Stuff from Guff

Everyone is madly in love with the series "Mad Men" and its mid-century style.
From their clothes, hair and accessories to their furniture, the 50's-60's retro look is back with a vengeance.

Today, I will talk about a store in our Queen Street East neighborhood called Guff.

Situated east of Carlaw, at 1142 Queen st. East, this store is heaven for someone looking for unique pieces.
And that's exactly what I would like to stress:
- If you want to stay away from the mass produced, retail furniture pieces, this is the place for you to find that "pièce de  résistence" that will be unique and have personality!

With that in mind, you might need to give some TLC to a few pieces, but overall, they are usually already refinished, so you can walk away and plop it in your space.

I took an hour this week to take a gander and snapped some shots:

As you can see, they have lovely pieces especially credenzas, teak chairs and tables.

Some of the above images were already sold and that's one think to be mindful: they get stuff every day and their website is not 100% up to date due to that high turn over. However, that's a good thing because you might not find that one thing you're looking for today, but next week, it might be there just waiting for you.

I am myself, looking for a set of 4 chairs with an upholstered back seat, like these:

My search continues as they were sold 2 hours before I called to inquire. Boo!

I will most certainly show the results of my search and the project I'll undertake transforming them.

Stay tuned.

Theo Flamenbaum

- Style + Function + Love + You - 

Compact but not understated

Hello dear Blog readers,

Hope everyone is enjoying this lovely Fall weather and having some pumpkin spice lattes.
Today, I will talk about Media Units that are compact and small space/condo friendly.

The inspiration (and actually need) comes from my own new condo. My unit has one awkward living room wall wired with cable, so I have no choice (unless I spend a lot of $$$ in rewiring and dry-walling) but to sit the TV against that wall.

I am not a big fan of running cords around corners, so I am sticking to that wall, UNLIKE the previous owner had set it up in the image below.

The need for a "shorty" and narrow media unit comes from the fact that I want to fit the unit within the solid wall behind, without going over the glass panels:

So with a limit of 58" width, I went searching for a few options. So here are the top 3:

1- Blu dot's Dang Media

This 42" unit is super compact but also stylish. It comes with perforated steel door that allows you to utilize your remote without having to open the doors. This finish is in black but they also come in white and I love the brass handles :-) 

2- West Elm's Industrial Metal TV cart

It's very small at 30" wide, so not the best solution for Flat screen tv's that are over 28". The finish is metal and glass. And, as the names suggests,  it gives an industrial flair to your living/tv room and, therefore, making a statement.

3- Crate and Barrel's Seguro 42" Media Unit

Sturdy, masculine and organic!Made with reclaimed Brazilian Peroba wood with a random pattern of boards. It looks very dynamic. The sliding door conceals your media components and the ebony stained mahogany pulls and frame just seal the deal.

They all fit,  what to do!

Let me know what your favourite one is :-)

Theo Flamenbaum

- Style + Function + Love + You - 

Crystal clear

Hello people of the world,

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend here in Canada (well, Ontario).

Today I just wanted to make a quick entry on a designer from Belgium called Serge de Troyer and his unique acrylic creations.

Acrylic furniture are winners in small and contemporary spaces.

Below are my 4 picks from his master pieces:

trunk

table lamp

muskoka chair

bench

Note: they get scratched! so careful... or simply don't expect them to stay in a pristine condition forever :-)

These items can actually be purchased on www.homesav.com.

Stunning and unique pieces! Enjoy :-)

Theo Flamenbaum

- Style + Function + Love + You -

VIVA ITALIA

Hello bloggers,

You know that I love to feature here my latest findings, stores etc.
This past week, I was walking on King St east near Jarvis. I was a bit in a rush but I glanced inside this Italian Furniture Store "Calligaris" and needed to come in because of the below:

Mya chair

So I went back to take a further look inside. A very nice sales associate (Anne) helped me out falling even more in love with their stuff.

The pieces are all made and shipped from Italy. With dazzling dining sets and living room pieces, Calligaris's style is crisp, clean yet edgy, kinda like me :-)

I would like to highlight their multiple stylish expandable dining tables with simple slide and snap mechanisms.

Airport table

So my picks are:

Astro table

Tokyo Table

Lib Shelving

Seattle Media Unit

L'eau chair

Wien Chair (spin-off of the iconic Thonet chair)

Theo Flamenbaum

- Style + Function + Love + You -