I'm just back from visiting the Interior Design Show in Toronto. During my visit I was able to attend two very well organized blogging events. One was called Blog Podium which focused on how the media and blogs interact and the other one was the Canadian Design Blogger's Meetup. Both fantastic. Both taught me to be myself, in 500 words or less, with fabulous pictures and original content. Hopefully I'll be able to translate their teachings into something fantastic for you to read.
So here I go...
This was my second year at IDS and while I'm still pretty new to the design world, this being my second year at the show, my comfort level with exploring the space on my own was much higher. What happens when you explore on your own? You see the things through your eyes. What draws you in may be different than a fellow designer or design enthusiast. So, my having a background in engineering, my eyes were drawn to joinery and interesting finishes and textures.
I love organizing, as you may know, so I also love creative things that allow you to live in small spaces. One of the first things to catch my eye were some Murphy beds from a company called clei. The poor girl working the booth spent the whole time opening and closing those babies, which I'm sure resulted in some aching muscles. They had a number of different systems that were creative for a small space. Check them out at Resource Furniture if you are in Toronto.
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| clei |
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| clei |
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| Valcucine |
Another wow for me was on a closet system by Valcucine. They had integrated the lighting into the shelf, so that you could see what was below the shelf, and it didn't take up any space. Brilliant.
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| Valcucine |
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| Kantelberg + co. |
Kantelberg + co. had an amazing, original light fixture that mixed metal and glass in a way that was unique. Love unique. It reminds me of my daughter's best friend's hair when it's all beaded up. It had me staring up into it, trying to figure out how all the little springs are attached.
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| Kantelberg + co. |
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| Native Trails |
Native Trails had a hand hammered reclaimed copper bathtub that made my jaw drop. The closeup picture shows the beautiful workmanship that hides the welding joint. The one shown here is nickel plated. Interesting fact...the copper sinks and tubs also fight bacteria, though not so when they are plated. And of course the non-plated ones get an amazing patina as they age.
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Native Trails
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| Holtz Furniture |
Holtz Furniture had some amazing joinery used in their reclaimed wood pieces. Not sure I could use their pieces, it's that kind of beautiful. The bottom photo uses a piece of plexiglass as a support to show off the beauty of the wood. They had a piece at the show last year that used a thick piece of glass, so I was pleased to see the plexiglass used here. I'm not a fan of thick glass due to its green hue. I think it takes away from the wood. Just my two cents...
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| Holtz Furniture |
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| Holtz Furniture |
There were many, many other pretty and unique things at the show. I'll have to share those at another time. If you are interested in reading more about IDS2012 and the blogging events, check out some fellow Ottawa Decorator's blogposts:
Maureen at Modecor Muses,
Kelly at Jax Does Design,
Lisa Goulet Design,
Sonya Kinkade Design
Until next time,
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