I recently spent one weekend painting and taking creative photos in the loft. Art has always provided the biggest inspiration for me and so I knew this space needed to be a bit on the eclectic side while still being comfortable.

Drawing from some great shoots I’ve spotted in House & Home magazines while doing photo gallery sourcing for the web, staff designer Joel and I started piecing together the loft’s look and feel.

Walking along Queen St. West I stopped in at many galleries and unique home stores. Enlarged photos made a nice statement in this piece and I considered wall art based on closely cropped computer printouts.

This Wendy Walgate piece at the Beverly Owens Project was of inspiration because of its colours and playfulness.

Playdoh on display at the Drake Hotel General Store caught my eye as it could make a unique addition as an accessory, but perhaps too playful and not on par with the loft's polished feel.

At Style Garage this metal trough caught my eye since I loved the simplicity yet flexibility to change the objects inside – from plants to fruits to candy and to Lego.

Taking a step back, we scoped out big pieces. All the accessories would need great display surfaces. Here’s a piece we considered at Elte. We took many photos and sifted through numerous options for each piece.

I loved the architecture of this lamp at Elte and thought it would complement any artwork.

After driving to many stores in search of furniture that we’d borrow for the shoot, we focused on big statement art pieces. Renting art is an affordable way to make a big impact. There were many options at Gallery 133, including this still lift. This is where I learned that, in most cases, if an artist doesn’t sign the painting, there is freedom to have it on display in any direction, though this is mostly applicable to abstracts.

At Galerie Lausberg this Sophie Defrancesca sculpture was on display. I loved its form but also appreciated that its presence wasn’t overbearing since it was made of chicken wire. It is great for an airy and open space.

In a single day we scoped for items in many design pockets of the city that I’ve never been to. My favourite was Rosedale’s Main St. Many of the stores we visited were retailers that I had been calling to gather contact info, so it was nice to put a faces to names

Packing all our finds into a small car gave me that designer-on-the-go feeling.

Delivery day: what a task it was bringing up so many large objects in a small elevator!

Here’s a sneak peak of items we were considering for the shoot. It was interesting to learn how certain positions, arrangements and colours that work in real life, won’t read well with the camera.