Pretty Pansy Fashion This Spring

Pansy fever has spread from garden plots to wardrobes this year and I am loving the spring fresh results.

I ooh’d and aah’d  over this gorgeous shot in Town and Country of Dior’s enamel pansy and ribbon necklace.

Luckily fashion’s love-in with the quintessential spring bloom has continued at the more budget-friendly H&M with this stunning silk top

Marc Jacobs’ Pansy Print Shirtdress is a more retro take on the floral - I love the bold purple trim that finishes it off.

Are you planting pansies this year?

Pinch Me: Coming Full Circle

Tonight was the first seder (chag sameach!), which literally means “order.” On the heels of some exciting news that has rocked my world in the most awesome way, it got me thinking of the order of my personal career and how I’ve come full circle.

When I graduated from the undergraduate Media, Information and Technoculture program at Western, the notion of having the title of Editor after my name wasn’t so farfetched. I contributed to the daily student newspaper, completed a couple of serious intense internships at newspapers and magazines, and lived for writing.

My career path, however, veered away from the straight and narrow road of objectivity when I decided my easily encouraged enthusiasm made being an impartial journalist tough -  so I joined the more welcoming world of public relations where my zest for life was a little less alien and a lot more of the norm.

After completing a year-long program in corporate communications, I settled in at a big television conglomerate writing press release after press release. While I was working in TV PR, I began to foster my love for interior decorating and created my blog as a way to channel my creative pursuits and fabulous finds, which weren't exactly being nurtured in my position.

The blog led to a job with star designer and architect, Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, who hired me to help with media relations, aid the design team, work on industry events and much more. After realizing that I wanted to focus more on the design aspect, I started my night courses at George Brown to become a certified interior decorator and began to hone my skills working on smaller client projects. My nearly three years at THA have enabled me to work with fabulous product, fabulous trades, and a fabulous design team who I will surely miss - but perhaps best of all it has helped me reach the next stage in my career:

DESIGN EDITOR at STYLE AT HOME!

I don’t know if it was possible to find a more perfect position, and admittedly I wasn’t actively looking for something new, but when the job description made its way onto my screen it felt like the final scene of Serendipity where John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale meet again on the ice rink wit snowflakes flying and Nick Drake crooning. A position at a stellar magazine that made use of my media and design background? A job where I’d be compensated for visiting the newest decor shops, meeting other designers and styling all in one? A vocation where I’d be able to work with the amazing editorial team that I had such a great time with when they shot my own apartment? Yes please!

I start in two weeks and am so excited to embark on this next stage of my career with senior design editor extraordinaire Margot Austin guiding my way. I will still be posting here, but you will be able to read more about my editor adventures on the Style At Home blog too. I will keep you posted of my other official duties once I settle in, but until then, don’t forget to pick up the June issue when it hits newsstands on May 9th to see the full spread on the apartment.

Happy holidays to all and thanks for all the support and encouragement!

Traditional Home In Our Toronto Kitchen

After sharing little bits and bytes of the kitchen reno at my family home and of course going into full blown detail about our sexy bunker days, it is with great pride that I finally get to share some beauty shots of our finished kitchen in all its glory, courtesy of the one and only Traditional Home! (I know, no big deal)

Designed by Taylor Hannah Architect, the kitchen was a dream come true for my gourmand mother, and the article goes into great detail about all the special functions and features that were incorporated into the design to suit her fancy chef needs.

Working on the story with the Meredith team and Toronto-based photographer Andreas Trauttmansdorf  was an absolute pleasure from start to end. My mom and I totally bonded with the lovely Khristi Zimmeth, who produced and styled the shoot and fell in love with our many animules. Coordinating with senior design editor Amy Elbert on the story to get all the details down pat was a delight, and we are so thrilled with how the spread turned out.

 

Make sure you pick up the  May issue on newsstands now  to read all about the process my mom and Dee Dee went into when approaching the kitchen design and for some helpful tips you should take into consideration when working on your own kitchen reno.

(Photos by Andreas Trauttmansdorf via Traditional Home)

Wedding China and A Dream Dining Room

Like Doris Duke in her music room and Tory Burch in her foyer before me, I too dream of hand painted Chinese wallpaper panels in my home. Specifically I have always dreamed of using them in my formal dining room, so of course now that I am in bridal registry mode, I turned to my dream decor scheme in order to  put together my formal table.

Unlike so many of my fellow young brides who rarely stray from silver or platinum, I wanted to choose a china  pattern that had gold tones to complement the warmth of some of my favourite decorative elements:  gilding, ormolu and crystal. (Who doesn't picture a divine crystal chandelier in their dining room, and wouldn’t this Lobmeyr version be fabulous!) 

When looking at some of my favourite Gracie wallpaper designs, I am always drawn to the soothing pale blue tones I see. Blue is such a universal and timeless colour, so I was not scared to explore that as an accent hue for my formal wedding china.

After doing some online research and fawning over the table setting I saw at Neiman’s, I was pleased to discover that  William Ashley carried Bernardaud’s Elysee pattern, a design that provided me with both a soothing colour and gold elements. The traditional motif features a wash of a stunning shade of blue with an 18-karat yellow gold palm border and dates back to 1832.  I love it because it is so dainty and pretty while still having the grounding of a more masculine grounding colour you’d see in a man’s suit or tie.

I also fell for the coordinating charger, with its simple bands of gold framing the pure blue pigment. To tease out the blue from the table setting, I would use Stark’s blue greek key broadloom to cut the perfect size area rug. An elegant antique trumeau mirror would complement the old world appeal of the china and add soft reflectivity.  To add to the lustre of my fantasy dining room, I would use Philip Jeffrie’s gold leaf paper as an accent on the ceiling, perhaps within the coffers because my fantasy dining room wouldn’t skimp on those types of architectural details…

Marlie’s Apartment Update: Art Explosion and Accessory Shopping

We have hit the final stretch now at Marlie’s apartment after a few long months of planning, sourcing and shopping up a storm. Long gone are the puke green walls and orange-tinged wood laminate flooring – now a beautiful rich brown bamboo floor has been laid and the walls are coated in a warm creamy tone. I’d be remiss to not point out that killer accent wall in her office nook too! (I faint over the fact that I finally got to use a Cole and Son Fornasetti wallpaper!) Most of the furniture is installed and now it’s time for the finishing touches that will make her house a home.

An eclectic mix of original art from local talent, such as Tony Taylor and Mike Brown, along with some fabulous posters and prints sourced on ebay, PI Fine Art and other sources have been custom framed and are ready to go.

 

Sourcing accessories has been lots of fun - this past weekend we picked up the crystal  pineapple (who we have named Antonio because it is being used as part of the set decor for an Antonio Banderas movie shooting this week in the city) and tangerine splatter urns from Decorum Decorative Finds. We also scooped up these sharp white plastic pears and apples from L’Atelier to use as part of a centerpiece for her dining table.

I’m excited to show you some more snapshots as the project finishes up!