BLACK is the new BLACK

It’s finally happened  …black is back!  Ok, so maybe it never really went away completely, but every where I look there are black walls, black rooms, black, black,black!  And I love it.  Dark and sexy, the best thing about black walls in a space is the walls really do disappear.  Black is a great background wall color to use when you have a large collection of artwork. If you plan to cover your walls with artwork and photographs try black.  Black in a small space really works well, you won’t believe how it feels, it’s like floating in space with your favorite possessions.  But don’t stop there… try dark grey and black horizontal stripes for even more impact, or stencil bamboo or branches on black walls with a clear gloss topcoat for a subtle detail that will catch the light beautifully.  

Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING BILBLOG PART OF YOUR DAY.

Kitschmas Eve

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care…

and the vintage Santas were out in full force!  I love everything about Christmas…  Shiny white lights on fresh cut trees, beautifully wrapped packages and naughty sweets otherwise not on my diet, and I love the chance to celebrate with a bit of silly kitsch… like my vintage Santa collection.  I typically use natural elements like pinecones, berries and raffia when decorating for Christmas and almost always use white lights when stringing the house or tree, but I reserve the right to mix in a bit of outragous and yes silly Christmas decor.  There are a few rules to go by however.  Keep it in one place, You will always make a stronger impact by keeping like items together.  Put it in the right place.  I like to create several trees in the house to allow me to use colored lights on one with handmade and vintage ornaments in the family room, one a bit more refined with white lights with a strong color theme in the living room and maybe a third in the kitchen with edible decorations.  Don’t over do it.  Tinsel is great but make sure your decorations don’t over take the tree and house, think about your Christmas decor complimenting your home, not hiding it.  OK, now your ready to take some risks and have some fun because it all gets put away for another year on December the 26th.  Merry Christmas to all.  I hope you day tomorrow is filled with love and laughter… and a little kitsch.

Danish Modern

The simple lines and warm wood tones make the modern yet retro feel of Danish modern very desirable these days.  Back in fashion after a long hiatus, collectors and regular folks with a good eye are buying up ( still at good prices ) desks, sideboards, chairs, beds, coffee tables and shelving in just about every size and shape they can find.  Everyone is after the simple and spare aesthetic perfect for a clean modern home, and it mixes well with other eras as well.  You get the soul of a gently used piece without the fussiness of an antique and the tones of wood are far from cold antiseptic white lacquer.  Danish is being reinterpreted into a cozy-modern, and the best news… they made a lot of it back in the day so finding a well priced piece or two is still easy. Mid-century has been hot for years but this trend toward Danish modern is going to become huge.

Interior Illustrations

I’m sorry I can’t give credit to the artists behind these beautiful illustrations because they are so well done and really capture the mood of the rooms.  When presenting to a client the fabrics and tear sheets can only take a person so far,  if the client doesn’t have the type of mind that allows them to “see” a completed room in their minds, drawings and paintings such as these can be vital to progress.  So, with that said the image the designer or artist creates really has to hook the client, doing so by evoking a style or mood that the client is attracted to.  That is something that is hard to talk about when debating interior design… that is, how a person feels in a room vs what a room looks like.  The later is easy to celebrate by way of photography; however the way a house, apartment or room makes a person feel when they are in it is relative.  Enter the illustration.  A person can see the finished room, long before the furniture is ordered and drapery sewn.  No every job requires such extensive visual aides but when necessary, there is no better way to get a point of view across.

Modernluxe – Black & Gold

I’m into black and gold right now.  Nothing says power and excessive luxury like black and gold in interior design. To keep the design from getting too carried away, too fancy, modern touches soften and add interest to this creative conference, meeting and lounge space by i29.  The thematic focus on the idea of a spotlight is immediately obvious to an occupant – from the large circular ceiling lights to the faux-shadows they cast on the floor and the spaces on the wall also implied by their presence. This repeated theme also offsets what might otherwise be a stuffy, overly-elegant space.  It’s mordernluxe.

Ultimately, this design strikes the right balance between conceptual and practical, artistic and functional. It serves its purposes well with ample light, seating, work and storage spaces but still makes for a radically unique office interior.

Winter Wonders

Usually at Christmas time I put small noble fir trees in the planters outside my front door, but this year I am a bit behind.  I needed a quick fix before company came and ended up stacking firewood and winding some bittersweet through and around the stack for a pretty ( and easy ) holiday look.  Holly would look pretty too, but I just love the colors of the bittersweet and it really lends itself to wrapping the logs as if it grew up through the stack.  Mother Nature was also on my side, the dusting of snow really finishes off the look.  No snow where you live?  Not a problem… they make faux-snow that you could add for a special event or party.

Christian Liaigre

Christian Liaigre designs set the standard for timeless luxury in indoor and outdoor furniture, lighting and textiles.  Design inspirations range from the French modernists to equestrian living to strong Asian influence.  Liaigre’s juxtaposition of indigenous materials and flawless design began the clean and classically modern aesthetic so en vouge today.

He tells it best in his own words, touching on his formative days in the west of France, where he was born, and alluding also to the tools and methods of his adult career: “Those years of contemplation,” says Christian Liaigre, “have generated a creative spirit based on the use of materials such as wood weathered by the sea and the sand, as well as fine leathers worked according to the traditions of saddle making.” He upholds the principles of understatement and simplicity yet is apt to interweave a touch of poetry, both in his work and his manner of speaking. And if there’s something he does not like, as, for example, seeing little difference between fashions and interiors–the last-named encompasses furniture, a major factor in his business operations–he’s equally outspoken.  Liagre studied at the Paris Academy of Fine and Decorative Arts, then taught drawing techniques at the Academy Charpentier. This was when memories of artists like Brancusi and Giacomettie were still alive. But when, in the 1960’s, the cultural climate radically changed, he quit the city and returned to the countryside. Back again in the early ’70’s, he did his Maison Mobilis stint; in ‘87, he opened his own studio. He employs 13 interior designers and architects; Virginie Liaigre, his daughter, is the press attache. Major completed jobs include the Market restaurant in Paris and the Mercer Hotel and the Rupert Murdoch residence, both in New York. As it happens, domestic housing on several continents presently predominates among projects in work. In Mr. Liaigre’s vocabulary, global is indeed a household word.

Candy Shop

I am being influenced by my New York state of mind these days and look at what I’ve found.  It’s a candy dish of little lights, how could anyone not love these?  They are the perfect little light for a small occasional table.  I would use these little lights to light dark spots where just a dab of ligth is needed.  40 watt bulbs would cast the perfect amount of lights from these.  Oh, and how to I forget to mention that they are… Thomas O’Brien, he can do no wrong.

White Kitchens

I’m digging the funky vintage vibe of these kitchens!  there is a 60’s / 70’s energy that feels cool and edgy… young.  It is easy to get caught-up in what is popular in home remodeling at the moment you find yourself making (lifelong) decisions.  My advice is to make sure the kitchen reflects the architecture of the home, that way it will always feel appropriate.  Highlights: Wall of lacquered white cabinets; continuous wood counter top with all stainless base cabinets.

Clean & Simple

Some people like their surroundings unadorned.  Life lived without the excess than can sometimes become a weight.  Everyone knows how great a room can look right after it has been cleared, painted and reassembled, you know… before the clutter comes back, before the do-dads that you didn’t even buy start creeping back into your space… Enough already!  Go get a few big cardboard boxes and start putting away you don’t use, get rid of things that are broken or that you just don’t need.  Then ask yourself what needs to be replaced or freshened up.  Make a plan to replace major items and set a course toward clean lines and simple shapes.  Putting things in their place makes a big difference to the look of a room, create systems to stay organized and clutter free and a clean, simple AND beautiful room isn’t far behind.

House Plants

There are many types of house plants, and they can really add something wonderful to a space when appropriate, but my theory is if you can’t keep them looking healthy, don’t keep them.  Nothing will bring a room down faster than a sick, unhealthy plant.  Feng Shui enthusiasts will tell you it’s a very bad idea to keep less than healthy plants around, but thats a different blog.  When my clients ask what types of plants I recommend I usually suggest Ponytail palm for modern settings, and  the fiddle leaf fig in more traditional environments.  They are both hearty and easy to keep, they grow slowly so they don’t tend to outgrow their surroundings.  Stay away from Ficus, they are so temperamental and expensive for a plant that is difficult to keep alive.  There is, however, more to indoor gardening when you care about how our home or business looks.  You must put the extra effort into chosing a decorative container to keep the specimen in that suits your decor.  Make sure the plant has proper drainage into something that will protect your floors from over flow and don’t over water, nothing will kill a plant faster.  A trick I use is to fill between the plants pot and the basket, urn, or what have you with packing peanuts or plastic bags, this nonabsorbent material will help support a top layer of Spanish moss to give that finishing touch to your plant.  I recommend talking to a local nursery to find out what other types of plants will flourish in the environment you have to keep it in.  Good Luck.

SNAPshot

The sumer is as far away, but it will come around as it does every year after a snowy winter.  One of the best things about moving to the east coast has been the seasons.  I love the uniqueness of each and find myself missing one, enjoying one and waiting for one all at the same time most days.  I’m enjoying the bundling up and bustling around this holiday season, but I can’t wait for July!  Enjoy the idea of summer for just a moment and then get back to your holiday To Do list.

More (Headboard) To Love

I love beds.  I love bed.  I love the safe and cozy feeling of being under a heavy comforter, with yards of plush fabric behind me on a soft headboard.  This extended headboard seems to put its arms around the night stands and hold them safely, close to the duvet and pillows.  It also adds a feeling of luxury, if your not the drapery type the additional fabric adds softness to a room… in a modern way.  And… the low horizontal line of the headboard supports the quiet updated mid-century vibe found throughout the room. The pillows on the bed are the only tweak this room needs, I would prefer two long bolsters, or three euro squares to all those small pillows.

Planning A Room

Planning a room can happen by just pulling things from another room because people often choose things that become interchangeable  with other rooms, try mixing it up by swapping two chairs from different rooms.  It can be trickier to furnish an entire room, with no real starting point, it is a daunting task to some.  The most important thing to designing a comfortable and beautiful room one must consider the floor plan and scale of furnishings.  These are the bones of a well-appointed room and the thought and forethought will garner a room that suits your needs, and looks good doing it.  Once a floor plan is complete an elevation drawing can be helpful to see how a room will look when finished.  Remember to keep it in scale or you may end up with a room that looks better on paper.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Seriously… these cookies were brought to a holiday party I went to recently.  They are not store bought!  A young woman hand made each of these picture perfect cookies to bring to her husbands employers holiday party… can you believe it?  She should be working for Martha with this much talent.  And yes, they tasted good too.  Good design doesn’t have to be a house, sofa, lamp, bed, car, or watch… it’s everywhere.   Hidden Message: Look for the beauty in small things and appreciate the efforts of others this holiday season.

As Found – 1st Dibs

Love this cast aluminum horse ride ornament I came across on 1st Dibs.  I was looking for some of my sterling sliver pattern from Georg Jenson and found this cool sculpture… it’s only $1400. from Chez Camille in LA.  They always have a great selection of unique stuff that is so fun to finish off projects with.  Not everyone needs an aluminum horse, but as modern sculpture the price tag is cheap, and I love the vintage/modern thing with the paint removed… it’s Jeff Koons-esque.

Add Color, Anywhere!

It’s easy to add a little color, anywhere.  My best advice is to not make a large financial commitment to it if your not sure of the longevity of your choice.  Inexpensive ways to add color could include an accent wall of strong color, or the inside backs of bookcases…  for a gallon of paint and a little elbow grease you can make a great impact.  Don’t want or need that much color?  Go for a pair of pillows for your sofa or bed, hot color trends right now include: Orange, Pear Green, Purple and Fuchsia.  If you’re going to go the pillow route, make sure the fabric has visual interest, a shiny silk could look great, or a nubby texture or a small geometric pattern.  If you’re a bit more sure about your commitment to color, then my advice to remember to keep the chosen accent color, an accent.  The image I’ve chosen for this post shows bold color used in a very pleasing way.  A safe rule of thumb is to use a small amount of strong color, medium amounts of mid range colors and the majority a neutral tone or tones.  I say safe because that “rule” can and should be broken, but better to have help from a professional if you really want to take a leap into color.

Interior Design by: Woodson & Rummerfield

Richard Barnes

Hands down one of my most favorite contemporary photographers, Richard Barnes continues to thrill with images of bird formations, the Golden Gate Bridge, the unabomber cabin and other provocative subject matter.  I react to his images on many levels, firstly the subject matter.  His series on nests is one of my favorites, I get lost in the architecture of the found object turned birds nest and in the idea of hiding safely in one… I drift off as the black on black flocked Victorian wallpaper slowly comes into focus in the background.

“In 1995 Barnes began a project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and commissioned by The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to document the renovation of The California Palace of the Legion of Honor. Originally conceived as a museum for the exhibition of European decorative art and sculpture, it had suffered severe damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. As the renovation and excavation for new galleries commenced, it was discovered that the museum had been built upon what was once Golden Gate Cemetery. What began as architectural documentation turned into an investigation into the largest post-gold rush era cemetery ever excavated. Over two years, applying his experience from the excavations in Egypt, Barnes created a body of work documenting the disinterment of hundreds of burials from beneath the foundations of the museum.

The resulting exhibition, titled Still Rooms & Excavations is an examination of the role that museums play in society, posing the question; ‘How does an institution determine what is to be saved and validated and what is to be discarded and forgotten? Whose past is worthy of collection and preservation and whose is expendable and why?’ The exhibition was first shown at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego. It was later exhibited at the George Eastman House/International Center for Photography, San Francisco Camerawork and the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

Following the trajectory of the artifacts extracted from the ground, to their placement in museums and other exhibiting institutions, Barnes began a body of work based on the role of the museum in contemporary culture. Working first in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo then extending his research to include such collections as those in the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Comparative Anatomy in Paris and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This work looks at the museum as a “container” of the celebrated and the forgotten, the odd and the everyday, representative of the dreams and aspirations of the person, culture or nation that assembled it”.

Excerpt from: www.richardbarnes.net, read the entire bio there.

Italian Twins

LOVE this pair of Italian Aluminum Trunk End Tables, made in Italy probably from the 1960s.  The details of the riveted aluminum and brass strapped tables are great… they have some soul thanks to the “gentle use” patina, they don’t look too new. They would be excellent sofa or bedside tables that also provide storage… perfect for apartments or any tight spot you may need a table.  The price if they are still available was around $2200, but thats if they are still there.  Because they are vintage, when they’re gone, they’re gone.  I’m not giving up the source of these, it’s one of my favorite spots to shop for odd curiosities and unusual pieces, but contact me if you’re interested in them.