How to shoplift ideas – Mile End edition

The weekly micro-decorating newsletter * Issue 8 of 13, SS25 *
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It's a guy-with-an-eye tradition to check out store displays for ideas to take home. It's a perfectly legal form of shoplifting and it's also a lot of fun. Now that I'm in Montreal for a chunk of the summer, let's make a six-stop tour of my favourite neighbourhood here, Mile End, to see what's eye-catching and worth making your own.

Joie de Livres

This new bookstore on Saint Laurent has a clever premise: it stocks French and English editions of the same title, shelving them side by side. Canada's "two solitudes" are nestled next to one another in a playful melding of our linguistic differences.

I love the shop's imaginative signage:

It captures an essential truth: there's something cozy and inviting about the shape of an open book or magazine. And it takes almost no effort to create this effect in a room. Pull something off the shelf, flip to an interesting spread, and find a spot for it to shine. Toronto's vintage dealer inabstracto proves how simple yet appealing this technique is:

It's a surefire winner with lavish art or photography books, like my treasured ABBA tome:

So if you were gifted a book that's been gathering dust, give it a second look and see if one of its spreads could brighten up your space.

Butterblume

Butterblume is a combination restaurant and mini grocery store that's known for its flavourful offerings:

I've only visited the grocery store side, where I'm a fan of the delicious gravlax sandwich, and every time I'm there I take in the artfully arranged produce at the counter:

Somehow, these clusters on a tabletop are so much more striking that what you typically see on a routine shopping excursion. They're a three-dimensional still life painting – and a vivid reminder that eggplants aren't just emoji:

You can achieve this colourful sense of plenty at home by slowing down the next time you make a salad, letting the ingredients have a moment of glory on your kitchen counter.

You can also think beyond the fruit bowl, allowing its contents to be decorative in unexpected places:

Phonopolis

This little record shop on Bernard has a tantalizing collection of discs and I'll soon be back for another browse...

...but in the meantime, what stayed with me are the handmade dividers helping you find your favourite artists:

The misaligned characters are adorable. It's as if the names have a case of the hiccups. You can seek out this pleasing irregularity by looking for posters that have offbeat typography, like this Helvetica poster I picked up at 313 Design Market a while back:

But you can also simply arrange books or objects at home with a deliberate focus on ragged edges:

It's a way of celebrating the unruly life of the things we collect.

Drawn & Quarterly

Down the street from Phonopolis is Drawn & Quarterly, a famous bookshop and publisher of graphic novels. You know you're entering creative territory when you arrive at the super-weathered ramp at the entrance:

It's bound to have survived many Montreal winters, and still the wrecked surface persists. A timeworn patina is something retailers use to attract our interest, even though it's often manufactured rather than real. It's probably what compelled me to pick up this brass rhino from CB2 a few years ago, still one of my favourite desk objects:

There's a lesson here in learning to appreciate what's truly worn, rather than resorting to artificial equivalents. Take a look around your home and see if something you thought needs replacing – a well-loved carpet, a cherished armchair – can be appreciated as it is, with all its imperfections.

Bond Vintage

Bond Vintage is one of Montreal's best vintage stores, so it's a regular pitstop for me. On my latest visit, I got a kick out of this twisty array of lamps:

Normally, a table lamp appears solo, so a quartet like this one is fresh and unexpected. If you have an object in multiples, try the simplest arrangement possible – a lineup – and see if aesthetic sparks ensue. It's something I attempted with these spinning tops by Tahir Mahmood...

... and it's a trusty fallback when I'm not sure how to display something.

A St Urbain garden

Okay, it's not in a store, but this garden gnome stole my heart:

There's nothing like a figurine to take your space from dull to dynamic. My go-to at home is a Cubebot, who's always finding new places to settle:

Whatever your figurine, it's a good idea to let it circulate like an enthusiastic pet, to keep your home in a state of creative flux.

Now it's your turn

The next time you're out shopping, pause when you feel a chill of excitement. There's probably a thoughtful display that's behind the drama. Take a moment to study what's in front of you – and imagine how to recreate it at home. It's one of the best approaches to creating an interior that delights you.

Thank you for reading.