Yesterday I was walking along “West Queen St. West”, the hipper cousin to the commercial strip known as Queen West, and I came across a funky furniture store with some real Canadian flavour and heavy style going on (hence the name “Style Garage” I guess!). Style Garage has been at the corner of Queen and Shaw St. for at least a decade, and it’s a little slice of slick but homey/comfy design sense, midway between downtown and Parkdale, in the “Art and Design” district.
Style Garage’s designs are “made to order” and the showroom shows off some really cool furniture (such as that from associates “Gus Modern”), along with funky accessories, many with a heavy Canadiana theme that immediately brought Douglas Coupland to mind. There’s nothing tacky or old-fashioned here though, it’s a fairly serious but friendly vibe at the same time. Nifty pillows with screen printed maps of Canada, and a handful of books on art/design/photography (Bauhaus, Edward Burtynsky’s “Oil”) round out the shop – giving it the feel of a highly artistic and design-centric endeavor. It’s not too far from Trinity Bellwoods Park and I suggest it’s a great place to stop on a crosstown walk, after you have a lunch at a cafe and check out some of the art galleries in the area.
For more info and to peep some of their amazing furniture design go to http://www.stylegarage.com/
