Margot Austin has joined House + Home

Exciting!
Congrats Margot.

SFgirlbythebay: Modern Bohemian Style

I have recently started to subscribe to the very popular blog SFgirlbythebay by Victoria Smith and opening up the post each morning is like unfolding a dense + juicy jewel (I know weird metaphor!) that leads to many other inspiring people + worlds.
For eg. this morning she features the home of UK stylist + writer Emily Chalmers which is jammed packed with inspiration + fleamarkety goodness. (see above!)
Highly recommended.
ps. Victoria has been enthusiastically blogging since 2006 and is a fellow contributor to uppercase magazine.

Coming soon to a TV near you

This week a crew from Holiday Films came by and rented several of my prints plus my inspiration board above for a tv commercial.



My Alphabet legs + Big Brogue shoe print which will appear in the commercial.

The spot was shot by Director Lena Beug (you can see her fantastic demo reel here)
with art direction by the talented Greg Keen + prop styling by the lovely Nancy Machel.
It was great to work with all of them.

I'll post a video of the commercial when it's released.

Little Home Reno update + Some thoughts on Colour

We started with this....

and now it's lookin' like this

I know i know... it looks like my last bedroom!
Walls are Ben Moore Chelsea grey
Pillow by Judy Ross

Ok so it has been ages since I posted a reno update so here's a peek at what's been going on Chez Alanna. I put in two walls to create a private bedroom and a large vestibule. Painted the bedroom Ben Moore Chelsea grey as usual and got a new bed! Next step is to get an upholstered headboard which I'm hoping will pull the room together.

Isn't this stunnning?! LOVE the mustard headboard.

I was gonna go very neutral with the headboard in a nice grey in felt or linen but after seeing the beautiful photo above i'm inspired to do the headboard in a fun colour that will really pop off the grey walls. Am thinking either a mustard as in the Judy Ross pillow or my all time favourite colour: limey chartreuse.

*Dear Readers - Your feedback is most welcome in this serious matter.*
(Please note the irony of that statement)

Now that's a grey!
Photo from the marion house book

Colour note: The Chelsea grey is ok but am now wishing I'd gone with a more dark slatey grey like in the dreamy photo above. I think the paint might be Farrow and Ball's Down Pipe.
Looks much better huh?
I say Learn from my mistakes Dear Readers!

ps. I very much wish I didn't have a mind that obsessed about colour so much... but alas I do.

and pss. I found the bathroom photo on a great new blog The Marion House Book which is written by an Exhibit/ Interior designer and fellow West - Ender Emma Reddington. Emma has really great style - reminiscent of what one finds in the British Decor mags like Living etc + Elle Decor UK plus... she loves greys + blacks! Highly recommended.
(Thanks Kim for turning me onto Emma!)

IDS 11 Opening Night Party

Janet, Jennifer, and me


Me goofing around in front of my mural which I created for the Style at Home booth

More goofing with Margot Austin

The lovely Arren Williams with a fabulous orange pocket square
and one half of the talented Brothers Dressler duo.

John + Julie from Mjolk (what a gorgeous couple!)

Erin McLaughlin, Kevin Austin, and Vanessa Bottoni at the very colourful Style at Home Booth

and the wonderful + always dapper Tommy Smythe.
Just love those tortoise shell glasses.

The IDS Opening Night Party tonight was a complete blast.
Highlights included checking out the booths with pals Kim, Jenn, and Janet, enjoying the Thompson Hotel's mac and cheese, (yum) admiring Arren William's orange pocket square, goofing around with Margot + Kevin Austin and meeting Tommy Smythe.

ps. I will write a post on the process behind creating the mural in the next few days.

Press: Style at Home blog

Senior Design Editor and Stylist Margot Austin wrote a nice post about me + the mural I have created for the Style at Home booth at the Interior Design Show (IDS). The show opens this Thursday!

Cozy

Inspiration for my entranceway.
Home of the American painter John Dowd for Elle Decor.
Don'tcha just wanna curl up in there?
Love the antiquey couch mixed with folksy pillows.
Photographer William Waldron. (who has a stunning website)
via the wonderful design traveller.

Windsor Arms High tea

The lovely Margot Austin with our tea and scones

The devon cream - so decadent.

After lifting up these tongs above I was filled with an intense desire to put them in my purse. (Weighty hotel cutlery always has this effect on me!)

Hotel Exterior. So charming.

Yesterday I enjoyed a lovely business meeting- slash- High tea combo at the Windsor Arms Hotel. Settling into the tea room with scones, devon cream + tea on a very cold Toronto day felt like the perfect place to be.

Margot Austin's Break up with Restoration Hardware

Above

It's called the Antique Hungarian Sleigh Bench... and as Margot says "I'm here to tell you -- that ain't no antique."

A while my friend Kim pointed out Margot Austin's hilarious post about breaking up with Restoration Hardware which I emphatically agreed with .She described their entire line as "a massive jumble of greigy industrial Belgian via Atlanta and a factory in Asia."Great.

She then went on to explain "My beef is with the faux olde-timeyness. I'd so much rather own something old than some new thing that underpaid laborers worked for hours on trying to make it look old. Faux olde-timeyness is one of my hated design conceits. And Restoration Hardware has really gone for it here.

Could not have said it better.Right on Margot!

Inspiration: Elisabeth Dunker

This vintage book collection from Swedish Stylist/Photographer/Surface Designer Elisabeth Dunker is ridiculously beautiful.

Margot Austin's DIY Poster bed

mmm... This DIY Poster bed made by Writer/Stylist Margot Austin looks sooo cozy. I think I'm gonna try to recreate this effect in my loft. Closing the curtains around the bed and snuggling up with a book looks like it'd be a ideal way to retreat from our oh-so overstimulating world.
ps. Highly recommend Margot's design blog. It's well written, full of interesting design ideas and often quite hilarious.

um wow: Schwartz and Sons

Commentary from the Schwartz and Sons' website: "We concepted and created chic/bizarro headpieces, making the model a typographic stand-in for the "I" in the logo."

After poking around a bit I figured out that the brains behind Whitney Pozgay's quirky website is the amazing design firm Schwartz and Sons in NYC. They do incredible work (Fresh, Bold and Funny) and have a dreamy list of clients including Steven Alan, Jack Spade and the fantastic Jane Hotel. Have added to the list of people I'd love to work with.

Antiques: Chair Table Lamp + Kevin Austin

One of my favorite antique shops in the city is Chair Table Lamp at 1156 Yonge Street. It's owned by dealer/stylist Kevin Austin, who is also a frequent contributor to Style at Home magazine. Kevin buys alot of items which could fall under the term "Industrial chic" ie. pieces with lots of metal, well worn wood and a great patina. Below are photos from a recent visit. Favorite items included a beautiful old sawbuck table and some old bowling pins. The piece de resistance however was a metal + pine rack on wheels from an early 20C shoe factory. It was so quirky and worn in - I couldn't resist! The last photo shows the rack in it's new (temporary) home in my silk screen studio. In my ideal future I'd like to place it in my kitchen and display solid white dishes on it for a great contrast. ooh ahh.

Press: Wish Magazine Winter 09

'Orange Scissors' silkscreen in Living Room



Lovely family.


'S is for Swing' print in Simon + Henry's bedroom


"An Intelligent woman's guide" Penguin book cover print in hallway

The home of my fabulous friends Liz + Steve is featured in this month's issue of Wish magazine.
The article which was written by Tanya Linton is entitled Fabulous Family Style with the tag line
" Anyone who thinks a cool pad and kids don't mix hasn't had the privilege of seeing when it does". Several of my silk screen prints appear in the spread including Big Orange scissors, S is for Swing and one of my Penguin book covers.
The shoot was produced by Suzanne Dimma -one of my favorite interior designers.
The issue is on newstands now - sadly it's Wish's last issue!