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IF IT’S RARE TO FIND a family that can work together, it’s rarer still to find one that, at the end of a long workweek, can’t wait to get to the cottage to spend more time together. Ken and Renee Metrick and their sons, Andrew and Jamie, are the third and fourth generation of Metricks overseeing Elte, the wildly successful Toronto-based home decorating juggernaut founded by Ken’s grandfather 100 years ago in 1919. Almost a century later, in 2015, the family expanded its refined sensibility with Elte Mkt, a sister brand focused on affordable luxury. The Metricks also own kitchen...

Pink is perplexing. Is there another colour more frequently pigeonholed as prissy? Come to think of it, there are only two colours in the history of design and fashion that have been subjected to gender assignment: pink and blue. But is pink the sole property of the poodle skirt? Certainly not! Hipsters and hooligans from Berlin to Brooklyn have been adding an edge to the latest passion for pink in ways that might make you, well, blush. Pink is having a moment, but it isn’t the first. Decade after decade, we push pink out of the proverbial closet and into...

I have a file I call my “Forever File” that contains photos of rooms I can’t throw away because they continue to inspire me. I go through it a few times a year to see if I still feel the same way, and I usually find a few images that no longer cut it. The trendier the style, the faster they date, I find.There is one shot, though, that I’ve had for years and can’t let go of. It’s of a room with a kitchenette in the background and a living-dining area in the foreground. It’s small, and the decorating...

“I just knew this was it!” says Toronto designer Tiffany Piotrowski, describing her first visit to the cottage. “It was only the second property I saw, and I put in an offer right away.” Other prospective buyers with less imagination may not have felt the same way. The interior left much to be desired, with dark wood panelling, popcorn ceilings, and orange and brown patterned carpeting. However, the location couldn’t be beat: the 800-square-foot cottage was just two blocks from the beautiful beaches of Lake Huron and a five-minute walk to the main street of Sauble Beach, a small town...

As a child, my summers started with a 12-hour car ride from the middle of Alberta to the interior of British Columbia. My sisters and I would only be allowed one break, so we’d settle in for the ride, limbs all askew, reading books, playing car games but mostly just idly looking out the window. As the golden hue of the Prairies morphed into the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, we would call out familiar landmarks along the way — the Calgary Tower, the Three Sisters mountain range, the Enchanted Forest theme park — each one bringing us a step...