Perfect Patchwork!

Patchwork? Love it or hate it?
I love it! BUT it has to be done well!! In a white or neutral room, the bright patchwork taking center stage with nothing to compete with it. Imagine the above bed, as intense as it is, in a room of all white textures, billowing white linens, modern white wood furniture pieces, a light sisal & wool rug (from Merida, I know just the one!), just barely off white corduroy club chairs, white fur cushions, and just to finish it off some bright green table lights... niceeee.
Anyways... here are a few of my fav patchwork peices....oh, the fun is endless with these!!

Because Orange Twice in One Day is Better...

To Tuft or not to Tuft? I'll tuft thank you. Especially that stunning orange ottoman above (from cozycozy.com!) I wouldn't say no to that beauty! Also loving that aqua, sea green color of the sofa next to it!! Okay.. so here are some of my absolute favorite tufted masterpieces! Enjoy! (and if you don't like tufting, well... there's always the sweet potato recipe right?!)

Where I'd like to have some dreams...

I completely adore this bed. But with mountains of fluffy white sheets. And in my bedroom.
I want it.... right. now. I don't know what else there is to say!

Cowhide...

Some of you might hate me for saying this, but I love cowhide. Usually on my floor, but after seeing this gorgeously pale and subtle cowhide upholstered on this bed, I fell in love. Of course, with something like this, the room absolutely HAS to be carefully designed, or it'll just come off cheap and nasty.... in this room, I like the bedside table and the floor lights. I've hesitant about the floor, ceiling light and the window treatments... and definitely the bedspread!

If this were my room, I'd go gorgeously simple with Benjamin Moore's Dove White on the walls (and ceiling - flat finish), keep the bedside table and lamps, recessed lights in the ceiling, a rectangle white/off white rug (maybe something super textured), dark wood floors of course! and white white white bedding...forget that cushion too. Maybe replace it with kiwi green silk (I'm thinking Pollack fabrics) bolster cushions instead. I'd also place an old and weathered antique brown leather reading chair in the corner of the room too.

Okay enough of the daydreaming!! To check out this Palomino Bed, chick here for the link on the Design Lush Website.

Daylight Desk Pics!

As promised, photos of my new desk in daylight!! Ohh, I'm so in love with it! Believe it or not, I've been longing all day to sit at it!! And here I am! Time to get some painting done! The desk has actually inspired me!!!

DREAM FIND!!!!

I am amazed at what people throw out in New York City!!!

This afternoon, walking down the street, and on turning the corner I stopped gasped out loud! I saw this beautiful desk just sitting there on the curb with the trash!!! It's just beautiful, and just the desk I had been dreaming of!!! There wasn't even a split second where I even considered leaving it!!

And so, the wonderful man with me (thank you!! ;) ) picked it up for me, and we dragged it to his apartment, where later on he popped it into a cab and I took it off to my apartment! I'm so happy with it!!!

In the above left photo it's pre clean, and as soon as I walked it in the door!! The desk has some varnish or something which was spilt over it the top of it (see the above right photo), and down the front too, which did make the top drawer stick (but that was fixed with a bit of clever man power!!). The spilt varnish has chipped off in places, and with encouragement, patience and a lil' elbow grease, I hope it should all come off without too much trouble! The only problem area I think will be the black top... I'll delicately do my best with it, but I think this will eventually just have to add a little character to the desk!!!

I will be taking daylight photos soon too so you can see it better, but well, I couldn't wait to share the best find ever!! Below are the photo's of it a bit more settled into my room! 

I really am amazed what people throw out in the trash though!! What's that phrase? 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' ? Oh so true!!!! I LOVE my new desk!!!!!

Sweet, Sweet Love...

I. Am. In. Loveee.

I was cruising blog Decor8 yesterday, and as soon as my eyes were caught, so was my heart..

The post (here!) was featuring Knack Studios, based in South Carolina.

Secretly, I've got a dream of owning my own shop where I give flea market finds and old furniture and home stuffs a fantastic new life... and so you will see why I'm so deeply in love with Knack Studios!! I am totally in heartfelt longing for the cream dresser in the above left photo! And I'm a total sucker for mismatched old plates too (below)!! Hey... I love it all, what can I say!?!

"Knack Studios was born of a passion for discovering home products that reflect a distinctly urban professional lifestyle. With and eye for detail and a talent for repurposing found objects, Knack offers an eclectic selection of furnishings that are sleek yet warm, detailed but relaxed. Clever design. Easy Style. Uncommon Expression." From the Knack Studios Website.

Also Knack studios has a Blog and a fantastic Flickr set! Check them out!!

Ochre!

Over the past weekend, I had to take a trip into Ochre on Broome Street for one of our clients, and seen as how it's just around the corner from my apartment, it was a nice little stop off with my hot coffee in one hand, camera in the other, before I hit the flea markets uptown!

I found lots of goodies which would be perfect, and I did get nice and snap happy! Above is my favorite shot, so I thought I'd show it off here, and give you all a little taster of this beautiful store! It's got lots of lush, modern and vintage items and furniture, all of which work great together! I love this place, and just like most places down here, it's like a huge loft space, high ceilings, gorgeous old wood floors....If you get the chance, go for a visit! You won't be disappointed!

Luxurious Lace!

Valentino Catwalk Show, '07

Now, I'm a big fan of lace.. it's delicate, beautiful and feminine. And these days it seems it's walked off Grandma's table and right into modern design and high fashion, and I can happily say, its done well!

So, without further ado, here's a few designs I find interesting, and some of my favorites....

Above and Below, Brocade Design comes through beautifully once again! White Lace Storage Unit and a Laser Cut Wool Blend Flax Rug.

Marcel Wanders designed the above Crochet Table in 2002 (shown here in large), manufactured through Moooi. Below he added to his lace trend with the Crochet Chair, both of these are made of hand-sewn crochet flowers sewn together, placed over a mould and stiffened with resin. I love that these are made from real crocheted pieces... beautiful!

Below is the Nebula Table, designed by Chris Kabatsi for Arktura. Laser cut and powder coated in glass white, the piece is available in multiple sizes with glass tops, all of Arktura's steel and aluminum pieces are made using 35-100% recycled content.

The Random Suspension Light, designed by Bertjan Pot in 2001. Manufactured by Moooi, its made with epoxy and fiberglass, chromed with steel and plastic.

The Fiberglass Hanging Lamps below are designed by Niels Van Eijk & Miriam Van Der Lubbe, they provide light without the use of bulbs! Instead, the light is produced in a hidden box at the top, and is transported by the strands of fiberglass to the bottom. Therefore, the woven strands become the source of light in their own right.

Denmark's Gamfratesi gives us beautiful lace in fiberglass chairs,  "This project is the result of an intense study that embraces tradition as well as advanced technology; an idea that emerged from reflections on contrasts. A fascination of a fusion between high performance composite materials, as glasfiber, and the aesthetics from the antique art of lace. With inspiration from working methods in the textile industry, we have been experimenting with various techniques applicable to the glasfiber. This project is a dialog between many specialized sectors, and different historical references.

And did you ever think your regular paperclip could look this good?!

Drew Leshko designed the above and below light fixtures using 2,018 and 2,280 paperclips respectively. Amazing.... and one of those, 'I wish I thought of that' moments!

I am in love with Jethro Macey's work! Above, his Textile Side Unit, made in collaboration with Decode London. It's a stunning simple piece, and with it's subtle lace detailing on the front, I fell in love with it the second I saw it!!

Below, are his award winning (Elle Decoration British Design Awards - Best in Flooring) Lace Tiles, these are just stunning!! High technology surface design techniques turn an otherwise plain stone tile into a three dimensional piece of functional art. These will be in my future dream house I swear it!!!!

And just one more addition on how the purely functional can be decorative, the Lace Fence, created by the Dutch Design House, Demakersvan. Each fence is unique in it's design, and the patterns come in a variety of themes. Each application is created according to it's function, for example, to hide or enhance it's surroundings.

I think it's beautiful, and definitely one of the best fences I've seen, ever!!