Friday, May 31, 2013

BEAUTY: Ceramics--Christina Schou Christensen

Artist Christina Schou Christensen fires thick, dripping glazes on her ceramic bowls so they are frozen in place, forever extruding from the bottom of her perforated containers...


http://www.christinaschouchristensen.dk/

Fluffy Friends

If it were acceptable for adults--all of us--to take our stuffed animals and toys with us in our daily lives, to work, to school, to the grocery store, I can't help but think that the world would be a much better place.

Even the animals need a furry friend...

Thursday, May 30, 2013

"What That Was" by Majical Cloudz



What That Was

Me and my friend Neil
It’s just how we feel
No one here’s gonna step on our toes
When we’re out together
Nothing could be better
Catching spots and watching shows

Hey, I think that you’re the best friend that I have ever had
Hey, I don’t know now if I’ll be gone for a short time

Me and my friend Neil
We go where we feel like
No one here’s gonna step on our toes
Out on the end of Pond Street
That’s where me and Neil meet
To go everywhere that we go

Hey, what was that? We’ve been living in the same spot for 5 years
I didn’t know then that I’d be around for a long time

Me and my friend Neil
We go where we feel like
We don’t need anyone to step on our toes
And when we go out on Fridays,
We come back on Saturdays
Me and him painted until the sun rose

Hey, what was that? You’re the best friend that I have ever had
I didn’t think about it until now but I’ll be gone for a small time


http://soundcloud.com/majical-cloudz
https://www.facebook.com/MajicalCloudz

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Goodnight...


“Dreams do not lack reality. They are real patterns of information.”
--Richard Doyle

“Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together.”
--Anaïs Nin

“Judge of your natural character by what you do in your dreams.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We do not make dreams, they come of their own accord.”
--C.G. Jung

Saturday, May 25, 2013

World Interiors Day 2013


Since I am an interior designer, I am celebrating the 50th anniversary of World Interiors Day today, sponsored by The International Federation of Interior Architects/ Designers. I will be posting unique and inspiring work by interior designers. Seeing extraordinary interiors always feeds my appetite for beauty, and fuels ideas for my own work with clients...

http://www.ifiworld.org/#World_Interiors_Day

BEAUTY: Interiors--Ryan White

In recognition of World Interiors Day, I am featuring outstanding work by current interior designers.

Los Angeles interior designer Ryan White created a fantastic, eclectic home for clients in the Hollywood Hills. He furnished this classic California-Spanish-style home with vintage and modern pieces, making an artful yet comfortable--and very classically California--statement.


http://ryanwhitedesigns.com/

BEAUTY: Interiors--John K. Anderson

In recognition of World Interiors Day, here are some photos of the lovely work of San Francisco interior designer John K. Anderson.

I am crazy for this darkly traditional yet modern foyer and adjacent dining room he did for a house in Pacific Heights. It feels Jacobean and contemporary...


These two kitchens on opposite ends of the design spectrum are so beautifully realized--one is white, clean, urban, and the other, a spectacular barn-like kitchen for a home in Napa, is organic, rustic, and embracing.


And mirroring the previous kitchens, here are two bathrooms that follow the same path. The exquisite sleek white bath featuring carrera marble, a fascinating wall mural, and pendant lights with a vintage 70s feel contrast against the natural, breezy, earthy bathroom with a shower that can be opened up to the glorious landscape of Napa wine country!


And here is his offering for 2012's DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) charity event in which designers create a table setting and corresponding space. Since there is no client involved, designers are free to explore their imaginations and dream up the wildest, most unusual things they can think of. And for inspiration, Anderson used one of my all-time favorite films, "2001: A Space Odyssey." His result captures the film's final sequence perfectly. And I love the chair covers on the Starck Ghost Chairs--they seem as if they are made of space suit material.


http://johnkanderson.com/

BEAUTY: Interiors--San Francisco Decorator Showcase 2013

In recognition of World Interiors Day, I am featuring outstanding work by current interior designers.

I attended this year's San Francisco Decorator's Showcase a few weeks ago, and the house this year is the old Herbst Manor, a Georgian style home built in 1899. Prior years have seen some amazing, flashy designs but this year felt restrained, subdued. I am not sure if it is the tone of the world, the texture of society, or the continuing economic crunch--or all of the above--that contributed to this sense. Don't misunderstand, the designs were lovely and imaginative, but something about the house, taken as a whole, felt neutral... Yet there were still some standout spaces.

Below is Matthew Leverone's Salon, one of the first rooms one sees after entering. The detailed, ornate molding in this room was a perfect foil for the sleek modern pieces, juxtaposed with two large potted pine trees. I like the deliberately blurry photo of an Old Dutch Master image over the fireplace filled with the sawn ends of logs.


Catherine Kwong's inspiration for the Living Room was a Cy Twombly painting, which she translated into expressive and expansive dripping white strokes on the ebonized floor .


The dining room was a study in bleached pine, white, putty, parchment, and taupe. It doesn't come through too well in the photo, but the textures in this room put this fantastic but understated design over the top (click the picture to see details). The perfect finishing touch: the hand painted wallpaper between the lower crown molding and the coffered ceiling.


Martha Angus and Eche Martinez created a fun, witty playroom for kids and adults alike which they dubbed "The Danger Zone."Again, the modern sensibility is a delicious contrast to the woodwork in the room. The bubble furniture begs to be touched and bounced on. And yes, that is a crate of stacked dynamite in the fireplace (!).


This living wall in the Master Bathroom by Siol Studios was stunning. The free-standing shower, enclosed by sliding modern lattice garden gates, in front of the tub was quite special as well...



The dark, moody, sultry Master Sitting Room by Zoe Hsu featured a wild lighting fixture of Gemsbok horns.The space is clean-lined yet luxurious.


One of the most striking features in the entire home was the relief map (yes, actually raised, with texture) of London on the ceiling of the Teenage Girl's Bedroom, designed by Applegate Tran (they also designed the tentacled ceiling light fixture that sprawls across the City). They took their fictitious client and fleshed her out so completely with a space that was part pinky-cute-girl, and part rip-it-up-I-don't care-punk that I felt the girl herself could walk in at any moment and scream at me to get out!


And finally, Phillip Silver of Bigelow + Silver assembled a richly textured yet calming neutral Master Suite. I noted the marvelous long silver leafed canvases lit with picture lights flanking the fireplace. They are a beautiful backdrop to the sky blue vases on acrylic stands. Very simple but very effective.


http://decoratorshowcase.org/