BLOG - Inspiration

Aerin for Lee Jofa

Lately I've spent a lot of time with our fabric collection and been brainstorming ideas for possible new collections. With the arrival of spring, I've been thinking a lot about our feathered friends, the birds, and trying to figure out an interesting way to abstract them into a pattern. I realized one of my favorite blogs, Habitually Chic, was on a similar wavelength when I saw this beautiful Aerin fabric posted on the blog today. This led me on a hunt for avian inspiration.

I'm a sucker for de Gournay paper and I'm loving this heron.

More de Gournay

Watercolor hummingbird

Fabric available at Lee Jofa

Textile : by Mary McDonald

Prints of birds : by Olof Rudbeck

Study of birds : by Rembrandt

Birds Nests : by Vincent Van Gogh

Ombre is undoubtedly pleasing to the eye and has been popping up everywhere. From manicures and hair, to baking, fashion, and now interiors. I am starting to think that maybe there could be a place for it in one of our future jobs!

Ombre cakes, cookies, and other sweets look and taste delicious! Image from here

Ombre Nails. Sort of dying to try this!! Image from here

Ombre Guest Towel From Dransfield and Ross

Ombre Runner From West Elm

Ombre Painted Wall From here

And Finally a look I am starting to really appreciate!

Georgia and I were discussing how we much wished we could have attended the Maison-Objet show in Paris last week. Paris is definitely one of my favorite places to visit. As I followed my friends on Instagram and Facebook who were at the show, my desire to be there only intensified. We vowed that next year we will attend. In the meantime I find myself looking back on photos that I took during last trip there. I thought I would share them with you.

We are currently working out the details for built-in wall unit and I have been inspired by the iconic Cartier Love Bracelet. I have always loved the screw detail and thought it would be fun to somehow incorporate that into the design for the millwork. We have not quite figured out the exact details but I thought I would share some of the drawings with you. The screw that is seen in the bracelet is called a slotted flat head and you can find them at any local hardware store.

Above: Cartier Love Bracelet in Gold and Brass Slotted Flat Head Screw from local hardware store

We are playing around with design ideas and I think I am leaning towards doing the bottom version with the screws at the corners and adding a couple of picture lights (like the one below) at the top of the built-in. If we were to do the top version we would do puck lighting so as to avoid the design from becoming too busy.

Many of my designs are based on hard lines and angles. I love organic forms but somehow everything I create turns into a triangle. Today I've gathered some curvaceous images to inspire the organic half of my brain. 

JS Bach Chamber Music Hall : Zaha Hadid : Manchester, UK

Op Art : Bradley G Munkowitz

Sketch of Spiral Jetty : Robert Smithson

Pirce Lamp : Hive Modern

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Bridge : Photographed by Murray Mitchell

Furniture : by Ray Power

Yellow Curves : photograph by JA Gutierrez 

Anatolian Seljuk Mosque : Turkey

Blue Smoke

Lady's Slipper Orchid

A few things that have me inspired today

It felt like a Monday today in every way. Lots of busy work to take care of. When I finally found myself looking for some inspiration, here is what pulled me out of my Monday doldrums.

Inspiring me to create new patterns for the fabric line!

Loving this outrageous color!!!

Always a big fan of the neo-classical look.

I was looking for inspiration this morning and came across this project by Spanish designer Luis Bustamante and thought that I would share it with you. I just love the simplicity of this project. He does such an excellent job of incorporating art and sculpture into the home. The simple palette of whites, red, and black is just stunning and the overall feel is so well edited.

I love the way the bookshelves separate the entry from the living room.

The lacquer ceiling is knockout and gives this narrow space some breathing room.

Great mix of antiques, art, and sculpture.

Genius layout of a narrow kitchen. He created two rooms and a bar in what is surely a small space. The repeated pendant fixtures over the table and kitchen island distract from the functional aspects of the room.

Graphic and gorgeous.

Dernier Etage by Claude Lazarovici

Valentino's Living Room

La Mamounia hotel in Marrakech

For more information on images go to http://dreamanddwell.tumblr.com/

I know there has been a lot of posts about children's rooms and nurseries lately. In addition to the obvious (and growing) reasons for this, I feel there there is a lot of room for interesting dialogue on the approach one should take to designing their child's nursery.  First of all, it is tough to design a room for someone you have not even met! One's bedroom should reflect his or her personality and this can be a challenge given the circumstances. Second, babies develop so quickly and it is important to create an environment that is flexible to the changes that occur during the first 3 or 4 years. Most people don't want to redecorate an entire room every three years!  In the end, both of these things lead me to believe that a nursery should be, above all else, adaptable.  This is true in design and function.  The crib should be able to transition to a toddler bed or if you have a daybed, that should be able to become the bed in the future.  In terms of design, the room should not feel so cutesy/baby that the second the child becomes a toddler they have outgrown the design of the room.  In the end I am going to approach my little girl's room with this in mind. I want the room to be adaptable in its functional aspects as well as its design. Here are a few initials inspirations that have inspired me.

Kelly Wearstler's Son's Room

Designed by Kim Zimmerman

From Here

Loving this wallpaper!

David Netto via House Beautiful

Amanda Nisbet in House Beautiful

I have always loved this room.

I could imagine this room with a crib looking just as good!

Reed and Delphine Krakoff’s daughter's room.

Love the use of color!

Designer Alexandrea de Garidel-Thoron created a sophisticated environment for her daughter.

This room is beyond sophisticated, especially for a young person, but that is kinda what I love about it.

David Netto's daughter's room.

A few weekends ago I was at the MoMA and came across Allan McCollum's Collection of Forty Plaster Surrogates. I am a huge fan of "gallery walls" (anyone who's visited my apartment can vouch for me!) so I was immediately drawn to McCollum's cluster of monochromatic paintings, densely displayed in the style of a nineteenth-century salon. After a little research I learned that McCollum and his team were less concerned about the framed artwork (the paintings are more like uniformly painted panels) than they were about the mass production of art and standardizing their fabrication process. The de-emphasis on the individual "paintings" allows you to step back, take in the collection as a whole and appreciate the form that the 40 panels take on. Maybe that's what I've loved about gallery walls all along!

Allan McCollum's Collection of Forty Plaster Surrogates. At first glance I never would have been able to see how no two panels share the same frame size or frame color!

I've always loved this office designed by Mary Macdonald and featured in Domino

The Cover of Charlotte Moss Decorates

Kelly Wearstler's framed mirror wall at the Viceroy Santa Monica

Why stop at artwork and mirrors when you can hang plates!

As far as gloomy, rainy Mondays go, today is right up there. Perhaps it makes it a bit easier to be at work as opposed to the beach or lounging poolside, but still I like my summer days sunny! To cope, I have found myself daydreaming of Slim Aarons photographs. His work always brightens my day and inspires a nostalgia for the good life. Here are a few of my favorites.

I was browsing Stylist Home this afternoon and came across these amazing topiary sculptures. They are located in a public garden in Nantou, Taiwan. 

For the Stylist Home Post click here

Just a bit of what's inspiring me this week......

One of my favorite things about my job is when a client agrees to go the custom route with any aspect of a design scheme.  Of course there are plenty of beautiful fabrics out there in the market but I just love taking our job as designers one step further and creating something truly unique and one of a kind.  For a project we are working in Florida, the concept for the embroidery of the living room curtains came from the design we did for a new entryway door.  The client actually provided much of the inspiration in the form of a picture he took while in Paris. He fell in love with the beautiful metalwork found throughout the city and captured 100s of images.  The picture below ended up being the inspiration for the new doors.

Once we narrowed down which inspiration image to go with, we finalized the below door design.

As the project progressed we decided that we wanted to incorporate the elements of the door into the embroidery of the living room curtains.  After we decided on a color scheme (seen below) we began to manipulate the pattern and play around with the repeat.

In the end we decided to take out the external diamonds around the border and simplify the design a bit.  The image below right shows the stitch type we are using.  

The strike-offs will be complete in a few weeks and we promise to update you on our progress!

I am a huge fan of Steven Gambrel. I think his taste is exquisite and his use of color is sublime. For a recent barn transformation in Virginia, Gambrel plays with color in the most unique way. I just love it!!

The challenge was to transform this large cattle barn into an entertaining space. Despite the large scale Gambrel was able to achieve a cozy and fun atmosphere through his use of unexpected color.

Gambrel used these two drawings as inspiration for the color choices he made for various architectural details throughout the barn. I love how this one bold decision really sets this project apart and keeps it from just being a traditional reinterpretation. 

All images from www.southernliving.com

Having just returned from a week in the Caribbean, I am already plotting my next beach vacation in my head. While doing a little research, I stumbled across this amazing house on Nantucket that was recently renovated by Rebecca Asher for a family she has known for years. If you are interested in the back story, you can find more information on the renovation here on ELLE Decor . Below are a few pics. The style as described by Asher is Miami meets Nantucket. I think it is just plain chic. I love the mix of traditional and contemporary.

There is nothing that makes me happier than Spring in NYC. Although we did not have a harsh winter, I am always eager for the end of March to arrive.  Spring brings new life into the city and truly inspires me. Everything in New York is in full-bloom. 

Cherry Blossoms in Central Park

I was recently introduced to the tumblr of Nick Wooster.  Mr. Wooster has had a storied past in the industry of fashion - including stints as Design Director of Polo Ralph Lauren, Men's Fashion Director at Neiman Marcus, and his current residency as Men's Fashion Advisor for Gilt Groupe.  I begin leafing through his tumblr posts, expecting to find some fabulous street-style shots a la Tommy Ton of Jak and Jil blog fame - but found inspiration that was more far-reaching than that.  There are countless amazing photos covering everything from architecture and art to light and nature.  It was a pleasant surprise (but not a far-fetched one) to come across such great visuals on the tumblr of someone who is so fervently followed for their fashion sense.

Take a look at some of my favorite images - and check out Nick Wooster's tumblr at nickwooster.com!

I'd like to camp out here.  A beautiful example of decay.

I am obsessed with this library.  Maximalist chinoiserie, if I've ever seen it!

Beautiful, and a bit haunting, no?  I crave a silence of this caliber sometimes.

Ah, New York!

Some clean, gorgeously built Brutalist architecture.  Sometimes, I think I want my apartment to be this sterile.

Stunning.

Isn't nature almost unreal sometimes?

I bet something very important is going on here.  Really a striking image.

A great example of making hardwood fluid.

I desperately want to drive this road.

These will be the floors in my next apartment.

Love this mess of saturated color.

All photos borrowed from nickwooster.com.