Things I like - but which you need not feel obliged to

Sadly, I did not have room in my column this week to include all the fab Canadian-made stuff I saw at the Interior Design Show last week. So here are just a few more items.

Woodlight  makes wood veneer lighting fixtures  — pleasing in colour and grain on their own, but also notable for their translucent quality, and for the soft, warm glow they throw (LED and fluorescent bulbs are specified to reduce heat and energy usage).I like too that they are designed and made in Toronto by artisans and craftspeople. A retail line is available at Morba, but they do custom work as well. More on these folks in an upcoming column, methinks.

 

 

 

 

I’d love to get one of these fixtures to replace the aging chandelier that came with our house, shown at right below.

(I know, I know, but what do you want? I have four kids to get through University, which means there’s not much left over for adventures in lighting). If I can’t have one of these, I’ll take just about anything from Eclectic Revival 

BTW, there was a ton of exposed, salvaged and hand-rubbed wood on display at IDS. While admiring  a piece I thought was particularly good-looking, I overheard a couple of visitors sneeringly suggest that somebody should take a paint-brush to all of it, and what taste-challenged plebeians (my word, not hers, but that was the gist) those of us who like it must be. Now, I like a pretty painted piece as much as the next person, and think that gloss can be good, but I find it hard to believe that anyone doesn’t appreciate the beauty of the colour and grain of hardwood.

However - to each his own. It was the tone I found irritating — the “you’re either with us or against us” attitude; reminiscent of the Don Cherry/Ezra Levant/Newt Gingrich school of “I’m right and if you don’t agree, you’re an idiot” School of Philosophy™. Ladies please! I know it’s a cliché, but it’s also true that if we all liked the same thing, the world would be such a bore! I can respect your taste even if I don’t like what you like. (Although now that I think about it, if you actively despise the short stories of J. D. Salinger, almond biscotti, or Miss Dior, chances are we won’t become BFFs.)  

But I digress. Also very much liked the ceramic Tiffin boxes by Vancouver designer Lorea Sinclaire They can be bought online, with the first pieces shipping out at the end of this month.

 

 

The pieces made by Tahir Mahmood  looked as wonderful up close as they did in the pics I previewed before the show. He made the spinning tops shown above, which I loved. He’s somebody I’ll be watching, and rooting for. Note, ahem, the combo of bare wood and paint. Something for everyone.