It’s Thursday again already and I have no idea where the week went!  Not that I’m complaining. Any time I wake up and realize it’s almost the weekend is a victory in my book!  But I digress… As you’ve probably noticed, the blogosphere has been all a buzz with recaps & highlights from the IDS 2014 this past weekend. Well today I’m finally getting around to writing mine.  

Last week I mentioned that Kes and I would be attending the Interior Design Show Opening Night Party along with some of our fellow PARA Blog Crew members as well as a pre-party gathering at Azure Restaurant & Bar. Ok – how gorgeous is this place?? That ceiling!

We had such a great time catching up with the PARA team, as well as a few other friends that dropped by. It was particularly nice to get to sit & chat with Jen & HandyMan to swap parenting stories. Thanks for sharing a small part of your “date night” guys! 😉

Once we got into the show there was just SO MUCH to see! This year’s group of exhibitors put together some awe inspiring displays. Not the least of which was IKEA who went full on glam with a booth that combined their signature modern simplicity with classic French style, antique touches, crystal & GOLD.

Now normally I’m not so much a fan of the bling, but even I could picture myself living like a queen in this elegant space.

Of course my favourite part of the booth had to be the dressing room they created with a full wall of PAX wardrobes paired with a vintage daybed upholstered in 2 of their whimsical fabrics!

And then there was the powder room. A SERIOUS show stopper!

It’s no surprise that they again took home the coveted IDS Gold Booth Award – no pun intended. 🙂

(There were a ton of people in the IKEA booth on Thurs night so snapping really great photos of my own proved a bit challenging. The majority of the above are from the Ikea Canada facebook page.)

IKEA never ceases to amaze me with all of the ways their products can be customized.  It just goes to show that buying IKEA doesn’t mean your home has to look like page 36 of the catalogue (although seriously – who wouldn’t want to live on page 36?!)  We’re putting an IKEA kitchen in the Dreamhouse and this just makes me that much more excited to work at making it our own!

While we’re on the subject of kitchens….This just needs to be said. I am smitten.

Like 100% head over heels in LOVE with this Blanco sink.

Let me introduce my new beau. The Blanco ATTIKA™. Please excuse the terribly backlit pic above. The whole “IDS dim lit party atmosphere” didn’t exactly make for optimal photo taking conditions. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can however, see it in all it’s glory below…

I’m officially coveting this sink. It’s handcrafted, sleek and sexy with curves in all the right places. (Yea, I said it.) I love that it’s a drop in sink, but it’s clean elevated rim draws the eye up.

I MUST have one of these in my kitchen.

We were told ATTIKA is scheduled to be made available to retailers some time next month.  I’ll will be waiting patiently…

Ok…now that that’s out of the way. Let’s talk colour…

The PARA Paints booth did a great job of bringing paint colours to life.

They used over-sized paint chips as the walls of the booth – almost cocooning you in colour! Inside was so cozy & beautiful. It ended up being a popular spot to hang out.

The 4 walls also served to introduce PARA’s 2014 Colour Trends which they’ve broken into 4 colour groups: ‘Urban Vibe’ , ‘Beach House’ , ‘Island Escape’ and ‘Northern Retreat’

 

Urban Barn was another stand out. Their booth was so colourful & fun! Each scene had a cute tagline to go with it.  And the accessories!!!

I love this!! The colours in this vignette in particular jumped out at me.  Which isn’t surprising really since if you were to peruse my closet you’d find many items in this colour group. So cool & fresh – makes me nostalgic for summer. That – or maybe it’s all this ‘Polar Vortex’ craziness has me longing for the beach. 🙂
Speaking of summer, Andrew Richard Designs unveiled their New 2014 Collection of fine outdoor furniture. So much sexiness.This entire booth had both Kes and I drooling! I mean…outdoor LEATHER!? Come on…..

 

And finally, for me, the Casalife booth never disappoints. There is always at least one item that I absolutely want to take home with me.  This year – note to self…I need these mirrors in my ‘Casa’life… (see what I did there?? Lol.)

 

Hope you enjoyed my mini virtual walk through the Interior Design Show floor. Special thanks to the Deb McCain team & PARA Paints for such a lovely evening!

Will you be attending next year?