Soft Geometrics

Warp and Weft, the luxury custom rug manufacturer, has launched a new collection of silk and merino wool hand-tufted designs. The Organica Collection features bold geometric prints with a soft color palette like the Arch Marscapone pictured above and these beauties selected below:


Mum Gilt


Echelon Gilt


Ophidian Orbit Smoke


Yumi Slate
The rugs carry the Goodweave seal certifying they were manufactured free of child-labor. These sumptuous Warp and Weft rugs can be fully customized for color, size or texture and are available to the trade only.

Googly-eyed

This is how I feel most mornings

The Eye Clock by Suck UK via Moss $40

Butterflies, Sunflowers and Steering Wheels

New at the MoMA store the George Nelson Flock of Butterflies wall clock by Vitra. It's an early 60s design of wood and polished metal, part of the “Clocks Ahead of Time" series. This one would make a real statement on the kitchen wall - it's a full 2' in diameter, which is probably a little more manageable than my (until now) favorite George Nelson design:


The 1958 Sunflower Clock. The extra-large size - 29.5" makes it the ideal clock for my kitchen. I know because we bought a floor model when we got the Platner table but had to return it when the hands dropped off. It fitted exactly into the style of The Cool House and the space on the wall. We plan to put a new model there after we paint...


but if I had a slightly more mod house - and only needed a 12" clock - I'd definitely pick The George Nelson Steering Wheel clock. It might be a 1948 classic but it reminds me of Mini Coopers and pop art mini dresses. Available from Velocity Arts

Martinis & Mutts

Since we deconstructed i.e. ripped out the bar in the den I've been searching for the perfect cocktail cart for our house. We also repurposed Polly's dog bed space in the kitchen and I need to find her another napping place before winter comes. This is an ingenious solution but I'm think this might prove problematic with our hyperactive, allergy-prone itchy dog. I forsee martinis up the wall and olives behind the sofa.
BowHaus Modern Pet Crate by Den Haus via Allmodern. Also available in ZenHaus and TownHaus styles.

Inspiration in the Den

The new hardwood floor is in and will soon be sanded and sealed. The electric cables that came up through the platform a foot from the wall have been relocated to a less obtrusive position and although the room will need new paint soon it's a blank canvas I can't wait to colour. It will need a rug, something to soften all that wood, a credenza for the TV (we'll swap the big TV from the master for the smaller one that used to be in the media center) and a couple of sconces. I have plans to use pieces I have in the house for the first two but the sconces will require some real live shopping. It'll take some courage to start looking at lamps again - it's really hard to judge from a product image in a catalogue or web page how it will actually look in a furnished space. But I've made a start and found a few contenders:



jefdesigns Legna wall sconce via Design Public. It comes in teak, walnut or zebrawood veneer - I like the walnut.


The Oggetti Dune Flushmount Wall Sconce via Lumens. Available in Black/Sand, Mocha/White and Sand.


Parker Half Round Sconce by Jonathan Adler via ylighting in Deep Patina Bronze. Aso available in Polished Nickel and Antique Brass.

Design Day

So you know how you start with one thing, say re-upholstering a distressed pink sofa, and then because you changed the colour you have to pick a new rug and pillow fabric and the next thing you know you've picked a wallpaper for the powder room and you're having a full-on argument with your other half about who has the better design ethics - in front of the professional with the credentials, taste level and portfolio to render any disagreement moot, the Awesome Designer for instance. You know that sort of a day? Well, that was my Monday.


The Awesome Designer, who does have a real name - Julie Napoleon Brown, and whose work you can see here, here and here - was devoting a few hours of her precious, much sought-after design time to take me rug shopping. Somehow that developed into a full-on entire day, including many hours spent pulling fabrics at Kravet's Long Island showroom.



Surprisingly, it was this square Chinese Chippendale carpet that made me gasp: coup de foudre, coup de coeur. It wasn't the colour we were looking for, nor the shape and certainly didn't read updated sixties chic -but it just leapt out at me and straight into my arms.


The Awesome Designer set to work pulling co-ordinating pillow fabrics like this Barclay Butera Chinese inspired print as well as more retro weaves and blocks of bright blues and greens and terracottas that would marry the cool blue of the sectional with the warm tones of the rug.


I got so carried away I suggested we look for a kick-ass wallpaper for the powder room and foyer - because you cannot expect that a newly-waxed floor in the great room onto which you've placed a sensual gold and terracotta rug surrounded by a freshly upholstered slate-blue sectional accented with one-of-kind cushions, will distract from the primer-over-wallpaper-base walls in the entrance hall, now can you? It would be more warthog with designer pearls than lipstick on a pig.


We hauled one rug home, plus two bags containing samples for a uniquely-coloured custom rug, fabrics for both options and a dozen or so wallpapers. Then we layed it all out in the great room to see what would work and what wouldn't. When we had it paired down to a cohesive design board we cracked open a bottle of white and awaited the arrival of The Guy who enthusiastically approved the rug and most of the pillow fabrics (including weirdly a zebra print we had put aside as a no-go) and out-right vetoed our paper choice (copper, black, gold and silver elms on a dark background that looks stunning in situ) saying he didn't want to feel like he was walking through a forest every time he went upstairs. Really interwebs, wouldn't you want to trip through the trees on your way to bed?


Anyway, another contender Grasses by Mulberry, and one that I really think would be more like weaving through a forest didn't make the cut either. The Guy's choice -walking through a town - is obviously not going to happen. We brought over The Loyal Blog Reader to mediate - but he wisely refused to get involved. Right now were are at an impasse on the foyer but, concentrating on the positive, we have a rug and pillow fabrics and the sectional will be back home next week. And, more importantly, I had a "girl in a sweet-shop" sort of day shopping with the best and most patient designer around.

Window Shopping (Weekend Edition)

Brussels: Rue Blaes, Roberto Barr Papier Mache sculptures


Brussels: Sablon, Anne-Claire Petit knitted toys

Bonus: The artist at work in his atelier - Roberto Barr, 41 rue Blaes, Brussels

Window Shopping (Brussels)

All these wonderful antique/junk stores are on Rue Blaes, which runs from the Sablon (chi-chi) to the Marolles (traditionally the downtrodden part of Brussels). You can find everything you ever searched for and a lot you didn't know you wanted: art nouveau to art deco; MCM, retro and space age chic; made to measure furniture to custom leather handbags; old school chairs and even a working carousel!

The big bed bust or the super kitchen table steal deal

The DWR Annexe sale in Secaucus last weekend had plenty of bargains - there were lots of King-sized beds on sale, including the Matera that I loved, and all these tables that I've previously considered to replace our cafe kitchen table were substantially reduced. Not that we were looking for tables on Saturday but we were there and they were there, so...


This oval Saarinen had a black marble (Nero) top, too dark for our house - and we decided too big


This round Saarinen had the white Carrera top but it was the same size as the present kitchen table - too small


I was leaning towards the Matthew Hilton Cross table but it was only available in bleached oak - too light


The Warren Platner table that I didn't even consider because The Guy had vetoed it a few years back. The same Guy who called me across the room as I was checking the beds out. He had his whole hand on it and I think he would have licked the top if anyone other than a salesperson had come near him. He wasn't going to give it up. What could I say? It's the right period (1966), right shape, unique, classic, eco-friendly (Greenguard Indoor Air Quality Certified) and Warren Platner worked with Raymond Loewy just as Andrew Geller had done. Bonus - it has exactly the right dimensions for the kitchen. SOLD!

Head of design?

I am seriously re-thinking The Guy's role in the design/decor decision-making process. Yesterday I took him to look at the last of my selection of walnut beds.... and we came home with a table. The table is gorgeous, and of course it was on sale, but I swear that when I first suggested it eons and eons ago he rejected it out of hand - this weekend he has to have it. Meanwhile he's still holding fast to that upholstered bed. Who is this person and what has he done with my man?
No details on the table until it's delivered - which will probably be mid-week. Until then, how about a nice Fall photo?


Hermes, who cares not a whit for design, is on the fence.

Unique Animal

The Guy nixed half the bedroom inspiration. I had done all the prep work, all he had to do was tell me which of the three options he liked the most. I don't think he quite understood his role in the mission to redo the master bedroom/bath. Or maybe he decided "master" meant he was in charge of decorating decisions? I don't know, but he took one look at the George Nelson sconces and said "Huh? Yeah. NO"! A totally visceral reaction that was so loud he had the sales guy and two customers chuckling away. I was unamused. He then showed zero enthusiasm for any of the gorgeous walnut beds I'd been lusting after and eventually, after looking at and lying on a zillion beds in a few thousand stores (ok I exaggerate but it was a long day) he pointed at one across a room and said "That one".


"That one", the Hoffman at Room and Board, appeared to be everything he always said he hated about furniture - especially bedroom furniture. Firstly it was upholstered - he has allergies and we have a bunch of kitties that leave fur everywhere. Wooden and leather furniture you can wipe down with a cloth but fabric? All traces of dust or kitty have to be removed with a vacuum or roller-ball. Every. Single. Day. Then there's the style - it has buttons. The Guy hates trim of any kind and that includes buttons. I decided he was so hungry he must be hallucinating so I dragged him off to Mercer Kitchen for some lunch, where, I swear, he spent 90 minutes talking about the damn bed. I have to admit his reasoning was good - there was already a lot of wood in the room and sitting up to read in bed would be more comfortable.


We went back after lunch to see if his feeling for the bed was true love or a mere infatuation. The temptress had more tricks in store - we he could choose the upholstery, including the retro inspired fabric above and the legs and it fitted with the Grove night tables, a pick of mine that he likes. When he found a mattress that felt like his beloved Swissflex he was sold; apparently he has never felt like this before. Not even the salesman's remark that Long Island is a unique animal and we'd have to pay extra shipping to have it delivered to the Incorporated Village deterred him. He has to have this bed. Is this a mid-life crisis? Should I be worried?

* Hi to all Homedigz visitors. All other visitors, go check out the Thanksgiving Blog Party over there

Primary Bedroom Inspiration

Because you can't have a primary bath remodel without a primary bedroom rehab, here are a few items I would absolutely love to use to redecorate the space: This colored version of the classic George Nelson Bubble lamp from Room and Board. I love the seafoam color, the mid-century modern design, the huge scale -36" diameter. Everything about it screams buy me... except we don't have a pendant fitting in the bedroom. While we are on the subject of lighting, and still shopping the George Nelson lighting section at Room and Board, I'd pick up a couple of these Cigar Sconces - one for each side of the bed. I'm planning to flip the room round again, well the bed at least. If I'm going for a new look I want to upgrade to a king-size so I'll need more wall space. It actually makes sense to do this so I can look at the newly cleared and planted side lawn. And we'll have the headboard on an interior wall and that's got to be warmer, right? The bed was narrowed down a few months ago to one of these walnut beauties. The question is still which one... maybe Grove, again from Room and Board.

Market Sunday

Huntington Farmers' Market on Sunday morning - a gathering place for good food, chatty neighbors and friendly dogs


Lots of samples and a few unexpected items


Cheesecake Souffles - a sweet treat for breakfast


and red wine starter bread - yeast-free but without the sourness of sourdough.

Dwell Table Linens

A little earlier this summer I entered a Design Public contest and won these dramatic DwellStudio Table Gate cocktail napkins and coasters. Made from 100% linen, they are soft and strong and in this dark brown Java colourway fit perfectly with the rest of the decor at The Cool House.

I've bought a couple of things from Design Public and have been very impressed with both their prices and their customer service - it's more like buying something from a trusted friend with great taste than a big anonymous corporation. They have a stylish blog, Hatch that's full of interesting links, and if you are the twittering type follow @designpublic to learn all about their design ethos, products, sales and deals. Check them out, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Babu the Boar Bookend

Love Babu the cute limited edition leather boar bookend by Zuny. Also available: adorable Lion, woolly Sheep and black and white Dinosaur, at Generate $49 each

Coral Trends

Maybe squid is the new coral....

Modern Mother's Day Gifts

Did you know that it's almost Mother's Day? A marketing opportunity like no other that is celebrated all around the world (albeit on different days)? Although I don't do Hallmark holidays, it seems everyone else does so here's a few ideas for gifts for Modern Moms.

Exclusive New York emporium Moss has some fab suggestions for the design savvy including Kiln, enamel bowls and platters in half a dozen different colours from designers Elissa Ehlin and James Leritz. They are simple, yet vibrant and modern. Price range $85-$315.

DWR has a fun lamb-shaped bar of soap made of sheep's milk $12, and something I would definitely want as a winter gift: a hot water bottle with an alpaca cover. Snuggly!

 

From Design Public a really cute and unusual idea: Octopi Cups by design group Cake. In white on black or black on cream, they'd make great toothbrush holders for a stylish bathroom, too. $18 each.

In case you need to know, here's what I would NOT love to receive on Sunday: a homemeade Oreo cake; warmed frozen croissants (especially a year's supply thereof); a personalized entertaining and recipe journal. Avoid here at all costs, you do not want to see my face if you have rush-shipped me their best selling Mother's Day gift: an All-Clad Waffle Maker!

Coral is still in?

According to Williams-Sonoma coral is the color of the season.

It's one of my favourite shades so I'll give them a pass but I can spot at least three trends that are passé or at least completely overdone, including the use of faux coral as an accent.
What about you?