Design Public

Thanks to DP’s Antoi (one of the most incredible web scourers out there), I have recently become a The Selby junkie. Antoi’s description of the site is perfect: “A bit like The Sartorialist but for personal spaces.”

Great photos + tons of characters (like fashion designers, artists, musicians, librarians, magazine editors, actors, directors, grandpa cobrasnake) + modern home decor inspiration = my ultimate dream come true. I would highly recommend clicking through a featured home to see more of the space as well as creative handwritten interviews.

This changes daily, but currently my favorite space is Matthew Eikelberger’s home (boutique manager, artist and musician)…

And my favorite character/image compilation has to be Boppy (grandpa cobrasnake)…

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My Mom and I have been looking for fun lamps for the cottage in Maine. I picked a blue bottle lamp from Sundance, but she did much better than I did. She took a French bottle she’d bought at an antique store for 35 bucks and had it turned into this:

Since then, I realized that my Mom is quite the hip designer. Two of my favorite designers have recently been doing the same thing. For example, Tom Scheerer used this lamp:

Also, Peter Dunham used these two:

Next time you see a beautiful bottle in a shop for a steal, imagine it with a shade on top! By the way, the last picture shows one where the wire goes through the lamp, which may run you some more bucks. The others let the wires just hang down from the top of the bottle, which will save you some bucks.

• photo credits. Hmmm, I’m an idiot. I forgot where I wrote down the sources and photographer names, which sucks. I think they all came from House Beautiful, and I know the last one definitely did, via the Press section on Peter Dunham Design’s website. If anyone knows any of the information, please write in the comments so I can add these credits. Thanks!

I think perhaps I am a little too obsessed with vintage decorating books lately, but they offer such a wealth of great images. I like to see how some pieces have remained the same but their surroundings have changed, how some rooms could work great as-is today, and how some just need a few tweaks with accessories. This week I am sharing Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Ideas: New Room-by-Room Decorating Tips for Every Taste and Budget.

How great is this room? I love everything about it with the exception of a few tchotchkes. Is that a Nolli map? Which city do you think it is? I’m trying to guess with the radial streets and that big swath down the middle - is it a river or a grand boulevard? I’m guessing it’s probably Paris or Rome.

I LOVE yellow, black and white, and these sofas are perfect. I’ll leave the butterflies for Mariah Carey though:

These vintage books always have the most charming illustrations:

This bold and posh Regency bathroom is pretty chic by today’s standards:

Not sure why I scanned these, but since I did, I thought I’d share:

Cover photo from Customer Images at amazon.com. You can pick this book up for under $2 there.

All other photos scanned from Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Ideas, Meredith Publishing Company, 1960.

Yesterday I went to drop off a trunkful of donations after a massive closet clean out.  After I do this, I let myself hit some of my favorite shops on the Chamblee antiques row.  Here are the two items vying for the most bizarre find award:

A giant teacup from a diner in Florida:

Or this, for which I simply don’t have the words, besides, perhaps, only in Georgia:

By the way, both of these antique stores were full of amazing finds. A small taste of the modern furniture at this place:

In addition to the teacup, they had this oblong tulip table and chairs, Martinsville chests, a fab plaid Jens loveseat, and barstools that look like they came from Mars:

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I’ve been thinking a lot about “eclectic style” every since reading the post in Decorno I mentioned yesterday. For me, it’s really the person who lives there showing their personality, and surrounding themselves with things they love. Those who are able to successfully get a bit of an eclectic mix for others are true mix-masters; I would assume the clients would be throwing some of their own taste in the mix (for example, when Ruthie Sommers found that horse shoe chair for Drew Barrymore’s partner’s office in Domino, knowing it was something a cowboy lover would love).

Anyway, I was just perusing some of my flickr faves, and I think this is a great example of eclecticism reflecting the person who composed the room:

Another favorite comes from flickr member midcenturyjo’s stock of amazing images. You probably know her from her fabulous blog, desiretoinspire:

How about one more favorite eclectic credenza from happymundane:

photo one from flickr member Bird in the HandÂ

photo two via flickr member midcenturyjo, from the Sense of Style: Colour, by Shannon Fricke. From Inside Out , Australia. Scanned.

photo three from flickr member happymundane. Be sure to click here to see the notes on where all the items came from.