Check out some of these great ideas and products featured at this year's Interior Design Show!

 

 

Yesterday was a fun day at the interior design show imagining how I could incorporate some of the great ideas and products being showcased into my house (if I had an unlimited budget of course). In case you can't make it, here's a list of some of my favorite things and links to the companies websites should you want to explore yourself:

 

1. The RSA  Solo⁴⁰ - This was an amazingly spacious and functional 480 sf house built by Altius RSA Rapid System Architecture. The Solo⁴⁰ a pre-fabricated home that can be used as a primary residence, vacation home, studio, or accessory property. If you had the space in your backyard (and the City let you), you could have it plunked down and voila, instant rental property. A lot of condo developers could take a page out of this company's floor plan design when it comes to creating an efficient and practical layout! http://sustain.ca/models-pricing/solo-40/

 

 

2. Pre-engineered Brick Panels - I've seen the faux brick walls used in properties before, but what really caught my attention was Century Architexture Inc's use of a painted/aged brick and vintage painted sign to create a very authentic looking loft/industrial warehouse feel. The wall itself becomes a piece of art. If you currently live in a soft loft or condo, and wanted to differentiate your unit from others, or create a more authentic loft feel, consider doing something like this to make your place stand out. Something like this would also look very cool in your kitchen! www.ReDiscoverBrick.com

 

3.Walls of Windows - There were a number of window and door companies featured at the show, but two in particular stood out for me, www.GlassWalls.ca and www.BigFootDoor.com. I love floor to ceiling window walls that slide open to create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. The reality is I live in a typical Toronto victorian so there's no hope of ever being able to add these to my house, but there's definately a lot of them in the dream house I'm building in my head

 

 

4. Concrete - One of the highlights for me was seeing a wall consisting of concrete panels with an imprint of the map of the wold. The company, Dekko Concrete (not to be confused with Deco Labels...eh hmm), does a number of different concrete products including fireplace mantels, outdoor firepits, architecutral features and cladding, all in a range of colours. For some cool ideas on how you can use concrete to add a different texture to your home, check out their website at www.dekko.ca

 

5. Wood Burning Fireplaces - In most of the houses I lived in as a kid (we moved alot!) we always had a wood burning fireplace. This is something else I can't seem to figure out where I could put in my house though I really want one! The company Stûv America had some very sleak fireplace designs that opened up the possibility for maybe being able to accomodate one when spaces is limited.  Their rotating wood burning stoves were neat and had a very small footprint so they can be accomodated in smaller spaces. www.stuvamerica.com/en  

 

 

6. Reclaimed Wood: Whether it's a feature wall, furniture, art, flooring, or even a kitchen, reclaimed wood is finding its way into our homes (and especially bars and restaurants). Maybe it's because we live in Canada that we're drawn to peices made from reclaimed wood with their weathered look from our harsh climate that inastricably links us to the outdoors or maybe it's just because they're really cool to look at and add a distinctive ambiance. Anazao Inc (anazao means: To live again - recover life, to be restored to a correct life, of one which returns to a better moral state, to revive, regain strength and vigour) was the only company featuring this product and by the look of their website, you probably don't need to go anywhere else to find what you're looking for when it comes to reclaimed wood! www.anazao.ca