a feeling for objects both priceless & plain

i've posted about him before, but can't really ever get enough. axel vervoordt is one of those designers/collectors i've admired from afar as if he were royalty. so this architectural digest top 100 architects & designers {ad:100} article really got me. i know this is an old, old feature {from way back in 2005} but for the archival delight on my blog, and to honor the great coincidence that i found it again recently, it's worth a nice walk down memory lane.

{“i like things of quality,” says axel vervoordt. “sometimes i like a beautiful stone that you’d find on the street as much as i like a brancusi that’s worth a million dollars.”}

{trompe l’oeil and grisaille paintings decorate a belgian castle}

{the daytime dining room of a residence in france’s bordeaux region contains boiserie and parquetry floors recovered from another château}

{a mix of art and antiques in a living room in belgium typifies the designer’s approach}

{the entrance hall of the designer’s former residence, a complex of medieval houses in antwerp, featured 12th-century cambodian ceramics}

{for friends' tuscan palazzo, vervoordt furnished the dining room with chairs from the 17th and 18th centuries}

p.s. if you're curious... the coincidence mentioned above is because his new book axel vervoordt: timeless interiors was just released, and in looking it up i stumbled across a video tour of his incredible home right here: interieurs. this, right after i found an old notebook in which i'd written down the link address to the ad:100 article above. wow.

i can, so can you

this is exactly the type of event i've been hoping for ~ so i had to help spread the word too....
design*sponge will be hosting a biz lady meet up at dwr in a couple weeks! wonderfulness!
date: tuesday, october 23
time: 7-9pm
location: dwr on jackson street
rsvp to: designsponge@gmail.com
discussions about small business concerns, marketing/pr, real life designer success stories and retailing/wholesaling. {please bring a snack or drink with you if you can}


{thanks to the lovely miss.calie of nohea lookbook for the tip!}

paula pryke's posies

as my friends know, when i retire from interior design i want to open a flower shop. i will make lovely arrangements and give many of them away because it won't be about making money it will be about giving joy through flowers and plants. so whenever i find amazing florists i save them for future reference {and reverence}. paula pryke is definitely an amazing florist ~ she's considered one of the most influtential florists in the world and has published ten books. and she has a flower school. yes, that's right. someday i can travel to london and take classes at the flower house in islington.

until then, some inspiring arrangements will have to do:

and of course there are her many incredible books to read & learn from too:

choreography & physics: matter in motion

it's a big news day! printz dance project is featured in the san francisco chronicle and on sf gate. choreographers take a quantum leap into physics ~ article and video!

click below to take a sneak peak & come this weekend to get the full deal.

valkommen till cosas

i really like the rustic calmness of this room. i've been holding onto this picture in my "inspiring calm" folder for a while so it's another one of those spaces i can't properly identify or appreciate the designer for.

when i stumbled across a swedish online shop called cosas i was reminded of this room so i thought i'd share the coincidence. i'm willing to bet the person whose home looks like the photo above likely shops at places like cosas. their website is all in swedish so i can't understand a word, but the lovely photography of the wonderful items for sale pretty much speaks for itself.

some eichler time

developer joseph eichler built roughly 11,000 homes throughout the bay area between 1950 and 1974. post-and-beam construction, open plans and abundant use of glass gave many of the tract homes {which have gained an understandable cult following} the appeal of custom designs. it's a huge trend here to buy an eichler home and return it to its original glory. one such home was featured in the sf chronicle recently. i was so taken with it i wanted to share it with you. and then of course add a bit more eichler nostalgia to the mix. i too have a real fondness for eichler style, and my apartment has a very eichler-familiar feel to it as well.

a couple of great books on eichlers to add to your design library:

"atomic ranch: design ideas for stylish ranch homes" by michelle gringeri-brown and jim brown.

"eichler: modernism rebuilds the american dream" by paul adamson

for a fun step back in eichler time, take a look at this brochure from the late 1950's used to promote the san mateo highlands subdivision.

many people have remarked that my place appears to be an eichler. although i've searched all over the eichler network & other such sites i haven't found a way to determine it. i'm not sure that he built any apartment buildings though, so i think mine is probably one of the many copy-cats. for those of you who have been inside my place, doesn't this eichler living room look architecturally familiar?

roar & soar designers

i heart the blue angels! they do an incredible show in the bay area ~ shown here flying around saints peter and paul church on a practice run before the shows for fleet week {saturday & sunday at 3:00pm}.
psst.... they say the best place to watch the air show and the fleet week parade of ships is anywhere on the northern waterfront, but last year i watched from tiburon and it was fantastic!

zara's shades of grey

as some of you may know, i have a thing for greys and taupes. my handbags, my favorite shoes, my sheets, and my favorite wall colors are all in these shades. when i put together interior designs, i really enjoy layering different neutral shades to create warmth, softness and elegance. so i had a major swooning session as i experienced zara home's fall/winter '07 collection. i absolutely love the way they layered textures (some roughness, some sparkle, some smoothness) while using neutral colors. especially those greys! i'd just love to put almost everything from this collection in my own home. . . . . keeping the dream alive:

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side-note: i know this is from their spring '07 collection, but seeing as how i have a life-long infatuation with the golden ratio, and therefore with anything in a spiral pattern, this just had to get blogged too. someday i will have a home with a spiral staircase, there's just no getting around that. ;o)

nature maker

have you ever wanted to have the comfort & grandness of trees, in part or whole, inside your home but didn't have the skylights or the care-taking time to have them? i'd like to introduce you to the nature maker. you can custom design your own, or work with their designers, to create a near-real arboreal experience any where you can imagine it.

each tree is engineered to meet structural and seismic codes and is entirely handcrafted in the nature maker studio as a series of telescopically interlocking, finished components which are then seamlessly installed in the final location.
an intricate steel substructure is created by certified welders. then sculptors, painters, and scenic artists hand apply, hand carve, hand paint, and scenically age the inherently fire-retardant bark to the steel substructure. the leaves and branches of the tree are painstakingly assembled by hand in the naturemaker studio. my head is spinning with all the possibilities ~ indoor treehouses for the kids, a "wall" of cypress or bamboo to separate spaces, hiding structural columns with gorgeous birch or maple..... i could go on & on, so here are some residential photos to get your imagination stirred-up too.

p.s. they also make custom furniture using this same technology:

dominic crinson

balance the hi-tech with the spiritual, the natural with the ornate, the playful with the stylish.

this has got to be one of my favorite descriptions ever.
it comes from the philosophy of dominic crinson, a london based design house offering wallpaper, wall tiles and floor tiles that burst out of typical interior design convention. with such a philosophy, it should be no surprise that their products fit it to a "t".

autumn in the ozarks

i'd like to share with you a little known secret of my homeland ~ in autumn, the hills of arkansas come alive with a brilliant color display that surely rivals new england's. the garnet maple, the topaz hickory, the coral sassafras {all set against an emerald backdrop of evergreens} are stunning. odds are more san franciscans have trekked the himalayas of nepal than the ozarks of arkansas. special discoveries lie deep in its countless limestone caves, where spelunkers hear the drip-drip-drip of stalactites echo through the stillness, in canoeing its white water under the towering rock bluffs of the buffalo river, and most especially, in walking through its multi-colored woods in fall.
i'm planning a trip back to visit my family there soon {hopefully to start some new projects!} ~ my soul is hungry for the arkansas sunrise to illuminate an ever-changing mosaic of local color. care to join me?


{thanks to vicki haddock for the info. thanks to arkansas dept of tourism for the photos}

edra ~ 20th anniversary

ecclectic, artistic, and unique the furniture from edra beckons you to sit pretty or cuddle up, no matter where you find it. the milan-based edra is celebrating 20 years of combining advanced technology with traditional craft skills, continual successful experimentation with materials, and creating furniture that speaks to the emotions and the intellect. as you can see, their photo shoot locations are equally as unique and fun as their furniture designs.

printz dance project home season show

in two weeks, on october 11 - 13, printz dance project launches into its home season show at the cowell theater in fort mason center. i'm on the board of directors for the company and i dance with several of the dancers in my spare time, so this one is near & dear. please join us for the release of new gorgeous premiere works, some incredible collaborative pieces, and some poignant, elegant classics. pdp has received world-wide acclaim & huge fans for the vibrant, highly accessible, multi-genre choreography with extremely athletic, graceful, well-trained dancers.

i hope to see you there ~ all evenings will be wonderful, but saturday will also have a large reception after the show, hosted by yours truly {see the inspiration board below for a sampling of design concept}. i hope you can make it out ~ you definitely won't regret it!