There are exceptions - shows I can watch repeatedly - and Sarah Richardson's show is at the top of that list. Sarah is fun without being silly, energetic without perky. Her designs are never too cute, never too extravagant. I could live in her rooms without being intimidated by my own area rugs.
It helps that she's Canadian and lives in Toronto. I've been in most of the neighborhoods featured on her show and visited many of the stores she frequents. She's accessible.
When I first started watching Sarah's show, I wasn't in full design mode. I'd recently moved into an older home in North Toronto that had been tastefully updated by the previous owners. It's not a large house so the rooms dictated my furniture selection and I'd already chosen my paint colors - yellow in the common areas, soothing blues in the bedrooms. I made mental notes as I watched Sarah tackle similar homes in the event my budget someday permits a full scale renovation but in the interim my house make me happy and I'm confident Sarah would approve.
Instead, I looked to her for fashion cues. I work from home and my social life consists of meeting friends at my local Tim Hortons and Friday night burgers at Gabby's. There are few occasions in my life that require more than a pair of jeans and one of the white t-shirts I buy in multiples at Old Navy. But my inner fashionista recoils at having the Fonz as a fashion icon. Enter Sarah with her cute little jackets, colorful peasant shirts and high-heeled boots. A couple of trips to Winners and I'm convinced Sarah would approve of my wardrobe as well as my wall colors. My 50 year old feet are not happy in heels (although the heels with the jeans take a decade off my 50 year old backside) so I've resorted to wearing my old lady walking shoes to Tim's and save the boots for Gabby's.
I've yet to convince Henry, my hairdresser, that I can pull of Sarah's shag. Just as Sarah defers to her carpenters when they inform her that her design, while charming, is impractical, I bow to Henry's professional advice. We've compromised on long bangs.
I was very excited to learn that Sarah's newest show has her renovating a farm house. My boyfriend and I have been dreaming about pulling up stakes and moving to the country and our joint New Year resolution was to start looking at properties. I'm taking Sarah's show as confirmation that our time is now. It's already helped us narrow down the prospects - no log homes, no 1960s ranches (shudder) - we're looking for a century house that hasn't fallen too far into disrepair.
First step - find a pair of bright rubber boots, like Sarah's, that will accommodate my thick calves.
No comments:
Post a Comment