Misterarthur and I are off for a long weekend starting tomorrow. We’re going to Montreal, where I am hoping to be treated like the VIPs pictured here. I’ve just got to get my teeth on one of those cards so I can get into all the hot spots!
I’ll also be having dinner with fellow blogger, Kim Vallee. Maybe she has a VIP card (she writes an entertainment blog after all) and I can tag along with her.
Old Montreal in the summer.Hey, Mom! Why couldn’t I have been born during a warm month?
I’ll be back late Monday, so no posts until Tuesday. Someone send me a dilemma for Design Tip Tuesday!
The Specter Chair, from New Jersey designer John Urso, comes in fabric impregnated with resin to create a structure that stands up. Hence the haunting name. “There’s no structure under there. You can see through it and sit on it too,” says Urso.
I say, “Who would want to?”
I have two major problems with this kind of thing. First, it’s super expensive. The one shown here is $2,500. Second, and even worse, is that like all jokes the “magic” of this chair is only funny (or “Amazing!”) once. After that it’s just another chair - and a rather expensive and ugly one at that. You’ve got to have a whole lot of friends that want amazing! in a bad way to get your money’s worth out of it.
Here’s a great resource. Blackstock Leather has created leather tiles for installation on both walls and floors. They’re magnetic, so if a tile needs to be cleaned or replaced, it’s easy to do so.
The tiles are made from vegetable-tanned cowhide, the same material used for shoe soles. The tiles come in 14 colors, and a variety of shapes and sizes. The look is warm and sophisticated.
My favorite T-shirt shop, Threadless, is having a holiday sale. Who isn’t? Anyway, this shop has a zillion styles of T-shirts, hoodies, etc. You can even design your own. If they like it, you actually get paid! Best of all, the prices start at $10. It’s a pretty cool site. And don’t forget to check out the original display art they have for sale, too.
Cowboys and Indians by Glenn Jones (pictured above): $20
Display panel #57 by Joe Suta: $250
Today’s New York Times’ home section featured a really great article about a New York loft pulled together by former investment bankers, Garry Jensen and Elena Bertinetto. They quit their day jobs to open an online home decor shop called Deeply Madly Living. Here are a few of photos from the article. Click on slideshow on the Times’ site to see the rest.
The couple had their fire door painted by a graffiti artist they saw painting the real thing on the street.
Hey, they don’t look like investment bankers!
If you’re lucky enough to live in Detroit (where the weak are killed and eaten) you won’t want to miss this weekend’s 4th annual Shop Detroit event. Things get underway on Saturday, December 1st and runs from 10 am to 5 pm. Check-in is at the Compuware Atrium at One Campus Martius.
They’ll have lots of activities, special discounts and promotions. To find out more, visit the official site. The best thing about Shop Detroit is that my favorite Detroit home store, Mezzanine, is in on the event. Owner, Joe Posch, has lots of accessories and tabletop beauties to make anyone happy on (insert your holiday here) morning. That includes the Alessi Mediterraneo bowl pictured above. So be sure to stop by Mezzanine and tell Joe that Jennifer from Design Hole sent you.
I found this chair at Modern Living, another resource for scratching that Mid-Century Modern itch. This chair is currently for sale (price not given). However, it’s a 1950’s Danish modern lounge chair ink-stamped “Bramin, Made in Denmark” with the original mint-condition nubby upholstery. So here’s your chance to finish up the living room before the In-Laws come over for the holidays. Cheers!
If you’re getting tired of mid-century modern furniture, here’s a trend you can hop on. Grosfield House, a New York furniture manufacturer had its heyday in the 1940’s. The style is sort of Rococo Goes Hollywood. That’s why so much of it is way over the top. The style makes use of Plexiglas, lots of mirrors and wood.
Authentic Grosfield House pieces are becoming very collectible with pieces such as a mirrored sideboard selling for $16,500. You can find Grosfield House at 1st Dibs, David Duncan Antiques, Wright, and Sultana.
A 1940’s oval side table with a scalloped tier.
A pair of marble-topped end tables.
According to Elle Decor, this mirrored cabinet sold at Christie’s for $19,120 in 2002.
These nightstands are parchment lacquer over wood with nickel. At Wright’s.
A pair of upholstered club chairs available at David Duncan Antiques.
Sea Cloth is having a 20% off sale on all of their products. I love their fabrics, which you can buy by the yard. They also make their own home accessories. The sale runs through December 10th. Use the code HOLIDAY at the check out.
I wish I were sitting in Nick Rawcliffe’s Hive Chair right now. I’d be on a porch just out of range of the hot hot sun, listening to the surf, drinking a rum punch with a parasol in it. And a cherry. Nick started Rawstudio in 2004. Everything he designs is made in the UK. He says, “they’re really honest about where everything comes from and giving everyone a fair deal.” I like that.
Photo by Andy Chopping
Heidi wrote to me asking for help with her son’s bedroom. She writes, “I have an old table that fits the room perfectly, but doesn’t go with anything. I’d like to paint it, but don’t know what to do. I’m afraid it will look too cutesy. My boy likes cars!”
I jumped for joy when I read Heidi’s email because I have the perfect answer. Here’s an idea from my portfolio. (And please no comments on the bad photography. However, if you have tips on how to photograph interiors let me know.) Now back to our show.
Here’s a desk that started life as a regular, oak table. It needed to be cool to go in this tweenager’s room. I took the table to an auto body shop where, for about $100, they covered the table with Bondo and sprayed it with a silver Mazda paint color. The end result was a table with a smooth, grainless finish.
Then, I went to Decal Driveway and bought these wicked decals. Applying them was easy. The end result was a fun surface to do homework on. And for only about $125 total. When you think about it, the possibilities for Bondo and auto paint are endless.
Questions? Email me.
I received an email from Emily asking to help in arranging her bookshelves. “I have a long row of bookshelves, but not enough books to fill the space. How do I mix books with art and other artful objects to make it look right?” I’m so glad Emily asked this question because I love arranging thing on bookshelves.
There are no hard and fast rules. There are a lot of different ways to arrange things that can help you fill up the space, number one being to start reading faster. All joking aside, here are some tips with visuals to help you on your way. Take these tips and then just let yourself go. Play around with things. You’ll know when it looks right.
Here’s a room that sounds similar to Emily’s project. The owners didn’t have enough books, so we went shopping in her house for accessories to fill the space. I also asked her to buy some large art books. This is an easy and relatively inexpensive thing to do, because they’re so often on sale at major bookstores. I like some large books in an arrangement because you can stack them. Then, top them with a decorative box, or a small collection of objet d’arte.
I arrange most books with their spines out. Some get stacked. I’ll also leave a space bookless and hang or prop a painting on one shelf. The key is to avoid symmetry, but maintain the balance.
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