Category Archives: Rooms

March 27, 2009 · 7:36 pm

Montage: Black & White All Over

Recently, I put together a story called “Fashion In the House” for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. The premise was that home design trends take style cues from the fashion runways. And in the never ending cycle of the game of style catchup, the home design trends fall about a season behind the fashion ones. And then it’s another season before we find such pieces outside pricey design center showrooms.

I did a quick perusal of pillows in the mass market to test the theory. West Elm’s got Moroccan, ikat and grays (last year’s runway darlings) and CB2’s got tie dye, Marimekko-esque florals, and Indienne. I’m sure if I dig deeper I’d turn up black and whites too, but my point is it’s not saturating the market (yet).

Although sometimes runway looks get left where they belong (on the runway), this one – Black & White – can work for everyone. Oddly enough, my parents did a series of black and white rooms in our (cringe) finished basement of my childhood home in Connecticut.

While my friends’ parents were firmly entrenched in their colonial living rooms complete with convex mirrors, or down and dirty, indestructible plaids (ick), my parents were experimenting with “style.” I hated it.

The walls were white and the ceiling black. The carpet and sofas were grey. The powder room had an oversize black and white floral print wallpaper. I detested it. (Truth be told, a decorator might just pick such pattern for a powder room today.) I liked the laundry room wallpaper — a simple hand-drawn vine that would look perfectly in tune with the current simple nature themes. Hmmm. Maybe I should apologize to my parents for the fuss I made.

RUNWAY

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Left to right: Celine, Moschino, Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, Proenza Schouler, Vera Wang. Photos from Style.com

ROOMS

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Room photos: Emily Summers Design; Hotel Fox in Copenhagen; Photographer James Tse; Joseph Dirand; Absolutely Beautiful Things; Frédéric Vasseur; Photographer James Tse; Intérieur; Osborne & Little; Joseph Dirand; Joseph Dirand; Joseph Dirand; Living Etc., Tine K; wallpaper from 2modern; Canadian House & Home; Light Locations; Joseph Dirand.

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March 25, 2009 · 6:55 am

Montage: Spelling It Out

As I’ve been collecting images, I’ve noticed a handful of rooms with words on the walls. I’ve been quietly (wordlessly) tucking them away into their own album in iphoto. Today, I wandered through Anthropologie on my way to Starbucks for my must have peach and raspberry yogurt and granola. As usual, Anthropologie was brimming with plenty of prettiness, but what I noticed most was the abundance of letters for sale. Yes, the usual monogram mugs, stationary and even hooks, but also individual letters to hang on one’s walls; several well hung displays, in fact. I managed to snap some shots without incident (they must have cut back on their sales staff). Here are the pics, plus other rooms in which the writing’s on the wall.

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Top row: Anthropologie, Boston.
Photos: Villa & Villa, Desire to Inspire, Cookie, unidentified source, Roger de Souza, Stylist Selina Lake, unidentified source, Nick Carter, Anna Kern, Villa & Villa, Emily Summers, Philippe Starck, Skona Hem Magazine, Belle Magazine, Honky, Flickr-xsquared, Jeltje Janmaat, This Ain’t No Disco, William T. Georgis, The Goods, Patric Johansson.

And this shot from Domino that I somehow missed, submitted by Style Redux. Thanks!

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March 20, 2009 · 1:04 am

Montage: Heads Up

vivreNot sure what’s up with the trendy fascination with mounted animal heads. Antlers I get; they’re sculptural, organic, a nice break from the ever preppy coral (which is currently being replaced by rocks and minerals, but that’s another story). Anyway, you’ve seen most of these photos before, since many of them come from Domino, but I thought it would be fun (and maybe a little creepy) to see them en masse.

PS – I have a friend with all sorts of stuffed animals that her grandmother shot in Africa. I will take pics soon!

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Photos: Vivre $1800;Flickr-bruce bigtimber; Domino; Domino; Elle Decoration Blog; Tracey Overbeck Stead; Nantucket home by unidentified Boston designer; Desire to Inspire; Steven Gambrel in Domino; Domino; Desire to Inspire; Jeffers Design; Domino; Fun On the Floor; Healing Barsanti in House Beautiful; Domino; Domino; Domino (a reader’s room); unidentified source; Domino; Domino; Photographer James Tse; Coco + Kelley; Thom Filicia in Domino; William T. Georgis; Desire to Inspire from Bolig Magasinet; Photographer John Paul Urizar; Photographer Trevor Dixon; Domino; O At Home; Photographer John Paul Urizar; Thom Filicia in Domino; Jeffers Design; Rebecca Bradley; Stephen Falcke; Carrier & Co.; Flickr-One Good Bumblebee; Flickr-royaltygirl; Bourgeois Bohem; Cookie.


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March 19, 2009 · 1:39 am

Montage: Marimekko Moments

In honor of spring and impending blooms, I present Marimekko infused rooms, culled mainly from Flickr.

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Photos: Flickr – paulahennig; Flickr – Nestled In; Flickr – Umberto; Flickr – scleroplex; Flickr – bitsandbobbins; Flickr – jenandtonic; Domino; Flickr – La Paracaidista; Flickr – Badgurl; Flickr – osamu ito; Flickr – blinkonmynose; Flickr – juju bug; Flickr – veronica_von_fantastiqu e; ; Flickr – yusheng; Flickr – Rodrigo Quiñones.

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March 17, 2009 · 2:05 pm

Montage: 36 Rooms with Bookshelves

Almost nothing makes me happier than a pile of books. Some people keep a stash of chocolate in the back of the cupboard (okay, I do that too); I get nervous when my row of unread books gets too short. Here are homes whose owners also seem to revel in reading.
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Photos: Margaret McCurry in Architectural Digest; Ondine Karady; Desire To Inspire; Foley & Cox; Ryan Korban; Delson or Sherman Architects; The Selby; This Ain’t No Disco; Cookie; Flickr – strictly_phals; Brian Atwood in Elle Decor; stylist Michele Michael; Colombe Stevens; Lily Diallo in Domino; Guido Barbagelata; M. Design; Domino; Marie Claire Maison; unidentified source; Domino; Flickr – kristyhall; Rachel Smith; Patric Johansson in Skona Hem; John Stefanon Design; M. Design; Desire To Inspire; Cookie; Domino; Pierre Yovanovitch; Flickr – Simon Aughton; Gamota residence; Gamota residence; Erin Gates; Eric Roth’s studio; M.Design; Apartment Therapy; Desire To Inspire; Flickr – chotda; Desire To Inspire; Absolutely Beautiful Things.

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