Tuesday morning inspiration

We all need some color right about now. Spring is in the air. The flowers are beginning to think about showing off their vibrant blooms. While we wait, take a look at this beautiful and colorful room.

Don’t be afraid of red. I use it everywhere – on ceilings, on floors, in my accessories. It’s the perfect accent color.

Returning to Embellishment

I’ve been thinking a lot about the late 18th Century and wondering if some aspects of fashion from that period will begin to appear in the design world. I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll see more of it as people tire of seeing so much mid-century modern design in all the shelter magazines.

Hats and fans from Marie Antoinette and The Duchess

So many people are mourning the loss of Domino, which seemed had a more cozy feel than the truly historic-yet-contemporary look of Charles and Ray Eames, and company. Domino was decidedly feminine. Likewise, the new interest in floral wallpapers, like those from Anna French and Designer’s Guild, seem to take a step back in time.

Anna French

Why the 18th century? I’m thinking of movies like Marie Antoinette and The Duchess. The costumes were the stars. The drapery in the dresses – the ribbons and adornment lend themselves to a more feminine decorative style.

Designer’s Guild

I’m thinking we’ll begin to see more dressmakerly embellishments on curtains and accessories. More florals. More comfort.

Elegant comforts from Marie Antoinette

The current economic crisis plays a role as well. When times are tough, it’s more comforting to come home to a nostalgic, cozy and embracing environment than a bare-bones bunker.

A more somber palette, but no less elegant, from The Duchess

Here are a few sites I’ve been looking at lately for inspiration in this direction. Will it take off? Of course I don’t know. But I’m enjoying taking the time to ponder how I would incorporate some aspects of the ?ºber feminine in my personal approach to my design work.

Feminine Inspiration

Embroidery as Art. This blog is dedicated to stitchery that goes way beyond your grandma’s sampler.

Designer’s Guild. Furniture, textiles, etc. They’ve got a decidedly European girlie thing going on that I love.

Anna French. Wallpapers and textiles. They’re both contemporary and vintage. It’s all in how you use them.

The Costume Gallery. This is a nice resource for inspiration gathering. It may be about fashion, but it all translates.

18th Century Fashion. A fun Flickr gallery of period costume.

images source

Isaac Mizrahi on Inspiration

Welcome to Wednesday. Ugh. Already? It’s too early for it to be Wednesday. I need more coffee I guess.

Here’s something that should wake us all up. It’s a Ted Talk featuring Isaac Mizrahi.¬† Don’t you adore him?

He talks all about where he finds his inspiration. And other stuff, too. It’s not too long and is worth watching. Click here to watch the video. Then, check out his new style web site.

Cheers!

Good Reading

Good Morning, everyone. I’ve got a busy day out of the office today. So, while I’m gone today, why not check out some great posts from some of my friends?

Color Trends: No Business in Home Interiors

To start, Rachel has a really interesting post on Color Trends. It reads in part:

House Beautiful magazine recently hosted an event that traveled around the country to major cities like New York and San Francisco. As I read an article about the lecture series, dedicated to color, I found myself disagreeing with many of the comments and quotes from designers who spoke there.

For example, in a section titled, “Hot right now”, they provide a list of 10 colors that a representative for Kelly-Moore paints said “work well with the colors of consumer goods and goods for the home currently available in the marketplace.” Right now, that means “warm and earthy with some kicks of bold and unusual color.”

Read the rest here.

Basketmakers of Rwanda

My Marrakesh is, as usual, a visual delight and always a treat to read. I enjoyed her article about the basketmakers of Rwanda.

Highbrow and Lowbrow

Finally, check out Pigtown Design’s review of various walnuts stools available at various prices.

I’ll be back at the end of the day with my chair. And, if my plans work out right, I’ll be posting a design dilemma tomorrow. Cheers!

What A Workplace Should Look Like

Who wouldn’t want to work here? The New York headquarters of JWT (the ad agency formerly known as J Walter Thompson), serves as an inspiration to anyone working in any field – not just advertising. Picture yourself in this workplace environment. Are you a lawyer? An accountant? An insurance adjuster? You don’t have to be a copywriter to know that working in a lively environment like this would be a conduit to a more inspired and happy workday.

These photos, taken by Eric Laignel, are from this month’s issue of Interior Design Magazine. The space was created by designer, Clive Wilkinson, an Interior Design Hall of Fame member known for media work. As the article states: “He thought of these moments not as separate 30-second spots but rather as elements tied together in an experiential ?ºber-narrative‚Äîlike so many twigs on a tree. And Clive Wilkinson Architects tapped into his tree theme to drive design solutions. “It’s a metaphor for storytelling, but we also extended it as an organizing form and connective tissue between the branches of the agency,” Wilkinson explains.“

The reception area at JWT.

All elevator lobbies feature custom vinyl wall covering, an aluminum ceiling grid, waxed concrete flooring, and Richard Shemtov chairs.

An Ideation Room is enclosed by two layers of material, cutout vinyl-polyester stitched to a heavy-gauge clear vinyl backing.

The purpose of rooms like this is to get together and think. To brainstorm. To come up with new ideas. So much better than a gray conference room.

But even the conference rooms at JWT have sex appeal.

The creative department's 18-foot ceiling allows for mezzanine meeting spaces.

Additional meeting rooms are integrated into the elevator lobbies.

Lunch anyone? In the cafeteria, which also serves as an entertainment space, an LED fixture is set into the bar.

You can read the rest of the article, and see lots more photos, here. Or go to your newsstand and buy the hard copy.

To my mind, it doesn’t matter what you do for a living, the whole point of living, in general, is to be happy. Not just at the end of the day – but throught out the day.

Too many of us spend our days earning a paycheck, as opposed to pursuing our avocation. But while our work may be boring, our work environment doesn’t have to be. It really doesn’t take that much effort to create a better, more lively workspace. You just need to understand that it’s important.

After all, that’s what life is really all about – to be happy. We should all be working in a space that makes us smile. Don’t you agree?