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!

Enameled Copper Dish

I don't usually buy souvenirs when I'm on vacation but I picked up this copper bowl by artist Susan Funes on our trip to Buenos Aires last year. It's unique, modern and fits my decor perfectly. I love the depth and cloud effect of the brown tones that contrasts with the regular criss-cross pattern of the royal blue lines. At the intersection of each line there's a tiny ochre dot - a tiny detail that adds so much to the finished design. Enjoy!

Cool House Art: Don Clausen

If you're a regular at this site you know I like to give art to mark special occasions. My reasoning is simple: it's a unique gift choice - even if it's a print, or an edition, I'll choose a frame that nobody else will have - but more importantly art is something everybody can enjoy everyday.

For our second anniversary in The Cool House I wanted to get The Guy a painting to hang on the sandstone wall in the great room. It had to be large enough for the space, abstract, have some sort of significance to our lives and of course, I had to know we'd both love it.

 

It took a while but eventually I found a large oil on canvas by Californian artist Don Clausen entitled Abstract (1984) at a California auction house.

I was immediately drawn to the colour of the painting, the touches of rose pink and aqua amongst the browns and ochre but it's the sculptural quality of the paint on the canvas that keeps me looking at the painting every day and finding something unique each time; even though Abstract (1984) is composed of geometric shapes there's a sense of movement in it that makes it feel alive. We loved it so much I hunted for more and a couple of years later I found a much earlier (1966) painting, Blue Bird, that now hangs on The Guy's office wall.

Don Clausen has been producing great art including pen and ink drawings, sculptures and assemblages for more than fifty years and he's still working. His most recent exhibition at the Alta Galleria in Berkeley features his latest series Tak, Danish for "Thank you", inspired by artists and musicians like Stan Getz, Salvador Dali and Erik Satie. We were very disappointed to miss last year's retrospective celebrating 50 years of work but on our wishlist of future trips is a stay in northern California and a visit to a gallery to see more of his magnificent paintings.

Valentino, the movie

 

photo Acolyte Films

Part Sun King, part Roman Emperor, Valentino Garavini was the titular head of his company for forty-five years.  While relying on others to take care of the commercial side of the business, he built a billion dollar enterprise and designed gowns worn by the rich and famous throughout the world, blurring the edges between art and fashion.

Valentino: The Last Emperor is a riveting look at the Italian fashion designer's last year at the eponymous couture house that culminated in Rome in July 2007 with the magnificent Red Party - a retrospective of the his career at Ara Pacis Museum, a ball at the Villa Borghese and dinner for 900 of his closest friends at the Temple of Venus.
Matt Tyrnauer and his film crew had unlimited access to Valentino at a time of crisis when investment funds were taking over the business and rumours of Valentino's iminent retirement were rife. The documentary is a compelling and affectionate portrait of the last true couturier and fashion icon:

Valentino was incapable of designing an ugly dress

He had an entourage and staff of beautiful people, without whom he would probably have stayed in his room all day sketching

 

photo Acolyte Films

He has a posse of the best trained pugs in the world (pugs know to get off the red carpet when nature calls)

 

photo Acolyte Films

His seamstresses, who hand sew every garment, are more detail oriented and stressed out than the designer himself

 

photo Acolyte Films

His almost fifty year business and personal partnership with Giancarlo Giammetti is one of the great love stories. Almost never apart, they bicker constantly, yet love and respect each other completely.

 Valentino made dresses that I covet; possibly this one most of all.

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?

Thermal Imaging Maps

This is the last hot day of the mini heatwave and, I thought, an appropriate time to post this neat interactive imaging map of heat loss from buildings in Brussels.

Search by locality and street to see how much energy literally disappears into thin air. The map allows residents to see how efficient (or not) a building is and links within the site (French or Dutch only) suggest improvements such as insulating the attic or turning down the thermostat; a separate section directs home owners to grants that help offset the costs of making the building more economic to heat and more environmentally friendly.
This type of mapping was also undertaken a couple of years ago in the UK but I haven't seen a similar US thermal map. I'd be very interested to see how much we are heating the neighborhood on a cold December night. What do you think: An invasion of privacy or a useful tool to fight climate change?

Georges Briard

Bit of a Georges Briard obsession at the moment. Jascha Brojdo, his real name, designed housewares, notably glassware in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Because it was mass produced finding it isn't difficult, pieces come up all the time on ebay, or at local flea markets often for only a few dollars. I love this mid-century glass dish


Who could resist the gold pattern - so retro.

Then there's the ceramic kitchenware, which I think I like even more


Georges Briard Seashell Cheese Plate and Knife. Seashells, appropriate for The Cool House, no? Good thing as they are both mine courtesy of ebay.

Inspired by Daffodils

One lone daffodil to be precise. I don't know the variety but the combination of pale sunshine yellow and hot orange makes me want to sing* and decorate with:

A bright orange Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair

Soft saffron Elin bed linens by Area from The Conran Shop 

Finnish designer Sanna Annukka's folklore inspired Kanteleen fabric from Marimekko

Or maybe I should make a couple of DIY art panels with a quart of Benjamin Moore Citrus Orange and another of Lemon Meringue?

What would I be singing? Well, certainly this number from the Belgian days

Warm Weekend

On one of those perfect weekends that came to cheer up Spring; there was sand and summer breezes


sitting on the deck of the Bay, Friday evening watching the sun set behind Lloyd's Harbor



spotting piping plovers on the shore Saturday


a few chores like sweeping sand between the bricks on the path


celebrating the breeze with open windows and newly-hung flowing white muslin curtains


admiring the cherry blossom


and rewarding ourselves with a Bloody Mary and fresh spicy guacamole, Sunday brunch in the backyard

DIY Art

via pointclickhome

Four or five years ago when we were buying The Cool House someone asked what we were going to do with all the huge white walls as we didn't have enough art to fill the space. I said we'd find more as we went along and if the need arose to hang a big picture I could always paint a blank canvas with a bold solid color. I remember there was much derisive laughter and shaking of heads at this suggestion.

Well, I say to you scoffers: Look at the New York Times Home & Garden section . They showed this panel from the Kips Bay 2009 Decorator Showhouse; a 12'x6' stretched canvas painted with Benjamin Moore Big Sky Blue. Hah! I was just a little ahead of my time.

Magnolia

Such fleeting beauty...

Orange Glow

Sunset on the deck overlooking Nathan Hale Beach, Huntington Bay, Long Island. What had started out as a warm evening with a not terribly promising sky transformed into this magical moment. Un-retouched, uncropped; just as it happened around 7:30 PM on Friday April 24. I can hardly believe this is New York in late Spring.
Click to embiggen.

Daydreaming on the LI Shore

It's a warm Saturday in Spring on Long Island. What could be better than the Young Rebel Goombas recording Daydream Smile in the studio and outside the gentle waves lapping the Long Island Sound? Maybe the Goombas live tonite at Off Key Tikki? Enjoy!

Hi-def slo-mo

Carousel.
Spectacular video ad by Adam Berg for Philips’s flat-screen Cinema 21:9. Be amazed. Enjoy!
via Very Short List

Wallflowers

Look at all the pretty flowers, not decals but 3D representations. For all styles and all budgets:


High end designer decor from Amy Lau for Kip's Bay House 2009 via pointclickhome.com. This photo really doesn't do the installation justice. Visit wallcovering firm Maya Romanoff to appreciate the achievement of Amy Lau and paper artist, Jo Lynn Alcorn or tour the townhouse now until Sunday, May 17th.


Malin Lundmark painted steel Flower Hooks. $58 for three @ Abitare


Wallflower Wall Decor from Umbra. Available in pink, kiwi, white, and black $37 per set of 25 magnet mounted polypropylene flowers.

This post was written as part of the Hooked on Houses blog fest. Julia is having a Grey Gardens obsession today. Grey Gardens is in the Hamptons on the south shore of Long Island, right at the other end of Suffolk County from Beach House but it's all Long Island, all the time.. I'm also upcycling it to Fifi Flowers Design Decor because it's the eco-friendly thing to do this week AND because she's drinking champagne in Champagne, France.

Bridge to Somewhere

We said yes please to repairing the bridge. Our other plan was to procure a whole new readymade bridge from an online supplier, which in the end proved to be impossible. At first glance it just seemed prohibitively expensive but on closer inspection all the 12' bridges are 36" wide, this one (of course) was custom made and 48". So we went to plan B, removing and replacing the rotted wood. Luckily the support frame was in good condition and our lovely handyman is taking this opportunity to level out the sunken bricks that we couldn't reach before.


Can I tell you what a joy it is to work within someone who's even more detail oriented than me? Someone who says: "if you have a bag of sand lying about I could see to those bricks for you". It's total bliss. Anyway, the bridge should last a few more years and if the weather improves (we are promised 80+ temps by the weekend) we may even get to walk over it to the pool.... which we should think about opening for this season

Earth Day 2009: The Beach Edition

I'd defy anyone to walk along the beach this morning and not be inspired


by the remnants of last night's mist swirling off the Sound


by the random pink shells amongst the wave-smoothed pebbles


or the assembly of worms washed up on the shore

Sustainable Remodeling

When I found out I was the lucky winner of Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live I was just thrilled to win a book on one of my favourite topics, home renovation; I didn't know what a wonderful resource this book is going to be. Taking her mantra of "build better, not bigger" Sarah Susanka and co-author Marc Vassallo have presented a go-to resource book on sustainable design for homeowners and architects alike.
Using her own classic Cape style house as an example Susanka offers three options for efficient remodeling: work within the existing footprint; consider a small bump-out and lastly build an appropriate addition. Often minor changes are all that are needed to fix an awkward layout or improve flow within the house and the authors always emphasize integrating the old with the new so the house is cohesive and aesthetically pleasing.
Although we are living in a larger house, somehow it never feels imposing. Sarah Susanka explains why: it's all about proportion. "It is possible to design a house where everything looks in proportion, but when you approach the house on foot you realize it is out of proportion to our human bodies". I'd go further and say a lot of houses built or remodeled in the recent past don't fit the scale of the surrounding landscape either. The authors challenge the reader to really consider the way we live in these big spaces and offer smart solutions to make them feel more comfortable.
Not So Big Remodeling is glossy enough to keep on the coffee table yet packed full of plans and blueprints and I would be happy to own it for the photography alone. Many of the houses featured have beautiful natural wood trim and doors with a Craftsman ethos that is immediately appealing. But there's so much more to this book than obvious visual appeal, it contains tips and ideas on every page that can be incorporated into any remodeling project - large or small - including the updating of Beach House.
Thanks Susan at Homedigz.com for adding this book to my remodeling resources.

Artistic License

The Pierre Bonnard painting, Table in Front of the Window, in the previous post must have left more of an impression than I thought.


It influenced something I'm calling Forsythia Through The Office Window.... on a rainy day.
Enjoy!

I got sunshine

Actually I'm about to get buckets of rain but yesterday I took this photo in the middle of cleaning the house, doing the laundry and locating and re-attaching screens - it was a summery 78F on Saturday and we wanted all the windows open and I couldn't remember where we had stored them (yes, we do have that many closets and no, I am not complaining) - all the things we do as spring finally gets a grip on Long Island.

Pierre Bonnard: Table in Front of the Window

The day before we had managed to catch the Pierre Bonnard: The Late Interiors exhibition at The Met Museum before it closed and I was stuck by the summery mimosa in his paintings that reminded me of glorious warm days in the south of France - sunshine and azure blue skies.
When I saw the yellow forsythia in full bloom I knew I had to run and get a shot before the incipient rainstorm ruined it for another year, it might be the last sunny thing we see for the rest of the week. It ain't mimosa but it will do.