i'm so over...

Lately I've been making a mental list of things I think I might be over.
-Zig zag prints
-Trellis prints
-Chinoiserie (well, maybe not 100% over)
-Capiz shell chandeliers (was never into)
-Madeline Weinrib (I know - them's fighting words but I'm just sick and tired of seeing that same stuff time and time and time again. And you know 9 times out of 10 it's propped in for the shoot, therefore disingenuous).
-Second life carpets.
-Spray lacquering substandard furniture. The distinction here is subtle. I'm not against spray lacquering - just doing so on pieces with no merit to begin with. The phrase lipstick on a pig comes to mind.
-Deck Wars (huh?)
-Competition shows - ALL of them (except for Jeopardy, natch)
-New linen goods masquerading as old grain sacks, rice sacks, French market bags.

Um, guess that's it for now...

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farrow & ball great outdoors gallery

Have you heard about the contest over at the Farrow & Ball website? It's all about front doors painted in the company's colours. They've got a push on to promote their exterior paints. Lord knows I love a great front door and if it's on a home in the UK all the better. I voted for the one above -- the front door of UK resident Claire Hughes, which is painted Light Blue. I love how chalky it is, how the shiny hardware works so well with it and how the lantern is painted to match. Simple and pretty.

In the more daring department I also kinda dig this one.

It's the home of Louise Clelland and is painted Brinjal. If you've been visiting here since way back, you might remember my affection for Brinjal, which was kindled after a visit to Paris. I've been thinking of Brinjal again. I hope to use it for an upcoming story in House & Home.

You should go to Farrow & Ball and vote. And if you are planning to paint your door this spring I think you will find their step-by-step guide invaluable.

And speaking of exterior paint. I've been mulling over in my head the idea of painting the brick of our Toronto bungalow in a deep warm grey colour. I don't know if it will happen -- seems a long shot given everything else that is so much more pressing than painting the house. But I really loved the results when Arren Williams did it. The makeover appeared in House & Home a few years back, but it's also up on the web site here.

Arren used Railings, also a Farrow & Ball colour. I think it looks fantastic -- and the new windows are beautiful! I don't think I'd go quite as dark as he did. Perhaps this:

Down Pipe 

It doesn't seem that much lighter here, but when you put the two together it is much lighter. Hmmm, maybe. But the real question is - could I do it myself? I think except for the chimney I actually could. It's a small house. We'll see.

PS, April 9 was my 3 year blog anniversary. Happy belated anniversary to me.

margot, the scalamandré zebras and some other zebras

When I first joined Pinterest a while back I'll admit I did a search for my name to see if others had been pinning my work. Sure enough some images from right here popped up. But much to my amusement, my styling and interiors work was indiscriminately mixed with images like this: Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum in The Royal Tenenbaums. So fun. I love being mixed up with Margot T. Even more fun: her Scalamandré Zebras wallpaper. 

Just a few days after this adventure I found myself in the Primavera showroom in Toronto (the place is a total dream, BTW) at a presentation by none other than Scalamandré pres Steven Stolman.

Urfortch, I did not win the cute-as-pie Zebras brolly door prize that day, but here's a shot I took of the iconic Zebras fabric at the presentation:

I used to be a total yellow-hater. Now it's all love, baby. I pulled a sample of the wallpaper and held on for a while, considering installing it in my dining area. But I can't do it. I'll have to content myself with liking this from afar. It's simply not right for my home. Sometimes it's so hard to say no. But I digress...

So, back to my story, a couple months after that lovely day at Primavera I spotted the DwellStudio booth at the New York Gift Show:

Here's another look at those little fellas on the sofa:

Right beside this image of the cushions on the DwellStudio site is an invitation to "Read about our design inspiration on the Studio Blog" So I did that and, well, to me there appears to be a gaping omission in the story of the "inspiration" for this pillow design. Check it out for yourself here then pop back.

Discuss.