Model home is Model Perfect!

You all know that Ethel isn't just a fabulous vintage furniture store, we're interior designers as well! We love helping our clients and customers achieve their design dreams and making their homes a more beautiful space that suits their needs and lifestyle.

You can read all about our latest project here,

http://etheldesign.com/design/Blog/tabid/85/EntryId/8/Model-Home-is-Model-Perfect.aspx

on our sister site, http://etheldesign.com/design/Home.aspx

And remember, no project is too small for the Ethel gals!

See you at the store!

Ethel loves vintage fashion!

Sometimes when I can't be here, our friend Shannon fills in. She's become a real favourite with our Ethel customers, both for her sunshiny smile and her vast knowledge of vintage clothing. She's helped us sell a few things through her Etsy site from time to time, including a fabulous 80's Hermes dress we found when shopping for the store. We know vintage furniture, but Shannon is our go-to vintage fashion gal!

We're hoping to do more vintage clothing pop-up sales with her this year too, but for now, check out her Etsy site for some retro fashions.

http://www.etsy.com/people/houseofshaude

You can also follow Shannon's fashion adventures on her blog, A Second Life.

http://ascndlife.wordpress.com/

See you at the store!

Dated 80's becomes Beautiful Blue!

As most of you may know, we are not only a vintage furniture store, we are also interior designers, and one of our most favourite things to do is to help our design clients reinvent their furniture.

Take this pair of petite arm chairs.
They were languishing in a guest room, and our client wasn't sure if she wanted to replace them or re-do them. Don't let the dated 80's upholstery fool you! These beauties are British and have solid frames so we convinced our client it was well worth it to reupholster them.

We chose a lovely blue linen and coordinating crewelwork fabric for pillows, and we had new turned legs spray lacquered to match other furniture in the room. The new legs replace the old castors, giving the chairs a bit more height so they're more comfortable. We also opted to not do a skirt, so the chairs look more contemporary (and so you can see the lovely legs!) We replaced the existing ottoman with a new custom ottoman with coordinating legs to match, so her guests would have somewhere to put their feet up.

Don't they look darling?

The client loves her new/old chairs and is so happy she invested in their refurbishment. We think Princess Perfect (http://www.princessperfect.ca/) did an amazing job and so does our client.

Drop by the shop to ask us if YOUR furniture is worth re-doing.
See you at the store!

Ethel needs a new home....

For the past few weeks, we’ve been holding off on buying any new inventory for the shop. Our customers keep asking “when are you getting new stuff in” and we’ve been telling them that we do this every January, to help clear out old energy and to encourage new.

This year it’s different. Ethel is looking for a new home and we’re not buying any new inventory as we don’t want to have to move it.

We love Leslieville and would love to stay here, in our cozy space at 1091 Queen St. East, where the store has been located for the past 14+ years. However, our new landlord has other plans for the building so we find ourselves surfing MLS for retail space for lease, and we have our friends, family and trusty real estate agent Nancy Wilson of Remax, http://www.nancywilsonteam.com/, helping us search for Ethel's possible new home.

We’re hoping to stay in the east end, as this is where our customers know to find us, but we could be looking at setting up shop in a totally new neighborhood. We keep hearing interesting things about St. Clair West, and even Gerrard and Jones has it's potential. We'll keep you all posted and make sure everyone knows where we're headed.

Ethel's motto is “Life is too short for Beige”, which means we’re open to possibilities and new adventures. Wish us luck on this next step on our journey. (and if you know of any great retail space in a busy neighborhood, let us know!)

See you at the store (wherever that may be!)

Lollipop, lollipop. oooh, lolly lollipop!

We just got in this gorgeous set of 6 dining chairs and we are in love!

They are so reminiscent of the Robin Bush Lollipop seating (see above), but instead of a metal tandem base, these beauties are solid wood and were made in Milverton, Ontario by the Honderich Furniture Company. They've been reupholstered in maroon leather and are priced at $900 for the set of six.

Lollipop Lollipop, oooh lolly lollipop!

UPDATE: Chairs have sold!

See you at the store!

Winter is finally here!

We got our first serious snowfall of the season today and we’re so happy that winter is finally here. The snow makes us want to curl up in a comfortable chair by the fire, drinking hot chocolate (or hot toddies!) and dream of tropical vacations, or even building a snowman.

Why don’t we try this chair for curling up in?

Gorgeous refinished teak chair with new cushions in the classic Eames Circles pattern.

Chair is $895

UPDATE: Chair has sold!

How about this classic Canadian Beauceware mug for hot chocolate?

Mug is $8.

Oh, you have someone to share your hot chocolate with? How about a couple of these vintage yellow ware barrel mugs? Or would these work better for hot toddies?

Barrel mugs are $8 each or all three for $20.

If you really need to go out into the cold, why not do it in style? Our vintage clothing gal Shannon has a few fur coats here at the store. No need to feel guilty wearing these furs...they’re vintage!

Fur coats are $200 each. More available at the shop.

If fur isn’t your style, try one of these vintage knit toques or berets?

Knit hats are $10 each.

Don’t forget to keep your feet warm!

(my boots, not for sale!)

See you at the store!

Happy New Year!

It's January, and that means cleaning up and cleaning out the store. After closing for a few days to spend time with our friends and family, we came back with lots of energy and ideas for 2012.

We spent the last couple of days packing up the remnants of the vintage holiday merchandise and taking down the tree, and now we're focussing on remerchandising the store. So if you feel like helping out, come say "hi" and buy something, so we don't have to pack it up or move it!

Happy New Years from everyone here at Ethel!