Collect Your Decor

Paint Selections

I have pored over what colors to paint each room for months but have narrowed it down finally. I want the living room to be calming and cozy, the bedroom to be lively and the bathroom to be chic. So by room, these are the suggestions. 
Bedroom -  bermuda grass green, bayberry, beechnut or wasabi. 

I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED YELLOW

WASABI PAINT IS COOL

CARIBBEAN TEAL

Bathroom - tapestry gold, camel, burnt caramel or Carribean teal. (Runner ups: marmalade, Appalachian spring and driftscape tan). 

MARMALADE

CAMEL

No to Bourgeois

I have changed my mind about the neighborhoods I want to reside in. I have crossed off my list Forest Hill and Yonge & Eglinton and in the future, the suburbs because I don't want to live in a materialistic, nose-in-the-air community. I think shuttling your kids in your Range Rover and sporting designer brand names is the epitome of ridiculousness. I would rather live somewhere where everyone is friendly, original, down-to-earth and caring. Who wants to live in an area where you're judged based on the car you drive and how many helpers you have (nanny, cook, gardener, etc)? I don't think there's community in that. The more likely a neighbourhood is branded "prestigious, exclusive" the least likely I'd want to live there. 

The new areas to trump those distinguished, snooty neighborhoods is the Junction and Roncesvalles (aka Roncey). I chose these two neighbourhoods or the area near and between them (like Dupont\Ossington\Davenport\Bathurst) is because I prefer to live in West Toronto than East\North Toronto and directly downtown. I think the city has a lot to offer in terms of diversity, originality and community in the right neighbourhoods. Keeping the ultra-rich in exclusive pockets and the super-poor in others just separates the city and makes it highly unfavourable to live in. I think the mediocre neighbourhoods with a mixture of rich, middle-class and lower-class are the most vibrant and the best example of Toronto's multicultural appeal. 

Uncluttering and Organizing Small Space

Living in a shoe-box sized apartment isn't something most people call fun, but it could be practical. I'm no expert, but I have a few ideas on how to maximize space (by using modular furniture, wall shelves and making desks out of extra closets, nooks and crannies) I think that closets are unimaginative but could do so much more than they perceptively seem they can do. 
It will be difficult to house two women's clothing in one closet so I bought an IKEA closet organizer thingy on wheels with 5 big, spacious shelves and two wire drawer thingies that came separately but I clip on and put socks and things. 

Since buying the IKEA organizer, I've used it in innovative ways. I place folded shower towels ontop of the entire organizer and the hooks that protrude slightly to hold the whole thing up (it's approximately 5"3), I hang my jackets and bathrobe on it (the sides) and use the bottom shelve for miscellaneous items like photographs and newspapers. I will likely be putting all my clothes in here but I fear the Annex apartment will not be big enough to fit the IKEA organizer. If not, we will have to work with one tiny closet and just build more shelving and racks to house clothes around the bedroom on the walls and door.

The Culture of the Cafe

Cafes play an important role in our lives. It is our meeting places, our relaxing places, it is our social quo places (ahem Starbucks), it is our omg-I'm thirsty places. When we go somewhere, we instantly look around for a cafe or a coffee shop and relax. If there's an Urbana Coffee or a Second Cup, we know we'll be okay. Our frothy lattes, the deep leather chairs and the earthy aroma of grinding coffee beans is ingrained in our culture. We buy overpriced bottles of waters and cookies because they're in these well-lit glass counters and there's a line up of people watching us. Why not splurge? Christmas season rolls around and the cups are decorative red-and-green. Candy-cane flavoured lattes and pumpkin scones fill the shops and gift baskets filled with organic teas and dark cocoa line the windows. 

How do we take the essence of the cafe home with us? I want our little white kitchen to look like a cafe, as impossible as it sounds. What do I need? White marble counter tops? Top of the line espresso machines? A chalkboard?  I want a counter with our espresso machines and mugs (Turkish coffee is something my fiancee makes well), baskets of Splenda and brown sugar and honey. I want to recreate a cafe in our home. I spoke earlier of cafe "art" but I think that is one component of the unit. A bowl of espresso beans as decor is a fantastic and great-smelling feature as well. I always see sales for espresso machines at Home Outfitters and along with a coffee machine and an electric kettle it'll be fabulous. I think the idea of having this cafe is an extra reason to wake up early! Of course, a rack of newspapers will be a fine addition, as well to the cafe. (Reminder to self: get newspaper subscription).

A cafe in a home kitchen.

RONDO CAFE

The Place.

Huge kitchen to work with--love the cupboards.

The bathroom of my dreams!

Open concept bar and living room

The den and a bit of the bathroom. Check out those tiles.

This lower level design is the apartment I am trying to rent. I love the spacious open concept design and the big bathroom. It is unique because most Toronto apartments do not look like this. I had the "feeling" when I seen the advertisement for this, plus it is in a very trendy, central downtown location with store-lined streets, cafes and free parking! You can NOT find free parking downtown usually the price is $50-$150 for a spot, so this is definitely a rare gem. I will have to pull all the strings to get this place as it is a bit out of our budget but I definitely want it. Decorating this space will be a joy and it will be a pleasure to have friends come over here. I'm going to cross my fingers with this one--it surely won't be on the market long. Oh yeah, and there's a den. So. Cool.

Combining and Creating

Europe has a lot of cathedrals...why not inject some art deco with stained glass lighting?

My fiancee comes from a sunshiney, beautiful European Meditteranean city. The sea is marble blue, the cobblestone streets are narrow and filled with crumbling, characteristic white buildings and sprawling cafes. My fiancee is a deep believer in easy European living. She works hard but plays hard as well, placing family, friends and leisure above the slavery-inducing tactics of Canadian and American materialistic work. Work, work, work. No, a nice cup of Turkish coffee and a cigarette on a Sunday morning is life for her. Nothing else matters--not the bills, not the clothes on mannequins in gaudy stores and not the hurried people passing by in her window.

For me, a West Indian girl, I'm partial to a lot of bright colours and spicy food. I like my life spicy and interesting, not dull and lifeless. I want my house to be a tropical jungle with flavor and vibrancy. I want everything and everyone to be alive. I want light. I'm fine with anything brightly coloured. My favourite colour to wear is yellow. My fiancee's is black. I told her I wanted a lime-green lazy chair and she nearly choked back on her fifty-cent hot dog at IKEA. Was I insane? Would her laid-back espresso fine, laid-back living and my brightly, chipper lifestyle be able to become one? My lively flair and her sophistication? Jazz music and Michaelangelo? Why not.

"Wild Jazz by Debra Hurd". My penchant for jazz and blues music is strong.

There is something so European about a butcher's block. It makes me think of Pavarotti. Perhaps it was because he enjoyed food so much. Food is integral to the family life of the European and central to the Mediterranean lifestyle. You know, it's like : hey, there's a wedding (let's eat). Hey there's a funeral (let's eat). Hey it's noontime (let's eat). Hey, it's a nice day out (let's eat). I'm angry (let's eat). With no exception, my fiancee is an aggressive carnivore and the injection of a butcher's block in the kitchen is not only functional and adds an authentic European element, but it adds to her own personality. What better way to let people know your life revolves around food than a big slab of wood to butcher your food in your urban kitchen? Quite contrasting compared to her HDTV.

Butcher's blog is also a great place to store pots and pans and your wine.

WHO WHY WHAT WHERE HOW

WHO
I am a 21 year old journalism student who loves dogs, old movies, good experiences, liquor and a beautiful home. I love to cook, entertain, be lazy, be fun, celebrate and cause a mess. In my free time and professionally I write and do photography using Nikon equipment but also regular digital and film cameras. I collect cameras and can spend hours reading and collecting books in my library (well a mountain stack of books, at any point).
My queer fiancee who is a social butterfly, loves to entertain as well and is ardent about anything modern and technological. The newest and biggest flat-screen televisions? She's there. Stainless steel microwaves? You bet she's happy. I would be fine without a tv in the house but to even suggest such a thing is like committing murder for this one. We will be co-habitating in a one bedroom apartment flat in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada and will have to agree on our varying tastes of how to decorate our abode. 
WHY
This blog is just a journal of some sorts of my jumbled ideas and aspirations for this flat. The colors I want to paint it, decor ideas, DIY projects, upholstering of furniture, second shop finds, inspiration from the World Wide Web and information about what I'm trying to accomplish which is a beautiful, unique home that is interesting, cozy and eclectic but contemporary enough not to embarrass my sweetheart and her pals. 
WHAT
This blog will be a compilation of why I chose the furniture\decor\styles I chose and what it means to me, photo images and videos that inspire me, references to interior design books, information about our apartment (square footage, etc) and  once we begin actually decorating silly photos of me and my sweetheart putting together this dream. 
WHERE
I plan to get everything for our home from IKEA, Bowring, Crate&Barrel, second hand and vintage shops around town, Craigslist, Home Sense, Pottery Barn, Benjamin Moore and wherever I can find what I need. I might go to a factory or farm and pick up a piece of wood and fashion a table (seriously) or go to a park and find a bunch of identical twigs to create some kind of artsy decor. I'm a creatif. I want everything I find to be unique and original and inspirational to others while also being functional and aesthetic. If I can do that, I'm a genius. 
HOW

This is an important question as I'm on a student's budget. With savvy negotiation, frugal second-hand junk store finds and a lot of luck and planning (like calling months ahead to find out when the IKEA Midnight Madness sale is that has 50% off the entire store)....I think I will be able to do it. I don't want a drab, boring couch-and-TV apartment. I want something to sparkle and something to enjoy since we'll be here for a while! You know what it's like paying off your hefty student loans......!!!