Sibling Revelry at IDS11

One of the hottest spots at IDS11 was the Sibling Revelry exhibit – four 600 sq ft spaces each designed by four pairs of Canadian designer siblings. We waited in a huge line-up to get in at the gala on Thursday, and it was worth every minute of the wait! Not only did we have the chance to talk with Tommy and meet Sarah, but the spaces were filled with fabulous items and inspiring ideas.

My and Thien Ta Trung

This was more of a conceptual space filled with plants and some green furnishings and  white stone floor.

Jason and Lars Dressler

These twin brothers created a rustic modern space – lots of wood, some leather, some funky elements, and a super-huge and cool chandelier!

   

 

Glenn & David Dixon

This space was inspired by the true story of 12-year old Japanese girl, Sadako Sasaki. When Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia in February 1955, a friend of hers inspired her to fold 1,000 origami cranes, in reference to the ancient Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand paper origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. Students from Ryerson folded these 1,000 cranes.

  

I want this mirror!

Sarah & Theo Richardson

Sarah and her brother Theo designed divided their space into three small rooms – dining room, study, and bedroom. They combined Sarah’s softer design aesthetic with harder edged, industrial pieces from Theo’s design company, Rich, Brilliant, Willing. {Shannon at What’s Up Whimsy was lucky enough to meet Theo and even had lunch with him! You can read all about it here.}

{Seeing as I was too busy being star-struck to take decent pictures in Sarah & Theo’s space, Grace at Sense and Sensibility is graciously letting me post some of her photos here. Thanks Grace!}

Love the combination of patterns on the chair. Not sure I’d do it on my own dining room chairs, but in this space, it worked.

These DR pics are from Grace…

  

As soon as I saw this bright blue pouf, I thought of Nancy at Marcus Design :-) It’s the only decent picture I took in the study – the rest are from Grace :-)

  

I want this polar bear painting!

The bedroom was bold and bright and included one of Sarah’s trademark headboards.

And bedroom pics from Grace… notice that the table matches the light fixture above. Both from RBW.

  

And so ends my wrap-up of IDS11! I’ve already received a save the date email for IDS12, happening January 26-29, 2012. I’m SO going to be there, and I hope you will be too!

Happy weekend!

If you want your home to reflect who you are and what you love, drop me a line for an in-person or online consultation.

Schmoozing at IDS11

Just after arriving at the IDS gala last night, Arren WIlliams and Tommy Smythe wandered by. I grabbed a TBB and said let’s follow Tommy, he’ll lead us to Sarah! Well, he led us to the House & Home booth, where we accosted Tommy and Arren and took some pictures.

And then we zipped over to the Sibling Revelry exhibit, and there was Tommy again in the space designed by Sarah Richardson and her brother Theo (he’s one third of the design team Rich, Brilliant, Willing in NYC). Tommy wearing a very cool Harry Rosen tie and his do-it-yourself facelift :-)

Tommy is hilarious, and so gracious. Thank you Tommy for letting the TBBs accost you! And of course, we had to accost Sarah too :-) She was also gracious and patient with us as we had our pictures taken with her :-)

Last night was schmoozing, today is perusing! I’ll be back with lots of pics from IDS next week!

Sarah 101: Episode 3, Vernon’s Kitchen

I hope you like green, because this week’s episode of Sarah 101 features one very green kitchen and lounge! Take a look at how you can customize box store items to create a one-of-a-kind kitchen, and learn how to tie two adjoining rooms together. {Be warned, my pictures make the green look even brighter than it is in real life!}

How do you like them apples?!

The before pics…

Here’s Sarah & Tommy’s to-do list:

Their starting point was this retro-looking green & grey laminate countertop.

They designed a layout that’s functional and provides additional storage, without changing the size of the kitchen. They removed the existing island and replaced it with a peninsula that allows for better flow and provides more storage.

The colour palette is extended into the adjoining lounge – the fabric selection process!

They also brought the green into the lounge by painting a wide stripe up one wall, across the ceiling, and down the opposite wall. The stripe adds interest to a space that doesn’t have much architectural detailing.

I love this clock huge clock . Sarah designed the words and had them printed at a sign shop. The mechanism is from a craft store.

Ta-da!

Sarah attached a large bulldog clip to the wall above the counter to hold recipes.

The big reveal…

   

What did Sarah & Tommy teach us?

1. Customize off-the-rack cabinets by having the doors spray painted. The colour options are limitless, and if you ever decide you want a new colour, it’s easy to have the doors repainted.

2. To further customize a kitchen, combine white, glass & steel, and colour cabinetry.

3. Use a single flooring material in adjoining rooms to link them together.

4. If you have a low ceiling, hang curtain rods high up on the wall. This visually elevates the ceiling.

5. If you don’t have room in your kitchen for an island, try adding a peninsula. 3’ x 5’ is a good size.

6. Mix vibrant and muted colours, as well as plush, bold, and geometric fabrics.

7. Sarah’s first colour choice for the kitchen turned out to be the wrong shade of grey. The grey she chose had a green undertone. She said that she should have looked at the deepest colour on the colour chip that the colour was on to see the undertone. It’s good to know that even the experts make colour mistakes! Only the have somebody else to do the re-painting for them ;-)

  

If you live in Canada, you can watch the episode here. And click here to see the list of sources.