What I want this blog to be is an online journal of fun, beautiful and useful home decor information. Look for magazine style articles, pictures and regular columns such as “Chatelet at My House”, “Before and After Furniture Makeovers”, “Flea Market Tales”, book reviews and more.
What I don’t want this blog to be is a giant ad for Chatelet. So sit back and enjoy. Make sure to post lots of comments as I would love to hear what everyone has to say.
- Teresa Wiwchar
I am going to tell you the story of how I grew into a love affair with Florida starting from the beginning. My mom and step-dad have a mobile home in a 55+ community in Boynton Beach Florida and for years my mom had been bugging us to come visit her there. My husband and I resisted, thinking that this would be the most lame vacation imaginable until my mom bought us plane tickets for Christmas and we had no choice but to go.
So off we went with our two children to discover so many great things about Florida that we have returned each winter for the last five years and have now purchased a home in West Palm Beach Florida (a lot more on that later).
Apart from the obvious things like the sun, the warm weather, the beach and all the well maintained parks, the real stand out for us about Florida is the ANTIQUING! Who knew!? We had no idea about the amazing vintage and used furniture available down there. But it makes perfect sense, so many people go there to retire and when they die there are estate sales galore.
The great thing about Florida antiques, other than the fact that they’ re cheap and plentiful, is that they are so different than what we have up here. After scouring flea markets in Canada for the past fifteen years, it’s cool to see different stuff. Lots of lucite, lots of lacquer, over-scaled items. Tons of wicker, rattan, wrought iron, glass, etc.
I’ve brought back a load per year for the past four years and I hope to increase this to as many as possible. On my most recent load from earlier this month I brought back this great Mexican dining table that I bought from a Goodwill of all places.
So be prepared to hear lots from me about Florida, West Palm Beach specifically, over the next few months as I take possession and start renovating our new Florida home.
P.S. This photo, taken over the Christmas holidays in my mom’s park, only vaguely relates to this post but I’ve included it here for its comedic value.
Here are some more photos from DT’s condo. This time showing the master bedroom and the teenager’s bedroom.
I chose a large scale damask pattern for this feature wall in the master bedroom in the blue and brown color scheme that is present throughout most of the condo. The bedding on the King size bed is Ralph Lauren, purchased from The Bay. The headboard and two silk shams were custom made by Chatelet.
The antique French night tables from Of Things Past were a bit of a gamble as I wasn’t sure if my client would like them. (I figured I could just sell them in my store if he didn’t like them.) Fortunately he loved them, and rightly so because they are absolutely the right pieces for the space.
I knew I needed something great for the wall of this office nook in the master bedroom but I didn’t know what it would be until I stumbled upon these maps, taken from an antique French atlas, at the Christie’s antique show. I had them framed at Telegramme Prints and Custom Framing.
The desk is a Canadian made, mid-century piece that I found on craigslist and sent out to be refinished. Add in an industrial lamp chair and you have the perfect man’s work-at-home space.
As I so often do, I started the whole concept for this teenage boy’s bedroom from a fabric swatch. I loved this crazy, bold, mod, geometric print and pulled the colours from it for all the furnishings in the room. The bright red desk and grey office chair were found at Urban Mode.
On this double bed I used the coordinate of the curtain fabric for the duvet cover and shams. 1950’s night tables were painted gloss black and retro mosaic tile lamp bases with drum shades complete the mod look.
I came across an intriuging looking flyer advertising a small antique show in Caledonia Ontario. I took a chance and drove the hour from Toronto and was not disappointed.
The decision to make the trip wasn’t a complete shot in the dark as I recognized the name of the organizer, Kim Davies of Tattered and Torn, from booths at the Christies Antique Show and Southworks Antique Mall in Cambridge.
This was Kim’s first foray into hosting her own antique show. The 2 day weekend event was held in a large storage building on her Caledonia property and included 5 other like minded vendors.
Kim and her vendors have a genuine passion for beautiful old things, things that have been loved by others in the past and are imbued with a sense of history. Lovers of nostalgia and ephemera will be in heaven here.
If you like to buy things that are clean and in perfect condition do not come to this show. Like the name “Tattered and Torn” suggests, the antiques here really are tattered and torn, but in the time-worn-passed-down-through-the-generations way.
This a very comfoartable, cozy, homegrown show with cookies and hot chicken noodle soup being served in the canteen. The set up and quality of antiques on offer are such that I would recommend this show to all admirers of beautiful tattered and torn things.
Based on the success of this first show, (there were line ups both Saturday and Sunday mornings) Kim now has plans to make this a semi annual event by hosting a show in May as well. I will send out a newsletter to let all my subscribers know the exact dates of the spring show.
A Day in the Country Show
930 Haldibrook Road, Caledonia ON
Kim Davies (905)385-8170
Two summers ago I did an interior design job for a dream client. A recently divorced man, a banker with a good budget, who had just bought a 2,700 square foot condo at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto. It needed to be furnished and decorated from scratch. My client was bringing nothing except his grand piano from his previous home.
The only request he made from me was for a large comfortable sofa and a really good home theatre system. Other than that I pretty much had carte blanche.
I decided on a bit of a retro “Mad Men” vibe, with lots of wood and brick and a hint of ethnic style. Plus a few of my signature French pieces.
This is such a beautiful light filled room, a corner on the 28th floor with amazing views west and south. My client is an amateur musician and his piano found pride of place where the windows intersect.
I ended up buying 2 huge sectional sofas from Elte to form a U shape infront of the media wall. The coffee table is a mid-century teak piece that I purchased from Bungalow in Kensington Market and had refinished in a darker stain.
The media wall was a real chalenge with 5 or 6 different tradespeople involved. This wall has recessed walnut display shelves, a recessed 52″ television and a recessed ethanol burning fireplace. There is a slate ledge over the fireplace with walnut cantilevered shelves on either side that run the full length of the wall.
The whole wall was given a faux brick treatment by Soho Brick and the wall sconces are midcentury Italian picked up from Residential Lighting.
Here are a couple of vignettes. The chest of drawers in the entrance is from Decorum. The lamp on the half moon table is vintage Murano.
My client likes to have occassional poker nights. He and his buddies can play poker in style on this 6 foot diameter pedestal table surrounded by 8 chairs. The dramatic stylized bamboo print wallpaper is from Crown Wallpaper.
My next story will show shots from the bedrooms so stay tuned.
I know I’m not the only one to blog about the Aberfoyle flea market and I’m sure most people living in southern Ontario have been there or at least heard of it. But it’s still worth a mention here on my blog because it is a regular haunt of mine and it is the biggest and the best outdoor antique market we have in Ontario.
This market near Guelph is open Sundays from May to October and boasts approximately 120 permanent and temporary vendors on a 20 acre field in cabins, barns and tents. There is a ton of free parking and admission is $2 per adult. Dogs are welcome on a leash. Word of warning: This patch of land is the coldest place in southern Ontario on spring and fall mornings. So if you think you can get away with a jacket, you’re wrong, go put on a parka. (You’ll thank me.)
The market is very well attended and has a feeling of vitality and growth, (unlike other venues that unfortunately can often have a feel of slow, steady decay and desparation).
The amenities here are great too. There is an indoor snack bar and an outdoor barbeque hut with open air seating. There are 2 small play parks for the kids and washroom facilities with flush toilets (bonus!)
It goes without saying that, with so many vendors, there is something for everyone at this market. Prices range from dirt cheap to moderate, but no one is out of line on their prices. I find the vendors here are interested in moving their stuff as opposed to hanging onto items like they are museum pieces as often happens in antique malls.
I thought I’d share a photo of this higher ticket piece of furniture I saw here because it is so freaking beautiful! Imagine the impact it would have in a restaurant, a shop, or a grand home, amazing. The price was around $4500 I believe.
The best part of this market for my 5 year old son are the boxes of toys put out by one of the vendors with a sign reading “Free Toys. One per child.”What’s not to love about a flea market like this?
Visit www.aberfoyle-antiques.com for specific details.
57 Brock Rd. South (RR#3)
Guelph, Ontario
1 877-763-1077
Open Sundays 8:00 and 4:00pm from the last Sunday in April
to the last Sunday in October.
It seems like every fashion and decorating magazine out there has the term “Must-Haves” on the cover, “Must-Have jackets”, “Must-Have lamps”, “Must-Haves for Fall”, etc.
I CALL BULL**** ON MUST-HAVES.
What exactly does this term mean? I must have all of these “Must-Haves” or what? My husband will divorce me? My friends will drop me? My career will fail? I should hope not. When it comes to material possessions there should be no such thing as Must-Haves in the sense that magazines want us to believe.
It makes me ill to think that anyone would buy something just because a magazine tells them to. I say don’t buy the Must-Haves. In fact, buy something completely opposite. Buy something that speaks to you personally without worrying about it being “On Trend”. (Oh, and that’s another term that makes me gag.)
In my blog, in my newsletter, in my store, I swear I will never tell anyone that they must have something. And this is coming from a person who makes their living from selling things. I’m not saying don’t buy anything. I’m saying buy something that is beautiful to you, something enduring, something that makes you smile.
The whole concept of Must-Haves serves to fuel women’s insecurities and should be abolished. Amen.
Comments welcome.
Design Sponge is a wildly popular design blog that was created in 2004 by Brooklyn based Grace Bonney. Fans of the site will be glad to know that she has finally published a book showcasing some of the best homes and tips seen in her blog over the past 7 years.
The book’s contents are divided up into 3 categories. The first section is made up of what Grace calls “Sneak Peaks” into the homes of regular people who didn’t use a decorator and are able to express themselves through their objects, furniture and spaces.
The middle section of the book is made up of close to 50 DIY projects and includes a “How To” section on the basics of using a sewing machine, tools, paint, etc. My favorites are the fabric covered hangers on page 244 and the butterfly dome on page 270.
The third section of the book shows us some fun “Before and After” projects that involve paint, fabric, stencils and found objects (including 2 uses for wooden skids!).
This book has good value in it’s close to 400 pages for $52. It provides great inspiration for younger people who are on a tight budget and are willing to do a bit of manual labour. So roll up your sleeves and get to work!!
Visit the Design Sponge Blog – www.designsponge.com
