Thursday - May 9, 2013

Courtney Grace Peterson’s Bedroom

Filed in: Bedrooms, Interior Design

I sleep with heavy black out curtains in my bedroom. Annually, when they go away to be cleaned, I am sleepless until they are back.

Courtney Grace Peterson, a merchandiser at One Kings Lane shares her studio apartment with Rue readers.

The section that is her bedroom is also where an angled structure which became an opportunity to use to shield the “dreamer” of light.

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Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. This example I will keep in my files and hopefully remember the next time I meet an awkward space such as this.

Photograph courtesy of Rue magazine.

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Tuesday - May 7, 2013

Numi Savory Teas

Filed in: Food, Teas - Coffee

Savory or sweet ? We are often faced with that irresistible question when we order crepes.

At the recently concluded San Francisco Fancy Food Fair, I discovered that choosing savory vs sweet in a tea format does not really mean a vegetable broth. Well, in essence it is that but when lifted from the boundaries of vegetable as an accompaniment to an entree, vegetable as a tea does satisfy.

I was told the whole range would be available at Whole Foods in April. I don’t really care about the rest- I am a black tea girl and the Beet Cabbage was my winner.

 

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Friday - April 26, 2013

New Tiffany Store in SoHo

Filed in: Brands, Color, Store Design

When a store’s design delves outside its prototype it commands attention.

The new Tiffany store in SoHo is one that bids attention as it’s finished package is a product of many design and lay out challenges. For one, it was long and narrow (a typical “railroad” type of space in SoHo and I am still to find out why land was parceled out this way here) with multiple structural columns that occur every 20 or so feet.

But just like the gems it displays in the interiors, the “skin” and make up of the store was equally stunning. More than 30 artisans and artists were employed to create parts and the whole of the retail experience.

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New Yorker Michele Oka Doner designed a sparkling chandelier patterned after budding magnolias and used the same inspiration in the walled panels and screens positioned strategically within the store. The magnolia flower, apparently is a floral emblem used often by Louis Comfort Tiffany in his lamps and  glasswork. He is the artist son of the founder of the venerable jewelry store, Charles Lewis Tiffany thus the store bears both recognized trademarks.

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The blue we all know as Tiffany blue washes the space in its variety of shades and the strategic play of lights illuminates in different levels: the modulation of the lighting system utilized expert use that highlighted where it should while keeping ambient light look like natural light.

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The time honored jeweler also kept the integrity of the space by using reclaimed wood throughout the space, only interrupted by custom rug to mark specific and designated salons within the store.

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The inviting area where a luxurious 14-ft peacock blue sofa has a backdrop they call the “archival wall” that show the inspiration and design process for the store. It is a homage to this store and to the brand we all revere as piles of books on Tiffany show the company and its design journey through time.

Lastly,  what is a present without a bow ? A white undulating abstract detail weaves in and out of the ceiling. Made from a luminous material it creates a sense of play dispelling the old “do not touch” environment.

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There is much history to the name Tiffany. And this new store celebrates that heritage by way of looking back while treading forward to a new era of store design.

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All photographs courtesy of Tiffany & Co. in New York and DDI magazine April-May 2013 issue.

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Tuesday - April 9, 2013

Visual weight through Color

Filed in: Color, Home Accessories, Interior Design

Here is a clear example of how color and pattern (regardless of scale) can add visual “weight” to a seating composition.

Because everything else has a neutral palette, the Union Jack pillow, resplendent in red, white and blue, despite being solo, becomes the equivalent in weight of the three white pillows on the left side of the sofa. A good visual balance is maintained.

Color (and or pattern) does have “weight” and the more contrasting the color is to the surrounding palette (or the larger and more complicated pattern or print) the heavier it will be visually perceived.

This is an excellent prescription to creating balance in an any arrangement or composition.

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Monday - April 8, 2013

William Hefner – C Magazine for Men Spring 2013

Filed in: American Homes, Bathrooms, Beds, Color, Details, Exteriors, Finishes, Gardens, Home Accessories, Inspiration, Landscape, Lifestyle, Outdoors, Personality, San Francisco

Aged brass accents, unfinished woods and plenty of natural light. This William Hefner designed home is a testament that good elements that stand on it’s own can never go wrong in any setting.

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The muted and aged patina of the brass candleholders and main overhead lamp fixture depict a way of life that shows heritage- a salute to time gone by.

 

 

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French blue is a very understated blue. An in between blue and ash gray, it is neutral base with a distinct character.

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The placement of a sofa at the foot of the bed tempers the formality of the French tufted headboard. It beckons, come let’s sit and talk a while.

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More of the glories of patina in bathroom hardware and accessories above.

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All photographs courtesy of C Magazine for Men issue, Spring 2013.

Article “House of Blues” by Christine Lennon, pages 112-119

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Tuesday - March 26, 2013

Amanda Pays & Corbin Bernsen – C Magazine, April 2013

Filed in: American Homes, Dining Rooms, Exteriors, Furniture, Interior Design, Kitchen, Lifestyle


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My tree whispered that spring was about here when I saw a bud on it last week. My watery eyes and sniffles today confirmed that indeed the sun and longer days are here to behold.

Thumbing through the article in California Style’s feature on actors Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen reminds me of how having a home that connects to the outdoors is one of the strong points that attract me in home design. Is it because I live in California where outdoor “appendices” like balconies and patios are spaces that can be used more than just a few months of the year ?

 

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There is a charm that is best experienced being there, seeing foliage, feeling the breeze and in my wishful thinking- riding a bike with a woven basket bearing rolls of baguettes wrapped in brown paper French style. I do not know how to ride a bike but if I did, I would brave all pollen and allergies, me on the bike with a striped mariner’s boat neck tee and khaki shorts. There is something about a lifestyle that is casual, simple and natural.

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NATURAL, meaning-dirt may find its way on your dining room floor and olive oil stains on a wooden surface adds to character rather than a description of sloppiness.

This kitchen is perfected imperfection. It is more about life, about stories about togetherness.

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I have this dream rental in Healdsburg, California (our wine country) that I plan to test “live” for the summer next year. Richard thinks it would  be a total waste of resources as there is none to do besides the things that tourists do. I disagree and I hope to prove him wrong. But this living is something that I have not experienced long-term. What is it about indoor-outdoor that justifies some mess here and there, and be totally fine ? In fact, it would be a crime to be nothing less than imperfect. The mess is a sign of fun !

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People talk about spring cleaning but this article and home makes me high with spring living. I want to prove to my obsessive-compulsive, type-A self, that specks from outdoors that find themselves indoors are not signs of neglect but a welcome gesture of the longer days of laughter and nature’s gifts.

I hope I will have something to tell about summer 2014 Healdsburg style.

All photographs from C Magazine, “Homemade”, pages 92 – 101

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Sunday - March 24, 2013

Waldo Fernandez – Architectural Digest April 2013

Filed in: American Homes, Art, Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Chairs, Dining Rooms, Furniture, Interior Design

Yesterday, Richard and I paid a visit to a friend’s mother who turns 90 next Friday. I have never been to their home (and have actually never met her) though Richard has been long-time friends with her sons. Besides wanting to make a soon to be 90 woman happy on a milestone birthday, I was told she was a passionate collector and I am always passionately curious about people (and they usually are women) and what and why and how they “gather” and live amongst these things they love.

This issue of Architectural Digest is a good segue to my point of collecting. Waldo Fernandez, a Los Angeles based designer, has a collection of furniture, decorative accessories and art that, can travel and live and thrive in as many habitats as it takes for you to decide that a place is THE place. In this case Midcentury Modernism is Mr. Fernandez’s focus. It is in this conscious editing that tells us of  this designer’s skill and a collection’s evolution.

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This bathroom is special. The gilded glass enclosures, the niche for shower and bath supplies, the bathtub in sparkling Carrara marble enclosed in the same shared space as the shower is smart. You can take a quick shower (Point B) after a long bath  (Point A) and not have to worry about water splashing as you get from Point A to Point B. That the room is awash in light is the way I like bathrooms to be. There is no hiding dirt or stains and everything is in full exposure. Blinds for privacy at night. The counter to ceiling vanity mirror and the almost Chinese medicine cabinet drawers are a great modern take to a traditional design. This bathroom has all my bathroom musts ticked.

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I don’t know who said it- but its message rings loud and clear, in the end, we never really make purchases we regret when there is a passionate connection with the piece. Regardless of whether we know not where it will be put, hang, or stored.  Good collectors know there are some things that may never come your way again. But if it happens, what are 1st Dibs, Ebay, Craigslist for ? Upgrading is another section of the collecting game.

 

All photographs from Architectural Digest, “A Gimlet Eye”, April 2013, pages 128- 136

 

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