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Barrymore Wow!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 by Chris

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Let's face it, decor blogs are about pretty pictures and striking vignettes and when I see one I try to capture it. I was in Toronto's Barrymore Furniture last week when I was stopped in my tracks by this over-the-top Christopher Guy display by Showroom and Design Manager Karen Ottenbrite. The strong colours and the sheen of the silk upholstery were rivetting, nevermind the divine Paul Evans-inspired mirror. None of this stuff is even remotely in my price range (mirror $3,760, settee $7,290, hand-carved table $2,890) but display is about fantasy and this one certainly carried me away. In the photo below you can see how the vignette draws you down the long corridor and that's a trick any of us can borrow -- be brave, go bold!

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Now That’s a Front Porch!

Thursday, November 18, 2010 by Chris

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My new apartment is in Toronto's rather swish Ave & Dav neighbourhood, home to Designers Walk and countless interior design studios and storefronts. More than anyone, designers are conscious of how critical first impressions really are and most of them do a pretty good job of it. Have you ever seen ornamental cabbages elevated to such luxurious heights? Designer Lori Morris's black and brick exterior screams respectability while the highly-detailed gate and portico confirm that this gal knows how to dress things up. Very impressive, just like the work on Morris's website, which is like crack cocaine to the shelter-porn addicted, albeit in a plush, creamy, Veranda sort of way; have a look.

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The Vision Thing

Sunday, October 17, 2010 by Chris

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I'm probably the only Craigslist junkie whose heart skipped a beat when I saw the high back chair at left. Too old lady, you think? Not in the right hands. Imagine it in acid green or maybe a psychedelic print à la Austin Powers. Or how about all white, legs and all? There's a high-end decor store in Atlanta called Pieces and this chair is right up their alley. I surfed over there looking for suitable examples of what this red chair could become and voila, there was a trio of chairs all priced at about 100 times the cost of my $25 diamond in the rough.

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Loving the Leopard

Saturday, September 25, 2010 by Chris

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My sweet, aging Scottie dog, Judy — that's her under the black chair — has been having some health problems that necessitated me lifting the Moroccan rug in favour of my machine-washable flokati. Since I was switching things up again, I decided to try out a coffee table I scored on Craigslist for $75 with the intention of retrofitting and re-selling. The table is soooo 1980s but also really glam, especially with the addition of my leopard skin and some leopard accent pillows I had in storage. Turns out Elle Decor is heralding leopard as the look of the moment so I'm bang on trend for better or worse.

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Scandinavian Furniture Porn

Saturday, May 1, 2010 by Chris

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This post has absolutely nothing to do with real Canadians decorating; I'm sorry, I apologize right off the top. But any decor junkie, Canadian or otherwise, will appreciate the preview gallery of the upcoming Wright auction of Scandinavian design. All the mid-century iconic designers are present and accounted for — Jacobsen, Wegner, Mathsson, Hennigsen, Juhl — but what stands out for me are the less familiar pieces.

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