I've had the pleasure of interviewing Derek and Lauren of the Curiosity Shoppe on several occasions now, and I always walk away completely in awe of them. The Datebook section of today's Chronicle includes an article I wrote about them and their Mission District apartment. It is seriously cool and showcases their DIY talents.
P.S. Did you see that Victoria also has an article about this lovely couple in the new issue of Uppercase?
I think I need one (or two) of these Design House Stockholm hooks in the laundry room:
Available in four colors at Huset Shop. Hmmm ... green or white ...
On Saturday, I spent most of the afternoon on Fourth Street in Berkeley. While we were in Erica Tanov, my friend Sherrie pointed out the store's fantastic lookbook, which is actually a set of "polaroids":
This may be the best lookbook idea EVER.
Did you hear that Anna Sui has a collection launching at Target this fall? AND it's inspired by Gossip Girl?!? You can see a slideshow of the 19 looks and get more details at The Cut (New York magazine's fashion blog).
No surprise: The "Blair" looks (like the one above, left) are my favorite. The "Serena" outfits don't really remind me of the character, but I still like a couple of them (above, right).
So my life right now basically consists of work, writing, driving up to San Francisco for interviews, and enjoying this lovely summer weather. I made time today to catch up on some blog-reading and saw that Maggie posted another installment of her Mighty Closet feature. Yay!
This one includes some awesome outfits, courtesy of Margaret Stewart. But a click here, a click there, and I ended up getting totally sucked in to Margaret's Flickr set about her Eichler house. (See, I have a thing for Eichlers. Last year when we were house-hunting, we looked at some in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, but it just didn't work out.)
There are 190 photos in the set, so it took me a while to look through them all. It's well worth every minute, but now I need to get back to being productive. If you're as fascinated as I am about Eichlers — or just other people's home renovations — check out Margaret's photo documentation of the process.
We have a stool, which was used for the kitchen peninsula in our old house, that needed a new place to live in the current house. I placed it in the closet so that Jon would have a place to sit and put on his shoes. But apparently, he is very possessive of this stool and would reprimand me every time I moved it over to my side of the closet. So obviously, I needed my own seat:
I pulled this chair out of our guest bedroom (which I'm hoping to update soon/rid of the black and white motif). It was an inexpensive piece that Elizabeth was kind enough to pick up for me last year at the Alameda flea market. I spraypainted it black and found the cream cushion at the Secondhand Sunset booth for $2. The cushion covered in Manual Canovas' "Misia" print is an Ebay purchase.
And I just couldn't resist photographing the chair with one of my favorite heels. I love the contrast between the grey patent and the pink interior lining.
A couple of years ago, we spent our anniversary in Napa and dined at Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller's casual eatery in Yountville. The experience was a bit mixed. For example, Jon wanted a vegetarian meal and the server basically harassed him with enough questions that he finally gave up and agreed to that evening's poultry entree. And we waited a ridiculous amount of time for our food — which didn't seem to make sense since the restaurant prepares the same meal for everyone.
Anyway! Despite that not-so-stellar experience, I've been wanting to go back for the fried chicken. Now, we may not have to: Williams-Sonoma carries an Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit! And a selection of dressings as well.
The Chronicle food staff tested the Ad Hoc products; you can read their review here. Even though I've been freelancing for the paper for a few years now, I've actually only visited the office twice. But I would have loved to have been there the day they were trying out the fried chicken mix!
Met Home celebrated the opening of its first San Francisco showhouse yesterday, and I stopped by to get a tour. Sadly, deadlines kept me from attending the party later in the evening. Luckily, Grant K. Gibson — a fantastic local interior designer (and an awesome blogger) — posted about it.
It was a real treat to see several designers who I've had the pleasure of interviewing in the past. And there were so many rooms that I liked, but my photography skills suck so I'm only sharing the decent ones here:
Dining room by Jiun Ho
Bedroom by Julie Dowling
Bathroom by Gary Hutton (the divider is made of Ivory soap bars!)
Room by Min Day
Media room by Erin Martin (love that hanging seat!)
None of my photos of Jay Jeffers', Steven Miller's, Martha Angus' and Nicole Hollis' spaces turned out very well — my photos definitely wouldn't do them justice — so hopefully you'll be able to see those in person for yourself. The showhouse is open to the public starting this weekend; more details are right here.
Ever since I posted about a year and a half ago about the fabric I found that resembles Kelly Wearstler's "Imperial Trellis," I've received so many emails asking about it. I picked it up for $18.99/yard at Britex Fabrics — second floor, home décor section. It's called "Tango."
Earlier today, I stopped by Britex to look for some fabric for our entry table and came across the trellis knock-off in two different colorways. The citrine/ivory combination is no longer available, but these are:
The seafoam is so pretty, but I couldn't think of a place to use it in our house. I bought a few yards of the brown/ivory and I'm sure I'll come up with a project for it. Someday.
I couldn't resist buying both of these Vena Cava dresses — part of the limited-edition collection at the Gap that's designed by finalists of the 2008 CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund.
I have no idea how they'll fit, but figured I'd order them while they're still available. (The collection just hit the online shop tonight.)
I'm a little overwhelmed right now because I'm working on half a dozen writing assignments. I feel like I'm scheduling interviews with designers every day! (And this is in addition to my full-time job.) One of the designers I've had the pleasure of talking with lately is Steven Miller. I initially met him a few years ago at the SF Decorator Showcase, which he has participated in several times. The bedroom he designed below remains one of my all-time favorite Showcase rooms:
Steven is currently completing the kitchen, family room and powder room in the Met Home Modern By Design showhouse that opens later this week. I can't wait to see what he's come up with!
I only found out about this site a few days ago, even though it was mentioned in the NY Times last month. One King's Lane offers online sample sales for housewares and furnishings; you can save up to 70 percent off the retail price. The site constantly lists new sales, with each lasting just 72 hours. This morning, the Dransfield & Ross sale launched, and past events have included merchandise from John Robshaw, Dwell Studio and Serena & Lily.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend signing up for a free membership so you can receive emails about their sales.
After Jess Chamberlain over at Sunset emailed me this morning, I was a little torn about whether or not to share this. Because I think the "Secondhand Sunset" booth at the upcoming Celebration Weekend is already going to be a crazy scene. And I don't need or want the extra competition.
But here goes: If you are in the Peninsula on Saturday or Sunday, this is not to be missed. Check out some of the cool stuff you can buy (including projects left over from the magazine) for ridiculously cheap (all proceeds will be donated to The Reuse People):
Chair - $15
Messageboard - $10
Table - $15
Nothing will be priced over $20. I'd better drive the big car to the Celebration.
Four Walls and a Roof — one of my new favorite blogs — posted the other day about Emily Walker's abode. A designer in the merchandise department of Canadian House & Home, Walker lives in a 900-square-foot bungalow. How great is this place?
You can read more about Walker's place on the House & Home site.
P.S. I love House & Home and pick it up whenever I'm lucky enough to find it on the newsstands, which isn't very often. So I've already submitted my birthday request for a subscription (a month early).
This desk (or writing chest) is EXACTLY what I want in our guest bedroom. Sadly, I can only find it at UK store Graham and Green.
Before you suggest I contact them about shipping to the US, I should note the other problem here: It is £1,795. That's almost $3,000 — way more than I want to spend in there.
UPDATE: It turns out, Conran carries it ... but it is $2,895. *sigh*
I was at Kepler's this weekend and picked up a couple of French magazines: 100 Idees Deco and Marie Claire Maison. Although I took three (or four?) years of French in high school, I cannot read a single sentence in either of these publications. Still, I find that the language barrier doesn't prevent me from gathering up inspiration.
I am a fan of wood, but I can appreciate the bold color on the beams and railings in the upper-left photo.
This nook was completely transformed with the addition of a pair of wallpaper-covered wall-mounted shelves (maybe the IKEA Lack?); hanging lights (love that they're just installed on hooks); a headboard made with a collage of photos and illustrations; and small drapes on a wire.
We have some solid white drapes in our guest room. I was going to spruce them up with some ribbon trim, but it might be fun to paint a floral motif like this on them.
I like the way Deborah Bowness' wallpaper designs are displayed in this spread.
I know, I know. Scans would have made for better images, but I was lazy and went with photos of the magazine pages.
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