IDS13

It was a pretty hungover decision, but I'm glad I did it. For months I had been planning to attend the Toronto Interior Design show and, as always, I continually put it off until the very last possible minute. This usually results in me altogether missing some really great opportunities.

But not this time. 

It was a pretty spur of the moment thing, but I bolted out of my hangover coma and dashed out the door to try and make it to the last few hours of the convention. After a huge slip-up on Google's part, who gave me the wrong address in the wrong part of town, I finally made it down to see all of the designer-y glory. 

The show itself was very product-oriented, but this being my first time to such a thing I didn't really know what to expect. The absolute highlight though, was happening upon Suzanne Dimma (of House & Home) and THE Tommy Smythe's live audience presentation. And guess what? I MET TOMMY SMYTHE!

He was doing a meet and greet and answer questions, and after a few minutes of nervous pacing (which I'm pretty sure he began to notice) I just went for it! I YOLO-ed! I talked to Tommy freaking SMYTHE!

He gave me some great advice about how to get started in the design industry, and he really inspired me to begin to take this whole thing by the balls.

Enough blather. 

Some hot pics from the show:

A neat idea using mismatched wood planks.

 

I loved the edgy but rustic feel of these black tiles.

This was really awesome, pre-fab antique wood tiles! They are tongue and groove so they can even be installed as a floating floor solution!

Some art-deco inspired mosaic. 

Need. This. Farrow & Ball black and white bamboo wallpaper. 

Seriously considering for my bathroom.

This sink is a huge, solid piece of marble. So beautiful in person, from all angles. 

There were also some really amazing rugs, some of which were full

pieces of art in their own right.

Sorry I'm not really sourcing all of these, the show was all such a blur and I'm still a pretty huge n00b.

bZd.

PERSIAN RUGS

 I can hardly say that Persian rugs are anything groundbreaking in the world of interior decorating, but they have certainly enjoyed a resurgence lately.

As always, some inspiring imagery:

(via Tumblr)

For my apartment, I knew just had to get one and was really happy with my purchase from Paradise Rug. 

For those of you in the GTA, I would highly recommend Paradise Rug if you are in the market for a reasonably priced Persian. The gentleman who runs Paradise Rug (whose name I have since forgotten) is a super nice guy, operating his business out of his home in Thornhill. In fact, *spoiler alert* when you pick up a rug from him, it involves being taken to his basement where he will proceed to flip through hundreds of huge rugs and work up quite a sweat until you find the right one. It sounds weird, but it was actually really nice - he wouldn't even allow me to help him!

I chose Paradise Rug because their prices were by far the best I had found in my immediate area, so please check them out!

If online shopping is your thing, I have also heard the RugsOnTime website (eSale Rugs in the U.S.) is reliable, affordable and has a huge selection. Here are some of my favourites:

(1)

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What's best about this site (or any others like it) is that they take a tonne of pictures of the rug from all angles and sides, even up close to give you an idea of the quality and the colour. So shop away online if you are unable to find (or afford!) a Persian rug that you like in person - just be wary and use the sites that seem the most reliable.

bZd