The Leopard Poodle

2012-02-13T17:11:00.001-08:00

basket case

2012-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

You know when you buy an ethnic souvenir on vacation and fear you will bring it home and that in context with your home it will be lame and lose the coolness that you purchased it for? I had that exact fear last week on the beaches of Nosara in Costa Rica where Eduardo would approach me every morning with his baskets. I did not have money on me the first day so he said for me to just take the basket and owe him the money. Ok... I did, and returned the next morning with more money than I needed and instead of giving me change he sold me yet another basket (which I then owed him a bit more for). The next day I bought my 3rd basket and we were even! But I feared I made a horrible mistake bringing 3 baskets home. Being home now a few days I can honestly say these are the most unique, functional and beautiful hand woven baskets I have ever seen and my only mistake was to not have bought 30 of them!

shower chic

2011-11-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

When you are wearing nothing at all...you can still be sporting a little leopard.
Shop Here for this awesome shower cap!

when I'm out in the club, sippin that bubb, you can reach my telephone

2011-11-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

This hand set actually makes making and receiving cell phone calls fun, practical & chic ! No longer will I hit ignore when my retro hand set is near me... I got it in gold so it's practically a fashion accessory- especially cool when I'm on a call and my phone is tucked away and the curly-q cord is coming out of my purse. It looks so cool I may just fake being on the phone! It is radiation free, great sound and a fun gift to get ...or better yet to give!
Buy it HERE at Alpha Man.

behind the scenes

2011-11-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

A best kept secret in Los Angeles is the the seating BEHIND the orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. When ordering these tickets there is a distinct feeling that you are booking the cheap seats, partly because they ARE cheap but especially because they are called bench seats which evokes an instant back ache just typing those words. But these bench seats actually do have backs and the cool part is they position you looking AT the most charismatic rock star conductor on the planet if you are lucky enough to go on a night when Gustavo Dudamel is on deck. Not only do you see the conductor’s face but you are literally peering over the orchestra’s sheet music and feel like you are one with the drummer as he prepares to silently pick up the mallet to pound the bass drum. We brought our children recently and having these seats not only kept them from checking their phones or napping but had them appreciating the coolness of the symphony. Note that is easier to take a picture at a top level CIA meeting than it is at the LA Phil.

I love leopard so much that...

2011-09-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

...even the Karashians kan't kill it for me. Introducing their Kollection for Sears.

The Emperor's New (Missoni for Target) Clothes

2011-09-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

Oh the experience of a high-end flash sale at low-end retailer. It is something every serious shopper should do once.

Last week: counting down to the much awaited Target launch of Missoni at Target.

7:12 AM this morning: Tweets and Facebook postings mention long lines and that the Target website crashed. Awesome!!!!!

7:34 My dear friend and fashionisto/retailer Darren posts he is in line at Target. Nothing says "move it" more than that

7:36 Take my son a bit early to school and choose Ladera Heights over West Hollywood as my prey.

8:08 I arrive. I am pleasantly surprised by ample parking and know I made the right choice. I could not imagine how bad the underground West Hollywood parking lot was and was being tweeted and texted every 2 seconds about the lines.

8:09 Saunter in. Confident. Every Missoni display sign had, what?... completely EMPTY racks below it. Empty. Game Over. What? Huh? The store has been open 9 minutes.

8:12 Run into an old friend with an overflowing cart of pink and black zig zags. I am cool. I just talk about our kids and husbands. Missoni, what?

8:14 Ask if I can help organize her cart as she starts to wonder if she got 12 of the same things. I made myself usefull- I became the queen of the bottom-feeders that would soon surround her- a few of whom she personally knew, pressure was on.

8:30 something: We are weeding her cart and I brought a few empty carts to sort. At this point people are walking around trading size 8 pumps for luggage, housewares for onsies- it was very organized but was as Armageddon as Target gets and I loved it!

8:37 My cart is starting to reap the benefits, mainly with items for my six year old- amazing sweater and dresses, leggings and shifts. So cute, so chic!

8:50 My friend is DONE. everything in her cart is a free for all and I'm in charge. I'm kinda Missoni-ed out though and start handing out left overs to grateful shoppers. Feeling powerful!

8:54 Find a cashier just opening and see my friend at the end of a long line. Feel guilty. Make my move though and check out. $396.81

Gab about it all day- even go to website to see what I missed - the site basically crashed most of the day and I really felt empowered.

5:45 Proudly show everything to my daughter, most of it was for her. She has a super-strong fashion sense.

She totally hated it all....of course!!!! But she kept a jacket. I got a few bad blouses that I can't help but love.

I'm chicken

2011-09-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

My husband and a friend of his have been recently talking about getting chicken coops for our backyards. Seriously. Apparently it's all legal now to have them in residential neighborhoods of L.A... I am feeling very Eva Gabor to his Eddie Albert but in the meantime here are some totally chic chick condos.

From Top to Bottom: cocorico, chicken co-op, colorado chicken coop, 100 x better

fashion smashion

2011-09-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

I never can find the line where fashion and interiors separate and don't think there is one...I think it’s one’s love of fashion that propels their appreciation of décor. Maybe it’s the other way around for some but I think the two cannot be mutually exclusive. This brings to mind one of my favorite fashion possessions: my vintage Gucci metal clutch. There is something perfect about its size and shape but mainly that the iconic GG pattern is etched on the metal imitating stitch marks and the tiny pebbled background texture (which has insured it has never fallen out of my hands at cocktail parties while juggling a drink, a phone and shaking a hand). Fast forward to a trip to Saigon in 2010 and seeing this same texture and having an imperceptible deja vu moment while falling in love with gold leafed shagreen. In fact it wasn’t until nearly a year later when I was sourcing the material for a project did I realize the connection. I do know that so many sources of inspiration come to us not at the drawing board or in a focused think tank, but in a spark of a moment where we connect the things we love and find new reasons to be surrounded by them.

spacing Out

2011-07-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

I love that Space Age fashion (even quaint vintage versions) can never get old. I guess because it is always projecting forward to the future that never quite looked the way we thought that it would.

Images from Logans Run, Barbarella and X-Men First Class. Citrine Erosion Stool Table from Boca do Lobo available here.

kitten decor

2011-06-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best accessory on a movie set is a saucy starlet in lingerie, a cocktail and cigarette. Best when it's all at once. Anne Bancroft in The Graduate, Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 and Julianne Moore in A Single Man

Restoration's Restoration

2011-06-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

This week I saw the metamorphosis of a company consistent for having great "basics" suddenly transform into a stylish brand with a super sophisticated edge and lots and lots of important focal pieces. In the past, without much thought, one would casually go online or to a mall (which stores they plan to phase out this year) to Restoration Hardware to find fantastic door pulls, filler pieces for dens, dining and guest rooms etc... Now one will go destination shopping (probably with a designer in tow) for significant furniture and accessories that will become the main stars of the room as opposed to supporting characters.

A lot can be said for Gary Friedman's brave rebranding (read WSJ ) and for Restoration Hardware's new Beverly Boulevard "Gallery" concept store on The Avenues in West Hollywood (the former location of William Sonoma Home and what was the original Phyllis Morris Showroom); this is the third of its kind so far in the country following San Francisco and New York . While no one can deny the beauty and stellar design sense and the "lifestyle-y" vibe of the spaces and outdoor garden area, I did overhear many designers at the opening event murmur they may not specify the new RH right away because they thought the pieces were either too over-scaled or maybe too accessible for their clients. I kind of think when the dust settles and the valet line becomes more manageable, many designers and consumers alike will continue to visit this store not only for inspiration and but for the extraordinary experience it offers... and will warm up to taking these pieces very seriously. I was back again today!

handy

2011-05-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Joan and Barbra and Pedro Friedeberg know that hands are decorative and fabulous and fun. My mother collected hand sculptures so growing up I was surrounded by many beautiful hands and still think they make a great statement in groupings, on table tops or of course on a door serving as an architectural broche.

Sarajayne's Poly Clay beads

Vintage Glove Form hands

Jonathan Adler Pottery Hands

a beautiful door knocker on door in Paris

My mother Phyllis seated at her Hand Table circa 1978 (do click to zoom!)

rock on

2011-04-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

Walking through Stonemart today I could have sworn I was in a fabulous museum. I was there to approve a slab for a client’s project but kept getting pulled by the incredible designs and colors of some of their exotic stones- patterns that could easily be on a gallery wall in a gilt frame, or the sole color inspiration for an entire project. Nature always gets it right, and I love the fact that there are discontinued colors and new patterns! As if even the universe has its own brand director dictating design cycles and market trends. Here are some of my favorites....

photo finish

2011-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s New York Times Style section featured an article on, the uber-cool couple Rachel Feinstein and John Currin.

Click here for story.

After getting past Rachel’s vintage Oscar De La Renta maxi dress, for me the story is the collection here of picture perfect modern still life moments shot by photographer Lee Clower. Granted he had amazing subjects, which he is fortunate to have a lot of nowadays, but it's Clower’s brilliant eye for the provocative, which creates contemporary tableaus that for me are as cool as the people in front of the lens.

Curio Cabinet Cool

2011-03-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

Jaime Hayon, artistic advisor for Lladro describes, a "positive cross-contamination" of his world with that of Lladro, a perfect fusion of the expressiveness of porcelain art and the whimsical surreal fantasy designs that Hayon is known for. His background as both a street artist and sophisticated designer shows, and so does the sweetness that Lladro has always been known for (along with the strong you-break-it-you-buy-it messaging).

picture perfect

2011-02-28T15:59:00.000-08:00

Faster Better Cheaper? Someone once told me in making business decisions if you can get 2 out of the 3 always say YES , not 100% reliable but I really like the exercise. I think the person who told me manufactured pizza dough or something which is only slightly, um...ok, vastly different from the world of interiors, but still I like the 2 out of 3 part.

Conde Naste definitely has a faster and cheaper art solution for almost any interior mood you are in, offering archival photography from their many publications such as Vogue and Vanity Fair from photographers such as Scavullo and Horst and the list goes on.

valentines night in

2011-02-15T08:49:00.000-08:00

Contrary to my old ideas about the perfect Valentine's night (which would consist of making hard to get reservations at the newest restaurant a month before and having a stupid pre fixe menu with violins playing in the background etc..) my husband's gift to me last night was dinner at home. At HOME? ??
I admit at first I though it sounded bad, sort of like a consolation prize... but trusting his cooking skills and then finding out he arranged for our children to have their own date night with our nanny at Chuck E. Cheese, I came to understand that his gift was a profound romantic gesture that no restaurant or little turquoise box could possibly match. In is the new Out.

i heart Rodarte ( rhyme!)

2011-02-05T22:46:00.000-08:00

Pasadena sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, otherwise known as Rodarte (and maybe mainly known for their costumes in Black Swan) give as much or more attention to texture, details and decoration than most interior designers, and evidently use the same materials in their spring collection. Love.

The king's speech therapist’s walls

2011-01-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

My favorite part of this film, besides Helena Bonham Carter's coat of course, was the walls in Lionel Logue's room. The perfect look of hundreds of years of plaster and removed wallpaper that is soooo beautiful and extremely difficult if not impossible to replicate. The effect feels organic, yet somehow formal at the same time...reminds me of fine Italian marbled paper.
Vintage 19th c. marbled paper, Gold vein Overprinted over Spanish moiré on Turkish pattern

Italian Papers above from Marbled Arts

lather, rinse, repeat

2011-01-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

The film Shampoo has always been inspiring to me. Oddly sets that consist of mainly brass headboards, white trellis and tastleless furniture actually communicate a certain style and sexiness.
Or maybe it's just the high volume hair..?
Steven Meisel's ad campaign for Versace below.

Gangster Leopard Speakeasy Cool

2011-01-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Tippy toeing into 2011...Mr. Tom Ford.

Is it Live or is it Photoshop?

2010-12-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

Andreas Verheijenis. Part floral artist /part mad scientist, and surely one would have to be more of the latter to come up with these brilliant floral fantasies. Andreas calls himself a floral engineer, a trade that he must be alone in... crazy to think hese hybrids were actually created in a lab and not on a computer. Beautiful inspiration to start off the year!

Bachelor Pad Chic

2010-11-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

I recently revisited The Kids Stays in the Picture, the movie that chronicles Robert Evans' techno-colorful life. Looking at the film through a style lens, it was apparent that his elegant bachelor pad was very much the center of his life. The home, named Woodland, was built by architect John Woolf, famous for his Regency masterpieces and epitomized Evans' sexy-power and style. His home was his muse which inspired and legitimized him through seven marriages, power meetings, swank parties, his glamorous rises and tragic falls. Here are some images of Evans in his home that put me in the mood to play a little Claudine Longet and sip a proper martini. Why can't we be anywhere near this cool today? I mean it....

Click here for more pictures of Woodland

my new flame

2010-10-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Flame stitch has been gone just long enough where a comeback is in order! Whatever your personal reference point is, from seeing it on massive wing chairs, fine tapestry drapes, needle point pillows...and of course the signature Missoni knits-there is something very cool about this 17th century pattern which keeps it alive and well and totally relevant.

I am working on a new interpretation of flame stitch, something mod and shiny but still classic and zig zaggy. Here are some swatches of what I am playing with from our first production run at the mill, and below that some contemporary flame stitch patterns in action.

And here are some examples of designers using flame stitch patterns today.

From Apartment Therapy

Mary McDonald

Kelly Wearstler

Zoffany Flame Stitch Armchair

ultra cool vintage sofa

fashion with a cherry on top

2010-10-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

My absolute new favorite brand is Manoush. Slightly obsessed with it actually.

Walking into the Manoush boutiques in Paris feels like virtually entering a Moulin Rouge-Gothic-Lolita pop up book dipped in confectioner's sugar. For sure reminiscent of Anaa Sui, Manoush takes a ligher twist with a wink of upbeat happiness in every single piece. I was so enchanted I could barely breathe and went back about 4 times knowing there was no entity like it in the states and tried to take it all in.
The brand can be found online and pieces are available in select boutiques but the experience is best witnessed on their site- then go to Yoox.com or wherever else you can find these sweet designs.

p.s. Manoush is slang for "gypsy" in french.

Finally!

2010-10-08T20:41:00.000-07:00

The perfect shower cap.
I can't stand getting a great blow out and then putting on a shower cap the next day, hermetically sealing each hair within the cap for my shower, and to have the steam seep in and destroy my hair with evil frizz. You know who you are if you passed the first sentence. I was seriously thinking of inventing a modern shower cap and totally envisioned my QVC spots marketing it. But I don't have to. There is finally a cap that seals in your do and preserves your investment for the next day, or two, or three...and it's one click away.
http://www.amazon.com/Blow-Perfect-Shower-Cap/dp/B002SW5QTS

oh deer

2010-09-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

Tucked away at the Maison show, deep within the huge amount of crystal, chrome, and lacquer was the absolute coolest booth by designer Frederique Morrel . At first it looked like a really bad granny packed Christmas vignette, but at second glance (and 2nd glances are really hard when you are looking at 90,000 products, auto scanning & editing every nana second) it was probably hands down the most original collection there.

Using vintage tapestries on fiberglass taxidermy molds, Frederique Morrel creates these totally bold and very loopy one-of-a-kind art statements. Check out the webite and read their story...its so brilliant!

http://www.frederiquemorrel.com/main.html

from paris with love

2010-09-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

Back from the Maison et Object and I want to start with the simple fact that only at a Paris trade show will you find little bottles of champagne available as innocently as the Coca Cola below it at 10:00am!

I will catch up on my next few entries some of the highlights not only from the show but from the boutiques and city streets, but here are some quick city images.

The public shared city Velib bicycles everywhere in Paris are truly the most practcal thing I ever seen. Pick one up from point A and drop it off at point B...and if you do this all in under 30 minutes your bike is FREE!

On my last night in Paris walking what must have been my 100th consecutive mile, I came upon the most dreamy sight...the window of Caron, located on the Avenue Montaigne; it is a genuine Temple of Perfumery! WHY don't we take perfume stores as seriously as they do in Paris?
The lighting! The bottles! And look at the fantastic lacquered Griffon consoles!

Oh, and the winner of the best macaroon contest goes to the Caramel Macarron at Chez Carette.

Paris here I come

2010-08-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for what in my opinion is the mother of all trade shows, a place where east and west, north and south come together for one common reason: style. I am packing bags and getting ready for the great visual unknown at the Maison et Object show, my favorite trade show on the planet. There is a squirmy excitement of what may be revealed and that feeling of entering an unbound design arena. And chances are there will be one source, one designer, or maybe one macaroon that will match my great anticipation, there always is.

Eye Candy

2010-08-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

From Dutch photographer,Ruud van Empel.

I heart pointing and clicking

2010-08-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Which is why I really really really love Lonny and I still would if it were a paper magazine but maybe I love it so much more because it isn't. I love that I can point and click almost everything in it and that I don't have to go to the back of the issue to find out more about the page I am actually on. I love that I can't lose it, don't have to decide to toss it, virtually always know where it is, and beyond all of that ...I do adore the content. Michelle Adams, formally with Domino, has put her thumbprint on this e-mag and within every issue I find something new and interesting that I end up clicking on to learn more about.

I do not (yet!) have an iPad (because I am waiting for the next version w/flash and the kinks works out like everyone else that wants one) but picture myself lounging with it one day soon swiping and scrolling through Lonny ...and hopefully Elle Decor, Wallpaper, Interior Design, Vanity Fair, Vogue, W, Bazaar etc, etc,

Back to School

2010-08-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

Back from Charleston for a few weeks and still feeling the balmy air and magical vibe of that cool city. There is something absolutely perfect about Charleston, and, um... my husband and I found ourselves in the back of a real estate agent's car the last day, that's how much we fell in love with everything there.

Back to school time is probably my favorite time of the year. It evokes new notebooks and organizers, super thick magazines and...a new style season. Although I have always lived in Los Angeles, I aspire and semi pull off fall fashion even though our heat spell is just about to break about then.

Fall is the time for the changing of the fashion guards and this year the look that gives me that special back to school fall feeling is from Balenciaga. The primary colors remind me of 6th grade and the lego/transformer shoes look like something I could manage for a day blending into a busy night.

Going to Carolina ...

2010-07-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go to the Carolinas...first to take our middle son to camp in North Carolina and get him settled into his 1950's idyllic camp life- and then to explore the deep South, a place where my husband's roots are deep and a place I find true peace and happiness. The crazy thing about the south is that it is in our own backyard (well, kind of) and no one goes ever there unless they have to or are FROM there which makes zero sense to me after experiencing it first hand, but maybe southerners like it that way.

eyes wide shut

2010-06-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have discovered the perfect eye mask. Where most masks lay flat on your lids, these don't so they allow you to open your eyes while still leaving you in total pitch blackness.

PLUS they come in tons of patterns and colors so you look super cute while sleeping on the plane or when just checking out...
40 Winks Sleep Mask by Bucky

Dwelling on it

2010-06-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

If you are in LA check out Dwell on Design... the show can be viewed in a 90 minute face paced trade show clip through some of the most cutting edge examples of design for the home and garden. And it wouldn't say Dwell without the pre-fab(ulous) homes which there are plenty of, but for me this year the most exciting trend was all of the different versions of terrariums and

hanging plants! So many shapes and sizes,

my favorite example was from The Potted Store who showcased their

lacquered bangles with beautiful dangling succulents.

A refreshing touch to a super slick show that makes one want to relax

and download a little

Joni Mitchell...

Retail Fix #2

2010-06-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

The new Eccola store on Beverly Boulevard just opened in a cool and airy warehouse that features smooth styled vignettes where 70's modern sofas and lighting are seamlessly comfortable with Italian Baroque cocktail tables topped with midcentury found objects, layered with gigantor lamps and beautiful wooden gears. Some of their best pieces from 1st Dibs are there in person on display, oddly familiar to me like Facebook friends I think know, but have never actually met.

Wandering around the back I couldn't resist snapping this shot (click to zoom).

sitting pretty

2010-06-11T23:11:00.000-07:00

"What would Carrie do?" is a perfectly logical question to ask oneself when getting dressed, shopping for shoes, fearlessly pairing separates that should never ever be together etc, right? So when designing a room and applying the same Carrie filter you can end up with a big (lame/expensive) miss, or an elegant (off the charts/right on) hit as was executed by Lydia Marks- set designer for the original series- who is to the show's sets what Patricia Fields is to its wardrobe. Fast forward to SATC2 and not the just sets...but the living room, actually not the whole living room... but the incredible B L U E OTTOMAN!

It's called the Lola, upholstered in a blue wool felt, it is cut, sewn and finished by hand by Finnish, London-based textile designer Anne Kyro Quinn

it is form + function/poetry in motion/irresistible furniture perfection. Anne's ability to manipulate fabrics and create textile art is part origami and part fine fabric sculpting and all very impressive and totally cool...

This poof officially goes into the same category as some of Carrie's most unforgettable completely original style statements - which is a special genre of fashion that defines the show, an attitude and era that I don't want to ever let go of.

p.s. because of all of this I liked the movie

more hippy chic

2010-06-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

photographer Tayfun Cetinkaya from Istanbul created this shoot called Hippi Eksantirik.

Gypsy + Jetset = Gypset

2010-06-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

I love when a new phrase is coined, especially when it evokes a fresh concept. There is an excitement in saying the word and an even bigger thrill for putting it into action. Gypset is just that and since my fashionista friends Sabrina and Radha were dueling e-mails about this yesterday I have been a little obsessed with the concept. Not that it is anything new...Boho chic was just a few years ago when Rachel Zoe brought back long hippie dresses and caftans, Sienna Miller and the Olsen twins exemplify & totally pull it off and going back every few years there is a style icon who not only nails the look but manages to truly live it! Think of images of Mia Farrow and with the Beatles. Yves St. Laurent in caftans and his muse Loulou de la Falaise! From Serge Gainsbourg (in pic above) & Jane Birkin to Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis, the beat goes on.

The last 2 images are from the new book Gypset by Julia Chaplins

Just in case

2010-05-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am a silicone gel case gal (because I am paranoid of dropping my phone and really I do drop it frequently and figure it cushions the fall better but I do hate how it grips everything, like a sweater pocket, but I like the way it feels in my hand). My husband has a slider case because it slips into his pocket easier, and then there's my brother in law who carries his phone unprotected because he respects the Apple aesthetic way too much to ever mess with it.
Here are some of the best ways I have found to protect, cover and pimp your iPhone.

Sensa Wallet Phone

Case Mate Clear Case

Cool mirrored Cases

Metallic Credit Card iPhone Case

Chrome Slider

Bamboo Slider

Or you can customize your case!

new york, new york, new york

2010-05-20T12:27:00.000-07:00

I feel like I did a thousand things in 5 days in New York last week, each so wonderful and special and never did I feel rushed or that it was all too much, but that's New York- that certain something in the air that gently shoves you along. Having lived my whole life in Los Angeles the LA/NY ying yangneess is very obvious to me and where I could certainly rally the same energy at home which is required for NY survival, I simply don't. Here are some highlites of the trip:

The Elle Decor Party at the new 40,000- square ft Domus - Minotti store on Madison. Chatting with Margaret Russell and checking out the interesting sights...

and furniture

and PEOPLE

The next day I sat with my new friend the charming artist Johnny Swing at ICFF show:

The show for me was a ginormous sea of reclaimed wood and felt furniture- all beautifully executed and completely relevant for the times, however, I did manage to find every single non-green item, here are some of my favorites.

...then working with my fabric mill on new textiles...

On Monday our friend Duncan arranged a private viewing of Donald Judd's Soho loft (!!!) which felt part like an exclusive museum tour and part like an archeological trek through the life of a mad artist/ scientist. Every item of Judd's apartment has been left intact since his passing, and the building is about to experience a major renovation to keep it even MORE intact and more exact to the lifestyle experience of Judd and his family life. Stellas and Oldenburgs and Flavins, oh my!

In between all of this was a fun brunch at the Soho Club, a special viewing of the "bear parade" :) in the village, the hysterically dark Christopher Walken play, a quick zip through the magnificent Standard High Line ending on our last day with the delivery of furniture to our client's penthouse on the Hudson with designer Jane Synnestvedt

wanderlust

2010-05-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Marcel Wanders' Mallorcan Villas are something out of a Barbarella dream. A futuristic enclave where one should only wear white. Read more about Casa Son Vida here.
You know Wanders work but may not KNOW you know it as he is the prolific creator and visual innovator of iconic designs for brands from Bisaza, Poliform and Puma to Swarovski and Baccarat, and of course Target. Below are more images of his unbounded genius.

The Mondrian South Beach :

Kameha Grand Bonn in Germany:

Wanders iconic Chrochet Chair:

Wanders horse lamp for Moooi:

living small

2010-05-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

I never had the Barbie Dream House. Instead my mother thought it would be more creative and interesting for her factory to make a white wooden blank canvas of a Barbie-scaled doll house for me to decorate as I wanted. I was of course in tears, I mean JUST LOOK at this commercial! As the weeks passed we cut out pictures from furniture catalogues and magazines to decorate the walls, used showroom fabric samples for drapes and cut up some faux fur for a groovy rug for Barbie and Ken's den . It took me about 25 years to fully comprehend how loving and brilliant this was and that it was indeed better than the pink plastic Barbie Dream house. I am now collecting vintage miniatures for my new adult dollhouse and researching where I should start I have found some amazing finished houses that look good enough to live in.

My favorite line of vintage doll furniture is from a company called the Petite Princess (above) who made an unbelievable collection in the mid 1960's that looks like it came out of a swank Trousdale home... or possibly Eva Gabor's New York apartment in Green Acres!

And apparently I am not the only adult into mini mc mansions...the above micro rooms taken from Christina Ferrara's blog Call of the Small shows her detailed attention to the obsession of tiny homes as she regularly posts updated mid-century rooms taken with the same seriousness as a designer working on projects 12 times the size as hers.

Jonathan Adler reversed the art a few years ago creating a human scaled Barbie house for Barbie's 50th anniversary (below) “Barbie was a dream client because she doesn’t exist as a person,” Adler said. “She exists as fantasy and is the perfect client because she’s always happy and fun and loves everything. I thought to myself, ‘How would Barbie live?’ What I thought was Barbie would have a house that is glamorous, kittenish, chic, colorful and happy — as well as functional.”

bedtime story

2010-05-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

I am in loooove with the new PEMA collection from Anichini…rich chocolate brown silk with neon jewel toned embroidery that feels fashion forward and ethnic and modern and opulent all at once. I kept commenting to my dear friend Brad (who runs the West Hollywood showroom) how much I loved the colors and then he looked down at the shoes I was wearing and told me why!

What I also love about Anichini is that Susan, the owner and designer, has an intention and a story behind every textile in her collection, so I had to ask what or where Pema was? It turns out that Pema Chodron is a spiritual teacher who is widely known for her charming and down-to-earth interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism for Western audiences, so there you have it!

showtimes

2010-05-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

An impeccably upholstered chair with fluted acrylic feet, a mod spiral stairway and vintage resin skulls on nickel bases. Three of my favorite things from the LA Modernism Show this past weekend which took place on the heels of the Los Angeles Antique Show. I think some vendors like Downtown actually kept their booths up in between shows which made me wonder why the 2 events do not merge next year, it would certainly be more efficient for everyone invloved. And as if Los Angeles has not had enough design excitement over the past month, the LCDQ Legends of La Cienega events are almost here and this year promises to be the most exciting one ever where designers, collectors, bloggers and beautiful people will unite on one of our chicest streets. Out of all the parties & lectures I am most excited to see what on earth Jaime Rummerfeld has been doing with the Auntie Mame backdrop which she has been working on...

(sitting) On the money

2010-04-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Taking functional art to another level, artist Johnny Swing fabricates this chair for his Obsessive Furniture Collection out of 1500 half dollars and 7,000 welds. Johnny brings out the beauty of other house hold objects as well, while creating truly relevant furniture pieces for collectors to treasure. Check out the rest of his work- so cool!
johnnyswing.com

drifting off

2010-04-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

How fabulous are these tables and how awesome and fearless were the first designers in the late 1950’s to use driftwood as a serious design statement? There was hardly a style trend supporting this look yet it seems like it opened the doors for designers to be more eclectic and to start being better rule breakers instead of rule makers. Here are some fun examples featured in Architectural Digest in 1957 (click on vintage magazine images to enlarge)

This one has a built in fish bowl!

Today pertrifed wood tables, preserved driftwood and tree root formation bases can be found in most design centers and online, DAO on Beverly Boulevard has a great selection, here are a few of their tables which would be nice pieces to rough up pretty rooms.

And if the whole look is still feeling a bit too earthy, at Thomas Lavin one can find these magnificent bronze table sculptures which would give a space a huge splash of glamour while keeping true to their strong organic roots.

power flowers

2010-04-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

These beautiful botanical sculptures require zero maintenance because they are actually made of PAPER! The flower pom poms are mounted on manzanita branches and appear as real fantasy floral topiaries even when scrutinized super close up. The colors and scale are very powerful; strong pinks, vivid oranges and brilliant turquoises...and the scuptures can be made to order up to a soaring 15' tall! I met the artist who makes these earlier in the year am now colloborating with him on a collection for my showroom, which may start to look like the garden in Avatar by early summer, stay tuned.

room service

2010-04-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

There is nothing like private dining done right and so few restaurants offer the combination of awesome service and extreme privacy like Agura Sushi. The restaurant is incredible enough without even mentioning the food which to me happens to be some of the best and most creative sushi in the world, Tokyo included. A giant Buddha watches over the sushi bar (which I understand used to be a church) and the overall decor can be summed up as deconstructed Zen/Rococo (Zen-coco!) which actually describes the menu as well. The coolest part though is the private dining area that's enclosed with glass shoji screens which expand to accommodate anywhere from 8- 24 people. There you are cocooned in a modern tatami room with sunken floors and illuminated tables...and, back to the sushi...chef Nobu Shishido, who comes from the infamous punk rock Sushi bar Take on Sunset, creates omakase dinners where you never have to think about what you want, which I love because left to my own sushi ordering history I would end up ordering the same 3 things and never get to experience any of his signature delicacies, like mint leaf wrapped tempura uni!

Agura Dining is at 514 N. La Cienega in West Hollywood
http://www.aguradining.com/

Domestic Chaos

2010-04-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Not-so-ordinary moments which seem perfectly normal and sublimely beautiful describe the contemporary tableaus by photographer Julie Balckmon. I just love the twisted suburban Rockwellian families that she creates and have collected her work for several years since she debuted at Photo LA. I actually have one of her photographs in my daughter's room because it is important for her to grow up knowing there is really no such thing as a "normal" family.

Photo Eye Gallery

red hots

2010-04-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

We just finished our Ingenue Chair for a project with RED NAILHEADS to frame out the client's red embossed croc leather...our workroom swears to me they will neeevvveeer eeevvvver do it again (at least not this week) because we went though something like 5 times the amount of nail heads needed in order to get it right (the color coated nail heads chip rather easily), but oo la la, the look is so stylish it was worth it.

shopping issues

2010-04-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

Shopping Addict:

"People who give in to compulsive shopping or spending get a feeling of being "high" from the experience. This translates into endorphins and dopamine, natural receptor sites in the brain, getting turned on, creating a "good feeling" and reinforcing the desire to shop or spend"

Ok, I completely relate and I can probably check off most of the qualifications of having a shopping "issue", eh hem, HOWEVER.. thank goodness my career and the design community whole heartedly supports and embraces the habit. I never really put the two together before.

As if sourcing textiles and furniture in the most beautiful showrooms was not enough...there is no feeling on earth like stepping foot into a flea market and being on the hunt for something unknown. Or discovering foo dogs covered in dirt in an antique alley in Vietnam or... locally, the dreamy feeling of walking into the magical warehouse of JF Chen- all of these experiences conjures up the exact same emotions for me as walking into Barneys. I have never met a designer that doesn't love to shop so besides a talent for the technical aspects of design (envisioning the final project, understanding scale, knowing function, eye for color, meeting deadlines, people pleasing, negotiating, a degree in psychology) the passion and patience for shopping is the under-pinning of the job description. Shopping is not to be underestimated as any designer knows, finding the right fabrics & trims, surface materials, furniture and accessories can be a laborious task for most people, which is why the passion for the sport must be in place.

Antique Alley in Saigon

Above in the Paris Flea Market with John and the magical JF ChenWarehouse

We are fortunate that the interior design industry has some of the most expansive and fantastic showrooms & exhibitions, and off-the-chart domestic trade shows from the Moscow Millionaire Fair, Milan Furniture Fair,or the mother of all design trade shows..the Maison & Object show in Paris. All of these shopping experiences makes our shopping "issues" seem not so crazy...or least somewhat justifies them.

color trip

2010-04-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

My husband just sent me these pictures he took in Laos, quick snaps from his iPhone mind you.
Every country has a distinct color palette and here are examples that nature's color schemes are never off, never clashing, always pleasing and a never ending source of inspiration.

Dark Crystal

2010-04-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

When did this all happen and how did I miss it? Lalique in beautiful frosted black on black. I can't think of too many other items that can be the perfect gift for anyone from your parents to your best Goth-friend which is a pretty wide divide... unless of course your parents ARE Goth and then you are really in luck, but you already knew that.

The Lalique Black Collection

Statues of Limitation

2010-04-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Adorning the lawns in and around Beverly Hills are some of the most interesting statues...

I can't help but share them here.

club noir

2010-04-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

Nothing says "We are an exclusive subversive nightclub" more, kinda scary...very cool

club voyeur

Tuft Love

2010-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

Long known for being the conservative centerpiece of gentlemen's libraries or the must-have seating for every well respected lawyer's office, the Chesterfield Sofa continues to be the most classic and identifiable of all sofas, yet it can be completely transformed in so many cool ways. A quick google search says its roots date back to the 1700's when the earl of Chesterfield - Phillip Stanhope (1694-1773) was honored by the commissioning of a piece of fine furniture...these are a few modern interpretations.

Union Jack Chesterfield by Cox & Cox
White Chesterfiled chesterfields1780
Black Starlet Sofa wih Lucite Legs Photograph by: Greg Firlotte Sofa by Circa
Patchwork Chesterfield by Squint Limited
Gold Chesterfield Photograph by: Dan Duchars
Peacock Blue Banquettes at Cecconi's http://www.cecconiswesthollywood.com/

thai one on

2010-04-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

My husband and our eleven year old son are currently globetrotting in Thailand and I started to feel a little pouty/jealous, so I decided to pick myself up and trot myself down to El Leon Spa on Beverly Boulevard and have my very own Thai experience.

Upon entering you are lulled into a crazy incense induced zen-culture shock. You are definitely not in Kansas anymore, or even Los Angeles...or maybe not even Thailand!

The Thai massage is interactive and out of this world, at times a little rough, at times a little weird, but there is nothing like the feeling when it is all over as you float past the fountains and candlelit Buddhas to collect your belongings which you may barely recognize as ever being yours.

This is one of the many reasons why I love L.A... that I can completely escape without ever leaving home.

elleonspa.com

Style Icon #4. Auntie Mame (the 1958 Rosalind Russell version)

2010-03-31T16:14:00.000-07:00

Since the minute our showroom opened on Robertson Boulevard, Auntie Mame has been playing on an endless loop. We can't think of a more fitting film to constantly be inspired by. We have tried other high style films such as Barbarella, Breakfast At Tiffany's, Gods and Monsters, Manhattan, 2001 A Space Odesssy, you name it (and by all means please suggest others !) ...but we keep coming back to Mame, and not only for the glamorous costumes and the decorative sets (Mame changed her living room 18 times in the film) , but for the message of living life!

We all need to channel our inner Auntie Mames!

Auntie Mame: Oh, Agnes! Here you've been taking my dictations for weeks and you haven't gotten the message of my book: live!

Agnes Gooch: Live?

Auntie Mame: Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!

Designer Spotlight

2010-03-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Sandra Espinet

Designer Sandy Espinet is an off-the-chart glamour girl extraordinaire who likes to keep it real in San Jose del Cabo which is where she resides and where the majority of her work is. Not that she stays put for long since she has a pesky travel bug that keeps her on the hunt for the best and coolest global destinations that she loves to share with all of us on her website, blog & on Sirius radio. It's her flair for mixing up antiques with smart contemporary pieces along with an ultra-savy color sense that keeps her in demand, but truth be told ....it's her down-to-earth attitude that makes her a client's (and a showroom's!) best friend.

Here she is on the Starlet Banquette where she for sure looks the part.

Check out what she's up to on her website and blog.

www.sandraespinet.com/

white on

2010-03-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Everyone is pretty clear about when the last day to wear white is but according to the web the jury is hung on when the first day is that you can actually GO BACK to wearing it. Or maybe the more important question is...can we keep wearing black?

At least this month's Harper's Bazaar and Interiors magazine are in agreement, it's white now (sorry, lame pun, couldn't resist)!

Fashion photographs by: Peter Lindbergh
Interior photographs by: Jean-Marc Wulschleger

stirred or shaken who really cares

2010-03-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am sure there are a lots of redeeming vodka facts about Crystal Head but the most blatantly obvious one is why we love it so much. The skull bottle is an amazing accessory on its own- looks cool on a bar or on a cocktail table... and when the party's over it is equally awesome empty as a purely cool object of art.
crystalheadvodka.com

Only her hairdresser knows for sure

2010-03-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Starlet Ottoman just got a hippy chic make-over in fluffy white Mongolian Lamb. But that's not all...it also just had a pricey appointment with the talented Rafael who I had to book an emergency intervention with to shear the bottom of the cushion because apparently we did not take into consideration that the hair would completely cover the Lucite legs and I needed it done for a party I am having tonight...and it was looking like very "Cousin It"!
In the end the ottoman turned out looking just the way I wanted, so I either need to re-design it for future or maybe include a trip to the hairdresser's in the final sell price.

Shelf Life

2010-03-19T15:54:00.000-07:00

Last year we gained a media room but lost a library. This was a trade off we made because the added family space was for sure more practical and I guess in a way, media rooms sadly ARE the new libaries. So here we were with a fantastic place to hang out with a super big plasma on the wall and cool comfy seating...but were left with hundreds and hundreds of books; first editions, coffee table books, photography, art books and novelas that all needed a good home.

What we came up with were 4 sort of "mini libaries", separate areas to hold separate book collections that are organized by my personal dewey decimal system of look & size.

Here are floating sheleves and boxes in our living room.

Here are floating shelves in our master bedroom, we matched the lacquer color to the background of the wallpaper.

Here is a built in cabinet that help us with the biggest over flow of books-the reference books and not so pretty paper backs are stored below.

And here is my favorite and the most challenging one, down our long loooong hall. It is a basic ledge and here we can mix art work with books- casual and interchangable and a a fun visual impact.

end of story

2010-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Design Week in West Hollywood is approaching and it is all very exciting! While the West Coast's interior design season for parties & product launches & lectures can never be as exciting as what New York's Fashion week is to fashion, we will take it, and I guess until we get furniture on the catwalk with celebutantes taking notes in the front row- product vignettes, new surface materials and luxury textiles may never compete. But this isn't to say we don't have a lot going on...for instance this is the first time the Pacific Design Center and the surrounding Avenues will collaborate in a 4 day event (starting with West Week on March 24th and ending with the Art Walk on the 27th). Invitations are out and the energy is up and everyone is really on it. Showrooms are completing their remodels, new window displays are being installed and big white trucks are bringing in big new products up and down Melrose, Robertson, and Beverly Boulevards. The speakers at PDC this year seem to be the most promising ever and it would seriously take about a month to experience the collective overlapping events scheduled in these tight 4 days.
Here at Phyllis Morris we are busy setting up new merchandise and installing our Margaret Keane exhibit and are in crazy anticipation of her arrival next week for our event... aaaaaand as if all that weren’t enough… my residence is being shot for Angeleno in a few days so it couldn’t be a more intense time to focus on the wonderful and insane business of design, while keeping a keen perspective on the fun of it.

Pacific Design Center
The Avenues

You wood never know....

2010-03-11T14:37:00.000-08:00

When figuring out how to seamlessly connect our indoor living space with our outdoor deck, selecting the perfect floor material was a struggle. Exterior wood floors weather in no time at all and the look of tile or stone just wasn't the vibe we wanted to go with for our living room...but I discovered an amazing "wood tile" from Ann Sacks that solved everything! This porcelain tile stands up to the demands of our dog and 3 active children who are either tap dancing or skateboarding through the living room on it, rolling 75 pound book bags and guitar cases on it, spilling glue or paint on it... or just innocently thrashing it through their simple daily activities. Basically, one can drive a UPS truck over this material and it would not be the worse for wear. I selected a rich chocolate color (wenge) that has enough randomly repeated patterns on it to never give itself away ...we even had to point out to our yoga teacher midway through a down dog that it was not actually wood, so there!
www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=1630804&prg=2220604

photography by the talented Mr. Lee Clower

Paper Bag Lady

2010-03-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

The best thing about top designers doing H&M are the fabulous shopping bags you get when you buy their stuff! The salespeople give these out parsimoniously so you have to ask (beg!) for them, but in the end they are real keepers and may last longer than the designer's sweater or dress that you walk away with inside your tote. Here is the new Sonia Rykiel shopping bag. BEAUTIFUL! The paper stock is very heavy with a satin touch and has cool neoprene handles, I think there may actually be some after market value for this? And a moment about Sonia Rykiel...crimped hair, cute berets, bright colored striped sweaters, seems all of a sudden very perfect.

Retail Fix # 1

2010-03-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

SURFAS

Certain shopping experiences get me so excited that I'll blab about them to anyone who will listen to me, and if I detect glimmer of interest the flood gates open and I talk a mile a minute and usually follow up with an e-mail containing pertinent information and links about the product or designer or author or store, or whatever I think is so important and/or fabulous.
SURFAS is one of those places that completely qualifies.

Located in Culver City, I can find everything at Surfas from the practical to obscure. Serving pieces, party platters, cutlery, hundreds of olive oils and thousands of spices, incredible gourmet cheeses and pastas...but the coolest part is the selection of uber-serious restaurant supplies in the chef's section which can quickly erase any memory of what a mediocre chef I am. I will find myself loading up my cart with things like professional frosting nozzles, micro ice cream scoopers, sushi rollers and other things that I know deep down I have no intention of using but in the shopping trance it doesn't matter. And if logic should get a hold of me while standing in line, I can remind myself that they also have cooking classes which can one day can teach me how to use all the cool stuff I bought.

Surfas
SURFAS RESTAURANT SUPPLY & GOURMET FOOD

Showroom at Corner of Washington & National Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Tel. (310) 559-4770

and if you are not in Southern California or you prefer a virtual experience you can
purchase Surfas Products Online at http://www.culinarydistrict.com/

Viva (shopping in) Las Vegas!

2010-03-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Just like every great chef must have a presence in Las Vegas, so must every great designer and in fact they must have multiple over-the-top boutiques in multiple over-the-top casinos. The best thing about the Las Vegas restaurants and boutiques is the disproportionate amount of financial resources spent on architecture and design which makes the consumer's experience so much more fabulous and extreme than possible in any other city. And with the opening of Crystals, in Las Vegas' new CityCenter, there are 500,000 more square feet of reasons for designers to flaunt it.

After walking into what felt like the set of Tron meets Wild Things , I scrolled the listings on a giant touch screen directory and was excited to see so many fantastic designers represented there, but when walking through discovered that most of these stores were still in construction. This made the walk from store to store a bit longer than should be necessary in a futuristic venue like this ,and in my case shopping A.D.D kind of kicked in...but then… I floated into the Assouline Boutique!

Ahhhhh...after stepping foot inside I was quickly transported to New York or London or possibly Paris (ie: NOT Vegas) and was greeted by mod gold leaf club chairs, vintage books, smart stationary, gigantor coffee table books and soft piped in cool jazz. I did not want to ever leave but I had a pair of unbelievable Marni shoes waiting for me and still needed to see Tom Ford's store and save time for Kiki De Montparnasse all before my husband's poker tournament ended, which I did. I lost a bit more than he did at the tables but I came back with a lot more Vegas souvenirs than he did.

http://www.crystalsatcitycenter.com/

Breakfast of Champions

2010-03-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

I quick note that I just had THE MOST incredible time with Architectural Digest editor-in-chief Paige Rense, who hosted an intimate breakfast followed by an informal design summit at the Montage Hotel.

Michael Smith, Rose Tarlow, Roger Thomas and other industry superstars shared their take on the design world today and the new challenges we are faced with due to the current economy and growing proliferation of digital resources and copy cats, and the old challenges which still exist today with designer/client relations. My take away was, something I have always known and practice but still need to be constantly reminded of, that nothing can ever compete with excellent customer care and that the service we offer our clients must always go beyond the expectations of the customer, no matter what business you are in. If you are in this design industry I believe you are here for a reason and I think it’s beautiful job and ...someone has to do it!

Poodlicious

2010-03-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, how can I express the love I have for my amazing team? Today my showroom staff surprised me with YES a crazy Pink Poodle Lamp birthday cake... thank you Walter for commissioning this work of art (this almost tops the Jamie piñata which hung over my desk last year)...and thank you Greg for capturing my shock and awe, and thank you to Cake and Art for such an accurate replica of our famous lamp!

This officially kicks off my birthday week which actually starts with a special breakfast with Architectural Digest editor Paige Rense (so very excited!) tomorrow and then off to Las Vegas and will report back on the new Aria Hotel and the completed Vegas City Center ...Viva Elvis!

http://www.cakeandart.com/

Matchmaker, Matchmaker...

2010-03-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

So, I find an incredible vintage plate at the flea market and bring it home, and that same magical plate out of its found vintage context looks totally like... a random flea market plate. I usually research the pattern if I still am in love with it, which I always am, I'll buy even MORE online to make a set. How cool that replacments.com is waiting for that very moment I login and has an inventory of almost every popular china and silver pattern that has practically ever been made so you match a set, mix one up, replace your chipped discontinued wedding china or secretly swap out your grandmother's Limoges teacup you broke. Apparently this online store actually exists in real life in a 415,000 !!! square-foot warehouse somewhere in North Carolina, that's the size of seven football fields of tabletop replacements!

http://www.replacements.com/

Picture Perfect?

2010-02-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

I visited the Renoir exhibit at LACMA yesterday and the museum was surprisingly bustling for Los Angeles midweek. The exhibit features Renoir's later works and there is a fantastic audio tour filled with personal tidbits of his life, and quirky stories of the models in his paintings. The paintings that struck me the most were the simple everyday accounts of ordinary moments, like this one of the teenage girls at the piano, Jeunes Filles au Piano. What would these same girls be doing today 100 years later? Would they be deciphering sheet music? Perhaps they would be huddled in front of a computer watching YouTube together, tending to their Farmville plots of land, while toggling multiple iChat windows in that exact same position. I think I would need a power outage in my house (not to mention a piano) to capture this sort of perfect pensive beauty, but maybe it is just that pensive beauty looks a lot different today.

And, a little P.S....
The Plaza Cafe at LACMA was at full capacity and I found out from the waiter that their kitchen is only equipped to handle about 50% occupancy...so if you ever see the tables filled just know that you will be waiting about 40 minutes for your food.

http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibRenoir.aspx

Designer Spotlight

2010-02-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

LINDA ALLEN
I adore Linda Allen and not because every time I see her she looks like a 1960's coiffed Barbie doll, and not because she was once a professional figure skater, and honestly not just because she is a really great client and super fun to work with. I love her style and grace and the artistic passion she puts into all her work. In this recent project she used Circa's Geisha wallpaper, not just on the walls where it belongs, but on sliding shoji doors and on freestanding cabinetry. I really think more people should be using MORE wallpaper in MORE places! Whether Linda is creating a little girl's playroom or a big boy's office there is always a common thread of vintage properness and a flirty flair that winks.
lindaallendesigns.com

Steampunk

2010-02-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

A fringe benefit of having a teenage son is that I have a roving reporter out on the front lines for me. After he comes home from house parties in Mar Vista where his band plays, or ska-core concerts (hard core ska music) in East LA, I get to hear tidbits of what people are wearing and what they are doing in real life and online; basic updates on modern anthropology. I must of course act completely disinterested in all of it or he will stop telling me anything, but basically this is how I found out about Steampunk. I love this fashion trend; it’s so rebellious yet conservative at the same time! Retro-Futuristic, Neo Victorian Clockwork Orange meets Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a bit of Sherlock Holmes, Vivian Westwood, the Tin Man with a teensy dash of Lady Gaga. There is a staunch seriousness to Steampunk and like every valid fashion movement there is enough material here it to carry into music, decor, fashion and lifestyle... and like any solid style trend the time has got to be just right to make way for the pendulum to swing its way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

Hue Knew?

2010-02-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

Speaking of colors here is another reason why I heart my iPhone. With the Ben Moore Color Capture I was able to nail down a totally obscure pink...turns out it is Benjamin Moore Spring Azalea! Not only will this app depict any 2"x 3" color chip from their complete paint spectrum on your screen , but it also matches up a paint color to the exact hue of any image you take a picture of. This is a great tool when out and about without a paint deck, or just for those moments when you need some immediate chromatherapy, and it is as much fun as playing Doodle Jump in your doctor's waiting room.

ben moore color capture

Not enough? Then for an advanced color work out on your iPhone there is the new Benjamin Moore Pro Connection which allows you to set up project folders, track paint selections, order on line and practically have the walls painted all from the comfort of your phone.

ben moore pro connection

Want more? Ok we are in luck because Pantone can also now be virtually at your finger tips with their cool app which allows much more color interactivity than possible with their manual color decks.

myPantone

(not just) Another Shade of Grey

2010-02-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

I am absolutely in love with Pratt and Lambert's Anthracite #25-19 . This unexpected "neutral" paint color is a rich charcoal-off-black with a hint of something indefinable and it is there, in that indefinable something that makes this paint color so sophisticated & versatile. It's an amazing backdrop for whites, jewel tones, muted shades, fluorescents, and every color I've dared to pair it with. Here it is behind our Bel Air Chair upholstered in a vivid chartreuse satin so you can see what I mean.
Bel Air Chair at decorati.com
http://www.prattandlambert.com/

Tree Hugging

2010-02-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

If I come back in my next life as a tree I hope I look like this! This is my favorite tree in the world and it is right down the street in the flats of Beverly Hills. When you get up close you can see how important this specimen is to the owners as there are at least 20 steel cables holding up the heavy pompoms to insure the integrity of this beauty and to make sure that no branch will break or risk falling out of formation. It is so incredibly magical yet if the house ever sells I bet it would be the first thing to go. Whoever maintains this tree is an artist as I am sure this is nothing like what Mother Nature intended it to look like.

Maxi Pad

2010-02-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Oblong pillows are the most fantastic of all pillow shapes, and this size: 44 "x 16" is just the perfect size. Why? Because! It can be placed on a sofa and completely transform it...it becomes one with it! You can get even more mileage if you do different fabrics on each side and can reinvent your couch without having to reupholster it. Since I change my mind every 5 minutes it is a very practical way to change the look of a room, not that I am a huge fan of practical. The oblong pillow is also an excellent size for a bed in front of the shams or behind them, you can then curl up with it and tap on your lap top with it by your side. Furthermore these suckers are super heavy so you will win every pillow fight.

Style Icon #4. Tavi Gevinson

2010-02-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, I truly wish I was Tavi Gevinson BEFORE I grew up. At thirteen she is by light-years the youngest /sassiest/smartest fashionista whose gifted eye for style and innocent bravado can possibly be attributed to having had a past life as Diana Vreeland. How else does someone come out of the gate running like that? Besides being incredibly intelligent she is brilliantly funny which answers the question of how serious do I think she takes herself. Fashion however is another story and her passion and devotion for it proves that style is the very air she breathes. She also raps! I love you Tavi!
http://tavi-thenewgirlintown.blogspot.com/

Style Icon #3. Iris Apfel

2010-02-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

When I grow up I want to be Iris Apfel. I really do. I am slowly working toward this goal and am trying not to make any missteps. I am curating my clothes as I go along and asking What Would Iris Do at every fork in the road when I want to get rid of something. Evidently Iris didn't get rid of anything hence the amazing museum exhibit featuring her collection of incredible over-the-top designer pieces, giant cuffs (she always wears at least a pair!) coats, boots and brilliantly out of context tribal accessories. I think she too knew, in her younger years, that she would really come of age as the swankiest senior citizen that walked the earth, and since that could take a good forty years to plan I am starting now.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzf_WPqsmTM

Butterflies are the new Leopard

2010-02-17T10:05:00.001-08:00

Actually I think it is impossible for leopard to ever be out, so I guess as with butterflies, certain patterns are simply right now all the time. And just like a great leopard coat, this butterfly wallpaper goes with absolutely everything.

circa wallpaper

Style Icon #2. My Daughter

2010-02-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Ruby Adler, age 4, will deliberately pair leopard leggings with a pink mini skirt, a My Pretty Pony t shirt with a camo baseball hat. She will then throw on some Cinderella slippers and then the brilliant part happens when she loads a brown Ralphs shopping bag with every single one of her belongings in it to start her very busy little day. Her look is somewhere in between a Bratz doll on the cat walk and a teenage bag lady and she so knows it; she is confident and proud of everything she does . That is why my daughter is my Style Icon #2.

Style Icon #1. My Mother

2010-02-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

I know my style compass was set the day I was born to the trail blazing trend setter Phyllis Morris. She taught me mini skirts from maxi skirts , the difference between Louis XIV and XV, and all of the shades between beige and taupe (and why most them should never be used). My mother wore a mink coat backwards and called it a moo-moo, she wore pantsuits in colors that matched her platforms and she probably sported large felt floppy hats throughout my entire life as a teenager. She was incredibly brave and made her own rules, and then broke them and never cared what anyone thought. That is why she is my #1 style icon and my virtual litmus test for all important decisions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Morris

Keen for Keane

2010-01-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

I grew up surrounded by highly decorative furniture and Margaret Keane paintings. Not the posters of the sad orphans in the alley, but large original oil paintings of glamorous women who would not only follow you around the room with two eyes, but sometimes with four. These made up the backdrop of my childhood and remain in my life today in a coveted collection left to me by my mother. I am thrilled I will get the chance to meet Margaret very soon and I can tell her how much her art has meant to me and to so many people that I breathe her name to. I will make sure to get some lash extensions before we meet.
http://www.keane-eyes.com/