I appreciate the fluidity of the same wood flooring throughout a home, but if I were feeling gutsy, I might choose a tile for the kitchen. I like the contrast, and the change in atmosphere a pop of print can create. There are so many options, that’s the dizzying part, but something simple and graphic would do nicely.
We bought bunk beds for the children, which is a world of fun. Every time I climb aboard, I feel like Elizabeth Perkins in Big. Now I’m on the lookout for twin bedding –– something charming and soft, but not too splurgey as we all know what kid’s sheets go through. I do like the flamingo, lama and elephant prints from Martha Stewart and The Land of Nod has plenty of gorgeous bedding options, too. I adore the linens over at Robert Roller Rabbit but they are on the spendy side. Auggie, Rachel Castle and Aussie shop, Feliz design all sorts of playful prints. Give me the colourful linens over at Kip and Co. I bagsy the top bunk.
It’s been years since I was at school, but a walk around One Spadina, UofT’s new architecture school had me imagining what it would be like to be a student again. Of course, not all learning institutions are created equal, and this one, with its clean white angles and awesome views down Spadina, is singular. I pictured myself sitting in those gothic windows, a book on Gaudi in hand. Or rushing back and forth to my locker in between building models in the splashy new wing. I love buildings that fuse old and new — that look forward and respect the past. There is something in the meeting of opposites, that when done right, feels so natural and exciting.
I was looking at desert images after a rainfall –– the Badlands region in the American West and the Atacama Desert in Chile. In the Atacama Desert, flowers normally bloom every five to seven years. What a majestic sight to see a normally arid, barren desert bursting with colour.
Just in case you thought three, four even, different prints was too much in one room, just look at this combination. One for the blinds, another for the curtains, and another for an armchair or an upholstered bench. Once you get going almost anything goes. The bar at Palazzo Margherita in Italy is an inspiration in its mix of painted ceilings, decadent wallpaper, graphic tile and textured brasserie chairs. Done wrong it can be dizzying, done right, it’s a dream.
In terms of summer bags, few things beat a basket. I kind of love Charlotte Olympia’s watermelon basket tote, but who is going to spend that kind of cash on straw fruit? We have plenty of these and we use them for everything. Becky Aranáz designs darling baskets complete with flamingos, dragonflies and tropical flowers. Sign me up. And this monogrammed cutie goes everywhere.
It occurred to me today, as I put down the phone after a 40-minute gas with my Mum, that my kids and I may never do that. We might not talk on the phone, the way my Mum and I do. The only people I talk to these days are my Mum, my brother and my friends, Izabela and Stephanie. Izabela and I could talk for up to an hour about marriage, motherhood and nuclear missiles, but if you asked either of us what the other had planned for the day, the week, we’d both be clueless. We always dive straight into the big topics. Same with Steph. In our school days, we could easily spend three hours on the phone after a full day at school together; there was always a project, party or teacher’s new perm to discuss. I think I was 14 when I got my own phone line, mostly because I was hogging the main one. It was the first bill I had to pay, and I always delayed to the second or third reminder. I had a Garfield phone, and then one of those really cool transparent ones. I hope my children do call me –– to talk about big things and frivolous things. Hubert Givenchy used to call Audrey Hepburn every now and then just to say, “hello, I was thinking about you,” and that’s pretty wonderful, too.
Springtime cocktails are best enjoyed under a parasol. Sunbeam Jackie produces some of the best I’ve ever seen, made up of gorgeous fabrics from Liberty, William Morris, Barbara Brown, Marimekko and plenty more. The company was founded by artist couple Charlie and Katy Napier and their studio, a 12th century grain store, is based in Cornwall. It’s impossible to choose a favourite –– in fact I’d want a half a dozen of them, and a beautiful English garden large enough to accommodate them all.
Just look at this dreamy hallway –– the aqua walls, the leafy trim around the doors, the mirror, the runner, the chair. It’s all so romantic. Of course, now I’m wondering about the rooms, and what the mirror might say if I talked to it.
Every year around this time I feel relieved, mostly because I’m never quite sure that the warm weather will return. But this morning I stepped out to what felt like caftan weather. The crab apple across the street is in full bloom, and life is restored to the neighbourhood. Last night, all the children in our little pocket raced up and down the street on their bicycles. I chatted to neighbours that I haven’t seen since November. It takes living in a city of long, cold winters, to appreciate the treasure that is Spring.
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