This column ran in Saturday’s Arts Section “Salon” in the Telegraph Journal, May 18th 2013

Acquired taste

Photo:  The inexorable evolution of taste can transform what leading critics once called ‘garbage’ into one of the most expensive modern paintings sold in the 20th century, such as was the case with Andy Warhol’s original Campbell’s Soup cans artwork on display at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Sometimes it hits me, as it must all of us at one time or another, that my chosen profession is, as Desdemona says of Othello’s own past, “passing strange.” As an interior designer, I often find myself, a stranger, standing in the private space of a client, discussing how best to transform what is an overly familiar space to the client into something strange, something new to them, something they could not have imagined or accomplished on their own.

What makes this strange experience even more odd is that we are negotiating the transformation of a private space into something with that foreign thing called taste, one of the most complex categories any culture produces and manages.

It’s not that taste is strange because so few of us possess it, or that it’s in short supply. In fact, the opposite is the case; like opinions, we all have taste. No, what makes taste so inherently strange is, at its best, it is always evolving and yet somehow constant. While taste is extremely sensitive to innovation and the evolution of the”new,”it is always informed by tradition.

Now, if you really want to up the strangeness factor, take that thing called taste as it exists in a given culture or era – always evolving yet basically conservative – and wed it to the very particular and personal.

None of us, even those of us in the business of managing matters of taste, really “know”where our taste comes from. And, perhaps, this is as it should be. It should remain something mysterious. This is not to say taste isn’t subject to change, or education, or radical shifts from time to time. It’s only to stress that some part of it will always remain utterly resistant to definition. And anything resistant to definition is in constant need of conversation.

One of my favourite parts of what I do for a living is that moment when I’m standing clients in their space, about to determine with them how best to transform it into something (hopefully) marvellous. Remaining open to the other is one of the keys to making those moments work for both. It is very important, even though I’m there as the”expert,”with a kind of professional taste, I don’t so much impose my views on them as accommodate my views to theirs. Likewise, their views must also seek to accommodate themselves to mine. Good design is always the result of good conversation, always the result of maximum openness to the sometimes hidden possibilities of rooms, people and circumstance.Passing strange,indeed.

Judith Mackin runs punch inside, an interior design company, and Tuck Studio, located at 40 Autumn St., Saint John: Follow Judith on twitter: @judithmackin, Tuck Studio on Twitter: @tuckstudio, or reach her by email: judith@judithmackin.ca.

When thinking of Moms.

If you are out and about this Saturday and are thinking of a special gift for Mom, drop by and see us at TUCK.
We have many gifts under $50. Below is just a small sampling!
In addition, for every $50 spent on Saturday, we will give you an additional $10 Gift Certificate for Mom to spend on her next visit and will gift wrap all items.

1 and 2: Normann Copenhagen Salad bowls and Design House Stockholm pick up utensils!

Beautiful new salad bowls from Normann Copenhagen make a perfect gift. $36 (black and white) Also, treat mom to one of three sizes of of Design House Stockholm’s pick-ups in three sizes, just in time for summer salads. Small $13 Med $20 Large $27 (Note:  *Then head over to Thandi’s and ask Ken to fill it with their delicious Apple SPRING SALAD (A blend of mixed greens, baked apple, chevre & pecan with maple vinaigrette dressing! )

3 and 4: Love is Blind Vase and Trivets!

Beautiful Trivets for mom! $46 for set of four pieces. (shown) with ‘Love is Blind Vase’ (braille $110) by Jessica Lertvalai After all, who better than Mom suits the phrase, Love is Blind when it comes to kids! Also featured Anne Thomas Trivets ($28 to $47) – both canadian designers.
Photo: Kelly Lawson

5: Normann Copenhagen Tea Egss
We suggest picking mom up one of these Tea Eggs by Normann Copenhagen. It is a functional tea infuser made of silicone and designed by the Danish design company Made by Makers.
These festive tea infusers are available in three different colors: grey, blue, and pink.
$19 – (Note*:  then head over to Anne at the Feel Good Store and include some of her organic loose tea leaves to complete the gift package!)

6 and 7. Japanese Fin Vase and Tea Light Holder!

Photos: Kelly Lawson – Flat Packables (Japan) Fin Vase – $37 – a make it yourself vase just perfect for placing one single flower in it!  Tea Light. $19 Perfect splurge gift, a make it yourself and any colour tea light can go with it!
(note*:  Then head over to Perfumes Plus to find mom the perfect bath oils and perfume to go with it! 

8. iHanna Coffee Cups from Iceland!

Photo: Kelly Lawson Three different designs: WOOD/WOOD/WOOD
Beech, Natural, black, white $35 each)
Treat mom to two of these and then throw in a beautiful bag of Java Moose beans!

9 and 10. Norman Copenhagen Watch me Clock and Normann Copenhagen Grass Vases!

Photos: Kelly Lawson 

Watch Me is a simple and figurative wall clock. Its simple design and distinctive shape makes Watch Me stand out as it brings timeless swathes of color into your room.

(Note*:  We then suggest you go to Element 5 Spa and give mom a gift certificate for a spa service of her choice. You are giving her the gift of ‘time’ x 2 for herself!) 
or….

Grass Vase Small: $46 Medium: $62
Grass Vase is a clay vase with a contemporary, humorous expression. All the vases are handmade, and the variation of each vase emphasizes its own unique character

(Note*:  Then head over to Creative Designs by Beth to attach a small bouquet of flowers to go with it!)

and – oh – I guess it there are 11 in all

11. Our Colourful chilewich welcome mat!

Beautiful Chilewich Rugs full of colour! Indoor / Outdoor mat in various sizes. (small $43) – Note*:  Then go to Manchester Shoe Salon or Urban Shoe Myth and get mom a gift certificate for a pair of shoes to go with it! 

One of the most challenging principles of both interior design and decoration is determining a room’s proper focal point. As the website freshome.com notes about the problem of focus,” “A well-designed room always has, depending on the size of it, one or more focal points. A focal point must be dominant to draw attention and interesting enough to encourage the viewer to look further. A focal point thus must have a lasting impression but must also be an integral part of the decoration linked through scale, style, color or theme.” What makes a focal point so challenging is balancing those two requirements: it must be distinctive, and therefore draw the eye, even while connects (supports, elaborates) in some vital fashion the design elements already at work in a room; in other words, it has to be both different and same.

Photo: submitted. Pictured left, ‘Horse Thief’, a photo-based work by Richard Prince on loan from Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art serves as the focal point in The Thief, Oslo’s newest contemporary art hotel lobby.

When it comes to creating and determining a focal point in a room in my own design practise, I try to keep in mind something my husband shared with me from the late critic Roland Barthes and what he said about photography. In trying to account for the fact that some photographs almost mysteriously take hold of the viewer, he came up the notion of the “punctum” (a Latin word derived from the Greek word for trauma), which Barthes himself acknowledges is not easily communicable. The basic thrust of his notion is that, in the best photographs, there’s some usually minor, casual element that inspires an intensely private meaning, one that is suddenly, unexpectedly recognized and consequently remembered : as Barthes says, it “shoots out of [the photograph] like an arrow and pierces me.”

It’s my experience, with the rooms I’m invited to redesign, that the role of focal point is most often taken up by a television, and less often, by a painting. As even an indifferent reader of this column could easily predict, my vote would be for the painting. The dark mass of a television is, if anything, the opposite of a proper focal point. When it isn’t on, it still draws the eye, demanding attention even though it returns nothing but a blank, indifferent stare.

When it comes to choosing a painting, the strongest focal points are works of original art, and sometimes more than one, depending on the space. And it’s in choosing what sort of painting you want as focal point that Barthes’s notion of the punctum is instructive. By its very notion, original art is the expression of private meaning — of the artist’s, obviously, but it also constitutes the expression of your private meaning; after all, you’re the one who elected to hang it on your wall, to make it the object of your continuing interest and contemplation. In Barthes’s sense, something about the painting you’ve hung ‘pierced’ you, as it must have the artist who painted it, as it will the guests you invite to share your private space. It’s not so much the nature of the original painting that’s at issue here – its particular content – but the fact of its originality that matters.

– Judith Mackin runs punch inside, an interior design company, and Tuck Studio, located at 40 Autumn St., Saint John: Follow Judith on twitter: @judithmackin, Tuck Studio on Twitter: @tuckstudio, or reach her by email: judith@judithmackin.ca.

A version of this column ran in Saturday’s Telegraph Journal, Salon- April 20th 2013.

………………..

I was flattered when Mary Ann Gallagher, proprietor of Shadow Lawn and committee member for The Rothesay Read committee, asked if I could speak at a luncheon series in connection with this year’s novel read, Town House by Tish Cohen.   She gave me the upbeat speaking title of ‘Colour Me Happy’ and left it at that.

Apart from ordering the book and setting aside sufficient time to read it before the talk, my preparation led me, as it inevitably does in this wired world, to the internet. It will come as no surprise to you to hear, I’m sure, that there are umpteen million websites and articles out there on colour, ranging from highly technical research into its psychology to its various uses in interior design.  With regard to the psychology of colour, I was reminded how often reds and oranges are used in restaurants, and, conversely, how rarely blue finds its way into those same spaces (doubtless a consequence of our primordial, and quite justified psuspicion, of blue food). You may also know that pink was thought to have a calming effect.  I say ‘was’ because, as officials in England learned to their regret when they painted their prison walls pink, the calming effect is temporary (likely because it’s a cultural as opposed to biological predisposition).  As it turns out, it eventually increases the level of violence among those exposed to it for extended periods (someone should tell Barbie…or rather, warn Ken).

But to rehearse recent developments in the psychology of colour at this talk didn’t quite seem the right tack to take; I’m no better at googling than anyone else.  I soon determined that the appropriate focus would be my own experience with colour, and in particular, my growing awareness of how resistant most people are when it comes to the use of strong colour in domestic space.  Frightened, actually, would not be too strong a word for this antipathy.

In many ways I understand that fear.  My taste in interior design inclines toward a very restrained — dare I say it, Scandinavian — palette:  whites, creams, greys, and natural wood.  Most of my interiors for both clients and for my own home projects have been based almost exclusively on this approach.  However, over the last few years, I’ve discovered the joy of colour, and am introducing it into the spaces I design with increasing frequency and gusto.

Here are five ways an injection of colour can make a big impact on otherwise restrained space:

Photo: Submitted. Top to clockwise: JONOSFÄR Pendant lamp by Ikea, HONK HONK wallpapaper by Rollout, Raw chair /hand-carved wood for Muuto, CHENILLE CHARADE in Azure blue FLOR, Orange ruta cushion cover.

1. Transform one wall in a room into a coloured feature wall.  This can be achieved in basically two simple way:  either; simply paint the wall a bright colour (nothing to be scared of; if it doesn’t work, you can always just paint over it again) or you can opt for the slightly more expensive and time-consuming option:  wallpaper.  It’s been my experience, however, that, generally speaking, people should seek the advice of a professional on wallpaper selection.  There is a staggering range of options out there, and it’s very easy to be led astray after perusing a half a dozen or so sample books.

2.  A wide swath of colour on your floor can make a tremendous difference to your space.  One company I have written about and often use is FLOR.com, a source of modular carpets you can design yourself.

3.  Lights – Lamps or overhead lights are an excellent source of accent colour.  Don’t forget that you can add a bright textile cord kit.

4. Cushions.  You can’t really appreciate how striking a neon pillow looks on a grey sofa till you try it.  The beauty of cushions, of course, is the flexibility they allow: you can mix and match, and switch them out anytime.

5.  Large pieces of furniture in strong colours, like a blue sofa or a saffron chair, can, if used properly, anchor the colour scheme of a room in dramatic fashion.  Again, because these constitute a more permanent investment/commitment, soliciting a second opinion regarding colour choice and placement never hurts.

– Judith Mackin runs punch inside, an interior design company, and Tuck Studio, located at 40 Autumn St., Saint John: Follow Judith on twitter:  @judithmackin, Tuck Studio on Twitter:  @tuckstudio,  or reach her by email:  judith@judithmackin.ca.

Client: Element 5 Spa
Location: Market Square, Saint John New Brunswick
Scope: Interior Design makeover for the Lounge
Interior Design: PUNCH INSIDE | (Judith Mackin, Sarah Tapley)
Length of Project: One month; on time, on budget.
Reveal Photography: Kelly Lawson

Jenny Scott, owner of Element 5, wanted a lounge area makeover.  As she put it, the space was ‘tired’ and it needed freshening up, with a twist of modern.

Could I offer some suggestions?  she asked.  Yes please, we replied!

BEFORE:

Here’s the thing: it’s a relatively small space.  The lounge is the first, and the usually the last place the client experiences, so it’s a very important room.  It’s small (approx 150 sq ft) with challenging angles.  The problem with its current design is too much — and dated — furniture, lack of cohesion, insufficient lighting and, generally, too much clutter.

Photo: Judith Mackin

When clients first walk into the space they are greeted by a very tall, large piece of dark furniture dominating the space.

Photo: Judith Mackin

As you look around the space it’s clear that the sconce wall lighting isn’t working up to its full aesthetic potential.  There’s a lack of warmth and no feature lighting to draw the eye in.  The sofa and love seat are too large, and there’s something of a mish-mash on the walls.

Below is a full gallery of the ‘before’ pictures. As you can see there is a lot going on.  In other words, this little space was quite in need of its own makeover!

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What we did.

• We had to figure out a way to preserve the number of seats while making the space feel more airy.
• We had to change the dark walls and produce feature lighting that would be appropriate in a spa lounge.
• We couldn’t move any plumbing or electricity, which meant we had to work with the existing wall sconces and sink location.
• We needed to add warmth to the floor.
• The brand ‘Aveda‘ and the Element 5 logo appeared to have no relationship to this room.  We needed to ensure that the Aveda experience was part of this lounge.
• We were told that the clip boards were a tremendously important part of the functionality in that both clients and staff use them in high rotation to fill out forms.
• We were asked to keep the fireplace in the design.

Sarah and I worked together to complete the design.  Jenny signed off and below is the final design.

THE AFTER:

Photo: Kelly Lawson (click for high resolution viewing)

We lightened up the walls with ‘Oxford White’ paint by Benjamin Moore and created a warm ambience with two Trianon Lights (one grand, one petite) designed by Paula Arntzen, named after the palace of King Louis XIV.  It’s a lightweight chandelier made of post-consumer coated Tyvek. When lit, the Grand Trianon emits a soft checkerboard glow from behind its surface of folded slits.  Additionally we brought in an indoor/outdoor lounge ‘oatmeal’ mat from Chilewich to add warmth and texture to the hardwood floors.  Then we added two eco-composite pise stools (18 Karat) to serve a dual purpose – a table and extra seating for when large parties came in. The small loveseat (Gus* Modern Jane) and the three (one not pictured) Delano leather chairs (also Gus* Modern) are a perfect fit for the room; they’re all ‘seat’ and minimal ‘arms’.

All furnishings available through TUCK STUDIO.

Photo Submitted: – We chose two paint colors:  as mentioned, Oxford White for the main walls, and the one feature wall (seen below, and on the paint leading up to the fireplace and dandelion photography) is Overcoat both by Benjamin Moore.

Photo: Kelly Lawson

The large wooden hutch was removed and we designed the cabinet space below. The bench area holds up to two people.  (Cabinets by KING Construction).  We added a few minimal brushed nickel modern pieces to the wall to house the previous clutter.  (Magazine Rack and Picture rails by Gus* Modern, available through TUCK STUDIO.)   The shelves also displays Aveda products as well as the wines on offer.

Photo: Kelly Lawson

We situated another Gus* Modern Delano leather chair on this entrance wall, with an acrylic I-BEAM side table.  Using acrylic furniture is functional, yet almost disappears in the design in that it’s clear.

Remember the discussion around the large amount of requisite clipboards?  We added more picture rails for easy access while preserving a sense of continuity in the design.

Photo: Kelly Lawson

We wanted to incorporate the dandelion featured in Element 5′s logo into the lounge.  We sourced the photography and the pillows through Society6 - an on-line site used by hundreds of thousands of artists from around the world.  We simply used paint to color block the wall leading up the dandelion photography to create a visually interesting counterpoint, rather than just hanging the works on the wall.  The fireplace (as seen in the first AFTER picture) also has the paint underneath it so that the three are in harmony and balance.

Below is a full collection of the ‘after’ photo gallery.

A tremendous thank you to Jenny Scott and her team for being such a joy to work with.

If you haven’t been in to see the spa, do so!

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We wish to say a heartfelt thank you to our friend and colleague, Katie Wallace from the Telegraph Journal, along with photographer Cindy Wilson for covering our upcoming event in this morning’s paper.

We hope to see you on Saturday.
Here is a link to give you more information about Saturday’s event if you missed it last week:

Here is the link to the event facebook page to let us know if you are coming:

And finally, below is the text from the Telegraph Journal article this morning.

KATE WALLACE
TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL

SAINT JOHN – Judith Mackin jokes that her favourite colour is white and black, a preference that shows in Tuck, the design studio she opened in September on the ground floor of her new home, a custom contemporary build tucked into a 2.3-acre swath of woods and rock high up a north-end hillside.

The retail space, normally a monochromatic temple to Canadiana and Scandinavian design, all grey and wood, glass and steel accented with pops of colour, has been paint-bombed of late. Big blocks of previously white wall are splashed out in sunshine yellow, grass green, rich turquoise, poppy red and orange.

The riotous transformation is for Spring into Autumn, a design, art and architecture open house taking place Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The name is a play on the location – 40 Autumn St. – as much as a literal reference to the need for seasonal renewal in this, the cruellest month.

The event is a way to share many aspects of the site, where Mackin lives with her husband, Robert Moore, a professor of English literature and poet, and their two Boston terriers. There will be a heavy focus on interior design, yes, but also original art and architecture.

“It’s about people getting more than just shopping for decor and industrial design,” said Mackin, a serial entrepreneur who also does interior design, event planning and marketing.

The open house is intended to be about the whole experience of the site, which is more than a house and shop, but an integrated locus of life and work.

“We literally live what we sell,” she said.

Down in Tuck Studio, each colour block is set up as a little vignette unto itself, set with furniture, lighting, decorative items and original art united by a common hue.

Mackin points to an “ordinary” oatmeal-coloured couch that is jazzed up with red and pink accented cushions, and by a fuchsia pig set on a coffee table.

“It completely transforms it,” she said.

It isn’t all matchy-match, but there is a harmony, thanks to the colour sense of Sarah Tapley, Tuck’s Girl Friday. She is also a visual artist whose shows her paintings at the shop, including a great, lively portrait from a series she did of facial expressions.

Tapley’s work is joined in the studio by that of Suzanne Hill, Gordon Jennings, Chris Lloyd, Deanna Musgrave, Janice Wright Cheney and Herménégilde Chiasson, as well as a couple of custom contemporary pieces by Bloomfield cabinetmaker Brent Rourke.

Saturday’s lineup also includes tours of the house and grounds by Stephen Kopp and Monica Adair, founding partners of Acre Architects. Dubbed Into the Wild, it was the firm’s first custom home in Saint John.

The house was part of Building East, Acre’s recent architecture exhibition at the Saint John Arts Centre, but Mackin exhorted people to experience it firsthand.

“It’s not the same as moving through the house with the architects,” she said.

On the tours, which will run by request, on no particular schedule throughout the day, Kopp and Adair will speak about the house’s urban context and natural setting, and will discuss some of the ideas behind the build.

“The design explores bringing a contemporary vision to a truly wild city site,” Acre’s website states. “Featuring a green roof and maximizing daylight throughout the house, Into the Wild invites the outdoors to be part of the house.” Saturday, the public will be invited in, too.

What follows is a brief summary of a few of the projects we here at PUNCH PRODUCTIONS | PUNCH INSIDE | TUCK STUDIO are working on, some of which we invite you to participate in.

Guest Speaking:

I will be guest speaking at the event I’m hosting at TUCK STUDIO for the “Women in Business Forum with the Saint John Board of Trade” – this Thursday, April 11th, 2013.  

Co-chairs Veronica Ford  and Julia Wowchuk of the Women in Business Forum with the Saint John Board of Trade asked if I would speak to their group of women about the various projects and clients I work with in our three companies.  This group is comprised of female members of the Saint John Board of Trade who get together to share ideas and experiences with an eye to helping their own businesses grow.  This group will be treated to a fabulous lunch (catered by Lily’s cafe - our neighbours here in the North End) and we’ll have a house and studio tour followed by a colloquy about being a female in business and the joys of working in Saint John.  I believe this particular event is full but if you are interested in becoming part of this Forum/Group get in touch with either Veronica or Julia through Carole Cunningham at the Saint John Board of Trade.

Speaking at Shadow Lawn:  Thursday,  April 25th 2013 at noon! 

I was truly honoured to be asked by Mary Ann Gallagher to speak at their Inn for the Lunch and Listen Series in collaboration with The Big Rothesay Read.  If you haven’t yet heard, The Big Rothesay Read officially launched the public unveiling of this year’s selected book title: Town House, by celebrated Canadian author, Tish Cohen.  To read more about this announcement click here.  I’ll be speaking briefly about colour and design and how it impacts our rooms and the way we live.  I hope then to be doing less talking and more listening as the floor will be thrown open for discussion.

In addition, Shadow Lawn Inn will be giving away a $150.00 TUCK STUDIO Gift Certificate to one lucky attendee.  If you’re interested, Mary Ann suggests getting tickets early as the event sold out last year.  I’ll be looking to car pool so if you want to go, let’s go together!

ARTISTS | ARCHITECTS | DESIGNERS:

Coming up this weekend we have an exciting open house at 40 Autumn Street, “SPRING INTO AUTUMN (ST!)”

If you missed the post on this last week you read about all the details here.  We look forward to seeing you between 11-5 on Saturday!

BEFORE AND AFTER MAKEOVER REVEAL:

We were very happy to be asked by Jenny Scott, owner of Element 5 Spa to give the lounge area a complete interior design makeover. Watch this space (no later than early next week) to view the big ‘before and after’ reveal.

PUNCH INSIDE | INTERIOR DESIGN:

Over the last month or so we have been working hard with our repeat client, Dr. Jane Walsh. As you may recall, we wrote about her project two years ago with her ‘Before and After Extreme Makeover.’ Well, Jane is on the move again. Her psychology practice has expanded and she has moved locations. In the next few weeks we will show you what we’ve come up with for her new offices.

PUNCH PRODUCTIONS | EVENTS:

One event we are pumped about is this year’s Uptown Saint John’s “LIVE LIFE AWARDS”. I am happy to be working as this year’s artistic director with a fantastic team of board & committee members of Uptown Saint John.  If you haven’t already, mark the date and look for announcements as this event sold out last year!  Details to follow.

Fellow DESIGN Collaborators!

We encourage you to look for Brandi Coyle’s newest design project, Eclectic (Vintage & Upcycled furniture),  situated on 122 Germain Street and slated to open – well – any minute!  Be sure to “LIKE” her page on Facebook and stop in to visit her new studio when she opens!

Photo:  Submitted Gus* Modern -  The Carmichael Bed fuses traditional and contemporary sensibilities, bringing clean, modern lines to a classic style. The design features a fully upholstered headboard, footboard and side rails, with elegant, tapered solid wood legs. The bed includes a sturdy mattress suspension system which eliminates the need for a box spring. All wood used in the frame and legs is FSC-Certified, in support of responsible forest management.

The lack of access, attention and/or exposure associated with the master bedroom is perfectly understandable. It is, after all, the most personal and intimate space in the home. From a decorator’s point of view, however, the lack of public access to the master bedroom is puzzling, as it’s the room in which we clock the most hours of living. Something on the order of one third of the time we spend in our homes is spent in our bedrooms. And yet, in general, it’s the room we devote the least time and attention to properly decorating.

I realize most of our time in a bedroom is spent sleeping, but that’s not only what we do in bedrooms. Apart from serving as platform for the obvious – ahem – recreational activities, it’s the space in which we get dressed and retire into after a long day. In a word, it is a private space, arguably the space in which we are most free to be ourselves. As such, it’s the space most open to serving as the expression of our truest selves.

There is no shortage of articles in magazines, online or in decorating books on how to beautify a bedroom. Inspiration, do-it-yourself, small decorating ideas, budget ideas, brightening, softening – all are at our fingertips. With those resources in mind, here is a list of ‘must haves’ when it comes to bedroom makeover:

This room epitomizes the comfort and function of a well-planned bedroom: It’s airy and simple, pared down to the essential elements, with good lighting. Photo: Lina Östling/Sköna Hem

1. Good reading lights: No bedroom should be without sufficient, flexible and, hopefully, tasteful reading lights on either side of the bed. If possible, place these lights on dimmers for those occasions when the need for atmosphere trumps function.

2. Comfortable mattress: If you are looking to cut back on any area of your redesign budget ensure the mattress is not one of them. While a cheap mattress looks as good under the covers as an expensive one, your back will know the difference, and will not be shy when it comes to making its feelings known.

3. Sheets. Do your research before you purchase sheets. The common wisdom is not to skimp on the thread count of your sheets. However, thread count isn’t everything, as any number of sites you could google under the heading “thread count” will be happy to explain.

4. Good Art: Whatever you are looking at before you go to sleep and as you wake up should be an inspiring, meaningful piece of art.

5. Edit your space: If it isn’t beautiful or functional, remove it. Only necessary items should be in your bedroom, allowing the space to breathe.

Click on the invite above for high resolution.

TUCK Studio invites you to help us welcome spring to the studio, newly emerged from winter with a complete – and colourful – makeover, featuring recent arrivals of decor and modern furniture from collections exclusive to TUCK.

Looking for a sneak peek of our new spring collection?

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Featured visual artists:  Janice Wright Cheney, Suzanne Hill, Deanna Musgrave, Alexandra Flood, Herménégilde Chiasson, Chris Lloyd, Gordon Jennings and Sarah Tapley.

We are pleased to welcome to the studio, furniture designer, Brent Rourke.

CURIOUS ABOUT THE HOME THAT HOUSES TUCK?

Photo: Mark Hemmings – Stephen Kopp and Monica Adair from Acre Architects will be on site all day.

“Into the Wild”, is Acre Architects first custom home in Saint John. Join Stephen Kopp and Monica Adair for a guided walkthrough of this contemporary home and the concepts behind the design.

Photo:  Mark Hemmings – hemmingshouse.com ‘Into the Wild’ at dusk.  

Delicious Fare: Marget & Axel Begner

Parking is limited. If lot is full, please park on Winter Street (avoid parking on Autumn Street.)

Need directions? Click here.

Join our EVENT PAGE on FACEBOOK by clicking here to let us know you are coming!

Till then,

Judith, Robert, Sarah, Stephen & Monica.

Featured Designer & Product for Wednesday at TUCK STUDIO.

MATERIAL:
Textile: Gabriel, mixed SIZE:50 cm x 60 cm BONUS INFO: Filling is included. 

ABOUT BRICK CUSHION:

Brick is a geometrical cushion with a modern and elegant feel that plays with shapes, colors and materials. Inspires by patchwork, Brick is made up of various structures and shades of textile cut into simple squares and geometrical shapes and is a simple way to add a dash of color to the home.

Brick is produced in nine different colors making it easy to find a cushion that suits your style of interior decoration. Use a single cushion as an eye catcher on the sofa or bed. Combine different colors or create your own soft and inviting relaxation corner by placing several cushions together on the floor.

Brick is available in red, turquoise, green, blue, grey, moss, orange, purple and yellow.  In stock at the studio we have red, blue, green and yellow.  We can order other colours, of course.

About the Designer:

Britt Bonnesen

Britt’s inspiration comes from the fashion world. She had worked in the fashion industry for 10 years before she started her own home interior shop. Britt Bonnesen has been an important part of Normann Copenhagen since the very beginning. Amongst other things Britt has designed the Swing vase and the Rocking glass.

“My grandfather, uncle and my father have all worked their entire lives as glass blowers for Holmegaard, so I have always had a passion for glass design. I love my little black notebook, which I carry around with me everywhere. There are many good ideas and thoughts in this book and maybe they will become a reality one day. I am fascinated by the many hip design hotels around the world. I have an eye for detail and the way details are well thought through, right from atmosphere, food, interior and the staff uniforms down to the hand soap in bathrooms. I also get my inspiration from the fashion industry since the two industries have many similarities”.

Which is your favourite colour? Drop by the studio. See you soon.