Electric bugablue - (One of my favorite shades of Blue)

When I was a little girl - my favorite restaurant of all time was a place called "Kon Tiki Ports".  It was easily my favorite for three reasons: 1) it had a hallowed out pineapple filled with fresh fruit and those paper umbrellas I adored  2) there was an amazing man-made "river" that actually flowed through the entire restauant where you crossed little bridges to get to your booth or table and it was filled with
ginormous Koi fish in every conceivable color AND 3) There was a predominant use of an electric Blue color that acutally seemed to glow.  Needless to say - I'm still inspired by it today!
                                         

Shots that I took the last time I was at the Museum of Natural History - in New York. If you haven't been and
are in the area you should absolutely check it out - you won't be disappointed!

(Tony Duquette)

Amazing Penguin photo

Pair of Seguso Sconces

Wright can do no wrong (Frank Lloyd Wright)

Okay,  So not exactly the truth -  The man certainly had a troubled personal life, and his buildings aren't well known to be the most structurally sound, but damn the man could design!  Here are some great exterior shots of his work:

The Hollyhock House

Breezway Detail from The Hollyhock House

Falling Water

.....you know you're made iconic status when you've become a "Lego Set"

.....and a Gingerbread House!

The Ennis House

La Miniature

HollyHock's Side Entrance

Interested in meeting the man?
Check out this you tube video where Mr. Wright is the mystery guest of the day on
the very cool game show "What's My Line".  The show aired June 3, 1956.

                                                             http://youtu.be/jbZliXx8kIQ

Children and Art! (Inspriration for a Child's bedroom)

Art  is SO key to every room, and as personal and subjective as Art may be, there are some guidlines that I usually follow with children: Try selecting Art that is 

not too busy or complex, be playful with scale - bigger is often better and small can be great with modern placement.  Keep in mind - you want the room to inspire creativity - but you also want the room to be tranquil enough to illicit a good night's sleep!

If it's Budget friendly - I love incorprating large scale abstract pieces  and find  children really respond to it.
When they're very young - theyll love the colors,  as they grow older - they'll think it's a  very cool piece.

Look at new and upcoming artists!  These two abstracts are by Michelle Armas.  Very affordable - and the great thing here is  you can easily commission her to paint a specific size and color prefrence.

Let's face it - most children love a dog!  These are "Blue Prints"  and they have just about every Breed imaginable represented.  I would cleanly frame them in simple thin white metal frames and modernly stack them - they'd be  fantastic!

Nobody likes personalization more than a young child and these Paul Thurby prints are available in every letter of the Alphabet - so the choices are endless!

For the Girly set:  I love this Paule Marrot Feather Print,  it's wonderfully large (56 x 44) and beautifully set in
a modern acrylic frame (see below)

Truth be told I'm not really a "Heart Person" but I think these are handled with a very cool 1960's vibe. Bonus Points for this is that this too can be personalized with any sort of saying or name handwritten onto the hearts.







Don't be afraid to mx and match: Look how great these two go together!

Whenever possible - children should always bo encouraged to read. I mentioned this artist on an earlier post but
thought it would be good to pop in a couple additional examples.  They're handpainted on vintage french paper so how apropos would they be to incorporate into a child's bookcase?

Finally - don't forget the occasional flea market find and then update it!  Again - I would take him a step further by abstracting him up a bit with more color - and don't be afraid to hand the paint brush to your child!

Beginnings of a storyboard (Early stages of Interior Design)

I'm a little behind the eight ball at the moment and will hopefully post  about "Artwork & Children" - no later than tomorrow.  In the meantime, I thought at least it would be fun to post some elements that will be included in a soon to be finished storyboard.  The one I'm working on at the moment is of a Foyer for a Young Family in Santa Monica.

The original material inspiration of for the foyer

One of the elevations: It's currently unfinished (So Please be kind!)
 We're either going to paper or paint a Deco- Japaenese influenced mural. Above the molding the paint will match the ceiling,  below (including the base moldings) will be a high gloss teal.   We're using mostly vintage here.  A pair of over oversized Mayan inspired midcentury lamps, an oversized early 1980's  bamboo mirror and a
Karl Springer console table.  We're also taking a quilting cue from a  detail of  a 1940's  upholstered sofa - for the slipper chairs that are on either side of the console.

The inspiration for the slipper chairs:  The quilted backs of these sofas

Taking a tip from Martha Stewart: Hand Painted Dipped baskets for  below the console. 

I really love this idea and can see even taking these  one step further by abstractly layering an additional color or two!

Oh Boy! (Great Ideas for a Boy's Bedroom)

When working with children I love to create rooms that will inspire their creativity, reflect their personality yet allow them room to grow - because of course what they love today they may very well be embarassed by 6 months from now.  So a punch here and there is all that is needed - the rest should be mostly all about applications of color and texture.
I also love to incorporate pieces that will become future heirlooms - something they will still cherish and use in their adult years or be able to pass down to their children.
Here are a few things that I love for boys at the moment:

Maps and globes create a great opportunity to spark converstions - especially when reading a favorite book to your child at bedtime! I love this mapped out wall from the early 60's and the collection of  lit globes below.

Placement is key! 

Making storage actually fun!

An all time 1970's classic: The Joe Columbo Baseball glove chair!

A mixed media designer from Paris who hand paints on vintage french paper -
and if you like this - tune in tomorrow as the topic is all about Children's Artwork!

Cabin Fever (What to love about a Casual & Woodsy style)

                           Whether old school or new - Fall Cabin life can be pretty fantastic.

                                         Here are some of my current favorites looks:

                               

C'mon - who doesn't love Paul Bunyon?!!!

A fantastic Frank Lloyd Wright Cabin

- Another Great Mid Century Version

Can't get enough of these Arturo Pani Chairs!

Wildlife (Of course!)

Pendleton Vintage style Camp Blankets

LOL - This just NEVER get's old for me!

Brand new to the market and I think these chest of drawers would be great for a Guest Bedroom -
I'd even like to play around with them a bit possible adding vintage travel sticker, wallpaper etc.

Just a perfectly organic & very simple Chista Floor Lamp 

A favorite Schumacher Fabric

Love that this Bear table embraces both new and old

For evening dog walks: Great quilted jackets w/pockets from Canine Styles

Leads from "Found My Animal"

....and finally - how amazing are these?!!  They're hand held Eco Lanterns from Yanko that double as a terrarium
for tree saplings.