Category: People

The Great Etsy Art Hunt

Let’s face it: just the mention of the word “art” can make your head spin and your blood pressure rise like a phoenix. So many artists, so little time. (Okay, let’s be honest, that little mantra sounds a whole lot better than admitting outright that what you’re really internally monologuing is the speech you’re preparing for your children/future children about how losing their education funds to a “no brainer” of an investment opportunity truly isn’t such a bad thing because real life experience is just SO much more important than college anyway.)

If this sounds like you, may I suggest you check out a little thing called Etsy? Yes, as in that website that you might traditionally identify with handmade baby bibs, lovingly crafted made-in-the-USA jewelry, or that gorgeous table made of reclaimed eco-friendly, sustainable barnwood (possibly made by an equally gorgeous, shirtless, bearded mountain man of a hunk?). That, though, is the Etsy of yesteryear, my friends (actually, come to think of it, they still have all that charming stuff…and now just so much more to boot).

Here are a few finds from a recent tour through the site in pursuit of some eye-catching abstract pieces that go easy on the wallet:

From the LeSage Gallery / artist Tommelise le Sage / Brooklyn, NY ($1,380):

From Untitled76 / artist Neil Williams / Mansfield, OH ($349):

From Ronald Hunter Paintings / artist Ronald Hunter / Rotterdam, Netherlands ($339):

From Art by Cindy Robinson / artist Cindy Robinson / Providence, RI ($400):

From studioArtificial (starting at $199):

From Lola Donoghue / Galway, Ireland ($900):

From polkadottydolls / artist Lynda Black / Calgary, AB, Canada ($45):

And from Linnea Heide Art / artist Linnea Heide / Norfolk, VA ($150):

So what do you say that you just remember me when your children thank you for not ditching that trust fund in the name of art (and in the same breath, mention that said art would just look oh so good next to the Che Guevara poster on their dorm room wall).

Got any of your own fabulous Etsy art finds to share with the rest of us? Spill your secrets here…we won’t tell!

March 12, 2014
California Dreamin’ with Billy Baldwin

I’ve been immersing myself in a lot of Billy Baldwin lately (and no, I’m not talking brother of Alec & Stephen here), hoping that some of his genius will rub off through the pages of decades-old books, Pinterest posts, and articles from various prestigious news sources. And, while the jury is still out on the effectiveness of all this, I did want to share a very important discovery with you here: Billy is undeniably a California dude at heart – fellow Californians, bust out those champagne glasses and get ready to claim him as our own!

“Huh?” you say. “You do know, don’t you, that his most famous creations were for the likes of Cole Porter, Jackie O, Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and others who would have likely shuddered at the thought of making their domiciles anywhere other than east of the Hudson River? And that gorgeous apartment of his…parked right smack on East 61st Street.”

Well, I would reply, take a look at THIS:

And THIS:

And THESE:

You know what I see a lot of?

-Bright, airy spaces
-Wicker & rattan
-White sofas galore
-An uncluttered, yet layered aesthetic
-Colorful, bold artwork contrasted against neutral furnishings

Now, tell me if that doesn’t sing sand, surf, palm trees, and general good ol’ California living to you.

Need further proof? Okay, how about a shot of Billy himself channeling his inner (albeit preppy) surfer:

Or check out these fabulous rattan chairs he designed:

So crisp, so clean…so FUN…so…California.

Okay, so maybe I’m just a wee bit jealous that New York has really been given the bragging rights in all things Billy…so I’ll concede that…in the end…it doesn’t really matter at all anyway because he’s a GENIUS…California or not.

And he has great advice to live by in your design life whether you’re in LA, SF, Dallas, Chicago, NYC or anywhere in between.   Here are some favorite quotes (which, by the way, merely scratch the surface of this deep well):

•   If you can tell I did a house, I didn’t. The essence of the relationship between client and decorator must be we.

•   The final judge in decorating, as any wise decorator knows, is not the ‘logic of the mind, but the logic of the eye.’

•    Probably the main reasons some people persist in confusing good taste with great expense is that they long for luxury, but they misunderstand the meaning of the word. They confuse it with grandeur.

•   Nothing is interesting unless it is personal.

•   The first rule of decoration is that you can break almost all the other rules.

•   The advocates of moderation, caution, and safety-first certainly have their place in life, but in decorating they are a total bore.

•   In a house that steers clear of the happy medium, even casual visitors can sense that something good is going on. They may rave, they may applaud, they may laugh, they may be shocked. But they’ll never, ever yawn.

•   Stick to the things you really love. An honest room is always up to date.

•   If I find that something I am doing is becoming a trend, I run from it like the plague.

•   A person with a real flair is a gambler at heart.

And with all this in mind, all you have to do is take one look at his own NYC apartment (photographed here in 1973!) and you can see why today’s designers across the board continue to refer to him for inspiration and guidance.

(Psst, white slipcovers and rattan again…I’m just saying.)

Want more Billy? Check out my Pinterest collection…and head to the bookstore to grab either of his two fabulous books (Billy Baldwin Decorates and Billy Baldwin Remembers), which will keep you inspired…and chuckling away to boot.

Got anything Billy you want to share here? Love to hear it all if you do!

Photos one through five taken from my copy of Billy Baldwin Decorates. The others are from here, here, and here.

February 6, 2014
Alessandra Facchinetti: A Perfect Marriage of Fashion & Design

Andy Warhol had Edie Sedgwick. Picasso had Marie-Therese. And now I have Alessandra Facchinetti. (Sorry, guys, for grouping you in with me like that but it had a nice ring to it.)

For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Facchinetti, she is the newly appointed creative director of Tod’s…and her style, quite frankly, rules…both on the catwalk and in her interior design choices.

Take one look at her office:

And one of her recent collection:

And a shot of the woman herself:

And you’ll know what I mean.

It’s all so seamless but in both she manages to capture a sophisticated elegance that ever so gently reminds you that it can be a tiny bit rebellious when it wants to. Dare I say Audrey Hepburn with a pinch of Marlene Dietrich?

Apparently she took her own words to heart that “a Tod’s woman…is as stylish in her home as she is out in the world” when designing the space that housed her inaugural show at Milan Fashion Week this fall. Guests were ushered into a home-like setting created by architect Barbara Ghidoni featuring art by Lucio Fontana, and furniture by Gio Ponti and Dimore Studio:

And those gathering at the catwalk were treated to a glamorous stage that combined elements of Art Deco and a polished, contemporary Italian vibe.

In fact, I think if there ever was an obvious case of fashion inspiring design, I may have cracked this one wide open? Or wait, maybe it’s the other way around?! Frankly my dear (that would be me), who gives a damn when the result is THIS:

Sublime to the hilt in every respect. Sigh.

And on this note, here’s wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday…and a New Year chalk full of more Alessandra, per favore!

Pictures from here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

P.S. If anyone is craving more on Dimore Studio, you can check out my Pinterest collection showcasing some of my favorites from their portfolio.

December 18, 2013
Can I Please Be Jessica Helgerson When I Grow Up?

If you haven’t heard of her yet…you will.

There I was the other week just happily pinning away on Pinterest as I am wont to do these days…and bam! There was this kitchen that popped up and someone (was that me?) literally uttered, “holy s***!”

Not only does this “Alhambra Kitchen” have that Gwyneth (Paltrow) factor to it – grounded, pristine, elegance with a little twist thrown in here and there (my deep apologies to all you Gwyneth haters, but it’s kind of true), but it also manages to be a total original at the same time. If there ever was a gateway drug to a designer, this was it, and I didn’t wait to pass go as I beelined it to my online BFF, Google.

I mean, really:

As I stalked my way through the internet gobbling up whatever bits I could about Portland based JHID (Jessica Helgerson Interior Design), I realized I really do want to be her when I grow up (you’re never to old to say this, right?). I don’t think I could have summed up her style (as demonstrated in the above two pictures, the history of which you can read more about on her website) any better than she has herself:

“Our perspective is informed by a respect for historical architecture coupled with an appreciation of the playfulness and freshness of modern design.”

Beautiful, gorgeous music to my ears.

And wait, there’s more:

While her favorite color is admittedly white (me too, yay, we’re like sisters!), you almost forget this when you look at her rooms, which seem to burst with color and texture despite generally being grounded with walls painted with that “color that is not technically a color.”

Another thing I dig immensely…her use of creative tiling throughout her designs to liven up a space and give them their own stamp. (A little hint…her favorite is encaustic concrete.)

And if you’re wondering where she gets some of the amazing pieces she comes up with, you’re gonna have to get creative as they are often conjured by her and her team and brought to life by local Portland artisans. For example check out these stunning glass fixtures designed by Andy Paiko in an office remodel she did:

(You can also read up here, here, and here re her chronicle of the table she built for the Alhambra Kitchen, a coffee table creation, and a discarded bathtub she salvaged and gave some new feet.)

Sigh, well, at least I can comfort myself with the knowledge that someone this talented and brilliant is probably mean and spoiled or something. Wait, what?! She lives in a house less than 1,000 square feet and grows her own food and loves animals? And she happily celebrates the arrival of her employees’ babies…and credits them on all her projects to boot?! Okay, now I reeeeeally want to be her (maybe with just a few extra square feet…or does that make me sound bad?)…restraining order, here you come…

Who would you be willing sacrifice a restraining order for? Share it here, we won’t tell.

October 1, 2013
Having It All at the Connaught Bar

Someone recently asked me if I had to identify my perfect space, what would it be? Sooooftball. Snooze. Answer for $200: the Connaught Bar (housed in its namesake hotel in Mayfair, London).

Inspired by English Cubist and Irish 1920s art, the late lion of interior design, David Collins (d. July 2013), produced a space so alive you could swear it beats to its own pulse. Simply step inside and the room whisks you to another place and time entirely of its own creation where for a brief slice of eternity you can leave your identity at the door and lend yourself to this glittering otherworld of ultimate sophistication. It is no wonder that Collins (The Wolseley, Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, Jimmy Choo, Alexander McQueen and The London, among others) described this project as the one being nearest and dearest to his heart.

So how can we mere mortals seek to scratch the surface of Collins’ genius, you ask? Why, just stare at your empty canvas and repeat to yourself this quote from Collins – “I never know what it’s going to look like but I know what it’s going to feel like.” And then you might come up with your own little version of this:

Don’t you just feel like you belong in this perfect world (and daresay deserve it)? With this glittering prop at your aid, you can almost believe that you are today’s Marlene Dietrich or Grace Kelley…or really anyone or anything that you dare to conjure for your brief stay in this modern fairytale. (Have I butchered your vision, Mr. Collins?!)

Okay, so even if you don’t buy my madcap musings on feeling, there is no denying the exquisite attention to detail throughout.

Take a look at these walls for example:

If you pay close enough attention and look beyond the platinum silver leaf (overlaid with dusty pink, pistachio and lilac), you might realize that all the patterns come together to form a map of Connacht, Ireland (don’t worry, I was one of the “99.9%” who missed it prior to stealing the answer key).

And…shhhh…these chairs have a secret of their own as well.

You wouldn’t know it, but the undersides of all the tables, chairs, and banquettes are lined with baize to absorb the sound (but just enough so as to not deprive you entirely of the Music Concierge compiled playlist piping a sexy soundtrack into your evening).

Then there is the famous Martini trolley, an accessory to match all accessories.

Sublime.

Really, what else could you ask for?

Oh, that reminds me.

There’s of course the ambrosia-like creations of head mixologist Agostino Perrone.

The sleek uniforms of the bar staff designed by No Uniform.

And canapes that spring from the mind of Hélène Darroze, the French chef behind the eponymous Michelin starred restaurant in the hotel.

In other words…they’ve left no sense unturned and created a room that truly “has it all.” (A feat to take note of no matter what your purse strings might bear.)

What’s spaces have it all for you? Please do tell!

Photos from here, here, here, and here.

September 24, 2013
Kelly Behun is My Friend

Okay, well not really (I wish). But did anyone here see this New York based designer’s spread in the July/August 2013 issue of Elle Décor? Even if you did, it bears re-sharing here for one very important reason – without uttering a single word, her living room perfectly defines what it is to engage in “highlow” design.

Absolutely and totally gorgeous, right? Must have cost a fortune. Okay, yes. But guess where those stools came from? Yup, Ikea. Yes, that’s right, Ikea. You heard correctly, I’m not joking. This architectural and design wonder of a home’s living room is tied together by none other than stools from the largest furniture retailer on the planet, whose products most decidedly come nowhere close to breaking the bank. How exciting is that?! We could all share in a little bit of Kelly Behun’s fabulousness in our very own homes if we just got thee down to our nearest Ikea store/hangar.

This got me thinking about other swoony interiors I’ve encountered that have also managed to incorporate a little Ikea love into their design. I’ve giddily conjured up two more off the top of my head.

Poppy Store (purveyor of luxe children’s clothing) in the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, CA:

Not only are those storage bins under the birdcage sourced from our favorite Swedish megastore, but so are the chairs and table off to the right.

And then there’s el restaurante Compartir de Cadaqués in Cadaques, Spain:

As we settled in for our meal from el Bulli trained chefs last year, I remember feeling right at home as I recognized these wicker chandeliers as having the same provenance as the one hanging over my dining table at home. (I also applaud Christopher Salon & Home in Tiburon for having similarly fine taste in lighting.)

Looking at these pictures got me wondering what new cool stuff Ikea has up their sleeves these days. As always, they didn’t disappoint. Herewith are a few items that can hold their own in any room:

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And there you have it. There is truly nothing more exciting, thrilling, and satisfying than celebrating both “high” and “low” design in all its brilliant forms. Even more exciting is when you get to combine the two to create something wholly unique and no one can tell which piece came across on that container from Europe and which one you found on eBay for $12 from the random guy in Saskatoon.

So what I’d like to do here is share things that might be way out of your price range, but provide great inspiration for something a little more financially palatable…as well as things that might be entirely too far below your generous (and envious) budget, but that I’m sure you can always find a more expensive version of! Wherever there is inspiring design to be found, it will be shared here.

Here’s to taking the highlow design plunge together, hope you enjoy…

Photos from here, here, and here.

September 17, 2013