Friday, April 24, 2009

another room i could live in.



Yesterday while I was uploading images for my blog I had forgotten one. OOPs! CHEMO BRAIN. I can say that because I just simply forgot. But it is getting better. Soon I will be able to claim "ditsy blonde" or just simply "quirky". Those names are simply fine with me. But with all blondes we are more aware than we let on.There is a sharp mind under all of that yellow hair. Ha! ha! ha!
OH! this is an interior design blog. sorry I was digressing.
In this room, I mentioned the Fornasetti pillows. Although these designs were created in the 1950's. They look very modern and fresh for today's home. the Le Corbusier leather sofa with the metal frame is a classic. The pottery on the side table is reminiscent of Jonathan Adler's pottery. With a little colour and a few more graphic details like a stripe, this would be the perfect room in which i could live quite happy.

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier (October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also painter, who is famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called Modern architecture or the International Style. He was born in Switzerland, but became a French citizen in his 30s.

He was a pioneer in studies of modern high design and was dedicated to providing better living conditions for the residents of crowded cities. His career spanned five decades, with his buildings constructed throughout central Europe, India, Russia, and one each in North and South America. He was also an urban planner, painter, sculptor, writer, and modern furniture designer.

have a great day!

john

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Rooms I Could Live In









Yesterday, I wrote about taking baby steps in leaving your beige rooms behind. Now today, I am showing rooms that I could live in that are neutral. What is up with that? I felt these rooms would help you see better as to why I could live in them.

I would like to start with the room at the bottom. This room is a timeless classic. It is well balanced with pictures on either side of the mirror. The mirror is in scale with the sideboard below it. The dark warm grey walls pull the room together.There is refined order.

The bedroom in the middle has high contrasts of light and dark tones. The simple lines of the furniture add to the restful atmosphere of the bedroom. Although there is no pattern. The soft linens are a visual texture. The scallop edges of the euro shams continue to add detail. The soft grey wool on the chair and the upholstered bed add to the simplicity. The various tones keep the room interesting but restful.

OK! the dining room is probably a bit much but not for me.The complimentary colours of the lime and raspberry clearly make a statement. a dining room is a room in which you entertain with food. The psychology of using the warm colour on the wall is enough to experience the delights of a wonderful meal that awaits you and your guests. Red makes you more hungry. The plaid silk drapery add to the excitement this room has to offer. However, it is a bit tame for me. I would have put a more pattern on the dining chairs. WHERE ARE THE STRIPES? It seems naked and sad without them. I never leave home without them. As you recall from previous blogs, stripes are my favourite colour, Oops! pattern.

I had another photo but I lost it while typing this blog so I Will leave that for another day. I won't leave you clueless as to why I picked it out. It had beautiful Fornaseti pillows on the sofa. Need I say more. If you would like to read more about Fornaseti, read my blog titled "Fornasetti Revisited"on 3 March 2009.

take care and enjoy the day,

john

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

not a beige kinda guy






Many people live in beige surroundings. They are safe and comforting. If you are one of those people that live in a beige world and you have been wanting something different.You feel stifled or you can't make a decision as to what to do with your living environment. Try something new. Stay with beige but infuse it with some colour and pattern. It is like with anything new you gradually get used to it. The comfort of colour feels exciting. Pattern becomes your new best friend. You are walking on the wild side. Don't go overboard.
If you are on a budget and desire a change, consider a fresh coat of paint. dress up your sofa with new pillows that can be purchased at any department store. I would ask you to go to a speciality home decor store. They have a wider selection.Rememeber make your home as indivual as yourself.

Surround yourself with things that you love. If you are into collecting, buy something new to give your room a renewed look. Have fun with this. Don't overdo it. Stay with a common theme. Take your paint or fabric swatch with you. Mistakes can be costly. If you have realized that this is not an easy task please hire a designer. A professional designer can save you from making costly mistakes.
Make your escape from beige carefully. It can be scary out there.
Walk carefully. Take baby steps and you will leave your beige world behind.

take care,
john

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Show Me Some Leg
















Who doesn't like looking at a pair of beautiful legs. Betty Grable had the sexiest pair of legs. They might have helped win a war. All of those soldiers must have dreamed about them.
This weekend was a warm and wonderful spring day in Portland. I decided it was time to finally go on a bike ride. It felt great to build up my blood cells and my bicyle legs. I hadn't been on a bike for over a year and it was time. It was like returning to a long lost love. While I stood at Portland's Esplanade. I took in the sun, the beauty of my city and of course the wonderful people out excercising and just enjoying the bright day. While overlooking the river, it gave me time to think about my next blog. Legs. I would write about legs.
Then I remembered the sexiest legs in interior design was the cabriole leg. It comes in many shapes and styles. So I couldn't help but be inspired. Legs are what support us. We use them to be mobile. Some are thick, carved, smooth and silky.While others are shapely or very ornate. Every room could show a little leg. The cabriole leg in furniture looks as if they could walk away. If they were in a Disney cartoon musical, I could see them dancing in a chorus line. Whatever the shape or size. the cabriole leg is beautiful.
A cabriole leg is one of (usually four) vertical supports of a piece of furniture shaped in two curves; the upper arc is convex, while lower is concave; the upper curve always bows outward, while the lower curve bows inward. The axes of the two curves must lie within the same plane. This design was used by the ancient Chinese and Greeks, but emerged in Europe in the very early 18th century, when it was incorporated into the more curvilinear styles produced in France, England and Holland.[1] According to Bird, "nothing symbolises 18th century furniture more than the cabriole leg."[2] The cabriole design is often associated with bun or the "ball and claw" foot design. In England, this design was characteristic of Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture. In France, the cabriole leg is associated with the Louis XV period of furniture design.[3] The cabriole design appeared for the first time in the USA in the 18th century.[4] The basis of its original concept was emulated upon legs of certain four-footed mammals, especially ungulates. The etymology of this term specifically derives from the French word cabrioler, meaning to leap like a goat.[5]
Earliest forms of the cabriole leg were known to the ancient Chinese and Greek civilisations. In the case of the ancient Chinese, this leg was most closely associated with the lacquered table. While the Chinese culture preserved historical continuity of use, Europeans lost this style prior to the Middle Ages. Finally in France, in the very early 1700s the cabriole leg style re-appeared, imitating a popular graphic scroll design found in French art about the year 1700; in France this design was part of the Rococo style. Quickly England was producing a version of the cabriole leg, which historically is called Queen Anne Style and is associated with the period 1712-1760.[6] (The reign of Queen Anne lasted from 1702 to 1712, but the Queen Anne furniture period is generally considered to continue until 1760, although imitations have, of course, endured to later periods.) The Queen Anne cabriole leg chair typically had a back with hoop design and a vase shaped splat; it also typically had a bun or pad foot. (An alternate design of a Queen Anne chair consisted of a Chinese style, which had flat cresting, vertical back edges and a leg that was also cabriole style.) A subsequent evolution of the cabriole leg in England occurred in about the year 1750 with the advent of Chippendale furniture design; while Chippendale chairs adopted the cabriole leg, the leg design became more delicate than those of the Queen Anne Style.[6]

American designs arose by the mid 18th century, imitating the English Queen Anne Style and borrowing elements from all three sub-periods of its development in England: Queen Anne period (1702-1714), George I period (1714-1727) and George II period (1727-1760). To demonstrate the central role of the cabriole leg in this period of American furniture, this period "has frequently been called the cabriole period, and this is no misnomer, since the cabriole leg found almost universal employment in most forms of furniture".[7] The American cabriole leg was strongly associated with the pad foot design.[6] Regional differences emerged in American cabriole leg styles by the mid to late 1700s; for example, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts style featured a very slender cabriole leg compared to other American locales.

Remember make a statement "show some leg" in your interior spaces,

take care,

John

Thursday, April 16, 2009

A Warm Tropical Haven
































Inspiration can come from any place. A few descriptive words in a letter, a photo, an object, an experience from travel, a colour or even just a dream from your imagination can spark a design concept. When you conceive a vision, it becomes a part of your soul. To be able to convey those ideas to a design professional can spark the creative flow.
A dear friend of mine recently emailed me and was interested in redoing her bedroom. the images above hopefully will help her spark her own imagination and yours. Remember a photo does speak a thousand words.
take care,
john