Archive | June, 2011

Design Inspiration: Motley Prints

16 Jun

One of the feats I’ve always admired among home decorators and interior designers is that of mixing prints (and stripes and polka dots, what have you) in a manner that’s stately, yet fun and shows a lot of character.

I love a lot of the places that I’ve shared with you all because they’ve used prints sparingly and decorous, but I find myself opening up to the possibility of mixing unexpected prints and patterns.

Keeping everything the same in home decor/interior design is playing it way too safe for my tastes, so today we’ll be looking at what does inspire me…motley prints.

A black-and-white striped rug + an eccentric mix of pillows and artwork just works in this quirky living room.

image via style at home, photo by catherine therrien

image via black white yellow, via skona hem

 I posted this room as part of a house tour…this is basically when I warmed up to the idea of mixing up prints and patterns.

living room/home office; image by john carlson

 This living room’s mix of pattern, color and print is much more subdued; I think that’s partly because everything is just about in the same tonal range.  The gray, the lilac and purple are all equally saturated.

image via the glam lamb, via house and home

 So what do you guys think about mixing up prints and patterns and colors?  Would you do it, or would you stick to more neutral colors and pattern?

Shopping with Rex Kelly: Dining Tables (Part Deux)

15 Jun

The Dining Table, whether you eat PB & J or Chinese takeout, or maybe you’re one of the handful of people who cook every so often, it just feels nicer, more familial, to dine at a table specifically for dining.

We’re all guilty of eating lunch in front of the computer from time to time, but maybe, just maybe, if you had a lovely formal dining room table, you’d eat there more often.

I’ve actually already covered dining room tables, here, but I wanted to bring up a new crop of tables (and one perennial favorite).

cherner table- rectangle

Designed by Norman Cherner’s son, Benjamin, this table carries on the tradition of  masterfully molded plywood and was designed so that the table compliments Norman’s famous Cherner Chairs.

image via style park

image via oh joy!, via cherner chair company

Available at Hive Modern in Beech, Walnut or Ebony.  $2399-$2499

noguchi cyclone dining table

Isamu Noguchi is still most famous for his Coffee Table, but this table, designed in 1953, deserves merit.  Like the Tulip Table (below), the Cyclone Dining Table is good for those who want to rid the world from the slum of legs.  The sculptural and dynamic base consists of a cast iron base and chromed steel rods.  The top is laminated wood with an exposed birch edge.

As you can see, it pairs beautifully with Eames DAR Chairs…

image via apartment therapy

Also looks lovely with Bertoia Side Chairs…

image via nest-living

Available at Knoll in Black Laminate or White Laminate.  $1732-1934.

platner dining table

Yet another dynamic and sculptural table, this one was designed by William Platner in 1966.  The entire collection includes the dining table, lounge chairs, dining chairs and a stool.

image via apartment therapy

image via xJavierx (flickr), via house and garden

Available at All Modern $5812 +.

saarinen tulip table (the perennial favorite)

Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Table always gets a mention because it’s…well, it’s a classic. It’s one of my personal favorite dining room tables because of the simplicity and elegance of the design…

image via matters of style

image via elle decor

image via midcentury jo (flickr), via domino magazine (rip)

Available at Hive Modern.  $1677

Replicas available at Rex Kelly in White.  $499-539.

bradshaw dining table

From Room & Board, this contemporary take on a common mid-century modern design is really cute.  A great choice who want something simple, but well-designed.

image via room & board

image via room & board

Available in lacquered walnut at Room & Board.  $1499.

Happy Shopping!

House Tour: An Apartment/Studio in Nimes

14 Jun

The following apartment that I’m about to show you is a bit different than what I usually show.  But at least this studio, owned by Myriam Balaÿ Devidal, has got personality, which is more than I can say about Courtney Cox’s Malibu Home in this month’s Elle Decor.  It’s pretty, but it’s so…blah.

Anyway, this apartment is rife with prints, wallpaper, colors and my favorite, mid-century modern pieces (mostly in the form reupholstered Danish chairs and lamps).  What’s really great about this space is that it reflects Devidal’s career as an artist– she works in textiles, colors, and fabrics.

It’s a bright, cheerful and imaginative decoration of an early 19th century apartment, so enjoy!

sitting room

Very interesting floor lamp in one of the children’s bedrooms…

children's bedroom

staircase leading to the mezzanine

guest bedroom

A warm and cozy bathroom with Moroccan tile…

bathroom

It’s a bit on the other end of the spectrum I know, but I think it works.  View more pictures here.

Via Marie Claire Maison

Photos by Vincen Leroux

Design Notebook: Eero Aarnio Ball Chair

13 Jun

The Ball Chair, alternately known as the Globe Chair, is perhaps one of the most iconically retro mid-century modern pieces I can think of.  Is there any other piece from this design era that screams 60s so loudly (and proudly)?

image via hive modern

The Ball Chair made its debut in 1966 at the International Furniture Fair (IFF) in Cologne to great sensation and signaled the beginning of Aarnio’s successful international career.

Consisting of a fiberglass shell and an upholstered interior, the Ball Chair rotates on its own axis at the base.  As such, it’s described as a room within a room, since, as you can see below, it offers quite a bit of privacy for a lounge chair.

image via design milk, via mindre

Graphic designer, Jeffrey Kern’s, graphically-inspired living room features the Ball Chair, in the April issue of Elle Decor.

image via elle decor

image via desire to inspire, via nacho polo

Dying for your own Ball Chair?  Well, you’re in luck, as always.  I’ve got some high-quality, beautiful replicas in stock.

$859 each…available in red, pink, orange, green, blue, black, white, as well as orange exterior/green interior.  Whew!  That’s a lot of colors.

Click here to purchase or peruse.  Happy Shopping!

Design Inspiration: Mix-and-Match Dining Chairs

10 Jun

So…I know I urge you guys to buy like a set of Hans Wegner Wishbone Chairs or Verner Panton’s S Chair, but I’m not really that rigid.  In fact, I’m falling more in love with the idea of a mixed dining room set.  The feeling is a bit more fun and relaxed and when everything is not matchy-matchy.

image via vintage luxe (tumblr), via nuevo estilo

image via because its' awesome via marie claire maison

I love how rustic and quirk these chairs look, paired with a chunky dining room table and a pendant lamp.

image via because it's awesome, via marie claire maison

via the estate of things (flickr), via skona hem

image via remodelista

I’d have to say that my favorite mix-and-match are those that play with Eames’ variety of arm chairs and side chairs.

via the marion housebook, image via vogue living

What say you?  Do you mix and match your dining room chairs or do you have a matching set?

What I Love…

9 Jun

…the kitchen/dining room of this beautiful beach home on the coast of Oland.

image via skona hem; photo by martin cederblad

 Love the serenity of painted white walls and floor, the multiple bottles of wine on the kitchen counter…and the set of Hans Wegner Wishbone Chairs.

Published in Skona Hem.  Photos by Martin Cederblad.

Um…No(?)

8 Jun

This real estate listing –yes, a listing for a home that someone is trying to sell– is just all kinds of sad…

image via curbed

Go ahead, read the listing; there’s a picture of a toilet.  Click here.

House Tour: A Mid-Century Home in Sau Paulo

7 Jun

Today’s house tour is courtesy of Yatzer, a site I spend way too much time on.  The home belongs to one, Mauricio Arruda, a Brazilian architect and designer whose work has been featured in a number of design rags like Casa Vogue and De Zeen.

His home is filled with the veritable classics of mid-century modern design, his own designs, as well as some uniquely Brazilian tchotchkes.

image via yatzer

Arruda knocked down all the walls but this central pillar (seen below), which allows a bucket full of sunshine into the entire apartment…

image via yatzer

Here’s another view: window-facing…

image via yatzer

Shown here is Arruda’s rather tongue-in-cheek creation, House of Cards Table.

image via yatzer

image via yatzer

And now we come to my two favorite areas in this apartment…the mini-bar (obviously) and the bedroom.

image via yatzer

A close up of the bar and this bizarre, yet intriguing, poster.  Arruda has an interesting taste in art, to say the least.

image via yatzer

image via yatzer

All photos by Fran Parente.

To read more about the apartment and to see more pictures, visit Yatzer.

And don’t forget to visit Mauricio Arruda’s website, here!

Design Notebook: Series 7 Side Chair

6 Jun

Designed in 1955 by Arne Jacobsen, the Series 7 chair was a further development of the flagship chair of the Fritz Hansen Collection, the Ant chair.  It’s available as a stackable side chair, pedestal chair, office chair, barstool or counter stool and as a children’s chair.  Whew!

image via marshan (children's model, 3177, is shown here)

Despite this being a plywood chair, it’s actually flexible enough to adjust the contours and movements of the body.  You’ve probably seen it everywhere;  that’s because it’s a simple (and stackable!) chair that’s suitable for use in just about any space.

Shown here, the chairs fit easily into a rustic meets modern aesthetic…

image via from the right bank, via skona hem

image via apartment therapy

image via litchi7, via bridgitte.de

A baker’s dozen of the Series 7 look comfortable at this somewhat imposing conference room table…

image via avant-scene (flickr)

And, doing what it does best, here is the Series 7 Side Chair…as a side chair…

image via chairstalker (tumblr)

image via design shimmer, via vogue living

Here’s a little interesting fact about this chair; in 1963, Lewis Morley photographer a naked Christine Keeler, legs akimbo, in a knock-off of this chair, propelling sales of, and interest in, the real thing (which apparently had been sluggish since the chairs introduction in 1955)!

That explains why I see way too many naked ladies in classic mid-century modern chairs.

image via dovima is devine ii (flickr)

Now I know what you’re thinking; where can I get my very own Series 7  Side Chair for sitting in backwards while naked?

It just so happens that I’ve gotten some replicas of this lovely chair in stock…

image via rex kelly

Made of plywood and tubular chrome steel.  Available in Natural (shown above), Walnut, Wenge, Black and White.  $99 each.  Check them out here.

You’ll only need one for naked sitting, but you’ll need at least four to make a full dining room set.  Happy Shopping!

Design Inspiration: Book Walls

3 Jun

I like books…especially when you have so many that they take up an entire wall of space.  Can’t quite put my finger on it, but books/libraries lend an especially human touch to a space, don’t you think?

image via pretty little things, via domino magazine (rip)

image via eclectic revisted

What an interesting way to utilize this kitchen’s backsplash!

image via decrenew interiors, via elle decor

Apparently Karl Lagerfeld likes to read…

image via 10 rooms

So, what do you say?  Do you decorate with books?  Do you have a book nook or an entire wall?

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