Maybe it’s the fact that in my professional life vibrant color and pattern are my signature style at Petunia Pickle Bottom that make my personal life at home a monochromatic world.  My rule of thumb when putting together a room usually begins with one object.  I am a fan of flea markets or something with a little history.  So when I begin to style a room, it is usually a unique found object that sparks my imagination.

Our home was built in the 1920’s and still has a considerable amount of the original details.  Our family room is where we like to hang out by the fireplace, read books to the kids on our comfy couches, take a nap or set up train tracks to circumnavigate the room.  When I first saw this room, I was struck by the 8’ window and high exposed beam ceiling. It was light and bright so I chose colors that would naturally illuminate.

The focal point I designed around was the natural wood Roost buck head flanked by archival school charts (lobster and bird) that stem from my father’s days as a college biology professor. My recent obsession with mushrooms covers the fireplace mantle.

Friends joke our kids will have nightmares from the oversized Chinese ceremonial mask that hangs in our dining room. Found at an antique store in historic downtown Ventura, she’s become part of the family. We think it was used in the movies or carried in a Chinese parade.

The red lips of the mask were the perfect color to pair the walls, a vintage red wood telephone booth door filled with glass, and our custom table crafted by my husband.

My 3-year-old son Sutton’s room was recently converted to a “big boy” bedroom.  Years ago I found a stunning oversized school map of the United States (chalk printed so you can write on it) that I knew would be perfect for a child’s bedroom. We held onto over the years and it served as the perfect centerpiece for the “Traveler’s odyssey” theme for my son’s room.

Complete with a flying ship, globes, suitcase, guitar, army blanket, old books, and oriental rug, we dream of all the far-off places we will go together.

My youngest son Miller’s room began when I fell in love with the Cole & Son’s wallpaper “Trees.”

I went with a grey palette and used yellow as the pop color, archival sketches of birds, and a big comfy chair for books and cuddles.

I often retreat to this room when I need a moment to breathe; life with two boys is very loud and rambunctious. Miller loves the serenity of this room, especially since our days are jam-packed with play dates and outdoor activities.

Because we live in California we get to enjoy the outdoors. The patio off our master bedroom is a Moroccan-inspired retreat complete with the best (in my humble opinion) umbrella Anthropologie has ever offered.

The patio has a quaint sitting area and oversized hammock the whole family can cuddle on. I love the way all the bright whites in varying textures play off the sun.

Thanks, DeNai! If you ever need a housesitter, let me know. Ha! You can see all of the Petunia Pickle Bottom pieces on DP.

Sofa #1 initial rendering

Edgar Blazona found his niche in the modern furniture world with TrueModern, his affordable line of kids bedroom furniture. Now he’s decided to expand into the adult world with the launch of his signature Edgar Blazona branded line of sofas and we’ve been given a special peek into what Edgar is crafting. The American-made collection offers customers design that’s actually within their reach. “The majority of people out there can’t really afford the classic pieces that are sold in major retail stores,” says Blazona. “While most of us would love to furnish our homes with these collections, it’s really not an option. Who can really spend $3,000 on a sofa?” Edgar Blazona for TrueModern sofas are livable and inspired by the minimal, clean lines of American modernism – classic, retro designs influenced by mid-century modernism as well as elements from today’s modern lifestyles.

Sofa #2 initial rendering

As of yet Edgar’s new line of sofas are slated to be available in 3 different styles (so far – more to come!) and 5 different colors. Edgar plans to continue to expand this line of sofas and develop more adult pieces that fit into today’s modern home.

Over the next few weeks, Edgar is going to give us sneak peaks into the design and development process of these new sofas…

Sofa #3 initial rendering

Given the initial renderings…what do you think?

Karen and I live in a condo within a large Victorian-style building converted into flats in the mid-eighties. It was very run down when we bought it but full of potential with high ceilings, large windows on all sides and plenty of light.

I was sure it was right for us but Karen took some convincing. With hindsight, I think she realized how much work was ahead, having renovated a few properties before. I’d never done anything like this so ploughed ahead in blissful ignorance!

Our motivation for the interior and the layout came from a love of large loft-style apartments typical of New York. We had a desire to replicate that, at least until we could afford the real thing!

First, we stripped everything out, removed all the old carpets, shelves, units etc until we had a blank canvas.

Then we took off all the doors, widened and heightened each doorway and knocked down a few walls, improving the flow throughout. We re-plastered, painted everything white and laid walnut flooring.

We lived with white for a while before adding feature walls in the lounge, office and bedroom.

Our taste is minimal and contemporary but with a retro twist, pretty much like our kids designs, so you’ll notice seventies-esque patterned wallpaper in the lounge, offset by a few designer classics.

We’ve used a color scheme that’s very much in the Olli & Lime palette, so you’ll see brown, white and orange and even a lime green kitchen! The contrasting concrete countertop was a real triumph actually and is always a talking point for new visitors.

Renovating has been really satisfying, particularly because we had a shared vision of what we wanted to achieve. Almost a year on, as we continue to add our own touches, we still look around at what we’ve created and smile.

Thanks, Andy and Karen! You can see all of their Olli & Lime products on DP.

***Special side note! Karen and Andy were nice enough to offer a 20% discount on all EGG products for this weekend only (April 10-13, inclusive). Use coupon code OLLIEGG at checkout. If you get the connection between the egg products and the holiday this weekend you are really smart.

In following the AT Before/After story of the Lights Up! owners Nick and Kate (photographed above), I followed the trail to another favorite blog, Door Sixteen. Apparently, Nick and Kate inquired about the pendant lamp they spied in Door Sixteen’s New Years Eve Party Post, which is this lovely piece from another favorite of mine, Mibo. The uber-renovators over at Door Sixteen led Nick and Kate over to Design Public, where they eventually picked out their mumm Meridian Pendant Lamp.

I’m starting to feel like Elaine on Seinfeld typing all of these exclamation points. When I actually take the time to edit my own posts (which is, ah, ahem, not that often, usually after I’ve posted and read it live and say “oh crud, this post is a disaster.”), I find myself cutting out exclamation point after exclamation point, so you are kind of killing me right now, Lights Up!(!!!)!

Nick and Kate’s photos swiped from Apartment Therapy Boston

Door Sixteen photos swiped from Door Sixteen’s Apartment Therapy House Tour – you MUST check this out if you haven’t already! Door Sixteen hit my radar during The Homies blog contest; it’s an excellent renovation and design blog, and the photography rocks.

I often wonder whenever I see a beautiful work of art – be it a painting by Matisse or a dress by Marni – about the inspiration for the piece. What was the designer, writer, painter or anyone for that matter thinking when they took the leap to create something new? So for my latest guest post, I thought I’d share our inspiration for DwellStudio’s 2009 Abstractions Collection – one of our most exciting ones yet.

It all started in Paris. (Confession: this is a little self-serving as I’m partially French – well, French Canadian, same DNA – and therefore partial to all things “Francais,” from baguettes to triple crème Brie to Balmain dresses. Sadly, I somehow missed out on that elusive skinny gene they all seem to get…why can’t I shed my last ten pounds of baby weight by drinking red wine?) In January 2008, I headed to the “City of Lights” with two designers from my team, Bingka and Rachel, for our annual shopping/inspiration trip and pilgrimage to Clingancourt – the most mind-blowing flea market. But from the moment we arrived, our week in Paris was all about Yves – St. Laurent, of course. His spirit seemed to be floating through the streets, and as soon as we found ourselves in front of his store on the Rive Gauche, we knew we’d found the inspiration for our 2009 collection.

Yves St. Laurent Storefront – Paris.

Dress on display at Yves St. Laurent.

Of all of St. Laurent’s many talents, I am perhaps most awed – and envious –  by his ability to combine styles, textures and techniques. In my opinion, he was a “Master of the Mix.” The bold colors, exquisite handiwork and influence of fine art in the label’s current collection made us stop in our tracks: It looked fresh. The designs were dynamic and very hip, while also being timeless. Bingka, Rachel and I agreed that we’d tired of the computer-generated prints that were everywhere in the States. The evidence of the artist’s hand and eclectic soul in St. Laurent’s Rive Gauche store made us think: Who is better at capturing style’s elusive “je ne sais quoi” than the French?

We found ourselves debating this question over dinner at Relais de L’Entrecôte (where we enjoyed the world’s best Steak Frites with secret green sauce). Our conclusion: St. Laurent fundamentally understood that pretty is just pretty; however, when you mix pretty with another element that throws off the balance in the right way, you have style. Or, as Vanity Fair recently wrote,

“Yves did with couture exactly what Marie-Laure did with décor: breaking the rules by putting together things that have nothing to do with one another.”

This quintessentially French mix was on display in every area of his life, including his apartment, some of which was designed by Jacques Grange (check out Grange’s own apartment here. So French – the perfect mix with nothing overdone).

Yves Saint Laurent sitting in his 1930’s Paris house, designed by Madame Cuttoli.

There, as in his collections, St. Laurent perfectly mixed old and new, pretty and primitive, to create layers of style and meaning. And that is exactly what we’ve striven for with our new Abstractions line. When mixed with our current designs, these new, graphic patterns create an unbalanced tension that transforms an old room into something both fresh and timeless.

Matisse Painting.

St. Laurent also had impeccable taste in art – the Matisse painting above served as a source of inspiration for us, long before we knew it came from St. Laurent’s and Pierre Berge’s own collection. (Spooky right – am I being haunted by Yves?) Its amazing cut shapes – beautiful, graphic, pure and colorful – are still incredibly relevant. Coincidentally, this painting – along with the rest of the collection – is being auctioned off in Paris by Christie’s from February 23rd to the 25th.

Christie’s Auction House: I had to buy the auction catalog to study what moved “the man,” as well as to drool over all the gorgeous art. Take a peek. By the way, “our” Matisse is going for $5-7 million. Oh la la!

From left to right: Mondrian Day Dress of 1965, Boy Leading a Horse by Pabo Picasso, Miuccia Prada.

Years before Marc Jacobs was collaborating with Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami, St. Laurent was incorporating his love of fine art into his collections. Case in point, the revolutionary Mondrian Day Dress of 1965, re-introduced for St. Laurent’s Retrospective last year. (See above left for picture.)

Inspired by St. Laurent’s Matisse, we returned to New York and looked toward another brilliant Abstractionist for inspiration: Pablo Picasso – a Spaniard who spent his formative years in France, and understood the idea of “the mix” perfectly. One need only to stroll through the MoMA to see how Pablo’s style progressed from his Blue Period to Les Demoiselles D’Avignon, a masterpiece influenced by primitive art that rocked the world.

My desk: a mental blender of all our design influences.

Finally, we mixed in a little Miuccia Prada, the modern day “Mistress of the Mix”. The pitch-perfect vintage Prada pictured above, with its combination of hand-drawn geometric shapes playing off graphic floral, inspired our own DwellStudio combination of Collage and Chinoiserie patterns:
DwellStudio Collage and Chinoiserie.

Lastly, for our Abstractions line we added in some Cy Twombly, Mark Rothko and Marni (as always) and – voila – our new collection was born.

I hope you’ll love the result as much as we do. Bold and graphic on their own, when our new Abstractions pieces are combined with Chinoiserie, Hedgerow or any of  our other current designs, the mix can be easily achieved in your own home. I really hope they would have made the incomparable Yves proud.

- Christiane, DwellStudio

Needless to say, she liked her gift.

The first things I spotted were the DwellStudio Junior Transportation duvets and shams with the Framed Bodoni and Maze pillows as an accent:

Then a “confessional” came up and the hair rose on my arms as I was overwhelmed by the mass collection of TwistTogether Lamps. Awesome backdrop.

Back to DwellStudio land where I found the Stanton Chinois Blue Bedding in another room:

There could be more in the home than I was able to spot from my brief viewing of the show, but I am sorry to say I can’t muster up the energy to watch another episode…not too interested in the cast of characters. Please don’t think less of me for watching in the first place, I was just looking at the interior design ideas (aka I secretly enjoy the Real World and wish we had a confessional at DP).

All photos from mtv.com

His pieces combine childish whimsy, science fiction, dramatic lighting effects, cuteness and pop. Have a looksee:

The opening is this Friday, January 16th, from 6-8pm at The Curiosity Shoppe, 855 Valencia Street (between 19th & 20th). His pieces will be up until February 16th…stop by and check them out!

When I was small – 4 or 5 – my family visited my grandparents in Florida and I found a shoebox in which I neatly organized all the things I thought were important. I now have lots more to organize, but the same desire to keep things tidy has stayed with me.

STUDIO & WORKSPACE
When we set up our home studio, we realized that we needed storage that could double as workspace. We bought filing cabinets and big metal drawers at an overstock liquidation outlet. Then Matt bought plywood which he finished and screwed onto the metal pieces to create long work benches. The solution was cheaper than custom cabinetry, and it provides the right amount of storage and tabletop area.

TO-DO’s & IDEAS
I think the intangibles are harder to keep organized than a houseful of stuff, so I always write down and post everything in plain sight. Along one wall of our studio we put up cork-board where we tack up orders, swatches, and sketches. I have a smaller version above my desk. It’s a mishmash of inspiration, quickreference information, and Post-its. I keep deadlines and daily to-do’s in my weekly planner (I’d be lost without it), and luckily we always have plenty of Paper Cloud journals for brainstorming or taking notes.

ODDS & ENDS
Organizing small items is easy in small compartments. A bead organizer is just the right size for keeping earrings in a dresser drawer. My desk drawer stays neat with a similar organizer with removable dividers that allow for larger and smaller sections. A wire desk tray keeps a bathroom shelf tidy.