At teb Interiors, we are always on the lookout for the coolest of the latest and greatest trends. The most recent of which is Comic Book artwork. Whether it’s the POW and ZAP typography or the graphics of a damsel in distress coloured in the halftone technique ala Roy Lichtenstein, Comic Book design is here and we couldn’t be happier to get our Geek on. It’s all over the fashion world, on t-shirts, shoes and leggings and we feel that it belongs in the home as well. So when we were approached by our client who is an avid Comic Book fan but also works in the heart of Toronto’s Financial District, we were up, up and away and stoked to build him his own Fortress of Solitude.
This Queen Street Loft is nothing short of spectacular. It's cool, it's sophisticated and it's 'Cheeky' with its splashes of Comic Book references. Our client didn’t want a whole bunch of ‘things’ around. He likes a more minimal less ‘dust collecty’ style. So we kept the tchotchke levels down but still added enough to ensure the room didn’t look empty.
As Designers, we like to use items that give a ‘found object’ feel and use them in a standard application so we opted for these great vintage looking metal trunks from CB2 as a nightstand beside the bed. We stacked two of them on top of each other, each in a different colour. The artwork from Denial Art is the key here. It’s what gives us that bright, colourful Pop-Art, Comic Book edge we were aiming for.
We also get this effect from the custom teb Interiors pillow on the bed. Constructed from a premade Superhero fabric, we embellished it with a glitter burst and appliqued a large ‘POW’ in a custom made half tone style fabric.
Then, rounding up the Comic Book portion is the Oracle dresser from Design Republic with a custom Comic Book print, resin coated to the face. We used one large, oversized print and divided it into four pieces, one for each drawer front.
The trick is to not bombard the space with a ‘theme’, if everything in the room is of the same theme or style, it’s just too much. Remember, everything in moderation. Coco Chanel once said “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one accessory” and we feel the same can be applied in the home especially when designing with a theme.
The executive part of this room comes from one of our own beds that we call the ‘Draper Bed’. It’s sleek, masculine and we wrapped it in a super dark, navy Men’s wool suiting with a very subtle baby blue window pane check pattern on it. We added a light tufted detail using buttons we made from a tan coloured leather to mimic Men’s Oxford dress shoes. There is nothing sexier than a man in an impeccable navy, plaid 3 piece suit with tan leather dress shoes.
Sure, it’s Comic Books, but despite that, we managed to keep the room grown up and sophisticated. The Comic Book detail adds to the room and is what makes it cool and edgy, but it’s surrounded by neutrals and low key items that keep it grounded and grown up.
