Tiffany Pratt creates a high-style, low-budget kitchen
When the basement becomes a gigantic storage bin, it’s time for a redesign
Transforming a junk-strewn space into a cozy family room
Form, function and fashion must converge in flooring
There are many elements — some big, some small — that must come together to make a great room. Grounding them all, as it were, is flooring.
But there are so many choices out there now — hardwood, laminate, carpet, tile — that it can be difficult to decide which one is right for which space.
For the basement makeover I did, I knew I wanted something durable, relatively affordable and easy to maintain. Naturally, I also wanted it to be beautiful.
After a lot of research, I settled on vinyl tiles (no, NOT the kind Granny had – the new generation of vinyl comes in a crazy-wide array of colours, styles, and patterns, including unbelievably realistic wood and stone effects). This short video explains why I chose vinyl tile, and how happy I am with the look.
Just slightly ahead of its time
That some of Toronto’s best-known designers are choosing Lightmaker Studio pieces for their own homes, even if they can’t yet sell their clients on them, indicates that the design cognoscenti may simply need more time to fall in love with the handsome fixtures that pay homage to mid-century modern shapes without ever falling prey to retro kitsch.
The reserved reception, says co-owner Denise Murphy, may be “because the prevailing aesthetic is pretty traditional, and we don’t fit into that, or into super sterile European design.”
Lightmaker Studio was launched three years ago by Murphy, who also has an IT and project management background and her husband Michael Stamler, an industrial designer who worked for many years in IT (and still does on the side). Last year, they were joined by a young industrial designer, Alyaa Ashraf. Fixtures are assembled onsite with beautifully-finished solid brass parts and hand-blown glass globes and spheres.
These big, beautiful fixtures, which play with striking geometric and organic shapes, strike me as the most handsome ones I’ve seen since I fell in love with Zia Priven a few years ago.
There are encouraging signs, however, for Lightmaker. This was the third year they appeared at the Interior Design Show and there was lots of buzz. A growing demographic firmly committed to buying locally helps, says Murphy, and sales from New York, “which always wants what is new and fresh and different” are relatively brisk.
Take a look. I KNOW you’ll think they’re beautiful. Right?
Ask Auntie Vicky: Thread Count
What is thread count? Do I have to count my threads? Is that instead of sheep?
