Metro Home Show sneak peek!

Spring is a great time to get inspired for all your renovation and gardening projects, even if the weather isn't quite nice enough to act on them! And the next show I'll be hitting up is the Metro Home Show, which starts next week (April 10 - 12).

Now, as those who read my blog regularly or follow me on twitter may know, I enjoy my fair share of video games and technology, and Mr. Speedy is really quite the gadget geek. As a result, I'm really excited to check out the "techno-chic" trends at the show's Sony Spaces, styled by Cheryl Tourrenueva (who many of you will know from Home Heist).

And, as an added bonus, she's done this video to share a sneak peek of her plans for the eco-friendly, techno-savvy and stylish spaces. But, we'll still have to wait until next Friday to find out what the finished rooms look like!

What does your door knob say about you?

I must admit, I never thought that my door knobs revealed anything about me.

In fact, when I first received a press release from Weiser Lock saying that the hardware on your door says a lot about your personality, I couldn't even recall what my door knobs looked like!

According to the release, consumers are looking for a door knob that looks good, suits their taste, and fits their personality.

And, apparently, our choice actually reveals a lot about the kind of people we are — from our style to our likes and dislikes. While I'm not sure if you can really glean that much from your choice of door knob, Weiser's descriptions are certainly entertaining!

Here's what your door knob says about you, according to the folks at Weiser:

Venetian Bronze: A nostalgic homeowner, this person chooses a palette of warm rose and cream colours and likely has a soft spot for classic Victorian decor. This person is conscientious, dependable, steady and conservative. They enjoy "classical music, fine dining, designer clothes and trips to Rome."

Satin Stainless Steel: This person likes clean, modern looks and their home is simple, bright and airy, likely with lots of windows and open spaces. This homeowner is innocent, pure and naive. As for their personal life, they're probably into alternative or indie rock, wear jeans with a t-shirt, vacation on the beach and chow down on sushi.

Rustic Pewter: This homeowner prefers an average home in the burbs to a modern mansion. This person "often has good business sense but tends to work too much." They like classic rock, sporting events, cheeseburgers and camping trips.

Iron Black: This homeowner likes a mysterious feel and leans toward a dignified and impressive look without being showy. In their personal life, they likely enjoy "emo music, visiting Eastern bloc countries, wearing all black wardrobes and eating at ethnic restaurants."

Bright Brass: The homeowner who chooses bright brass has a sunny personality and a great sense of humour. Their hobbies include "visiting glitzy Las Vegas, wearing bright clothing and accessories, listening to pop music and dining at chain restaurants."

As a renter, I didn't choose my satin silver knobs, but given the choice, I probably would have picked something similar. And the description is moderately apt — I have been known to chow down on sushi while wearing jeans and a t-shirt and listening to indie rock. Then again, I suspect this may describe a lot of my friends and neighbours, regardless of their choice of hardware ...

What do you think? Does your choice of door knob match your personality?

Sit for a cuppa

Or on a cuppa! I've shared my love of tea, and tea time accessories, before, with the Jaws-themed infuser and the Ants on my ... cup and saucer, so it's no surprise these tea party/tea cup stools, which have been making their way round the blogosphere, caught my eye!

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, the moulded plastic cups were designed by the UK's Holly Palmer. They can be used indoors or out.

At 41 cm high and 58 cm in diameter, the stools offer both adult and child-friendly seating.

With 11 colour options, it should be easy to find one that can complement your decor, or for an additional fee, you can use the colour matching service for a custom hue.

And, if you're not sold yet, Palmer even created wall hooks and a tree for storing the cups when not in use! How cute is that?

Visit Palmer's website for product and shipping details. Cups start around $250 each, and can be shipped internationally.

I think they'd be adorable tucked away in a garden or clustered in a child's room. Or hanging on the wall in my living room.

Excavate a wine cellar

While racks and mini fridges are perfectly acceptable, and often stylish, ways to store your wine, wouldn't a wine cellar be infinitely cooler? Especially if it had a trap door?

Obviously, for most house hunters, a wine cellar doesn't make the "gotta have it" list. But what if you could add one into an existing home?

That's where Spiral Cellars comes in. This company, which is currently expanding throughout the U.S. and Canada, excavates a spot for a prefab concrete wine cellar, with handy trap door access.

The cellar relies on the surrounding earth for insulation, and a built-in air flow system means it doesn't need any electricity to maintain the temperature.

Their wine cellars can store up to 1,600 bottles.

Found via CasaSugar

IKEA goes solar

"Spring is coming. Spring is coming. Really," has been my mantra during the last few gloomy days. And, to fuel this attempt at optimism, I've been eying new decor for my deck, starting with the fab outdoor furniture I featured last week.

Today, I'm shopping outdoor lighting. And I'm happy to have come across SOLIG, a new line of solar-powered lights from IKEA. I'm particularly taken with the paper lantern style model, shown right, which is $9.99 a pop and comes in several colours.

The lights come with a solar cell panel and have an auto mode, which turns on automatically at dusk and off when it grows lighter. They also have an on-off switch.

With a fully charged battery, the light is supposed to last for about 11 hours.

The lights aren't available in their online store, but I'll be keeping an eye out for them next time I make the trek to the good old yellow and blue!

Have you spotted any great outdoor decor for spring?

Gorgeous glass

Perhaps the idea that it could hit 16 degrees in Toronto today is making me a wee bit stir crazy.

Or maybe I've just been watching too many episodes of Mad Men (Mr. Speedy and I are currently enjoying season two, so no spoilers!), but either way, I haven't been able to get these decanters by Joe Cariati, shared earlier today by Arren Williams, out of my mind.

I dream about placing a collection of them on a classy silver tray in the corner of my living room or on a lovely bar in the kitchen. Even taking one outdoors for a sip of scotch on the patio.

I wouldn't even need to fill them, their mere presence would add that missing bit of 60s ad man glamour to my life.

Throw in some classy frocks a la Joan Holloway and my vision would be complete.

The decanters are available in a variety of stunning colours and shapes, you can view the full spring 2009 collection on Cariati's website.

Spring is coming, really!

Visiting the National Home Show last weekend had me dreaming of redecorating both home and kitchen, but also of gardens, spring and sipping mimosas on the patio.

As previously mentioned, the Toronto Star's Dream Gardens were truly stunning, but there was also a plethora of BBQs, gardening wares and patio furniture on display.

Trend forecasters predict that, as part of the whole anchoring trend, people will be making more of their outdoor space this year and using the home renovation tax credit to add decks, patios or landscape their backyards.

So, with the hope that warmer temperatures are truly on the way, I want to share some of the unique outdoor furniture from Icon Home Design, which has an office on King Street West.

Their products are marketed as "the finest collections of luxury outdoor furnishings to help you create the perfect combinations of style and function", all in durable and weather-resistant materials.

Without a backyard, I can't speak to how they'll fare in a rainstorm, but I can say that they are stunning.

I love the canopy on the loveseat, shown above, which you can open and close to respond to the position of the sun or to help protect your pastier friends (like yours truly) from those harsh rays.

The table and chair set, shown right, also caught my eye. I love the modern lines and round shape!

It seems perfect for an evening of drinks with friends — just pop the sangria pitcher on the cute little table and relax!

Gadgets and the geeks who love them

Electronics are quickly becoming the cornerstone of our homes. From flat-panel TVs hung as the focal point in the living room, enormous home theatre set-ups and universal remotes to monitors checking your power consumption and scheduling when your lights turn off and on, today's home relies heavily on technology.

It's very true for my own home. I use the PS3 and Xbox 360 to stream videos from our desktop, our Wii as a replacement for a traditional scale and Mr. Speedy's iPod touch to play vids from the iTunes store in full size. Add in actually playing the video games, the DVD, tape, VHS, CD and record players, and I spend most of my time planted in front of our home entertainment centre. Without it, I don't know how I'd pass these miserable Toronto winters!

Thankfully, with all this reliance on technology, companies are also stepping up to make products that complement your home decor. Brack Electronics makes a beautiful iPod dock, Tivoli has stunning radios, there are scores of TVs on the market that could double as art and my Apple desktop truly is a thing of beauty. I could go on and on with the drool-worthy design rolled out by electronics manufacturers over the past few years.

As you can probably tell, I love my gadgets. So I'm happy to announce a new column all about having fun with your home electronics, called Play@Home. This week, we learn how to make your iPod and TV play nice. Stay tuned as JD Speedy tackles a new home entertainment topic every second week!

And, if all those cables, buttons and functions are just too much to handle, Rob Wright helps solve your electronic problems in Your Wired Home.

Have a cuppa with ... ants?

"Aw," "cute," and "oooh" are my normal reactions while browsing the fabulous jars of cute blog, whose motto is "stylish cute things bottled daily."

But one of today's goodies was met with a sharp inhale and an "Ewww."

The "Ants on my ..." series, by New York-based Bailey doesn't bark, while appropriately quirky and perfectly crafted, just makes me feel crawly.

Founder Re Jin Lee individually hand painted these tiny ants then transferred them on to decal paper to create the pretty, but creepy crawly, spoons, creamers and the cup and saucer, shown.

There's also an even more disturbing (but still oddly beautiful) "roaches on my cup and saucer" variety.

Perhaps it's still lingering discomfort from an enormous spider jumping into my hair while I was brushing my teeth Monday night (I've been warily peering into corners ever since), but I don't think I'd be able to enjoy my afternoon cuppa in this mug.

I would, however, enjoy serving it to guests and watching their reaction.

Would you use this cup and saucer set?

Me and Karim Rashid!

So, IDS last night was full of gorgeous displays and wonderful products (get a much more eloquent description here), along with a healthy dose of Veuve Clicquot and Belvedere Vodka, but getting my photo taken with designer Karim Rashid was a real highlight!

Rashid is the industrial designer behind many familiar household products, including the iconic Umbra garbage can.

I'm on the left, and to the right is my style-savvy colleague Brandie Weikle, editor of parentcentral.ca and healthzone.ca.

Read more about the Interior Design Show here.