BAA In Your Space: Chad Burton

Designer Chad Burton is one of the top fashion & still life stylists in Toronto, always busy working on lush magazine editorials and fun ad campaigns (including Pam Anderson's SONSIE Skincare line this past summer). We have been so lucky that he has chosen props and products from BAA BAAZAAR for several such campaigns, over the years.

I have become one of his many loyal followers on Instagram and truly LOVE the playfully luxurious, yet accessible, design tips he offers, and felt he would be the perfect person to interview this holiday season.

I arrived at Chad's stunning condo at exactly 2pm. On the dot. This was the time that we had arranged to meet, and when he opened the door, dressed in an accent colour that perfectly complimented his home, I exclaimed "Hello! This is the first time I have ever been exactly on time for ANYTHING ever in my life! How ARE you?!"

And so our visit began with perfect timing, which was fitting because everything in Chad's home is, to me, PERFECT.

How would you describe your personal space and/or work space and approach to decoration?

Chad Burton: I think my place is eclectic and cozy and has a visual language of favouring craft and vintage over newly bought. I want people to instantly understand my brain a little when they walk in the space and see the pieces my husband and I have made or collected over the years.

What colours, textures, eras, modes, media, or aesthetics inspire you?

Chad Burton: I'm all in for colour and the way different combos of colour relate to each other - bold in modern and traditional interpretations so era isn't really important. Though being in Greece recently I was obsessed with the color combos on the older buildings near the Parthenon that had this clay tile with decorative edges called Akrokeramo. But I can find inspiration everywhere from runway to vintage stores to Pinterest and Instagram and of course World of Interiors.

Real quick - how did you start as a stylist/designer?

Chad Burton: I took a Visual Communications course at a small college in Alberta but wasn't ready to sit at a computer all day, so ended up teaching English in South Korea. The fashion scene there was so inspiring I started documenting it on a blog and then just decided, I'm going to be a stylist and pursued that by styling DIY shoots with friends and making connections with photographers and magazines. With interiors, I really enjoyed decorating the first condo my husband and I bought and love bold colour choices so just built on that. Fashion is fleeting but I think I was craving being a part of making something that someone can live with for longer periods of time.

How would you say your aesthetics and design interests have influenced the design choices in your home?

Chad Burton: Are they at all different from your design work outside of the home? I think they both blend nicely together. My husband coined the term Restrained Maximalism when describing our home once and I think that resonates. Rather than bold for bold sake everything everywhere all at once kind of maximal it's a bit more thoughtful and edited. Well, thats a bit less so when the holiday decorations come out.

What inspires you creatively, and how do you express those ~ creative impulses~?

Chad Burton: Honestly I realized in the past few years the importance of having creative outlets that have nothing to do with a client. Where I can get dirty and create and not follow someone else's art direction - be that taking a hand building ceramics class with Julie Moon or styling creative editorial shoots with a team just based on our ideas. Tablescaping for dinners or parties with friends also feels more organic and personal. One day I hope to move to some village in a warm country and just create for myself as an artist, be that through painting or ceramics or craft and live a slower life.

When did you first realize how important defining your personal space was, and how did you begin exploring it?

Chad Burton: The pandemic really solidified things but I've always been pretty particular about my room or my home. For so many years it felt out of reach budget wise or I was just living too transient of a lifestyle to put much focus on it, but since nesting in Toronto I've come to believe that you need a warm and layered home space to truly unwind.

What are three words (open to adjectives for sure but feel free to throw out some verbs) that define your approach to creating or revitalizing space?

Chad Burton: Layered joy and moments of wonder.

What advice would you offer (in any way, shape, or form) to someone who wants to bring a bit more ~jazz~ to their spaces, but are perhaps uncertain where to begin?

Chad Burton: Paint hands down. It changes your perspective on a space. I don't understand how so many people are okay with living in a blank white void all the time.

Are there any movies/media/art that you turn to for inspiration? Just more generally: what feeds your taste?

Chad Burton: Inspiration can come from anywhere you just have to be open to seeing the signs. What is lingering in your mind when you see something? What makes your pupils widen, etc. I find checking out art museums when traveling is a great way to fill that inspiration cup but a wander through a new neighbourhood or just an obscure back alley in a familiar place can inspire new colour combinations or ways to look at texture.

Can you name a few items at Baa that you might love for yourself or think would make great gifts?

Chad Burton: Obsessed with the hand forged steel rose that I once used in an Aldo x Disney campaign but then purchased again for myself to display. Something so lovely about the hard and soft of it all. I'm a sucker for a stripe so these pilar candles or baubles are an easy gifting choice as is this trinket dish for keys and loose change. You can't go wrong with a coffee table book and Beata Heumans POV is always chock full of inspiration.