Event: Brian Gluckstein & the Princess Margaret Show Home

As if my fondness for Brian Gluckstein could grow? Well, it did. Last week. Let me tell you about it.

I drove to Oakville one evening after work to attend a preview of the Oakville show home for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Welcome Home Sweepstakes. The house – from top to bottom – is pretty darn gorgeous. While it wasn’t all white, there was a lot of white and I was happy to see it. The open concept kitchen, family room, office, and a few bathrooms (I lost count of them, to be honest) were quite white. The other spaces were full of muted blue, grey, violet, and yellow. Each room was quite beautiful. It wasn’t the “don’t touch this because it’s so precious” kind of beautiful but more like the “have a seat, stay a while, get comfy, can I get you a coupe of champagne” beautiful. Ok, that’s kind of fancy too; but it didn’t feel untouchable.

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main floor living room

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upstairs grand hall

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kitchen

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kitchen cabinet detail

The furniture and many of the accessories is all from the Brian Gluckstein collection and the art was sourced from around the world. I didn’t sit on any of the furniture out of fear that I’d mess up a pillow and Brian would have to come and expertly re-chop it (chopping pillows is still in style, in case anyone wanted to know). But if he wasn’t around, I probably would have tested out every seat in the house.

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main floor – grand hall

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GlucksteinHome details

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upstairs bedroom mirror

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substantial doors in a bedroom

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possibly my favourite piece of art in the house; Key by Tritan Braho

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pear art

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dining room details; my mom has this same antique tea set

I really eyed the details in all the bathrooms to see what details I could translate into my own home. The tile work and use of mirrors was lovely. And the towels were so new and fluffy.

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tile floor in the master bathroom

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basement bathroom; photo snapped by April

Ever the academic, I had to check out the office. I loved that it had a great big cork board (old school Pinterest) and a wall-to-wall desk. I’d really put that thing to work.

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main floor office

The mouldings, the fireplaces, the tiles, and the lighting were all very impressive.

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 lighting around the house

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fireplace in the main floor living room

So is there anything I don’t like in the home? Yes – two things. One: The wine cellar was a nice addition but I probably would have cut out the exercise room and made the wine cellar a whole lot bigger. Two: What really annoyed me as I walked through the house were all the TVs. Oh my goodness. There were a gazillion TVs in the house. They drove me crazy! Brian, Brian, Brian – why? How many TVs does one beautiful house need?

Overall, the house is really beautiful and the work that went into building it (in only 5 months) is incredibly impressive. Brian, the architect, the tradespeople, and all the other people who had a hand in this really did a phenomenal job.

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Did all bloggers listen to Brian Gluckstein and tweet at the same time? (I spy Jennifer, Leigh-Ann, Brittany, & Tim)

Mr. Brian Gluckstein remained friendly, warm, and funny as he talked about the house and his design career with all the guests. Oh – and I couldn’t leave the home without taking a photo with him. I also took the opportunity to ask him if the bathroom in his own home is still as beautiful as it was when it was photographed for House & Home. The answer? Yes. The books are all real and they’re still there.

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Me and Brian; photo snapped by Leigh-Ann

So? Did I convince you to buy your ticket? Good luck!

Many thanks to Brian, Cheryl, and the Princess Margaret Oakville show home team for welcoming us so warmly!

Related posts:
1. Remember when I toured the product design office of GlucksteinHome? That was fun!
2. Did you see that Brian Gluckstein was featured on The Coveteur? 

Photos by Jordana.

The Friday Five: Bedrooms & Books

It’s Friday! Hooray! I don’t know about you but I am feeling quite worn out this week! It was a short week and my week wasn’t more busy than usual so I’m not sure why I feel so drained. If you’ve followed the reno updates this week on the blog and Twitter, then you’ll know that my weekend will not be filled with sleep-ins and lounging around with a good book. Instead, I’ll be giving it my all as I prime and paint my home (or as much as possible in one weekend) and I also am attending a “how to install backsplash tile” workshop at The Home Depot. I’m looking forward to it all even though it means my lazy days are on hold.

For today I’m leaving you with five bedrooms that showcase different approaches to incorporating books – aka a growing library – into the bedroom.

tumblr_mmftfrwu1e1rsz7pao1_1280via Snob

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Safdie Rabines Architects via The Fete Blog (I know this isn’t a real bed but I couldn’t resist adding it in!)

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via Alma-Nac

books

via A Merry Mishap

Bookshelf Fantasy For Bedroom White Bedroomsource unknown

What do you think? How do you arrange the books in your house? Are they in every room? Do you pile them high on the floor in your bedroom or do you have designated shelves? I’d love to know!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.

 

The Friday Five: Bedrooms

It’s Friday! Who is excited for the weekend?

I’m a month into my new job and it’s been going great. I love the work and I love where I’m living in Waterloo. What I could use is a bit more sleep-in time. Days are busy with work and nights and weekends have been busy with prepping for my dissertation defense (11 days!) and planning out home reno projects. Who can sleep-in when there’s all this excitement? There are boxes stacked in my bedroom so, at the moment, it’s nothing like what a serene bedroom should look like. Soon enough, right? I’m hoping that by the end of September I will feel much more settled.

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via Desire to Inspire

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via Desire to Inspire

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Rebecca and Dan’s Toronto home, via Style North

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via 79 Ideas

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via Snob

 Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Design: Paris Hotels

I recently learned that I’ll be off to Paris for about a week in February. I can barely believe it. While I have been to Paris many times I am always eager to return. To say I’m excited about this trip – yes, even though it’s in the winter – is an understatement! I’m just thrilled!

I’ve been having some fun researching hotels all over Paris. There are some amazingly beautiful spaces out in Paris that I’m just drooling over. And now you can too…

Intercontinental Paris Marceau

Intercontinental Paris Avenue Marceau

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La Maison Champs Elysées

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Hotel Malte

Ares_White Lounge

Ares

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7 Eiffel

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Hotel West End

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La Réserve

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Opéra Stockholm by BridgeStreet

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Saint James Paris (the full website is definitely worth looking at)

Le Placide

Le Placide

Shangri-La Paris

Shangri-La Paris

Hotel Lancaster Paris

Hotel Lancaster

Aren’t 4 and 5 star hotels the best? I love the mix of modern and traditional decor of these Parisien hotels. And mostly I love the windows because I know many of these suites offer beautiful views of the city.

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