Design: Celebrating the Quatrefoil

Okay, so I know St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner and green-themed parties, foods, and decorations are dominating Pinterest and blogs, but around here, the green stays far away. While I wouldn’t paint my walls green, I do love greenery in my home. I absolutely love having living plants in every room around my home. If I lived in the French countryside (yeah, if), I’d definitely try to have a green house. I’d probably call it a conservatory or a garden room (look at all of these beautiful conservatories).

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Oak Leaf Conservatories

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via Julias Vita Dommar

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via Home & Garden

Okay, I’m now off topic. Let’s get back to what I really want to talk about today: quatrefoil. The quatrefoil is a four-leaf symbol that we see a lot in art and architecture. It was most popular in the gothic and renaissance eras (read more here). I’ve gathered some photos of quatrefoil products and gorgeous interiors with quatrefoil details.

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quatrefoil headboard, Christopher’s of Nantucket via DecorPad

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quatrefoil pillow cover, Decidedly Chic

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Suzanne Kasler’s home, via Architectural Digest

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quatrefoil mirror, Horchow

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quatrefoil detail in this gorgeous farmhouse kitchen, Magnolia Homes

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quatrefoil necklace, Van Cleef & Arpels

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via AM Dolce Vita

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Edward ottoman

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via Better Homes & Gardens

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quatrefoil photograph, via Posterjack

Real Estate: Multi-Million Dollar Canadian Homes

The latest issue of Toronto Life published another article about Toronto’s crazy real estate game. This time, the article was focused on a section of Forest Hill where home owners/developers/architects are basically one-upping neighbours/competitors and building monstrosities that may or may not fit in with the Forest Hill aesthetic (I guess it depends on who’s judging). The article honestly made me laugh out loud. Toronto real estate is ridiculous, and it blows my mind that a $3.25 million house comes with only 1 garage (for example). It also seems unbelievable that $1.5 million houses are torn down for new builds. Or, even when they’re not torn down, they require unbelievable amounts of money to bring them up-to-date.

The article – and my ongoing fascination with real estate – pushed me to browse the Toronto real estate listings. Here are some of the pricey properties that caught my attention.

500 Wellingston-Toronto 500 Wellingston-Toronto-2

500 Wellington St. PH1001, Toronto, $7.9 million

88 Davenport-Toronto-1 88 Davenport-Toronto-4 88 Davenport-Toronto-3 88 Davenport-Toronto-2 88 Davenport-Toronto-5

88 Davenport Rd. #2401, Toronto, $8.988 million

Glen Rd Toronto -4 Glen Rd Toronto -2 Glen Rd Toronto -5 Glen Rd Toronto -3 Glen Rd Toronto -1

100 Glen Rd., Toronto, $9.5 million

50 Yorkville-Toronto-3 50 Yorkville-Toronto-5 50 Yorkville-Toronto-1 50 Yorkville-Toronto-2 50 Yorkville-Toronto-4 50 Yorkville-Toronto-6

50 Yorkville Ave., Toronto SP 1, $11.9 million

50 Yorkville-2402-4 50 Yorkville-2402-3 50 Yorkville-2402-1 50 Yorkville-2402-2

50 Yorkville Ave., Toronto #2402, $12.995 million

118 Yorkville-901-5 118 Yorkville-901-3 118 Yorkville-901-2 118 Yorkville-901-1

118 Yorkville Ave., Toronto, PH901, $18.9 million

I also expanded my search to all of Canada to see what $10+ million dollar properties looked like elsewhere. Here’s a sample:

650 lowry Lane-N Vancouver-1 650 lowry Lane-N Vancouver-2

650 Lowry Ln., North Vancouver, $10,988,800

2156 marine Drive - Vancouver-1 2156 marine Drive - Vancouver-2 2156 marine Drive - Vancouver-3 2156 marine Drive - Vancouver-4

2156 SW Marine Dr., Vancouver, $11.9 million

13283 56th ave-surrey-5 13283 56th ave-surrey-6 13283 56th ave-surrey-7 13283 56th ave-surrey-3 13283 56th ave-surrey-1 13283 56th ave-surrey-2 13283 56th ave-surrey-4

13283 56th Ave., Surrey, $12.888 million

1116 Highland place West Vancouver 3 1116 Highland place West Vancouver 2 1116 Highland place West Vancouver 1

1116 Highland Place, West Vancouver, $19.7 million

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Magog, Quebec, $25 million (click the link – it’s basically a castle)

And, now, for something a little closer to home…this gem in Kitchener, Ontario is full of white, and it seems like a major deal at only $2.5 million!

12 Westgate-Kitchener-1 12 Westgate-Kitchener-2 12 Westgate-Kitchener-4 12 Westgate-Kitchener-7 12 Westgate-Kitchener-5 12 Westgate-Kitchener-8 12 Westgate-Kitchener-6

12 Westgate Walk, Kitchener, $2.5 million

What was that about “if I had a million dollars”? Seems like it can’t buy a whole heck of a lot in Toronto (besides Kraft Dinner, naturally).

The Friday Five: Laundry Room Details

I’ve got a bathroom/laundry room renovation on my mind these days. I would really like to start the reno this spring, but I’ve had little time to finalize the design plan. It’s not going to be anything too complicated as it is a small space, but every reno needs thoughtful consideration and planning. Am I right?

I’m looking at the design details of these laundry rooms and they’re making me wish I had a large enough space to incorporate all of them!

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drying rack drawer – via Eleven Gables

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sorting drawer – via Sunny Side Up

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clothes hanging rod – via Home Bunch

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closet fold-down ironing board – via Home Bunch

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Fornasetti overload – via Berkley Interior & Lifestyle Design