toronto interior design show: ids for success

Hey hey hey, hope you all had amazing weekends! Am I allowed to say that on a Tuesday? Does the fact that my work/city flooded yesterday excuse my lateness at all?

Gotta say, it was pretty crazypants, but the sour of that just re-emphasized the sweetness of the days leading up to it, which I spent trekking up to Toronto to visit with one of my absolute best buds - and to check out IDS for the first time. I came away from the latter with an iPhone full of pics, a mind full of musings, and some generally mixed feelings about the event as a whole. I came away from the former with a stomach full of macarons, mimosas and slow cooked meats . . .

I only have pics from previous years to go on, but this years IDS was a lot more trade/renovation heavy than I was expecting, with less of a focus on creativity/design. Maybe those pics were deceiving, but I was hoping for more concept spaces - a pimped out version of IKEA's "rooms within a store" maybe - and those were few and far between. There were a couple of gems to be had, though, the best being, hilariously, IKEA's. Here are a few of my fave pics from the day:

The IKEA designers thought outside the box by putting together more than 30 individual budget pendants to make something truly showstopping. They also did an amazing job of mixing in vintage pieces and natural textures to elevate their wares:

Other than the tub, everything in this room was IKEA, but this insane vintage piece instantly "haute'd" everything else...

As much as I adored that tub, the ceramic in this one might make it a bit more practical/comfy for those late night soaks:

This industrial booth may not be my usual style, but it was so obviously a labour of love that I couldn't help but appreciate:

These two fixtures were just plain perfection:

That second one, in particular, could come home with me right this second. It looks like it might be the same little scene stealer that Ballard just started selling.

The real highlight of the day? The dashing Tommy Smythe (designer extraordinaire) and lovely Suzanne Dimma (editor of my fave design mag), whose talk was as hilarious as it was insightful:

Or maybe it was the indoor Taco Truck. I can't decide.

Who am I kidding, I can clearly decide.

P.S. This guy came up on Montreal's SPCA (pet shelter) facebook page, and I just about died:

Look at that face!!

He was adopted in about 2.5 seconds, which is probably good because I was beyond tempted to get my ass down there and come home with a new bud for G. 

Anyone else ever have a weak moment where the downsides of two doggies in an apartment just fly out the window? Or actually have more than one munchkin and think it's no biggie? I'd love to hear your tales, cuz man, I'm not sure I'll be able to resist a mug like that again...