Come spring, sensible gals are scrubbing the floors and airing out the attic.

Drop the mop and forage for décor deals at HomeSense’s new downtown store. Set in a former bank (beauty products are shelved in the old safe), stock is geared to fashion-forward, space-challenged condo dwellers. We’re sprucing up with stackable reproduction Panton chairs ($79.99), union-jack pedal bins and a bright orange cooler-cart with built in bottle opener. Get there quick and you might snag one of five Picasso prints signed and numbered by the artist’s granddaughter.

With rooms this pretty, no one will notice the dust bunnies ’til autumn. —Marianne Wisenthal

HomeSense opens today at 82 Spadina Ave., Toronto, www.homesense.ca

Well-made pieces are worth looking after and re-upholstery will breathe new life into your beloved wingback or set of antique dining-room chairs.

Trust the folks over at G.H. Johnson’s Trading Co.  to do a fantastic job. Got a vintage Suzani textile tossing about? Bring it in with your favourite chair or ottoman and they’ll fashion it up in a couple of weeks.

From pillows to four-posters, no project is too big or small. And if you want to have a headboard or sofa made from scratch, visit the showroom and take your pick of style, materials and fabrics.

I’m having seat cushions ($25 each) made in a Josef Frank fabric this week and I can’t wait to see the results.
—Athena Tsavliris

G.H. Johnson’s Trading Co., 950 Dupont St., Toronto, 416-532-6700, www.ghjohnsontrading.com

Designing a nursery is easy. There is a ton of choice, and let’s face it, babies don’t really notice their rooms.

Decor gets more complicated for children and teens. Kids need a space that reflects their personality and style, but without compromising the taste of their parents. Which is why it came as great news that PB Teen now ships internationally.

The PB stands for Pottery Barn, and the stock reflects that: stylish and reasonably priced. The site sells great bedding and bathroom accessories but the study spaces are probably our favourite.

Now you won’t feel bad for sending them to their room. —ASI

www.pbteen.com

We always feel somewhat guilty sitting on floor models at stylish furniture shops. But at the launch of his flagship Toronto store, Domison, Montreal's Thien Ta Trung encouraged partygoers to lounge and enjoy every last piece.

While men went for sprawling sectionals and chartreuse couches, we couldn’t help but notice that most women (us included) were spun into the sleek web of one Tarantula chair. Wide, brushed metal arms and petite velvet cushion in a creamy almost-lilac shade: how very Miss Muffet. We asked attendees to speculate where this modern chair would fit best. Our favourite suggestion? Its lounging posture makes it perfect for the shampoo station in a hair salon. —Paige Dzenis

Domison, 35 Jarvis St., Toronto, www.domison.com

Will that great gallery art piece mesh with our beech Cherner chairs?

We’re solving décor dilemmas (and finding inspiration) at Love the Design. Christine Flynn’s new east end space carries hand-picked mid-century modern and French Industrial finds that create a perfect backdrop for her stunning photo and graphic-based art.

We love the resined vintage maps of Muskoka (from $225) and 1940s Toronto trolley roll signs ($950) set against 1920s apartment mailboxes ($3,495), Louis chairs upholstered in coffee bean burlap ($995) and walls papered in pages from an old Farmers Almanac. 

Still to come?  One-of-a-kind stationery and Flynn’s own line of gothic-style of pillows.

On second thought, the Cherners might be moving into storage.

Love the Design, 1362 Queen St. E., Toronto, 416-408-1727, www.lovethedesign.com – MW

Ever since The Star named Bathurst and Dupont the city’s latest ‘style mecca,’ curious shoppers have arrived in droves. Truth is, the intersection has been flourishing for some time with harbingers like Ewanika, Rapido and Bluebird Handmade leading the way.

Our newest find is the fabulous Burnett, a little gallery/boutique devoted to giving vintage furniture a fresh, modern spin.

It was a Tiffany blue desk in the window that caught our eye, but we could happily snap up most pieces in the store. A mid-century rosewood coffee table ($450) would look super underneath a fishbowl of fleurs and the latest issue of Living Etc. and we simply adore the pattern on this wingback chair ($1,250, pictured).

Off to the Annex we go.

Burnett Style, 1052 Bathurst St., Toronto, 647-347-9344, http://burnettstyle.com/

Some say Bertoias are as ubiquitous as Ugg boots, but we’ll take chairs over chuggs anyday.

We’d love to own the two black vinyl coated Bertoia chairs ($250) on Atomic Design’s newly launched online store. We’d add black patent seat pads and sit pretty all day.

While perusing the mid-century modern portal, we also fell for a beautiful Willy Johanssen glass vase ($300), a playful Guzzini thermal carafe ($60) and a fantastic Gaetano Scolari light ($1,700).

A girl can dream, no?

Atomic Design, 965 Queen St.W., Toronto, 416-912-2358, http://atomicdesign.ca

Remember when motherhood meant pouring martinis and playing bridge while baby sat in his playpen?

Now, between baby yoga, playdates and crafting class, you really have your hands full.

Take a load off with an Austrian felted lambswool baby swing ($215) created by the designer for his daughter.

With a rainbow of colour choices, they'll never cramp your style.

Exclusively at www.enfanterrible.com

Eco-friendly designers are proving it's more hip than hippie to go green.

Take Urban Tree Salvage, a company that turns every scrap of water-recovered and recycled wood  (sourced within 300 kilometres of their shop in Dwight, Ont.) into something beautiful, lasting and unique.

Like modern day Gepettos, the team at Urban Tree Salvage creates one-of-a-kind beds, tables, consoles, cutting boards and wine racks.

Just think, your dining room table might once have held a woodpecker’s perch.

Urban Tree Salvage, 19a Malley Rd., Scarborough, 647-438-7516, www.urbantreesalvage.com

If you wish you could live among the stylish and serene pages of Dwell, start by plonking your pre-schoolers in this heavy-duty swinging pod ($39.99) .

Tied to a tree it's an adventure playground; hung from the ceiling it's a quiet reading nook. 

And while it claims to help kids develop their sense of balance, it's the fact that "quiet time" is no longer a hard sell that has us spinning in circles.

At Ikea nationwide (air-filled pillow sold separately), www.ikea.com