Marketplace: Izola for the Home

Izola‘s collection has certainly expanded since I last featured this American design and home goods store (see these posts). Here’s what I’m currently liking from the online collection:

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Determination Exercise book, $15

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Toilette kit, $45

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Privé pouch, $28

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sport soap, $9

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par avion soap dish, $16

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It’s Written in the Stars handkerchief, $16

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shoulder tote, $240

Design: The Princess Margaret Oakville Showhome Designed by Brian Gluckstein

Brian Gluckstein. Damn, he’s good.

This past weekend, Brian Gluckstein and the Princess Margaret Welcome Home Sweepstakes invited a group of bloggers to attend Brunch with Brian at this year’s Oakville Showhome. Our private event included an detailed tour led by Brian, delicious food by Chef Logan, drinks from Pluck Teas and Rosewood Wine, and an amusing Q & A session with the man of the hour.

So, let’s go on a photo tour, shall we?

The foyer and grand staircase in the Oakville showhome is beautiful. It reminds me of entrances I’ve seen in France. I love the iron railing and the massive windows. The light in this foyer – and throughout the house – is enviable.

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front foyer with grand staircase and herringbone porcelain tiles

Just off the foyer is one of my favourite spots in the house (but too dark for White Cabana). Believe it or not, the all-black powder room really caught my attention. Luckily, the dark powder room has natural light coming through, which makes it more moody than dreary. The tile work also reminded me of European homes. (Sorry, I don’t have any photos to post. You’ll have to go to the showhome to see what I’m talking about!)

Just to the left of the foyer is the grand living room. The see-through fireplace that connects the front foyer to the living room is a beautiful addition. It was manufactured in and shipped over from Portugal. Classic shades of cream made this space bright and classy, and the floor-to-ceiling windows are impressive.

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white mantle in the front living room

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the see-through mantle in the front foyer

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bright and white in the living room

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the living room and dining room viewed from the staircase

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Q & A session with Brian Gluckstein

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How many pot lights around the perimeter?

Everyone and their sister is talking about the indoor tree in this showhome. Yes, an actual tree…planted in the ground! I was fascinated by Brian’s explanation about the amount of thought went into this tree; flooring, ventilation, etc. were all considered when Brian designed this room around the tree. I’m such a sucker for offices, as you may know, and this one is stunning.

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a house built around a tree

This house is full of interesting art and gorgeous skylights.

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one of the many beautiful pieces of art

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 one of the many skylights

The kitchen’s toaster wall is completely unique. The collection of toasters from the 1930s turned into a beautiful art installation and feature wall in the reasonably-sized white kitchen.

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toasters – just for looks

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there’s a fridge behind these doors

Of course, the La Cornue stove adds to the beauty in this space. I could make killer scrambled eggs on that gem, I’m sure!

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La Cornue + Pluck Teas

There is more delight upstairs. The master bedroom is big and airy. The white bedding and layers of pillows add luxury to this space, the sofa adds comfort, and the walk-in-closet is, well, pretty much perfect.

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white linens in the master bedroom

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creamy details in the master bedroom

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Who wouldn’t love this closet?

Brian is a wizard when it comes to bathroom design. The tile work in each bathroom in this house (I lost count of how many there actually are…six maybe?) is something to really note. The master bathroom is generously sized and the layout is flipped. Here, the vanity is in front of the windows and the bathtub is floating on the other end. I loved it when Brian talked about the affordable route he took to install the vanity mirrors. Brian and affordability – not the combo you’d really predict, right? Although it looks like the mirrors are framed in steel, they’re actually framed in painted wood. The bars are made of shower rod holders and pipes. That’s where the affordability ended, though. The cast iron Kohler bathtub costs a pretty penny! It’s the same one that Brian has in his own home.

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here I am in the master bathroom

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double vanity surrounded by natural light

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white monogrammed towels in the bathroom

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floating Kohler tub in the master bathroom

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floor tiles in the master bathroom

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my favourite light fixture in the house

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the jack-and-jill bathroom vanity

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here I am in the white jack-and-jill bathroom

Also upstairs is a sweet little office. Brian maximized storage in here with floor-to-ceiling shelves. In fact, this space was originally a hallway, but Brian suggested that the walls be bumped out (and a foot taken from each of the rooms on the other side of the walls) to make it a useable room. The skylight provides loads of natural light. And, yes, I could see myself working in here as well. I’m a sucker for offices, remember?

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a white hallway leading to the office area

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a bright place to work on the second floor

Another one of my favourite spaces in this house is the wine cellar. Just look at it.

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I want one.

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 Brian, the wine cellar, and the exercise room

You can work off the calories you drink in your private exercise room.

The basement family room is darker than I normally like, but I’m wondering if this is something I should consider for my own basement. Would I dare go dark? The white matting on the gallery wall art brightens up the room as does the sofa and the lighting.

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the basement family room (it doesn’t feel like a basement, does it?)

The white and grey laundry room in the basement is spacious and has top of the line machines. The cabinetry, we learned, is from a big box store that was painted and framed with additional moulding.

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laundry room details

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the spacious laundry room in white and grey

Brian was kind enough to take photos with all his blogger fans. Here we are…

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 Brian Gluckstein and Jordana

Other things I learned during #BrunchWithBrian that might interest you:

1. Brian eats the same breakfast every day: yogurt and berries. Brian, I eat the same thing every day, too (toast, berries, and a latte).
2. Brian enjoys Pinterest just like the rest of us!
3. About 60-70K people come through the Oakville showhome each year.
4. Brian can’t imagine a space without art.
5. Brian reads the blog The Blue Remembered Hills.
6. Brian’s design influences include Billy Baldwin, Jean-Michel Frank, Edwin Lutyens, and Kalef Alaton.
7. It took less than a year to buy the Oakville showhome lot, demolish the original house, build a new house, and decorate it.
8. Brian did not shy away from mixing metals in this house.
9. Brian is as classy, approachable, and intelligent as you may imagine.
10. The foyer drapes are 30 feet in length and the trim is made of one continuous piece.

As if you need any more convincing! Order your ticket!

Photos by Jordana. For more photos (really beautiful ones) of the Oakville showhome, click here.

To see the 2013 Oakville showhome design by Brian Gluckstein, click here.
Remember the time I toured the GlucksteinHome design office? That was fun.

Many thanks to Brian Gluckstein, Cheryl K., Laura Z., Chef Logan, Rosewood Wine, Pluck Teas, and the Princess Margaret Lottery Foundation for hosting a classy and fun brunch.

Uptown: Lighting around the House

It’s a civic holiday today, which means I get to spend an extra day at home doing projects, seeing friends, and exploring Waterloo. Happy Monday to you all!

Way back in the fall, I wrote about Venini lighting. I also shared the fact that I had acrylic versions throughout my house, and that I had wanted to get rid of them right away. I have a massive one in my foyer that I hated, but once I painted the walls white, the light fixture completely grew on me. That one light (and the matching versions in the hallways) started a domino effect in terms of the lighting for my home. Let’s take a tour, shall we?

The foyer chandelier came with the house. It is big, and it has a gazillion light bulbs.

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All the hallway lighting came with my house as well. I have a few of these smaller versions, and they take a few lightbulbs each.

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I knew I wanted to replace the dining room chandelier and my bedroom fan, so when my mom and I found this amazing chandelier at the Habitat ReStore, I grabbed it. I love the little balls on this version, and it ties in nicely with the hallway lighting.

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In my bedroom, I have two smaller versions to match my dining room chandelier. These ones are my favourites. They’re sweet, little, and a little less 80s glam than the others.

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Do I want to invest in the crystal version of these? Maybe one day if I find them on super sale.

Marketplace: Polishing Silver

I love collecting silver of any kind – jewelry, photo frames, serving dishes, etc. I blame my mom. She has an amazingly beautiful collection. Both of us have built our home collections after many trips to estate sales, antique stores, thrift stores, and vintage treasury shops in Canada and the US. Up until recently, we each rely on products like Twinkle and Silvo to polish up our silver. They’re both good products and have done what we needed them to do. But, I now have a new favourite silver polish.

Let’s go ahead and skip some of the small talk and get right to the before and after photos.

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Pretty incredible, right? Trust me, if I hadn’t tried it myself, I wouldn’t have been convinced. So, what is this magic product? It’s called Universal Stone and it’s amazing. It sort of has the consistency of Twinkle (except it’s harder). It takes zero effort – a couple of rubs and that it. The magic (yes, magic) product and sponge do everything. It’s unbelievable! Universal Stone is also eco-friendly. It took me about 1 minute to clean each of the above items…without even scrubbing!

If you live in Waterloo, you can buy this at Household China & Gifts (that’s where I bought mine).

p.s. Mom, are you reading this? Did you see these transformations? Guess what you’re getting for your birthday. Secret is out!

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