Bold, Blue, Boho

Part of the fun for me in putting these posts together is the hunt. Trawling through everything that’s out there to find the creativity that makes me think, yeah, there is so much great stuff worth digging into. So, I hope you’re enjoying reading these missives as much as I enjoy pulling the threads on the things that I find inspiring.

Scroll up! Today we leap between the creative scenes in London and Paris, and then finish up with a little something in Montreal.

Cheers, Arren


Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Bold British Design from photographer Sarah Hogan and writer and creative director Emilio Pimentel-Reid. It’s chockablock with creative talents and inspiring interiors and a must-have for any design-driven bookshelf or well-appointed coffee table.

Pimentel-Reid captured exactly why this book’s theme resonates with me in an interview with interior designer Kit Kemp for her blog, “The designers are bold not just in the sense of being colourful or quirky like illustrator Camilla Perkins, they are deeply original, fearless in their interior choices, either breaking the mould or pushing the boundaries of creativity. Designer and environmentalist, Sebastian Cox, for example has his own woodland from which he harvests timber for his furniture and even grows light shades out of fungus.

They are also bold in personal ways, often unconstrained by rules, joyful (none more so than British Nigerian Yinka Ilori) and courageous both in how an individual product is made or how disparate elements are combined in a room. They also each exemplify many of the characteristics that make this country unique: a sense of humour and an appreciation for history, craft and modernity.”

While you can definitely snap up a copy on Amazon, please support your local independent bookstore!

Photo: Yinka Ilori by Sarah Hogan

Photo: Yinka Ilori by Sarah Hogan

Photo: Sarah Hogan

Photo: Sarah Hogan


I’ll always applaud a well edited vignette, and this one is - excuse my French - some next level shit. It’s found in the Parisian Directoire period apartment of fashion designer Alexis Mabille, and is actually in the kitchen - Can you even? A close perusal of the shelf reveals a collection that includes artwork by Adrien Dirand and Louis-Marie de Castelbajac, along with two Alberto Giacometti plaster heads. But the pop, if you will, is that surprising slew of classic blue Wedgwood Jasperware. Grandmothers beware, your china cabinet may imminently get raided…

With interiors by go-to French architecture and design firm, Humbert & Poyet, you’ll definitely want to see more. Head here to AD for the full reveal, then click here to see a more relaxed, personal take on the space by The Socialite Family.

Photo: Francis Amiand

Photo: Francis Amiand

Photo: Francis Amiand

Photo: Francis Amiand


You can count me as a new fan of Montreal-based design firm, Anthology Creative Studio. Helmed by Kathia Lagacé-Nadon & Karim Guelmi, the firm’s interiors feel perfectly layered and collected over time, and are a natural fit with the #slowdesign movement.

And this kitchen? Well, it’s a stunner, with acres of countertops and dark blue cabinetry, not to mention all the copper fixturing. While copper has long been touted as a hot metal tone for interiors, it’s rare to see it used so well. I know you want to see more, so click here to see the rest of what Anthology Creative Studio has dubbed their Bohemian Vintage apartment.

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Chandeliers have legs

When, oh when, will the chandelier go away? If you ask me they won't, at least for quite a while, since they've definitely snuck into our design vernacular. The fixtures below would definitely fall into the Showstopper lighting category, and are my current faves if you're on the hunt for something unusual that has lashes of character. The first two are new from Currey & Co, and have a bizarre Victorian Goth vibe (yes, they're black painted shell, and yes, there's a beyond fabulous matching console and mirror too). The second two are from Oly and are the definition of modern romance - pretty but not too frothy - and come in clear, blush, amber, plum, and of course white. Oly is available at South Hill Home, and contact Currey & Co here to check in on Canadian retailers.