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archives |
Wednesday 08.11.10
unexpected guests: tamar schechner.
i haven’t been ‘visiting’ as much as i’d like to be lately, but this week we’re back with unexpected guest Tamar Schechner, of the lovely blog, Nest Pretty Things. Tamar is an Accessory and jewelry designer with a charming, eclectic home in a small vermont village called Shelburne. a wonderful collection of vintage linens and wallpaper gives Tamar’s home a bit of a bohemian, Bazaar style mixed with English cottage coziness. i think you’re going to like it. and, if you like tamar’s style, you should visit her blog, and also drop in her shop here, and on etsy for some of her handmade goodness!
What is your idea of a perfect day in shelburne?
A perfect day with be a cool and crisp Autumn day when the trees have all turned and the views from everywhere are simply breathtaking, My favorite would be spending a Saturday with my husband and usually one of the boys would join us (we have 3 teen sons) we stop at the Shelburne farmer market for some late season veggies, then have some delicious espresso and home made scones at our local cafe, we continue to our local flea market to see what’s new, from there to the Shelburne apple orchard for some apple picking, it’s a family tradition and we do this a few times during the season.
Another perfect day would be to go into Burlington which is ten minutes away — it’s a perfect New England college town right by lake Champlain, we love having breakfast at Mirabelle’s, walking up and down Church street, going down to the waterfront park or catching a movie at the Roxy.
What are some of your favorite local shops?
For home furnishing I love a new little shop right here in Shelburne — Chez Boheme. I could buy everything, including the gorgeous art work on the walls painted by the owner Jennifer Blanchard. For clothing I adore Sweet Lady Jane in Burlington, a beautiful and tasteful mix of clothing and accessories. We also have many many second hand shops in our area which I frequent a lot, and the Charlotte Weekend Flea Market during the warm months.
What’s your favorite bargain find or product?
Last summer I found a gorgeous quilt from the 40′s for $20!!! And, I’ve also found some great linens there over the last few years.
What is your biggest interior design nightmare, or what would never be caught dead in your home?
Wall to wall carpets, brown “country” kitchens, little frilly window dressings, lazyboy couches.
Who are some of your favorite artists?
My mother and sister, both artists. My mom passed away 12 years ago, her art fills our home, she was a diverse painter with an incredible sense of color and composition and I love being surrounded by her work. My sister is also a beautiful and talented painter, her big passion is gardens, you can see her work here.
What’s your favorite feature in your home?
My favorite thing is the beautiful Suzani on our couch, it was a gift from my aunt Susan Meller who is a textile collector and author.
Who would you like to sit down to drinks or coffee with?
Someone from the past — I would have loved to have tea with Jane Austen!
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Magazines! Country Living UK, Living Etc., Elle Decor. I get them every month.
What is your most treasured belonging?
A beautiful silver cigarette box with a mint green enamel front, it belonged to my great grandfather.
What’s souvenir did you bring back from your last trip?
Not a souvenir, but I bought some lovely Liberty of London fabric at Purl Soho a few weeks ago in New York City.
What’s your favorite home decor/style book?
Bazaar Style by Selina Lake.
do you have a Favorite set design from a film?
Marie Antoinette – I loved the colors and over the top style! and on a different note, It’s Complicated I would have loved to live in that house and that coffee shop was to die for!! I am sure that there are many more that I can’t recall.
What are some of your favorites websites/blogs to search for inspiration?
I love these: Decor8, Design*Sponge, Apartment Therapy, Creature Comforts, Poppytalk, Yvestown, Frolic, Oh Joy!, Sunday Suppers, Door Sixteen, Geninne’s Art Blog, Lobster and Swan, T Magazine, Uppercase, and sfgirlbybay of course!!!
Tuesday 02.16.10
guest post: halcyon days.
Hello everyone! It’s Kelly from Halcyon Days. I thought perhaps you might enjoy a peek into my good friend Robert Münzer and his husband, David’s, place. I had the good fortune of meeting Robert while working at Limn furniture for a wee bit while still in school, oh so many years ago. Robert had been at Limn over ten years when I arrived. I remember my first invite to his place, he told me, “My place does not look like Limn.”
I hadn’t thought much about it before, but what could someone’s place look like with such significant access to the design world? My curiosity was piqued. Needless to say, it was one of the first windows into a space I hoped to inhabit or at least try to emulate. It is a lovely mix of design icons, antiques, perfectly combined with industrial objects and original works of art. A home where every piece has a story and is not in the least minimalist, which was huge at the time. Robert no longer works at Limn but is still very much involved in the design world via his consulting business Cornell & Münzer.
Robert‘s & David’s entrance is filled with pieces from their travels, Limn gallery, and myriad of other originals. A feast for the eyes upon your first step inside.
A gorgeous Belgian antique piece found at the now closed Grand Central Antiques on Castro Street. It was designed to hold sheet music.
Copper Penny sculpture by Oakland artist Dave Meeker; ‘Wheel Nose Head’ by Albuquerque artist Page Colman. Boy on little pillow by unknown Honolulu artist; and “Monkey Boy” by Sacramento artist Gale Hart.
Driade, ‘Empty Chair’ by Ron Arad (he designed it originally for the Tel Aviv opera house); ‘Liz’ pendant (made of over 9000 drinking straws) by Oakland artist Dave Meeker; And sweet Smoky posed for me.
Robert deejayed for many years and has one of the most fantastic record collections. He is also Swiss (if you couldn’t tell) hence the great collection of Swissair travel bags and fantastic vintage poster. The desk is vintage by Jens Risom.
I immediately thought the paintings were of NYC but apparently they are of San Francisco before the water towers were realized to be a huge hazard because of our seismic activity. They are early 1960′s paintings by San Francisco by artist Richard Roberts. The lights are Flos, Taccia lamp by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and the Akari floor lamp by Isamu Noguchi. The chandelier is vintage 1950′s Italian.
Brazilian head grid sculptures on the wall. The blown glass ‘blossoms’ were found by David at a small flower boutique on Gough Street. Vintage 1960′s bedroom chairs, slip-covered in Italian ‘Poppy’ fabric. Solidarity painting by San Francisco artist Eva Dottore.
A simplistic kitchen with a vintage table and Verner Panton chairs. A window filled with planted sculptures by Robert’s husband, David. And ‘Shovel Face’ Art by San Francisco artist Vernon The Gardener.
And finally their bedroom with rich dark brown walls, light fixtures creatively tweaked and 1960′s paintings by Richard Roberts and Ann Levinger.
Wednesday 02.03.10
unexpected guests: bugheart.
today on unexpected guests we’re traveling to our nation’s capital, to the lovely home of gwen bugheart from washington d.c. gwen is an entomologist – which means she really does have a ‘bugheart‘, or at the very least a fondness for the small creatures of our world. i love gwen’s visually beautiful photographic blog, bugheart, as well as her etsy shop, where entomology meets art & craft, and gwen sells her handsewn and adorable bags and accessories, and her other etsy shop jenny penny vintage. now, let’s check out her amazing home in washington d.c.’s u street/cardozo neighborhood.
What is your idea of a perfect day in d.c.?
the day would begin with a leisurely morning latte and bagel at big bear coffee with my partner, john, after we would peruse the thrift/vintage stores on u street, next we would head downtown and visit the new exhibit at the national gallery of art, have lunch at oyamel, and a movie at e street cinema, and finally we would return to the U street corridor for an evening cocktail at the gibson.
What are a few of your favorite local shops?
i enjoy shopping for unusual vintage items. ruff n ready is a great vintage store in an old dilapidated building on 14th Street NW. it’s packed to the gills and you really have to dig to find anything and then haggle to get a reasonable price. i also love to go to good wood and millennium on U street for interesting home decor pieces.
What’s on your wish list?
we have one ib kofod-larsen chair and i’d like to get a matching one. i’d also love a large painting by deborah bell or kristen cochran.
What’s your favorite bargain find or product?
a few years back i bought a swedish DUX sofa locally through ebay. the only reason i was able to buy it for a song was it was “pick up only.” they even delivered it from Towson, MD for $25! recently i found a 3.1 phillip lim (barneys) sweater for $4 at value village!
What is your biggest interior design nightmare?
wall to wall carpet.
Who are your favorite artists? And why?
i am biased- my favorite visual artists are my brothers – joe shlichta and john shlichta. i also love the work of lisa solomon, saul becker and camilla engman. i am currently smitten with the occupied homes and landscapes of todd hido and the music of blind pilot and alexi murdoch.
Where do you find inspiration?
i am most inspired by found objects, dilapidated buildings, old science books, and laboratory ware. i often wander down to hirshhorn or the national gallery of art for inspiration.
Do you collect anything?
i collect too much! i have collections of insects (or course), train cases, vintage cameras, music show posters, rocks with lines, scientific models, belt buckles, and more — currently i am collecting vintage wind-up clocks, beat-up teddy bears (for an art project), old rubber office stamps, and bell jars.
What’s your favorite feature in your home?
our patio. it’s the first time i have had an outdoor space. i have always wanted a space to grow my own herbs and vegetables and enjoy my morning tea or an evening glass of wine. i hope to have a beehive on my patio this upcoming summer.
If you could photograph anyone in the world, who might that be?
i don’t think that there would be any one person i would love to photograph. i have always wished that i was invisible so i could take those perfect shots of people who i was too shy to photograph — the old woman sitting in the afternoon sun at the bus stop, a child checking out his reflection in a subway window, or a woman in a red dress leaning against a crumbling blue wall in mexico.
Who would you like to sit down to drinks with?
i live far from my family — so i’d have to be boring and say that i would love to have drinks with my siblings in seattle.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
staying home all day and knitting.
What is your most treasured belonging?
letters and photographs, especially old ones from my grandparents and parents.
what is your greatest indulgence?
cheese from cowgirl creamery. real champagne. sleeping in until noon.
What’s souvenir did you bring back from your last trip?
i went to quintana roo, mexico with my partner for a butterfly/moth meeting. i brought back pieces of broken coral that had washed up on the beaches.
What is your idea of living hell?
going to a mall. being stuck on the LA freeway.
What are some of your favorites websites/blogs to visit?
habit, pitchfork, the jealous curator, nerd boyfriend, poppytalk, 3191, 100 abandoned houses, and the herman miller blog.
Monday 11.16.09
sneak peek of alysia’s home on ATLA.
there’s a fantastic home tour of alysia cotter’s silverlake, los angeles home on Apartment Therapy Los Angeles that just must be seen! be sure to go check it out. I love it!!! It’s like a mini museum with tons of vignettes of charming nooks and crannies, and lots of lovely bright light. well done alysia! and, you can see more of alysia’s photography on her flickr photostream, and her blog.
[ photos courtesy of Apartment Therapy Los Angeles. ]
Friday 11.13.09
a girl with flair.
let’s face it, i just adore everything this girl designs & creates, photographs, and now apparently lives in. sandra juto just has flair! she submitted some wonderful photos of her home on flickr this week, and kindly allowed me to share! they look like they’re having such a relaxed, swanky and fun evening. maybe we could all aspire to that one night this weekend. wait until you see — ready? okay, prepare for ultra cool. and for more cool sandra stuff, visit her blog.
