PIMLICO DESIGN GALLERY 789 Dupont, 416-538-0909, pimlicogallery.com
You’d never guess that Tanya Velasevic used to be part of the beige brigade of designers who advocate nothing but neutrals for their interior clients. Her Pimlico shop in the Dupont design district is known for fearlessly colourful furniture and accessories.
“I was always a fan of colour but afraid to suggest it,” she says of her years in the industry when black, white and all the shades in between made up the preferred home palette. “But when I opened the store I thought, ‘I’m going to push colour.’ Design should be about colour!”
A perfect example of that style philosophy is Tahir Mahmood’s collection of lamps, mortar-and-pestle sets and candle holders, a line Velasevic discovered at the Interior Design Show. In 2010, the New York Times featured one of his rosewood rolling pins, and over 300 sales later, it’s still a bestseller.
Pimlico picks: Mahmood’s Tinga floor lamp mimics a stack of oversized wooden beads, $950 Montreal’s Frédérique Bonmatin creates equally colourful ceramic oil and vinegar bottles, $49 Andrea Ford’s ottomans are vintage pieces reupholstered with stag head and Union Jack print fabrics, $600 to $700.
Look for: A wall of wonky Mervi Haapakoski wine tumblers.
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday noon to 5 pm.