Working on the Weekend

This Sunday I will be putting together a store window display for a clothing store downtown. I have to admit that I wasn't all that excited about the project - until I found inspiration on the cover of this month's Style at Home magazine. I love the combination of aqua and metallic gold; it's festive, yet somewhat non traditional:


Working with a tight budget, I was determined to get the best bang for my client's buck. After scouting Walmart, HomeSense and Pier1Imports, I ended up purchasing almost everything I would need for the window at Canadian Tire and Dollarama. The satin ribbon (only $1.50/yard) is from World Sew Centre at 511 Queen Street West.


After wrapping 20 empty boxes, I am now qualified to teach Gift Wrap 101. Eddie Ross has a great video tutorial for tying gift boxes with ribbon:


And speaking of Eddie Ross, I also borrowed his ornament wreath idea for this project. It starts with a wire hanger and a sea of Christmas ornaments:


And after a few hours of perseverance, this is the final result:


Tomorrow I'll assemble all the parts in the window. Fingers crossed for a good reaction from both my client and his customers!!

Inside City Hall

With another round of municipal elections completed this past week, I thought about getting more involved in the community. That's when it dawned on me that despite living in this city for almost 20 years, I've never been inside Toronto's "New" City Hall. That changed today when I popped in for a quick look.

New City Hall was designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell and his team: Bengt Lundsten, Seppo Valjus and Heikki Castren. Working together with Toronto architects John B. Parkin & Associates, the building was completed in 1965. Although considered by some to be too futuristic at the time, the design continues to feel modern in 2010.

The staircase radiates a distinctly Finnish aesthetic

with its gleaming teak & mahogany railings:

The stunning floors were cut in Canada
from imported Italian Carrara marble:

This nail relief sculpture is one of several
public art installations at City Hall.
"Metropolis" by David Partridge, 1977:

The copper nails at the core of the piece
represent the heart of the city:

More than 100,000 nails comprise the sculptural mural:

The handles of the double front doors
cleverly form a capital letter T:

All photos by Pamela Graham for CherishToronto.

Homesense Opens in Leaside: My Picks

Just this week, HomeSense opened a new location in Leaside at Eglinton and Laird. This isn't just any old store, though, my friends, it's 30,000 square feet of home decor!!! The store is well stocked with fresh goods, and as always, the prices are right. I toured the store Thursday evening and snapped some photos of my favourite pieces.

These globes ($16.99) are very on trend right now, and would look great on a bookshelf in the study or den:

This upholstered tufted ottoman ($299.99) with turned wood legs is fab-u-lous!! Perfect for putting your feet up while watching a movie:

These lamps ($59.99 each) are totally industrial chic. I'm picturing them on end tables in a very modern space:

These pheasants ($34.99 each) have a very regal look about them. They're extremely heavy, and would make a unique set of bookends:

These jars ($24.99 and up) are statement pieces which would complement any decor. You can never go wrong with white ceramic:

With Hallowe'en almost upon us, the Christmas decor is just starting to come out of the woodwork. With so many amazing holiday items available, you may be inspired to adopt an entirely new holiday theme!!

Traditional Red & Gold:

Gorgeous Green & Gold:

Icy Winter Wonderland:

All photos by Pamela Graham for CherishToronto.

Chic Black Candles

Black candles are not only for witchcraft and voodoo rituals - they can also be a very chic way to decorate your home for Hallowe'en without going over the top. This weekend I swapped out all of my white candles for black ones, and voila, Hallowe'en decorating done!

Martha Stewart thinks black candles are a good thing.

Image: MarthaStewart.

Black candles look great with pewter & crystal.

Image: Country Living magazine

Hallmark Magazine creates a simple Hallowe'en vignette.

Image: OhDeeDoh

Katie Bower knows how to do Hallowe'en chic.
Image: BowerPower

And they're not just for Hallowe'en:

Eddie Ross chose black tapers for his Thanksgiving table.
Image: LonnyMag.

Jenna Lyons' living room chandelier sparkles with black candles.
Image: Domino magazine.

Happy Hallowe'en decorating!!

Think of the Fish

Since our Thanksgiving weekend weather was so comfortable, we took the opportunity to spend some time outdoors at Etienne Brule Park, near Bloor Street & Old Mill Drive. We visited this park in particular with the hope of catching a glimpse of the salmon which travel upstream to spawn at this time of year. It was also nice to see some of the autumn colours:


We saw several salmon attempt to jump this weir in an effort to reach their spawning grounds further upstream:



Thanks to Mother Nature for a beautiful weekend!!

All photos by Pamela Graham for Cherish Toronto.