Robyn Manning’s interior design company, Bricks + Birches, is having a moment. “Things are rocking,” says Manning, “starting to really snowball.” Where she started out doing residential projects—a lot of cottages on Nova Scotia’s rustic north shore or homes for young families in the city, hence the B+B name blending urban and rural—now, coming up […]
home style
Posted inLifestyle
How to win at auctions, both online and irl
Nova Scotia may not attract attention from high-end auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, but local firm Crowther & Brayley runs good auctions in hockey arenas (the next is March 21). And the world of online auctions is accessible from your phone. But just because any amateur can make a bid, doesn’t mean there aren’t […]
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My favourite room: Maia LaPierre’s TV-free living room
Up-and-coming interior decorator Maia LaPierre loves spending cozy evenings in front of the fireplace with her husband in their dusty pink living room. Filled with art, books and their record player, the room is missing an essential staple of typical living rooms: There’s no television. With the TV squared away in their small den, the […]
Posted inLifestyle
That sinking feeling—the serenity of a clean kitchen
Idon’t know who needs to hear this, but go clean your kitchen sink. Wash all the dishes, dry them, put them away and think of the sink itself as the last dish. Give that thing the scrubbing of its lifetime. Next—stay with me on this—dry that sink. With any old cloth, towel or rag you […]
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My favourite room: Kimi Willgress’ sunny kitchen
When Kimi Willgress retired from her career as a professional athlete, the Olympic snowboarder turned to art. Inspired by her uncle, she started creating and selling Prana Rocks—oil lamps made with Nova Scotia slate—as a side hustle until she just couldn’t keep up with demand on her own. “Showing people how to incorporate them into […]
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The French connection: a Parisian inspired model home
Robyn Manning is always thinking big picture. With a background in fine art, textiles and furniture, the principal designer behind Bricks & Birches—a design and consultation firm she founded in 2016—has her mind on sightlines, proportions and connections. It’s all about the collective concept, not just beautiful bits and pieces. Her latest feat of design […]
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Accessorizing with authority: A Q&A with Robyn Manning
As the owner of Bricks & Birches design and consultation firm, Robyn Manning likes to be on top of recent trends–and she’s always looking ahead. A couple of her current favourite looks contrast with one another: The monochromatic “organic modern” trend and the eclectic, more colourful aesthetic. Manning dished out some advice on how to […]
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Inside my digs: north end Halifax
It was practicality and convenience that sold Kaylin MacKenzie on becoming a condo owner. After years of renting, she’d realized that finding a place she loved wasn’t easy. “When I started crunching the numbers I realized that renting a place I would really like was not going to cost that much less than owning a […]
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Lofty goals
“It literally looks as much like a blank slate as possible, which is kind of intimidating at first, but luckily I kind of had a vision of what I wanted,” says Jillian Tonet of the north end loft she and her partner Crissy Goodwin bought about a year-and-a-half ago. The first-time home-owners were already sold […]
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Who’s the boss?
Katherine Cherry knows a thing or two about starting over. She’s moved a lot, and the arduous process of packing things, shipping things and leaving things behind has taught her a lot about furnishing a home, and investing in pieces that are worth holding onto. After studying at NSCAD, Cherry moved on to working in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dartmouth’s answer to the Casper bed
As someone who lives with fibromyalgia and has been through four car accidents, Bree Philippe knows what it’s like to deal with chronic pain. “As awful as all of those things were, they made me really good at my job,” she says. Philippe works for Comfort Foam—a small business owned by Emily Calkin—which specializes in […]
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My new digs: Bedford West
“Paying rent downtown is much as a mortgage payment,” says Lyndsey Gallant. And she’d know: Before becoming a first-time homeowner this fall, she spent 10 years renting in the middle of the action on Barrington Street. “I realized I’d rather put my money into something that I can get back. It’s an investment, and it’s […]