Saturday, March 31, 2007

M for Magnetic Magic


M for Metal, M for Magnetic, M for Marvellous, and M for the last day of March...
Creativeness with magnetism...

Big Dot Creative Magnetic Bulletin boards from Three by Three Seattle
(top) Magnetic metal letter "M" from Canadian Home and Country

Mounted metal board in the kitchen creates a great place to display recipes, from Pottery Barn
Magnetic paint additive mixed with primer and a favourite colour creates a magnetic square for a workspace, from Home Cheap Home
A DIY project from Amber at My Aim: a magnetic poster wall for her office
Metal numbers created into magnetic board with DIY domino magnets, from Junk Market Style
Magnetic clipboards fit into shelves and provide display space and a place for notes and memos, from Pottery Barn: Home
A metal letter "U" from an old shop sign finds new purpose as a magnetic memo board
Metal sheeting creates a great organization space, from Oh My Apartment
A metal door becomes a showpiece of magnetic art, from Marie Claire Maison

Saturday Morning Bliss


Tis a lazy Saturday morning, and I am enjoying this lovely dining view a la Taylor Howes
Cuppa morning java, the newspaper, fresh air and the sweet sounds of nature... ah, weekend bliss!

Hugga Hunk

Introduce some snuggletime enjoyment to your sacred space... rest your pretty head on this velvety soft image. I am lovin' this plush brown Beefcake cushion from Trishan and Hank for Trishank Design based in Toronto...
"Perfect for the couch potato or meathead muscle freak..."
Totally touchable!

Lime Tea


Cozy-T teapot created by designer Ismael Basso... the look of a chartreuse cozy enwrapping a snow white teapot. Very sleek, very spring.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Voulez Vous...

"Each sunrise gives hope to your dreams and light to your plans"
~ William Ngwako Maphoto

Happy Friday! Dream a little dream....

Rendez-Vous bed from Roche-Bobois

Totally in the Bag

Yesterday, San Francisco became the first city in North America to ban the use of traditional plastic grocery bags. Leaf Rapids, a tiny town in northwestern Manitoba, is quickly following suit and is set to become the first Canadian community to ban plastic bags.
The lovely Kootenay town of Rossland (close to my birthplace) will also be implementing a voluntary ban on single-use plastic bags.
No better time to BYO a stylish, eco-cute bag to keep our planet plastic-free... love our earth!


I so fancy these gorgeous handmade bags designed by Dana Huhn of U.Bagz in Vancouver.
She uses recycled fabrics and swatches from interior design catalogs to create the eco-cool clutches and handbags. Her uniqueness is available locally at Whirled Arts in Fan Tan Alley. The hip and locally made BYOB plastic-replacement line can be found here (and see the sad sight I come across from time to time...)

Made for Spring

I just received an email informing me that MADE has some wonderful new spring products. Included in the collection is the Uplifted Table (above), a salvaged parlour table with reclaimed wooded legs, created by Toronto artist and designer Ryan Legassicke (silly or sassy?)
I also like the Flying Vee Shelf (left) designed by Calgary brothers Paul and Christopher Massie of Massie Office.
I so dig the Hand Felted Mirrors by Pia Israelsson, and there is some cool stuff by Coe & Waito (who have been profiled in the April issue of Canadian House & Home!). On April 5th, 2007, there will be a whole whack of cool outdoorsy stuff coming down the design pipe, including the newest addition to the Thout collection designed by Patrick Turner: the StumpSTOOL, a log piece that compliments indoor and outdoor spaces.
Stay tuned... should be a cool one!

Breathing Space


A cherry blossom tree on our street... bright, bulbous, and oh so beautiful

Design a la Chalk




Chalk it up to design...
Blackboard paint goes a long way!







Marie Claire Maison
(top/ below) Pottery Barn: Storage & Display
Canadian House & Home Living Etc Wish Canadian House & Home Modern Country At Home with Color Looks a whole lot like chalkboard art, by Karin Blake via Architectural Digest

The Great One: Eco-Number 99


A collection of refurbished metal frame chairs upholstered in second-hand clothing, wallpaper, and felt. Created by Danish designer duo Stefan Louwerse and Richard Broeksema of Project 99

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Paperweight Heaven

Gorgeous John Derian paperweights... available at The Cross in Yaletown, Vancouver

The Propeller Island Experience









Familiar with the saying "Love to travel, hate to arrive"?
Well, feast your eyes on this unique destination.... the very extraordinary Propeller Island City Lodge in Berlin.
Yet another themed art hotel (I am intrigued...) containing thirty designer rooms of amazing ingenuity created by the very talented German artist Lars Stroschen. "Living in a work of art".... the hotel is more like an installation museum offering a totally unique experience.
Here's a handful of rooms... take a pick of which ones you would spend the night in:
(from top, left to right)
The nature room with a log post bed, forest room in red, topsy-turvy room with everything upside down, a room with images of clouds, a prison cell room with a hole in the wall, flying bed room, castle room with colourful wooden fortress and walls, a room in all white with a variety of therapeutic lamps, a black and white symbol room, a room in orange, a coffin room where you slumber beneath closed lids, and a space cube room with an illuminated barrier that can split the bed in half
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... which space catches your eye?