Pewabic Pottery’s home in Detroit

Just about everyone in Detroit knows about Pewabic Pottery. It has a very distinctive look to it and, because it’s from Detroit and has been around for over 100 years, it’s everywhere. A nearby elementary school has beautiful, large tiles over each classroom door. There are 2 fireplaces and even fishponds all done with Pewabic’s beautiful tiles. (Boy, those were the days when you could play with fish and then snuggle up by the fire during kindergarten. Now, the kids are lucky if they can go to the bathroom when they finish their pre-algebra!) But I digress.

Mary Chase Perry started Pewabic (a Native American word meaning “clay with copper color”) in 1903, at the height of the Arts and Crafts movement. Perry discovered an iridescent glaze, after years of experimenting. It was said to almost glow and was a departure from anything else being made at the time. She went on to win many prizes for her designs and glazes, and continued to work until her death in 1961.

The Pewabic look is found in vases, plates and especially tiles. The tiles are pricey, but I’ve seen them used beautifully intermixed with plain tiles.

The original Pewabic Pottery is still open and remains a going concern. They have a shop in front and upstairs. Pewabic also offers classes for children and adults. So please take some time if you’re in Detroit to stop by. And you can always order from them online.

I love the description of this chair, which for some strange reason, you can buy from YLighting. Check this out:

The Mademoiselle upholstered armchair is an innovative design for an armchair with the clever and absolutely new technique of fusing two different plastic materials and finishes: the structure in transparent polycarbonate offers solid support and a soft and comfortable expanded polyurethane foam seat, without foregoing the glamour of transparency and color!

It’s clever and absolutely new! The two things you really want now together in one fantatsic chair! Anyway, the chair screams Philip Starck , as of course it is! I don’t know any other designers using clear plastic. Kartell loves him, but my friend (and industrial designer) Leon Fitzpartick doesn’t.

It’s a beautiful spring day here in Detroit. I took a few minutes to drive along Lake St. Clair. The water was a sparkling blue, the trees and tulips are all in bloom . So today’s chair is Arper’s Leaf. They also make a lounge version. Both come with an optional pad for extra comfort. And now, I’ve got to run outside and play.

Can you see this chair? It’s not the best angle, but I had to take the picture quickly. I saw it at Barney’s Co-Op. They furnished the shop with thrift shop finds from local stores. This chair has been recovered in a 1960’s groovy music-themed fabric. I wish I knew what it was! Anyway, I think it’s cool.

Here’s a peek at some work I’m doing for myself. Yesterday I wrote about the new bathroom floors we put in at our beach house, Chum Bucket. Today, I’m focusing on the main living area. The kitchen hasn’t been painted yet, but the living and dining areas are ready for view. So here are some fun Before and After photos.

Living Area - Before

Here’s what we started with. The interesting thing about some vacation homes is that they are sold with all the furnishings. The owners lock the doors, leaving everything behind - even the scented candles. I think the previous owners thought they’d bought a cabin in the woods. They had an interesting idea on space planning, with the dining table against a wall and covering a door. To be fair, the house was owned by a plastics company, so I don’t think much thought went into anything. So, here’s what I did and how I did it.

Living Room - Before

I started with the space planning. The original had more living area than was necessary and I needed to move the dining table into the center of the room. So I divided things into 3 sections: living, dining and kitchen. Then I focused on the bones. The house is a rental property, so everything in it has to be durable and can’t include anything you’d cry about if it breaks. I tore out the forest green carpet and installed a dark, floating laminate floor that was on sale at iFloor. It’s in the entire house. That’s covered with a super inexpensive, yet durable sisal carpet bought from Prosource. When it gets too badly stained I can throw it out. The walls were painted a light blue-grey. The rest of the house will be painted the same color.

Living Room - After

Almost all the furniture came from IKEA. We rented a U-Haul, went to the IKEA in Washington, D.C. and filled the trailer with stuff. I drafted the house on AutoCad and chose the furniture beforehand so I knew what would fit.

The wicker chair cushion is now covered in the
same stripe and a toss pillow in the matching Matisse drapery print

Why white sofas in a rental? IKEA’s Ektorp sofa was only $400. I bought an extra slip cover for $45. It’s machine washable and can be bleached. I’ve used these on other jobs and they wash beautifully. If the slip cover gets trashed it can be washed and if the sofa breaks it was only $400! Who cares?

I splurged on the fabric for the doors and toss pillows. The window treatment is a discontinued fabric from Clarence House. I bought it for half price and the showroom gave me their sample - about 3 yards. The stripe is also from Clarence House and is indoor/outdoor, so it can take a beating. The red pillows are from IKEA. I was going to cover these in a different fabric, but the red tied in so well with the Daniel Stewart painting that I kept them and added a red throw.

Cocktail table with shells

I made a liner for the tray in the Liatorp cocktail table with fabric from Walmart and topped it with shells. Some are from the beach, some from the local gift store. The curtain rod and capiz shell lamp are from West Elm; the other floor and table lamp are from IKEA.

Dining - Before

The original dining table was shoved against the wall, hiding a closet with a forest painting. (Again, were the previous owners wishing they were in the woods, or did those plastic fumes go to their heads?) Anyway, I moved it into the room and installed 2 Liatorp bookshelves. The backs were green; I painted them a bright blue. In a small house like this, storage is very important. These will eventually be filled with books. The closet in the middle is our “private closet” filled with our sheets, etc. I’m thinking about hiding it with a mirror (saw it at IKEA). The fake plants came with the house. We need to get rid of those, but I like the azalea.

Dining and shelves - after

The dining table can be extended to seat 10 people. The chairs have blue seats. I was going to hang a pendant lamp with the striped Clarence House fabric as the shade. But it was to expensive to make the shade ($300) and I decided I wanted a more open look, so I stuck with what we had.

And finally, the artwork. As I mentioned, the original painting is by Detroit artist, Daniel Stewart. We’ll definitely take that with us if and when we sell the house. The art over the sofa are enlarged photos of Sunset Beach taken by my husband. I super-saturated the images on Photoshop and printed them out on a glossy paper using a plotter. The prints were free. The Ribba frames are from (where else?) IKEA.

Did I miss anything? If so, just ask. I know there are some who will say that a house done up with one-stop-shopping has no soul, but I think I managed to achieve a bright, modern, beachy cottage look with its own personality. And all for a song. I also think the renters will appreciate the after part of the before and after.

In honor of my husband, Arthur (coolest guy on the planet) I have chosen this great seating unit plus ottoman from Nobody & Co. My husband read more than 80 books last year. Most of it was on airplanes. So when he gets home he needs a place to relax, put his feet up and read some more. I figure this is the perfect thing because it comes with the books!

This is one of the most beautiful tables I’ve ever seen. In keeping with the trend for natural woods, designer Christophe Delacourt has created this piece for Roche-Bobois. It’s a limited edition series which includes a bookshelf. It gets an A for Amazing.

Before

A few weeks ago we installed new flooring in the bathrooms at Chum Bucket, our beach house in North Carolina. Here are some Before and After photos. Keep in mind that the trim, which will be white, hasn’t been painted yet, so I’ll post the fully completed project later.

After

We decided on rubber flooring. It’s a commercial product, but it doesn’t look like it. The color looks brown on my computer, it’s really a sunny yellow with little flecks of blue. Maybe it’s the brown cabinet, which you can’t see, reflecting onto it. That, along with everything else, will soon be white.

Rubber feels great on bare feet and is very easy to clean. It was easy to install, too. First we tore up the old floor, which was so thin it fell apart. Then we had to scrape off the paper stuck to the plywood base. That wasn’t difficult, but it was messy. We spread a thin coat of adhesive and placed a tile on top, cutting to fit beforehand. Finally, we rolled over it with a 100lb. roller which we rented from a hardware store. That was it! I’m ready to hire myself out. I don’t think I heard one swear word the entire time.

A designer can have no more fun than going to Milan for the Salone. It’s a designer Haj. Bravo to fellow blogger, Pan Dan for doing such a great job covering the show. I love these lamps.

Check out this great competition from Design Boom. It’s all about designing chairs using cardboard. I love cardboard - 1,001 uses for it. I like the idea of using it to carve ornate cardboard picture frames. But this is about chairs. So go check out Design Boom. Okay?

Here’s a fantastic site for paper in every configuration. Paper Source, a company based in Chicago, sells everything from tags to sheets of paper.

They have boxed stationary and beautiful guest books. You name it, they’ve got it and all in excellent taste. Be sure to check our their Christmas and other Holiday papers, cards and gift wrap.

Now here’s a DIY thang I bet y’all haven’t tried. Yet. Backwoods Willow sells a video detailing how to make beautiful chairs like this with reeds and willow branches from your own back yard. This is a craft that beats making yarn from dryer lint any time. I reckon I’ll have a nice set come corn pickin’ time. Order up right here!