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Tag Archive | "Cabinetry"

Cocktail With a Twist

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

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TV's Mad Men is a cultural phenomenon that has inspired a new generation of hipsters to jump on the cocktail bandwagon and Toronto retailer Kristen Voisey is capitalizing on the craze. Last spring, Voisey opened BYOB (972 Queen Street West, 1.877.989.8980), a shop specializing in retro glassware, bar accessories and a range of ultra-cool custom bar cabinets like the beauty that folds down from the wall when the clock strikes party time ($789). And it's not all retro fun at BYOB; Voisey stocks a wide range of contemporary accessories like Whiskey Stones, cocktail shakers and the animal head shot glasses and bottle stoppers, below. If bar culture is your thing, BYOB is your home away from home.

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A Dangerously Good Product

Thursday, September 1, 2011

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My decorating buddy Kevin happened to score some original Briwax at a yard sale and he was so thrilled with the results he held off on finishing the job so I could see the before and after (below). Briwax is a one-step staining and finishing product that makes easy projects easier. Kevin stained the inside of a cabinet with one coat of dark Briwax (left). The colour and finish are really impressive. A British product with a Royal Warrant, Briwax is hard to find here in North American; a list of distributors can be found on the company's website. In Toronto Briwax is available at Lansing Buildall (258 Sheppard Avenue East) and Primetime Paint & Paper (299 Queen Street East). But that's not where this post ends. Kevin's cabinet holds a very clever secret . . .

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Slumming: Marty Millionaire

Saturday, January 15, 2011

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I have a confession to make: In two and a half years of blogging about Toronto's decor scene, until last week I had never set foot in local landmark, Marty Millionaire (345 Queen Street East). With a window stacked full of obviously cheap knock-offs, I could never be bothered even though shopping guru Rita Zekas told me she had some fun with the "irascible" owner. Inside Marty's is pretty much what you'd expect -- row upon row upon row of mostly repro junk. But wouldn't you know it, hiding amidst the crap were a few gems that I'd actually consider taking home.

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What To Do With All Those Books?

Saturday, December 18, 2010

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This is one of the rare posts where I'm leading with the reveal because frankly, the before shots just aren't that sexy and I'm pretty sure you'll follow along with the process now that you know where this whole thing is headed. Any wall of post-move boxes looks pretty much the same but Scott and Andrea were really up against it. She's an art and design writer, author of the popular View on Canadian Art blog, and he's an architect; the two were merging households for the first time when they took over the lease on my former dream apartment. The couple invited me back to see the space and months after moving in they still faced a long wall of boxes, a testament to their love of books . . .

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Mid-Century Marvel

Sunday, November 28, 2010

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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.

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