tree inspiration

(christopher robbins [yes that's his real name] has built a 14 foot tree out of layers of plywood and installed, or planted, it outside. eventually, in april, it will be chopped down and then milled back into a sheet of plywood. robbins will then return the plywood to home depot and with the exchange receipt in his hand, he will have come full circle. the plywood will have completed its “tortured cycle from tree to wood to paper”. found at mocoloco)

(moth design offers this lovely tree wall sconce and gorgeous coral branch chandelier)

(beautiful root of the earth bowls & vases can be purchased at viva terra)

(fabulous cigarette table found at ippolita)

ibar

i'm looking into installing an ibar in a residential project i'm working on in san francisco.
i first saw it on mocoloco last summer, and then found this video on youtube to show my boss and clients. so, of course, i had to share it here too. sure it's trendy, but the clients want something very "now" and very unique, and they are fine with re-designing their home entertainment room several years later when their tastes or needs change. i'm all for it ~ blending this hip technology within a residential environment will be a cool challenge & i'm looking very forward to seeing how it turns out.

in doing more research i found similar technology being used in walls and floors.

carolyn quartermaine

this joyous blog reminded me this past week about london-based diva of sumptuous design: carolyn quartermaine. i have seen her work in many places (elle decor, vogue living, house beautiful to name a few) and am absolutely taken with the beautiful fantasies she creates in decor, collages, food, fabrics, really anything she does. her textiles and styling feel like spring freshness, (infused with french 18th-century pieces such as louis xv chairs covered in her luscious silks). and what a welcome site for sore eyes ~ my spring fever has hit, and as i watch the daffodils, hyacinth & lily of the valley start to bloom in my little back yard garden i'm even more inspired for the cheery softness of spring to be in full swing. and when you see carolyn's work i'm sure your spring will start to be sprung too. in more ways than one!

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(her book, published in 1997 ~ oooo i'd love a hard-back copy of this!)

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(above are 2 of her collage art works ~ they're more gorgeous when framed but i couldn't find any nice photos of them. the cover of the jan/feb 2007 issue of somerset studios has a nice image of the "toile royale" in a gold frame & a great article about the artist)

get in line

{the stripe dining table from 3 square design ~ clean lines hold down a vibrant stripe in a white lacquer inlay, and your choice of walnut, cherry, or maple. found at architonic}

{light and pretty, the sanur table lamp from fusion z with hand-blown glass accents and walnut trim is shown with the multitonal striped shade. found at stone gate designs}

{the stacked 5-ball lamp from cbk home ~ its stem resembling a turned post, glimmers with a polished-silver finish and vertically striped jewel-embroidered shade}

{glass tiles with stripe patterns inside ~ artfully created by the u.k. team at smashing time design, mike phipps and sarah holliday}


{malachite and chunki munki rugs from loophouse ~ incredibly tactile, extra thick pile, for that luxurious feeling underfoot}

{a plethora of vibrant black & white stripe motifs from missoni home}

{interesting furniture from interior crafts - here is their 0274-end table and 0276-cocktail table. glass appears to float in these studies of line and contrast, and comes with an optional stripe of silver leaf}

two lovely erthereal semi-transparent curtain patterns by kinnasand - a swedish textile company:

{tven}

{flirt}

brentano fabrics makes tons of pretty fabrics. here is their sheer stripe offerring:

{diaphanous ribbons ~ comes in 3 fairy tale color ways: aurora, snow white and cinderella}

a staged work in progress

for a large residential project i'm proudly working on in downtown sf, the client requested we mock-up the walls and stage some furniture so they could better visualize the scale of the spaces. i found the juxtaposition of the staged furnishings with the unfinishedness of the built space (dirty concrete floors, coroplast walls, exposed mechanical electrical & plumbing roughs) to be so interesting and almost quaint ~ definitely worth sharing. these photos were taken in the living room area.

plus the views are quite stunning....

(looking down on the living room from the 2nd floor)

(looking back into the living room from a terrace)

(this deck/plank stretches out over the streets 40 floors below. it gives a bit of vertigo to stand at the railing on a windy day. wooo!)

(this is the view looking out the north side of the penthouse, over yerba buena & moscone center)

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there are photos of additional rooms here in case you wanna see more.

flavor paper for fat tuesday

in honor of fat tuesday here is new orlean's based flavor paper ~ this is an ultra fabulous firm who designs and makes hand screened wall coverings. their work is bursting into many settings around the country, adding spice to the walls in any environment.

(lenny kravitz's new orleans house features the "highway 66" design, paper on chrome mylar, in the great room)

("mirage" ~ incredible intricate pattern)

("bubbly" in champagne sets the mood in this master bath in miami beach)

("kabloom", much as its name suggests, will make a huge statement in any space)

("highway 66", in pomegranite, made it into hgtv's 1960's bachelor pad ~ very groovy!)

("flower of love" installation at kos lounge in ny ~ in money green it's definitely a perfect celebrity backdrop)

beyond the lincoln logs

to honor one of my favorite presidents, abraham lincoln, i'd like to show some of the interior design and architecture prevalent when he was in office.
nineteenth-century american architecture and furniture design was characterized by a multitude of different styles that took inspiration from design vocabularies of the past. in reaction to rapid urbanization, the spread of manufacturing, the massive influx of poor immigrants, and the civil war, wealthy members of american society embraced romanticism, which urged a reexamination of the "simple" ways of the past in order to find happiness in the more complicated present. there were many revival styles generated by this philosophy, such as greek revival, gothic revival, egyptian revival, rococo revival, and renaissance revival. some of these revival styles were only found in furniture design, while others were used for a house's exterior and interior design as well.
source: "american revival styles, 1840–1876", in metropolitan museum of art

(sideboard, 1857)

(side chair, 1870)

(cabinet, 1877)

(slipper chair, 1860)

(cabinet, 1866)

(arm chair, 1853)

(abraham lincoln's home)

(sitting area in lincon's home)

(bedroom in lincoln's home)

(wallpaper in lincoln's home)