5 buck pick-me-up with G-Q reader pal

Happy Grunge Queen story: I met Doreen, a reader who found this blog and contacted me after the Toronto Star article Rita Zekas wrote on me and my pad came out in November.

Doreen and I have become friends, and recently we took a stroll along Mount Pleasant Rd., where there's a bunch of antique and decor shops.

At one shop specializing in refurbished lighting, we found bins of chandelier pieces selling for $3 to $6.

This big red piece, about 2 inches long, called out to me. The owner let me have it for $5 - luckily exactly what I had in my purse! It'll make a striking pendant necklace with a velvet or silky ribbon.

Doreen says all I have to do is buy a clasp at a bead shop to go through the hole on top. If I'm feeling really lazy and grunge-queenish, I can just string a ribbon through it.

Anyway I love it. It satisfies my constant need for bling, and will turn out to be a nifty statement piece necklace once I'm done with it.

The gent at the shop tells me red chandeliers were quite rare so these pieces aren't easy to come by. I thought the shape was really different too.

If you're ever on the Mount Pleasant strip in T.O. check it out; the shop has unique chandeliers and some very cool Art Deco wall sconces with icicle-like chandelier pieces dripping from them:



Akladios Antiques
558 Mount Pleasant Rd.,
416-544-1960 www.akladiosantiques.com

How do you get your bling bang on? Any creative ways you've found or put together inexpensive jewellery?

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Light my Fire

I'm not telling you how many lamps I have in my apartment. I love ambient lighting; it creates a wonderful mood.

This blue lantern was $4.99 at my local thrift store. For now it's sitting on my window sill and hangs out with my new blue sheer curtains, which I picked up at Fabricland in the discount bin.

These wicker lampshades are lined in satin and in fab condition. They were $5 for the pair, again at Stretch Thrift.

Again, I'm loving the symmetrical lamp look. It just adds a touch of class.

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New Year's apartment makeover

Happy New Year! Today's post will be extra long as I missed yesterday ....

I've started the new year off on a high decorating note by completely redoing my apartment.

Pictured here: the work in progress.

It all began with a copy of Elle Decor that my sis gave me as I was boarding the train back to T.O. after the holidays.

Elle Decor is my absolute FAVE decorating mag - it's eclectic yet elegant and that's exactly my decorating philosophy.

The mag inspired me so much that all I could do on the train ride home was brainstorm what I would do to my apartment to make it more elegant looking.

All I had was a general idea: less cluttered and junky looking; more elegant, but functional too.

It took 10 hours for me to do the re-org. Boy did I get a workout.

The key to any re-org is clearing away all the knic-knacs and bric-a-brac from furniture and dumping it in piles in a room or area that you're not going to re-do. That way you can work with a clean slate. In my case it was the desk area, the hallway and the kitchen.

I started by moving the cheap IKEA bookshelf from one corner of the apartment to a small wall.

I had to take out all the books and drag the bookshelf across the room - don't do this on your own, please, as you could end up under a heavy bookshelf!

Problem: I didn't have enough bookshelf for all my books as I wanted to turn one small bookshelf into something else (more on that later), and I had a lot of ugly paperbacks that don't really display well.



My original solution: turn my linen closet into a bookshelf and take the door off. The idea is wonderful, but it is problematic as I don't have a place to put all my linens.

So for now, the linen closet is a combo linen closet/bookshelf.

Once I can figure out where to put my linens I'd like to make the entire thing a bookshelf and just take the door off. I think it would look really funky.





Here's a makeover preview, of the bookshelf relocated to a smaller wall. I moved the blue velvet chair from the bedroom - it's such a showpiece and wasn't getting much attention there - and put it in front of the books to create a cozy reading nook.

The tiny retro glam lamp on the side table was $4.99 and found during a recent Goodwill dig; it is part of a set so I can pair the two together when I'm feeling symmetrical.

By the way, this is in my dining room area. I have so much more to show you, and I'm thrilled with my new glam look! Stay tuned this week!!

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Yesterday's steal: lamp & shade

So I ended up going into work to an empty office yesterday, forgetting it was a Stat holiday.

With nothing better to do, I left work and - what else? - shopped. On my way home, I found this festive red lampshade at my fave lamp and lighting store, Consumers Lighting, on Dufferin St. Then I popped into a Salvation Army Thrift Store on the way home, only to find it was 50 percent off day. I picked up a Ports vest for $1.50 and a sassy green Nygard trench coat for $3.50. I also found a pretty mauve Louben blazer for $3.50 that will be perfect for my Mom, and a pretty silk boho pillow for $1.50.

But this lamp, $12.99 regular price, was the keeper.

I had to fight to get it.

First I waited in line to get to the cash, only to be told it was final sale. When a lightbulb couldn't be found for me to test it, I found an employee in the back room who procured one, tested the lamp, then waited in the line all over again - only to be told the lamp wasn't part of the sale.

The cashier let me have it for 50 off in the end.

I just love it. What a statement piece. What texture. What a steal! The shade and base were made for eachother.

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Hanging magic lamps

Sorry for spotty posts this week; I'm working with some killer deadlines.

But I have to show you these inexpensive lights my beau was sweet enough to install for me recently (Grunge Queen is not handy in the least).

I picked this one up at Consumer's Lighting at 2482 Dufferin St. in Toronto - for $15!

It had a hole in the bottom that presumably some hardware was supposed to fit into, but it was missing. So I whipped out some glue and stuck a sparkly blue drawer pull to the bottom - doesn't it look great?

I'm not big on overhead lamps but this one is ambient - I put a lower wattage bulb in, and the cracked glass feature creates a softer look - don't you love the patterns it throws on the ceiling? So magical ....

My best friend gave me this one. It's a 1960s light fixture that her Dad had in the house he designed and built. When she bought the house she renovated and gave the lamp to me as she knew I loved it.

This one also casts neat patterns on the ceiling.

I have thank my man for putting this one up too; it was tricky and took a while.

Like the other one this one isn't in-your-face like a lot of other hanging lamps and chandeliers - I like the understated bling of both of them.

By the way I am working on my list of Top Ten Thrift Shops in Toronto for you, by reader request - will post next week!

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Primary colours & rejigs

I haven't been blogging much about decor lately, but I have been tweaking my place constantly in preparation for a possible photo shoot (more to share later on that hopefully).


Here's a corner nook in my dining room, which I've turned into a comfy sitting and TV room. I like layering paintings on top of eachother, and the upturned lampshade adds a bit of spunk.






Here's a longer shot.

I like the unexpected combination of the orange rug with the red velvet pillow.

The colours pick up the shades from my glass collection on top of the bureau.


I picked up this huge framed print behind glass for $4.99 at my local thrift shop. Alas, the glass broke on the way home so I just took it out (ok, the man did).

It's a print of a work by John Lander, and I just love it.

I hung it low - quite low - behind the loveseat but I'm not sure if I'm going to leave it that low. Most of my art is hung on the lowish end so having such a long piece extend all the way up the wall may look funny.

What do you think?

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The story of a lamp

I have this crazy Grunge Queen story for you:

I didn't always have a fab apartment.

When I first moved to Toronto just over 4 years ago, all I had was an air mattress, a crappy outside table for a desk, a laptop and a chair. My furniture was in storage in Ottawa, waiting to be moved up when I had cash and opportunity.

I desperately needed a lamp, so one day I bought a lamp on the street for $15, pictured here. I got it from a lady who was having a garage sale on the Danforth.


She was really nice to me, even driving me to her place (which is just around the corner from the place where I now live) so I could look at some other furniture she was looking to sell.

Fast forward 4-plus years: I'm in a Kengsington Market vintage shop a few weeks back, desperately looking for a cocktail dress for that rooftop wedding I attended a few weeks back.

A women who was minding the store for her friend, the owner, helped me. We both had this feeling we knew eachother, but couldn't think of where. I stylist, she swore she had dressed me before.

A few mornings ago I bolted out of bed and my first thought was: stylist lady and lamp lasy are the same!!

Crazy how the brain works eh?

And isn't it nice that us junky kindred spirits found eachother again? I have her card and I'm going to call her and tell her where I know her from - and that I still have her lamp! (shade was mine).

I call that grunging karma.

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Blue star, super deal

If you live in Toronto and have always wanted one of these hanging Moroccan lamps, get thee to Broadview and Danforth Aves. today 'cos there's a screaming sale there.


Pealac Corp www.pealac.com is having a $20 sale on all furniture, lamps, wall hangings and accessories. Owner Nima is clearing out these goods so he specialize in Persian rugs.

This blue star lamp, which I could put put a tea light in or wire up, was originally $89.95 but I bagged it for $20. On Saturday there was a whole pile of clear lamps like this for the same price, though I betcha they're going fast.

I'm temped to go back and get more. Do you think I should attempt to wire this or just leave it as a pretty accessory?

The lamp just happens to match the antique Persion rug I bought at Nima's in February.

Pealac Corp., 815 Broadview Ave. just a couple steps north of the Broadview subway station.

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East end antique tour

As you may know, I shop - a lot. With 9 shopping columns a month at a local community newspaper, in addition to my own thrifting exploits, I know a lot of what's happening on the streets of Toronto - who's opened, who's closed, and who carries that unique find you won't find anywhere else.

These are hanging Victorian hall lamps made of glass, found in Antique Row in the east end of Toronto in a shop there. They're hard to find and represent the shop owner's entire collection....

This is a shop downstairs from the one featured above, where I bought the velvet blue chair. There are four dealers here, each with their own aesthetic and look, from Shabby Chic to French Country to, well, a bit scruffy (my personal preference!).

This is the outside of yet another shop on the antique block, which sells mostly decorative accessories like old globes, chandeliers and other bibs and bobs.

My pick: crystal chandelier strands (from broken chandeliers), $10 each or 2 for $15 - perfect for a choker necklace or drippy Christmas tree ornaments!

For the full article check it out here

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New room

Here are some pretty decorative details from my bedroom makeover - which morphed out of a fall closet cleanup over the weekend.

My uber pricey lampshade from Anthropologie looks even more boho girly with some of my thrift store pearls and retro crystal-like baubles laced across the top.

The lamp base, by the way, was picked up at Value Village my first year in Toronto. Call me lazy but the pricetag - $5.99 - is still on it! It's one of my fave lamps.


Showing my bedroom may be a wee bit personal - the Victorian in me is cringing - but he the decor mags do it don't they?

I ended up moving a different pic over the bed as my makeshift headboard didn't provide a lot of contrast.

You may be able to tell that I'm in pared down mode. It feels good to declutter and get rid of stuff that's piled up and clogged my life.

I think, especially with the juvenile folk-like painting, that the look is sort of peasant-y.

The blanket at the bottom of the bed I bought at an end of the line retail store - it was $20 and I've seen the exact same one for $60+ in other stores. Dag is now kneading it to death.

On the wall: a vintage wool Holt Renfrew blazer I've had since high school.

The brass bed: bought with small portion of my scholarship money while doing graduate work in Ottawa - for a mere $125.

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Great garbage find

I was wondering what I would post on the blog today as I was walking home yesterday afternoon, when 'lo and behold, I saw this funky lampshade on the curb.

It was attached to a base that looked like a robot - the industrial look was carried a wee bit too far - but I couldn't walk away without the shade ... isn't it just fab?

As you can see it's made of mesh rings and has little sprongy things hanging from the bottom - truly a grungy glam lampshade that's perfect for the Grunge Queen!


See how neat it looks lit up and how it casts teeny honeycombs on the wall?

I put it on a modern lamp base that I found in my closet - if you check out my numerous lamp posts you'll see I play around with shades and bases - and no doubt I'll play with it some more before I find the perfect arrangement for the moment.

For now I've put it in the kitchen along with a small Persian-y rug so the look is bohemian industrial for now.




This is only the beginning - think I feel a kitchen makeover coming on!

A tip on garbage picking: you have to have no shame, and looking purposeful and somewhat in-your-own world can make you look like some eccentric designer type who's going to get your big break by digging "x" out of the trash.

I picked this in full view of a family sitting on their porch. They watched me; I watched them; then I watched the lamp; then I decided, what the heck - it's too fabulous! - so I took the plunge and started rooting!

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Decorating identity questioned

I junk; therefore I am ... a good decorator?

There's nothing like seeing someone else's beautifully decorated apartment. It can cause tremendous joy, seeing art and Persian rugs and books so artfully arranged - but it can also inspire neuroses.

A few weeks ago I visited the apartment of a pal in the building, and let me just say it threw into question my very grunger's existence:

One look at my pad after and I could see what I never saw before: the clutter, the papers, the mis-matched furniture, the junky look.

It wasn't a good feeling.

Since then I've been cleaning out the papers and rearranging and editing furniture, objects and art in an effort to streamline my space.

Some furniture has been tossed. Other bric-a-brac has been shoved in the closet and may make its way to a sale of some sort, or even a thrift shop.

I'm not sure if my new look is going to work out - I think when we question and compare ourselves in negative ways that creativity can be stifled. And after all, once a junker, always a junker, no?


Still I like what I did above with the big white (new) lampshade found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store for $7.99. It had a funny base that wouldn't allow me to attach it to the lamp the correct way, so I flipped it over and voila: I have a funky Art Deco-inspired look with an upside-down lampshade!

Maybe the Grunge Queen has a tad of spunk left in her.

Stay tuned. The overhaul - and identity crises - is still in progress.

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Sparkly drawer pulls inspire

I've been obsessed with sparkly glass drawer pulls for a long time now - what better way to jazz up a beat up curbside find? - but haven't been willing to pay the $18 EACH I've been seeing them for in stores.

A troll in the Beaches the other day unearthed a new shop with a whole counter of pulls - for way less coin than I've ever seen them!

In Nesters (2207 Queen St. East, 416-698-2207) I found these blue acrylic pulls for less than $3 each! There are also glass and ceramic ones for good prices.

Needless to say I bought a wack to add a bit of bling to this dark dresser - you can see the difference here.

The old faux tortoise shell pulls are lovely, but don't really do much for this dresser, you'll agree.

I ended up buying two too many just for the heck of it - I have a lot of dressers - and just before beddie-bye last night discovered a cool alternative use for these drawer pulls.

Can you guess? Check out some of my older posts, where I switch up lampshades and lampshade hardware to create entirely new looks!










You guessed it: a lamp finial! Doesn't it look like a little jewel on the top of my lamp? I love the way it's all illuminated.

The purple shade helps - I tried the drawer pull on a lamp with an off-white shade and it doesn't look as special.

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Boho sitting room in the dining room

Almost 20 years ago my best friend and I, in our first apartment together, did a gutsy design thing: we moved the living room into the dining room.

Yesterday afternoon the fine Spring weather threw me onto a full-on apartment re-org, with similar results. The dining room table went out of the dining room nook, and in went one of my Barrymore loveseats.

The final result: such a cozy, lovely Boho look, don't you think?

I love the big gilt mirror on the floor, with the Group if Seven (?) print hanging directly overhead - it looks like the two are connected!

I also like the look of the pretty blue lady painting over the chest of drawers found in the trash. The boho William Morris-esque work of art beside it is by Toronto artist Caroline Price is is my most recent and much-loved art acquisition.

Even the icky overhanging lamp doesn't look so bad.

Why this works, aside from being pretty:

Honestly I rarely use the dining room table, so having it jutting out like that in the middle of the room (see my last makeover series) was a waste of space.

This little nook is a wonderful space to relax after work, free of the TV and computer that's in my regular living room area. I like the idea of having a place to go away from technology, aside from my bedroom. I will do my best to use the space well!

As you'll see in the next few days as I post pics from the rest of my apartment, moving one loveseat out of the living room freed up an otherwise cluttered space and opens up the whole apartment for a breezier summery look.

I really like the cohesiveness of this look - pulled together yet arty. You'll notice I moved all the navy pieces - the loveseat, chair, and two Chinese lamps with blue shades. It doesn't look too dark as I've balanced it out with a lighter carpet and lots of lighting.

What could this all mean to you?

Never ever think you're trapped in by design or all your stuff. I'm a firm advocate of "play" in space and also in things never being static. Your look and space can evolve continually if you want it too. I can understand how that could be scary for some, but I find it invigorating ....

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Lamp Week Finale: more lamp camp tips

I wasn't sure Lamp Week was really doing it for y'all, but thanks to a comment on Lamp Camp, below, I've come back from two sick days off with renewed lamp vigor ....

But before I give you another tip on lamp hardware, here are some easy things you can do to spruce up your lamps at home ....

Hang things from 'em: necklaces, chandelier crystals, or in this case, a plastic bauble (that's hanging from a cheap necklace chain wound around the harp of the lamp).





Paint 'em: This buffet lamp was a boring brassy brown. When I went through a silver spray paint phase a few years ago, many accessories and pieces of furniture in my pad were on the receiving end of my spray can.

Over time the look actually becomes nicer, more distressed, as the paint wears off.


Put stuff on 'em: This was the lamp a former love went back to get for me in the thrift shop, only to discover someone else had bought it. He had a feeling one of his thrifting pals in the 'hood bought it, so he went to his house and rescued it from that man's closet for little 'ole me (see Dumpster Love post).

It's a funny little wrought iron lamp with a cut out rectangle where something once must have fit in. I still can't find a box to fit it, so here I put on old copy of "Paradise Lost" on top.

Get handy: Yes, I'm not at all handy: this was my ONE handy project and I will never do it again. I found this Pottery Barn chandelier at a garage sale for $5 - it still had the tag on it and I can see why, as there was no cord or anything, just the shell.

What was I going to do with this? I went to a hardware store and bought some gold chain electrical cord (and because the lamp hardware was pewter) a can of pewter paint. I spray painted that damn wire and had the whole thing dry on my fire escape at the time. When it was done it actually looked ok, but never again ....

The gift of light: my garage sale pal Matthew gave this to me as he knew I loved it. Still trying to find a lampshade for him (the lamp, silly, not Matthew!) - a black wig or a top hat one would look way cool, but it could be hard to find something like that (unless I somehow fashion an old hat into a shade?).

Any thoughts for a shade that will work on this? The lamp isn't that tall, only 8 inches to the top of the head and there's no harp hardware on it.

One last lamp hardware tip: if you have a lampshade like this and want to put it on a lamp with a harp, no fear, you can do it so long as you have one of these disc things I found with one of the thrift lamps I bought recently.

Simply put the disc on top of the harp, where the finial screws into, and voila!

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