Marisa Leigh

A little Monday morning wedding photo blitz courtesy of California-based photographer Marisa Leigh never hurt anyone… I especially adore her kissing couple shots – it’s not hard to feel the love through them and I’m loving the angles!

       

(all photos from Marisa Leigh Photography)

My Living Room Inspirations...

As a decorator who gets to constantly delve into the wonderful world of fabrics, furniture and accessories every day, I am constantly clipping away images that inspire me. It can be something as minute as the accessorizing in the built-in's in the background, or as major as the colour palette, furniture and artwork; either way I collect these photos as references for my own work that help inform and open up my world of choices.

Designing the living room of my first apartment gave me a great opportunity to use some of my favourite images as jumping off points. With my favourite details from these images in the back of my mind, I curated my space to meet my and my boyfriend's needs (and budget!) while making a style stamp of my own.

Move-in day is just over 2 weeks away, so until I can show you the finished space, here are some of my favourite rooms that inspired my design:

(images top to bottom:  Peter Dunham, Jan Showers, Suzanne Kasler, Todd Romano, unknown, Kelly Wearstler, Anne Coyle and Nate Berkus, Dee Dee Hannah)

Trending at ELTE

A few weeks ago the Canadian design staple known as ELTE, hosted a breakfast for industry insiders to hear about their take on trends and get a sneak preview of some hot items they’re bringing in.

Here is a round-up of some of my fave new arrivals:

This super glam lilac Alpaca Fur Pillow, $265 is an example of the fur trend, which stormed runways at Fashion Week.

Graphic abstract  modern prints are very in…I would do bad things in order to own this Maverick 9 x 12 ivory and ebony wool rug, $2,695

Ikat is still everywhere you turn, as seen in these throw pillows on the Tate sofa, $4,795

Welting as a design feature was also mentioned, like in this swivel  Hickory Chair lounger which has a grosgrain flange, $3,425 and in this contrast-piped bergere chair, $1595 (we all know how I love contrast piping!)

Saturated rugs, like this 5 x 10 aubergine beauty, provide a quirky twist on traditional oriental motifs, $1,515

And lucky for me, two of my favourites, stripes and gilding, are sticking around (I doubt they will ever really go away due to their classic status..)

Happy Trending!

Quack Quack

My little baby cousin Emily celebrated her first birthday this past weekend, and I was happy to bake some special pink and yellow ducky cookies for the occasion!

Shoutout to the littlest cuzball!

C U Soon CB2

Well it’s not that soon, but at least Torontonians know it’s coming to our side of the border. Setting up shop in the crumbling space that housed the Big Bop, CB2 announced a couple of months ago that they will open their first brick and mortar location in Canada.

To celebrate CB2 making its way to the corner of Bathurst and Queen, here are some of my latest obsessions from crate and barrel’s younger fabulous sister:

The ceylon pitcher, perfect for delicious herb or fruit-infused summer beverages $29.95

Spicy lipstick-red engine stools are simultaneously glam and punk at the same time, $89.95-$99.95

The format acrylic desk accessories, cubes and shelves are aching to find a home in my office. I especially want the floating shelf! $7.95-$49.95

The fantastic pop art for your floor that is the Grrrl Rug, $349

You can’t go wrong with the classic peekaboo acrylic waterfall coffee table, $249

I’m so sad that the white metal trunk only comes in the large size – I would love to stack the white ones in my office and use them to store samples! $-69.95 

And lastly, I love their affordably sleek yet spunky barware, of which it is too hard to narrow down my faves! I am so excited to entertain with my andy warhol lip plates I purchased a couple of years ago online and can’t wait to be able to pop down to the store whenever I want!