Cottages, The Vignette, Bay Blankets, The Colour of Museums, Merino Wool Undies

Hello from Vancouver. It rained cats and dogs last week and I'm sad for the people who get "SAD" when it's moody and dark, but I'm happy for our forests. The sun is shining now and today starts the long holiday weekend, with Canadians heading to our beautiful Sunshine Coast, Tofino and the Gulf Islands.

A lot of people struggle choosing colours and visualizing how a paint chip will read in a room. My advice is to wander through museums for wall colour inspiration. Walk through any national art museum and you will rarely see a white wall. Deep and saturated colours are the backdrop to exquisite paintings and sculpture. Greyish blue-greens, deep navy-blacks, ochres and reds. These colours are well suited to small rooms, dens, offices, screening rooms, bathrooms, etc. Dark rooms with little light should never try to be brightened. Go with it…go dark. After years of choosing paint colours and making tons of mistakes my best advice is to go a shade darker and dirtier than you think you want. Colours tend to become brighter on walls, especially blues and greens.

Library of Things: How often have you gone to the store to buy something you are never going to use again? Like a tent, or an extendable ladder, or a travel cot. It feels terrible putting good money down on things that are going to sit on a shelf in your garage. One of my favourite ideas is called the Library of Things, founded in London. Imagine walking into your local library and scanning your membership card to borrow a sewing machine or a pressure washer. Most of us don’t need to own one-of-everything. It’s a wonderful idea. As much as I love beautiful things, I’m not attached to household equipment.

Micro-plastic filters: France is building washing machines with micro-plastic filters. Every load of athletic wear is shedding microscopic fibres into our precious waterways, and it makes sense to mandate this in other countries. I can tell you it's a problem in Vancouver as Lululemon was founded here and their headquarters are here. You can imagine how many leggings we see daily. I realize a filter won't solve the whole problem, but I do think the idea is a step in the right direction. Speaking of athletic wear….

I was raised in a holistic household with buckwheat pancakes and supplements long before Whole Foods was even a dream. My school lunch was thickly sliced, hand cut brown bread with natural peanut butter. What I wanted was thin, bleached, pre-sliced white bread and processed Skippy with grape jelly. Honestly, I still about how delicious that sandwich would be…

Recently my family and I were enjoying a hot sauna at the cottage, wearing very stylish nylon and polyester bathing suits. Essentially, we were sweating wrapped in plastic…which seems odd since our goal is “health” and “longevity”. Skin absorbs everything very efficiently into the bloodstream. Our bodies don’t want plastic or spandex. Thankfully companies are moving away from toxic activewear in favour of real natural fabrics. One of my favourites is merino wool. There are so many benefits. Wool breathes, regulates body temperature, absorbs and disperses body moisture all without added chemicals.

I love the idea of merino undies. Of course it has to be a blend, otherwise you would have droopy drawers. This brand’s blend is very high, at 83 per cent wool. It’s lightweight, odour resistant and breathable.

THE HUDSON’S BAY WOOL BLANKET

I grew up with a summer cottage. I wrote about the summer holidays, butter tarts and cottage-country bakeries here. Summer meant wandering down the beach on Saturday nights to meet up with other cottagers who would light bonfires, drink beer, smoke and get properly drunk. I remember there was a lot of making out. I would walk back to the boathouse late at night and sleep with the sound of water sloshing against the walls. To this day, it is still the most beautiful and lulling sound.

A household item found in many Canadian cottages is a cleanly designed, striped wool blanket. These blankets were first introduced in 1779 during the North American fur trade and were woven in England from 100% wool. They are very heavy, and thick enough to keep people toasty during harsh Canadian winters. Hudson's Bay no longer operates stores, and the original blankets have become collector's items. I've found some selling for over $3,000 online. You can find new ones here. The rights were sold to a chain called Canadian Tire. (I know it seems odd that you can find blankets at a tire store, but yes, they do sell them, and they are still woven in England, at least for now.)

WOOL DUVETS, PILLOWS AND MATTRESS TOPPERS

I'm assuming most people haven't bought a new duvet in years, and now is a good time to prep your bed for autumn. I'm in love with wool duvets, which come in standard weight or summer weight. I use the summer version all year. Wool mattress toppers also work well, not only to protect your mattress, but to help regulate body temperature on hot summer nights. Wool is dust-mite resistant, breathable and moisture wicking. Added bonus, wool duvets are washable. Feather duvets have generally only ever been dry-cleanable.

The Woolroom Canada Baavet.Co UK Urban Wool UK

THE VIGNETTE

I’ve always admired people with interests that produce something tangible, like cable-knit sweaters or artists who hand paint scenic wall murals in the dining room. Vignettes are my hobby. Arranging things is my super-power. I make tiny adjustments daily that are meaningless to other people. I think that’s the key. I like things to move. My husband jokes that neither he nor the dog should stand still for long or they’ll be moved out of the house. Well that’s simply not true. They are the only two things that will always belong. As for the art of arranging things, my favourite stylist is Steve Cordony…

Steve Arranging things here.…….and here and Steve in Capri

My preference in rooms is not to have everything perfect. I like classic well made items, mixed with French and Italian antiques, but I also like a few items to be quirky. Sometimes a little bit of weird is necessary to make a room intriguing.

Senegalese Cone Lidded Warming Storage Basket

I recently bought this carved wood rabbit corbel bracket. This will mount on the dinning room wall for small candles. It’s definitely quirky..

This week I asked my mother, my daughter and my daughter’s partner how they would spend $20, $100, $1000? I thought their answers were very sweet and made total sense for each of them….

• $20 - Espresso with a friend

• $100 - Plants at the Garden centre

• $1000 - Put towards a weekend in Tofino or New York

• $20 - Ice Cream for Two

• $100 - Tickets to a Play/Opera/Symphony

• $1000 - Michelin star meal with family

• $20 - A Book or a Favourite Sandwich from a deli

• $100 - Bottle of Wine or Whisky

• $1000 - Hotel night and Spa plus Fancy dinner with a loved one (the memory will be worth 10x the cost)

  And a few final links:

• I just know I would be more creative if I sat at her desk…

• simple and beautiful

• Tom Walton’s potato onion galette

• The most beautiful onion tarte tatin recipe by Katherin K.

  That's it for the week friends. I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. If you did, could you please tap the heart button, and please subscribe.

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