Designing with Animal Print

I think everybody loves a little animal now and again.... I mean animal print but of course we all love animals too so I am talking about 'faux' animal print.  We see it in Fashion and of course Interior Decor and Design follow fashion.  It never really goes out of 'fashion' whether clothing or home decor.  Too much can be overwhelming and a little tacky but done correctly it can really add the Wow to any decor.  

Animal print can be found in a variety of decor items such as upholstery, area rugs, stair runners, toss cushions, bedding, towels, wall coverings,  accessories, case goods, lighting, sinks and vanity tops and even outdoor products.

If you are a little unsure, try a very small item like a toss cushion.  Below are some photos I found of the many ways we can decorate our spaces with animal print.  Browse through them and perhaps you will become inspired to add a little 'animal' to your home.  Enjoy!

 

Bersgma's Paint and Decor in Milton

Tuesday evening many CDECA GTA West Chapter Decorators attended our monthly event at Bergsma's Paint and Decor www.bergsmaspaint.ca in Milton.  Jeff Bergsma, owner has a  fantastic showroom with everything you could imagine for home decor - paint, wallpaper, furniture, casegoods, lighting, accessories, etc., Jeff has been in this business for many years and knows this business inside/out.  He carries PPG and his 'specialty' paint C2.  Jeff provided an information night and gave us the scoop about the newest in C2 Paint which will be of interest to all of us undertaking paint projects.  C2 has the best pigments of all paint and they use anywhere from 5 - 8 different pigments in varying amounts to create incredible saturated paint colours.  This paint has a built in primer which speeds up the labour time, thus lessens the cost.  One of the interesting details about C2 paint is that they do not use black colorant, since it absorbs rather than reflects light.  By using many different colorants to create their colours they are able to produce luxurious and pure colour.  Currently they have 496 colours in their palette, and will be rolling out 56 new colours within the next month.  Of course this paint qualifies for LEED credits and has 0 VOC.

Of particular interest to me is the newest collection which is their Cabinet & Trim paint which can also be used on Floors.  This can be tinted to any colour.  The technology is amazing in that is provides an 'oil' like finish with the smooth and silky hand, which levels and is water based.  Now that is Great!!  My kitchen cabinetry is in need of a little refreshing, so I am going to give this newest Cabinet Paint a whirl.  Will let you know how it works out.

The second portion of our evening was devoted to lighting. Phillip Todoroff, a Lighting Representative, Designer and Educator shared the latest in LED technology and the most up to date in bulb innovations from Phillips.  We learned everything new on the market in lighting products and how far we have come.  Phillip demonstrated the different bulbs and how they gave off different 'colour' as in warm, blue, yellow, pure, etc.  My brain is not digesting all of this information.   Bergsmas is as a must visit location!  

Thanks to all for providing us with a fabulous and educational evening.

Design Event At Toute Suite in Mississauga

Yesterday was not such a great day with all the rain we experienced but last evening turned into a great night.  The rain ceased and the fun began with a Spring Open House Event at Toute Suite Custom Decor.  Many of the public and Designers/Decorators were seen enjoying the  incredible hors d'oeuvres from Rocos Plum Tomato Catering & Restaurants which can be found on Islington Ave and The Queensway;  while viewing the great Canadian Made furnishings as well.  Toute Suite has everything including beautiful ready made drapery from Faab.   To top that off Jane Lockhart, well known and extremely talented designer was on hand to present some spring design tips and her new line Jane by Jane Lockhart which will be available at Toute Suite.  

Some of the Design Tips shared were that we will be seeing a lot of colour and pattern.  She talked about graphics, geometric, and the all time favourite stripes.  You will also see a lot of furniture with the nail head treatment, contrast piping, tufting and once again yellow metal is showing up as in brass and copper.  As for colour there is an abundance with Pantonne's Colour of the Year being Emerald Green leading the way. We also see mirrored case goods which really help to expand a space.

One can start small with the accessories to add colour to our neutral larger pieces.  White will always be popular and when you add colour and pattern it really gives it some impact.  Below I share some of the photos from last night and you will see I selected mostly grey and light neutral pieces, which I am personally fond of, but there is a myriad of colourful and patterned fabrics available to have smaller custom pieces created to work with your neutrals. If you are ready to go full out any of the pieces below and in the showroom can definitely be fabricated in a bright and colourful pattern!

As we had a chance to network, check out the newest in home decor and of course eat very well, we were also treated to live music from Angelica Ganea who has the voice of an angel.  Check her out on you tube as well.  www.youtube.com/AngelicaGanea

Wow, I would say that Toute Suite really knows how to host a party!!  Thanks to Vish and staff

  

 

I just had to add this one of a kind piece - Wow!

Designing & Decorating with Grids, Graphics & Geometric Patterns

One of the Elements of Design is Pattern.  After the years of plain, understated and simplistic design looks, we are seeing an abundance of Colour and Pattern.  Adding pattern to our spaces offers a feeling of joy and can be done in bold and bright or subdued and elegant ways.  Pattern is an easy way to make a dramatic or fun statement and add style, sophistication and interest to our interior spaces.  

This spring we are definitely seeing both colour and pattern on the runways and as we know, this in turn leads to home decor.  Patterns, and especially graphic patterns are making a steady comeback in design, from chevrons to stripes which will always be popular and versatile.  Add graphic and geometric to the mix and you will definitely find something that will work in your space.  They can work in modern, traditional and basically any style you like as long as they are done correctly.  We have seen chevron for a couple of years now and it is so popular it will most likely stay around for some time to come.  It has actually always been around in one way or the other for centuries.

If you are not sure about such pattern, why not start small with accessories.  Toss cushions, throws, small decor pieces and small poufs could be a great starting point.  IF you are ready to really add impact, go for wallpaper which is getting stronger each year.  Or, maybe an area rug, drapery or something that will really make a bold statement.  Do not mix too many colours when going for large area coverage, stick to two colours.  It is very important to select the pattern which will work best with your design style, be it traditional or modern.

In looking for some photos to show the different types of patterns mentioned above I checked several great sites and this is some of what I found.

From Fresh home

From Clippings

From Dwell Studio

From Elle Decor

From Decoist we even see this in our outdoor settings