Melbourne artist, Hannah Nowlan’s bold canvases are so appealing to me. She plays with just a few earthy colours, and paints bold, abstract shapes inspired by her local coastlines. Her Myths, Moons and Mountains series pays homage to her travels through Spain and Portugal. Out to Sea from Nowlan’s geometric collection is on my wish list. I love everything about it, down to its Tasmanian blackwood frame.
Can we all agree that Rosie Assoulin’s Summer ’17 is pure joy! Hello deckchair stripes and floppy straw hats. Hello to tshirts as bejewlled as your mules. No girl can ever wear enough poppies, and the wider the pant the better. Yes to circus tents, and hoorah to bags that look like ancient Greek flower pots.
If I could wear babouche all summer long, I would. I saw a pair in electric blue at Sand & Sumac in Prince Edward County last week, but I resisted. Now that I’ve found Sanayi 313, I’m not sure I’ll be able to. Tassels, pompoms and beautiful embroidery take these babouche to another level. It’s hard to choose a favourite, but these rafia ones are quite splendid. Sample sale, please!
If I was choosing hardware for a bathroom or kitchen, I’d opt for brass. I love the juxtaposition of sleek marble or corian with brass taps. It’s rich and warm and unpredictable. I’m not much of a bath person, but this soaker right here, looks kind of lovely.
When I was about ten, my Mum gave me a beautiful dollhouse. It looked like the Georgian style homes in Notting Hill. I painted it the palest pink, with white trim. Inside, the walls were lemon yellow. It wasn’t a dollhouse for very long. By the time I was twelve, I stashed letters and diaries in it. Pages and pages of handwritten poetry, confessions and teenage angst accumulated in every room. I still have the house, with all its contents. One day, I’ll re-read all the letters, and I’ll laugh and wince and well up. And if I’m ever tempted to upgrade my treasures to a grander address, it will look something like this.
A local florist told me that a decade ago peonies were like tulips –– affordable and everywhere. These days, a bunch of peonies feels like such an indulgence. They are the grande dame of blooms, and one of my most beloved, mostly because they’re here for such a short spell. The peonies in my garden are about to burst wide open, and that’s always a bit of a thrill. In the meantime, I’m going to buy myself a big bunch today. We all should.
Charming tea towels are a must in my kitchen, the more whimsical the better. I’ve had the same batch of batik style ones for years. In Prince Edward County this week, I came across Kate Golding‘s quintessentially Canadian tea towels. There are sand dunes, water towers, loons, strawberries, heirloom tomatoes and sail boats, all hand drawn and hand sewn in Ontario. Take a look at Golding’s wallpaper collection, too. At local inn, Angeline’s, the rooms are covered in pine trees and lilacs.
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.
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