i like chairs. a lot.

just a quick post to report some chairs i want to sit my butt in.. over the weekend i came across a website called 1stdibs. they have lots of gorgeous vintage &antique furniture, &even though i had a very specific kind of chair in mind for a project i'm working on, that didn't stop me from oogling some pretty chairs that i'd like to put in my fantasy mid-century modern home. (you know, right next to the molded plastic eames chairs &the pink vintage sewing machine that i want to covet.) it has also occurred to me that i may be entering the same realm of obsession with chairs as i have with cats, judging by the number of chair-related posts i've made. i'm debating as to whether this is a good thing or not.. nevertheless, it's time to meet these pretty babies!

 

1950's hans wegner cigar chair

pair of 1950's french armchairs

 

 1940's lina bo bardi armchair

(check out that original vinyl!! crazy cool!!)

 pair of 1960's norwegian teak armchairs

sooo mid-century mod &sooo lovely!! they're super funky but still a little classy. well, maybe except for the lina bo bardi chair.. she's all sass &funk, that one!! =) they're welcome at my house any time!

i realized there is vintage jewelry on the website, too, so i may have to take a look-see!

cats, cats, cats!!!!!

to most people who have met me at least once &know that i am a cat lady at heart, this shouldn't be surprising..

i was watching a youtube video on how to tie an ascot (i know, but that's a story for another time!), i spotted some sort of cat pop-art on the wall behind the said ascot-tier. so, naturally, i did what any other sane person would do, &paused-backed-up-paused-backed-up the video trying to find out more about this mysterious art piece.

(credit: expert village)

buuuut, that wasn't quite good enough. no, i had to figure out exactly what was going on with the rest of the canvas, so i skimmed through a couple more videos by the same 'fashion reporter' until, BINGO BANGO! i found it!!

(credit: expert village)

super cute, if i may say so myself. i'm inspired to make some cat pop-art for my wall!*

*for those of you less cat-inclined, you could substitute the cat face for your kid's face, or if you don't have a kid, your dog /neighbor /favorite food. whatever! it's not just the subject matter that counts (not that your kid isn't important!), but rather the repetition of shapes &color that really make a bold, graphic statement. think andy worhol. i wonder if he liked cats..

anyway, i promise i'll take a break from cat-blogging now, since this isn't a cat blog, although i can see how it could easily turn into one! =)

todd oldham's take on eames.

 

(credit:  living edge blog)

this is old news (new to me!), but i just had to share this amazing chair! it is todd oldham's take on the classic eames molded plywood lounge chair. the chair was for an art auction sponsored by herman miller, where 11 designers revamped this popular chair, in order to raise money for charity. todd's chair, above, received the highest bid.

 

eames lounge chair &ottoman tattoo.

(credit: StumbleUpon)

stinkin' amazing. that is all.

some cool spaces.

 (credit: sorry, can't remember!)

check out this neat lego room! it has the green lego bases attached to the wall, so you can create anything your imagination desires. perfect for kids &adults who are big kids.. my brother would have loved this when he was litttle!

 

 (credit: things i like)

this is the perfect cat lady house! complete with catwalk so kitties fulfill all of their running, jumping, &climbing desires in a small space. hilarious &so cool. i especially love the tunnel!

 
(credit: commonhumans)

sweet 'x-ray' desk! this is what the creator has to say about it:  This is my home made x-ray light desk. My Dad and I made it from an old wall hanging x-ray back light that I found at a university surplus store. All we had to do was buy some wall brackets and mount it perpendicular to the wall and now I use it as a light table rather than an x-ray viewer! The light table really helps when I need to do tracing for graphic or interior design, every designer/illustrator should have one. I recently painted the wall to make my desk pop and now my work station is clean and complete! If you are wondering where store all of my stuff, I have a one drawer filing cabinet and a few storage boxes in my closet, most of my work is on the computer to reduce clutter. This shows the lights off. I uploaded another image showing the desk with its lights on.

enjoy!

emily henderson, design star.

those of you who aren't avid HGTV-watchers may not have heard about emily henderson winning design star, (&maybe don't give a hoot about the show) but i haaave to share how much i love this girl's design style. she has such a wonderful ability to put things together in an elegant, yet completely understated manner. emily was my favorite design star contestant from the beginning, probably because i was able to relate to her eclectic style. she mixes pieces that most people would most likely not think of putting together, yet she makes them work, &they look like a million bucks. she doesn't try to make things look perfect; instead, she appreciates a quirky, kind of off-kilter style that reflects her personality.

 

(clockwise from top:  ian &emily on the first episode

of secrets of a stylist; a beautifully-styled collection of

objects; a bright &sunny office; emily's living room.)

some of emily's secrets (of a stylist, ha) that i thought were especially great dealt with the relationship between colors &patterns, &with the use of accent items. she tries to keep patterns from being overly-masculine or feminine by sticking to a complementary palette. in the first episode of her show, she illustrated this by using wallpaper in a feminine pattern with a masculine color for ian's guestroom. a gender-neutral feel is created by maintaining the masculine-feminine balance. emily also suggests combining antique &organic objects with new accent pieces, in order to create a lived-in atmosphere, &avoid the dreaded &impersonal 'catalog syndrome.'

through her designs, she has rekindled my love for linen, &may have contributed with my new slight obsession with the lovely blue color that seems to be her signature. i must admit, i really want to curl up on her gorgeous blue sofa!

(emily's workspace /dining room, with inspiration board)

emily's show is called secrets of a stylist &her blog is called
the brass petal.

(images from hgtv.com)

let me introduce myself..

i've created this blog as a means of exploring design concepts &trends, &also as a place for me to babble a bit about things i love (cause who doesn't like to do that?). for a few years now, i've enjoyed reading some fantastic blogs, both design-related & not, &decided it was time to give it a shot. i'll try to keep this as cohesive as possible, bearing in mind that lots of seemingly unrelated things can tangle themselves together into a mish-mash of relativity in my crazy head, so if it seems kind of off-the-wall, it probably is! =) i hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as i like writing it!