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Tag Archive | "Storage"

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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Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

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Passing by Toronto's Office & Shop Furniture yesterday I was stopped in my tracks by the window display of the new Pasha Chair from Italy's Pedrali. Where Philippe Stark borrowed an open-armed, medallion-back design for his ubiquitous Louis Ghost Chair, Pedrali goes for the full-on Bergere. What's so striking is how thin and impossibly sexy the molded polycarbonate is; priced at $560 each, the chair is brand new to North America and comes in black, white, clear or smoked with a fabric seat cushion for added comfort. But that wasn't the only thing I was jazzed about at the Office Shop . . .

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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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Furniture Banks: A Kinder, Gentler Deposit

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

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The AIDS Committee of Toronto's (ACT) Furniture Bank is always looking for "quality" used furniture to benefit families and individuals coping with HIV and AIDS. Says ACT's Practical Assistance Co-ordinator Patric Kearns, "I always ask potential donors whether their item is something they'd consider picking up if they saw it on a curb. If the answer is yes, then we'll probably be happy to take it."

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Karen’s Incredible, Invisible Dining Table

Saturday, October 3, 2009

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I'm speaking at the Fall Home Show in Toronto this weekend about the many advantages of buying vintage furnishings and my friend Karen has unwittingly handed me with a perfect example for my talk. Karen asked for some help selling a 1940s cabinet that pulls out into a charming and eminently practical dining table. It's nearly 70 years old but the piece might have been designed expressly for today's cozy condos. The cherry wood cabinet with quiet art deco styling is in good shape and would make a handsome bar.

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