The Glamour of Art Deco

I've always had a love of the Art Deco period and the beautiful furniture

with its curved lines, waterfall trims, two-tone wood, aged brass hardware and ultimately, 

just beautiful craftsmanship and attention to detail. 

I recently watched and loved The Great Gatsby movie 

The interiors 

the clothes

the luxe

 the Leonardo...

 and those heavenly parties - so decadent!!!

It made me relook at the many Deco-inspired items I've collected over the years.  

Below are some of the treasures in my home, mixed in with contemporary pieces, 

they really bring character and warmth to any space.

This armoire houses all our extra pillows, blankets and duvet covers.  

The beautiful curves, mixed wood tones and hardware stopped me in my tracks when I saw it at an antique shop up north years ago.

The dark Asian chest on the floor next to it is going to be relocated (someday!)

aged brass door knobs up close

This lovely sideboard stores all my good table linens and sterling silver cutlery

 (lovely things that are only used 1-2 times per year, so sad).  

The bar cart was a common fixture in the party days (of the Deco period and of my youth LOL!)

This cart and chair are both finds during one of  my Antique trips.  The cart was $20!
The chair was quite scuffed up when I found it, so a quick spray spruced it right up. 

The pretty, hand-painted emerald green bottle and glasses are vintage Italian glass, given to me by my mother-in-law (one of the few items she's given me over the years that I truly cherish).

I found this vintage radio at a Church sale up in Cookstown while I was Antiquing with one of my BFF's a few years ago.  It sits on my stair landing now, surrounded by pictures of my trip to Paris, with said BFF. 

This piece has been all over the house over the years because it's compact 

and serves as a nice little surface to display things on top of.  

When I bought it, I actually wanted to put shelves in the back (its backless now) and some castors, and turn it into a bar.  Again, back to the BAR... I really don't drink much at all - 

but I do love the look of a pretty bar set up!

I actually have a second bar tray display with lovely crystal bottles and glasses that were also given to me by various friends & relatives over the years.  The tall one came from my favourite Aunt's house when she was downsizing to a condo and didn't want it anymore!

But enough about the stuff I already have... 

Here are some extravagant pieces I would love to own to add to the collection 

courtesy of 1stdibs

So beautiful...

and when I win the lottery

I will be prepared!

Curated Interiors: The Art of the Mix

I find the rooms I gravitate towards the most have a common thread - a mix of seemingly disparate elements creating an interesting story board that invites you to explore the vignettes further.

Bunny Williams

"mixing things allows each piece to stand out on its own and become very special...yin-yang, something complicated next to something simple".  Bunny Williams 

explaining to a group of design students why the pairing of a Venetian mirror above a stone sink in a farmhouse powder room works well together.

Bunny Williams

Rooms that offer a wonderful melange of furniture styles and periods, finishes in glimmer and patina, colour that is intense against soft creams, whites and greys; organic patterns with bold geometrics... 

that interplay on "yin-yang" as stated above works because creating tension in a room is far more interesting than having everything MATCH!  

{Please don't ever buy the sofa, love seat, chair combo - EVER!}

John Saladino

"if you walk into a room, and your blood pressure doesn't go up, its a failure" John Saladino 

says in a 1st Dibs interview.  He is one of the legends of the mix and has been creating dramatic and beautiful rooms filled with "ethereal light" for 35 years.   

John Saladino

He also encourages bringing drama into a space like the dining room as 

"the last place we have theatre in our lives".  

Here are some more of my favourite spaces and designers that do it so well

Eric Cohler

Thom Filicia

Mary McDonald

Ryan Korban

Ramon Garcia Jurado

Some basic guidelines for creating a great mix:

Learn from the best - visit high end auction houses and furniture stores to see what great furniture looks like and it will teach you how to buy better at thrift shops and eBay 

Don't be afraid to mix woods or paint wood if the quality isn't great

Add  interest and dimension to a space by varying the height of your pieces, and bring in a variety of textures, colours and finishes 

Always have more light sources than you think you need because it gives you the option to create different moods based on how you are using a space

Have fun with your decor and buy things you love, eventually they will find a place that makes the most use of their function

And finally, take your time to put the space together - 

it's an evolution not a race to the finish line!

Beautiful Things

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a magazine junkie and that diving into the latest decor mag with a cup of "something-good" while propping up my feet in my favourite over-sized reading chair is my definition of quality "me" time.  Of course, my first choice is to be at a spa in the Caribbean...but I digress!

My magazines often come to me online and via email nuggets like the weekly 1st Dibs Saturday Shopping and Sale.  The "Sale" part makes me laugh every time because you have to have some pretty deep pockets to shop here and I don't know that people who own these treasures actually shop online... 

I guess their Interior Designers do...but again, I digress.

So, I decided to visit 1st Dibs to do my Saturday shopping last weekend and here's what I bought

(in my fantasy world of buying for looks and not looking at price tags - oh, life would be good!).

Chinese Ming clothes cupboards circa 1640 - $125,000

Paola Buffa settee 1940's Italy - $5,800

Bookend tables original design from the 1950's

Sciolari brass chandelier 1970's Italy - $4,500

Sears Peyton

1990's Alaia tunic dress

Ivory and gold cuff 

Judith Leiber teal python clutch - $360

Fendi $1,350 - not on 1st Dibs
but these beauties wood be fabulous with the Alaia dress, non?

Aylin Aker

And since I'm in my own little fantasy... I want to be this glamorous woman

"Suzy Parker en Givenchy" Photo by Georges Dambier 1954

A girl can dream...can't she?

Treasure Hunting

I wandered over to 1st dibs this weekend and picked out a few new items for my next little project (ha, I wish!).  This site feels like the castoffs of the rich and famous but it's just beatiful stuff and where many of the top designers go for unique pieces.

1940's studded, pink armchair

1970's Italian lamp by Vetreria Vitosi $3,102

1960's console

19th century chandelier $19,775

Here's where the "unique" part comes in... 1980's Octopus coffee table by Henri Fernandez $9,588

And what to do with your old radiators? Turn them into a chair of course, only $2,538. Now that's creative recycling, but I think it needs a really, really thick cushion!  Don't you? Actually, I would put it outside in the garden for friends to find.