Attending the IDS every year educates us on the latest in market products and inspires us to create the very best of designs for our clients. Here are some of the highlights from the show leaving us with a million ideas for our upcoming projects.

The Ontario Wood pavilion demonstrates the diversity and versatility of the wood harvested from our province’s forests in all its glory. Manufacturers showcase the many product categories that locally sourced wood can become—from log homes, structural lumber and surfacing to furniture and artisanal goods.
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This year, Ontario Wood is housed in a custom environment by local firm Izen Architecture, a firm devoted to small-scale designs that range from products and installations to single-family homes. Their sculptural pavilion comprises intersecting rows of angled wooden beams that combine to form a striking circular gathering space that evokes a campsite inside a forest clearing.

The Modern Cabin presents a modernist interpretation of the notion of rustic wilderness living based on the spirit of Canadian outdoor culture. The compact structure is crafted to have a minimal environmental impact on the site. Every bit of its tiny 670 square feet floorplan is utilized, featuring a lofted sleeping area, a bathroom, and a covered exterior deck. The structural system is comprised of a sustainably harvested engineered timber frame, clad with prefabricated insulated wall/roof/floor panels. Design by Leckie Studio.

Stunning lighting options from various designers with some of our favorites from AM Studio featured here.

Would you believe this is a rug?! So much progress in the design and manufacturing of something as flat as a rug. Loving these cool designs.

​Some cool handmade furniture spotted by The Wood studio London, the Style Garage and various other artisans.

And finally the Benjamin Moore booth which showcased a light and dark palette in a very modern and cool way.

When you have guests over and they are sitting comfortably on your cozy sofa and armchair what is the one thing that is right in front of them – your coffee table! That’s right. Your coffee table gets the most eyeballs among all your other furniture. We recently styled our new/vintage coffee table on Instagram and received a lot of questions about it. Thought we would share those tips here to help you with your table styling. These are a few design tricks to achieving that collected look without breaking the bank.


1. BREAKING IT UP
The best place to start is to break up your table into grids or sections. So for example a square coffee table will be broken up into 4 sections. A round table is best broken in to three sections. And an oval or rectangular table can be broken into 2 or 3 sections depending on the length of the table. This makes it easy for you to decorate when you have to fill up sections as opposed to the whole table.

2. LAY YOUR FOUNDATION
The best coffee tables have a great foundation and the easiest way to do that is with books. Large hardback coffee table books with graphic covers in complimentary colors can be used as the base layer. Look for books that have colors that go with the other colors in your room, nothing jarring or too graphic. The piled up books give you the option to create vignettes on top of them while adding different heights to the table. If you have a square table then create four piles of books in the four corners of the table. For a round or oval table go for one pile of books placed either to the left or right side of the table. Layering 2-3 books on top of each either in the same size or graduating sizes will look very appealing.

A cheap and affordable source for beautiful coffee table books is your local thrift store. You will be amazed at what people throw out. Other sources for well priced books are your local home decor stores or libraries that are selling their older collections.

Books are also a great conversation starter. It gives people an insight into your interests and if nothing else it makes you look very intelligent. Feel free to pile up books under your coffee table as well if your table allows it. (Secret - the more the books you have, the smarter you look!)

​Hope this was helpful to you! At the end of the day it is your home and you should have fun doing this. Move things around, bring things out of hiding, swap things around rooms, play around with your stuff!

Interested in seeing our latest Instagram tutorial  on our coffee table, then head over to our account and click on the `STYLING TIPS` highlights to see what we put together.

If you are still scratching your head and stuck with an odd sized table that is confusing the heck out of you, give us a shout and we can figure this out together. With our `Professional Styling` service we will find out your interests, source the items to match your design tastes and style the table just in time for that big party you have lined up.

If you found this helpful then subscribe to our website for more quick and easy styling tips HERE.

Good luck friends! Enjoy your home!

Big Hugs
Lynda

Just bought a new bookshelf and stumped for ideas on how to decorate it? Or you have a bookshelf that you have been trying to style for a couple of months now and it’s still a hot mess. We got you covered! Here we will break down the styling process for you so you can completely blow your friends minds when they find out that it was you who did the styling! 

The principles of styling a bookshelf are pretty similar to styling your coffee table except with bookshelves you are styling it vertically whereas with a table you are styling it horizontally. Before you start putting anything on the shelf think about the backs of your bookcase. If the room lacks a point of interest and you feel it needs a pop of color then consider painting the backs of your case.

​Alrighty then, you have your background sorted and we can start the fun part!

BOOKS ARE YOUR FRIEND
While bookshelves are for books, row upon row of only books on your shelves can look repetitive and uninteresting. The idea is to break up the visual by layering the books in with pretty objects, interesting finds or eclectic collections. But before we get to that step you will need to spread out the books on all your shelves. Have some of them standing vertically with their spines outward, and some horizontally in short stacks. 

​And others like to group them in a single color for that Harvard library look. Consider laying some of the books horizontally in graduating stacks  as that will give you the option to position a decorative object on top of them.

ART IS COLOR
Use art to layer the backs of your shelves for that graphic look and to add large expanses of color in certain shelves. Look for art with simple frames that do not fight with the bookshelves and objects. Feel free to place smaller items in front of the art for that layered look.

​MIX UP THE SHAPES
With all the books and frames in place you will end up with a lot of lines visually. So breaking them up with sculptural items that have curves like a round vase, bowl or curvy wood carving with bring a softness to your display.

ADD SOME GREENS
Adding some greenery to your shelves will bring that organic feel and today you can some pretty ‘real’ looking faux plants that require no maintenance at all. We prefer to add creeping vines that hang off the shelves or plants with pretty leaves like the crispy wave to the mix. Make sure the pot it comes in is also something pretty and with color. Here is a great way to add a metallic touch by choosing pots in silver or gold color.

​LAY ON THE DECORATIVE OBJECTS
Once you have got the larger items in place it is time to have fun with your smaller decor accessories. Use them as bookends or place them over a stack of your books to give it focus. Try spreading them out on your shelves by interspersing them in and around the books and art. If your items are too small in size then try grouping them in odd numbers, or corralling them in a small tray or bowl to give them substance.

​SHOW OFF YOUR COLLECTIONS
Collect vintage cameras, show them off here. A wine drinker that collects corks of your favorite wines – toss them in a jar and display them for all to see. Don't forget the rule of odd numbers when grouping them. 

​STORE IT OUT OF SIGHT
Sometimes we don’t want to display everything as they might be functional and not so pretty and that is where you add a few boxes or baskets on your shelves. Repetition is key and adding a trio of matching boxes on one shelf to store your smaller items is a smart way to hide those receipts or bills. Large baskets on the bottom shelves balance it out and they can used to store extra cushions and throws.

​EDIT, EDIT, EDIT
This is where you stand back and look at your shelves as a whole. You might notice that two adjacent shelves are book heavy and you might want to move the books to an alternative shelf. Or you might see that one shelf is too empty and you might want to add a plant or a case there. This is probably where I spend the most amount of time.....editing....stepping back and looking at the whole picture.

And that concludes our lesson on Bookshelf styling. We hope you will attempt to restyle your shelves and share the pics with us via Facebook or Instagram. Let me know if you found this helpful, we welcome any and all feedback.

If you find yourself stuck on a particular shelf give us a shout and we can figure this out together. Enjoy your styling guys!

Big hugs
​Dhiraj & Lynda