Sourcing: Made Goods

Made Goods has some pretty amazing home accents with a big nod to nature.  Trays, shagreen boxes, lamps, stools, tables, mirrors, baskets, objets.  This would be a great source for those pieces that give the finishing touch to a room.  Those less than practical treat yo'self pieces.  Here are a few that stood out to me on a quick trip through the site (which has great, clean product photography, by the way).  All images from www.madegoods.com.

1. Tanek Stool - that is a little Japanese stool CAST IN RESIN!  2.  Adrian Mirror - handmade to look like barnacles and hand painted.  Nature never goes out of style.  3.  Raylan Basket  4.  Tekla Faux Coral Objet - love the color.  5.  Arron Lamp - that base is formed out of metallized rocks.  6.  Cobus Stool - gaps in the wood have been filled with resin and small mirrored squares.  Love the juxtaposition of natural and man-made in this piece.

Jayson Home Sofas and Chairs

Flipping through the Jayson Home catalog reminded me of what lovely upholstered sofas and chairs they have.  I think what appeals to me is that they all seem to have a story behind them.  They feel approachable, inviting, classic, and lived-in.  Makes me want to curl up with a book.

Above: Theodore Sofa.  Image from www.jaysonhome.com.

Below: Kempton Sofa.  Image from the catalog, via www.ifthelampshadefits.blogspot.com.  Clarke Chair.  Image from www.jaysonhome.com.

And just for fun, how about this gold-plated wishbone they have on offer?  Why not?  Gold Wishbone, image from www.jaysonhome.com.

Heath Ceramics Single Stem Vase

Heath Ceramics Single Stem Vase in California Poppy and Birch.  Love the dipped look.

Emily Summers' powder room

I love the simple, clean luxury of this powder room (especially the wallpaper!) from the home of Emily Summers, as featured in Architectural Digest, April 2012.  Photo by Nikolas Koenig.

Wallcovering by Cannon/Bullock; pendant light by Gunther Leuchtmann, from Plug, vintage mirror, Kohler faucet.

Sourcing: Mansour Modern rugs

Mansour Modern - African Collection by Ben Soleimani - Souk

Ben Soleimani is the head designer at Mansour Modern, and his rugs are sooo sososo lovely.  There are collections by other great designers at Mansour Modern as well, but this blog post highlights some of my favorite from Ben's collections.

All images from www.mansourmodern.com.

Mansour Modern - ABO Collection by Ben Soleimani - Ballin

Mansour Modern - Moroccan Collection by Ben Soleimani - 15

Mansour Modern - Moroccan Collection by Ben Soleimani - MM57162

Mansour Modern - Vintage Collection by Ben Soleimani - 21

Sourcing: Plantation

Plantation is a GREAT source for lighting, furniture, and loads of other luxe decorative touches (fur pillows and throws, hide rugs, etc).  Materials wise, there's lots of nice metal work, carved wood, glass, and beautiful inlay details on their decorative boxes.  Lots of nicely crafted stuff here.

Top row, L - R: Barcelona Chandelier (wooden beads, cerused white oak, oil rubbed bronze); Victor Iron Side Table (iron base with gold leaf finish, glass top with gold leaf edge); Hues Clear Bottle Vases #1 (hand blown glass, other colors available).
Bottom Row, L - R: Redmond Brass Pendant (antique brass finish); Bongo Wood Table (teak and sheesham); Dominic Sconce - Antique Brass (antique brass, mirrored glass).

All images from www.store.plantationdesign.com.

Instant Attraction: Mecox Gardens Round Three Arrow Base Side Table

Love this super cool Round Three Arrow Base Side Table from Mecox Gardens.

Image from www.mecoxgardens.com.

Instant Attraction: Two-Drawer Widdicomb Box

Spotted this on 1stDibs and loved it instantly. It is a 1950's two-drawer box done by Widdicomb for the Planner Group.

Image from www.1stdibs.com.

Interior Design Exercises!

Every once in a while I get the itch to rearrange my furniture.  There are lots of ways to re-imagine your surroundings using only what you already have and your creativity, but there is a limit to what you can do.  So after shuffling our bedroom/office furniture around SO many times, I decided to just let myself go and imagine what I would do if I owned my apartment and could build out a custom bedroom/office space.  Here are a few (bare bones) shots of my initial idea.

ABOVE: Overall view.  This room serves as our sleeping area, dressing area, my work area, and my husband's music area and occasional work area.  Those vertical rungs would be a rope wall, as seen here, on the amazing blog The Brick House.  I love the way it breaks up the space without blocking the light from the window, and still allowing visual contact between the two sides, so the room isn't made to feel smaller.  Or at least, I love the way I'm imagining it would do that.

ABOVE: My husband wants a whiteboard wall.  I found this cool paint that you can roll on and turn any wall into a whiteboard!  I'm sure there are other sources for whiteboard paint, but I didn't look hard at all since this is just an imaginary project.  Anyway, here's the whiteboard wall.

ABOVE: The magical musical desk.  I'd build the desk level to be just above the height of his keyboard and then make part of the desk flip open with a hinge so that it can be used as a laptop workstation some of the time, and a music area some of the time.  Sheet music can be pinned to the cork board on the wall.

Sourcing: Luke Irwin rugs

You must check out the rugs of Luke Irwin.  So many gorge designs.  Ikat, geometric, overdyed...many have that worn in look that I just love sooo much.  The forced perspective you get from the rug below is pretty slick.

All images from www.lukeirwin.com.

BDDW: Handmade American Furniture

A couple items from BDDW furniture.

Left: Bronze Trestle Table with charred wood top and cast bronze base.  I love the contrast between the toughness of the charred wood and glitz of the gold-colored base.

Right: 72" Leather Mirror.  This mirror looks great positioned above a long, low credenza.  Unfussy drama.

Images from www.bddw.com.

Facet Bowls by Joseph Gower

Love these cool faceted bowls by Joseph Gower.  I like the contrast of the flat, matte outside and glossy inside.

Image from www.gdgstudios.com.

Miles & May: more lovely joinery

More lovely furniture celebrating materials and craftsmanship seen at the AD Home Show.  About Miles and May...

We believe that honest design articulated through unique material and impeccable craftsmanship will withstand the test of time. We design our furniture to showcase the history and character of each hand-selected piece of wood, rather than force-fitting the material into a specific design. Every item is also created by hand using both traditional methods and modern techniques. The final result is exceptional furniture that’s made to last a lifetime.

Above: Haven Low dresser.  Love the joinery detail on the drawers and the blackened steel wrap.  

Images of some more of their lovely pieces after the jump.  All images from www.milesandmay.com...

Textiles from D. Bryant Archie

About D. Bryant Archie...

A dream while on my honeymoon in Morocco, a passion for handwoven textiles and a fascination with indigenous cultures an artifacts led to a luxurious collection of handmade bedding and home accessories.  We work with global textile artisans who need help reaching markets for their work.  By providing fair wages, we are helping to reduce poverty, improve people's lives, and ensure handcrafts thrive and continue to be the heirlooms of the future.


Above:  Three examples of the gorgeous textiles available from D. Bryant Archie.  Left - right: Kuba Stripe Blanket, Qashqai Blanket, Maya Chief Blanket.  Tons more gorgeous pillows and throws available on their site.

Images from www.dbryantarchie.com.

Tapestries by Martinez Studio

Lovely, lovely, lovely!  Three examples of the lovely tapestries from Martinez Studio.

About Martinez Studio:

Martinez Studio is located in Jacksonport, Door County, Wisconsin, surrounded by natural beauty and a thriving tourist community. The working studio/gallery focuses on the work of Sandra and Wence Martinez. Open daily from May through October, the intimate setting provides a comfortable and direct connection for collectors of the couples work. Winters are spent in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Wence's home village where the couple enjoy an annual art retreat and continue work on an ongoing bed and breakfast project.

Images from www.casapicacho.com. 

Furniture Crush

I've got it back for this pair of Pendleton upholstered George Nelson chairs.  They're available at Strawser & Smith, as a pair only.

Laron Algren Woodworking

I was lucky enough to sit in one of these rocking chairs at the AD Home Show.  Boy, was it SOLID.  This is a high-back rocking chair by Laron Algren Woodworking. 

Image from www.laronalgren.com.

Analog Modern

Analog Modern...

is a Brooklyn-based furniture and design studio crafting bespoke outcomes. We are inspired by traditional joinery, and both ethically and aesthetically drawn towards using regional hardwoods and reclaimed materials in our pieces.Above: Detail image of a custom hydroponic kitchen island.  It has grow lights underneath.In addition to their fiiiiine furniture, these folks also do tree houses!  I strongly urge you to check them out.  It appears they also offer a reclaimed furniture design/build workshop.  I would LOVE to attend that to learn about traditional joinery techniques and walk away witha  piece of furniture I built myself!More photos of their work after the jump.  All images from www.analogmodern.com...

Keating Woodworks

A few weeks ago I attended the Architectural Digest Home Show.  It was really great to see so many gorgeous furnitures pieces, lighting fixtures, etc. in person, all in one place.  Vendors promoting furniture constructed using traditional joinery techniques and natural looking, unvarnished materials made up a strong contingent, which was really wonderful to me.  I love the trend of celebrating materials and using traditional fabrication techniques.  In this and the next few posts I'll highlight a few of the vendors whose pieces I drooled over.


Above: Detail of Keating Woodworks' Spindleback 2 1/2 chair.  Love everything about it: material, construction, finishing.  I love when you can see how things are put together.  I also love the tagline of this company: Made in the Midwest With my Bare Hands.  Don't get me wrong, I still love Ikea and their mission (to create a better everyday life for the many people), however there is something truly special about things made by hand.  I like to think about (and appreciate) how much effort and time went into the creation of pieces like this.  I think that if you can afford it, it's important to support craftsmen/women who can create such beautiful work as this.

Image from www.geoffreykeating.com, which, incidentally, is as beautiful a website as the goods it showcases.  Here's another shot from the site:

Angle Shelf by ALS Designs

I've been really into geometric/faceted design lately, so it's no surprise that I fell for this wall shelf by ALS Designs.  The Angle Shelf is made of bamboo and finished with Tung Oil.

About ALS Designs:

ALS Designs is a Brooklyn-based furniture design company specializing in innovative designs with environmentally-friendly materials and practices.  Designs are hand made by master craftsmen in the United States.  Furniture ingredients are carefully selected based on quality and sustainability.

Learn more here.

Image from www.alsdesigns.com.