Style & Decor Blog

“NO WIRE HANGERS!!!”

An absolute must-have for anyone who’s ever shrieked along with Faye Dunaway in 1981’s camp classic, Toronto designer Bev Hisey’s “Mommie Dearest” carpet is equal parts luxe and irreverent. Rather like Joan Crawford, I’d imagine.

Hand-knotted wool with a fetching design of interlocking silk knotted hangers, I’d love to see this installed in a walk-in closet, as Bev herself suggests.

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Happy New Year!

The Interior Design Show is just around the corner (yes, they’ve brought the date forward this year!), and I’m already getting pumped to make the rounds, browse the booths and see the amazing schedule of speakers they’ve got lined up. My favourite aspect of the Interior Design Show, though, is the opportunity to meet some of Canada’s rising stars in interior and product design. Some new names to know are already emerging in the pre-show buzz, and one of the ones I’m watching is Katherine Morley, a Toronto-based industrial designer working primarily in textiles and ceramics. I had the chance to chat with the talented Ms Morley a few weeks back, and just had to introduce you all.

Canada, meet Katherine!

Name: Katherine Morley

Home base: Toronto

Claim to fame: Textile and ceramic design with a creative twist on Canadiana

Style Sleuth: What does the IDS mean to you?

Katherine Morley: “The IDS has evolved for me over the years. In my pre-design years, as a young homeowner, it was an outing I’d look forward to all year long. I would literally pack a bag with a weekend’s worth of snacks, and have an IDS marathon, exploring, researching, planning, and of course, shopping! Later, as an industrial design student, it became a magical place of possibility. Being there was exciting and very intimidating. I would walk down the aisles barely daring to wonder what it would be like to have an exhibit there. Now, my first year IN the show, it’s quite an honour to have been chosen to take part in both Studio North, and the Weaver’s Art “E.R.A. Evolution of Rug Artistry” exhibit, in which my “Une Affaire de Coeur carpet will be unveiled. I responded to an open call for submissions, and “Une Affaire de Couer” was selected as one of the 10 winning designs. It feels like a huge step in my career as a designer.”

SS: What else are you debuting at IDS 10?

Katherine: “My ‘Low Profile Bowls’ - a series of large ceramic bowls honouring great but under-celebrated Canadians - will be part of Limited Edition at Studio North. First in the series are Celia Franca, Pierre Berton, Jane Jacobs and Chief Dan George. The subjects have been carefully chosen not only for the quality, but also for the broad scope of their accomplishments.These are true Canadian luminaries that too many Canadians have never heard of.”

Celia Franca bowl, view of underside

Celia Franca bowl, from top

Chief Dan George bowl, view of underside

Chief Dan George bowl, from top

SS: What was your last home purchase?

Katherine: “I recently design a wall-unit and had it built by Space Furniture, using reclaimed wood from Urban Tree Salvage. The wood was salvaged from a recently torn-up Toronto Whart. It’s 400 year-old pine, which had been submerged since the late 1700s. It’s beautiful, and incredible to have that much Canadian history sitting in my living room!”

SS: Where is design going in 2010?

Katherine: “This is the decade in which Canadian design matures. In the ’10s, Canadian designers will begin to explore the more subtle aspects of Canadian identity, moving beyond the likeable but tired stereotypes. Canada is a sophisticated and diverse nation, and deserves to be represented globally by high-quality, innovative Canadian design - no mascots required. On that note, the emergence of the Toronto International Design Festival (TIDF) is a big step in the right direction. We needed an official, coordinated international design event to call attention to the fact that design is thriving in Canada, and has been for years. We just needed to put a name on it and embrace our own excellence!”

SS: What’s your favourite colour of the moment?

Katherine: “Any colour that reminds me of candy.”

SS: What else have you got on the go, in addition to the IDS?

Katherine: “This year marks the inauguration of the Toronto International Design Festival (TIDF), and I will be involved in two other TIDF shows as well. For Radiant Dark ‘10, I’ll be debuting “Saving Seas”, which is a series of porcelain objects designed to replace harvested coral and other reef life in hobby aquariums. The pieces also “survive outside the tank”, and can be used as vases or decorative objects. Also, I’m once again co-curating Come Up To My Room, Toronto’s largest annual alternative design event at the Gladstone Hotel.”

See Katherine’s work at the Interior Design Show, January 21 - 24, 2010, Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll bring you more names to know among the Rising Stars of the IDS!

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Sometimes seeing how something’s made can alter your enjoyment of the finished product. As much as I love hot dogs grilled on the barbeque every summer, for instance, I never, ever want to see how wieners are made. Ever.

On the other hand, when it comes to fine furniture craftsmanship, seeing the artful process of how it’s manufactured can enhance your appreciation of it, elevating something as taken-for-franted as a simple slipper chair to a true work of art.

Last week, I had the chance to go behind-the-scenes at Toronto’s Barrymore Furniture to see how their soft furnishings are made, and it just reinforced the beauty of their custom collection of sofas and armchairs.

It all starts, of course, with fabric. Barrymore offers a huge selection of upholstery options in their own fabric line, as well as high-end threads from the likes of Robert Allen and Kravet. Just take a look at their sample room… So pretty!

…And behind-the-scenes lies Barrymore’s fabric storeroom. Bolt after bolt of trendy textiles. Before it’s cut, each length of fabric is completely unrolled and inspected for quality control on a giant roller.

The selected fabric is then cut (by hand!) according to draft forms. These racks contain all the templates for each sofa and chair model Barrymore carries.

Springs are hand-tied into position into the (heavy – but so durable!) hardwood frame in preparation for upholstery. Barrymore uses a special string that resists that annoying “squeak” after you’ve been plunking down in the same spot for a number of years.

Exposed wood elements of the furniture frame are taken to the spraying room for stain treatment. Doesn’t this look like a Star Wars set?

Now we’re ready for that upholstery…

This is what tufting looks like – from the side of the chair we never see!

…Et voila! A completed sofa, upholstered in a lovely Larry Laslo fabric.

These particular sofas are on their way to various Canadian embassies all around the world! (Nice to see Canadian diplomats abroad still remember to buy Canadian!) Kind of cool, as well, to think that dignitaries across the globe are able to enjoy Canadian craftsmanship each time they visit the embassies!

If it looks like they’ve got the process down to a science, there’s a reason: Barrymore’s been at this for over 90 years now. What a great “Made in Canada” success story!

Barrymore Furniture, Toronto, 416-532-2891

Photography by Daniel Harrison

I got so much wonderful feedback from my “From A To Zoo” story on the animalia-decorating craze in the May 2009 issue of Style At Home magazine, and one of my – and your! – fave elements of the feature was the gorgeous Galbraith & Paul “Birds” linen fabric hanging on the right. Natural linen, hand-block printed in muted citrus yellow, orange and green, it’s a work of art in its own right.

But if you thought it was pretty against a window, take a look at this…

That’s right… The Birds print (on silk, this time) is being applied to a funnel pendant lamp shade at Galbraith & Paul’s Philadelphia, PA, headquarters. 

And here’s the finished product, to the extreme left of this grouping of Galbraith & Paul’s silk funnel pendants.

Love it!!!

Check out the other stellar shapes in the Galbraith & Paul lighting collection…

 Galbraith & Paul Hex Pendants

Galbraith & Paul Drum Pendants

These pretty pendants are available at 2Modern – a U.S. etailer that ships to Canada. Yay!

Lighting images courtesy Galbraith & Paul

I don’t think anything could prepare me for the experience of dining at a waterside cafe in Nyhavn. A harbour canal in Copenhagen (the name “Nyhavn” literally translates into “New Harbour”) that’s dotted with moored old sailing ships, it’s possibly the most atmospheric place in the Danish capital. It’s along this canal that world-famous fairytale writer, Hans Christian Anderson, lived for a time; but now it’s packed with posh eateries and antique shops.

Most of the houses along the canal are more than 300 years old, and have been restored in breathtaking colours (some of which actually reminded me of the new Hacienda Style palette from Pittsburgh Paints that I mentioned last week). A feast for the eyes! 

One of the sweetest surprises of dining on the canal? Once the evening chill sets in, restaurant staff provided us with blankets so that we could remain outdoors. Naturally, they were IKEA.

What a thoughtful idea for your next al fresco soiree! 

Here I am modeling the latest in Nyhavn evening wraps with the fab Olivia Stren. (Thanks to Canadian Living’s Karen Kirk for providing the shot!)

Irma 67-by-51″ fleece throw blanket, $4, IKEA

If the colour green was issued a report card, it would most certainly read, “plays well with others”.

When I was presenting a floral seminar recently, I suggested to the group that they start thinking of green as a neutral. Of course, there are different undertones to each green that make certain hues work better than others in a space, but the point I was making was that it’s much easier to “go green” (chromatically speaking) than you may have thought.

I was chatting with my good friend, IKEA Canada’s National PR specialist (and former Style At Home Associate Design Editor!) Tamara Robbins Griffith about this the other day, and found a fellow fan of this totally on-trend colourway.

“Green goes with every other hue,” Tamara says. “It integrates easily into existing decor, not just as accessories, but in larger furniture pieces as well.”

I asked Tamara to share her fave friendly greens currently in-store at IKEA, and she prepared this hot list for me, along with a few of her expert tips on how to make the most of these summery shades…

Karlstad sofa, $500, Karlstad sofa cover in Korndal green, $299

“Pick cushions that have different patterns or colours on each side,” Tamara says. “It’s like having two pillows in one!”

Jorun cushion cover, $6

“Bird motifs are playing a major role in home decor right now,” Tamara raves. “Textiles with nature-inspired patterns are perfect design fodder for drapery panels, roman shades or bedding.”

Cecilia cotton textile, $3/metre

Green is, of course, more than just a colour, Tamara says – it’s also a state of mind. “Stackable chairs save storage space as well as transportation emissions,” she points out. “This makes them a more environmentally-friendly choice.”

Urban chair in green, $50

All available at: IKEA, 866-866-4532

Woah.

Talk about a match made in heaven.

Check out the new Marimekko collection of custom IKEA furniture slipcovers from Bemz… Without a doubt, the best fabric options Bemz has put out yet.

Hello, fuchsia! What a striking statement piece… (Bemz also scores extra points for styling this shot with my all-time favourite bowl in the background - the red, stemmed Maribowl from Iittala!)

Marimekko is a Finnish design studio that absolutely epitomizes “freshness”. Their designers have basically defined the superchic Scandinavian modern aesthetic that’s now a global phenomenon.

Marimekko’s poppy print (”Unikko”) is probably the studio’s single most iconic contribution to design. Here, it breathes new life into IKEA’s Henriksdal Parsons chair.

And here, IKEA’s Klippan sofa gets the Unikko treatment.

There’s only 13 days left until these very merry Marimekko upholstery options are launched from the Bemz website… Check out the live countdown here!

I’ve been doing a lot of antique hunting lately, and have fallen hard for antique embroidered table linens. There’s something about a stately monogram that elevates an already stylishly-set dining table to epic levels of elegance. 

That’s why I decided it was time to splurge for my very own, old-school, hotel chic, crisp white monogrammed napkins. But where to find them?

Monogrammes, in the historic downtown of Port Hope, Ont., is renowned for custom monogramming (even home retail giants like Elte and Ginger’s Bath employ their services for custom embroidery), stitching lovely letters onto everything from table linens to cushions to handbags. 

Above, you’ll see some of the samples they prepared for me in my hunt for the perfect monogrammed napkins… I’m so cited! Such an amazing assortment of styles… Which one do you think should I choose? I think I’ve made up my mind, but want to hear your thoughts first…

Embroidered hotel napkins, $36 per set of four (What a steal!!!)

Monogrammes, 14 Ontario St., Port Hope, Ont.; 866-239-9967

Let’s face it – we’re more inclined to be pulling the “staycation” this summer. Instead of flying to some far-flung, sun-drenched vacation resort, we’re going to invest in our own nest and hunker down in our own private havens.

But that doesn’t mean abandoning glamour, of course. Even in the depths of a gloomy economy, you can bring the look of a haute hotel terrace home with a few well-chosen bargains from HomeSense. Yes, ladies and gents – that vignette above is strictly style-for-less stuff, pulled together entirely from HomeSense!

Here’s the lowdown on those low-priced, high-style outdoor essentials:

Outdoor daybed, $1,300

Metallic cushions, from $20 - $35 each

Decorative handblown glass vases, from $10 - $15 each

Glass ice bucket, $50

Coming soon to a HomeSense near you!

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Bargain hunters, be warned. You will covet the fantastic finds I recently scouted from the HomeSense summer preview… Because really, to borrow a phrase from those inane credit card commercials, “Can you afford not to”?

Ready? Let’s go!

High-gloss ginger jars, from $25 each

If you only buy one accessory this summer, make it a ginger jar. “Must have” is a term that’s over-used, but these shapely stunners really do work just about anywhere.

Embroidered cushions, $25 each

Crewelwork and embroidery are hot hot hot, and it’s rare to see such elaborate stitching at such an amazing price point… Snatch’em up!

Etched-glass drinkware, $4 each

Taking design cues from on-trend Moroccan tea glasses, these little gems would make for lovely votives as well.

Retro-inspired glass goblets, $3 each

These beauties will have your guests wondering how much you’ve just plunked down for antique Depression-era glassware. Borrowing the jewel-like tones of those 1930s antiques, but updated in a global medley of pressed-glass forms, these goblets are a surefire way of introducing a splash of summer to any tabletop.

These pieces are trickling into HomeSense locations across the country… Happy hunting!

Check out HomeSense or 866-466-3707 for the location nearest you!

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