Monthly Archives: June 2012

handling magazine storage

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 30 Jun 2012 | 2 Comments | 802 views]

I love my magazines. I love the way they sit neatly in piles on my bookshelves. I love when I get a magazine in the mail and I get to crack it open and enjoy the exhilarating process of turning the pages. But they are starting to take over! I will soon run out of space on my shelves, and I don’t want to start a new pile anywhere else – it looks right just the way it is.

I also love Pinterest, and if you click on it you will see my page. I get to ‘dog-ear’ as many ‘pages’ as I like and it doesn’t take up any extra space! This format is so different than any magazine could ever be, and while I love both, it’s the magazines that give me the biggest thrill.

But in the end, it is a space issue. So the other day I started going through my old magazines again. I start with the oldest ones and look for those dog-eared pages and rip them out. Or, as I just discovered, I could google the image and if I find it, voila, it gets pinned on my Pinterest.

Best of both worlds for sure!

What do you do with your magazines? Are you a magazine junkie too?

beautiful. ethical. sustainable. that’s what lilikoi is all about

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 27 Jun 2012 | No Comment | 420 views]

Lilikoi is a company out of Nelson, B.C. with beautiful eco-friendly products. While a lot of their products are gorgeous fashions, they also have a few home products that I love, like their organic cotton throws. But what brought me to this company was an interesting little story.

On June 10th I blogged about my new blue chairs in my kitchen. My friend really liked what I had done so she ‘liked’ it onto her facebook and her niece, the owner of Lilikoi, thought my friend had done her own chairs. A week later a package arrived at my friend’s house with four beautiful fabric napkins… in the same blue!!

My friend knew those napkins just had to unite with the chairs, so at Yoga class this morning she gave them to me. They are the most beautiful, soft napkins I now own – and in a colour that naturally I think is awesome!

Here they are along with some of Lilikoi’s unique home products. So sweet!

golf course – country club colours

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 25 Jun 2012 | 2 Comments | 659 views]

I was at a golf course today considering the re-design of their tired yet practical spaces. It won’t be a total overhaul as budget comes into play. There is a lot of nice oak, and even some quality sofas and chairs that might be saved with some new fresh fabrics. I need to do something classic and traditional that will appeal to a wide range of ages and personalities.

So I contemplate – I dream of velvets, damasks, chenilles and colours that evoke wealth without pretension.

It’s quite the task but I am looking forward to the challenge! I hope they choose my services so I can continue to dream, and ultimately create, all the changes that will hopefully make most, if not all, of the visitors very pleased!

Here’s my start…

a place i call my own

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 22 Jun 2012 | No Comment | 445 views]

It is important to have a spot you can call your own, even if you have to share it sometimes. Make it yours for those special moments that you can capture in a day by adding things you love and give you comfort. Create it with your needs in mind whether you like to sit and read, knit, do crafts or like woodworking – whatever it is you do (or wish you had more time to do) – and make it yours.

Here are a few that just speak volumes of the special people that created them.

Reading nooks are awesome for rainy days:

A place for everything:

giving your foyer the wow factor with a black door

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 20 Jun 2012 | No Comment | 753 views]

I love the idea of really making your front door pop; inside and out for that matter. But even if you have a plain Jane door, try a little black. Black paint almost always adds a wow factor.

Here are a few awesome foyers – all with a black interior door! Pretty wow, right?

my new bbq – adorable little webster

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 17 Jun 2012 | No Comment | 2,057 views]

My adorable new Webster BBQ is actually not as small as it looks. After we brought it home yesterday, my husband put it together just in time to cook up some salmon, steak and vegetables for dinner. Loads of space and it cooked phenomenally! Nice even heat.

But I have to say, my first attraction to this little Webster was not only the name, because I here that is the make to get for longevity, but because of its looks. Yes, I bought a BBQ because I liked the way it looked first. Just so glad it also happens to be a good little BBQ for us and our cooking needs.

This first one is my new BBQ. Check out the settings of a few other awesome looking BBQs too. I can’t compare my cutie to those, but hey, I’m happy!

Shopcastr – the independent store’s place to be!

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 14 Jun 2012 | One Comment | 530 views]

Shopcastr is the place to be if you have an independent store. It is neatly organized and fun to visit often. And there is a little heart button that you can click on to add items to your personal wish list. But what I love most about it is that if you see something you like, you know you can get it. Like right away if you want!

Check them out. And don’t forget to bookmark the page so that you can visit on a regular basis to see all the updates and great new stuff that gets posted hourly, if not more often! Shopcastr

Here are a few of my favourite finds. Naturally I like the home stores, but there is so much more too!

bistro patio sets for tiny spaces

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 13 Jun 2012 | No Comment | 707 views]

If you have a small deck or terrace, you gotta have one of these adorable and practical bistro patio sets.

Here are a few great stores in Toronto for you to find your own little gem of a set. Since I was inspired by a box in the window at Shoppers this afternoon, I will mention them, but you might like to also check out Moss, Indoors and Out, Home Sense, and even Canadian Tire and Ikea for some inspiration and great little unique sets.

Table for two anyone?

my new blue chairs

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 10 Jun 2012 | No Comment | 897 views]

I did it – I finally painted my 25+ year old Windsor chairs. They are wood and continue to be solid and in style since they are a classic. I got them dirt cheap from a supplier in Montreal when I had my first place; and I can’t believe I still have them!

I had bought six chairs back in the mid-80s, and several years ago two were painted black. Only four fit around the table so the two black ones ‘roamed’ around the house much easier. I liked them painted but it took me until very recently to know the other four just had to be painted too. Black was too boring, so I went for my new favourite colour – turquoise-blue!

I only have them in my kitchen for a day now so I am still getting used to them. I know I like the colour but at times walk into the room and it feels a little too bright. Maybe I just need time.

What do you think? I know I can always paint them another colour and I know I’m not disappointed they are not wood anymore, so time will tell how long they stay blue; if they go to a classic white or black; or if next year I have a new favourite colour and they become that!

bold bathroom tile

[POSTED BY: Toronto Designers | 7 Jun 2012 | One Comment | 1,272 views]

White bathroom tiles are safe. Sure there are lots of styles and textures to choose from, but for some, perhaps it’s too safe. I admire the commitment non colour-phobes can make and am always thrilled when a client is sure they do not want white, or any neutral tile for that matter. Here are a few examples of creative and gutsy tile applications that I love, if for nothing else, sheer confidence!