Bruised blue is the new black

Dear Reader, I know I've been remiss this week in not posting more. Blame it on the fact that on Monday, on my way to Rogers TV in Richmond Hill, laden with goodies that I'll be showing at the Fall Home Show, I went head over heels down my front steps. Miraculously, none of my stuff for the home show was broken, but my ankle is swollen to the size of a grapefruit and my legs look  like ground beef. Plus my ribs hurt. Not pretty. So I've been nursing my wounds quietly (well, not that quietly, says my family) so I'll be ready for my home show appearances, starting tomorrow. Come down and see me - and don't forget that Friday is Toronto Star Day. You can see Colin & Justin, Mark Cullen, Ellen Moorhouse and moi at the casalife StyleLab. See you there - I'll be the one NOT wearing high heels!

More bijoux

It's hard to keep up with my friend, jewellery designer and creative multi-tasker Gay Isber. She does tend to move at the speed of light.  Her new, updated website notes that she’s off to NYC to meet with the producers of Alexis Stewart’s new show, Whatever, then off to Boston. She’s back in time for a Big Party/Jewellry sale at her studio space at 55 Charles Street West (1903) on Tues. Oct 5 before taking off for her native TEXAS! If you need something sweet, sugary and completely different, drop by and see her stuff.

Friday tip for inexpensive elegance

A great centrepiece will add drama and punch to a dinner party table, but it needn’t cost the earth. Try something simple, like a great bowl filled with seasonal fruit or veg. My favourite this fall is probably a red wire bowl from Ikea ($29) that looks terrific filled with yellow or green apples (see above). You can also put a glass bowl inside it for serving a pretty dessert, such as a Trifle. (Although since I DESPISE Trifle, I'd probably go for a slow-cooked brown rice pudding with toasted hazlenuts, coconut and white choc. Or bitter choc and dried cranbrerries. But you choose your own dessert, my friend -  chacun a son gout, after all!)

I also like the crinkled steel bowls I saw at the opening of the new Urban Barn at 275 King Street East. They start at about $27. This is a wonderful store, btw, and I encourage you to check it out. And watch for their wonderful “Bollywood” pillows in an upcoming Hot Home Products column.

I’ll have more tips on beautiful style that won’t break the bank at the Fall Home Show, which runs from September 30 – October 3 at the Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place. Hope to see you there.

Bijoux of a different sort at Birks

 
 It doesn’t take much to tempt me to go to Montreal, which may be my fave Canadian city. Love you too, though, Halifax and Vancouver! So news that the iconic Birks flagship store in that great town now houses a resto-boutique (I think that’s Quebecoise for cafe) called Café par Europea, is enough to make me dial the Porter number (although I LOVE going by train).

The new establishment is the creation of Jérôme Ferrer and TV host Francis Reddy, who are fast foodie friends. It’s inspired by the “art de vivre” or “art of living” theme; which is about slowing down sufficiently to enjoy both the visual and culinary pleasures of a space. Any dishware, glassware, and cutlery used at the Café can be purchased from Birks. You can also take home beautiful macaroons, chocolates or madeleines in the trademark Birks blue box. But I don’t think you can take home the 200 kilogram chocolate Birks Lion (shown above), hand-sculpted by chocolatier Christophe Morel

I’ve got to say that recently I’ve been looking longingly at the cut-crystal Gemstone Wine Glasses in cobalt blue from Birks. Maybe it’s my eastern European roots showing through, because whereas once I thought them fussy and slightly garish, now I’m really drawn to the rich colour and the way the light catches the cut surface. I also wouldn’t mind taking a tootle around the vintage jewellery section, even though it would be window shopping only!

Ah well, a few hours looking at pretty things, and a glorious cafe au lait and pastry. That’s the kind of extravagance I can afford. The Café par Europea is open seven days a week during store hours. There will be a lunch service, a European-style Salon de thé, a wine card and gourmet food .

Alors, a bientot, Montreal!

But why can't they ALL come with a 10 year warranty?

 

 

 
 Need a new appliance? Then you’ll want to know that MIele is  offering a 10-year warranty on appliances purchased until the end of Sept. Laudable, in that it’s much better than most, and so tempting, because they have wonderful appliances. The Miele kitchen product I saw this spring at the Eurocucina show in Milan (see the pics above) was sleekly designed and had great features. The promotion also includes an “Advantage Plus plan”, which promises fast access to customer care, and invitations to events at the Miele Gallery.  If you are in the GTA area, it’s well worth a visit to their gallery/showroom at 161 Four Valley Drive in Vaughan. Very pretty.  

But it’s a bit sad to think that you can only get it until the end of September, and even sadder,  to my mind, that more manufacturers aren’t matching the deal and going further. Saddest of all, perhaps, that consumers are not demanding longer-lasting appliances, as part of an effort to save the planet from drowning in waste.  Dishwashers, for example, are all basically motors in a metal box. So why shouldn’t they routinely be  expected to run problem-free for a few decades, as they did in my mom’s day?

Having said that, if I was rolling in dough-re-mi right now, I’d seriously think of replacing my aging ceramic stove (WHICH I HATE) with a Miele induction cook-top and a steam oven. Because the older I get, the more convinced I am that buying quality pays off in the long run. And because they are, as they say in Italy, molto bella.

Friday tip for inexpensive elegance

Want to make your bathroom or powder room a little more elegant? Whenever you're out and about at flea markets, thrift shops and grandma's attic, keep an eye out for good quality large table napkins. They make lovely hand towels, and can often be picked up cheaply, especially if there's only one or two and not a full set. I dry mine on the line to get a wonderful fresh scent (and to avoid ironing) and then roll them up and put them in an old wooden apple basket that sits in the powder room. Over time, you'll collect enough that you can change them out frequently. I love to find ones that have elaborate monograms on - because they really just look like decorative scrolls to me. And besides, someone whose name begins with an "R" is sure to come into my bathroom at some point. You could also, I suppose, embroider or stencil your own initials on them, or even tack on a piece of vintage lace or crochet work along the edges. But that's beginning to sound too much like work, and this is supposed to be about easy elegance.

They grow up so quickly (sniff)

I have to admit, I got a bit of a lump in my throat when I got the press release for Rubbermaid’s Blue Ice Fun Shapes, cute little reusable icepacks that come in monkey, frog and baseball shapes. They’re designed, of course, to keep the little one’s lunch nice and cool. In a pinch, I guess, one could be used to cool a boo-boo. They costs about $3 at Loblaws, so you can probably afford to stock up and if little Jimmy or Janey does lose one, it’s not the end of the world.

So why did this funny little item make me go all misty? Aw shucks – with my middle daughter heading off to University and my "baby" halfway through high-school, I won’t need that kind of stuff anymore. Nor will I be stocking up on Expo washable dry erase markers, which the makers promise will not stain clothes, rugs or car upholstery. It’s true, BTW, I did test the markers on a small scrap of cotton. Most of the colour came out after rinsing with water and the fabric was as clean as a whistle after being laundered. If you have little ones (sniff, sniff), you might want to check either – or both – out.

New tool, old chairs and a few free hours – I’m in Heaven

 

Got my first job for testing out Ridgid’s new 12-volt Jobmax tool, which showed up in my Hot Home Products column a few weeks back. I found two funny old wooden chairs at a flea market (for $10!) near my cottage (pic above). They are very sturdy, and look like they were either made for use on a boat or a church basement, circa 1940. Call me crazy, but I’ve decided to use them as little night tables, one on each side of the bed in the spatially-challenged bedroom off the kitchen.

Now, although I like a time-worn look, these need some work, because some Careless Charlie decided to start stripping them, and then stopped the job halfway. That, Charlie, is a bad, bad thing to do.

So, I've decided to ignore a deadline for a few hours devote myself unselfishly to saving some innocent furniture from an untimely death.  Here's where the Jobmax comes in. Among the several heads that it has is  a sanding attachment. Hopefully it will help me make amends for some of the shoddy work Charlie did. When I’ve got it sanded and cleaned up a bit, I'll decide what to do next. (Although I’m pretty partial to oil-rubbed finishes these days. I know, I know, I'm so uncool.)

I’ll let you know how it goes. And yes, of course, I’ll add “after” pics.

Replace or reupholster?

  
This week’s Hot Home Products column is about re-upholstery and yummy fabrics, both from inVU Drapery  and Primavera. But is also stars my cottage kitchen, which got an overhaul this spring. As I mentioned before, the former owners had painted the walls very dark colours (take a peek at the pic below for a taste). We wanted to lighten it up, so we painted the entire main floor in String by Farrow and Ball, which I absolutely love. This is a colour that works anytime, in any light, and I think it looks terrific with the pine ceilings and floors. You can see the finished results above. Don’t you love the silly little candle holders festooned with strawberries? They are from my fave new cottage store, Vintage Finds, on Bobcaygeon Road, in Minden….

If you have are trying to decide whether to reupholster or replace a tired piece of furniture, you’d do well to do some preliminary research with a visit to a spot like  inVu, Primavera – or your fave local fabric and textile shop. In the Beaches, for example, try Jane Hall Design. You can pick up great tips. Lisa Nicholl, of InVU, shared with me, for example, the idea of using a large print on a smaller chair by framing the motif in the middle of the chair front (or back). And while at Primavera, I ooh-ed and aah-ed over the Chinese jar prints (shown above) from Pierre Frey, for whom the showroom is the exclusive trade agent. But I wondered aloud to owner Diego Marin if I could actually live with the print day in and day out. He pointed out that, used in a drapery, you would not see the full graphic all the time, just the gorgeous effect of the colour and shape.

Speaking of upholstery, I also really like the work of Andrea Ford, who did the amazing black and white couch shown above. 

 If you love great textiles, but are working on a tight budget, mark October 29 and 30th on your calendar. That’s when the Textile Museum of Canada holds its annual Decorator Fabric Sale. It’s where you’ll find designer fabrics, unique prints, beads, buttons and lots of rare finds, including sample lengths of fabrics by Pierre Frey, Osborne & Little, silk brocades from India and indigo prints from Japan and Africa - all at bargain prices.

Clever design - I'll drink to that

 
Here's a fab Friday find. A cute, clever and colourful bottle bag from Reisenthel, perfect for carrying those empty wine bottles back to the Beer Store for a refund. Available at www.touchofeurope.net