It’s show time again! It’s like New York Fashion week for Interior Designers and Architects. We are the first and sometimes the only to see the latest products brought to market for the feathering of nests and the walls of the work place. In the span of a week I have flown to Toronto and back to Vancouver and walked the halls of design until my feet could not take it anymore. In Toronto it was the National Interior Design and Architectural Conference and Exposition (IIDEX), and in Vancouver the Interior Design Show West (IDSwest)- the largest contemporary design show on the West Coast.
Read on to find out what are the similarities and differences between trends and styles in Toronto vs.Vancouver.
The Similarities:
Gold! There is definitely a strong trend to use gold metals as a focal point. Metallic gold was the center of focus of BOTH shows.
IDS West Vancouver’s show stopper was the AYA Kitchens booth with the Kelly Deck Design – a square metallic gold metal hood fan shroud fixed in the center of white and grey Carrera marble. It looked stunning. In Both Vancouver and Toronto gold was featured in simple designs – gold metal is featured cautiously with lots of white. Gold, when featured on its own, is refreshing and elegant. We are not ready to saturate everything in gold but we can expect to see a lot more gold metal making its way back into modern interiors. The Differences – High style vs. Comfort and Rugged Beauty Toronto: Below is shot of a room set up by Credible Upholstery www.credibleupholstery.com upholsterers to the Georgia Hotel in Vancouver and many eastern hotels including the new Trump Hotel in Toronto. Credible Upholstery was part of a group of five exhibitors in the Hospitality Trade, who definitely had their finger on the pulse of international hospitality design. This is the world where fantasies are made for the traveler. We see here a glamorous taupe leather curved sofa with the fur pillows and the embroidery work on the silk drapery. This room has a strong round motif. It’s a bit retro, Italian and cool chic. In contrast to the Toronto interior, in this shot from the IDS West Show in Vancouver – Montauk Sofa did an eye catching display with more of a British Columbian approach to design. It’s rugged, with use of floating slabs of stone coffee tables, a masculine charcoal carpet and a low slung washed linen covered sofa for comfy Sunday snoozes. Montauk Sofa‘s showroom is in Gastown, montauksofa.com. As a final note on styles… By observation of the two shows and over the years, Toronto definitely caters a design with a more European flare, less focus on comfort. Whereas Vancouver’s Interior Design is interested in comfort and the expression of the rugged out of doors. Where there might not be the same view of comfort, both cities do agree that Grey is the neutral of choice AND warm metallic gold is now the star of the metals in both East and the West and most likely soon to be in homes across Canada. I have many other take-aways from both of these shows will be introducing throughout the year in subsequent newsletters and look forward to working my finds into future designs. For more looks at British Columbia Design – go to my facebook company page at www.facebook.com/shelleyscalesdesignassoc and www.shelleyscales.com 
Toronto
Vancouver
