know, you like Ikea. I like it too. Remember, though, you used to like milk crate bookcases and beanbag chairs and lava lamps and bead curtains. It's time to grow up. Besides, Sweden is taking over the world; quell its advances by aiding other Euro imperialists.

Stacaro, a Quebec-based, multi-location, non-chain, specializes in imported furniture for grown-ups with Old Country tastes, well-in-the-black accounting, and large home spaces. A self-proclaimed provider of L'Art de vivre, the art of living, Stacaro was begun by Frenchman, Stanislas Didier (you can't get a much more European name than that).

Though Stacaro leans heavily on the stately, especially in the cabinet and bookshelf realm, it also offers clean, homey pieces that will withstand the daily assault of kid play. With an extensive line of nouveaux, Versailles-ish mirrors, Phantom-ready Chandeliers, and smoking-lounge-suited seating (leather chairs), Stacaro draws furniture aristocrats and blue-blooded upstarts, without excluding the bourgeois. -S.T.

2035 Stanley Street
Montreal, QC
514-287-9800