On Saturday we rented the Castor designed Winnebago that sits in the Oddfellows parking lot, a restaurant started by Castor design a few years ago. We were sad to hear Oddfellows is closing. I used to work across the street, and Juli and I would have dinner and brunch there all the time. It was a really great restaurant offering a really unique experience, it is a great loss for Toronto.

My brother Frank and I!

Juli’s group of gals.

Our friend Taylor took all these great photos (above). Thanks Taylor!

There is a  beautiful wood burning stove to the far right. and the seating area at the back is upholstered in different types of old fur, the walls are raw hot rolled steel, and the floors are a dark stained oak.

These last few images are from our coverage of IDS09 which is where the winnebago made its debut!

In the most recent issue of “Elle decor” we stumbled across this article:

“Greatest-hits decorating has got to go,” says Elaine Miller, who writes the take-no-prisoners blog Decorno, referring to interiors packed with home-furnishing icons. “It’s time to quit gorging at the design buffet and create rooms with more soul.”

Let’s face it, if you walk into someone’s home and can’t decide whether you’ve stepped into someone’s living room or a retail space it’s probably lacking some soul, but I think there may be a bigger culprit than furnishing your home with “Design Classics”. In my opinion, personal touches are what really make a space your own, through surrounding yourself with the things you love and have a personal connection to. Being an aficionado of mid-century design, I am captivated by the lines and shapes of these iconic pieces. Design classics are classics because they are timeless, they are inspiring and change the way we look at conventional furniture. For example, the Paimio Chair designed by Alvar Aalto in 1931 pushed the limits of plywood manufacturing shaping the chair to help the sitter breathe easier. It’s hard to ignore pieces that have had such an impact simply because “Greatest-hits Decorating has got to go”. So fill your homes with what inspires you whether it’s Eames, or Le Corbusier, or a set of lawn chairs you found at a flea market that you’ve proudly set up in your living room. If you love a design it’s worth having around. if not, toss them, and we’ll be there waiting for you on craigslist to give up the goods.

Speaking of Design Classics, we took a look at some contemporary pieces that have all the makings of a future design classic, all of which are available locally and are anything but soulless. Here are some of our favorites:

The GT Rocker Designed by Toronto local: David Podsiadlo of the design collective “Gus Design Group” featuring a hot-rolled steel frame and your choice of upholstery, though we can’t think of a better colour than this electric yellow. Dimensions: W26″xH31″xD39″ Price: Starting from $1800 Available: at Style Garage

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