Today, after several busy weeks, I had a whole day to hang out - completely unscheduled and unsupervised. The day started off with a healthy dose of sleeping in, and ended with an indulgent mani/pedi. In between all of this relaxation, I spent the afternoon walking the King Street East neighbourhood, visiting decor stores & boutiques. There are plenty of shops in this area, beginning at Jarvis Street and running east to Parliament.
Join me as I highlight some of my favourite places to visit along King Street East:
Just north of King at 63 Jarvis Street,
Ma Zone is an interesting little shop full of vibrant home decor accessories. This place is a sure bet when you're looking for a unique gift.
Located at 160 King Street East, is
Modern Weave, a contemporary rug gallery. It's like art for your floor!!
I really like Urban Essential, at 175 King Street. The merchandise here is contemporary, stylish, and moderately priced. I've included a photo of a chair which caught my eye, it's a variation of the
Eames DAR plastic armchair with Eiffel tower base.
Although it wasn't open today, the
Office & Shop Furniture store at 181 King Street East looks as though it would be an interesting browse.
The windows of this shop at 225 King Street East simply state,
Stacaro, European Living. It's a very inviting space which invokes the feeling of a European lifestyle.
Across the street at 214 King East you'll find
InDesign Furniture, which features an excellent selection of furniture for every room in the house. This 14,000 square foot showroom represents a good number of North American manufacturers - 40% of the product is sourced within Canada, 30% from the USA.
At number 220, you'll find
Montauk, famous for comfortable, well made, durable and expensive sofas.
Coming back down to my price range,
EQ3 sits at the NorthWest corner of King & Sherbourne. EQ3 offers an Ikea alternative, although here you have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for delivery, as opposed to Ikea's instant gratification concept. They have an excellent array of modern bedding along the back wall - lots of great colours!!
Trianon is just across the street on the Southwest corner of King & Sherbourne. This is a great store to browse, offering design services and high end antiques.
Biltmore lies just south of Trianon at 44 Sherbourne. Offering custom design, an item of furniture from Biltmore is a true investment piece.
Well known for offering condo sized furniture,
Roomy, at 232 King Street East can make almost anything to fit a small space.
Just down the street at
Visitor Parking, 254 King Street East, they carry a great selection of home decor accessories and furnishings. And it's reasonably priced too!!
At 310 King Street East (also accessible from 571 Adelaide East),
UpCountry and
Andrew Richard Designs have combined into one big, beautiful retail store.
Barbara Barry at Studio b is located in this Northeast corner of King & Parliament. Her design sensibility is classic and comes with a price tag you'd expect from furniture meant to last a lifetime.
My walk takes me as far as Parliament Street before turning back towards Jarvis. But not before spotting
Roche-Bobois on the corner of Parliament and Adelaide. The Bergere chair in the window stunned me twice - first with the fabulous striped fabric, second with the $5935 price tag!!
This walk is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon. One of the great things about the area is the mix of decor & furniture shops within just a few city blocks. You can find options for every taste and every budget in the King Street East neighbourhood!!
