HOT TAKE Known for her layered, fashionforward interiors, Ali McQuaid Mitchell of Futurestudio shares what’s caught her eye recently.
DESIGN IDEA YOU’RE EXCITED TO TRY:
I’m obsessed with the idea of creating a kitchen with a mix of wood species, like walnut, Douglas fir, oak and ash. A patchwork kitchen concept.
KEY INFLUENCE ON DESIGN TRENDS: Reusing materials in a new way. When I walk into a project, the first thing I consider is what we can keep. I try to celebrate materials that are already on-site.
DESIGN MOTTO: Be a good listener.
INTO: Colourful stone. We’re working on a redesign of Bellwoods Brewery and making the bar out of Avogado quartzite.
OVER: Carrara marble.
HOW OFTEN YOU CHANGE THE DECORATING IN YOUR OWN HOME: Every weekend! I have a big art collection that I move around constantly. I also rearrange my sofas, lamps and chairs. There’s a furniture graveyard in my basement of things I move up and down.
ESSENTIAL DESIGN BOOK: Commune: Designed in California. The way they style their projects and use collections always feels very warm.
ITEM IN YOUR HOME THAT MOST REFLECTS WHO YOU ARE: A few years ago, I bought a set of eight dining chairs on Kijiji. I later learned they had been designed by the late architect Janis Kravis for the Three Small Rooms restaurant in the Windsor Arms Hotel.
They have a really good spirit, and I love that they were designed for a restaurant, which connects back to my own work.
1. Ali’s high-contrast kitchen design for the Geary Lofts building. 2. Avogado quartzite in Leathered finish. Pricing upon request. Ciot. 3. One of Ali’s treasured vintage dining chairs by Janis Kravis.
4. Commune: Designed in California. Abrams, 2014, $75.
“OUR PROJECTS COME TO LIFE QUICKLY — WHICH IS EXCITING”