Trick or Treat

I love this time of year when the leaves are still changing and the nights are filled with the scent of fireplaces burning.  A time for sprits to visit, door bells to ring and children to dream and imagine being something else for a day.  I love knowing family will be together on coming holidays and enjoying friends on Halloween.  Have a safe and fun Halloween!

I Miss Summer (already)

East coast living has got its ups and it also has its downs.   A cold and wet ( and not to mention rainy ) weekend in New England has me missing summer.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a quiet snow and a mid-winter walk in the frozen park across the street.  But there’s nothing like fresh lobsta and sweet corn and a warm night outside with friends.  Saw this the other day on the Dransfield & Ross website and I felt a tug on a string attached to my heart, for just one more of those lazy days before we get the frozen parks, you know?  Maybe I will get some of these anyway so I have them for next year, I love setting a nice table, and I have said it before… it is even easier to set a table when you have a theme to work with.  These wonderful place mats practically set the table for you, with corn & lobster you don’t even need a fork, just a heavy supply of napkins.

OOOPS… & Thank You!

I missed a day…  Sorry if you stopped by and found nothing new to read.  Hopefully you scrolled back and read older posts you hadn’t read before.  I have come to love the time I spend looking for  content, how it might relate to what is going on in my life at the time and putting it together in a way that is good looking (because that counts for a lot), interesting (or you might not come back) and fresh.  Design for me is so much larger than the frame of interior design.  I love what I do but this blog helps me celebrate design beyond four walls and I hope you enjoy my rantings.  I guess now would be the perfect time to thank you for reading and looking at my blog.  I am sometimes shocked at the number of people who “stop by” on a daily basis.  So THANK YOU!

Strong Arm

WOW.  Love this wall mounted light.  Black makes such a statement.  Well, it is technically oil rubbed bronze, and the strength of this finish is a great way to punctuate a room.  The photo above is really dark-centric – dark lights, dark bed, dark frames and it is great looking, but if you have a softer palette a few carefully chosen items in a dark finish can really wake up a room and add strength.  It’s really about adding contrast to a room.  The dark elements become sculptural so make sure the pieces you choose a dark finish for are ones you want to stand out.  There is also a masculine edge to dark finishes that can cut soft pretty spaces, balancing the feminine elements.

This fixture is the perfect reading light or task light where ever you might need a strong, focused source.  I seem to always be drawn to furnishings that combine an element of modernism and traditionalism, and this piece has it… It is one of those go anywhere type of accessories.  Made by Visual Comfort, it is available through Surroundings and other Interior Designers.

Beyond The Crate

Love your dog as much as I do?  Love your interiors as much as I do?  If you answered yes to either question you have to check out Beyond The Crate, a website dedicated to better pet supplies.  At First glance you might wonder what this ovoid shaped form is, sitting on the floor of your aesthetically inclined friends home. That is, until you step closer and realize that little Fido is happily hanging out inside. This crate design will forever change the way we look at crating our dogs, by mindfully redesigning the dog crate. eiCRATE will be able to appeal to the buyer as a permanent piece of furniture in the home, intended to last as long as our pets, if not longer. The “no corners” approach has eliminated the hostile jail-like feel of other dog crate out there and it allows for the natural movements of our dogs. eiCRATE compliments any modern home, adding elegance and a sense of creativity.

Don’t crate your puppy? No worries Beyond The Crate offers bent plywood pet beds.  More of a recliner than a pet bed, the WoWo dog pod is like an Eames chair for your best friend.  The white faux-fur adds an kick of luxe, you can order with many types of cushions, and veneers for that matter.

Is this is more your look?  Beyond the Crate has something for EVERYONE!

Perennial Fabrics

No Bones About It – Zebra
# 710-201

100% Solution-Dyed Acrylic
55 in  wide, 32 in Vertical Repeat, 27.5 in  Horizontal Repeat
Soil Resistant Finish.  Can be railroaded.

Perennials Fabrics

Available through your Interior Designer.

“Light” & Easy

Brass is making a comeback, but it’s not your mothers shiny polished and sealed brass… Brass today is antiqued or burnished or rubbed mellowing it to a subtle glow.  I think this light from Arteriors is so sleek and a little sassy, it could go mid century glam but it would look good with slouchy linen slip-covered furniture and rustic wood accents.  This brass is easy to live with and I am loving this light.  Perfect setting?… My bedroom.  Chocolate brown grass cloth walls, espresso parsons side tables and a custom headboard of cream linen and a hand knotted Ushak rug.

Beds, Beds, Beds!

I seem to post beds on groupings, so I’m just going to go with it.  And is this bed is over the top!  As found in the Metropolitan Museum recently, I was blown away by the extravagance of this canopy bed.  The carved wooded cornice and headboards have been painted the same color as the rich teal silk damask to create a statement bed like no other.  Of course the formal element of pairs ( mirrors, stools, chairs ) help make the room complete but it is clearly ALL about the bed.  I was surprised that they chose to shown this bed with a woven grass mat over hardwood, very informal but perhaps considered exotic and new back when this bed was created.

I’m Working On It

Here is a peek at one of the many projects I am lucky enough to be working on.  The idea is to add a shot of color into a bedroom and have I got a plan.  It all starts with a striped cotton rug in cotton from Elizabeth Eakins.  The humble yet elegant style of the rug with just enough sport make this a rug a fresh choice while coexisting with the traditional bed seamlessly.  Pillows are a must  for the bed in a plaid or check, to play with multiple geometric in the room.   A reversible duvet made with the dark flower print on one side, light ground vine motif on the other.  Along with that, I am going to add a soft creamy light tan matelasse  coverlet and a corner chair in a ticking stripe, Nantucket red or pear green? …not sure yet, Stay Tuned!

SNAPshot

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY !

Living Green Amid The Blue

DRAWING ON INDIGENOUS FORMS, AN ECO-FRIENDLY HOUSE RISES ON BALI.  Beneath the sacred volcano Mount Agung in East Bali, designer Linda Garland revived traditional Sumatran Minangkabau architecture.  The main pavilion is fashioned after an aristocratic abode, stepping up toward the ends.  The largest pavilion is for the living and dining areas, and the master bedroom pavilion is lagre too; the two guesthouses are smaller.  All four are placed around a continuously flowing and oxygenating lake created by diverting water from the river, and they have impeccably green credentials. “The houses are made almost entirely of recycled woods—primarily 100-year-old ironwood poles the electric company discarded after switching to concrete stanchions—and bamboo,” Garland explains. “The pavilions sit about 10 feet above the ground on huge stones. This sort of construction makes them less vulnerable to earthquake activity.”

Sumatran master builders lived on Cohen’s property during construction. A dozen carpenters erected the pavilions over a period of a year without benefit of cranes or Caterpillars and assembled them without nails, pegging them in place.

I would love to stay here for just a week or two, cant even imagine living in a place like this.  It looks perfect for entertaining guests, cooking big meals and hanging out together talking late into the night on the oversized daybeds draped with white bug nets and candles everywhere, FABULOUS! 

Iconic Angel

Farrah Fawcett (February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie’s Angels in 1976. Fawcett later appeared off-Broadway to the approval of critics and in highly rated television movies in roles often challenging (The Burning Bed, Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story, Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story, Margaret Bourke-White) and sometimes unsympathetic (Small Sacrifices). Fawcett was also a pop culture figure whose hairstyle was emulated by millions of young women and whose poster sales broke records, making her an international sex symbol in the 1970s and 1980s. While her impact was particularly strong on the teens of the 1970s, her appeal spreads over multiple generations.

ART or P*RN?

or just marketing 101?  I am the first to admit that this imagery is beyond sexual, it’s sexual.  But that’s the point, isn’t it? Calvin Klein ad is banned for it’s provocative imagery, and I guess I don’t really see this as all that shocking, do you? Is it worth debating? … you tell me.

White Kitchens

   

…with shaker style doors.  I don’t know for certian, but I’m willing to guess this prolific door style is the most popular of our day.  The shaker door style is popular because it’ can work with many different aesthetics including country, modern, traditional and Arts & Crafts.   I happen to like white, but the shaker door also looks great stained or painted a color.  As you can see from these pictures all taken from Quintessentials (everything for the kitchen and bath) every type of flooring looks good with white shaker door cabinetry.  

Asmara Rugs

 

 

Asmara’s designs are recognized worldwide for their unique patterns, unparalleled color palette (a single rug may contain as many as 300 colors), sophisticated shading and intricate detail. These qualities, coupled with exacting color standards and master workmanship make an Asmara rug a treasure that will endure from one generation to the next.  

 

I chose to show a collection of green and natural rugs but they have multi-colored rugs cut pile, cut and loop piles, needlepoint rugs and many other styles.  It is a pleasure to sell these rugs and even more so to live with one.  Available at Surroundings ( in Mattapoisett, MA ) and through Interior Designers.  

 

Trend Alert!

Check out what is covering the pages of shelter magazines today.  It’s Madeline Weinrib-esque  frenzy of Ikat and assorted blue and white patterned dishes fresh for the summer.  I love the idea of mixed patterns and mixed place settings to further and gobs of sterling piled up between the crystal stemware.  A white table cloth would be pretty but layer it further with another pattern in the same palette, a good accent color would be chartreuse… mums packed low in a footed bowl, perfect.  White napkins please.  

 

Inspired Room

It’s been awhile since I did an inspired room.  Truth be told I’m working with this fabric right now it is a possible drape choice for a livingroom in a transitional house I’m working on.  I want to put a roman shade under these drapes as the active shade, leaving the panels stacked to each side of the windows.  These folks like modern are not quite ready to give up some traditional tastes.  I’m pairing this great graphic linen by Windsor Smith for Kravet with dark golden brown Barcelona Chairs and a pair of cream sofas.  I think there is something old guard and something fresh about this geometric print.  The sofas will be textural and comfortable without being cumbersome or chubby, opposite one another on either side of the fire place.  Still looking for the perfect low cabinet for the sound system, etc.  A  Moroccan rug would be perfect…with a deep pile.

 

Nano

BusinessWeek – March 08

The breakthrough innovations of the $2,500 Nano car carry a lot of important lessons for Western executives.

The announcement last month by Tata Motors of its newest car, the Nano, was revealing on many levels. The announcement generated extensive coverage and commentary, but just about everyone missed the Nano’s real significance, which goes far beyond the car itself.

 

But, O.K., let’s start with the car itself-particularly the price. At about $2,500 retail, the Nano is the most inexpensive car in the world. Its closest competitor, the Maruti 800, made in India by Maruti Udyog, sells for roughly twice as much. To put this in perspective, the price of the entire Nano car is roughly equivalent to the price of a DVD player option in a luxury Western car. The low price point has left other auto companies scrambling to catch up.

Tata Motors

THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG!

Today was my busiest day of web visits to date, Thank You!  

Just a quick note. I think I’m going to retire a few categories that I don’t use much (let me know if you miss them)  and introduce a new one called SNAPshots.   Think of it as artsy pictures taken on the fly, not professional studio shots, just life as it happens.

Thanks for checking out my rants, haunts and heros.  Be well.  BB

HAPPY EASTER