Finding Design Inspiration in Beautiful Montreal

On a recent trip to Montreal, we couldn’t help but notice inspirational design elements almost everywhere we went. We took pictures of some of the things that caught our eye while visiting various stores and wanted to share some of the more interesting things we spotted.

Chalkboards are more popular than ever, so when we were welcomed by this large floor-sized board we had to take a snapshot of it. The wood frame was simply leaning against a beautiful brick wall, calling for customers to “Spoil yourself during the holidays.” We agreed with that sentiment and spent a few dollars in the shop ourselves. If you love chalkboards and other inspiration boards, you’ll love our Pinterest boards.

Artemano

These Crochet Poigné — vintage door knobs mounted with a decorative base —  are so quirky looking and would add a little bit of history to anyone’s walls. We love the look and concept behind up-cycling, so why not add a little vintage to your walls with these beauties? Hang just one or hang several as a group as shown here to create more impact. If you like decorating with whimsical wall decor, be inspired with our Whimsical Pinterest board.

VdeV

Decorating with vintage elements is so trendy right now, just take a look at the window display of this hardware store — not your typical “quincaillerie” hardware store, at all!  This store had the kind of stuff you’d usually expect to find in a hardware store alongside great vintage items like this baby blue frigidaire stocked with old-fashioned beer bottles. We loved the look and how the display took us on a trip down memory lane.

Our stroll down Boulevard Saint-Laurent took place on a very cold day, so when we saw these Bougie Boulot — candles covered with birch bark — we wanted to buy them all to add a little sparkle and warmth to a diner party we were headed to that night. Birch bark candles are a great way to give your home that much-coveted rustic feel during the holidays and are usually quite budget friendly too.

VdeV

Finally, we’re sure you’ve witnessed the latest home trend showcasing words on just about any household item you could imagine. Everything from door mats, walls, towels, to toilet seats (yes, see our Pinterest board….) are being monogrammed with letters in all styles of typeface. Just about every store we visited had something that fell into this category and we thought it was “cool” to see all the different designs and got a kick out of reading them out loud.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned to our trip next week to Las Vegas where we’ll be attending the West Coast Art & Frame show.

À bientôt!