stay home & feather
Forget the candy-coated commercial shape of hearts and go for a Valentine gift that is pumping with personality (and anatomical accuracy)…
left to right LOST IN THE WOOD crochet heart brooch / DECEMBER THIEVES porcelain heart wall vase / Ingela P. Arrhenius for KITSCH KITCHEN corazon pillow / MACON & LESQUOY heart in osmosis pin / LIGHT + PAPER SHOPlaser-cut heart
We take a scroll across an Instagram find that channels a stroll across one of our treasured Canadian cities…
As much as we love Instagram, it’s getting a bit ad-rich, and maybe getting it wrong re. targeting (according to Insta, I am a late-20-something yoga-pant wearing mom of two with mild bladder leakage on the hunt for Ritz Cracker-based recipes… close, but no.)
But props are due when they get it right, as in the case of art supply chain DeSerres and their recent posts featuring Stephanie E.M. Coleman, and her studio and shop, Mezari.
The posts about Mezari leapt off the feed and into our design-hearts for their bold and quirky style, and upon a deeper dive, revealed Stephanie’s beautiful toile de jouy prints, applied to home textiles and wallpaper, that are based around landmarks of her hometown of Montreal.
We teeter with a toile… Done badly, it is fussy disaster. Done well, and it draws the viewer in and on a whimsical journey, eyes dancing from pocket to pocket of intricate linework.
What grabbed us about Stephanie’s work is the joyous celebration of Montreal through the familiar. The humble Dépanneur (that’s “corner store” to the non-Québécois) storefront is wrapped in thistle and vines, almost as if the long-time survivor of the cheeriest of apocalypses.
And anyone who has strolled Montreal’s Plateau quickly gets a sense for the uniqueness of their facades, so to see them celebrated on organic cotton tea towels is a treat.
Montreal is explored landmark-for-landmark in her Toile de Ville wallpaper. Statement-making while remaining delicate and delightful.
Peruse and shop Stephanie’s work here, or visit the Mezari bricks-and-mortar shop at 365 Duluth Ave. East in Montreal.
Inspired by our October road trip from the Cape to Storm King, this year Santa, we are asking for multi-sensory treasures that channel that East Coast vacation vibe…
ANTHONY PETO Giraffe Hat / HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS The Lost Words, Written by Robert Macfarlane & Illustrated by Jackie Morris / HOME DEPOT Seven Seas Cylinder Pot / MIYA Blue Sumi Plate / WORLD MARKET Jute Flower Chair / M CARTER Wave Stripe Beach Bag / FURTHER Glycerin Hand Soap
Limited time in this stylish Icelandic capital? Tackle a design journey with our curated list of where to buy or just be inspired…
This year was peppered with a few marvellous adventures, and we realized we really hadn’t shared the love for the design journeys we experienced.
Early this year, Iceland took our breath away. From the intriguing natural landscapes with a desolate lunar-surface appeal, to the most incredible palette of homes in the capital, this place ticks a lot of inspirational design boxes.
We love following a design guide as much as we love making one, but there wasn’t one on Reykjavik that quite met the Social Nesting criteria. On top of the most glorious of bakeries (Braud & Co) and coffee, Reykjavik held a handful of brilliant design shops that are easily doable in a day and all of these are Social Nesting loved and approved.
Scintilla – Laugavegi 40, 101 Reykjavík
Never have we fallen so hard for the unexpected palette of pinks, yellows, mints and blacks. This design studio applies their unique aesthetic to fabulous textiles and art for instant pop-at-home appeal.
Geysir Heima – Skólavörðustígur 12, 101 Reykjavík
Part of the grander family of department stores, the standalone home store from the Geysir chain packs original and quirky design choices with covetable staples. Divine.
Magnolia – Design – Skólavörðustíg 38, 101 Reykjavík
Super-chic and packed with decadent touches in muted tones, it will be hard to leave without buying.
Mun – Barónsstígur 27, 101 Reykjavík
We defy you not to snap a selfie in the oversized teardrop mirrors or be dazzled by the original works of design and inner-child-appealing bedding and textiles.
MYCONCEPTSTORE – 45 Laugavegur, 101 Reykjavík
From the place to pick up your Crosley turntable or bottle of Molecule 1 to some lesser know but covetable brands of homeware and beauty products, enter this cave of cool for a wander that will leave you wanting.
Kaolin Keramik Galleri – Skólavörðustígur 5, 101 Reykjavík
We are super-suckers for ceramics, and Kaolin was a candyland for us. Stocked with the works of a handful of Icelandic ceramicists this place offers every style from cheery to beyond-chic.
With only two letters of it’s name off of it’s Swedish juggernaut cousin, Danish furniture giant ILVA didn’t manage to survive the suburban shopping complexes of the UK and shut up shop probably a little too early. Was their collection a little too random? A little too pricey (compared to IKEA)? Or was it the lack of meatballs that kept us away?
Whatever the reason, we are suffering the consequences now as ILVA have launched a kick-pop-kapow DESIGN range, curated by Karim Rashid no less. And with the colour bug infesting my every design decision, I am officially gutted! Luckily a trip to Denmark is on the cards…
