Composition Of Greys, Blues and Whites

This lovely home of Faye Toogood, photographed by Henry Bourne for T Magazine of the New York Times is a composition of greys, blues and whites. A lovely home by the creative force of Studio Toogood.

I first started seeing and reading Fayes' work when she was an editor and contributor for World of Interiors. There is a section in the magazine called "Swatch" which had samples of the latest textiles, fabrics, wallpapers, rugs, furniture and accessories that was always artfully arranged.  At the time when I was designing textiles, it was especially inspiring seeing the juxtaposition of contrast textures, patterns and colors. Today with her studio for retail spaces, installations and visual materials for fashion houses, she continues to inspire us all.

Her home, beautiful, calm and full of les objects trouve, composed and elegant.

Vigilante Copy Editor

This scrap metal sculpture is in the Pratt Institute Sculpture garden in Brooklyn, it is 2 blocks from where I lived on Lafayette Ave. I walked through this garden often to go to the store or bank, etc.

This piece I particularly like. I like the use of industrial scraps, the off cut shapes welded together into a flat 3D cube. The light played on it. It showed the variations of color and shape, you could see the gaps between the shapes on the grass on strong sunny days. So always visually interesting. I like the economy of it and the recycling of materials.

I am thinking of this sculpture because of an article in the New York Times "Vigilante Copy Editor"
has a short video about how someone has gone around to each sculpture and edited the titles and description. I laughed but so much enjoyed seeing all the sculptures again. Have a look:     http://nyti.ms/13dNT4o
                                            

A Refined Studio

Arc of light

details of wood and leather handles

This apartment was featured in the New York Times home and garden section over the weekend. I found myself staring at the photos looking at the seamless flow of space and the soft light reflected from the materials.  It is a space that is lined with 18" wide whitewashed fir, it covers the floor, the built in cupboards, the bed, the dining table and bench. The walls are Venetian plaster and swathes of linen are used for the windows and dressing the bed. An item that delighted me was seeing the arc of light over the dining table by Vibia Lighting, a choice by the architect because there wasn't room for recessed lighting.

The architect Rick Joy designed this pied-à-terre for his client. His choice of materials, the whitewashed fir, linen, leather, steel, denim are like a symphony.

The Bedside Table an Update

A couple of years ago, I wrote about The Bedside Table, I mused on how this humble piece of furniture is an essential design component to the comfort, elegance and ease of your bedroom. It is an intimate piece of furniture for an intimate area, our bed, and holds our intimate items.

Last week the New York Times Home and Garden section had a delightful article about the bedside table titled "The Battle of the Bedside Table"  in the Design Notebook, this article looked at the many and various items we keep next to our beds. It looks at the electronic equipment that now is very much a part of our bedside. No longer just a lamp and an alarm clock, there are iPhones and iPads, laptops and kindles along with the usual photos of loved ones, books, maybe some flowers and a glass of water. My immediate thought goes to the electrical supply next to the bed must be safe and enough that it is not a tangle of wires.

Penelope Green, the writer of the article, keeps us amused by pointing out the battle for the space, usually 18" x 24"can be an issue for couples. The gadgets and items we need and take to bed with us now are exceeding this surface. She quotes from other designers who point out the growing list of stuff accumulating next to our beds:

"how do you hide the electronics? The iPad and the Kindle, most clients have both. And the iPhone and the BlackBerry. Don’t forget the Invisalign, the night-grinding guards, the sleep apnea masks and the birth control. You have to have the conversation about birth control before you shop for the table. Single guys have to have some place to put the condoms. And what about the meds, the Ambien and the Viagra? Or earplugs? And for late-night worries, you need a place to put a pad of paper and a pen.” 

I couldn't have said it better, I totally agree.

Keeping the space tidy and organized so you can sleep peacefully and not wake up to a mess is very important in a space that should be all about relaxation and pleasure.

The solutions are bedside tables with storage, a drawer is very useful for the birth control and sex toys, a shelf below is another extra 18" x 24" to put the books, the sleep aids and electronic readers so the top surface can hold the items that will remind you of all you love.

I had one client where we had a custom table built. The wall next to the bed was not flat, it went off at a 45 degree angle. We had a table made to fit the space, it was a quirky table but it fit and held everything.

Here are the selection of bedside tables from the article which range from an Ikea to a Baker furniture piece in silver pearl and a basalt base:

Ikea Vettre night stand

Blu Dot Modu-licious bedside table

Bill Sofield Collection for Baker Furniture Ellipse side table, silver pearl with basalt base.

What is next to your bed?

Bringing the Outside Inside

With a new month but still deep in winter and longing for some green, some leafy green, that refreshing green, these photos by Randy Harris for the New York Times describe the article by Anne Raver about a woman who keeps all her plants indoors throughout the winter, "Inviting the Garden in for the Winter" , it was just the story to read for ideas about winter months with the images of exotic and lush leaves.

The article tells the story of the writer of "The Unexpected Houseplant", Tovah Martin. She has spent many years caring for the houseplants at Logee’s Greenhouses, in Danielson, Connecticut and I think bringing many back to her very charming colonial house. She collects, cares, tends for all kinds of plants, bromeliads, ferns, succulents to geraniums and begonias and pots them in containers from industrial salvage, metal containers and used clay pots, it seems any vessel will do.  But to see inside during winter months would be restoring to one weary of cold, but imagine the garden of eden it would be in the summer. 

In Defense of the Decorator

There is an article today in the New York Times, In Defense of the Decorator, by Penelope Green, it is an article about how a decorator is often a punch line in a takedown of the one percent, but is actually at the center of a support system of tradesmen, craftsmen and artisans ready to build and the changes to the profession over the years. I recommend reading it.

Summer Mornings

Source: flickr.com via Kelly on Pinterest



Source: flickr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

The light streams in on summer mornings across the bed and I like how the light breaks through around the closed curtain.

In the New York Times today is an article about how melatonin, the important hormone that makes us sleep and dream is suppressed by too much blue light coming from LEDs in computers, are you having a hard time falling asleep after you turn off your laptop?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/health/05light.html