Instant Attraction: West Village Garden of Julianne Moore

I am mega-crushing on Julianne Moore's West Village garden.  I might truly consider killing for a garden like this, especially in the WV.  I am oving everything about it.  The greenery (no flowers!), the wild look or it all, the walls of ivy, and I LOVE the way the aptly named staghorn ferns are potted in wall-mounted planters so that they look like game trophies.

Above photo by Christopher Baker from Architectural Digest.  Definitely go have a look at the rest of the photos of this lovely secret garden.

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.

Instant Attraction: Home of Bonnie Edelman

The family home of Bonnie Edelman was featured in the April 2012 issue of House Beautiful.  Well, it's just lovely!  There's such a great mix of traditional and modern aesthetic in this home, and a great use of textiles.  I love the warm leathers throughout, the throw pillows on the master bed, the dark, shiny floors.

All photos from House Beautiful magazine, April 2012.  Interior design by Bonnie Edelman, photos by Francesco Lagnese.

More photos of this project after the jump...

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.

Thomas Brummett photography

Love the fine art photography of Thomas Brummett.  He works the photos until they look like charcoal drawings.  Definitely take the time to check out his work online.   

Image above from www.studio-4a.com.

More images of his work after the jump.  All images from www.studio-4a.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.