http://stylenorth.ca/blog Real Canadians decorating Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:38:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 en http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/continuum-transformation-inspiration/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/continuum-transformation-inspiration/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:07:20 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13510 Continuum, a new decor store at Pape and Danforth in Toronto, is not what I expect from a "vintage" shop. For one thing, a lot of the inventory isn't especially old, it just isn't brand new. And much of the stock has been reborn under the fearless direction of store owner Daina Liepa who has a definite knack for updating tired furnishings.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2010/01/continuum-transformation-inspiration/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/pop-up-vintage-the-melissa/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/pop-up-vintage-the-melissa/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:24:11 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=13361 On Saturday Mike and I got the chance to play tourist in our own town by taking a gallery tour of West Queen West with the inimitable Betty Ann Jordan, a local art writer and flâneur extraordinaire. It was a brilliant afternoon. Near the end of our tour we ducked into a brand new pop-up store, The Melissa (1080 Queen Street West) where owner Melissa Levin has loaded in her stock of flea market finds and vintage fabrics and draperies.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/12/pop-up-vintage-the-melissa/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/10/shops-queens-key-antiques/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/10/shops-queens-key-antiques/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:17:15 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=12798 After Saturday's item about the tortoise shell it occurred to me that I really should post about the shop where I bought it. Queen's Key Antiques is a quirky little store with a focus on antique and vintage lighting but there's really no telling what you'll find there: an African wood carving, below right ($25), a gilt Church altar, below left ($150) or a 30 foot Anaconda skin (not shown, $100); I purchased the ornate, gold, Chinese window screen there a few years ago for $40, above.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/10/shops-queens-key-antiques/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-twice-found/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-twice-found/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:43:44 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=12566 I love meeting people who are passionate about the decorative arts and Holly Gnaedinger definitely fits the bill. A dedicated collector of ceramics and glassware, Holly turned her passion into a profession a few years ago when she teamed up with fellow collector Marie Lyons-Cooper to open Twice Found. The store specializes in "vintage modern" glass, tableware and furnishings, with serious detours into Asian arts and even jewellery. Ecectic? Definitely. Colourful? Indubidibly. ]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-twice-found/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/making-sense-of-homesense/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/making-sense-of-homesense/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:10:28 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=12511 When HGTV star Cheryl Torrenueva suggested we meet at HomeSense I was thrilled. I've been wanting to cover this national, discount decor emporium since I started styleNorth but frankly, every time I go to one of their stores I feel like the prices are cheap but so is the quality. "You have to know what to look for," advises Cheryl, who's just as pretty and effervescent in person as she is on TV.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/making-sense-of-homesense/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-holy-cow/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-holy-cow/#comments Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:12:06 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=12178 Toronto-based globe-trotter and restaurateur Aristedes Pasparakis and his designer wife, Alexia von Beck, have taken the plunge into home decor with their latest endeavor, an exotic gift and furnishing shop on Toronto's Queen Street East. Holy Cow! is a celebration of all things South Asian.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-holy-cow/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-bunkhouse-kids/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-bunkhouse-kids/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:09:53 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=11876 I've heard that finding great bunk beds is a lot tougher than it used to be. Toronto's BunkHouse Kids is attracting customers from as far away as Burlington and Hamilton because there are so few other options in this particular niche market. Be warned, however, that taking home a room from BunkHouse will take a significant bite out of your pay packet. This stuff's not cheap! But the quality is good, with Canadian-made, solid wood construction, deep drawers and convenient trundles for those de rigueur sleepovers.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/09/shops-bunkhouse-kids/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/08/shops-leons-at-the-roundhouse/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/08/shops-leons-at-the-roundhouse/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:07:08 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=11225 Surrounded by condo towers and pressed up against the CN Tower and Rogers' Centre, Leon's new flagship store in Toronto's historic Roundhouse should go a long way to spucing up the chain's suburban image. Now, your "no money miracle" comes with exposed brick, rustic beams and polished concrete floors. The soaring ceiling and arching, double-height windows are nothing if not impressive.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/08/shops-leons-at-the-roundhouse/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/07/mid-century-surprises-in-st-jacobs/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/07/mid-century-surprises-in-st-jacobs/#comments Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:55:18 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=11111 Not far from Kitchener-Waterloo, St. Jacobs is in the heart of Mennonite country so I was expecting lots of solid, unadorned wooden furniture. Imagine my surprise then, at finding several good mid-century pieces and lots of lovely Asian and chinoiserie accents at the Spring Street Antiques Market. The vintage Solair Sunflower chair was $150, the 1960s floor lamp with brass pole and black acrylic "leaves" was $295 and the awesome metal saucer chair is one of pair that comes with a matching bistro table for just $175.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/07/mid-century-surprises-in-st-jacobs/feed/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/07/pinups-and-voodoo-at-the-green-iguana/ http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/07/pinups-and-voodoo-at-the-green-iguana/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:55:40 +0000 Chris http://stylenorth.ca/blog/?p=11069 Believe it or not, it wasn't the wild exterior paint job that beckoned me into Toronto's Green Iguana, it was the display of art glass in the sunny window. What the heck is that about? I wondered. The fanciful mural is a leftover from the 2001 movie, Serendipity, starring John Cusak and Kate Beckinsdale. Shop owner Darrell Dorsk sells art glass and wild Haitian voodoo flags but the bulk of his business is in glass framing and the sale of pulp pinups ($12) and other kitschy ephemera from bygone eras.]]> http://stylenorth.ca/blog/2009/07/pinups-and-voodoo-at-the-green-iguana/feed/