Sneak Peek in Style: Interior Design Show 2007

Last night champagne flowed and painted-white cirque-robats glowed while media types mingled in an interior design fantasy world at the preview for the Interior Design Show 2007. I was fortunate to gain entry into the magical kingdom for a sneak peek at the fanciful design in store for us this year.

As expected, the usual design stars - Debbie Travis, Lynda Reeves and Brian Gluckstein - will be there peddling their wares, but none seemed to offer any notion of innovation or inspiration, except perhaps what we can expect the next hot colour of the season to be. Travis' "no photographs please" living space was decked in spooky black and orange. All I can say about that is "Boo!"

Moving away from the dens of domesticity, local Toronto designers were making a splash. Here are my top picks for Toronto design talent.

1. Adept with porcelain, artist Ken Gangbar, creates fluid sculptures and installations for clients from TO to HK. If you want to give ceramics a whirl too he offers workshops from his studio in Liberty Village.

2. Everything Queen East shop Up to You showed, I wanted to buy. Coolest are the wood carved clothes hangers depicting New York, Tokyo or Paris skylines, though they are $120 a pop and there's no deisgn for TO. There is an "I Heart ______(blank)" sticker though. That's where TO can go.

3. I was seriously blown away by the modern stand-alone apartment and eco-friendly fireplaces made by Ecosmart. No gas, no hard connection. Great for any place that needs a little warming up.

4. Utillity in a tile? That's where Utilitile comes in. I found these walnut wood tiles in the prototype section. Following form and function is truly the way to a Danish girl's heart.

5. Simple, practical shelving by Sheridan made a big statement. The statement is "I'm fun, and smart, dammit!" Made by, and for, students so it's got to be.

The Interior Design Show takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Direct Energy Centre, CNE Grounds. Tickets are $16 online or $18 at the door.

Bookhou Design's Book Smart Style

Among the other exhibitors at this weekend's Interior Design Show is a smart Toronto upstart called Bookhou Designs. The two partners, Arounna Khounnoraj who focuses on textile and sculpture and John Booth who designs furniture, marry their talent to create beautiful handmade products for your home that seem so obviously Canadian in their adorable and unassuming way.

Pillows and playthings are adorned with owls, chickadees or meadow sprigs, while lamps and benches' curvaceous lines appear playfully constructed. I'd seen their pieces about town in places like The Paper Place (887 Queen West) and Red Pegasus (628 College Street) but enjoyed browsing their site for a better look at what they do. I'd love to see Bookhou's textile line grow to include bedding with the same bright prints they use for journals, as above. Stop by their booth at IDS07 to see what more is in store.

Stylegarage Lights it Up

Well before the condo signs started popping up on Queen West, modern furniture boutique stylegarage had made its mark on the artsy neighbourhood. From its wrap-around windows lined with eye-catching lighting, the shop, on a quiet corner of Shaw, exudes muted and sleek sophistication. It was enough to draw me in. I'd been on a hunt for a wide and low television stand with large industrial wheels for awhile and decided to browse the boutique to see if I could find it.

Inside the design store, each modern line blended fluidly with the next, allowing their most stunning showpieces - made of grained walnut, oak, maple and douglas fir - to get full attention. Whether it's their leather sofas characterized by topstitching you'll love or chunky Canadian wood coffee tables it's obvious they design furniture to last a lifetime.

Since I've always lived in old Toronto houses with little built-in lighting I get especially excited for modern lamps of any kind. One brushed stainless-steel wall-mounted piece caught my eye. The simple style mixed with a clear vintage bulb and exposed filaments (also sold at stylegarage) would look fantastic in any pseudo-industrial space.

Though I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, friendly staff reassured me they could custom make most things. Seems they have a very close partnership with Toronto design manufacturer Gus Modern, the company that supplied the loft furniture for Martha Stewart's prime-time show The Apprentice. While Martha's run might be over you can still catch the design items at the Queen Street store or at the upcoming Interior Design Show - February 22nd to the 25th.

Get Outside

Last winter my Mags gave out on me, leaving a hole in my shoe between sole and leather. I'd had them for a few seasons and had put them to good use in the city slush. The sole is a good two inches up from the ground all the way around and made of rubber, perfect for Toronto weather. I'd hoped to get a new pair once this wintery weather started so I went back to where I bought them in the first place, Get Outside. It's my favourite shoe shop, along with heel boy, and it was voted best shoe store in blogTO's Best of Indie Toronto. They've got a ton of great trainers, like Royal Elastics which I love, but they didn't have a pair of Mags in sight. They seem to have switched to something called Clarks but they're not the same.

So now I'm stranded, with no winter boots to make my way home, and I can't seem to find a pair in the city that's got style but can also keep my feet out of the wet stuff. Even stranger is that many shoe stores are already pushing their spring line-up of strappy sandals. Where am I supposed to find my snow shoes now? Some friends have told me to make the hike to Trove on Bathurst, maybe they've still got some boots on sale.

photo: idiolector