Even with the overwhelming response, I am not going to bore you with tales of my renovation this week. Things are cruising right along and we are expecting the final touches next week. I appreciate all the positive response and encouragement from readers who have been reading my saga and I know that so many of you can relate to renovation woes. Almost everywhere I go I hear people talking about their home projects – maybe I’m just tuned to listen for it and maybe I am just nosey.
Several years ago I wondered when the interior design fad would fade. There were a plethora of design and DIY shows which showcased micro-waved design ideas wrapped up in a neat one hour package. These gave homeowners the horrific ideas that they could spray paint upholstered furniture and glue all manner of atrocious items on their walls and call it design. Craft stores have never been so busy selling moss, craft paper and glitter to over enthusiastic design devotees hoping for a weekend miracle project to revive their homes.
Thankfully we are on the cusp of the most classically focused design shows I have ever seen. The Canadian design scene is bursting with clean, slick talent (my favourites being Yannic Simard and Glen Peloso); these designers are on the cutting edge of what is hot and current. Follow them on Instagram or facebook and you will be treated to delightful pictures of projects and renovations as these Canadian designers wow you with their talents.
There is no better place to gain insight and explore your creativity than by looking into the divine. Sure, some of these pictures are million dollar projects but what better way to challenge your imagination and creativity than trying to capture the essence of something fabulous on a budget? Is there a way to nail down that perfect look while maintaining your sanity and not destroying your retirement plan? Just like people frantically copied Robert Bateman lithographs in the 80s just to have a piece of that beauty in their homes, I believe we have opportunity to go for the faux.
It is perfectly acceptable to be faux, amazing, less expensive copies of almost everything on earth exist. From designer bags to fashion runway steals and even drapery fabric patterns. Sometimes the faux is as lovely as the real thing, sometimes not but you are to be the judge of that. I have a pair of cubic two-carat stud earrings that I have worn for years, I know they are faux and I love them quite a bit. Sometimes even top designers use ‘tricks’ to get the look they are after and if you call it ‘faux’ instead of ‘fake’ it suddenly becomes designer.
Fake is not the politically correct term of the day, is it? After all, these are real products! Copies or mirror images may be a gentler term for those items we guiltily sneak into our homes and wardrobes. There is nothing fake about having bonded leather sofas when you have children and pets if it gives you the same delicious chocolaty brown finish as a top grain sofa while still preserving your sanity. On first glance people won’t know the difference and if they are gauche enough to mention it, you may want to search out less faux friends.
Kim Meckler is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.
