The Toronto Star Room to Dream

(Home Theater Seating by Concordian Entertainment Seating)

Evolution to Dream Home a Multi-Sensory Design Space
Home Theater Seating by Concordian Entertainment Seating

TORONTO, ON, March 1, 2004 - 90 seconds. Zero-gravity hang time. Sensory blast.  If you thought this sounded like the newest thrill ride at Canada’s Wonderland, you’d be wrong. This full-throttle experience is the Toronto Star Room to Dream - where interior design meets interactive production - happening at the 2004 National Home Show.

Situated in the Heritage Court, Room to Dream is the evolution of the Dream Home in every sense. The exterior structure has been stripped away, thereby symbolically removing the cumbersome design limitations of having to conform to an overall theme and style.

"Room to Dream is about just that - dreaming, and dreaming big," says Interior Designer Lynelle Madison, who along with Rick Davis Promotions, is responsible for the overall vision of the feature. "To inspire an instant-gratification culture, we had to recreate an experience for visitors who demand more in their every indulgence."

The concept of this exciting, 10,000 square foot new feature pivots around a multi-sensory space that pushes the design limits, inviting the visitor to interact in each of the five rooms by tapping into all the human senses. So rather than the visitor seeing a ‘view’ of the rooms, they interact in an environment that is multi-sensory. The tour begins with visitors stepping into a high-class elevator, which climbs up and up, delivering its passengers to the top penthouse suite. Once off the elevator, visitors will attempt to orient themselves - surely they couldn’t be 50 stories off the ground! All sensory perceptions will indicate that in deed, they are up amongst the clouds in a Manhattan-style power loft overlooking New York City!

This is where attention-to-detail reigns supreme because typically it is difficult to achieve multi-sensory elements as perceptual conflicts can occur. But metaphorical images from the real world have been intelligently used ensuring that visitors use their perceptions to decipher information the same way they do in the real world. For instance, visitors will exit the elevator into a vintage-style screening / media room and wonder where they are. They will look for symbols to explain where they are and immediately they will see New York’s skyline out the window. Of course, these are simply digital
images of New York City, but their perceptions of it are realistic.

This first of the three rooms designed by Lynelle Madison exudes the glamour of a prominent Manhattan film producer, who is  always ready for a black tie soirée or a celebrity wrap party. A spiral staircase leads to a loft where, looking up, the tufted stretch ceiling is a visual delight. Visitors may feel for a moment what stardom feels like when they enter the vintage-style screening/media room. Many sensory elements will be happening at once to involve each visitor in the experience (Seating by Concordian Entertainment Seating).

The illusion of fantasy is enhanced dramatically as visitors enter a bridge, which separates each room and acts as a ‘sorbet’ in the sense that it cleanses the palette and prepares visitors for the next sensory feast. While on the bridge, dry ice will simulate the clouds with the twinkling lights of the city below. Each person will feel like they’ve truly left one experience and entered a new, completely different experience. With 15 people touring each mini-production at a time, visitors will surely appreciate their time in each space, rather than shuffling through like a herd of cattle.

The tour continues with one of the favourite rooms in the house: the kitchen. But as visitors will come to expect the unexpected, this room is unlike any kitchen they’ve ever seen. It’s a Kasbah-fusion market with a Moroccan ‘snug’ (a tented-dining area) punctuated with Indonesian furnishings. Complete with fireplace, fabric-draped walls, peaked windows overlooking a Zen garden, and a mock market of flowers, fruits & vegetables, this kitchen pulls together a number of eastern philosophies to achieve a most splendid tappas of sensory delights.

The next two rooms - the rainforest spa & bath and master bedroom - are both extraordinary experiences. The bathroom resembles a mystical dream sequence of curved walls resembling a cross-section of layered rock over thousands of years creating a natural wave effect. The rainforest experience is found everywhere in the bathroom spa, from the canopy ceiling of translucent tropical greenery to the eucalyptus aroma and forest sounds.

The master bedroom is designed by the hosts of Arresting Designs, Jeffrey Fisher and Tammy Schnurr. Perhaps the room of a former model, a revolving entrance door to this stylish master suite evokes the sense of walking into a grand lobby, art deco-era ballroom or cruise ship. The bedroom features a multi-level floor design, including a wall of mirrors lining a runway area, just like the designer runways of Paris. A dazzling display!

The Room to Dream tour ends with a kids bedroom and play area - a virtual adventure for all ages! Jennifer Sanginesi, from The Decorating Challenge, was the creative force behind this magical kids room, working collaboratively with Lynelle Madison to reach new heights. The earth theme - water, land and sky - is ubiquitous in this kid’s space. Both a boy’s and girl’s bedroom attaches to a circular, tented play area in the middle of the room where a giant tree supports a tree house; childhood’s castle in the sky. The girl’s bedroom reflects an underwater mermaid theme, with faux-coral bedroom furniture. The big, blue sky characterizes the boy’s bedroom theme, with gravity-defying floors and furnishings. What a note to end on!

With visitors’ imaginations as high as the clouds, they won’t likely come back down for a while. And this is exactly the intention - to feel alive, awakened, and maybe even feel inspired enough to reach for the skies!

The Toronto Star Room to Dream is open for viewing during the National Home Show from Friday, April 9th until Sunday, April 18th at The National Trade Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. Show hours: Weekdays: 12 noon to 9:30 p.m.; Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; and Sundays 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission: Adults $13.00; Seniors (65+) $8.00; Juniors (ages 13 - 17) $8.00; Children 12 and under free. Two-day Idea Pass $20.00 - valid for any two days. Free daycare with paid admission.  Public hotline: (416) 385-1880. Toll-free: 1-888-823-7469. Website: www.nationalhomeshow.com