Must. Mark. Calendar.
Earlier this week, the de Young announced a 40-year Retrospective of the Work of Yves Saint Laurent. It opens November 1, and the San Francisco museum will be the only venue in the U.S. for the show.
I can't wait!
It looks like JHill Design has released even more cities in the "Places I Have Never Been" series, including:
Traverse City, Michigan, might be my favorite of this bunch.
Remember when I said that I must have this teak mirror for the dining room?
Well, the problem is that it's $725 at Neiman Marcus. I was starting to calculate how long I'd have to save up for it when I saw that Pottery Barn came out with this one, for about $200:
I thought maybe, if I stained the wood on the PB one, it might come closer to the look of the pricier one. I finally resolved that I shouldn't settle if what I really want is the teak version. BUT. Look what I spotted on the Brown Design blog:
The shape looks a lot like the PB one, but the color of the wood is similar to the Neiman Marcus mirror. So now I'm reconsidering the cheaper option, with a nice, rich stain. Hmmm ...
One of my favorite television shows right now is Bravo's "Flipping Out." I recently came across Ryan Brown's design website — that's Jeff Lewis' business partner on the program — and I especially like these shots from his portfolio:
P.S. Brown Design, which Ryan runs with his brother, also has a blog.
Hmmm ... It looks like Pottery Barn's latest pillow collection was inspired by some other designers ...
PB "Velvet Appliqué" pillow and Adam & Viktoria's pillow
I know the Adam & Viktoria colorway is different from PB's, but it's got the same vibe — with the velvet design on a linen back. And A&V have actually done pillows in the same deep reds and pinks as the PB one shown above:
Very interesting.
It's no secret that I love the displays at Anthropologie, and one of my favorite locations is the Carmel store. We were staying at Pebble Beach for the holiday weekend, so of course I had to pop in and snap a few photos. Sadly, I only had my cell phone with me, so they're not very good.
There was a small wall in the back of the store that had been given a woven treatment. Buying some wide ribbon in bulk could make this a budget-friendly project:
UPDATE: In case you're wondering, the material above is jute upholstery webbing. (Thanks, Anna!)
And this project costs absolutely nothing. Turn some found rocks into tabletop accessories with just a permanent marker and a cool pattern in mind:
All available at Huset.
I would love to line the back of my shoe storage area with this Lisa Bengtsson wallpaper:
Nanni Holén's "Nero" shelf is a contender for a wall in the new house:
If only these weren't $80 each! I would love to line up half of dozen of these porcelain birds (which also come in black and white) near the entry:
I don't drink much hot tea during the summertime, but I'm thinking I should pick up one of these Paige Russell teapots for future use:
I love that repurposed and felted striped cozy.
How fantastic is this idea?
Pocket-sized floor plans! With measurements and paint chips! I am all over this.
Back in April, when we were in Paris, I spent a few hours wandering around the housewares department at Printemps. I couldn't stop looking at the Kenzo home collection. I didn't buy anything — in part because I sometimes couldn't tell if I was picking up a tablecloth or a bed sheet — but, thankfully, Unica Home carries some Kenzo Maison pieces.
Lovely stuff.
One of my souvenirs from April's trip to Paris was a roll of wallpaper from Habitat. It was a multicolored Marcel Wanders pattern that, by the time I got it home, I had fallen out of like with. And I kept thinking about the Barbara Hulanicki design that I had passed up. Look how good it looks hanging in Eden & Eden:
It's fantastic, right? Well, here's something even more fantastic: A co-worker strolled into the office and handed me a roll! His brother is visiting from London and, upon hearing of my wallpaper regret, brought it over for me.
It's going to take me a while to figure out how/where to best put it to use.
I am liking this table ($115), available for pre-order at Urban Outfitters.
But our house is full. No more room for any new furniture.
Yikes. It's been about two months and I have yet to upload my photos from our trip to London and Paris. Terrible! But here are a few shots from one of my favorite shops, Liberty:
I have admired these lovely invitations by Mr. Boddington's Studio for quite some time now. One of these days, I'm going to have to throw a Tea and Cupcakes Party.
While browsing at Crate&Barrel this weekend, I noticed that a lot of their furniture set-ups include books covered in plain, kraft paper. This reminded me of an episode of "Room Service," during which host/designer Sarah Richardson covered what must've been hundreds of the homeowners' books. She used a pretty cream-colored paper and then adhered labels to each and every one of the books.
I think this might be a cool project for the living room or guest room — where we keep a handful of books — but couldn't imagine doing this for an entire room.
Lorena of Petit Collage just released this new poster:
If we had a kid (and a kid's room), I'd be all over this.
P.S. In case you missed it, I did a house tour of Lorena's place for Apartment Therapy last year. It's definitely worth sitting through the wonky AT slideshow system to see her lovely home.
On Saturday, Christiana (of Ferm Living) came over for the wallpaper project do-over. Prior to her visit, I ripped off the wallpaper that Elizabeth and I had installed. It was surprisingly easy! (The task may have been helped along because — following the advice of the guy at the local paint/wallpaper store — I applied a coat of some sort of special primer.)
It took Christiana and I about an hour to complete the re-wallpapering of the 8'x3' area in the entry. Figuring out the cut-out and trimming the left side were the really tricky aspects of the job.
My sister has this lovely cabinet that she wants to give us, and Jon and I were planning to place it against this wall. But now the wallpaper just looks so good, I don't think I can do it.
In June's Home magazine, interior designer Jeff Andrews' L.A. home is featured as the "Just Right House."
I especially love that his guest room doubles as a dressing room. I proposed that to Jon, but he vetoed that idea.
How cool are these pendant lamps by Rachel O'Neill? They're made of velcro. Yes. VELCRO.
Seen — and drooled over — at ICFF.
I am a huge fan of Neisha Crosland's work, but didn't realize until recently that she has a very talented sister, Charlotte, who is a London-based interior designer. You can spot a lot of Neisha's fabrics and wallpapers in Charlotte's rooms:
By the way, Charlotte's home is featured in this month's issue of Easy Living. I picked up a copy just for that spread.
One of the booths I'm most looking forward to at next week's National Stationery Show is that of Mixed Co.:
Last year, some of the super-talented ladies who make up this collective shared a booth that was one of the best I saw at Javits. And I can't wait to see what they've come up with for this year's show!
I've been doing a lot of wallpaper research over the past few months, and just today, noticed that Hanna Werning has a link on her site that offers pics of the factory where her designs are produced.
One of her finished products:
The process:
See more photos here.
I was at the car wash the other day and was immediately drawn to these two books (yes, my local car wash has a shop with lots of cool books!):
Flea Market Style was published a few years ago, and I actually wasn't sure if I already owned a copy. (I didn't, but will soon enough!) And Bazaar Style is photographed by the same person, Debi Treloar, and was just released this month. You can check out several shots from Bazaar Style in author Selina Lake's Flickr set, and below are a couple more images from Flea Market Style:
I'm in the middle of one of my quarterly magazine purges. Every time I go through my stack of publications, there's an issue in particular that I can't resist flipping through over and over: Sunset, April 2007. It includes features on:
And I also really liked the story about a Palo Alto Eichler. So much good stuff in one little issue!
Pssst ... If you are planning to check out this year's Decorator Showcase in San Francisco, do NOT miss the rooftop terrace. Here's just a snippet of the sweeping views of the Bay:
The month-long Showcase officially opens to the public on Saturday (unfortunately, I can't post more pics from my press visit). There are so many rooms in the 16,000-square-foot mansion — yes, SIXTEEN THOUSAND — that you are bound to find good design inspiration in at least a dozen of them. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
It's been about a year since I was first introduced to the awesomeness that is designer Ivana Helsinki's work. (Eden&Eden, a fantastic store in SF, is one of the few shops in the country to carry this label.) Recently, I was doing a search to see if I could score some IH goods online and I came across Huset — which specializes in items from Scandinavian. In addition to IH dresses that I love, there's a lot of cool housewares. Such as:
Huset is definitely getting bookmarked.
I'm a little late posting about this, but ... April's design in the JHill calendar is just too sweet not to share. (I have one of these hanging in my cubicle.)
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Heath Ceramics factory with owners Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic. Check out the post about my visit on AT:SF.
We recently finished replacing all of the ceiling light fixtures in our house. It was a bit of a challenge because we have the standard ol' eight-foot ceilings, which meant we were limited to flushmounts in most places. I wish I had known that this Jonathan Adler fixture existed:
It's available in bronze or brushed nickel for $185.
I totally need one of these ... okay, maybe three of them: Grobal is a cool plant container (designed by Karim Rashid) that has a self-watering system. It's available in lots of colors and in two sizes.
I could go on and on about why I find today's House Tour on Apartment Therapy so inspiring. But I'll try to keep my editorial short and simple here: I love that Holly and Sean have taken affordable pieces from the likes of Target and World Market (so are we not calling it Cost Plus anymore?) and IKEA, and completely made you forget that they came from these big-box stores. Rather, the focus is shifted to their many travel finds — which are beautiful and steeped in personal significance. Their decor isn't about trends or showroom pieces. It's such a reflection of the two of them, and their history together.
P.S. Holly has a wonderful blog (Nothing But Bonfires) that has become one of my must-reads.
While I like the slogan on these posters, my favorite thing about them is that they're hand-letterpressed on to antique maps. No two are alike!
Look what arrived! UPS just dropped off Cutting Edge, which includes over 250 patterns (and a CD with 50 of them). There are a lot of designers whose names I recognize, as well as plenty who are new to me. In the latter category, I am loving Aimée Wilder's patterns:
That's right. Jonathan Adler just released a collection of wallpaper.
In addition to the ready-to-go patterns and colors, you can actually have any of the designs done up in a custom color. Nice!
I have a real problem. I can't stop buying fabric! I have stacks and stacks of great textiles that will not be put to use any time soon. Still, I keep picking up more! But can you blame me when there are so many wonderful artists selling hand-screenprinted fabrics on Etsy? Like Melbourne-based Aunty Cookie:
I think the "Home Sweet Home" design (top image; also available in black) would be perfect for a pillow in the living room. But who knows when I'll actually get around to sewing that pillow ...
Hable Construction has teamed up with Pottery Barn Kids to make nurseries even more stylish. You can now order slipcovers in Hable patterns for most of the PBK seating. Cute!
We are running out of empty wall space in our house, which may be a good thing. Because otherwise, I would be tempted to purchase some of the silkscreened posters in UK-based Soma Gallery's "It's Pop It's Art" collection. With the dollar falling, these are about USD300 each.
Wow. I have been a fan of Paula's work for some time. And I am really, really loving her new products for spring.
I may need to treat myself to one of her Panama shopper handbags ...
The DwellStudio line at Target that is geared more towards adults is supposed to officially hit the stores this weekend, but some of the bedding and table linens have already arrived online.
One of these days, I'll get around to adding a blogroll to my side nav. But until then, I'll just post from time to time about my favorites. Like a fairly new-to-me blog: Design for Mankind. I especially love "The Dailies" feature, which traces the life in the day of a creative type. Neat.
I am a big fan of Xenia Taler's tiles. But what I love even more? Her new tile boxes:
And did you know she also designs installation tiles? If only I had a surface that needed retiling ...
Although I don't think I want my own bedroom to be bright and bold, I can appreciate well-designed rooms that are. For just a couple of nights, it would be fun to stay in a room that looks like this:
Or this:
Photos from the Maison 140 Beverly Hills.
I've been meaning to post about this for a while now, but just kept forgetting. During our Christmas 2007 trip to Hilton Head Island, SC, we had a four-hour layover in Atlanta. While Jon napped in the Delta lounge, I flipped through the half-dozen magazines that I had picked up at the airport shop — including Decorating, which is one of those "special interest publications" released by Better Homes and Gardens.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were several features that I really liked. My favorite was the profile of Erika and Joel Snayd's Savannah home. Check it out:
Apologies for the poor quality of my photographs of the magazine. I couldn't get the double-pages to fit on the scanner, so figured I'd go this route. Luckily, if you're interested, I think you still have about a week to try to track down the publication on the newsstands. Now I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for the next issue in case it's as good as the winter one!
Over at Apartment Therapy, I posted today about Christiana's San Francisco apartment. Here are just a few of the photos:
Christiana is the U.S. rep for Ferm Living; she incorporates their wonderful wallpapers throughout her apartment. I love love love her place.
I really really really want one of these somewhere in my house:
Cute. The Happy Porcelain collection by Tina Roeder:
The strawberry and croissant are both on sale at Lekker.
Wow. How lovely is this:
It's Lisa Wong Jackson's living room (yes, the talented designer behind Good on Paper) — posted on the Bluelines blog today by Joy.
I am still searching for just the right wallpaper for our entry. Today, I found another contender: Camilla Meijer's patterns. The UK-based designer makes wallpaper, lampshades and cushions.
(You can also find some of her work in Soma Gallery's online shop.)
I really like Monsoon's collection of wallpaper for Graham & Brown, especially the Chrysanthemum pattern.
(You can order samples of any of the G&B wallpapers ... which I just did.)
I think I need this:
"Roller Stop" is a new piece in Harry Allen's "Reality" collection. How perfect for our new shelving unit! (Available in April.)
If the nursery line is any indication of what the grown-up stuff will look like, I am going to be buying all sorts of the Dwell for Target goods when they drop next month. Anyone with a baby to shop for can pick up lovelies like these right now:
There are so many good resources out there for lovely textiles. I just discovered that you can buy Virginia Johnson fabrics by the yard.
Pretty soon, my entire house is going to be covered with the fabric that I've been hoarding over the years. Wall-to-wall. Floor-to-ceiling.
Oh, man. This may be the perfect solution for a small wall in our entryway. I was thinking of ordering up some Neisha Crosland wallpaper, but now the custom-size option at Wall Collection has won me over.
Above are designs by Mette Løber and Julia Rothman. You can also upload your own graphics for your very own wallpaper design. (via the Ferm Living blog)
Lara Cameron, of Kirin & Co., has launched a new online shop! Unfortunately, everything's sold out right now. But I'll have to check in on a regular basis so I can pick up more of her wonderful fabrics.
I purchased her "Gingko" fabric a few months ago, after Holly posted about it. I think I'm going to use it to make a pillow or two in the office.
Oh! Check out the cool wall decor Lara blogged about — created with embroidery hoops and her own fabric:
Another reason to be sad that Blueprint is shutting down: Great projects like this one, featured on the magazine's blog.
With a pair of floor cushions, a custom-cut piece of wood and some castors, you too can have this ottoman in your home! I especially like that the cushions are sturdy enough to be used as a side table as well.
Heath Ceramics just redesigned its website, and one of my favorite new features is the tile installation photos. Such as:
Gorgeous stuff.
Well, at least the name of this fabric was found:
This is the upholstered chair that was in our hotel room in Mexico — the hotel we stayed at in early 2006 and then again during Thanksgiving 2007. So I've been coveting the pattern for a while now. And thanks to the current issue of Domino, I now know that it's Donghia's "Casino."
Now if only I could source this fabric ...
This is the guest bedroom in the Austin, TX, home of Steve Shuck and Bobby Johns — the duo behind Mercury Design Studio:
The house is featured in the latest issue of Home magazine, which arrived in my mailbox yesterday. While flipping through, I couldn't help going back to this page again and again.
One of my favorite features in the most recent (and final) issue of Blueprint is the profile of the Chicago home of Suzanna Bierwirth — one of the co-founders of Binth. On the Bluelines blog, there's also a post with photos of the company's studio:
I love peeking into well-designed studio spaces to get inspiration for my own home office/craft room — which we're in the process of revamping. (Yes, we'll be taking advantage of the fantastic Elfa sale going on at The Container Store!)
Oh yeah ... I'm the guest-blogger over at Design*Sponge this week and all of the posts are about last-minute gifts. One of which I couldn't resist picking up for myself: the 2008 Colour Calendar. Unfortunately, by the time I tried to buy it, Unica Home had sold out of it (based on several experiences with them, they seem to have a really bad inventory management system).
Luckily, the Wexner Center's shop still has it in stock! The spiral-bound calendar is described as being "a bit like a Pantone book with a Pantone code for each day (365 colors) and blank pages for memos."
2Jane carries several Third Drawer Down designs, each is $38. These are so lovely — to perk up a kitchen or to frame on a wall:
Wow. I love Helene Ige's Wise Ol' Owl mobile ... But that love has its limits. Still, I applaud astar328's tattoo, which is based on the owl design! Neat.
In other Helene Ige news: The latest issue of Lucky (I think?) features a 2008 calendar that she created. It's all on one sheet and is very cool, but I can't find it anywhere!
I admit it: I record "Oprah" every day. But I usually only watch the episodes that are home- or design-related. (Yes, Nate Berkus would be welcome in my home. Any. Time.) When I saw that today's episode featured Ivanka Trump's apartment, I expected it to be look really expensive and gaudy.
I was so wrong.
While I'm sure it is a really expensive place, I loved the décor. Here are a few photos I managed to take of the TV screen:
Love the glossy chartreuse tables, as well as the petite artwork in the background that repeats the color. I am also crazy about her narrow doors.
According to the voice-over, one thing she always has in her apartment: fresh flowers.
I am so impressed by all the pops of color. Like with those foo dogs here ...
... And the lamp and pot here. Also, I am coveting that mirror. (Perhaps WS Home's "Harlow" is close enough? Or the lower-priced "Bellesol" at Ballard Designs.)
In case you want to see better photos (yes, better than my shots of my TV), check out this post on Stylecourt from a few months ago.
You know those cute little businesses where you can go in and make your own purse? You choose the shape, the handle, the fabric and a few weeks later you've got a custom piece. Well, Freddy & Ma is one such business. But the great news is, they've expanded into home accessories! So now you can customize your own pillows in various shapes, sizes and textiles. Oh! And you can also design your own melamine plates. I just know I'm going to have a lot of fun with this new feature this weekend.
Over at AT:SF, I wrote a post today about the Covent Garden Hotel, which is one of my favorite hotels. Aside from a great location and superb service, I'm crazy about the use of color and pattern in the place. Firmdale — the company behind the Covent Garden Hotel — is responsible for several other London hotels that also feature lovely decor:
Soho Hotel
Drawing Room at Number Sixteen
You may recall that a couple of weeks ago, I was lamenting the fact that the Umbra wallpaper collection had yet to appear on the Graham & Brown site. Well, thanks to Google, I finally found it today — but it appears to only be available on the UK online shop. Darn it.
I'm not even sure how I — a person who does not enjoy cooking — ended up with a subscription to Food & Wine. But every month, I flip through it cover-to-cover. I especially love the articles about entertaining. The latest issue includes some really lovely table settings. In one shot, Alyssa Ettinger's vases are used as breadstick receptacles and her bowl holds a pot pie. Brilliant.
I also really like the following settings — which include pieces by Kiln Enamel, White Forest Pottery, Coe & Waito (top) and White Bike Ceramics, dbO Home and Gleena (bottom):
Magazine spreads like these make me wish I was one of those people who regularly throws dinner parties. So pretty.
Although I'm still waiting for Graham & Brown to release its collection with Umbra (seen earlier this year at ICFF), I am beginning to think that maybe what our house needs is a Linda Barker wallpaper. I am especially fond of Tranquil and Serenity:
One of the products that I was most drawn to at Jill's art reception/Kelly's store re-opening, was Loyal Loot's Log Bowls:
I love the contrast between the outside (the log's rough texture) and the inside (smooth and shiny). In exploring Loyal Loot's website, I came across all sorts of other cool designs — like the Cupcake Table and Monsieur Dress Up.
Back in July, when I visited the
