One of the first shops you'll run into as you travel west along Liberty Street is Casalife at 171 Liberty. Upon entering, you'll be struck by the size of the store (it's a BIG space), as well as by the lack of colour. Almost all of the pieces are white, black or charcoal grey, which creates a very chic, modern atmosphere. Casalife covers the furniture staples, plus some fabulous fun pieces such as the brilliant white resin mirror you'll see below.
Casalife has a sister store, Casalife2, just 3 doors down from the original location. This store has a similar vibe, but feels a bit more casual, and it features a lot of great decorating accessories, or "finishing touches".
Also at 171 Liberty Street, with an entrance off Hanna Avenue, lies Haveli Home. This store may be just around the corner from Casalife, but it's a whole world away in terms of design aesthetic. Haveli Home carries furniture and textiles imported directly from India, and this shop is an explosion of colour. David Anderson, the owner & operator of Haveli Home, is extremely approachable and friendly, and he can tell you the story behind every item he sells. David travels to India regularly, where he personally selects the items to be sold in his shop, and since there's no middle man, the prices are totally affordable.
NOTE: The silk poufs in the above photo sell for $199 (currently on sale for $139) at Haveli Home. The same poufs are available at Anthropologie for $298 USD/$378 CAD. Don't believe it? Here's the link (search Pouf): Anthropologie Agadir Pouf
This lotus, hand carved from a solid piece of marble, came home with me yesterday!!
Still moving westward, I made a quick stop into the almost secret location of the Jalan warehouse at 99 Atlantic Avenue. Jalan has a small retail outlet on Queen Street West near Bathurst, but you can see a lot more of what they have to offer in this larger warehouse space. Jalan specializes in Asian imports, and they offer both antique and reproduction pieces which blend well in modern spaces.
Just north towards King Street, at the corner of Atlantic Avenue & Snooker Street, in a massive 20,000 square foot warehouse space, the doors of Canada's first West Elm have been open since October 2008. West Elm is the slightly younger and hipper "sister" store of the Pottery Barn chain. This store focuses on young, urban, trendy design at a reasonable price point. With a concept similar to Ikea, you can take your purchases home with you right away, just pull up to the customer service door at the side of the building and load them up!!
What a great shopping experience, and all within the Liberty Village neighbourhood. For those unfamiliar, this area is bound by Dufferin to the west, King to the north, Strachan to the east, and the CNE grounds to the south. It's a great neighbourhood to check out, I highly recommend it!!
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