Textured Shower Curtain

I live in a historic, 1910-era building in Vancouver’s West End—a place I love for its wide corridors, vintage details and ample square footage. But the downside? I still haven’t figured out what colour to paint the bathroom. It’s a big room with beautiful penny tile flooring, but the former owner opted for a too-blue shade of cornflower to match the blue border on the tile, and the result is, well, too blue. In the meantime, while I suffer from decision paralysis, I’ve started accessorizing in neutrals to tone down my mornings—and for that, I’m loving the new line that Style at Home has released in Sears this month. The “Stretch” shower curtain comes in four colours—white, teal, shale and buiscuit—and features as subtle wave print, a good match for both vintage and modern eclectic spaces. The white will lighten up my morning blues, and best of all, it’s a steal at $39.99.

Stretch shower curtain from Style at Home Collection, $39.99, sears.ca

Muuto Restore Baskets

True, it’s only mid-February, but now that the days are gradually getting longer, I’m starting to get on a bit of a spring-cleaning (and more importantly, spring-organizing) kick. One of our stylists, Nicole Sjöstedt, swears by Muuto’s Restore baskets (and in fact, she’ll be chatting about them when we do our talk at the BC Home and Garden Show this Friday. Made of recycled PET bottles, the felt-like baskets are perfect for always-growing my magazine collection in one room, and as a catch-all for guests to use in my spare room. Plus, they’re an easy way to add a shot of colour—there are nine to choose from.

Restore box by Muuto, $129. Available in Vancouver at Vancouver Special vanspecial.com, in Calgary at Kit kitinteriorobjects.com

Roundish Mini Bowls

One of our stylists, Nicole Sjõstedt, and I are going to be at the BC Home and Garden Show next Friday, February 21, to talk about “Everyday Colour,” so I was in a colour frame of mind when I poked around Robson Street on the weekend. I fell for these candy-coloured “roundish” mini bowls from CB2. They’re right on trend with the ’80s-inspired colours and designs we’re seeing in both fashion and homewares (I also happened to be wearing a puffed sleeve top at the time, natch) and perfect for Friday night get-togethers—a few small bites alongside a glass (or two) of wine.

Roundish Mini Bowls, $2.95 each, available at CB2, cb2.com

Ikea Trendig Cabinet

We’re just a few days away from Chinese New Year (stay tuned to next week’s newsletter for a terrific recipe to help you ring in the Year of the Horse). And just in time, Ikea has released a capsule collection of Scandinavian-meets-Chinese design, Trendig, developed when the company’s Swedish design team travelled to China to collaborate with local designers and technicians. The collection has a limited colour palette—just two shades of red and two shades of green, paired with blonde wood—with playful nods, like the dinnerware adorned with goldfish. My favourite from the lineup, the Trendig cabinet, is a modern update of classic 19th Century provincial Chinese furniture—right down to the medallion-type handles on the front door. Perfect for both an eclectic and modern décor scheme.

Trendig cabinet, $249, available as of February 2014 at Ikea ikea.com

3M Command Strips

Thanks to a little holiday time last week, I finally got around to a project I’ve been wanting to tackle for about six months: designing a gallery wall of personal photos in my kitchen (watch the newsletter next week for my tips on how to create your own). I’ve long known that one of my downfalls is precision—that’s why I’m a knitter rather than a sewer (you can fake a lot with wool). So my greatest discovery in the whole process was 3M Command Strips. They’re strong enough to hold an 18 by 24-inch frame, though I was only brave enough to use them on my 8 by 10s. Essentially, they’re heavy-duty Velcro: attach one side to your frame, and the other to your wall; let the glue cure for an hour, and voila! You’ve got frames placed exactly where you want them. The best part? Should you change your mind, the Command Strips can pop off, thanks to an ingenious pull-tab. No more nail holes, no more inaccurate measuring—and a much less painful process.

3M Command Strips, $9.99/pack of six sets, available at Michaels michaels.com

Fashion-Inspired Pillow and Throw Collection

I’ve just spent the weekend in Tofino, with plenty of time spent under blankets and staring out at the waves of Chesterman Beach from my balcony at the Wickaninnish Inn. (Here in BC we’ve been blessed with a rare fall of cold crisp sunshine, and I wanted to revel in every minute of it.) It’s probably a small part of why I was so charmed by this new textile collection from Tabula Rasa. Launched in NYC this year by Emily Diamandis, former headsweater designer at Rag & Bone, the fashion-inspired blankets and pillows come in both a muted, natural palette of tawny browns and cool greys, or myfavourite—and favourite colour palette in general—magenta, mandarin orange and cool yellow. Perfect for settling into the season.

Tabula Rasa collection, from $220, available in store and online at providehome.com.

Sleek Modern Cabinet

Though it’s been too many years to count since I’ve been in a classroom, the start of September always feels like I’ve hit a reset button, pushing me to get organized again for fall. Some spring clean, I fall organize. I moved a few months ago, and while I technically have more storage in the new place, I have less display space for the things I’ve collected over the years—mainly quirky one-offs that are currently packed in boxes in my storage unit. As soon as I spotted this glass door cabinet from Ikea’s latest Stockholm collection (the brand’s fine materials, high-design collection released every three years or so), I knew I’d found both the perfect piece to free my collections from their confines (in yellow, no less!) and the inspiration to get organized. (And truth be told, it’s the latter that needs the most help.)

Ikea Stockholm collection glass door cabinet, $499, available in Calgary and Vancouver at Ikea, ikea.ca.

Mrs. Godfrey Chair

I find that the selecting perfect occasional chair is a tougher decision than choosing a sofa. Sofas are the straight man, the anchor of the room, and in general, not the place to take big risks. But the occasional chair is a great item to have a little fun with: that extra bit of spark in the room. Jonathan Adler’s designs are just the right note to strike, and the Mrs. Godfrey chair is a perfect example. Its midcentury lines with tight back and button tufting give it some visual interest, but the colour is the true winner: “Cashin Ocean” offers a nubbly finish that’s probably just a little too tempting for my cat, but it’s oh so pretty.

Mrs. Godfrey chair by Jonathan Adler, $1,850, available in Vancouver at Mint Interiors, in Calgary at Kit.

Black and White Server

I recently opted for an ottoman to pair with my sofa, which to be fair, has taken some getting used to. It’s perfect for kicking back on a marathon Arrested Development and knit session; it’s less ideal for balancing a cocktail for Sunday night Mad Men. (Yes, my arguments pro and con essentially revolve around television.)

Solution? Every stylist’s go-to: a tray. Now, thanks to this handy number from Bouclair, I’ve got room for my feet and for my Old Fashioned.

Black and white server, $20, Bouclair, Vancouver and Calgary, bouclair.com

Modernist Cat Circa50: Console

Both of my sofas have that textured, tweedy fabric that I love—and much to my chagrin, so do my cat’s nails. I’ve had some success enticing her over to the classic corrugated cardboard cat scratcher, but frankly, it’s more than an eyesore in my living room.

So I nearly cartwheeled in excitement when I discovered these consoles designed by former Lower Mainland–er Crystal Gregory (now based in Seattle) for her design firm, Modernist Cat. Made of eco–friendly materials like FSC–certified wood and formaldehyde–free glue, the Circa50 Console is custom fit with a replaceable FLOR floor tile—perfect for when it’s either worn, or more likely, I get bored of my colour selection.

Now if Gregory could figure out a solution to the 5 a.m. feeding requests, I’d owe her my first born.

Circa50: Console, from $399, The Modernist Cat, modernistcat.com.