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An Ode To The Summer Picnic

Remember my recent ramblings about how a sweet and simple dress fanned into flame the spark of an idea? I don’t know about you, but I don’t choose fashion for the label or the status of it. I choose fashion because it feels like a reflection of my personality, my interests, my quirks and expressive ways, my style and quite simply myself. I choose it because it fits and reflects my life.

My closet is diverse, reflecting the need to express different moods at different times, but this dress fit like a glove in every way. A vintage silhouette with a whimsical flair, tailored yet easy, lovely but not too serious. And so it is most befitting that this feminine frock also led to the creation of this video, paying homage to the last few days of summer and one of my favourite ways to spend them – picnicking with friends, surrounded by nature, savouring gourmet flavours, together.

An Ode to the Summer Picnic from The Curated House on Vimeo.

You can find recipes for the lovely food featured in the video here. The beautiful plates were provided by Anthropologie {also the source of this inspirational dress}. And the visual beauty is all thanks to the creative genius of the delightful Phil Lindsay.

Summer doesn’t officially succumb to Fall’s embrace for at least a couple of weeks yet, so I say ask her to dance. Feel the warmth of her sun on your skin, the breeze of her breath in your hair, the softness of her green blades of grassy attire beneath your bare feet as you sway to her soft rhythm. Squeeze out every last drop of goodness you can from the fruit of her season and savour each sip with the ones you love. It’s the stuff memories are made of.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 7th, 2012|3 Comments

For the Detailistas – Industrial Modern

This follow up is for all you Detailistas! Remember those jaw-dropping upcycled silk sari rugs I featured a few weeks ago? Well, many of you noticed the cool light fixtures and furnishings as well. Always happy to oblige, today I’m dishing the deets on the other furnishings that caught your attention.

First the lights. These “Workshop Cage Lamps” from ELTE are inspired by the wire cages that were once used to protect the light bulbs in workshops and factories back in the time of The Industrial Revolution. These cage lights are shown paired with ELTE‘s Edison 40W bulb – a classic filament style bulb also entirely reminiscent of a bygone era. In a time when compact flourescents and LED’s are dominating the market, I find it fascinating to see this return to the origins of the filament light bulb, first brought to life by Edison in 1879.

The chair from this grouping is a perfect example of hand-hewn nods at history. The distressed leather, panelled aluminum back and exposed screws and nail heads all speak to human crafstmanship paired with the powering of machine-driven manufacturing. The aesthetic is reminiscent of the first airplanes from the turn of the century, also crafted in sections with panels of aluminum.

The desk – a combination of a Light Burnt Oak top with sawhorse-style steel legs – brings to mind a time when people worked hard to create and innovate using their hands while harnessing the newfound power and strength of what machines could produce.

Check out similar details in this vintage style trunk, also from ELTE.

One of my favourite design colleagues recently asked me why I think there has been such a strong resurgence of the Industrial Modern look in Interior Design in the last 2-3 years. While I am not an expert on social psychology, I would hazard a guess that it is a combination of two things:

ONE, our desire to feel connected to history in an era where change is coming at us faster than ever before. We live in what has been heralded as the Digital Revolution, and just like the Industrial Revolution, it marks a major turning point in history. Almost every aspect of our daily lives is affected in some way. Think about the way you work, plan, communicate, shop, research and create! Virtually nothing has been left unchanged. In harkening back to another era of rapid change and innovation, we remind ourselves that our ancestors survived that life-altering pace of change, and we will too.

TWO, there is visual evidence with most of these “Industrial Modern” products that human hands were involved in their making. Wood is generally raw and often reclaimed. Exposed nail heads and grommets and signs of hand hammering are all essential to the aesthetic. In a time when more and more of our daily products are made exclusively by machines and are increasingly disposable, I think we want to remember our humanity and our ability to handcraft timeless, lasting quality.

Is the Industrial Modern look leaving you inspired? If you’re looking to inject your interior with some Industrial flair, ELTE has an entire department dedicated to this aesthetic. Be sure to go and check it out and let me know what you think!

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|July 11th, 2012|0 Comments

Lofty Inspiration – The Art of The Mix

I don’t know about you, but there is a version of me that could totally do big city loft living. In my mind, the building is an über chic, converted warehouse oozing with massive-windows-and-exposed-brick-and-wooden-beam charm.

Photo courtesy of www.thestwrd.com

My neighbours are of course artists and architects and musicians and innovators, and we all take turns hosting wine tastings and cooking parties where we talk about art and inspiration and our favourite recipes (and never discuss politics). The kitchen would no doubt look like this:

image found on Pinterest

My husband and I spent several glorious years living in the charmingly European neighborhood of Bloor West Village in Toronto. Though not a loft neighborhood, the 18″ gumwood baseboards and beefy (nearly edible) matching wood door casings were delightful. It had some of that ruddy charm that I love about a good loft, too. Something of a sense of history that made you feel very much at home and somehow connected with a meaningful story right there in your own neighbourhood.

We live in Oakville now, and it has many benefits including mature trees and bigger back yards. With that also comes normal ceiling heights, no 18 foot high walls of architectural windows, no real exposed brick or beefy gumwood baseboards…so we need to think of other ways to bring that vintage warmth and nostalgia into our spaces. For me, it’s about the art of the mix. It is about a home that is carefully curated over time – perfectly imperfect and reflective of a journey.

I recently trotted off to the local Christie Antique Show in search of just this kind of nostalgic inspiration. Here are a few of the treasures I found:

As it turns out, I went on this little adventure with something very specific in mind. I was searching for an antique, square, pressed-glass, footed cake stand. I knew exactly what I wanted (a dangerous place to start, I find) and had stuffed two $20’s in my pocket in the hopes I would find it. After spending $10 on parking, I had a generous $30 budget left and a pocket full of dreams. I had nearly gotten through the entire show and was feeling rather deflated when – like a mirage in the distance – there it was. A perfect, square, pressed-glass footed cake stand (skirted, even!) that was exactly as I had imagined it.

My elation quickly turned to deflation once again as I learned that my intended treasure – a Fostoria American collectible cake stand, patented in 1915 – was in fact $275. The fact that they took Visa did not help in this case (a budget is a budget), though the dealer was really hopeful when he saw how excited I had been to discover it.

So instead of going home with my intended treasure, I came home with an education on what I’m looking for, a little less naivete over the price of things and a few images to share with you! Hope to see you at the September edition of the Christie Antique Show!

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|June 20th, 2012|0 Comments