When we first moved into our renovated apartment above the store all of the walls were bare and it’s been a long process getting around to finding the right home for all of our art work and also acquiring new pieces to fill out our long hallway between the kitchen and the living room. We have always imagined having a wall committed to a mixture of art work in different mediums and sizes and mixing found works with contemporary pieces.

Here is our work in progress.

A midcentury encaustic work we purchased at Rogue Gallery in Leslieville when it was still open. To the right is a hanging broom by Oji Masanori and a bouquet of dry lavender. The Turkey feather is used as a duster for ash during the Japanese Tea Ceremony and there’s a little bit of Renaud Sauvé’s wave tile work peeking in too.

A calculated risk with having small vignettes on small tables, a curious baby who likes to put things into his mouth.

An African Dan Mask, something I really love because it is a mask celebrating beauty. The small teeth are real baby teeth, marking the transition between childhood and womanhood. The bead work underneath is used to cover a Zulu tribe ceramic pot used to ferment beer.

Two very gifted contemporary artists, on the left Canadian painter Matthew Feyld, and the right American painter Paul Wackers, all from Narwhal.

An abstract painting by Japanese painter Junpei Ori inspired by objects designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. A copper bowl by Tapio Wirkkala, and a mid-century hand-turned teak bowl from Denmark.

Some inspirational books by Jurgen Lehl.

A Max Papart print found at the Junction Flea Market last summer, smartly framed in white oak.

Oh hai!

Kuba panel textile from LATRE, just down the street from us. Along with our Shoji Cabinet to the left, originally designed for our apartment but now available to order. Above that is a beautiful photograph by Joshua Jensen Nagel who uses expired Polaroid film.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Monday is our day off so today was pretty relaxed, with brunch at Luna, a visit with Sali Tabacchi, coffee at Full Stop and some grocery shopping. Since the dwell article a few things in our home have changed so we thought we would give you a little update.

The first little thing is our tiny little Peace Lily in an Arabia Finland planter, along with the Luca Nichetto Timeline bowl and copper Zoo table by Claesson Koivisto Rune. We also sell the TMM floor lamp by Spanish designer Miguel Mila, we always have his designs on display at Mjölk.

Available at Mjölk but not on the webstore yet: Luca Nichetto Timeline bowl and TMM floor lamp in white oak, beech, walnut or wenge. Please enquire here.

Underneath this little side table is our new (old) mid-century Swedish carpet by Judith Johansson. She is one of our favourite rug designers, you might recognize her work from the red and blue carpet we have at our cottage.

When we first moved in we didn’t have any rugs on the floor at all, and in the beginning it was really nice and minimalistic. However, as we grew into our home we starting craving the warmth you get from incorporating textiles. They are also so nice underfoot and remarkably cut down on sound.

The full shot of the living room rug.

The untreated vegetable tanned leather on our 2213 sofa is about 2 years old, and wearing beautifully. Eventually it will be a cognac brown.

Elodie rolling around on the carpet.

You might be wondering where our old Berber rug moved to. We found a great place for it in our bay window underneath the Conoid bench. The two carpets play off each other really well. We’ve always loved textiles but incorporating different styles in the same room can be challenging. That’s why we really took our time waiting for the perfect rug to tie everything together.

All of the subdued fall colours are really nice. Funny enough, when we bought the rug via an online auction, the colours in the photograph were more blue, pink and orange, so we were really disappointed when this colourway showed up. Thankfully because of all the white oak and natural leather it works and it ended up being a win!

A photo of Elodie to end with.

I hope everyone is having a nice week! It’s been a busy month here, and we found a little bit of time to show you a few new things around the homestead that have been inspiring us lately. If you follow our instagram you have probably already seen photos of our mid century Danish piano. We finally got it all tuned up and it sounds pretty good for such a tiny pianette.

In the festive spirit we have our little Aarikka elves sitting on the ledge.

Our Rosemary bush and Bay leaf tree. The bay leaves come in handy for making soups this winter!

Studio Junction lent us their Danish coffee table to be used as Elodie’s play table. Little friends Miffy and Totoro sitting on Elodie’s African chair, a gift from Tomii Takashi (complete with red crayon).

Advent Calendar bought on our yearly pilgrimage to The Finnish Place. Marimekko with little pockets. Elodie loves discovering the treasures, though it seems that the pleasure in finding out surpasses the enjoyment of the object. Usually she just says More! More!

An antique Zulu beer fermenting pot in clay, such a nice shape and pattern.

A mid century Cleo Hartwig sculpture of a dove, next to a brass bowl by Luca Nichetto for Skultuna.

Left, we bought the most interesting looking tree on the lot (Georgian Bay Xmas Trees outside No Frills on Pacific – convenience!). All of the trees are full and perfect looking but they didn’t feel right. Then we saw this scraggly thing and well, home it came. Tree skirt by Marimekko, from The Finnish Place.

On the right is Elodie’s decorating.

Left, a Royal Copenhagen vase and to the right the only work of a Japanese National treasure that we will ever own, a unique tea bowl by Tatsuzo Shimaoka. The lines in the bowl are actually from ropes that were embedded into the clay, the bowl has a gold repair to the rim.

A vintage wood-mold Savoy vase by Alvar Aalto, along with a collection of 3 Tutsi baskets from Africa. Some of the tightest weaving I have ever seen, and such an incredible form and pattern.

Isha update: happy cat.

Well, winter looming outside our doors and we’re all spending a lot more time around the house and finally getting around to framing art and finding places to hang them. We have a couple of interesting antique Japanese *correction – Chinese scrolls (I bought these from a shop in Japan)* that we thought we should share with you. One is finding its home in a narrow wall in our bathroom to the right of the sink.

It is the popular motif of the plum blossom, but this one is the lucky double plum blossom *peach blossom?* ensuring a good spring. It’s a nice reminder during winter, the promise of the spring to come. Also, the artist used their finger print to make all of the little dots – I think that little bit of charm was what encouraged me to buy it.

A closeup detail of the finger prints used for the blossoms.

The other is just a fun piece that I bought for Elodie. When I saw the cats, bamboo and flowers I thought it would look great in her future bedroom. Plus one of the cats looks just like Isha! Elodie really likes this piece, she likes counting the cats.

We recently bought a copy of the new Remodelista book, which contains a mix of houses, kitchens, bathrooms and design ideas that are surprisingly accessible. It’s definitely a particular aesthetic, but of course one that we gravitate to: natural materials, plenty of white, and considered accessories.

Notably for us, we couldn’t believe it when Julianne Moore mentioned our shop in her foreword. I think her experience of using Remodelista is one that many can relate to. It’s the only resource on the internet that we’ve found that does such a great job of sourcing the best within a particular aesthetic. I mean, try googling “modern [insert fixture, furniture, accessory, building material etc here]“. I can guarantee you will spend a lot of time sifting through very unmodern products!

The aforementioned Sori Yanagi flatware. We use it at the cottage and love it. Substantial but not heavy, and the knife is so sharp it can cut steak easily.

We were also pleased to see Pia Wallen’s Cross Blanket in The Remodelista 100 listing.

But enough about us. The spaces featured all have a calm, homey feel. I really loved the Remodelista Headquarters, and their investment in mill work. That said, there are enough spaces to provide inspiration for more limited budgets.

In the Remodeling Reality section there are plenty of things to remember when renovating, and some good tips too.

Each featured space has a Steal this Look section. The Shaker peg display is something we were considering at the cottage (the bedrooms were never really finished).

Same goes for the wall of Josef Frank wallpaper. This is the exact one we were thinking about for Elodie’s bedroom! It’s nice to see it used in a large application.

You can get it here or preferably at your local independent bookshop or retailer.

I’m not going to lie, it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to blog properly.  A mixture of travel, sickness and everyday life getting in the way. Things are happening over here but there’s no time to report on it! Who knew, kids need attention. A lot of it.

The last Junction Flea happened earlier in the month (sniffle) and it was a great run while it lasted! We thank Micah and Paul for putting it all together and wish them all the best for their future plans.

At the second to last flea (which I thought was the last flea) there was a piece of art that caught my eye, but price and mood got in the way. When I chanced upon it again at the actual last flea and found out the price was now $80, I just had to go for it. We had recently swapped out our sofa–it was time to let the 1960s sofa go – don’t worry, we replaced it with the same one, in natural–and found that our living room acquired a new vibe in the process.

I find it so hard to acquire art. On the one hand I want contemporary work but cannot necessarily afford to acquire it quickly. On the other hand I think it’s nice to balance the contemporary out with some older work. But striking a balance, and not going too kitchy is always a concern. I think this piece plays well with the contemporary piece it’s placed beside, as well as the natural leather and oak in the room.

A detail.

Max Papart (1911-1994), France.
Lithograph on Arches with Embossing, Signed and numbered in pencil.

Just needs a frame to finish it off!