It’s hard to imagine that there once was a time when all outdoor fabric had the thick, scratchy feel of cheap car upholstery. Worse, the only colours it was available in was forest green and the three primary colours. Now, the colour world is your oyster when it comes to finding spectacular outdoor fabrics. As everyone continues to nest at home, they are taking their living rooms and moving them outdoors. I’ve been doing a ton of research into outdoor fabrics for Canadian Gardening magazine’s 2010 season (I also edit Canadian Gardening) and have come up with some fantastic new names in the world of outdoor fabrics. If you’re thinking about doing a little outdoor decorating, there are some great inspirational websites to look at. One of my new favourites is a British designer (who is soon to be repped by Y&Co in Toronto) named Christopher Farr. His outdoor fabrics are elegant with a touch of whimsy. My absolute favourite fabric is called 36 24 36 (guess why?) and shows the silhouettes of curvy stair spindles. Very cool! I love it in orange - very fresh and fun.
36 24 36 in orange from Christopher Farr
Another site that I think is fantastic for graphic patterns for the outdoors is called Hable Constuction - neat products for indoors and out! And they are now retailing their great patterns as outdoor fabrics (also repped by Y & Co). Finally, Sunbrella is doing some really beautiful products in gorgeous shades. There’s even a dark charcoal that is incredibly chic. Sunbrella is a terrific brand, and the fabric feels terrific to the touch.
If you’re looking for inspiration about pulling together a palette, we did a story in Canadian Gardening’s May 2010 issue that was produced by Style at Home design editor Ann Marie Favot. Her focus was on two trendy looks: nautical and tropical. It’s worth taking a look at her story - in fact, here’s a sneak peek! 
Now that it’s the end of May, it’s time to think about decorating outdoors. For me, that involves thinking about creating a comfy spot outdoors where I can recline with a good book. As much as I love the look of vintage French metal bistro chairs (and I really love them from an aesthetic perspective!), the most important thing for me is to be comfortable outside. I don’t have much of a garden to speak of in the city, but I do have a 10 x 12 outdoor terrace that is right off my bathroom. In the beginning, I was delighted with an antique French metal daybed that I’d bought from a homeowner a few years ago. I loved how chic it looked, and I thought of using some Indian-inspired toss pillows and some decadent throws for chilly nights. If you’re interested in a metal daybed, you can find a similar repro one at Ikea 
for the ridiculously low price of $89! An excellent deal (and the bed is perfect for sleeping outside on sultry summer nights). But I ended up moving the daybed to the farm, because it wasn’t as comfy as I was hoping for (and certainly it was a wee bit awkward hosting parties where everyone had to squish together on a bed!). Enter the brilliant and affordable outdoor furniture from Canadian Tire. I was able to find a fantastic sectional for under $1000, and it fills my entire terrace - it looks like it was custom-made for my porch! The set comes in individual pieces that you can buy to fit your own space. Although Canadian Tire doesn’t have the exact same model this year, they have a similar one that is just as nice. The Enso collection is the same idea as my sectional, and is very chic in chocolate brown weave. They even have a patio daybed! (figures it looks more comfy than my antique French one). 
Either look is fantastic (although the Enso daybed does cost a little more at $699.99 - but that does include throw cushions, mattress pad and curtains. Let me know if you have any fantastic outdoor furniture finds! Later this week I’ll talk about the next best part after you’ve bought your furniture - customizing it with gorgeous outdoor fabrics!
How I love lilacs (I don’t even need to count the ways!). And this weekend (the true May 24th weekend!) is the perfect time to experience everything gorgeous about lilacs.
I spent the wee hours of yesterday morning photographing the spectacular lilac dell at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. Photographer Andreas Trauttmansdorff and art director Jose Woertman joined me for an early morning surrounded by absolutely gorgeous lilacs. The RBG has close to 800 varieties of lilacs (possibly the biggest collection in the world!).
As I stood overlooking the dell while the sun came up behind me, I was almost overcome with the heady scent of lilacs. Every variety smells slightly different, from potent and intoxicating to the subtlest of fragrances. As I wandered the gardens while Andreas worked his photographic magic (the story will be published in the May 2010 issue of Canadian Gardening magazine), my thoughts turned to a story I had done a few years ago for Canadian Home & Country magazine’s very first Cottage Style issue.
The shoot was done at my stepmother’s place in Prince Edward County, and we shot on the May 24th weekend. If you haven’t been to Prince Edward County but have been thinking of going, nothing is more spectacular than driving through the country roads when the lilacs are in bloom. They are PLENTIFUL. You may not see the multiple varieties like you would at the RBG, but you’ll be thrilled by how prolific and magnificent they are as they grow wild along the winding roads.
At any rate, I got up early in the morning to gather as many varieties of lilacs that I could find to use for my shoot. In fact, I may have even snuck a few clippings from neighbours’ yards while the homeowners were still sleeping peacefully (not to worry, I fessed up later!)
With my armloads of lilacs, I filled every spare vessel I could find. I did small clusters of them in the kitchen, and put a huge branch of them on display in the living room. Just like in the dell at the RBG, the scent of lilacs hung heavy on the air.
If you’re inspired at all by lilacs, I implore you to head to the RBG this weekend where they are in bloom in all their glory (or of, course, take a road trip to Prince Edward County - you won’t be disappointed).
For my next blog, I’m going to list my favourite lilac varieties (hint: one of them was developed by an icon in the style industry).
I admit it, I hate painting. It’s really too bad, actually, because it seems that there could be something therapeutic about the repetitive motion of running a roller over a wall. Before you admonish me for not practicing what I preach (after all, how many times have I said that the easiest thing to update a room is a coat of paint) I guarantee the only reason why I don’t paint is because I’m truly terrible at it. I’m impatient and never let the paint dry properly between coats (same problem with my nails - I never wear nail polish), and I tend to overload the brush or roller with too much paint. I’ve also discovered how truly economical it is to hire a pro. Knowing how a professional quality paint job can improve the look - not to mention value - of a home, it only makes sense that if you can’t do a proper job, bring in the pros.
I’ve probably painted over a 100 rooms in my life, and with each room, my style got a little more sloppy. For those of you who are also a wee bit sloppy, I have the perfect solution for you: painter’s mate GREEN tape. If I am desperate to paint a room and can’t find a pro in time, I’ll buy a few rolls and literally cover every surface that I don’t want to ruin with this terrific low-tack tape. It is an absolutely must-have for your toolbox.
It has to be said, I love the look of a tufted couch. Particularly a tufted couch that has clean, contemporary lines. Needless to say, when the term “tufted” comes up in a conversation about living room decor, the usual connotation is that of a dowdy, old-fashioned room. And sure enough, one can find unattractive tufted furniture. But the kind of tufted furniture that really speaks to me are design classics from the 20s and 30s. Think Mies van der Rohe’s classic Barcelona chair (surprisingly, it was originally designed to be used in airport lounges). One of my favourite chairs (I love it upholstered in buttery chocolate leather), it’s + $5000 price tag keeps it on my wish list and not in my living room. I also love another design classic, the Florence Knoll couch, which looks just as good in a room decorated in traditional decor as it does in an ultra contemporary room. I great spot to shop for Knoll furniture is on www.gabrielross.com, a fab Canadian-owned website that has designer names at a reasonable cost. They also include free shipping in their costs (you can’t go wrong ordering from them!). So now we know that I long to own these fab mid-century pieces. And yes, these pieces do work well in country decor. Their simple lines work fabulously in classic space. But tufting also works in other great pieces. I was transfixed by a couch I saw at Crate and Barrel when they opened in Toronto last summer. Upholstered in rich French blue linen, the couch had the simplicity I love with an insouciance of electic style. Though it is a new piece, it has the look and small scale of something I could have picked up at a French flea market. I know I’ve talked about this couch before (and certainly how the French blue has inspired the new look of my living room) but I had to share a picture of it because I think it is just the PERFECT upholstered couch (and available at a reasonable price too!) I can’t wait to unveil my living room when it’s finally ready. The sofa is called the Azure sofa. I think it’s just as beautiful in the neutral linen they show it in that I’ve posted below.
Even the professionals have a hard time finding “just the right thing” for their home. For me, the holy grail for my home has been the light fixture that hangs over my dining room table. I have a typical Victorian home (maybe typical for midtown Toronto, after all, my house is only 14 feet wide), and it is decorated in a style that is classic Home & Country: a mix of vintage with modern. I usually lean to more contemporary style, but my home has a classic Victorian structure, and, as most of you know about me, I love all things with patina. The results are a quirky (some could even say eccentric) decor style. As many of you know, I have been working on a redesign of my house. But it has been this one light fixture that has caused me grief. I’ve tried EVERYTHING! In fact, I recently took down the latest pendant light, which was a simple fabric barrel light that seemed, well, lifeless in my dining room. I visualized a number of different things: an old glittery Swedish chandelier that had tons of presence, or a simple frosted glass pendant that hung like a teardrop from the ceiling. Or how about the old faithful hurricane lantern? Sure it’s been “done to death,” but its simple classic shape is timeless. Maybe a bit boring, but the hurricane lantern will always work where nothing else does. I even thought about getting another silk Fortuny light fixture (I have one that hangs in my attached dining room), but that simple solution seemed like cheating somehow. I KNEW there had to be the right light for me out there! I could imagine it: a modern clear glass orb with a simple light bulb. Minimalist but strong. Elegant but eclectic. And then I found it… 
Niche Modern is a company in New York that designs the most attractive hand-blown glass light fixtures that I’ve ever seen. Better still, they’ve combined the artistry of glass-blowing with simple contemporary shapes. And THEN (now I’m excited), they use lightbulbs that look completely antique - the final look is the perfect juxtaposition between old and new. So here, unveiled, is the Terra light which was recently delivered to my home. Let me know what you think!
This weekend, I had dinner at the most spectacular home I’ve ever seen. Literally, this mansion (and I mean mansion) should be in the movies. And this wasn’t your typical uber-home built with no interest or sensitivity to architectural integrity. No, this house is an original: built in the late 1800s as a summer home for a wealthy American family. I can’t tell you where the house is - the homeowners are very private - but what I can tell you is that I felt thankful that residential architecture like this exists in this country.
Here are some of the details: original patterned slate roof, surrounded by the original dry moat, oriented to look spectacular when approached by a horse and carriage (not to worry, the homeowners actually have a horse AND carriage), 14-foot ceilings, spectacular atrium… the list goes on and on. What was so fascinating about this experience was that sense of pride that comes from meeting homeowners who actually appreciate and love their home. Sure, my own tiny house could fit in their front foyer (not kidding), but we were able to chat about similar experiences in restoring and renovating old houses. You know, the conversations about those contractors who would say “you should just tear it down” (and then you show them the door) and what to do when there is no such thing as a “standard” window size - because every window in your house is different. But beyond the incredible experience of being inside this house, I was also impressed by the homeowners’ decorating style. Very authentic boho chic. Wonderful old pieces of furniture with their original upholstery, eccentric vintage light fixtures. And the colour! One room is painted a deep aubergine, another in the most intense saffron. And back to the movies? Well, you HAVE seen this house before in the movies. In fact, they host photo crews their often. I’m totally inspired now to find my own country spot just like theirs. Of course, the one that I’ll be able to afford will, like my city home, fit in their foyer!
