Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The amazing versatility of Cork

Cork has been used for many years and is most often thought of by its use in bulletin boards or to cap off wine bottles.  Cork has come a long way and is used in many eco-friendly ways these days. 
 



We first started to see it used in flooring but now we see it used for wall and ceiling coverings and it is a naturally decorative and modern alternative to traditional coverings. It is available in a wide variety of unique patterns and shades to compliment any decor or furniture style, and will add character and warmth to any room.  
Outstanding room designs are created by using cork to accent or contrast walls and ceilings, floors and now furniture!  




Cork coverings are a naturally decorative and modern alternative to traditional coverings.They are available in a wide variety of unique styles, patterns and shades to compliment any décor or furniture style, and will add character and warmth to any room. Outstanding room designs created using cork to accent or contrast walls or ceilings. Additionally, whether in tile form or roll form, besides being decorative cork coverings are also functional. Available in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, these decorative coverings can also serve as tack and pin boards without damage to the cork. Ideal for offices, children’s rooms, and any other area where pinups are wanted.
Cork furniture by Jelinek Cork Group, www.jelinek.com is distinct and exclusive in many ways. Each piece is individually hand crafted to ensure the highest quality and although there are many standard pieces, CUSTOM MADE designs and items can also be developed. Most of the cork materials are produced by hand and are water and stain resistant and like all fine furniture, cork furniture will last for many years under normal wear and tear
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Cork Fashion Collections, produced from natural cork fabrics, are stylish and sophisticated and are used on a wide selection of products including handbags, sport bags and luggage, wallets and watches, upholstered furniture, clothing, pillows, yoga mats, shoes, painters canvases, and more!


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If you would like to see the many other used for cork visit The Cork House, www.jelinek.com/ located on Neyagawa Blvd, Oakville which is located in a historic home converted to showroom and    factory outlet for Jelinek Cork Group

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

CDECA GTA West Chapter at Speers Road Broadloom

Many CDECA decorators attended an event at Speers Road Broadloom  www.speerswww.speersroadbroadloom.com entitled 'Hands On' Installation and gained extremely valuable knowledge. 
Carl French from Speers Road Broadloom organized a professional flooring trainer to attend. His name is Dave Adams. He is a real specialist that works with a number of flooring products.   We we given information on the newest in vinyl flooring; Polypropylene Carpets and how easy they are to live with as well as wood step covers





As in the past Carl arranged for lovely refreshments provided by Janna French-Kugler of SPECA Marketing and Event Planning.www.specsplanning.com


 Thanks to Carl for arranging to have his suppliers on hand for this informative evening


Benjamin More takes another direction....

Benjamin Moore www.benjaminmoore.com  has partnered with Canadian Tire www.canadiantire.ca to bring you a high-quality paint for the interior and exterior of your home.

Origins™ by Benjamin Moore® paints are easy to apply and deliver an outstanding finish that is durable, washable, and fade-resistant.

Available in an exclusive palette of 494 designer-picked paint colours, you'll find an Origins™ by Benjamin Moore® paint for every project.


 Great Display at Canadian Tire

CDECA AGM

The month of April brought us to our CDECA Annual General Meeting and once again our meeting was held at the Estates of Sunnybrook in Toronto.  Attendees enjoyed two professional development seminars, a fabulous lunch and great networking with peers and affiliates as well as the Awards Presentations to our Winners of the 2012 Design Competition. As well as all the fun there was the business of our general meeting and the National Board of Directors for 2012 - 2013 were duly elected.

   
Karl Lohnes spoke on the topic of 'FOLLOWING YOUR INSTINCTS, NOT THE TRENDS'
    
            


                                                                 

Fawn Chang spoke on how the topic of " FENG SHUI - THE USE OF ANCIENT WISDOM IN MODERN COLOUR AND DESIGN"








If not for the generosity of our wonderful affiliates we would not have had such a successful day.  Many thanks to all who supported this event.   All in all a great day for everyone




Tuesday, April 24, 2012

The Titanic and all it's luxury

Well we just recently passed the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Great Luxury Ship 'The Titanic', and what a devastating tragedy it was.  Television and Newspapers seemed to cover every
single detail of the event and now the movie is being being re-released in 3D.  I remembered how gorgeous the sets were in that movie, at least in the first class area so I went searching for photos of the original Titanic and here they are....

The famous Grand Staircase where Kate and Leo made quite a statement


 

A photo of the original Grand Staircase 
The original Main 1st Class Dining Room  
Veranda - Palm Court
 
 Parisian Cafe
The famous Promenade Deck
A few samples of first class rooms



 A de luxe first class room

 Library
Lounge
Smoking Room for the Men
Another version of the Smoking Room
 They even had a gym on this ship,
 The Barber Shop
  Not to be outdone by the men having a smoking room, the women had their own room where they read and listened to music.
 Staircase to the 2nd Class area
 A Room for 3rd Class Passengers
  Upper Deck with the life boats
 Some of the original china that was recovered.












Monday, April 23, 2012

More White on White...

If you follow this blog or know me, you will be aware of my allegiance to white.  Love it. There are so many different tones of white that  I do not think it can ever be boring as long as you have a mix of texture  and coordinating 'white' tones.  I love to find photos of rooms done in white and done with style & creativity.  Recently I was viewing some of the work from Interior Designer, Benjamin Noriega Ortiz , www.bnodesign.com who is recognized as one of the most stylish and influential of today's interior designers.  There are many books and articles on White Decorating, and of course I have some of them.  The newly published book by designer, Linda O'Keefe, Brilliant: White in Designshowcases beautiful white rooms by many known designers from all over the world.

As an Interior Decorator, I love colour but can appreciate the value of white.  It is less demanding on the eye and the conscious mind.  White is very versatile.  Decorating in a white on white scheme, does not mean the there is no other colour in the space; rather that it is of a secondary value, more in the background.
I have shared white space design previously in this blog but couldn't help myself and decided to add some more....







And now some photos of white spaces from various other sources....


I could go on and on but I think I will look for some great black and white spaces.
   Check back soon...