I’ve been in some gorgeous furniture showrooms and Toronto’s Barrymore can hold its own with any of them. A case in point is the updated neoclassical vignette, above, which caught my eye during a quick fly-through on Monday. Conceived by Anita Pastor, Barrymore’s showroom design director, this particular space was inspired by the work of renowned international designer Juan Pablo Molyneux using the latest furnishings from Italy’s Rho Mobili D’Epoca; the backdrop for it all is a hand-screened Fornasetti wallpaper called Riflesso from Cole & Son.
The hook for me was the Greek key table and rug, but delve a little deeper and you’ll see that scale and balance have as much to do with this room’s success as the quality of the individual pieces.
One thing that surprised me was how much thought and preparation went into what some people might take for granted as just another furniture showroom. When I called to ask about the vignette, Pastor offered up a two-page description of the tableaux that carefully outlined all the furnishings, fabrics and inspiration. Rooms with this much oomph don’t just happen.
“Barrymore is known for its traditional stylings,” says Pastor, “but we strive to update our looks with contemporary concepts, colours and fabrics. With this space, I was trying to evoke a lavish Italian penthouse and imagined that the wallpaper mural was the view outside the windows.”
What impresses me most about the space is the degree to which Pastor nailed the scale of everything. The candlestick table lamps ($790 each, reduced from $990) are tall but fine and the brass is a welcome antidote to the silver and black palette. The fuchsia silk wakes up the otherwise traditional wing chair ($2,520) and the colour references the coffee table without being slavishly matchy.
The space is grown up and expensive but not stuffy–at least I don’t find it so. The Rho coffee table ($6,840, reduced from $8,550) is modern in its execution with macassar and black glass insert, the edges are silver leafed, a detail that’s echoed in the finish on the Jansen French carver chairs ($1,625 each, reduced from $2,030). The Molyneux sofa ($6,160) is upholstered in a new Barrymore fabric called Onyx, a silk blend damask in silver and charcoal. The rug is $2,855, reduced from $3,570.
If you find this vignette as inspiring as I do and you’re in the Toronto area, definitely give Barrymore a boo. Right now, the store is holding a “Once in a Lifetime” 90th anniversary sale with discounts up to 60 per cent off.
Leave a Reply