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…
Comments
2 responses to “Kelly Behun is My Friend”
Love the new blog. Spent the day at Ikea yesterday. We just moved and its almost impossible, these days, to move without Ikea somewhere in the equation. Oh and we had an ikea dinner last night and even the kids ate their dinner! Meatballs and potatoes and gravy(cream sauce as they call it)-Yum! Overall, Ikea has some great design sense without breaking the bank. No one can compare. Many have tried, but no one is quite there, yet.
Thanks so much, Gina, and couldn’t agree with you more!!! It’s truly remarkable what a great job they’ve done and the kind of cutting edge design that they produce at a fraction of their competitors’ prices. And just thumbing through the last month of shelter magazines, I stumbled on two more examples of luxury interiors bringing Ikea into their midst. Always fun to be the cat who ate the canary!
(Apologies for the delay in responding btw, technical difficulties here on this end.)