We’re all familiar with The Selby, which, in true voyeuristic fashion, offers a peek into people’s personal spaces and an interior version of “street style” so to speak. And just as street style photographers have been asked to shoot fashion campaigns, Todd Selby has shot the Holiday campaign for ASOS, granting us access into the wonderfully stylish apartments of the models. I’m loving the not-too-styled spaces and the interior inspiration, though I find the clothes kind of get lost and it becomes more about the space and the image as a whole.
Either way, a clever campaign, and definitely pleasing to the eye.
One of the dangers of living in the Queen West area of downtown Toronto and constantly walking up and down the street is the constant window shopping that I do. Lately, and I think as an extension of my recent Fall nesting tendencies, I’ve had my eye on the home and decor stores, eyeing the window displays and compiling wishlists. My most recent addition? Urban Barn’s Aspen Faux Fur throw, which I’m pretty sure will become a real purchase in the near future, especially since finding them online and further fueling the love. Fur (faux, that is) adds such a luxurious element to any ensemble or space, and I’m thinking this would be perfect for cozy nights in.
Available in grey, lux mink, lux stripe and white. Only two colours are shown on the site, but I’m leaning towards either the grey or lux mink. There are pillows too. Dangerous.
[images via Urban Barn]
Being in the pop-up shop space has inevitably led me to dream about a permanent space for Bicyclette and start to envision the specifics of how I would design the space.
Idea du jour? Tin ceiling tiles. Loving the texture and dimension they create, and luxe quality that is instantly added to any space. I’ve already sent away for three free samples, so I can “test out different styles”. They will no doubt make an appearance in the studio.
This is always the time of year when I have the urge to nest and transform my apartment into the ideal living space, but instead I’ve been focusing on the pop-up shop. Needless to say, my home organization and decor have fallen to the wayside and Bicyclette has taken over, which is ok, because I’m looking forward to borrowing a lot of the merchandising ideas from the pop-up shop and using the props when it’s over.
Here’s a tiny selection of inspiration, dreamy spaces with vintage trinkets, pretty frocks on the walls, and cozy decor.
Barely more than two weeks until the Bicyclette pop-up shop! I don’t need to tell you that I am extremely excited about this fact, but I should share with you that there’s a certain amount of stress that is tagging along. Earlier this week I came down with a bug, and though I’ve been trying to work through it and retain a certain amount of productivity, it’s significantly put a damper on my pop-up shop prep. When you’re sick, it’s extremely hard to keep up with the daily essentials, let alone tackle a new, large-scale project. All I want to do is curl up, but I’m trying to maintain a balance so I’m not completely overwhelmed. So little time!
But, without further ado, I’d like to present another series of pop-up shop interior inspirations. One of the things I’m most looking forward to is designing displays and getting creative with props and merchandise to create an atmosphere that I’m not able to replicate online. This collage of photos, by photographer Amanda McLauchlan and found on favourite design blog decor8, perfectly capture the spirit and mood of what I want to do.
[images: Amanda McLauchlan, via decor8]
Tonight is dedicated to applying coat #2 of the chalkboard paint to the studio wall, so in keeping with the theme of redecorating, I thought I’d share this redesign of the BC Footwear LA showroom that I came across on Design Sponge. Love the overall DIY effect it has, the photo collaging on the walls and the vintage letters used in the display. This is similar to the feeling that I’m trying to convey, in the sense of having it be creative, interactive and playful.
Now, if I could just get this project to move a little quicker, I could focus on more of the “fun” decorating parts and be done with the physical labour! Quite frankly, I’m exhausted after yesterday’s 12+ hour day, but there’s so much to do in these last few critical weeks. No one ever said it would be easy!
On this horribly gloomy, dismal day, I decided it was time to start tackling the insanity that is my bedroom, in preparation for it being turned into the bicyclette studio. This seems like the perfect opportunity to get rid of as much as possible, so I’m trying to be selective when I edit my possessions. We’re moving our bedroom into the smaller room in the apartment (which was previously occupied by my brother), and the larger room with the huge front window is being turned into the studio and work area. Tres exciting! I currently have five bags of clothes to get rid of and my bed is covered with winter clothes to be packed away, which to me is progress. I figure that like any big overhaul, the whole apartment will get more chaotic before it gets organized.
Anyways, today I stumbled across a new interior blog that I will be adding to my list of dailies, Made By Girl, and it was as if the universe knew I needed inspiration, because one of the posts I came across was photos of her home office renovation. For some reason I’ve had difficulty finding images for reference, so this was perfect, right along the lines of what I needed, at the right time.
I love the white, the bright infusions of colour, the graphic wallpaper, the storage systems, the quirky decorating accents, the inspiration board … gives me some great ideas for designing my own space.
If anyone has any other sources of studio/office space inspiration, or some neat project and ideas they think I might be able to incorporate, feel free to pass them along to me! It’s about that time, and I’d love the input …
White washed walls. Streaming sunlight. Accents of colour. A vintage aesthetic and carefully constructed vignettes. This is what my dreams are made of. White is often thought to be sterile and lacking in personality, but I find it to be quite the opposite, a blank canvas and an opportunity to play with texture and details.
source
I love the rustic details, the imperfections in the chipping paint and the coziness that is exuded. There’s a story here, and the vignettes of found objects and various trinkets communicate this.
I can’t wait to start putting together the bicyclette studio (more on this soon!), drawing inspiration from interior’s such as these. The hard part will be incorporating functional workspace into the mix.
Between hunting for thrifted pieces to use in my thesis exhibition and starting to think about my new studio space (more on that later!), I’ve been especially keen on various forms of interior inspiration and on the lookout for ideas to borrow. I love vintage furniture, there’s so much character and a raw quality to them that is so hard to find in new pieces.
Meet Factory 20, and their family of beautiful vintage pieces.
Dutch Early Century Iron Wooden Stool
Dark Belgian Claw Foot Center Table
19th Century Tailors Work Bench Table
Mercantile Oak Glass Display Cabinet
The pieces I’ve found so far are nowhere near this caliber (or price range), so I’m focusing on repurposing them and adding a little bit of bicyclette flair. I guess I need to step up my thrifting game …
I’m running on very little sleep and still have a lot of work to get through tonight, but I wanted to get in a quick interiors post. I was working on a project last week (or was it the week before? Oh my…) for my visual merchandising class in which we had to research and design an idea for a window display, and the first step was to find two inspirational stores. The first one I used was Love of Mine, which I posted about here, and the other choice was easy: Anthropologie. I had the pleasure of working at the opening of the location in Yorkville back in the summer, assisting with setting up the store and being part of the visual team, and it was a great experience, as there is no store that has such a strong vision when it comes to interiors. Anthropologie does an amazing job with their visual displays and merchandising, using found materials, handcrafted props and art to create stories and themes that are innovative and inspirational. They make organized clutter and chaotic creativity work and breathe new life into seemingly useless junk.
Here are a few of my favourites, collected over time and tucked away into my inspiration folder, so unfortunately I’m unsure as to sources …
Also, here’s a quick snap of the thrifted goods I found this past weekend that I mentioned yesterday, to give you an idea of what I’m working with. As soon as I finish my brand book (due next week, wow), I’ll be focusing my attentions on the exhibition props and adding a bit of bicyclette flair …
Leave A Comment