“We’re all collectors by nature. But if you’re talking about an orderly life, there has to be a stop sign somewhere. Building a collection requires a strong constitution and the ability to resist.”
It also requires good eye for assembly. Through Jenn Ski, whose blog we mentioned last week, I found myself linking over to the fabulous Junk Culture blog, and from there I linked over to Lost Found Art. Lost Found Art describes itself as “a unique design company that specializes in sculptural installations and assemblages using antique and vintage pieces. Our works are created with an eye to scale, balance, color and surface interest, and the end result is a strong visual statement that combines artistic statement, whimsy, form and uniqueness.”
It makes me think that a collection of just about anything can look good if it’s arranged the right way! Here are a few favorites. There are about 70 more here.
Do you have an artfully arranged collection of something? PLEASE SHARE IT WITH US!
I love that Busy Bee turned the bellbottom pants (in the photograph within the photograph) into this darling pillow. It’s just about the simplest reuse idea out there, and it has such a pleasing result. Now if I could just learn to sew…
Just a tweet-like post to share a really interesting article in The New York Times home section today. First of all, I never knew Shabby Chic went out of business. Second, I thought the Target line tended to highlight the cheesy and outdated part of the style. Third, the real Shabby Chic sheets and duvet covers will instantly cure insomnia, I am not exaggerating. I am over my huge Shabby Chic phase which dominated my style in the mid to late nineties, but I like Rachel Ashwell and hope that she finds success with this new venture.
Be sure to check out the economic/Shabby Chic style timeline in the article. It’s very clever! Oh, and I have to give the reporter, Penelope Green, props for including Shabby Chic fans from Jeff Goldblum to Madam Suzanne from HBO’s Cathouse. Hilarious!
What was your room like when you were a kid? I had floral wallpaper and two antique brass beds, a huge shelving unit, an aquarium (all the fish died of some disease appropriately called “Ick”) and a rolltop desk. In Junior High, I covered the wallpaper with Duran Duran and Police posters, and eventually my mom let me make over my room. My pride and joy was my new white “Scandanavian” desk from Bova, primary colors, the blue file cabinet I covered in paint pen squiggles, and the pièce de résistance, the Boynton wallpaper border. Remember Boyton? I had buttons and stickers and notepaper before I worked my way up to wallpaper border. Yesterday I found a piece of the wallpaper inside of the rolltop. Here’s a little 80’s nostalgia for you…
BIG NEWS: We’re now offering FREE SHIPPING on orders from our designer Outlet while supplies last! The deets: get free shipping on any Outlet purchase (normally 20%) for the next week by entering coupon code FALL at checkout. (Expires October 9th at midnight.)
“A modern Chinoiserie breakfront, a Dunbar Japanese-influenced sofa, silk Dupriani drapes, Murano vases, and a classic Drexel end table.”
-Betty Draper’s Decorator
I find set design so fascinating, especially when they completely nail the surroundings from a certain era. Mad Men takes place during such a transitional time, and it’s so much fun to see different influences showing up in the design. HereMad Men’s set designer explains how this breakfront set the tone for the room and everything else followed it. LOVE this bar set…
…and this stereo:
Love what I think is purple grasscloth, the orange trim on the drapes…
The art is getting a bit more abstract. Oh, and I love that Betty doesn’t care a bit about the hearth being the heart of her home…
…so she covers it up with this fainting couch:
The decor is a major part of this show, and I’m so glad that this week’s episode really gave it its due.
For some inspiration on this fine Labor Day Holiday, I thought I’d give you a last hurrah, via the vivid colors of David Hockney’s takes on California:
The Little Splash
California
Pearblossom Highway
Nichols Canyon
Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica
all images by David Hockney. I apologize for any that are a little skewed; I have an antique scanner.
It’s time to start thinking about back to school again, and we want to remind you that we have a Modern College and Dorm category to help you find everything you’ll need for college. Well, except for this:
If you have any good ideas, blog posts you’ve done, favorite dorm room links, or images you’ve taken of your dorm room, please send them in via the comments section. We’d love to see them!
I’ve been keeping up with Design Milk on twitter, got sucked into the main Design Milk site, and then came across a fantastic blog by architect and designer Nenad Katic. I have been spending so much less time online lately as I was a bit burned out, and this blog and the author ’s work perked me right back up. Wow! Three favorite posts are these:
1) His Own Private Fight Club (oddly, that’s the second fight club reference I’ve heard in as many hours, the other was in an op-ed piece in the Times today). Re-thinking goods and the value of empty open space in interior design. This guy really gets composition, flow, and white space so these conclusions make a lot of sense coming from him. I also realize the irony in a retail site condoning this attitude. Thanks to Design Milk for linking me to this post!
2) A Successful Failure. A client takes rough plans and runs with them, and the building winds up taking on a life of its own:
