http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog Real Canadians decorating Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:34:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/01/welcome-2012/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/01/welcome-2012/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:21:01 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=19432 How sweet it is to be greeting the new year in my new home. Never mind the chaos of clutter and boxes lurking at the edges of the frame below, I'll get to that soon enough. The important thing is that my move went off with nary a hitch on Friday thanks to the amazing Tome brothers, John and Joe who I've used for my past five moves. Lightning fast, the Tomes and their two young assistants showed up at 7:30 am and were on their way to their next job at 11:15 am. If you're in the Toronto area and you need a mover I cannot recommend these guys more highly -- totally reliable, totally professional (416.802.8266).]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2012/01/welcome-2012/feed/ 13 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/10/cleeve-horne-house-that-sinking-feeling/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/10/cleeve-horne-house-that-sinking-feeling/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:38:28 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18615 For the progeny of Cleeve and Jean Horne, this spectacular modernist home in a picturesque valley in Pickering, Ontario, is a seldom-used summer place, an after thought that has been allowed to slide into disrepair, if not disrepute. The house is tucked away behind the main residence and barn on a 200-acre family property and as one of the Horne's adult grandchildren told me yesterday during Doors Open Pickering, it's a challenge to hold onto the place in the face of rising taxes and land values. Seeing the state of the interior, I couldn't help thinking that this architectural gem might be better off in the hands of someone more invested in honouring its uniqueness.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/10/cleeve-horne-house-that-sinking-feeling/feed/ 13 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/a-collector-restrained/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/a-collector-restrained/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:28:31 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18573 For an inveterate collector — her daughter calls her a hoarder — Larysa Fenyn is remarkably restrained. Her basement has become a storage facility, albeit a neat one, and if you open any of her numerous cabinets or credenzas you’ll find row upon row of high-quality trinkets. But on the surface at least, her centre hall home in Toronto’s Royal York neighbourhood is carefully curated. “I hate clutter,” she tells me as she leads me through her sunny rooms. On a sideboard stands a shimmering art glass plate and three shapely, black candle holders. Larysa has many others, some in teak, some white, but her display has been paired back to this. I admire her willingness to edit.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/a-collector-restrained/feed/ 8 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/client-project-worth-the-wai/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/client-project-worth-the-wai/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:10:20 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18433 Magda was/is my first decorating "client." I use parentheses because our relationship has evolved over the course of the two years we've been working together and we have definitely become friends. She introduced herself at the end of a talk I gave at the National Homeshow in fall 2009; she was looking for help rescuing her decor, which was stuck in the '80s . . . the 1880s. Magda didn't know me from Adam when we met, she'd never even seen styleNorth. I have to give her ample credit for agreeing to what sometimes felt like risky purchases but in the end it all came together beautifully. ]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/client-project-worth-the-wai/feed/ 23 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/two-small-rooms/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/two-small-rooms/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:50:07 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18329 Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Dennis Battler, a sometime retail stylist and home stager who rents two small rooms on the top floor of a house in Toronto's Riverdale neighbourhood. Dennis has lived large and now he doesn't. He's okay with that. In his 50s, he is actively learning to live with less. Dennis talks about the energy intrinsic in all things and has purged his life of the unnecessary and the negative and embraced the essential and the positive. He and his lovely Whippet, Shanti, occupy the bedroom, above, and a small sitting room with two chairs and a loveseat. He shares the kitchen, bathroom and laundry facilities with the homeowner but restricts his "living" to his own quarters in the attic.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/two-small-rooms/feed/ 5 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/suburban-style-on-the-cheap/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/suburban-style-on-the-cheap/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:11:04 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=18242 Considering how much time we both spend buying and selling on Craigslist, it was probably inevitable that my path would intersect with Denise Reed’s eventually. I met Denise on a CL call to buy a small desk/vanity that I intend to makeover as a styleNorth project in the weeks ahead. As we conducted the transaction in her foyer I remarked on how lovely her home was and in particular I admired a mid-century table and chairs visible from the entryway. Denise said she’d found the table at an auction and bought the chairs on Craigslist and that’s when I knew I’d be pitching her on letting me do a house tour.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/09/suburban-style-on-the-cheap/feed/ 13 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/07/tear-down-another-one-bites-the-dust/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/07/tear-down-another-one-bites-the-dust/#comments Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:24:07 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=17540 Tear-down syndrome might have abated in the U.S. due the housing collapse but it's as prevalent as ever here in Toronto. This beautiful, 1960s Deck House on a large, lush lot backing onto parkland is destined for demolition once the sale closes in early August. I say the house is beautiful and it truly is . . . inside and from the back. From the front it's beyond nondescript showing itself to the world as a low-slung Ranch with nary a window, just a gated courtyard to break up the dull expanse of brick. From the back it's a whole other story, a gorgeous, three-tiered facade defined by walls of glass and the decks that give the house its name.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/07/tear-down-another-one-bites-the-dust/feed/ 16 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/05/colour-in-the-country/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/05/colour-in-the-country/#comments Thu, 05 May 2011 10:33:25 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=16879 Last month, I attended an art opening by Toronto-based textile artist Sheree Rasmussen, whose vivid, abstract works inspired me to inquire whether her home is also colourful. Sheree replied in the affirmative and mentioned that the country place she shares with her partner, artist/architect Clive Russell, is in Ontario's Northumberland County, which happens to be where my parents live. Naturally, I begged an invitation. The weather was bleak and spring had barely begun to stir but inside, the home was in full flower, a happy but not-at-all-precious rainbow of hues ranging from wall and trim colours to quilts, weavings and art galore.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2011/05/colour-in-the-country/feed/ 7 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/12/tims-holiday-house-tour/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/12/tims-holiday-house-tour/#comments Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:18:18 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=15534 In Apartment Therapy's 2010 Room For Colour Contest the top three international entries were all from Toronto -- yay team! The winner by more than a length was Tim (yours truly placed second) who kindly agreed to let me show off his gorgeous waterfront condo, which was beautifully decorated for the holiday season. What impressed me most about my visit to Tim's is his lavish attention to detail. Every corner, every shelf boasts a well-composed vignette, no opportunity for display is wasted -- it's like being in a showroom but without the homogeneity that the description suggests.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/12/tims-holiday-house-tour/feed/ 8 http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/11/mid-century-marvel/ http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/11/mid-century-marvel/#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:09:07 +0000 Chris http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=15193 I wouldn’t be surprised to find such an impressive assemblage of original mid-century furnishings and accessories in the home of a wealthy collector but my sense is that the couple who live in this 1,400-square foot apartment above a store not far from Toronto’s High Park, isn’t especially well-to-do. This is the story of how they pulled together such an astonishingly fine collection of vintage designer pieces by shopping smart and buying what they loved; pedigree and provenance are secondary.]]> http://www.stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/11/mid-century-marvel/feed/ 6