Once a year, the Interior Design Show brings together hundreds of companies, designers, and publications to celebrate great design. This year’s show, held in the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, offered designers, decorators architects and students a variety of booths and design inspiration.
I attended yesterday’s Trade Day, an exclusive opportunity for design professionals to explore new products and get inspired.
In the photo above, I am sitting on a Union Jack print rug from Modern Weave, which was weaved in Nepal. If I had unlimited funds, I would put this piece in my first apartment. I couldn’t resist snapping a picture on this stunning work of art for your floor–or walls! I was running from school and was wearing a more practical outfit today. I’m wearing brand new Vera Moda “Jeather” pants in emerald. Vera Moda’s trademarked Jeather pants are essentially waxed denim, that combine the look of sleek leather pants with the comfy feel of denim. While they’re not exactly comfy when knew, I love the effect and the rich jewel colour of these pants. I paired them with a simple black and white blouse c/o nowistyle. I love the contrasting black collar, cuffs, and pocket, and the tiny cross designs. I’m not usually a fan of cross prints, but this one is subtle and very wearable. I’ve been wearing it so often under sweaters and with blazers, the complimentary black and white shirt is becoming the perfect layering piece.
To accessorize my outfit, I am wearing a scarab beatle statement necklace from Zara. I got it on sale and regret not buying it in pink as well! It is a very heavy, well made piece and it instantly adds some personality.
Caesarstone, a quartz composite that imitates granite had an ingenius installation. It was inspired by Japanese rock art, and had a great visual effect as the colours and shapes undulated. The design was created by Oki Sato from the renowned Japanese design firm, Nendo.
Japanese influences could be seen all over IDS this year, including a furniture collaboration with a famous Canadian author.
Artist and author Douglas Coupland’s collection for SwitzerCultCreative was inspired by functional Japanese furniture.
I fell in love with the Bento Box Escritoire. Inspired by own of Coupland’s own desk, the piece incorporates classic lines, a gorgeous red interior and an incredible sturdy and functional design. Any writer could dream of owning a desk like this.
Another piece for the writer were these wood keyboards by Oree. Compatible with any PC, Mac or tablet device, these sleek keyboards are made of wood. The feel is warm, and the keys were very responsive when typing. To me, it feels like the perfect balance between a chiclet keyboard and a more traditional weighted keyboard. The boards come in both maple (first photo) and walnut (above), and can be customized. You can choose the font of your letters, and add a carving in the left corner, or your name. This is the most elegant and ecological gift idea that combines tech and personality.
Another way of expressing your personality is through your space. Paint and textiles can do just that, but IDS exhibitors had some creative twists.
This booth could take any high resolution photograph and print it on a variety of materials. They showed how you could take a photo, get it printed on canvas and eventually use the textile to upholster a setee. I fell in love with Anthropologie’s Arlo sofa, featuring a watercolour print of Venice, but this booth proved that you can DIY with your own photos and precious memories.
Paint is one of the easiest ways to express your personality in a space. Many companies had booths and the show, but Beautitone‘s combined fashion, Canadiana and all the hottest colours. Coral, orange and citron continue to dominate colour trends for spring, and I fell in love with these ingenious light fixtures. Made of paint sticks dipped in Beautitone paint, and assembled to create a shade. I would love to do a DIY version of this on a smaller scale. I get so excited when I see things at design exhibits that you would never find on Pinterest or the internet.
This nursery created by La Vie Orange brings the idea of personalization full circle. The company takes classic pieces and adds one-of-a-kind details. Made of organic and sustainable materials, the furniture is functional and the paint is 100 per cent VOC free, meaning it’s safe for little ones and mothers-to-be. La Vie Orange does customized painted nursery furniture, but I fell in love with the damask printed bookcase and drawer chest. Last year, I created my own damask chest, and thought that these pieces were stunning for a child’s room, or someone who appreciates customized classic furniture that is made in Canada.
Continuing with the Canadian theme, there was a bevy of rustic and wood-inspired booths. Here are some of the standouts from the show.
Beautitone’s booth displayed Simon Chang’s colour collection inspired by Canada. I produced a segment on the collection for Canada AM a few months back, and it was neat seeing how they were inspired by the colours to create this booth.
I was puzzled by this junkyard steampunk exhibit, but I love travelling to old antique shops up north, and this booth captured that chaos and excitement for me.
IDS had an exhibit were designers had to create a space within an aluminum and pegboard confine.
This designer combined multimedia projection on the table with a visually stunning wall mural of coloured pencils piercing a peg board. The colours were amazing and I couldn’t get over the way the pencils looked at all angles…
This wine rack was made of reclaimed wood and varnished. It’s a work of art that I would have to always keep stocked with the best bottles of red.
Guests could also retreat and get refreshed in the rustic Design Lodge.
However my favourite piece of the day was this copper-panelled bathtub from CAML-Tomlin. Every cook should own a copper pot, but now I think every man should own a copper tub.
All these great products and more are on display at the Interior Design Show, running till this Sunday.
There are so many cool and impressive pieces in this collection. All with lots of character and would add bundles to any space. I really like the wooden keyboard too. I’d have one of these in my home in a heartbeat.