Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

Thrifty + Bedroom Plans

Wednesday, January 12th, 2011

I picked up a pair of these wacky ceramic Quartite Creative Corp. lamps at the local Goodwill, and have to admit I was sort of hesitant from the get go. Part of me really liked the shape and the muted colors and strange lava glaze texture and couldn’t just let them waste away at the thrift store. The other part of me, was like gggguuuuurrrrllllll – you are crazy. Those look like floppy condoms hanging from the lamp neck and these things are way too retro for the subtle shapes and clean lines of your ENTIRE HOUSE.

Even Bowie doesn’t know what to think.

Graphic chevron and cool? Way to kitsch? Pottery fun?

Apologies for Bowie overload, but unlike Iggy, he hasn’t learned how to ignore photo shoots. That big black clicking mystery box makes him angry. HULK angry. Devil dog mean wrinkle face – ACTIVATE.

So yeah.

I’m not loving it, but then sort of waffle back and forth since I do kind of love the lamps. They are in awesome condition, are very graphic and have a super sexy shape. Maybe they’re just not right in my bedroom…or house. Just like the bedding is a hot mess and not right for the room. The lamps might just have to be one of those functional things for now.

What really needs to happen is a headboard. Then lighting. Then bedding.

All of which I know precisely what I want, but are sadly waaayyy out of budget.

I want to go slabby, and obviously not like this giant awesome beast from Urban Hardwoods (since I don’t have $10K to throw down on a headboard). I do like the idea of this simple canvas bedding, although it looks like it could be very scratchy and impractical.

This knock off of the insanely expensive Potence lamp by Jean Prouvé is “the one” piece of lighting that I desperately want to install. The Potence Lamp from Atelier, at about $400 and a foot and a half too short, doesn’t look like it will be a realistic possibility.

DIY maybe? I’m not really sure where to start, but it could be a project…

Where People Live

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

I’m not normally in the habit of reposting house tours, but there was a lot to love in THIS ONE even though I’m not really sure what is says. Google translator made kind of a mess of what I believe to be a well written and articulate article about what I’m assuming is a wonderful interior designers home in Sweden.

Marie Olsson Nylander’s best tip: “Stop over decorate the window sill … Decorate a bit!”

See what I mean? Translators make a mess. I agree with my assumption of the gist of her tip. I don’t like window treatments either.

Love the mix of vintage and the great scale shifts that happen in this big box of white. Feels like a comfy, eclectic home with just the appropriate amount of well curated clutter. Trust me, there are lots things to love. Things that are about to get an inappropriate amount of this: !

Exhibit A: That sofa! That rug! One and two on my most wanted dream list.

Exhibit B: Those ceilings! Those floors! That Bertoia! (Although, I’ve used a Bertoia as a desk chair and all you get is waffle butt and a backache.)

Exhibit C: That coffee table! That lamp! Those textiles! That desk! Those Lucite chairs!

Exhibit D: That blue Eames mixed with the black! That lamp! That sofa! That rug!

Exhibit E: Magical view into Swedish paradise. That’s totally photoshopped, right?

Dammit! I just noticed that Desire to Inspire just posted this as well as a bunch of other great sites when I googled to see if Marie Olsson Nylander had a website. Well, this is why I don’t normally repost house tours. So if you’ve seen this, I apologize.

It’s still awesome.

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

Recently I picked up Desert Works by Rick Joy, since I’ve been doing a bit of research trying to figure out solutions for our exterior (plus, I love me some desert architecture). Apologies for the terrible scans, our scanner is not what I would call “nice”. It’s a pretty cheap-o all-in-one printer type unit that doesn’t deal well with pictures.

Anyway, this book makes me want to build a minimal desert monolith and perpetuates my need to use steel as a go-to exterior treatment. Plus, butterfly chairs. ‘Nuff said.

I’ve also been stalking Barbara Hill’s portfolio for my fix of minimal desert modern design. It’s been a spiral of design despair around here recently.

Doesn’t look like we will meet our 2010 Year of the Exterior deadline. We failed. Maybe it was a bit overly ambitious to think we could get EVERYTHING done when we don’t have big budgets or lots of extra labor. I do know that we have some pretty exciting ideas and projects as well as other things coming up soon. Decisions need to be made, shovels need to be dusted off and wallets need to be cracked.

Time to get landscaping. (Or at least thinking about it in earnest).