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Given that CB2‘s first Canadian store is housed in a former party palace it was fitting that the company blew the roof off last night with a major opening bash featuring DJs, drinks, local design celebs and a happy crush of pretty young things. Crate & Barrel’s younger sister showed off her colourful, hip style with a media preview followed by an invitational for local taste-makers.

The most popular observation I heard was about how much colour was on the floor. Atomic orange, kelly green, electric blue, triumph red, canary yellow — CB2 turns up the volume on saturated hues that dovetail perfectly with its young, urban demographic.

The other big surprise for many was how truly affordable most of the offerings are. A few of my favorite things include the juicy green Luck side table ($229), the Twine floor lamp ($229) and the industrial Victory pendant light ($179).

I’m crazy about the mustard velvet cushion on the Two Tone Club Chair ($899) and I’ll definitely be using my staff discount to buy one of the Liquid yellow bowls ($54.95), below right. Staff discount? Yes, yours truly is a part-time sales associate at CB2, part of my strategy for offsetting the pain of a potential labour disruption at my day job.

CB2 proudly surfs decor trends, frequently changing up its product line to stay in the curl of what’s current. But the company is also extremely savvy about providing supremely affordable housewares.

If candles are your thing then 651 Queen West is the only address you need to know.

To celebrate the opening of its first international store, CB2 is pulling out all the promotional stops including awarding gift cards ($10 off any $50 purchase) to the first 1,500 patrons in the store each day — a daily $500 spending spree is also among the welcome prizes during the shop’s first 40 days. So drop in and say hi and definitely tell my bosses I gave you the best customer service ever!

It’s been awhile since a shop window screamed out to be featured in Window Dressing but the current display at Toronto’s Hardware Interiors (760 Queen Street East, 416.462.3099) has editorial written all over it. Symmetry, scale, surprise, this window by shop owners Murray Duncan and Jordan Tabachnik has it all.

The fierce, head-turning mask at the centre of the vignette is from a private collection being sold on consignment. It’s not the sort of thing Hardware usually deals in but the shop’s clientele is apparently eating it up. The Congolese Kuba Royal Mask in the window is priced at $950, the figure eight lamps are $385 each and the salvaged-wood display console is $2,100, the baskets are $40 each.

Inside, the shop is currently having a table sale, that is a sale on its stock of custom designed tables utilizing steel and salvaged timber. Price reductions range from 30 – 50 per cent: the stacked coffee tables, below left, are reduced from $995 to $450 each and the handsome side table, below right, is marked down to $250 from $350.

And as usual, Hardware has some awesome lamps on the floor, the black chrome piece in the foreground below ($275) just might end up in my next decorating project because it neatly references a Craigslist item I have my eye on.

If dark and dramatic is where your style compass is pointing, make sure it leads you to Hardware Interiors.

It’s been under wraps for months but the two year-long renovation of the former Big Bop building at the corner of Toronto’s Queen and Bathurst streets is nearly complete; this week the hustings started coming down on what will soon be furniture retailer CB2‘s first international location. Owned by U.S. chain Crate & Barrel, CB2′s focus is on “affordable modern” home furnishings and accessories. The store opens next Saturday (January 21) following a much-anticipated press preview on Friday evening.

The renovation has turned an architectural eyesore, above, back into the graceful swan it once was. Built in the 1800s as an army barracks, the structure had many incarnations including time as a masonic temple and a United Cigar store, seen below in 1928. A fire destroyed the top floor and mansard roof, which were never rebuilt. At least the current reno returns the handsome red and cream brick exterior to its original grandeur.

CB2 is tightly focused on the condo/loft market and is taking aim at competitors IKEA, West Elm, EQ3 and Structube. A catalogue teaser previewing some of CB2 Toronto’s offerings promises some great looking pieces. I don’t know if they owe more to Tom Dixon’s Beat lights or to Hershey’s Kisses but CB2′s Noir pendant lamps, below, are sexy and vaguely exotic and with a price tag of just $279 I predict they’ll be flying off the shelf.

I’m also jazzed about the Inkwell bedding shown below, by designer Matthew Lew. I have no idea about thread count or quality but the deep indigo colour and pattern are amazing and the price is just as nice — $109 for a queen size duvet cover and $29.95 for the pillow shams.

Vancouver is next on the company’s expansion agenda with another CB2 store opening on Robson Street this spring. Stay tuned for a report on next week’s store opening.

Here’s a post that’s been in the can for months. Back in September when I scouted Waddington’s new Cobourg outpost, I went on a little treasure hunt along tiny Covert Street, which I discovered thanks to my friend Susan Forint and her SAF Affect blog. Then, before I got a chance to post my thrifty finds, I learned that I had overlooked Cobourg’s biggest claim to vintage fame, the massive Legacy salvage yard, below.

So back I went with my Ajax friends Denise and Larry who kindly provided the transport. It turned out to be worth their while since Denise found an old stage light that she fell in love with priced at $65. Denise, a natural born haggler, was deeply disappointed that the sales lady wouldn’t play ball with her, but she bought the light anyway. And lucky for her, husband Larry is a whiz with electrical parts and he quickly fashioned her light into a super-chic, mounted floor lamp that’s right on trend with its industrial look.

There were a few good deals lurking in the sprawling warehouse but you don’t go to Legacy for bargains, you go for the mind-boggling selection and the impossible-to-find odds and ends. If you’re renovating a period property, this is a good place to hunt for vintage hinges, rad covers, door knobs and just about anything else you might be in search of.

One of my favorite pieces was the old stove pipe shelf ($295), below, that worked wonderfully well as decorative wall art. You won’t find this at Homesense.

I also especially liked the fancy andirons below left that for some reason made me think of the candlestick character from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

As for the thrifting on Covert Street, it’s as hit and miss as anywhere else. The first time I went I spotted lots of decent finds like the school chair below left ($15), the 1950s clock ($7.50) and the large ceramic lamp ($9).

But when Denise and Larry and I went, we didn’t see anything noteworthy. Neverthess, I think that between Waddington’s, Legacy and Covert Street, Cobourg is definitely a good bet for a fun Saturday afternoon out of town. Beyond The Blue Box indeed.

I didn’t ask Philz proprietor Cynthia Markowitz whether this fab pendant light fell off a truck but it’s the only explanation for the jaw-droppingly low price. Featuring 10 sleek black ball lights the pendant is priced at just $350. That’s right, $350! I would buy it myself for a future client but if I did that every time I came across a great deal I’d be drowning in stuff. And so I pass it on to you, dear readers. If you’ve got the ceiling height you will never, EVER find a better deal on a fixture so sexy.

As it turns out, Philz has oodles of great lighting at the moment, none of it priced as low as the magic eight balls but lots of it just as current. The “black stick lamp” below spans at least three feet across and has presence to burn. I find the $1,395 price tag eminently fair given the amount of bang for that buck.

Priced just slightly higher at $1,495 the large, circular pendant below features 18 Edison bulbs mounted on a patinaed metal ring with an adjustable height mechanism. Modern meets medieval.

The hammered copper pendant ($450) below is an obvious riff on Tom Dixon’s Beat lights although the originals never came in this particular shape and size.

In a similar vein are the hammered metal dome lights, below, for $375 each.

And Markowitz has table and floor lamps just as noteworthy. The 1970s coil-mounted light, below left, is one of two priced at $450 each; the industrial iron floor lamp, centre, is great looking if a little pricy at $895 and the steampunk work lights, lower right, are $145 each.

The amazing, mounted-globe floor lamps look like props from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis — they’re priced quite a bit higher at $1,495 each. All-in-all, a pretty remarkable selection of lighting that’s bang on trend.

Philz is at 792 Queen Street East (416.461.9913) in Toronto.