Spring is in the air and new product arriving .......

Well finally we are over what was a long winter again....Spring is somewhat in the air - next weekend it is easter and we have filled the store with lots of new product....and oddly enough for a person who is afraid of lots of pattern and colour...I brought in some amazing new pillows......

Inspired by Anthropologie - the oversize pillows are linen backed, down filled and quirky......the butterflies, moths, bugs and animals come in an array of styles and add a great pop statement to your home decor

New chairs - like the classic Concierge chair in burlap and black nail heads show case the bold blue butterfly pillow - chairs like the one below - a classic french style in weathered oak with an interesting orange ( of course) coral pattern

One of my favorite pillows is the Zebra print below......neutral in look but a great statment piece

and who can have spring without the glory of birds.......

Stop by to take a look.....and Happy Spring

LOVE THE DESIGN

Love the design is now open....I was lucky enough to watch Christine Flynn transform the space next door at 1362 Queen street east from the old H&R block to what it is today.
Opening officially last saturday - the space houses her resin finished photographs - Vintage inspired and true to Christines aesthetic, as well as a mix of Industrial inspired furnishings, Modern Eiffel chairs in Acrylic against an old door table, Burlap covered chairs and a great collection of Steam punk lighting.

the cloche light is a steal at 195.00 with exposed filimint bulb

The space is awesome - the focal wall as you walk inside the door is Christines painstaking 30hr project of old book pages arranged in only the way an artist can do all over the wall....it is accented with the steamer engine piece of art which again is true to form of this talented artist.

Christine takes inspiration from many things - the industrial edge is a hot look right now in design and the space is really reflective of it.. The touches of Gold - which have almost become a signature of Love the design is even transferred on her logo in the window.

As you all know from me writing about Christine before - Horses were some of my favorite - the dyptich of Levi the horse is spectacular - the 2 pieces make you feel like the horse is breathing on you....

Welcome to the hood Christine

http://www.lovethedesign.com/

The reveal of my ceiling......

When I moved into my new store space a couple months ago - it was a great space with school house lights, old tiled floor - good walls and character but it had the standard drop ceiling. I had fallen in love with the space because of the size and the simplicity of it and wanted to be able to change my look, my aesthetic and the overall feel.
It was not until Christine of Love the Design - who is moving next door to me removed her drop ceiling and our landlord had said that there was initially tin tiles under it.
Christines ceiling was drywalled over top - but I had taken a quick peek under my tiles and saw this mustard coloured ceiling. I could not live with myself - knowing that above me and under the pathetic tiles was this awesome ceiling waiting to be exposed. So I hired our contractor and lo and behold the reveal ( oddly enough I sat at my desk for almost 2 weeks pondering whether or not to do it) who could resist?

The detail of it is amazing - who would have thought that back in September I would move into my dream space and then have my dream ceiling. It is so beautiful. I come in now everday still in awe - a little dwarfed feeling as my ceiling is now 14ft high - but it is awesome...

My next steps are going to plaster the wall where the colour meets to look like an old french storefront - with aged walls - the back corner of the store already has it so I will copy the version to give the feel.

Someone came in the other day without knowing what the feel was supposed to be and she commented that she felt like she was in Paris. - Thats the feel. My aesthetic has changed to of course my Hermes Orange but also to old French and the feel of modern day France - my store is true to me - true to how I look at aged pieces and true to how I see modern - I am so happy with this space and cant wait for Christine to open next door...

so sources for doing this on your own....there are lots of replica ceiling tile places - authentic and old ceiling tiles can be purchased at http://www.legacyvintage.com/ 12 x 12 vintage tiles are a very inexpensive 6.00 each.
Post and Beam in the Junction carry antique pieces http://www.pandb.ca/ as does the Salvage Shop on Kingston Road.

New tiles are available online - Home Depot, Rona, Lowes etc all carry them. They are easy to apply and come in either tin or plastic and can be painted any colour.

A trend toward Orange.....Equestrian and Hermes




this is Hermes ad campaign for India

 

I guess inspiration comes from many things....my children inspire me daily, my store gives me inspiration - even my husband gives me inspiration.....lately it has really been all about Hermes....I know it sounds odd...but I received a shipment of Vintage Hermes boxes from Germany - they are currently sitting in my store window stacked like the ones I saw in a french magazine...they are awesome - I look at them daily...who would have guessed I would be inspired by orange boxes...

I now have developed an infatuation with the Hermes Orange....everything I see all around me is linked somewhat to the Hermes Orange - new blogs, tv, magazines, everything - it seems that the trend has led itself to orange, horse themed decor and well you guessed it Hermes...

People have been trying to colour match the Hermes box....one of the blogs posted a Benjamin Moore swatch that is pretty close. Electric Orange 2015-10 - a client of ours just did there kitchen in Benjamin Moores Tangy orange and I know Nancy loves the colour - her cabinets are all white and her walls are the wonderful tone of tangy orange.
I have been leaning towards painting furniture in a high gloss orange for an instant pop of colour - found the right person to spray the pieces now just need to take the plunge.

Mario, the kids and I are moving in March - the new house has a ceiling height of 20 ft or so in the living space - we will have the loft space upstairs and now are looking for a different inspiration. For those of you who saw our house in the Sept Issue of Chatelaine - some of it will change, whose kidding who...,most of it will change.  I have been inspired by the high ceilings and the odd shapes in the house to lean towards a clean mid century look with over the top french - something like you would see in Elle Decoration magazine. - The room above has a beautiful painted headboard in Hermes orange that is the great pop of colour. - Kind of great.




this is also great - an Hermes orange upholstered headboard

 Flipping through Living Etc - they featured stairs and runners, the space below is so cool - to be daring enough to add the Hermes orange runner and take the step would be ....well...awesome

When I think of how many years I loved Robins egg blue and how successful the colour was for me - I would never have guessed I could give up on it so easily. The orange has been like home - it is a friend - it is cheery and vibrant but also zesty and warm - it is a colour I would never have guessed I would have liked - but it has brightened my outlook on what is out in the design world and left me with a sweet citrus taste.

I need to end with the rest of the Hermes Campaign for India - the photos are stunning and quite comical.....

Oh and one last thing.....delivered the other day via courier was the absolutely wonderful messenger bag....you might have remembered that I wrote about it the other postings.....the Hermes Steve Messenger bag...it is so freaking awesome you cannot even imagine...I was in the Loblaws yesterday and a lady came up to me to say how beautiful it was....today another compliment.....let them keep coming - because it is worth it....

The New Year brings in a touch of Orange

While off for the Christmas Holidays - I took some time to check out other blogs, and companies that we currently deal with to see what was new and exciting out in the industry.

Not suprisingly I found that the colour Orange has made a strong comeback.....sorry to the robins egg blue that was my friend for 7 years...but my orange - specifically my Hermes Orange has brought me more inspiration and given me a whole new direction with my store. Hermes released a new Mens Collection which included the Steve Messenger bag - named after the actor Steve McQueen - it of course comes in neutral colours like black and grey...but who could resist the messenger is Orange...

Hermes Steve Messenger Bag




Looking at what was coming New into the furniture market - I checked out the Furniture Mart in Las Vegas - similair to the furniture show in Toronto but on a huge scale. A couple of our suppliers have come out with some awesome new orange pieces. This one was a stunner - I think Mario and I both looked and thought...OMG where could it go?

Talk about amazing, the details on this bed even if it was not in Orange is still spectacular.

This same company calls their furniture Art - not furniture - obvious to see why - they are very careful to pay attention to details. There is a full line of acrylic chairs that put the ghost chair to shame. In this line is a collection of tables, side tables, ottomans and more - there is choice of fabrics that you can put - the orange velvet is the same orange as Hermes and really is quite beautiful



This is 100% New Zealand Wool rug from the same company which can also custom design anything you want



For those of you who are interested in the Mid Century era - which I actually feel like I am liking more and more - not all of it but the classic pieces - these are now available and I will probably carry some in the store.



the classic Eiffel chair in orange with wooden legs



One of my favorite pieces comes from Global Views - they are also know for quality pieces and are on the trend list in many of the top magazines - this wonderful desk is another of Mario and my OMG's and graced the cover of Neiman Marcus this past winter. The pale coloured wood - almost weathered looking is beautiful against the orange leather - again another keeper and something that would add such impact in a bedroom....Maybe Carrie from Sex and the City 2 would not have minded if Mr Big put the TV in this desk instead...

Last but not least ...I cannot leave without saying something about Fossil watches...now I know it is not furnishings - but i bought myself an Orange Fossil watch just before the holidays and it is complimented all the time - they have others which I just found on line and have been designed for Fossil from Philippe Starck....and again can I say.....OMG

Inspiration comes in many forms....I am always inspired by my children and my husband and had never really thought I was inspired by colour until I actually focused for a little bit....and my little touch of orange is and really has become my inspiration....This is the week my collection of Vintage Hermes boxes are arriving in my store and I cannot begin to say how excited I am to get them....I have had many things delivered - but who would have guessed that I would be inspired and excited for a bunch of empty orange boxes....

My Inspiration - A little Orange Box...

Years ago when I opened my first store my inspiration was the Robins Egg....I did Robins Egg blue for almost 8 years and when looking for the inspiration of my new store - I found myself drawn to packaging.....now we are not talking about any old box here....it was the colour of the Hermes Box...rich orange with chocolate brown ribbon that drew me in - who could resist that....

I guess those of you who love Tiffany's could react, as the Tiffany Box is as popular an inspiration...the perfect blue the shade of turquoise almost... I guess both of these boxes, as both of the stores are tell tales of rich....wealth etc...but for those of us who cannot afford an Hermes Bag - specifically the one that I am coveting as my new messenger bag... the box is equally kind of satisfying  ( well sort of...if you have to settle of course)....I searched sites to see about buying Hermes boxes only and found that there are many of us out there who love boxes and using them in decorating not only for inspiration....

How can I resist?  I have been on the hunt and found a vintage clothing store that sells Hermes boxes......now the dilema is ...when do I stop? I could fill my store with them and who knows what else...I am a bad collector..I do not like to wait for a collection to gather I want it and I want it now...so I searched Ebay, Etsy, any site and found some more...even bought some from a store in Germany....so my problem is...how many more do I need?

 

Well..I guess when they all arrive I will know what I do...my first thing will be my window display I know that for sure..but does it really matter...I just love them and if it makes me happy...I am sure it will also make someone else happy...it surely did the person I bought them from.







This will be me one day...skinny legs and all







Our Twist to Christmas Decor

I am lucky enough to have grown up with traditions and I wanted our children to have the same, this week was Nicholaus - the nite of the 5th our children were supposed to polish their shoes and in the morning - the visit of St Nicholaus would bring them chocolates etc or if they were bad...then Black Peter would come and bring them a stick...after talking to a bunch of others who share this tradtion - we were all petrified of Black Peter - so we didnt even discuss this with our kids...plus really - would our kids be bad?

Mario and I also talked about the christmas tree - I wanted it to be magical for our kids so we set it up on the Nicholaus nite and when Mari-Sol and Benji came down in the morning they saw this magical tree.....I will always remember Mari-Sols reaction and how sweet it was...

For our house though -we had worried that Benji would rip the tree down and all the ornaments would break....so I went on the lookout for not only a colour scheme that would match the new tones of our house but something that the little man could not destroy...

Overall....shopping at Canadian Tire, Zellers and the Dollar store....would never have guessed that our tree could look sp wonderful and truly not look like they are mass produced unbreakable ornaments..

We carried the orange through the house in decor - those of you who read my blog also know that I spray painted the one wreath in orange - as pictured on the cabinet in our living room....

The one thing I do have to note is that orange is so not a traditional colour and yet it looks so beautiful in the tree and around our house..I love it and am pretty confident in saying it is probably my favorite of our trees so far