Built in 1889 the Gladstone hotel, with its iconic red sign and dramatic arched windows, is the city’s oldest continuously operating hotel. Whether you drop by for weekly karaoke in the Melody Bar or sample fresh fare in the café, there is always something going on inside this architecturally stunning space. Rotating and permanent art exhibitions showcase local artists and a beautifully restored Victorian hand-operated elevator transports guests from their artist inspired rooms to the lower level gallery spaces and bustling bars. The hotel holds a special place in my heart as my parents met in a lovely old Victorian on Gladstone Avenue just down the street.
Just a couple blocks east the Drake Hotel, a self-proclaimed “hotbed for culture” draws sleek nightlife lovers and scruffy urban artists alike. Inside the funky hotel a refurbished 1950s art deco grand staircase leads guests up to the nineteen stylish bedrooms. The suites are chic yet artfully retro with a candy heavy snack bar and in-house Starving Artist wine on offer. The rooftop skyard features sun soaked cabanas under colourful muraled walls – the perfect spot for an early morning Caesar or a late night cocktail. The Drake’s corner café boasts the city’s best scones (blueberry...try the blueberry!) and its quirky gift shop lures foot traffic westward with plenty of Canadiana themed trinkets on offer. The hotel continues to expand along the Queen Street strip between Beaconsfield and Lisgar with a new ice cream/t-shirt shop opening this month appropriately named Scoops and Tees. And of course, Katie and I have both forced our boyfriends to jump in the old fashioned photo booth with us.
Both of these unique hotels feature creative touches that give back to the art communities living and working in the neighbourhood. The Gladstone has thirty-seven distinct artist-designed bedrooms while the Drake’s artist in residence program provides short-term living arrangements for budding artists looking for a space to create. Showcasing the best in local culture, art and cuisine these funky west-end accommodations offer so much more than your average downtown hotel. I only wish I could justify a staycation at one of these lovely hotels...but since I'm only a 10 minute walk away I guess I'll just have to settle for the ice cream and cocktails.
p.s. You can also read a (slightly edited) version of this over here.
Carlos was testing out display options for his new prints (see more here). I am very lucky to live with someone who can so playfully brighten up our loft.
We love this simple new notebook! In the box in the center, put down your main idea and goal and the surrounding boxes, write down all the other brainstorming ideas! Idea book - This is just what we all need to realize your ideas into reality! Now go!
After ten months in the suburbs, two weeks of apartment hunting and countless hours of arguing my boyfriend and I have finally found a place to call home (starting June 1st that is). While it's a bit more condoland than exposed brick loft I'm still dreaming up all sorts of fabulous ways to decorate our new pad - because clearly I get to make all the decisions on that front. And there is nothing better than starting with a blank canvas.
Rolande Tapiau d’Aunoy lives in an apartment in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. Every room is devoted to entertaining guests. The Louis XV bishop’s-crook bed looks like a sofa. James Ivory directed Leslie Caron in a scene from Le Divorce here. Rolande does not sleep in the same bed as her husband, saying that the cypress and the reed can flourish only if there is space between them.
Nathalie Wolberg, architect. Saint-Ouen. She enjoys clearing her mind when she comes home, so each room serves a specific purpose. The hanging bed is for resting, blanking out and forgetting. Feeling as though she were levitating fulfills Nathalie’s need to connect with the cosmos.
To make her daughter happy, Nilaya’s mother gave her this caravan to travel around Italy.
Alain Passard, chef. Fillié-sur-Sarthe. A cage-bed painted with anti-rust primer does the trick when he wants to stimulate his mind. When night falls and silence is all around, Alain reflects upon his day and plans his future in the middle of his kitchen garden. Whether standing up or lying down, to him the garden is a healthy place, a haven where creativity and feelings freely flow. Naturally the bed must be in the center.
Sebastien Rinckel, architect. Aubervilliers. The bed, a human-sized cocoon that he built and attached to the front of his house, is reached from the living room and called "Alcove".
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