Paris Je t'aime

November 27th, 2015

In honour and in gratitude for the pleasure that Paris has given me over the years,  and as a reminder of all that the city has to offer, I present a photo essay of some of my favourite Parisian photos: First, Paris from above, and followed by some rich architectural details on the ground.

Baron Haussmann's Paris:

In 1853 Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann transformed Paris from a medieval warren of alleys and streets to a city of grand avenues and boulevards.  The city’s glorious, distinctive residential buildings were built to Haussmannian specifications: large (often whole-blocks), stone-faced, five-floor structures marked by the perfect alignment and symmetry of their balconies, windows and mansard roofs. Inside, the spacious apartments featured equally elegant architectural flourishes: high ceilings, parquet flooring, floor-length windows and intricate wood and plaster.

Finally, two books suggestions to continue the love affair with Paris.

Toronto Star Life Feature Article

November 20th, 2015

I am thrilled to be featured in an article in the Toronto Star Life by style maven Karen von Hahn.   I have been following her  for years and she is a writer who "just gets it".  Here she writes  beautifully about  my home and the spaces close to my heart. See below for the full article. 

Field notes: Fresh ideas in Theresa Casey’s laundry room

By: Karen von Hahn Fashion Columnist, Published on Tue Sep 22 2015

Normally a neglected area of the home, the interior designer and artist elevates the space while paying homage to her family.

Interior designer and visual artist Theresa Casey in her lower level laundry room, which she has adorned with old family photos and vintage ephemera. Says Casey, who believes in elevating the everyday, “it’s become a kind of memory portal.”

Casey begins her day by working in her atmospheric garden studio, which is filled with vintage ephemera and found objects that inspire her layered and thoughtful approach to design.

Alongside her 15-year-old Toronto design practice, interior designer and artist Theresa Casey is running a one-woman campaign against the “boringification” of interiors. 

“Every space now looks like it’s come straight out of a catalogue,” says Casey, whose own deeply atmospheric North Rosedale residence stands in stunning contrast as an example of what she calls a “thoughtful and layered approach to design.”

So much so that stepping into her own intimately proportioned front hall, you are immediately drawn into the sumptuous whimsy of a wall Casey has feathered in peacock quills, before turning around to face a hanging screen of Venetian blue silk along the stairs that she has bejewelled with a collection of vintage brooches. No surface is free from Casey’s imaginative and evocative approach: even her basement laundry room has been reconceived as a sort of personal gallery of family photographs and memories.

Meanwhile, the peacock-feathered entry, hand-applied by Casey herself, sets the tone for Casey’s uniquely artful and atmospheric Toronto home.

Casey’s basement laundry room, which she has appointed with old family portraits and a bamboo ladder to hold vintage linens, works on both the practical level, and as a quiet respite for reflection.

“I’ve never had an ‘official’ laundry room before, and I thought, ‘why not?’” says Casey. “I have a big family, mostly in Ireland, and I love old portraits and vintage frames. The truth is, I am down here a lot, so initially it seemed like another opportunity to express myself, but it has become a sort of memory portal.”

Black-framed portraits set a rhythm in the narrow, white marble mosaic room, which does resemble some kind of entrance. Hanging under a skinny horizontal team photograph of some footballers from the ’20s is a map of Paris dotted with pins and ephemera linked to Casey’s personal history and travels. On the counter opposite where Casey folds freshly washed sheets and sweaters is a clutch of antique apothecary jars filled with wooden clothespins. Even simple white laundry soap is made more compelling housed in a sculptural glass jar worthy of a vintage laboratory and accessed with a vintage metal hand scoop. Casey’s mother, pictured as a young woman in her nursing uniform, adds to the retro-clinical atmosphere.

A collection of wooden boxes and old apothecary jars hold such evocative reminders of an old laundry as wooden clothespegs and vintage buttons alongside simple white laundry soap in a glass dispensary with a metal scoop, all of which Casey has sourced on her regular flea market jaunts.

Casey’s collection of family portraits, including beloved images of her father and grandfather in Dublin, create a vivid black and white graphic rhythm against the white walls of her gallery-like laundry room. Found vintage frames, postcards and ephemera mark Casey’s favourite spots on a street map of her favourite city, Paris.

“I get a kick out of these pictures,” says Casey. “My grandfather looks so fierce in that one picture, but you can see how much he looked like my Dad. And then there’s my Dad at around four or five years old, back when he was growing up in Dublin.”

“Family is a big deal for us Irish Catholics,” laughs Casey. “But that’s how I have learned who I am.”

As a practising interior designer with a visual arts background who retires to her ivy-covered studio in the garden each morning to paint, Casey also believes in the value of discipline and ritual. 

“I believe in elevating the everyday,” says Casey. “It’s a bit of a Jungian idea of the stabilizing, grounding effect of completing common tasks, but I sometimes get my best ideas when I’m doing something entirely routine, like folding laundry.”

When it comes to the effort required in transforming the every day into the exquisite, Casey stands firm. “Sometimes people say to me, ‘why bother?’ And my answer to them, is, well, why wouldn’t you?”

Casey’s richly layered, exquisitely appointed Deco-inspired living room, full of books and significant antique furnishings demonstrates her uniquely evocative hand at interiors, the very quality clients seek her out for.

Vintage items at the Casey Design Office

October 23, 2015

 

I love antique, vintage and unique objects and I am continually inspired by them which is why you will find them throughout the Casey Design Office.  For me they are important because I love the connection to times past and I love the fun of rummaging through flea markets for hidden gems. Check out these items from my design studio.

These are vintage "Casey Design" printer wood blocks, probably from the turn of the century.

One of the numerous collections of object d'art.

This vintage purse is from 1920.

All types of vintage clocks . . .

A Deco era tea pot set.

This vintage lamp is a rare find and definitely an eye-catcher because of it’s unique form. 

More vintage clocks and a frame. 

Make sure the next time you are in our office to check out the vintage measuring tape - a gift from a special client who found it on her own flea market adventures.  

Sir John Soane’s Museum

October 20, 2015

I absolutely love London and was there a few weeks ago for London Design Week and I always go to Sir John Soane's Museum - the worlds best private home museum of architectural antiquities.

Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was an English architect who specialized in the Neo-Classical style.  He was considered one the most inventive architects of his time and his extraordinary house-museum exemplifies his originality. If you are wondering what a 'house-museum' is, it is exactly that: Sir John, through his passion for architecture, turned his property into a museum, that showcases his vast architectural collection. Developed from three properties, in the London district of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Sir John Soane’s Museum houses his collection of artefacts, plaster casts and also his large collection of more than 7000 books. Tim Knox, author of “Sir Jonn Soane’s Museum, London,” describes the collection as  “extraordinary accumulations and arrangements,” and, "hardly typical for an architect-collector of his era… Most architects, if they could afford it, formed small working collections of drawings, models and casts to assist them with their designs.” Sir John, unlike the typical architect of his time, accumulated large plaster models and antique structures. This blog features some my favourite rooms and collections at the museum. 

See below the different spaces that house the various collection pieces. 

Left: The narrow arch opening looking west through the South Passage. The cast of a bull’s head is the centrepiece of the space.  Right: The Monk’s Yard looking towards Fanny’s tomb. This underwent comprehensive restoration in 2005. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. By Tim Knox, 2008) 

Left: Detail of the octagonal lantern above the domed Breakfast Parlour. These are set with panels of Flemish stained glass.   Right: The Picture Room with the panes half open to reveal the Picture Room Recess. The architectural model at the feet of the statue of the Nymph is Soane’s design for the south front of the Bank of England. Golden light filters down from a lantern glazed with yellow glass. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. By Tim Knox, 2008) 

I love the large plaster models, busts and antique structures. Have a look at some of my favourites below:

Left: A plaster cast of the Apollo Belvedere. This statue was once the property of the famous 3rd, or ‘architect’, Earl of Burlington, and was given to Soane in 1811. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, By Tim Knox, 2008)                                          Right: A Roman bust of an elaborately coiffed woman catches a beam of sunlight. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, By Tim Knox, 2008) 

Left: Sir Francis Chantrey’s bust of Sir John Soane surrounded by cinerary urns and sculptural fragments. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, By Tim Knox, 2008)                                                                                                                                                 Right: A plaster cast of William Sievier’s bust of Sir Thomas Lawrence surveys the Dome area. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, By Tim Knox, 2008) 

The Students’ Room looking north, showing the extensive collection of casts of Classical architectural ornament. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, By Tim Knox, 2008) 

Left: An early twentieth-century photograph (1924) showing a new extension to the museum - the Picture Room. New display’s such as this, destroyed Soane’s carefully juxtaposed arrangements of artefacts in his museum. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. By Tim Knox, 2008)                                                                                                                                                              Right: One of many fragments of antique decorations that adorn the walls of Sir John Soane’s Museum. (Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, By Tim Knox, 2008) 

The inspiration of Sir John's museum led me to create a feature wall in a three storey townhouse in midtown Toronto. Our challenge in this project was to add architectural interest in an in-distinguished townhouse. We achieved this by designing classical, custom doors, new door hardware, fireplace mantel and even a new iron railing. But what I loved the most is this small collection featured in their living room. It is a small but significant tribute to the inspiration I draw from Sir John Soane’s Museum.

Check out more images of this three storey townhouse on our online portfolio which can be found on our website! http://www.caseydesignplan.com/contemporary-mid-town/

Kitchen Quartz Countertops

October 9th, 2015

When it comes to countertops my favourite "go to" product for stone is Cosentino's Silestone - a Quartz composite.  Cosentino is the world's leading producer of this type of counter, which is ideal for high-quality kitchens and bathrooms, including countertops and sinks. The quartz countertops have become a leading counter top option because of the easy care and durability. In contrast, marble counters stain easily and require much more maintenance, and granite has a limited palette.  Quartz comes in a large variety of colours and patterns, and Cosentino have been producing it since 1990. They have a comprehensive website which showcases their range of colours and patterns. Check out the different ways to use this versatile product below:

Silestone - Kitchen Applications

When it comes to kitchen colour schemes, the right hue and texture of the countertop is crucial to the over-all look. This is because the countertop is often the anchoring centrepiece, and can tie together the concept of the space. 

A white stone with grey accents goes beautifully with the dark cabinetry of this kitchen for my clients. 

How fun are these colours? I used this dark green stone with dark speckles to contrast with bright red cabinetry. 

Prefer neutral, warm tones? I love this off-white stone with creme and light grey veins to create a bright, but neutral setting. 

Clean white surfaces for any kitchen, works beautifully. See how I have utilized this in the island countertop above.

I love the use of this dark stone with brown accents and undertones in this bright white kitchen. The island countertop is a strong contrast to the rest of the room and provides a distinctive focal point.