June, 2010
Bedroom finished!
We knew exactly what we had in mind for the bedroom before we even started. We wanted it to be comfortable, clean, and above all else simple. We allowed everything to come together very slowly and made sure the decisions we were making would work beyond our bedroom when we convert the apartment into a family home.
Hope you like it!
We took a reindeer hide from the store for the bedroom, it has such interesting rib marks and colour.
A new edition to the room is the Le Klint 101 pendant light designed by Kaare Klint. It’s much better than an exposed bulb on the ceiling and adds a soft light to the bedroom.
We also thought it would be a neat idea to have the Libri shelf at the side of our bed. The leaning bookshelf has been copied many times but the Libri has a very special quality to it that the others don’t have.
We moved the Michael Lax Lytegem to Juli’s side of the bed so she could have a small light for reading. She was reading “The girl with the dragon tattoo” last night and I didn’t notice at all.
i-glass decanter designed by Timo Sarpaneva, and ceramic bird by Tapio Wirkkala.
A 1930s ceramic box from Royal Copenhagen that I got Juli for Christmas last year.
The most important addition to the bedroom was a set of Snow cabinets by Thomas Sandell & Jonas Bohlin. We finally have a place to put our clothes! And yes we do watch television in bed (sorry Oprah) we like to watch the Daily Show and Colbert Report before bed.
My little wooden tray I got in Japan is the perfect place to put my manly things at the end of the day.
The bird hanger from Icelandic designer Ingibjorg Hanna looks so cool on the wall. Maybe you have a piece of clothing you like so much you want to display it? Or maybe you’re like me and want a place to put your shirt before bed.
Tom Dixon is the creative director for Artek, and a while back he came up with the concept of white Aalto stools upholstered with Varvunraita fabric from Marimekko. We actually got the last 6 from the factory and we just had to take one before they all sold out! (If you want one we still have a couple in the shop)
The wooden splint basket is by Harri Koskinen designed exclusively for the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. I emailed them to see if they could send me one and whoever I talked to was nice enough to fullfil my request! It looks like it can perfectly fit a wine bottle, so I think Juli and I will have to take a picnic someday soon.
That’s the bedroom right now, hope you liked it!
Birch Trees!
This weekend we were greeted with two new additions to our outdoor space up north (and a tidy yard, hooray!). The rain kept us all inside, but the new birch trees probably appreciated it.
Isha spotted this little critter whilst out on the deck. By the time I returned with the camera, Isha had retreated to the safety of the cottage. The wildlife approves.
This is the tree next to the deck. Much nicer than the butchered pine tree that was there before. I wish I had a photo of it, because all of its lower branches had been pruned off because they were dead, while the top half had an irregular hair cut because I had lazily tried to prune it a few years ago but could only reach so high. Ridiculousness ensued.
We had friends up Saturday and Sunday, and it mostly rained but today we had about 5 hours of sunshine. John painted the entryway, and I cleaned some more windows. Then we hopped in the lake for a dip with the rumble of imminent thunderstorms on the horizon.
Note to self: need new planters. South American style with iguanas emerging is not really fitting in with its northerly setting.
Skagerak teak planters, which we will fill with tall grasses. Better?
Considering all of the tornado warnings, and the recent touch downs and destruction of a nearby town, there was a little bit of concern. We packed up the car in preparation.
Considering the sketchiness of the above clouds, it was a relatively quick storm. Still, we’d had enough and hit the road.
Bedroom sneak peak
Well the bedroom is almost finished! We got our new bed last night and everything seems to be coming together.
But we haven’t completely finished everything…
There is still a few loose ends that I would like to finish before we completely reveal the bedroom, but this is a taste of things to come.
The wall mounted Le Klint light is still a marvel! It give us such a nice quality of light and can extend all the way to the middle top of the bed.
A place to store clothes?
A new shelf?
Icelandic bird hanger?
Isha sees a string
She makes a ferocious attempt to catch it with her colossal paws that look like Mickey Mouse’s white gloves.
Over it.
Braun Multipractic Hand Blender
Awhile back my friend was using a hand blender and I decided I needed one too, you know, for all those salad dressings and dips I am forever making…
So John diligently searched on ebay until he found a lovely Braun to add to the collection.
Still in the box with all of its parts!
My first attempt was guacamole. This was a comical event, in that the red onion I used was so potent it made my eyes sting and water until I was a mascara mess. I dutifully chopped up onion and garlic into smaller pieces and was promptly disappointed when the hand blender didn’t do it’s job. It’s got the power, that’s for sure, but it kind of just mushed them up. No further chopping going on here. When I added the avocado, it just bunched up inside the mechanism.
Verdict: I am starting to think that a hand blender is not the kitchen assistant I was hoping it would be. Have you ever found a hand blender to be useful?
UPDATE: Well, it appears that I am simply using it for the wrong purpose. We will be eating a lot of soup come winter!
The Garden House by Tham & Videgård Architects
The Garden House in Viksberg, Sweden features over sized trellis blurs the line between
indoors and out.
This is what Tham & Videgård Architects had to say about the project:
The client wanted a garden, the actual reason why they decided to move from their duplex apartment in central Stockholm to this country side location at lake Mälaren. Consequently we proposed a house conceived as an integrated vertical addition to the garden, where indoor and outdoor spaces gradually blend and interact.
The triangular foot print is the result of a steep slope that diagonally crosses the site. With one of the long facades facing south we also managed to eliminate a pure northern façade. This further helped the idea of plants climbing high on the oversized trellis that cover some of the windows so that in time they will become hidden within the greenery.
A double height winter garden also function as a natural pre-heating of fresh air. The roof terrace offers very long views over the nearby hills towards lake Mälaren.
Construction is all wood, both structure and finishes.
The house sits on a garden and over time these vines will eventually cover all of the lattice. I can’t wait to see some images of it in a few years!
Who doesn’t love a plywood kitchen complete with green counters and back splash.
I can’t really distinguish whether this is rope or white painted wire. Either way the effect is in keeping with the theme of a garden house.
via Contemporist
We’re getting hitched!
We decided to make it official on Sunday.
We spent the day doing some of the things that we love the most in Toronto. Brunch at our old haunt Grapefruit Moon, a long walk down West Queen West, a visit to The Workroom for their trunk show, and some poutine and cocktails at The Drake with a couple of friends. And of course, a decadent celebratory dinner at Splendido on Monday night (oysters, charcuterie, lobster risotto, cheese plate, and dessert and ice wine from Victor the pastry chef – no wonder my tummy was grumbling all night).
I can hardly believe all that we have done since we met, from becoming vintage hounds to opening a shop, we’ve hit the ground running and haven’t looked back. I can honestly say that I’ve never been happier or more fulfilled, and I am looking so forward to what the future holds.
Photos by Celine, who somehow knew to prop it with event appropriate diamonds!
