the marion house book

summer’s end

I always think this long weekend marks the end of summer and the beginning of fall.

I’m not one to get upset about the end of a season I enjoy them all. I’m looking forward to wearing sweaters and tights and boots and scarves again. Fall is definitely the best season when it comes to fashion. So many delicious things to wear!

I also can’t wait to start making stews, chilli and soups. (I’m not sure if I could eat another salad – although tonight that’s what’s on the menu.)

Soon, it will also be time to switch out my cotton blankets for wool ones and generally make the house a little cosier for winter.

I plan on spending this weekend wading through all my September issues which have piled up around my bed and generally getting a little more organized. I can’t help but feel that come Tuesday morning with kids returning to school and people back from holidays that the world will slowly gear up again.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! What are your plans?

Posted by Emma on September 3, 2010 – 5:19 PM

Filed under beautiful objects

cast your vote – tilda’s bedroom

I was so happy to open my mailbox last week to see an email from the lovely Tilda of the blog Madame Herve. Tilda was one of my earliest supporters, posting about The Marion House Book back in March when I first started. If you have been following her blog than you know that she is going through a major renovation of her own (spectacular) home.

Tilda emailed me wondering if you, my super creative and well informed readers, could help her find a wallpaper for her master bedroom. Apparently, it is very difficult to find wallpaper in Switzerland and she is hoping that you can help her solve that problem!

Tilda has provided me with the most amazing inspiration images for her attic bedroom. She has also chosen a few wallpapers to get us started which I have added to. Please cast your vote to let us know which wallpaper you think Tilda should choose. In addition, if any of you have information about stockists or suppliers that sell wall coverings in Switzerland, let us know.

Let’s begin with the colour palette Tilda has chosen:

Pretty inspiring, right? Warm, romantic and enveloping. Below is a copy of her floorplan:
As you can see from the drawing, the attic is a large open-concept space that will have three functions: bedroom, mediaroom, and atelier. She has also provided me with colour selections for the atelier (see below). I thought it was important to show you both colour schemes since the rooms flow into each other and are visible from both vantage points.

I am absolutely in love with the combination of colors she has chosen. They are so rich and moody – like a Dutch masters painting come to life. I think the overall feeling of the attic is going to be quite romantic with its wood burning stove, spiral staircase, and exposed bathtub.

To give you a better idea of how the space looks, Tilda has sent along a photo of the work in progress.

Aren’t those exposed beams beautiful?

Now to our challenge. Tilda would like to wallpaper only the bedroom section of her attic, the rest of the walls be painted. She is very fond of the relief or anaglypta wallpapers primarily because they can be painted any color she chooses. Here are a few she has picked out already:

This is the Supaglypta Alexander wallpaper from Wallpapers-UK

This is the Original Portland wallpaper from Wallpapers-UK

Here are a few others I found. Each of them is paintable.

Dandelion Blush wallpaper from Wallpaper Direct

Large Scrolling Leaf Superfresco wallpaper available through Graham & Brown

Martinique Superfresco wallpaper available through Graham & Brown

Tilda told me she was also open to other suggestions for wallpaper. Of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look for some samples in her colour palette. What do you think of these ones?

Lalika wallpaper through Harlequin

Addison Damask wallpaper through Thibault

Butterfly wallpaper by Timorous Beasties

St. Antoine wallpaper by Farrow and Ball

Rosslyn wallpaper through Fabrics and Papers

Rajapur wallpaper through Fabrics and Papers

Buds wallpaper through Thibault

Bubbles wallpaper through Fabrics and Papers

Lotus wallpaper by Farrow and Ball

Romanie wallpaper through Harlequin

Michelle wallpaper through Thibault

Bird Branch wallpaper by Timorous Beasties

Lalika wallpaper through Harlequin

Tree of Life wallpaper through Timorous Beasties

Most of the wallpapers listed above are available through online sources or have suppliers in Europe. If anyone has any other leads on wallpaper suppliers that will ship to Switzerland please let us know. I know Tilda is quite partial to the paintable Anaglypta wallpapers so a source for those in Switzerland would be amazing.

And don’t forget to cast your vote for your favourite wallpaper!

Posted by Emma on September 2, 2010 – 9:24 AM

Filed under please, cast your vote

and the winner is…..

I can’t think of a better way to start off a new month than to announce the winner of the Paperwork giveaway.

Horst Diekgerdes

Congratulations Lisa H. The great people over at Paperwork will be in touch with you shortly about your $25 gift certificate. And for those of you who didn’t win, go over to Paperwork anyways and treat yourself to a print. You can pick one up for as low as $20. Definitely, worth forgoing a few cafe lattes or cappuccinos for!

I’ll be back here tomorrow with a new Cast Your Vote post for a fellow blogger. I’m going to need as much help as I can get (especially from my European readers) to choose and find some spectacular wallpaper for her attic bedroom.

Posted by Emma on September 1, 2010 – 9:18 AM

Filed under beautiful objects

wonderful wood

Can you ever have too much of a good thing?

Take wood for example…can you imagine it on your floors, on your walls and on your ceilings? Seems like overkill, right?

But take a look at some of these place sand see what a spectacular effect it can have. The trick is keeping the types of wood to a minimum. I would say no more than two, otherwise it ends up looking too hodge podge.

In addition to the wood, I absolutely love these chairs. Francois Halard

If we ever renovate our third floor, this is the inspiration for our bedroom attic. Image via Design*Sponge

Even the doors (if you can spot them) are made out of wood! Simon Watson.

Beautiful, textured wood from Harriet Maxwell MacDonald and Andrew Corrie’s home on Shelter Island. Ditte Isager for House Beautiful

These rustic wood walls create a beautifully, moody space. Martyn Thompson

There is something magical about this loft with its paper lanterns and swing. Image via 1 b.p.

Vertical and horizontal lines of wood. Francois Halard (left) and Sarah Maingot (right)

Wonderfully aged wood floors (OK, so this is only the floors but I love the image!) Chris Brooks

Posted by Emma on August 31, 2010 – 9:33 AM

Filed under colour revolt

hello! neighbour – clay & liz

I am super excited about this month’s edition of Hello! Neighbour. First, because this house is on the same street as the Marion house and second because this home is full of so many amazing vintage finds that you don’t know where to look first. Almost every item in Clay and Liz’s home has a different story to tell. Ask about the dining room and you will hear how Clay made the light fixture and that the vintage suitcases were free from Craigslist. In the living room, their is a first edition copy of J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories on the mantlepiece. The front porch features a table made from an old director’s chair and fridge racks that Clay cobbled together after watching too many episodes of the Junk Brothers. Even one of the children’s rooms boasts a vintage E.T. TV tray that Liz’s found at a garage sale.

Pretty soon, we will all be able to benefit from Liz’s keen eye for vintage finds when she opens her new online store, The Arthur. The store will feature unusual and hard to find vintage items that she has collected for years. Stay tuned here in the coming weeks for details.

Enjoy the tour!

Names:

Liz Ikiriko & Clay Stang

Occupations:
Liz – Photo Editor/Toronto Life Magazine

Clay – Photographer

How long have you lived in your home?

3.5 years

Any animals, kids?

Yup! 1 Dog – Gracie and 2 Kids – Otis & Esmé

What is your favorite room?
Liz: The Living Room – from every vantage point I find something new I like about it. It’s cozy and I really love how it’s a perfect blend of our styles. Clay tends to be a bit more modern and streamlined than I am but it all comes together in the living room. We got the Sai Baba bust on the mantlepiece from a GREAT garage sale. There is also a JD Salinger collection on the mantle (1st edition Nine Stories) between thrift store owl bookends.

I also love the tv room…we’re pretty lucky with the amount of space we have. So we have a tv room upstairs. I love this room with its non-working fireplace and big bay window. We reupholstered the George Mulhauser plycraft chair that I found at a garage sale. We traded photography for the hanging light from Kate at In Abstracto and the couch was our biggest purchase so far, from Pavillion. My fave item in tv room is the Breathless (a Bout de Souffle) poster I found at a shop on Queen East (above Mulhauser chair)

Clay: The Bathroom – it feels like the perfect blend of old and new. It was the beginning of our many renos, before we moved in. I learned a lot during the process.

Liz: Clay and I have found the perfect way to work together. He does the big major transformation reno stuff and I come in and do the details.The only original element from the bathroom is the medicine cabinet. Though, I have to say our taste has definitely come together over the years. The bathroom really seems like it’s a perfect mix of us. Simple, modern but with vintage found details.

What is your favorite object/thing/moment in your home?
Liz: Tom Waits photo by Dan Winters (best birthday/Christmas gift from the hubby. EVER) & napping with Esmé on our new back deck (built by the hubby!).

Clay: Tom Waits photo by Dan Winters and the afternoon light coming down our 3rd floor stairwell.

What are your future plans for the home?
Finishing kitchen, painting/adding some colour character (we have boring white walls everywhere) and we’d love to finish off all the little details in our house – sprucing up windowsills, baseboards, adding quarter round, etc.

Anything you would change?
Wish we had a 2nd bathroom with a lovely clawfoot tub. I dream of it on a daily basis…

Best thing about living in Parkdale?
We have amazing neighbours. Seems like we live in pleasantville with all their loveliness. And it’s great being so connected to the city center without feeling like we’re in the midst of the hustlebustle. Also, 90% of our friends live within walking distance and since we have no family in the city – that is a super bonus. Our friends are our family so it’s nice to be so close.

What original feature(s) of your home will you never get rid of?
Our 2 fireplaces (though, it’d be nice if they worked), all the ceiling medallions and the original turn-of-the-century solid wood doors.

Links, acknowledgments

All photographs by Kristin Sjaarda except photo of Tom Waits by Clay Stang.

Dining Room

- big photo – Clay took in NYC

- portrait by Simon Willms

- wood block print from Smash

- bowling floor console by Clay!

- table from Craigslist, chairs from Bungalow

– light fixture by Clay!

- suitcases – free Craigslist

- Stool – Liz’s 1st reupolstery project

Hallway

- theatre chairs from Aberfoyle Market

- antlers Clay painted

- buddha from friends

- illustration on wood block commissioned by my close friend on my 30th birthday, by Leeay Aikawa, it’s a portrait of me when I was 3.

Back Porch

- Patio chairs – free on street

- Patio table – from Black Pug

Front Porch – Clay redid our porch in the spring and its made such a difference. I love sitting out there on a rainy morning with coffee. The sideboard was in the house when we took possession and where I store my gardening tools. Think I’ll switch out glass in the sideboard doors and replace with chicken wire…

Patio doors are Pollard Windows and Doors

Posted by Emma on August 30, 2010 – 9:12 AM

Filed under hello! neighbour

don’t forget to enter

I hope you’ve enjoyed my posts this week dedicated to art in the home. Judging by your comments, it’s a topic that many of you are inspired by. Just a quick reminder that time is running out to enter the Paperwork giveaway. You could win a $25 gift card towards the purchase of a piece like this from their gallery.

Bairro Alto 01 – Cristina Guerreiro

Or something like this….

Swing Set – Bryan Jerabek

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Monday, August 30th at midnight (EST) to win.

Next week, I’ll be back here with a brand new Hello! Neighbour post that I am really excited about, a Cast Your Vote post for a fellow blogger living in Switzerland and of course, the winner of the Paperwork giveaway. Now, go enter to win some art for your walls!

Posted by Emma on August 27, 2010 – 7:49 AM

Filed under beautiful objects

story of an artwork

As promised yesterday, a post about my first foray into buying art from a gallery.

I think there are certain events in life like milestone birthdays, the birth of a child or a wedding that deserve to be celebrated with a purchase you will have for years to come. Something you can look upon to remember that specific moment.

For my husband’s 30^th birthday, I decided to buy him a piece of art. It was a discussion about art and photography that drew us together in the first place so what better present to give him.

Up the road, from where we lived in Vancouver was a gallery that was having a show by the Royal Art Lodge. The Royal Art Lodge was a collective of artists from Winnipeg, Canada founded by Marcel Dzama, Michael Dumontier, Neil Farber, Drue Langlois, Jonathan Pylypchuk, and Adrian Williams. We were both familiar with the work of the Royal Art Lodge, and I knew he would appreciate one of their works.

Royal Art Lodge Studio

One of the ways the collective functioned was every week, the artists would meet and work on drawings that they passed around the group Usually, at least three artists would contribute to each drawing riffing off of what the previous artist had done. Each work was then time stamped to identify when the art was completed and to signify the meeting process.

Royal Art Lodge

The show at the Atelier gallery had many of these group drawings on display all reasonably priced around the $150-$200 mark. I saw one that really resonated with me that I knew Myles would enjoy. It showed two blob-like figures holding a gigantic suitcase with a picture of men’s briefs on the side. The text above said, “let’s get out of here”. Since we were contemplating a move to Toronto at the time it seemed appropriate and timely. ( I later learned that the Royal Art Lodge had a systematic way of sorting through all the drawings they generated that involved four suitcases. The best went into a suitcase with a sun on it, the second best into one depicted with a heart, the bad went into a suitcase with a rain cloud and the worst were destined for a suitcase with a skull and bones. This was work that was so bad it was to be destroyed.)

The piece has hung in our homes in both Vancouver and Toronto. When we moved into the Marion House we found the perfect spot for the drawing in our hallway right inside the front door.

Then an interesting thing happened. As I was doing the research for this post I took a closer look at our drawing. The initials on the bottom of the page are MD, SD, and SM. Only the MD initials seemed to correspond with a name of an artist who had been in the collective (either Marcel Dzama or Michael Dumontier) and there was no time stamp. I was curious and wondered who had contributed to our drawing. Luckily, the internet is a wonderful thing and I found a contact name on the Royal Art Lodge website. I wrote a quick note with an attached photo of our drawing and hoped someone would respond in a timely fashion. (The collective officially ended in 2008 but some of its member still continue to work together.) A few hours later, I received a reply from Neil Farber. He informed me that our drawing was done by Marcel Dzama, his wife Shelley and their friend Sylvia.

Marcel Dzama – Untitled 2003

In recent years, Marcel Dzama has seen an enormous amount of success. His work is collected by major galleries and institutions such as the The Museum of Modern Art, the Andy Warhol Foundation, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal. Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, Viggo Mortensen and Spike Jonze also collect his work. A quick internet search revealed that a work similar in scale to ours and signed by both Marcel Dzama and Shellie Dick (his wife) sold at auction in 2007 for $2640.

Marcel Dzama and Shelley Dick – Untitled (Figures with Owls)

While I didn’t purchase this piece with the intent to make money it can’t be denied that the business of making and selling art is a large part of the art world puzzle. I think many people are fearful about this part of art collecting; nobody wants to make a bad investment. First and foremost, I believe that you have to love or at least be challenged by the art you buy. (Sometimes, I find the works that confuse or intrigue you…the ones that aren’t immediately apparent… are the ones you end up connecting with the most.) That way you will never be disappointed as you will always have a work that you enjoy having on your wall. If you happen to be fortunate and the artist’s career takes off then lucky for you. Even then, I wonder how many people would part with an artwork just to make some money. I know, we’re holding onto ours.

Posted by Emma on August 26, 2010 – 8:48 AM

Filed under beautiful objects

tips and tricks for hanging art

A fabulous piece of art can look less than stellar if it is not hung right.

We all know the frustration of lining up an artwork so it is just so and then realizing once it is placed on the wall that it is too high. It doesn’t take long before your wall is a battleground of discarded holes and pencil marks. So today, I thought I would offer up some tips and tricks for hanging and placing art.

Scale – Think about scale when you’re putting up your artwork. A small work on a large blank wall will get lost. Try it either on a narrower wall or group a selection of dimunitive works together to create a larger vignette. Ideally the art should relate to the size of the wall or the furniture beneath it.

Image via Houzz

Simon Watson

Emma’s Design Blogg

Hanging Height – As a general rule you should aim to hang all of your artwork somewhere between 52″-55” on center. On center, means that the middle of your artwork, regardless of size, should land at your chosen dimension. One of the major mistakes people make when hanging art is they hang it too high. If you use this measurement as a guide all of your artworks will be at the right height.

Francois Halard

Roland Bello

Take a Step Back – It’s almost impossible to hang artwork on your own. You need another person to help you determine the best possible placement for the work. Take your time. You want to strike a balance on the wall that takes into account all of the objects that are in the room including the furniture. This is even more important if you are hanging a group of paintings on one wall. If you can’t find a partner to help you out, try making paper cutouts of the work you want to hang and move those about. I do this anytime I am working on a salon-style arrangement with multiple works.

image via Fint

image via Living Etc.

Lean It – Not all artwork has to be hung. Casually leaning a painting against a wall or using a picture rail can also work.

image via blog tages anzeiger

image via design in mine

Francois Halard

Create a Focal Point – Art is a great way to create a focal point in a room especially if the space is lacking any strong architectural features. Imagine how lifeless the rooms below would be without the artwork.

image via 2.bp

Francois Halard

Tomorrow, I’ll be back here with a little story about my first foray into buying art from a gallery. Until then, don’t forget to enter the Paperwork gallery giveaway over at this post for your chance to win a $25 gift card good towards the purchase of some art.

Posted by Emma on August 25, 2010 – 9:14 AM

Filed under beautiful objects

buying art – getting started

Since I have such a fabulous art-related giveaway, I thought I would focus all of my posts on art for the home this week. Today’s post is about where to buy art.

Many people think the only place to buy original art is in a gallery but that’s not true. In recent years, many new avenues have opened up that have really democratized the process of buying art. In addition, a lot of this artwork is affordably priced leaving you with no excuses for having that dog-eared reproduction of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers on your wall.

Below some pointers to get you started:

1) Start at the beginning. Each year hundreds of young artists go to art college or university to study their craft. Along the way they stage gallery openings, fundraisers, and final year shows to display their art. Most of these events are open to the public and the work is often for sale. (What young, unemployed student wouldn’t want to sell their art to you?) These places are often great places to pick up larger pieces of art for an affordable price. In Toronto, the Ontario College of Art and Design stages a fundraiser each year called Whodunit which features works of art by famous and not so famous artists all for the same price. The twist is the name of the artist is not revealed until you have purchased your piece. If you’re lucky you might just pick up the work of a well-known artist for a steal!

OCAD’s Whodunit Show via Blog TO

2) Look online. Does the thought of walking into a gallery setting make you nervous? These days you can buy a lot of amazing artwork from the comfort of your own home. Online art sites like Ugallery, 20×200, Eyestorm and Eye Buy Art allow you to persue the works of hundreds of well known and lesser known artists at your leisure. Most of these sites offer signed, limited edition artworks in a range of sizes at affordable prices. We bought the following works for our home through online art sites.

About Four Thirty and The Architects by William Wegman

Mameve, Cambridge, MA by Robert Knight (slightly obscured!)

3) Get outside. Many cities stage outdoor art exhibitions throughout the summer months. This is a great way to see a large selection of work in different disciplines. The one thing to look out for is the word “juried”. This ensures that there was some kind of selection process when the exhibition was put together. In Toronto , The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition held at City Hall is a great place to peruse a large selection of art.

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition via blogTO

4) All in one place. One of the best ways to further your art education is to attend an International Art Fair. An art fair is simply a gathering of a group of galleries in one spot usually over a 3-4 day period. For a small admission price you can wander the space talking to gallery owners and looking at the artists they represent. If there happens to be one in your city or close by take the time to attend. The following link has a comprehensive list of art fairs happening throughout the world. They really are a great place to see a huge selection of work in one convenient location.

TIAF via Kelly Richardson

5) Hit the galleries. Finally, one weekend, go to your local galleries. At this point, you’ll have pretty good idea of what it is you like and how much you are willing to spend. If you see something you like and you can afford it – buy it. Chances are the next time the same artist has a show the prices are only going to go up. I kick myself at the number of pieces I should have bought years ago! Also, most galleries have a place where you can sign up to be on their mailing list. Add your name to the list! This is a great way to keep informed of upcoming shows and events happening at the gallery.

Queen Street galleries in Toronto via Everywhere Mag

Tomorrow I’ll be back here with some ideas about where and how to hang art. In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the amazing giveaway from Paperwork gallery where you could win a giftcard for art for you own wall.

Posted by Emma on August 24, 2010 – 9:04 AM

Filed under beautiful objects

paperwork giveaway

Blank walls. They are almost as scary as that brand new notebook you just bought with the crisp white pages. You hesitate making the first mark for fear of ruining the pristine pages. At some point though you have to jump in.

The question is where do you start?

Buying art can be intimidating but it doesn’t have to be. These days, there are so many different places you can pick up original art there really is no excuse for having a mass produced print from a big box store on your wall.

I thought I would start off this week with a giveaway to help you get started filling up those blank walls. Can you imagine something like this on you wall?

Milk Splash by Chelsea Fisher

How about something a little moodier like this?

Anuk by Alex Greenburg

Both of these prints come from the new online art gallery called Paperwork. Paperwork offers limited edition prints on sustainable archival bamboo paper at really affordable prices. You could own either of the above prints for as low as $20. Every Tuesday they release two new works of art in a limited edition run in a selection of sizes. Once the works are sold out they are gone forever.

Paperwork is generously offering one of my readers a $25 gift card redeemable against any artwork on their site. Just leave a comment on this post by next Monday, August 30th at midnight (EST) and I will announce the winner on September 1st.

Here are some other works from their site that I love.