An acacia and metal wall fixture by Colibri Art Design (www.colibriart.com).DAVE CHAN
Is it hot in here? The answer, if you happened to visit Canada's biggest furniture fair on the outskirts of Toronto this week, is a welcome yes.
Throughout the cavernous halls of the International Centre, which hosted the Canadian Home Furnishings Market from Jan. 9 to 12, tropical motifs, exotic hardwoods and warm, spicy tones served as a balmy contrast to the frigid weather outside and suggested a real thawing of the decorating scene.
"Designers are getting adventurous again," said Kamal Kang, a consultant for Home Articles, a Toronto-based furniture importer. He pointed to a glossy red-lacquered table sporting intricate curlicue designs at two corners as an example. The flourishes were inlaid ebony veneer. Sharp-edged minimalist lines gave it a contemporary look.
In another exhibition hall, tropical woods and themes were front and centre in the display booth of Montreal's Colibri Art Design (www.colibriart.com), which showcased such eye-popping items as an acacia and wrought metal wall fixture that can only be described as rain forest meets mod. (The fixture, displayed against a dramatic red wall, is featured on our cover.)
All of the heat was both tempered and complemented by a wide range of sea motifs and soft, watery blues.
"Blues - especially turquoise - are big this year," said Montreal designer André Caron, who created the room settings in the Trends Display area with fellow stylist Pierre D'Anjou.
"It sets a lovely stage," Caron said of the colour. "But use it sparingly, as an accent."
Not everything, of course, revolved around the South Seas, although geography did appear to be another prominent theme.
Among the funkiest introductions on this front were Halifax designer Christopher Joyce's striking "map rugs" for Hellenic Canada (www.helleniccanada.com).
Bearing elegant aerial views of cities such as Toronto, New York, London, Paris and Rome, each of the carpets are made of 100% New Zealand wool and were hand-tufted in India.
"He had never done rug designs before," Hellenic's president, Ankush Gupta, said of Joyce, one of Eastern Canada's most prominent interior designers.
Here's hoping he'll do more.