CDECA AGM

Last Week I attended the CDECA Annual General Meeting of Members and Awards Celebration at The

Estates of Sunnybrook - The Vaughan Estate, on Bayview Avenue in Toronto.  What a beautiful venue!

We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, fabulous lunch and enlightened workshops.  The first workshop was presented by PPG Pittsburgh Paints on "Colour Trends 2010/2011"  followed by "Designing Reality - Change your Perspective - Change the World" with keynote speaker Dan Trommater courtesy of Hunter Douglas.  Great presentations by both speakers.

Following the presentations we had a very special Tribute to

one of our decorators who we recently lost to cancer -

Ingrid Kyranis.  Ingrid is missed by all those who have

known  and worked with her.  The entire room did the

"pink gloves" dance in honour of Ingrid and there was a slide

presentation of many events in which Ingrid was involved.

Our table decor was "pink" with many pink gloves

surrounding a floral arrangement like a wreath!  How clever!

Once we had been treated to some desert, we got down to the business of our Awards Presentations.  Our Decorators/Designers are incredibly talented and should be really proud of themselves!

Decorators on a Field Trip!

This past week a group of GTA West CDECA decorators were off to tour the showrooms at SOFA -

Source of Furniture and Accessories) at the International Centre. (formerly the Furniture Mart)

We had a short business meeting prior to our tour, where Shelley Levy from the Resource Centre gave us an update on SOFA happenings.  Currently Bobby Wertman, director of Leasing and Tenant Relations, SOFA  is at the High Point International Home Furnishings Market checking out what is new and exciting as well as looking for new showrooms to join SOFA.

SOFA has been working on their branding and  have been trying to have consistent hours of operation for all of the showrooms.  This can only make sourcing easier for us.  They welcomed us by providing yummy refreshments and gave us some updated information on what we can expect in the coming months.  They are planning on introducing some "perks" for those who do business with them.  Information on these "perks" will be coming in the near future.

We enjoyed a tour directed by Taline, a student from Sheridan who will be graduating this May, who is on her 3 week placement at SOFA. We were well received by the many showrooms we visited.  SOFA is definitely a place to consider when sourcing beautiful and Canadian made pieces for our clients. 

                             First stop was Chair-Tech Inc 

                     

  

 \

Korson has something for everybody.  Fabulous furniture & accessories

 

Marcantonio Designs have fabulous leather and other fabrics on many different styles.  They also do custom so you can take a piece and change it to suit your needs 

Here is our little group browsing Sunset Lamp Inc.

 West Bros Furniture

Bailey Street with our wonderful tour guide - Taline

 

  

Karen enjoying a little rest at Villageois Inc. 

We visited many other wonderful showrooms and appreciated the wonderful reception we were given at each one.!  Thank you SOFA

"Back to School"

Last week I had the opportunity and pleasure to visit some of the Interior Decorating Students in their final year at Sheridan College, http://www.sheridaninstitute.ca/ and view their portfolios.  Sheridan has a great reputation for superior education and the students in Audrey Macdonald's Business class are keeping this reputation going.  They presented their portfolios and "sales pitch" to Interior Decorators from CDECA who acted as "potential clients" for the upcoming graduates.  What a fantastic idea and learning tool for them to gain a little practice and feedback in order to prepare them for the outside world of design and decor.  "Hats Off" to their instructor Audrey for arranging this special event as well as to the students who have worked so hard.  Great job!

Audrey Macdonald & students

Let's Go To The Movies Again....

Oh how I love to check out fabulous decorating!  The movies have some of the very best set designs you will see.   They usually have decent budgets, many sources and talented designers/decorators to pull it all together.  We can dream and get great ideas from these sets to interpret into our own homes. I know I have been down this road a couple of times previously with some of my favorites but here I go again....

By now everybody has heard about the incredibly funny movie "It's Complicated" and once again a great set design by Nancy Meyers.  The home of the lead female character, played by Meryl Streep is a little eclectic yet comfy/casual.  This home is cozy and has a "lived in" look that is so relaxing.  You just want to drop in and have a glass of wine there!

One old favourite for anybody who loves Traditional Design is the

"Father of the Bride Movie(s)"

And of course "Franck" designed the most elaborate Nurseries

Another great set design was the movie "The Nanny Diaries"

Outside Hallway

Interior Hallway looking into Living Room

Living Room

Another great kitchen - I love kitchens even though I don't cook.

Very elegant traditional bedroom

OK, I WANT THIS SHOE CLOSET!

Red, White & Drunk all over.... (This is the title of a wine book by Natalie MacLean)

Yes, you guessed it.  I am talking about one of my favourite beverages - wine!  I am no connoisseur but know what I like and enjoy drinking it.  I do happen to be married to a connoisseur so that does help!  If you are interested in more wine info regarding storage  please visit Oakville Wine Cellars, http://www.oakvillewinecellars.com/.  My own personal wine connoisseur suggests that you also follow Natalie MacLean as she has incredible knowledge, http://www.nataliemaclean.com/.   The important thing about wine is the storage and here is where a little decorating advice comes in.  When we renovate our kitchens, or purchase a new home we feel really on trend if we add that "built in" wine rack somewhere, perhaps over the refrigerator or some such place in the kitchen.  Well..... if you didn't know it before, I am telling you that is just not a nice way to treat your wine.  You must keep wine in a dark place, with consistent temperature, hence the kitchen is the absolute worst place to store your precious wines.  It is sunny, with varying temperatures and humidity levels from cooking, etc.

Wine is best stored in a cool, dark place, however if you really want to showcase your stock, be kind to the wine and purchase a nice wine cooler.  They come in many different styles, sizes, shapes and price points.  Many have a dual control for both red and white wines.  And... yes red wine can be kept a little cool, just not as cold as white.  When you remove it for drinking it is always a good idea to decant the reds for better flavour.

Below are a few samples of how to store your wine - everything from a simple wine rack to a wine cooler which can be installed anywhere (even the kitchen) as long as it is not in direct sunlight and then the ultimate -a complete wine cellar.  How devine!

National Home Show 2010

This past weekend I attended the National Home Show at the Direct Energy Centre.  I like to go to as many design shows & events as I can in order to keep up with what's new and exciting in the world of design.  I always look forward to viewing the Dream Home. This year the Dream Home presented by CityLine and the Toronto Star. The 2010 home will be built by Brendan Charters and Jim Cunningham of Eurodale Developments with Architect Richard Librach and project manager Kendall Christie. The interiors of this year’s home are designed by CityLine’s Janette Ewen, Ramsin Khachi, Karen Sealy, Sharon Grech and and exteriors Barry McCague Landscaping, landscaping design by Landscape Planning Ltd.  It really was quite the house - very interesting with a little of everything including a nod to the eco concerns.  Here are a few photos I took in case  you didn't make it to the show....

How about this room - very creative and different...

and this room...

It was difficult to get a good picture of this kitchen with so many people milling around constantly, but it was fantastic!  Extremely well designed and with some "glam" feaatures like the counter of crushed glass and just a little crystal thrown in under a layer of clear glass...

   

And my personal favourite for today's great kitchens - a post with your electrical outlets lined up but... it goes down when not in use and has a contemporary stainless cover built into your counter - now that's good design, functional and good looking!    

 When it is closed it looks just like this...

 

The picture above is a wonderful item for today's living -

- a built in composte container which can be lifted out and

 emptied when necessary, making prep and clean-up quick

and easy, and when not is use, it just looks like a circle of

 stainless on your counter - like the picture above

If you watch Cityline you would have seen  these items mentioned last week and here is another wonderful design for living - a decorative wall sculpture, BUT... it is actually a new take on the hot water radiators found in most older homes - WOW!  this takes on two purposes by replacing those difficult to decorate around large radiators and the bonus is that you also get wall art.  Makes me want to buy an older house just to install these.

This tiny sink could be used where there is a space issue in a small washroom

 

And of course we can't forget our four legged family members. The Dream Home even had a "doggy" shower in the mud room area. I would love one of those. 

 

Throughout the show there were many great exhibitors and here is some of what I saw...

This is a quartz countertop that looks like it is full of crystal - so beautiful and the design was interesting in that the edge was very thick and cut back towards the cabinets for a little interest.

 

This product is a medium density fibreboard about 1/4" thick and not too heavy.  It comes in many designs which replicate all types of wood like beadboard, wainscotting, this 24" square pattern below and many more.  It can be applied easily with adhesive to walls and ceilings.  Best of all it covers imperfections like a ceiling full of cracks, or possibly those "stipple" ceilings.  It also can be used as a backsplash.  The possibilities are limitless.  It can be painted or stained and looks just like wood panels.

Here is a ceiling covered in this product

I saw this at the IDS a few weeks ago and there was a display of 5 sheds designed as alternative use space.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them, but when I saw this one at the Home Show I had to snap it so you could see what an innovative idea it is.  The designer used a basic shed and created a place to "get away from it all"  How splendid.

Last but not least I visited the beautiful gardens and dreamed of summer coming. There is so much more available to enhance today's outdoor living spaces which have become just as important as our indoor areas. Have a look at some fantastic garden designs......

And of course the waterfalls and ponds...

 

And there were outdoor fireplaces as well

 

A very relaxing and zen like garden spot

I liked this idea of a stone wall with a door in it but it doesn't have to go anywhere, it just gives the impression that you can go through to another space.  Great way to camoflage anything unsightly in your garden.

Lovely in the garden filled with tiny tea lights of mini lights