Reupholstered Bentwood Chair

Found this chair for $30 at Junk in Brooklyn.  They really do have a lot of junk in there, but I thought this was a good find.  In the before pics, below, you'll see that the seat was covered in some safety orange vinyl, which was really dirty and gross.  I replaced it with a pretty linen and voila!  Now I have a nice new chair.

Saarinen Executive Chairs as Dining Chairs

Saw this picture in Canada's Style at Home magazine.  I love the textured gray upholstery on these Saarinen Executive Chairs, and these chairs used as dining chairs.  Mixing them in with all of the glam and feminine touches in this room takes away some of the strange futuristic appearance they can sometimes have.  

I posted awhile back about the home of Bonnie Edelman, and they also used these chairs in their dining room to a totally different effect.  Of course with the same table (different material).

Details From an Abandoned Cement Factory

This abandoned cement factory on the outskirts of Barcelona was rescued by architect Ricardo Bofill.  He lives and works here.  Where can I even start?  Such a big, wide open space - high ceilings is an understatement.  Can you even imagine how much those window treatments weigh?  I love the shots of light and greenery coming through the tall, arched windows and the way you can see that this building had a previous life as something else.  My favorite part of this space is all of the material details.  Rough materials like cement, brick, board-pressed concrete coming together so beautifully.  I would definitely not mind having this as a live/work space.

Featured in Elle Decor Jan/Feb 2013 in the article "Concrete Poetry."  Originally featured in Elle Decoration UK.  Photography by Richard Powers.  Images from www.elledecor.com.

Monochrome Danish Log Cabin

I really love the way the dark-painted exterior of this log cabin looks nestled back in the tall trees.  I am a little bit on the fence about the interior, or actually maybe just the photography style of the interior.  Don't get me wrong, this is a great interior.  I just get a weird feeling from the images.  With all that rough wood and that great rug, it should feel more welcoming - warm and fuzzy.  I mean it is a log cabin.  But the whites just look so stark and it seems a bit colder than it should.  Maybe it's just that white northern light?

Images from Elle Decor Jan/Feb 2013.  Originally featured in Elle Decor Italia.

Light Filtering Detail

I love how slatted planks were used to allow some light to peek into the master bedroom in this cottage in Gothenburg, Sweden.  They cast a nice pattern on the interior.  Images from Elle Decor Jan/Feb 2013, as featured in "Cottage Industry" (originally featured in Elle Decoration France).  Photos by Jean-François Jaussaud/Lux Productions.

Casual/Luxe Cottage by Peter Dunham

How great is that giant dining nook?  Using two separate tables allows people seated in the center of the long banquette to squeeze in and out, which is smart.  I just love dining areas fitted with custom banquettes.  If I don;t get to design one for myself sometime soon I might have to do it for someone else.  Any takers?

This image is from a Newport Beach cottage designed by Peter Dunham, as featured in House Beautiful February 2013.  Photography by Victoria Pearson.

This project features so many GORGEOUS rugs and textiles.  And also lots of great layering and style mixing.  You can see some more photos after the jump...

Great Wall Treatment

Neat wall treatment in the Park Ave apartment of Tom Samet, as featured in House Beautiful February 2013.  Photography by Paul Raeside.

It would be ambitious, but with careful planning and a good chunk of time I think it could be DIY'ed.  You could also break the grid and go for a less conventional arrangement.  Smart how it can be used to conceal vents but still allow airflow, as they've done here above the door.

Historic Meets Contemporary :: Elle Decor

Great project, and I love the mixture of historic farmhouse and contemporary elements.  Lots of really great chairs in this one.  And I always love me some sisal/rattan/black metal/wood/camel leather/calm, muted palette.  

Interior design by Robert Stilin.  Photographs by William Waldron.  As featured in Elle Decor December 2012: Hamptons Classic.  More photos of this project can be seen on Elle Decor.

PixCell Deer #24 :: WHOA

This is just - whoa.  It's beautiful, creepy, and ridiculous all at the same time.  It is the work PixCell Deer #24 by artist Nawa Kohei, on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I have to go see it in person.  From the Met's website:

This taxidermied deer has been completely transformed through the artist’s use of variably sized “PixCell” beads, a term he invented. PixCell is a portmanteau word combining the idea of a “cell” with that of a “pixel,” the smallest unit of a digital image. Whether intentionally or unintentionally on the artist’s part, PixCell-Deer#24 resonates with a type of religious painting known as a Kasuga Deer Mandala, which features a deer—the messenger animal of Shinto deities—posed similarly with its head turned to the side, and with a round sacred mirror on its back. For painters of the Rinpa school, the deer was depicted often as a companion of ancient sages and had auspicious or poetic associations.

 Brings me back to this, an amazing day in Nara, Japan in 2006.  Feeding deer in the park (and wrestling with them to get back our map).

Instant Attraction: Study in the Home of Carlos Aparicio

This serene study is from the Home of Carlos Aparicio, as featured in Elle Decor December 2012 in the article Miami International.  This clean, white interior is kept from beng too sterile by the addition of warm, brown wood and leather elements and soft surfaces, especially that shaggy midcentury Swedish rug.  I really, really love that wrought-iron chair.  It is by Marc Du Plantier.

Lots more photos of this interior can be found at Elle Decor.  Photographs by Richard Powers.

Instant Attraction: The Collected Home of Michael Formica

Images of the home of designer Michael Formica, as featured in House Beautiful December/January 2012.  Interior design by Michael Formica.  Photos by Bob Hiemstra.

I am a sucker for Kuba cloth, and I loved reading Michael's design philosophy: "Decorating isn't like following a recipe to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  It's about pulling from the world around you.  A house should be a self-portrait, or an autobiography."  And what I would do for an old cast stone fireplace like that!

Concrete Building Blocks

Images of the Pentimento House by architects David Barragán and Jose María Sáez.  This house is built out of standardized concrete building blocks that can be adapted to fit together and be used in a variety of ways to suit different functions.  You can read more about the building block system over at Dwell.

Images from Dwell December/January 2012.  Photos by João Canziani.

Edited Living in a Wooden Box

This is a super teeny tiny (180 s.f.) studio apartment in the Upper West Side, renovated by design-build architect Tim Seggerman.  Love all of the nooks and crannies - no wasted space here.  The sleeping loft, above the kitchen, even has a tiny, sitting room only "library."

More photos at Dwell and on the architect's site.

So cool - Staircase House in Tokyo

Definitely check out this home, featured in Dwell, November 2012.  It is basically one giant winding staircase with larger "steps" serving as rooms.  The material contrast between the steps and the walls really highlights the staircase.  I love how the Dwell article bills it as a "921-square-foot, 44-level house."  Amazing.

Project: Coil House, by architect Akihisa Hirata.  More photos can be seen on Dwell and on the architect's site.

Open-Yet-Divided Living Area

What I really love about this feature (Lines in the Sand, Architectural Digest November 2012, Photos by Pieter Estersohn, design by Olson Kundig Architects) is that it allows you to see the overall view of this amazing, open living space, and then also to see a ground level view of each of the zones.

There's the living/sitting zone with that great fireplace:

Then there's the game table/library zone:

And finally that great outdoor, beachside seating area, which can be separated from the indoor zones by glass doors:

Overall a beautiful project.  Great natural palette and good division of space that still maintains a very open feeling.  I love the use of that horizontal wood "canopy" that creates the feeling of a hallway and breaks up the vertical space.

Instant Attraction: Manhattan Apartment of Nate Berkus

The November 2012 issue of Architectural Digest ran a great before and after article featuring Nate Berkus's gorgeous Greenwich Village apartment.  I love the neutral color palette and the mix of graphic and rustic elements.  Nate is always amazing with giving his spaces character.  I've included a couple of my favorite shots here, and there are loads more over on the AD site.

Love the way he super cleverly disguised the oddly placed and proportioned windows in the office (above) (see the "before picture below).

I Want This Bookshelf

I love all things adjustable, flexible, and customizable.  People's needs change over time, and it's nice to have furnishings that are able to adapt to those changes.  This bookshelf makes me drool.  The verticals are completely notched out at regular intervals, making it easy to move the shelves around and turning that functional aspect into a design element.  Such an improvement over those ugly vertical lines of peg holes running up the insides of a bookcase.

Oh, and the rest of the project is lovely too.  It is a Manhattan apartment designed by Len Morgan, featured in Elle Decor November 2012, in the article Made to Measure.  Photos by Mikkel Vang.  A couple of my favorite shots of the project are below, and more are available on the Elle Decor site.

My Apartment Challenge :: Inspirations :: part 4

Home of Jenni Kayne, via Architectural Digest

This is my third post about the elements that, to me, make a successful interior.  The first two posts were about balance and natural materials, and this post will talk about contrast.  Whether it's a texture or material contrast (like in the photo below - matte vs. reflective / rough vs. smooth) or a value or color contrast as shown above (light flooring and furniture vs. dark walls), contrast is a super important part of a successful interior.  In my book, it's important not to be matchy.  That gets boring fast.  A variety of contrasting elements, and a variety of types of contrasts, will keep things interesting.  Take the coffee table shown above.  The base is a rough, very organic piece of wood, and the top is a very regular, smooth, reflective piece of glass.  Lovely.

Single Stem Vase by Heath Ceramics

My Apartment Challenge :: Inspirations :: part 3

Living room, via Living Etc. Magazine

The first element for a great interior that I discussed was balance.  Now we're moving on to the use of natural materials.  I love nature.  I live in the city so I don't see much of it out my windows.  That means I need to work to incorporate it into my life.  One way to do this is by filling my home with, you guessed it, natural materials.  Sisal, wood, plants (so important), stone, hides, wool, etc.  Beyond reminding me of nature, they also add GREAT texture, which helps with contrast (which we'll talk about later) and balance.  They just make a room feel more layered, interesting, and alive.

Look at the picture above.  They have a tree growing out of the floor in that living room.  That is pretty fantastic.  It's not really a possibility for most of us, but we can get potted plants and potted trees.  And you should.  A plant is basically a living sculpture.  Plus they help purify the air.  Don't have a green thumb?  You can find lists online of the easiest plants to care for.  Just try it.  I have plants that I've had for ten years.  They're like part of my family at this point.  ANYWAY...  In addition to that tree, they also have some nicely grained wood forming the frame of that fab navy velvet sofa (great contrast), and those pressed concrete walls.  Maybe it's a little extreme, but to me it all works and I would love a chance to explore that room.

And below we have another shot which shows a unique use of rope, another natural material.  Gives great texture.  Plus there's lots of wood, great views to lots of trees outsides, and cut flowers on the table.  I love that ceiling treatment.  Here on the excellent blog The Brick House, is another amazeballs use of rope.  I have such a crush on those rope walls.  Someday I will build some.

Home of Athena & Victor Calderone, via Elle Decor.

Now we move on to this last beauty.  The beautiful horizontal wood panelled wall treatment really anchors the room, and provides a nice contrast to the verticality that results from those high ceilings.  We have plants again, both inside and outside.  Natural fiber rug, fur pillows, rustic wood furniture, wool blankets, leather, concrete floors.  All of this makes for a really visually interesting room.  You don't have to go crazy with color to make a room really interesting.  Add on layers of different textures and there you have it.

Home of Mark Egerstrom, via House Beautiful.

Elle Decor: London Assurance

I love a good neutral palette, but lately I'm trying to push myself to pay more attention to color.  I loved the use of color in this interior featured in Elle Decor October 2012: London Assurance.  Rich jewel tones are layered over a great neutral base full of black, white, grays, and neutrals.  Great styling too!  More photos of this project below and after the jump.

Interior design by homeowner and fashion editor Kim Hersov and interior design Hubert Zandberg.  Photography by Simon Upton.  Images from www.elledecor.com.

Now THIS is a bathroom...