oxidized color: copper green in the tropics and at home

Basico, one of the "Design Hotels" in Mexico, has a gorgeous outdoor bar that would look just as beautiful in SoHo or in San Fransisco as it looks in Playa del Carmen.

...Two home accents with the same shock of color:



- love nick fraser's industrial "hall stand" with a sense of humor... via the italian product blog, pan-dan

- and jon goulder's gorgeous caned "George" chairs are a wonderful modern take on the colonial, tropical caned-furniture style; via pan-dan.

sexy brass hardware

question: am I a bit of a sucker for having been seduced by Domino editors, Thomas O'Brien, and others into believing with all my heart that brass hardware in a kitchen is the chicest thing?






These pieces (from top, 1, 2, 3, 4) from White Chapel ltd (and Restoration Hardware) just might make me MISS Sucker. I especially love the nautical vibe of the flush handled ones....

PS: and why stop at kitchen cabinets? any of these would turn a flea market console, or even a parsons desk from West Elm into a serious hottie.

dark walls: the Hotel Julien in Antwerp and Miles Redd

So in love with dark interiors these days:
This one from Miles Redd's portfolio.

& am adoring the dark panelling in Antwerp's beautiful Hotel Julien,(spotted in the Italian Elle Decor). Mmmm... love how the walls contrast with pale floors....




(.... and P.S.: still swooning over the late Vico Magistretti's oversized "Sonora" pendants... especially as a modern touch in an old world setting. In late October I had a birthday dinner with my fam in Louis's Restaurant L, and they had the Sonora lights everywhere. To be honest, Louis's could have had bare concrete and old rusty pipes and nothing else and the place would still have looked totally, gloriously glam, because of those pendants. They are too, too beautiful.)

blackboards, cy twombly, and architectural salvage

Old chalkboards, blackboards, are the stuff of my fantasies, no joke. This fine specimen (from decorator Mariette Himes-Gomez's NYC apt) is almost an exact match of a serious and enduring fantasy that I've been having recently about a large chalkboard -- not for the kitchen (don't have the space) but in the living room, in lieu of a large painting. I've been toying with the idea, wondering if it would work, ever since I found out that Old House Parts, a local architectural salvage resource, is currently selling slate from old schoolhouses for $10-14 a sq foot...



The kitchen image above convinces me more and more that a large old blackboard is not just a passing fancy of mine. And, after all, the way I see it...


it's a pretty nice stand-in until Sotheby's gets around to shipping our Twombly.

dazzling sculptural paper jewelry by dutch artist nel linssen

I think Nel Linssen's work speaks for itself. If you haven't heard of her and would like to know more (she's completely new to me but at least I've found her now!), her beautiful website is one place to see more of her jewelry, and this appetite-whetting series of books, Textile Arts of the World, features her in their book on the Netherlands.

Ibride: not your everyday avian occasional table

I love the proportions of this cheeky "ostrich" table, by the French design firm, Ibride (= "hybrid"). Mocoloco mentioned some of Ibride's "Mobilier de compagnie" tables a while back, but I didn't find any especially appealing as tables. But this one is kind of great-- I think it's the contrast of the long gangly legs with the feathery, plump curves.

Casamidy: ornate minimalism from Mexico

Three suggestions for getting to know the Mexican design firm, Casamidy, through their glorious website:

1) Take a look at their self-declared inspiration board. So much goodness. (Note the fun idea of hanging a sconce with a huge sheet of white cotton....)

2) Do as AT does, and check out the new "Selle" chairs in raw leather from the Rue Conde line.

...or the Varenne line. (Jonathan Adler has had the opera chairs made for himself in green! I myself covet
the opera side chair in white.)

...or the tray tables in the Symi line. heaven.

3) Make yourself a cup of coffee spiked with cinnamon and settle down to browse through the portfolio of the interior design work. (Here, farmhouse gets an update with cheeky blue metallic lamps.)

[update: thanks so much to Ted Conn, designer of Casamidy's website, for sending along the hi-res image of the sconce!]

luxury: textured wool carpets for winter

Design agent did a stunning post on topographic design recently, which I've been meaning to mention, especially to note the paris cityscape rug (third from top) by Hive Space that she found (doesn't it look like snow drifts?). Both it and Hive Space's "circulation" pellet rug (2nd from top) are so very lovely.

I also found myself swooning this morning over these carpets (top, bottom) by the Norwegian firm, 2Form. (Thanks to grassroots modern, via AT, for the link to 2Form!)

luxury: zee harmony of eet all

zees pouf -- she eez so sweet wiz her nubby slate hemp, appliqué doves her bamboo base.

and zees might be her male counterpart, een stone and smooth maple.

zey are le couple idéal, non?

faded glamour: wallpaper from timorous beasties

thanks to grace this morning for reminding me of the Glasgow-based company Timorous Beasties, which offers often understated and always stunning interpretations of traditional designs. Currently, my favorite prints are "fresco" (shown here in two different shades-- note the faint dot print underneath the flowers...) and the english pheasant wallpaper in a soft wheat color. I'd love these prints in a home office, conveying a bit of a languid, boudoir-feel in an otherwise email-centered, caffinated environment.

luxury: a louis xv bed with caning

to bed, to bed! mmmmm....

actually, an article in Oprah's At Home magazine quite a while ago featured fashion designer Tracy Reese's home, and she had a cane bed from Ballard Designs, (piled high with silky Indian throw pillows and pink ticking) that I quite liked. Since then, I've been keeping my eye out for real antique beds with caning... I just love this particular one (from the Ebay store From Global To You), but it's certainly not a "deal," however beautiful.