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my style icons

We all admire other women’s style - especially the glamorous ones. Here are four women that I hold high upon the style pedestal: (should we Canadian ladies worry that they’re all American?)

Charlotte Moss - Interior Designer Extraordinaire

I love the Fabricut advertising campaign that they did with Charlotte…

The fabric collection is wonderful too…

I love her because she does gutsy interiors with tons of personality…

Plus it’s always fun to watch someone completely secure in their own style who isn’t afraid to show it off.

She has a great website if you want to read more - CharlotteMoss.com and she writes a fun blog.

A Lady of Ladies - what did we do before Kate Spade?

How can’t we admire Kate Spade?

Even if you don’t love her style, you have to respect the clarity of vision she embodies in her name-sake brand (or at least I do).

I love it that there’s an alternative to the disposable fashion we see so often nowadays.

I don’t like the word “classy” but Kate has it in spades.

It’s interesting that it’s so difficult to find good photos of Kate (the person) - perhaps the pressure of always appearing lady-like is too much?

katespade.com is a great site but since Kate doesn’t own Kate Spade anymore, she’s no-where to be seen. There’s a fun blog - but it’s not personal in any way.

Instant Empire Builder (or at least it seems like it), Tory Burch

Well it sure wasn’t hard to find pictures of Tory.

She has beautiful pictures all over the place - there’s no question, the girl knows how to market her brand.

And she makes for great people-watching with a glamorous NY/Hamptons lifestyle with three young sons in tow, to boot.

I’m envious of someone who can build a gazillion-dollar empire on tunics and flats (two of my favourite things ; )

(And few handbags thrown in for good measure.)

She makes fashion-world domination look effortless - what a hoot.

toryburch.com but the best part is her personal blog.

New Kid on the Block and the only West Coast Gal, Trina Turk

Here’s another fun lady to watch…

She’s a fabric-design Queen with a whole California-vibe going on.

She also loves tunics - I think that has to be the next category of products for the cobistyle empire!

I love the upbeat energy Trina exudes, both personally, and through her products.

Nothing has ever drawn me to travel to LA but if I do, I’ll be sure to look up her stores.

trinaturk.com, she also blogs about livin’ the good life in Californ-i-a .

So those are my 4 ladies of style for today anyway…write a note and tell us yours.

rainbow connection

Right from the time we’re little kids, we’re exposed to colour.

It brightens our world and excites our senses.

That’s why we continue to have fun with colour as adults.

We enjoy it in all kinds of unexpected ways.

At unexpected times.

And unexpected places.

Colour inspires us.

And turns everyday things into art.

And so, naturally we love to decorate with it.

Colour makes our homes unique.

More exciting.

More beautiful.

And more fun.

I suppose that’s why I like to use a rainbow of colour in cobistyle.

It reminds me of when I was a kid.

And choosing our favourite colour was an empowering thing.

It told the world something about us.

Colours have personality. And multiple colours suggests options.

It’s like getting a box of Smarties and choosing to eat the red ones first.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side?

Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection. The lovers, the dreamers and me.

the last hooray!

Summer decorating is special.

There’s a simple ease about it that makes us all say “ahhhh”….

I tend to think ‘country’ when I think summer…

But not everyone does. Some think ‘exotic’…

And far off places…

Even if they live in a downtown apartment.

But that’s the beauty of summer.

It is what you make it.

And hey - there’s still enough time to make this - one of the cutest, cheapest ideas I’ve seen in a long time!

Enjoy the last unofficial week of summer 2012!

the root of beauty

Sometimes we take things for granted that are cheap and plentiful.

And to be honest I didn’t start out writing this blog about radishes - but then I found this image…

And I was amazed at their beauty!

And how creative people are with them!

Even Martha has taken a stab at radishes…

So cute! As are these ~

They make me want to grow radishes again like when I was a kid.

Although I must admit, mine never looked like this…

But whether we grow them or just buy them, we don’t have to do much to create this beauty in our kitchen…

Maybe a little more effort to do this…

But we could all do this…

Or this…

So reconsider the humble radish on your way to the arugula ~ who knows how they’ll inspire you?

{inside story}

I was given a pretty pair of earrings the other day that look much like this:

I just love them! While wearing them, I popped into Staples and saw Martha’s new line of stationary supplies and bought some post-it notes like this:

I then picked up a magazine and saw a picture of this great white dinnerware at Sears called Ecoware:

So what’s the deal? Why are all of my favourite designs lately punctuated with {parentheses} ?

I suppose the centuries-old Moroccan patterns we’ve enjoyed so much over the past few years, have not only affected textile trends, like this flat weave rug…

And fabrics, like on this pretty pillow…

And hard surfaces, like these great white tiles…

Or decorative pieces like this beautiful mirror…

But now they’ve trickled down ever further to influence smaller goods like note cards…

and gift tags……

Isn’t it amazing that we live in a world where something (that for some strange reason pleases the eye) can wind its way over time and oceans …

…and end up as a cute little sticky note, sitting on my desk.

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Special Note: If you haven’t joined clubcobi, now’s the time. Each monthly newsletter now has a great giveaway from the cobistyle product line. Congratulations to Jennifer Brown from Surrey, BC who was the February winner of an adorable everlasting potted orchid!

breathing room

I was interviewed recently and one of the questions went something like this…“Cobi, we all put lots of energy, excitement and time into making our homes beautiful for the holiday season. Then January comes we simply take it all down and the house ‘goes back to normal’. Can you give us some ideas of how to overcome the winter blahs and find inspiration when it comes to winter decorating?”

It forced me to put into words something I’ve been feeling this January and many before. I love this time of year - partly because I’m Aquarius and feel a certain ownership about the month - but mainly because of the big ‘sigh’ that it provides us all with. January is like a giant exhale for me, and my house, and after the holidays, boy do we both need it.

Decorating for winter is as close as I get to being an anti-decorator. For me, it’s the one time of the year that less is more.

The winter months are about appreciating all things clean, quiet and pure. I suggest using this time to clear the clutter, purge unused stuff and put not only yourself, but your house, on a diet. Welcome the purity and quietness that comes with an unadorned, simple, functional home. Put out a few favourite things and let them steal the spotlight! One nice candle on a windowsill glowing in the evening. If I do any seasonal decorating at this time of year, I use white and winter white…it gives the house a peacefulness like new fallen snow.

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to make the most humble objects appear special - almost like art? I think that has to do with the fact that they provide breathing room around those objects so there is space to appreciate them. Try that in your house. One lovely old bowl or vase on a table. Nothing else. Don’t worry about ‘grouping’ and ‘styling’ and ‘layering’ … just let the quiet light and space surround one thing. It’s quite magical.

Just before the holidays I let a talented photographer friend rummage through my kitchen cupboards to use some of my things as props in a photo shoot she was doing for PaperChef. Now as I said, my friend and photographer, one Miss Margaret Mulligan is very talented and can find beauty in a brown paper bag - or in this case, baking parchment - but I have to say, I was astounded at how beautiful some of my humble (and often jumbled) odds and sods look when given “the floor” or “the counter top” in this case.

So whether fine or humble, give your favourite things some appreciation this month. Clear the clutter, do some cleaning, and see how your old stuff sparkles. Conveniently (in the month of credit card bills) it’s the cheapest decorating you’ll ever do.