the stalactite treatment… Can’t wait to see them!

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Next up for my series of “Ones to Watch” at the Interior Design Show are twin woodworkers Jason and Lars of Brothers Dressler: up-and-coming “upcyclers” who are turning salvage into a whole lotta sexy.

Name: Brothers Dressler

Home base: Toronto

Claim to fame: Eco-chic custom furniture crafted from repurposed and salvaged objects and responsibly-harvested materials.

Style Sleuth: What does the Interior Design Show mean to you?

Brothers Dressler: “It’s a great opportunity to show our work to a new audience, but more importantly it allows Canadian and local Toronto designers to be exposed to the Toronto market and beyond. It’s an opportunity to bring our small-scale local craft level work to an industry that’s dominated by large scale manufacturing.”

SS: What are you debuting at IDS 10?

Brothers Dressler: “Our limited line of salvaged School chairs, updated and refurbished for the contemporary market as part of Limited Edition in Studio North. We think the elegant and simple constructions from the past are worth saving, so we use the existing strength and function of an old chair and add to its form to reinforce and transform it. We came across a number of chairs saved from a defunct felt factory in a salvage store in the Junction. We saw the potential in these well-used chairs and took all 93 of them. They’re tubular steel frame school assembly chairs with flat maple plywood seats and curved plywood backs. Many interpretations of this chair will come out of our workshop. The frame, seat, back and legs will be old and new, added-to and reinforced to create chairs that will begin again, and avoid a premature end.”

The salvage chairs Lars and Jason bought… (All 93 of them!)

…And after the Brothers Dressler transformation!

Lars and Jason have reinforced the old institutional icon with solid wood braces as new legs. The brothers are offering the legs in a number of solid woods, including Douglas fir (salvaged from a factory torn down in the west end of Toronto), reclaimed elm (from a barn north of Toronto) and walnut (sourced from local, responsible suppliers). By adding braces of different sizes, they can make the chair into a standard 18″ model, tall 24″ dining chairs, 24-30″ bar stools, chairs with arms, and even 4-8′ benches!

SS: What was your last home purchase?

Jason Dressler: “My latest home purchase was an environmentally-friendly California king mattress – the first mattress that I can actually stretch out on!”

SS: Where is design going in 2010?

Brothers Dressler: “Although we don’t subscribe to trends, we’re happy to see more people becoming aware of sustainability and timeless design. We see the direction of design continuing to focus on conscious design, where prospective clients are aware of the impact of where their furniture is built and what it’s made from. Factors like responsible and reclaimed sources, fair wage and local manufacturing and longevity of design will continue to gain value.”

SS: What’s your fave colour of-the-moment?

Brothers Dressler: “We’re always partial to natural colours, and we also appreciate the creative use of bold colours. Warm, woodsy tones combined with the natural green of plants can make any interior fresh and inviting.”

See the Brothers Dressler’s work at the Interior Design Show, January 21 - 24, Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

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Bungalow 5’s Brigitte three-drawer chest is my latest obsession in a string of white lacquer love affairs. Spotted at Toronto’s AT Design the other day, I instantly fell for the graceful, fluid lines of the front facade, adorned with the most gorgeous chrome “tassel” pulls. At only 29″ across, this petite stunner’s perfectly scaled for use as a nightstand… Dreamy!

I was in the DeBoer’s North York showroom recently, and had to take some snaps of their merchandiser’s amazing display in the Trump Home section. (Yes, that’s The Donald’s own home collection.)

The bedroom vignette is certainly stunning enough - but take a closer look at the “wallpaper” behind the headboard…

Those are actually sheets of 8.5-by-11 copy paper, individually tacked to the wall! The merchandiser simply drafted up a motif on paper, which includes the Donald’s signature crest, and photocopied it to create the repeat. What a fantastic and innovative approach to wallcoverings!

This display actually netted the DeBoer’s team a Trump Home award for merchandising. Congrats gang!

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Unexpectedly, my blog post on my hate-on for furnishings with bun feet ignited a firestorm of controversy here at the STYLE AT HOME offices… It turns out, there are a number of bun feet supporters - my colleagues included - who were eager to point out that there are, in fact, tons of nice buns (sorry, couldn’t resist) on the market. Our Senior Design Editor, Margot Austin, shared these beautiful bun contenders with me in an attempt to sway my opinion…

I confess, this first one I love - it’s an example of how a bun foot works well when used in conjunction with an open, airy-based piece of furniture.

This one’s quite pretty, too…

Aight, so maybe I’ll have to temper my earlier opinion, and concede that there are, as Margot pointed out, good bun feet and bad bun feet.

Where do you stand on the great bun debate?

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I’ve been noticing a lot bun feet on furniture recently, and I’ve got to say I’m not particularly chuffed.

Bun feet have the unfortunate effect of making a piece of furniture look dumpy. I can’t help but imagine the legs started off tall and sleek, but were squashed down to that unfortunate overturned egg shape under weight of a massive load. It’s like finishing off a peg pant with a gigantic chunky clog – not at all flattering.

I will concede that bun feet do work in the right context – airy-based, open-legged pieces tend to pull them off better than fully upholstered furnishings. But for your viewing pleasure, here are some of the worst offenders I spotted online… Enjoy.

No, everyone’s favourite pop-tart isn’t launching a collection at Pottery Barn Kids… But I’ve heard she has been dropping some cash there recently while decking out her little guys’ digs.

Rumour has it, BritBrit snatched up…

…The Pottery Barn Kids’ Pirate Bed in a rich Sun Valley Espresso finish. The trundle makes it absolutely perfect for sleepovers. And check out the Pirate Mast & Sail mounted to the wall behind the headboard – what an awesome little detail, and a testament to how thoroughly PBK explores its themed collections for kids’ rooms.

Seriously, how fun is that for a little boy bed?!?

Britney also allegedly picked up a couple of these ginormous Sun Valley plush Santas. This stuffed St. Nick comes in two sizes, as depicted - a petite Pere Noel at 18-inches, and a whopping 40-inch version.

Available at: Pottery Barn Kids

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