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FLIPPING THE SWITCH FROM WINTER TO SUMMER
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I always find that when the weather changes from cold to hot, it's like someone has cranked up the thermostat. It always seems to happen so fast, that I never quite have the right clothes for the first week or two. I feel like spring in Toronto lasted a few days this year and now we are into full-on summer.
It takes me time to get into my stride and to actually believe that the sun and its warmth are here to stay. I know I am not the only one as we all begin to emerge from not just our winter-long cocooning, but our 14+ months of social inactivity.
This week I have seen people on the streets of our city dressed looking like they are still fearing the cold returning, whilst others are basically in their underwear. It is a sight to behold, and it's probably happening in all cities and communities that are heading for summer and coming out of lockdown. It's a giddy combination – note I say giddy and not winning.
Updating my home is so much easier for me than my wardrobe. Seeing as it's houses, and not bodies, that I spend my day working on, I thought I would share some tips on what I like to do and how we update our clients’ homes.
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• Firstly, I change my linens – my heavier bedlinens are switched out for linen, I love the relaxed crumpled look of linen in the summer. No ironing required, and all looks effortless and meant to be. You don’t have to think only in terms of white or natural for summer; I still use and adore saturated colours twelve months of the year.
• I also switch out my bath towels from heavy Turkish cotton to Hamman towels that are light and airy and dry so very quickly.
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• Bath robes too are a seasonal change. My recent favourite is by local designer Emily Griffin. She has a range of gorgeous robes on her site Imli, that are hand blocked in India. The only problem is picking your favourite. These are gorgeous lake/pool/beach cover-ups too!
• Slippers too get packed up and replaced with indoor slides.
• I adore my velvet and mohair cushions, but I have linen and cotton cushion cases that go over my winter ones – a little like a slipcover.
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• I also update my coffee table tray and change my candles for a summer scent. I normally have a plant and a stack of books and other bits and pieces that mean something to me. In the spring my books may be travel-related or have covers in a similar tone. I am a lover of house plants and have multiple vessels that I use as plant pots. In the summer, I favour my cream and earthenware ones – in the winter I use darker, moodier colours.
• Baskets are littered throughout my home. One day I will actually count them, but I am not ready to do that yet. But I do believe there is at least one in every room and possibly in every closet…………in my living room they hold books and throws. I have one that we take outside that holds our bug spray, sunhats, our matches for our candles and our pillows and throws for when we are spending time relaxing in our garden.
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• I am a hat lover, so my hall hat stand that is a gorgeous vintage piece of furniture that I adore, has all my heavier felt and wool hats removed for my woven and cotton sun hats. This one above has me smitten. It's from Beklina in Australia, it looks like a lampshade and yes, you know I’d wear it!!
I think the most important thing is to pack away winter in your home furnishings like you would do your winter boots and down coat. You do not want to be tripping over things, so have everything cleaned and packed away for the next 5 months! It might almost make you believe that winter is never coming back!
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PUBLISHED NOT ONCE BUT THREE TIMES!
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Publicity is a little like waiting for a bus. You all probably know the analogy; you wait, and you wait and only when you have given up all hope then do several come along at once. May has been a lot like that for GGI.
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Our Toronto Heritage Townhouse project got published online in both Casa Vogue Brazil and AD Middle East.
I adore Vogue - I have 25 years’ worth of British Vogue magazines that may fall through my dining room floor and end up in the basement any day. So to be published in Vogue was a lovely treat.
Having visited Sao Paulo in 2019 and seen firsthand the incredible craftspeople and artisans it's no surprise that they have a Vogue dedicated just to home. I loved that they picked the principal en-suite. It has several bold selections and is a gorgeous space.
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AD Middle East came a week later.
They featured the whole home, and the article was beautifully written. I love the quote ‘’each acquisition was carefully planned; there is no room for filler furnishings’’. We do not do filler furnishings at GGI, and I am so glad that the author of the piece picked up on this. Fillers are going to end up in landfill one day, and I would much rather leave an empty corner in a room, waiting for something perfect, than simply fill it for the sake of filling it.
Everything that was designed and procured for this project was done with care and attention to detail it really shines in the photos.
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When Beth Hitchcock, editor of the Collected series by Sarah Richardson (former editor-in-chief of House & Home) contacted me last year I was surprised and delighted.
Collected: Colour + Neutral juxtaposes interiors that are full of colour (my studio) with those that are more muted. Seeing your work in print never gets old, and this is the first time I have been published in a book. My studio looks great and the text sounds so much like me (thank you Beth!) The swing gets a lot of print space. This book is a great new home gift or hostess gift – it is an easy read and full of some incredible projects. I am so happy to be included.
All of this work was photographed by the lovely and super talented Virginia Macdonald and styled by the dream team Me & Mo. Their eyes, their knowledge, skill and attention to detail make our projects sing on camera. They are the best!
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So many of our projects we are currently working on are for repeat clients who are all on the move, all at the same time.
What I am especially loving at the moment is the diversity in the projects that we have in the mix. We pride ourselves on making each interior we work on as unique as the homeowner and that has certainly never been truer!
From a gorgeous classic home that will be decorated with the most beautiful classic English prints, to a modern and streamlined newly renovated home, and a townhome that will cocoon you from the moment you step inside the front door. The breadth of these projects has my team all working away making magic happen as we navigate our current new normal.
We have installations scheduled through till the end of the year and I cannot wait to share with you some of what we have had the privilege and joy to work on.
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WATCH OUR WEBINAR WITH HEAPS ESTRIN
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We are delighted to be taking part in a webinar with the team from Heaps Estrin on June 25th.
The presentation is called Creating an Oasis in the City and I will be talking to how we design inviting and curated spaces for our clients. I’ll show some of our mood boards, some before and afters, and end with my Top 5 Ingredients for a city oasis.
If you would like to register please follow the link below. And please feel free to share with friends and family who may be interested.
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Wishing you all a wonderful June!
Thank you for reading our monthly newsletter,
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Credits
Joanna Gaines, Architectural Digest, GGI Pinterest Board Kitchens
Summer Dress, designer unknown (I’ve seen it credited to three different fashion houses!), GGI Pinterest Board Fashion
Floral Summer Bedroom, Cowan & Tout, GGI Pinterest Board Bedrooms
Olive Green Linen Bedlinen, sourced via T.D.C. Blog, GGI Pinterest Board Bedrooms
Green Garden Robe, Imli
Oxalis Plant, Justina Blakeney, GGI Pinterest Board Plants
Sunhat – yup it looks like a lampshade which means I consider it perfection, Beklina, GGI Pinterest Board Fashion
Casa Vogue Brazil
Collected: Colour + Neutral, Sarah Richardson
Architectural Digest Middle East
Toronto Heritage Townhome - Gillian Gillies Interiors, photography Virginia Macdonald
Toronto Heritage Townhome - Gillian Gillies Interiors, photography Virginia Macdonald
Gillian Gillies Interiors Studio, photography Virginia Macdonald
Gillian Gillies Interiors Studio, photography Virginia Macdonald
Gillian Gillies Garden Headshot, photography Virginia Macdonald
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