While I’m thankful that our forefathers got rid of those pesky British taxes that didn’t have representation and all, I am always a sucker for a Union Jack. I think my favorite use of it lately was the quilts featured on Man Shops World by Becky Oldfield. Here are a few more dreamy shots of the U.K.’s flag I’ve been collecting lately:

Check out Timothy Oulton’s sofa:

A dash of Vivienne Westwood (she’s been doing this a long time) via Living Etc.:

From Natural Curiosities:

From Made By Girl:

From Jonathan Adler:

From one of the designers of Libertine, as seen in Domino.

From the fabulous Bonnie Cashin:

From Naked Decor:

Quilt image by William Waldron via Elle Decor
Sofa image by Michael Falco for The New York Times
Living Etc. images by Jo Berryman for Living Etc.
via Natural Curiosities
Bonnie Cashin Foundation

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Design Public. Here’s a yummy picture from flickr member Scandblue. If you click here, Scanblue has been nice enough to provide the recipe for this pecan pie on flickr.

I just spied these stairs on Tumblr and while I figure they have probably been making the blog rounds lately, I had to post them anyway. I want them! You can tell how fun they are by the suit’s face:

They are by Rodney Miller. When Googling around trying to find out more, I found another fun, probably slightly more practical staircase via Cookie Magazine (via Gizmodo):

It’s here, it’s here! I love it when UPS, a.k.a. The Amazon Fairy*, brings me pre-ordered treats. Today it was Hue by Kelly Wearstler. This book is stunning. I think half of the designs are the exact opposite of ANYTHING I would ever have in my house, but here’s what. Remember when Domino featured Wearstler’s Bravura Modern poolhouse and everyone was all “what in the hell is this?!?!?!?” I was like that too – I wrote about it in an incoherent fashion here. However, take a look around.

Look at the boxes bedecked with clunky stones. Then look at the clunky rocky Rachel Zoe-y jewelry that is in fashion today. Look at the crazy blobby furniture and then check out what Calvin Klein Home, Fendi Casa and Armani Casa are offering right now. Look at the Keith Haring-esque custom wallpapers Basquiat paintings and think of how graffiti and the culture of the streets has infiltrated so many aspects of the avant garde and mainstream culture. Hear the theme from “Miami Vice” start to go through your head as you look at Kelly’s main residence, and then look at the eightiss leggings and shoulder pads that are ruling the runways right now (personally, this girl sported both of those in the eighties and will not be repeating herself. For the record, I never went near neon or parachute pants). I digress: Wearstler sets the trends.

As for the book, the photography is beautiful. The names of the hues themselves (i.e. “camellia,” “wisteria,” “vermillion”) and the coordinating colored pencils, sketches, and idea-scapes** that go with them are inspiring. Think about all those chic steakhouses with white-painted exposed brick walls, statement light fixtures (perhaps a series of oversized drum shades in black), and spare decoration, then check out how Wearstler’s bars, restaurants and lobbies celebrate being ornate and stimulate your eyeballs and your conversations. It’s fun to look around a space in awe and feel your jaw drop whether you like the decor or not.

So, to sum up ever so briefly:

LIKE: Fashion as inspiration (I’m such a Kelly geek I recognized half her featured clothes from Top Design and magazine spreads).

DISLIKE: Cheesy styling of shoes in the photos – in between chairs, next to the bed – when will people stop doing the thing where they throw the Manolos or the Loubies into a room shot like it’s icing on the cake?

LIKE: The fact that she goes all out, no compromises, when designing her own homes

DISLIKE: The thought of having to live in one of her houses. I could not sleep with a crazy huge head vase full of flowers looking at me. It can’t be very feng shui.

LIKE: The way the crazy sculptures remind me of Duran Duran album covers

DISLIKE: The crazy sculptures

LIKE: The gorgeous photography, the lack of useless drivel that no one is going to read, the self-awareness that this tome’s purpose is enrapturing eye candy.

DISLIKE: That half of the photos were revealed in magazines already.

LIKE: The wallpapered ceilings, the gorgeous linens for Sferra

DISLIKE: Oh, who cares, enough negativity. I am totally in love with this book. Perhaps it’s because that first Domino poolhouse feature gave me ample time to get used to it.

To check out some potential Wearstler precedents, read this post.

*My Fine Garden, I totally swiped that from the tweet you sent me!

**I hate to add “-scapes” to words, especially “bedscape,” but I have no vocabulary today. These were basically assemblages.

I can’t find anything inspiring to share with you, but all last week I was dying to revive the design drinking games. Just as you’d gulp some down whenever Brenda was a bitch on the old 90210, take a swig whenever you see this newly ubiquitous object.

For months now I’ve noticed that Pedro Friedeberg’s hand and hand chairs are popping up all over the place. Sometimes they even have a foot attached to them. Before Pedro’s chair burst on the scene, the last time I’d seen a hand-shaped chair was in Buster’s room and later Lupe’s house on Arrested Development (Buster: I’d never thought I’d miss a hand so much”):

Have you noticed? It’s been making a lot of covers lately. First Jonathan Adler & Simon Doonan’s anti-depressive Florida pied-a-terre on the cover of Met Home:

Then Kelly Wearstler’s home redesign in Vogue:

How about the sexy Nate Berkus-designed Milan home of Brian Atwood:

This Last week The New York Times Home section featured Jay Jeffers’ temporary digs (he’s waiting for his drive-in apartment. I still don’t get that. Why do you want to put your car on an elevator and drive it into your apartment? What about carbon monoxide? Stupidest thing I’ve ever heard):

Image Credits:

• Images (2) from JonathanAdler.com, also seen in Metropolitan Home (R.I.P. – We’ll miss you Met Home!)
• from here
• Image by Francois Halard via Vogue
• Image by Simon Upton via Elle Decor
• Images by Bruce Buck for the The New York Times
• Image by Roger Davies for Elle Decor