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Griffintown Loft Project – Montreal

July 10, 2014

In our latest project we enjoyed exploring the relationship between the single male and interior design. With a movement in design today that seeks to reflect a more masculine sensibility, the opportunity allowed us to venture forth into a world of restrained furniture details and more sombre colours.

Our client, who does not entertain at home in the traditional sense, asked for a space that is current and inviting, incorporating touchable textures, which inspire warmth and comfort. The result allowed for multiple entertaining areas that focus on function while maximizing space.

▶ Griffintown Loft Project Photos

Gastown Grand Prix 2014

July 9, 2014

A beautiful summer evening at the Gastown Grand Prix!

Red Hot Raku

June 19, 2014

The raku pottery technique also known as rakuyaki (楽焼), has it’s origins in 16th century Japan. During my years in Tokyo I had the opportunity to explore the potters process and was fascinated by the spirituality and artistic consciousness. Raku potters began by producing wares mainly for the Japanese tea ceremony before moving into more decorative pieces. Raku, meaning “pleasure’ or “enjoyment”, was not introduced to the western world until the first half of the 20th century.

Raku is a process of taking pots, while they are still glowing red from the kiln, and placing them immediately into containers filled with combustible materials such as dried leaves, newspaper, sawdust etc. A carbonization process begins once the red hot pots ignite the combustible materials. Lids are then put on the containers to create a totally smoke filled atmosphere. The result is that any unglazed areas on the pots will absorb the smoke and blacken. During the cooling process, the drastic thermal shock also produces cracking (known as crackling since it is deliberate).

It was also during my time in Japan that I came across Domani, a Belgian company that was started 18 years ago and has since become the international standard for high-quality decorative pots. Domani adopted the raku process and through their search for new applications, both in colour and technique, gave raku a new look.

HIGH IMPACT – Understated Elegance in a Downtown Penthouse

June 11, 2014

The finest quality finishes are employed without exception in this ongoing luxury renovation. In this project, understated elegance reigns supreme in this breathtakingly exquisite downtown Vancouver penthouse. Every element, from the textiles to the furniture to the artwork, has been specially chosen to create a sumptuous and stunningly beautiful space.

▶ Beach Crescent Penthouse Project Photos

In the Words of Albert Hadley

June 5, 2014

A North Shore condo gets a fresh updated look!

June 1, 2014

East Esplanade Avenue Project

Private Residence Renovation
Lower Lonsdale, North Vancouver, BC
2014

▶ Project Photos

Vive Montreal!

May 25, 2014

In Montreal this past week to begin work on a loft project for a client in Griffintown. This area of the city with it’s old factories and converted lofts boarders the beautiful Lachine Canal. We were fortunate enough to stay at the Hotel Gault in Old Montreal, a former cotton factory from the 1800′s. The interior design and finishing were completed by yh2 architects, and is a wonderful mix of heritage and modern. The city has a number of amazing restaurants, and we were lucky enough to be taken on a whirlwind culinary tour that included Chuck Hughes restaurant Le Bremner, as well as a few other local hot spots. For our daily fix (twice sometimes) we stopped in at Cafe Myriade. Started by acclaimed barista Anthony Benda – hands down the best coffee in the city. Loved Montreal – phenomenal food, fantastic shops and great people. We can’t wait to return and explore further. Some of our favourites…

Hotel

Hotel Gault

449 Rue Sainte-Hélène, Montréal, QC H2Y 2K9
http://www.hotelgault.com
(514) 904-1616

The Gault is a boutique hotel housed in a five storey building built in 1871. The hotel sits in the heart of Old Montreal, two steps away from downtown. Contrasting the outside landmark, inside the Gault offers a minimalist design. This contrast brings incomparable communion of old-world comfort and luxury of modern design. Loved the original stone wall that served as the backdrop to the modern designed bed.

Restaurant and Cafe

Le Filet

219, Mont-Royal West Ave. Montreal, QC, H2T 2T2
(514) 360-6060
http://www.lefilet.ca

Check out the review from the New York TImes

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/28/travel/restaurant-report-le-filet-montreal.html?_r=0

Image from The New York TImes

Maison Publique

4720 Rue Marquette, Montréal, QC H2J 3Y6

(514) 507-0555

http://www.maisonpublique.com

Check out the review

http://eatnorth.ca/dan-clapson/chef-derek-dammanns-cooking-philosophy-maison-publique

Café Myriade

1432 Rue Mackay, Montreal, QC H3G 2H7

251 Saint-Viateur O, Montreal, QC H2V 1Y1

http://www.cafemyriade.com

Shops

Style Labo

5765 Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2T 1S9

(514) 658-9910

http://www.stylelabo-deco.com

VdeV

5042 Boul Saint-Laurent Montreal, QC H2T

(514) 277-8484

http://www.vdevmaison.com

The Resurgence of Wallpaper

May 6, 2014

Over the past few years wallpaper has come back into style, and it is nothing like patterns and vinyls of the past. The truth is that wallpaper has never looked better, the range of designs, textures and prints are outstanding. Repeat patterns, pictures and vibrant colours take over from the basics that our mothers and grandmothers pasted upon their walls. The new papers offer us everything from the bold to modest, contemporary to classic and everything in between.

Wallpaper for us is transformative and allows one to create visual interest in spaces that lack architectural detail. A wonderful alternative to paint, it adds colour, texture and is able to alter the mood of any room. A nice change from the past is that today’s wallpaper is also much easier to remove.

A look at a few of our projects showcasing the power of paper…