Community Environment Days

Spring has finally arrived! Let’s celebrate!

With the arrival of spring comes a sense of renewal and freshness. We look forward to breathing the fresh, clean spring air. We get reacquainted with our neighbours in the community after a long winter indoors. We pack up our winter clothes and boots. And we get rid of unused or unwanted things that are taking up valuable space in our homes.

Each year, Toronto holds a Community Environment Day in different parts of the city where we can bring those unwanted and unused items. Help the environment by:

• Extending the life of a product by offering it to someone for reuse.
• Reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and ensure that it is properly recycled.
• Ensuring that hazardous waste materials are disposed of safely.

Happy Spring!

Guest Appearance on HGTV

You may have noticed that I've been remiss with updating this blog for quite a while. Unfortunately, time commitments and other circumstances have interfered with the best of my intentions. I commit to providing regular posts from this point on and welcome your comments and questions.

Exciting news to report: I appear on "The Adventures of Ambrose Price" on Sunday at 9:30pm on HGTV (Channel 46 in the Toronto area). The photo shoot took place last year at my client's home. Marion graciously agreed to allow me to showcase her master ensuite bathroom that we had completely renovated. Watch Sunday as I provide Ambrose with tips on bathroom design.

Here are a couple of photos from the shoot:

Tobi with Anthony Wong, Director, with lighting crew, and Tobi with Ambrose Price, TV Host

WELCOME

What do I want to accomplish with this blog? To provide a source of interesting information that’s of value to homeowners, based on experience and expertise acquired over the years as an accredited Interior Decorator.

Ideally, this blog will be a two-way form of communication as I invite each of you to ask questions and give feedback and suggestions.

So let’s get started – please bookmark this page or even better, subscribe and receive my updates by email.

Wool Rug Facts

When recommending an area rug, my preference is towards 100% wool, especially for families with children. Here are the reasons why:

Wool resists dirt, retains its appearance and stays cleaner longer. Its natural lanolin helps to repel grime. Its ability to absorb moisture prevents a build-up of static electricity, which means that wool does not attract dust from the air.

Wool is water repellent. The scales on the outside of the fibre cause liquid to roll of the surface, thereby repelling the liquid.

Wool is naturally elastic. Wool can be twisted and stretched and then return to its natural shape. That's why wool carpets retain their springy pile for many years.

Wool insulates against noise. It absorbs sound and reduces noise level considerably.

A high-quality wool rug should last a lifetime so cost should be considered as a long term investment, much like well made furniture. In a future blog, I'll explain how to recognize a high-quality rug.

Living Room Transformation

There's a fascination for "before" and "after" pictures and this sure holds true for design makeovers. I've had the pleasure of transforming the living space for a wonderful family and thought I'd share it with you.

The "before" is actually an empty room. Our clients moved into a large condo in the St. Clair and Avenue Road area, and while there was some furniture that had to be incorporated into the new space, we designed most of the living room from scratch.

The "after" shot shows the cold stark space transformed into a comfortable, elegant room.

Using a colour palette of grays and creams, with contrasting dark wood, we achieved our clients' desire for serenity while the uniquely designed furniture, including the Art Deco piano, reflects the taste and personality of our clients.

For more photos, check out the newest sample in our Portfolio.

Clients' Finds

Every once in a while my clients tell me about something they've found that they think I'd like to share with others. Here are a few:

Margaret loves to bake but the hard slate kitchen floor in her condo (which she decided to live with for the time being) was causing discomfort especially in her knees. She purchased a gel-filled anti-fatigue floor mat from GelPro. These mats come in assorted colours and sizes and Margaret says it's made a huge difference when she's on her feet baking.

Amanda wanted to create a princess bed for her three-year-old daughter, Charlotte. She went on-line and found a US site that sells a crown that mounts on the wall. She added the fabric to it. Princess Charlotte loves it!

This crown can be found at Horchow. Amanda couldn't order it on-line to ship to Canada but she says ordering it by phone was very efficient.

Helen found a fabulous website that provides lettering for walls. There is a bulkhead facing her bed in the bedroom that can't be seen anywhere else in her condo. She is planning to put up an inspirational saying on the bulkhead to inspire her as she wakes each morning. I've checked it out and have ordered my designers' sample kit. I intend on adding this to my repertoire. For more information, look at Wonderful Graffiti.

California Shutters vs. Window Treatments

While I'm a fan of California shutters for family rooms and bathrooms, I feel that there are so many other options available for bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms: beautiful fabrics provide colour and texture while blinds provide privacy and black-out when needed. Sheers are also a great way to ensure privacy while creating a romantic or elegant ambiance.

However, many of my clients install California shutters before they hire an interior designer and are reluctant to remove them. It's a leap of faith when they agree to my recommendation to add a window treatment to the shutters in order to bring warmth into a room. Once they're installed, though, they see the effect immediately. I have some before and after photos of the most recent example of this situation.

Here is the my client's office where we wanted to add some femininity as well as fabric to soften the dark built-in desk, leather chair and panelled walls.

Here is their bedroom with a lovely bay window. By adding the drapery panels as well as replacing the leather love seat with a fabric chaise lounge, the space is so much more warm and serene.