Seeing Design -

Published June 10, 2010 by Anne Collins Howard

Hot Purchase: Artisan Bowl from Simon Pearce

Whenever we are near the Quechee area of Central Vermont, Mike and I always make a point to stop into Simon Pearce. The river-powered glassblowing and pottery workshop is endlessly inspiring and its retail store…irresistible (click here to read about my initial love affair with the Quechee Mill).

There were about ten things in the shop that I desperately wanted but with our wedding around the corner (and in turn, our registry), I found the restraint to just buy one piece: the Artisan metal bowl. Part of a four-piece collection, the cast aluminum dish has the texture of a wave-beaten conch shell; rough in parts but smooth in others, it feels amazing to the touch. This olive/nut/nibble bowl may only be 4″ x 2″ but its shimmery nickel hue gives it big glamour and at $20 it was a total steal!

Finds

Anne's buys decorative objects tabletop

Published June 3, 2010 by Anne Collins Howard

Picking a Wedding Photographer

There are plenty of fantastic wedding photographers out there but the right one can be hard to find. Every photographer’s offerings, pricing, and caveats are so different, it’s easy to lose site of the goal: pretty pictures. So to make the most diplomatic decision for our Vermont wedding, Mike and I decided to do a blind test. To start, I picked ten images from our five favorite photographers (Corbin Gurkin, Orchard Cove, Birke Photography, Sabin Gratz, and Eve Event), gave each image a random number, wrote it down on my little decoder sheet, and put them in one big desktop folder. Then Mike and I each independently picked our top 20 photos from the master batch and determined the winner by seeing which photographer’s work was on our lists the most.

It was a bit of a process to orchestrate but in the end, we had a clear winner–Birke Photography. Founding photographer Caroline Bargerstock’s work is artistic without trying too hard. When you look at her photos you see all the happiness, love, and beauty that should go into a wedding and that’s exactly what we were looking for.

Here are some of the photos that wooed us into choosing Birke Photography:

Etc

artisans Vermont wedding

Published May 19, 2010 by Anne Collins Howard

Best New Designs from ICFF

When it comes to modern design tradeshows, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) is by far the biggest and best in the U.S. The four-day New York show ended yesterday and held up to its reputation with a slew of inspiring products and displays from around the world.

A few of my favorite finds…

Above, 13 wood-veneer pendants from LZF Lamps cluster together to form a show-stopping installation.

Kenneth Cobonpue’s new canopy lounger for Hive is so inviting, it’s worth the funny tan lines.

Brooklyn-based Faktura turns traditional shelving on its head with the V Bookshelf.

A sweet floral design appears within these bone-china votive holders by designer Hanna Tonek Bonnett. The best part? When lit, the pattern shines through and casts shadows in the shapes of roses.

Baby Acapulco by Innit Designs is one hip kids’ chair. I took a seat in the little chair and the durable vinyl cords made for a surprisingly comfortable seat.

Winner of ICFF’s New Designer Award, Objeti has come forward with a very clever line of multipurpose furniture. My favorite within their new Aerialist series is the Line bench/table/console. The three powder-coated steel panels can flip to become a cushioned seat, tabletop, or a combination of both.

Spanish company Fambuena had a number of gorgeous lights but this geometric pendant was the most dramatic.

For the modern urban family, the Koo bassinet could not be more functional. Made by Lunar, the front folds down to become a rocking chair.

Which design is your favorite?

Etc Finds

furniture NYC tradeshows

Published May 11, 2010 by Anne Collins Howard

Rethinking Old Furnishings in New Spaces

When you move to a new home, it’s amazing to see how a fresh space can give your same old things a whole new look and function. A wonderful example of this is Michelle Adams’ new apartment. She is known to most as a founding editor of Lonny Magazine and an acclaimed textile designer, but I’ve always known her as submission #2 of the Happy Chic Home Contest. She entered her former NYC apartment into this contest that designer Jonathan Adler and I hosted on my old blog Design Daily back in 2008. We gave her 3rd place, though if her new apartment design was in the running . . . it would have snagged the gold.

Featured this month in Lonny with a lovely addendum on Decor8, Michelle’s new home is more than double the size of her former 325-square-foot abode. One would think this would be a good thing but she says handling the extra footage was one of the hardest parts about the redesign. Her old furnishings weren’t enough to fill the space and their compact design solutions weren’t necessarily needed anymore. Needless to say, she tackled the challenge head-on with smart shopping decisions and very clever rearranging.

Michelle Adams’ Design Scheme in Her Old Apartment

Michelle’s Design Scheme in Her Extra-fabulous New Apartment
For the most part you can barely recognize the original pieces in this sophisticated new space but look a little closer and the reuse is inspirational.
A jute rug and a white linen sofa still anchor her living room but the ostrich wallpaper and yellow zigzag curtains bring her furnishings to life.
A long credenza is one of those luxuries that her former pint-size pad could have never afforded, but now she can use it as a grand display for her favorite accessories. This snakeskin tray used to be tucked on a bookshelf; now it’s glorified as a sassy bar tray. The tortoise-pattern lamp was once relegated to the corner of the living room and today it illuminates the details of her art and accents.
You may recognize these bedside tables from the former living room design–they were pushed together to make a coffee table. The headboard is exactly as it was but set against a charcoal-colored wall, it becomes that much more dramatic.

With a few moves under her belt, Michelle says, “I look for versatile pieces that can be reinterpreted in each apartment I move to (and eventually HOME!).” I don’t know where she’s off to next, but I know she’ll turn her things into something wonderful all over again.

Lonny photography: Patrick Cline

Projects

decorating design ideas furniture Happy Chic Jonathan Adler

Seeing Design Posts

Hot Purchase: Artisan Bowl from Simon Pearce

Picking a Wedding Photographer

Best New Designs from ICFF

Rethinking Old Furnishings in New Spaces