Seeing Design Posts

Published October 27, 2009 by

The Comfiest and Prettiest Sofa

sofa and chairsAfter 14 months of sitting on camping chairs, I am thrilled to announce, we own a couch. Yes, you may remember me mentioning this very sofa, the Grayson, sometime in early 2009 and, though custom-made furniture does take months to ship–the delay was not the shipper, it was me. What was my hang-up? It seems ridiculous, but it was the fabric. The couch only came in natural linen and I just knew we’d never fully enjoy it if were constantly worried about getting the most expensive thing we’ve ever purchased dirty.

Simple chocolate brown fabric was all we wanted–and don’t ask me why after multiple trips to the New York fabric district we couldn’t find that, but we couldn’t. I’ll admit there were moments of frustration where we were tempted by other brown sofas but we held strong–and our loyalty and patience paid off. This fall Bobo Intriguing Objects released the Grayson sofa in eight colors, including chocolate brown! And that was only one of the improvements; they also added an extra throw pillow and more environmentally-friendly materials. As soon as I heard the news, I had my credit card out and raring to go, and though it maxed out my Visa, I have never been so pleased with a purchase.

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Just look at these lines!
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The deep European cut is so sophisticated yet you just want to flop down on it!

Now that the folding chairs are put away, and the 1940s French chairs are in place, our former first-class campground is actually shaping into a living room we love.

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Anne's buys living room our house

Published October 16, 2009 by

Know Your Design Biases

Decor-ideas-Brick-makers-table

I’m a sucker for Frenchie furniture. I love feminine lines, the movement of a curved back, and most decor that could be linked back to the sensuous style of Louis XV. But in decorating, one must know her biases. With my curvaceous Greyson sofa arriving next week (long story, to be continued) and my beloved 1940s French chairs poised to face it, my living room needed a piece to separate the two and break the theme. After hunting for coffee tables for a few months now–it became clear to me; I needed a brickmaker’s table. A rectangular steel base with a coarse wood plank top: it’s the antithesis of girly and just the thing to curb my dainty living room design.

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Brickmaker’s tables have become insanely popular in home design (I generally try not to buy trendy furniture, but I’m hoping the simplicity of this piece gives it some staying power) and Restoration Hardware, Sundance, and Mecox Gardens (to name a few) all have lovely options but steeper price tags than my flea marketers heart can handle.

This is a no frills table; did it really need to be $1,400?

Not according to the upstate New York furniture company, SKALNY. I spotted their booth at the last New York Gift Fair, and to my delight, their brickmaker’s table was retailing at a mere $600. The elm top is made from reclaimed wooden doors and the steel base is thin, angular, and wonderfully industrial. I’m sure bricks were never made here but the raw look is enough for me.

To place orders for so-called SKALNY table #81211, call Sylvester & Co. at 631-725-5012. They can drop ship to any location in the country (table is $600, plus the cost of shipping).

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Anne's buys furniture tables

Published October 13, 2009 by

Suitcases as Storage and Sculpture

Bedroom Decorating Ideas Suitcase StorageIn our early decorating days, I spotted three gorgeous sets of vintage leather suitcases at a yard sale and swooned on the spot. After I saw this picture (above) in the new book by the DIY goddesses of Salvage Studio, I wasn’t dreaming of jet-setting with the butter-yellow hatbox and teal steamer trunk; instead I had a vision for my bedroom storage. I loved the texture and shapes that the tower made and the romantic notion of travel it presented. However, in the scheme of small-space solutions, I knew that this Jenga dresser was not the best purchase.

Bedroom Decorating Ideas Suitcase Storage

Months had gone by and I thought that I was over my fantasy of suitcase sculpture. Then I saw this armoire by Marten de Ceulaer, a man with a similar vision but a much more modern and practical application. With this design he has taken the logistical nightmare out of stacking and unstacking the luggage and crafted a one-piece unit with similar lines and handles.

It’s debatable which version is more charming, but if you want to find an old sweater at a moment’s notice, de Ceulaer’s takes the cake.

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antiques design ideas storage

Published October 9, 2009 by

An Unlikely Paper Towel Holder

silver-paper-towel-holder2For wedding and housewarming gifts for some of our dearest friends, Mike and I like to give handmade sconces. We started this tradition by finding a scalloped antique silver tray, hacksawing off the arms of a candelabra so that only the candleholders and their short connecting branches remained, and then screwing the two together for a shimmering, candlelight fixture. Since then Mike and I have dabbled with other tray materials and shapes–but the one element that always stays the same is a Jamali nickel-plated brass candelabra.

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Good-looking, inexpensive and easy to dismantle, its scrolling silver arms have become an integral part of our sconce project–but the center candle? Junk. Though this shiny, shapely, armless remnant could easily function as a candlestick, it is too awkwardly disproportionate to display, though it’s also too well made and intriguing to chuck. So, what to do with our mounting collection of gawky silver pillars? Turn them into paper towel holders.

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This may seem like a bizarre train of thought, but after seeing Umbra’s Baluster paper towel holder (right), the idea made perfect sense to me. Umbras curvy, luminous kitchen accessory showed us that a relatively mundane device doesn’t have to look the part. Our re-purposed candlestick proudly displays its shiny base and finial, while the paper towel roll covers its funny neck–plus, it’s a pleasant surprise to see the holders curves and detail each time you replenish the towel supply.

So now if you ever receive a sconce from me, you can also look forward to a complementary paper towel holder.

Projects

DIY kitchen goods