Home candy

I'm in a random mood today. All of my focus these past few weeks has been dedicated to a big project I'm working on, so I thought I'd escape into some of my favorite interior delights, the objects I crave for how they look and feel.  Home candy.

Pewter and peonies

I love the soft blend of silver pewter and pink peony petals. Peonies and tulips are my favorite flowers.  The vase is from Match, an Italian-based company that crafts their beautiful pieces by hand.  I want one!  (Or one for each room!)

Match pewter vase with pink peonies
(Photo Courtesy:   Match )

Wool and silk rugs

One of the best gifts I've received in recent years was a handmade wool and silk Persian rug hand-carried back for me from Iran.  (Thank you again, Dean and Paul, and Dean's friend who acquired and brought it back from her family visit!)  It sits at the end of my bed and caresses my feet whenever I step on it.

Incidentally my love for wool extends to Karastan carpets and flokati rugs.  My tootsies (and eyes) love 'em all.

Modern Living Room design by San Francisco Architect CCS ARCHITECTURE

Animal prints everywhere

Animal prints show up everywhere Chez J, especially cheetah.  They're on pillows and a matching ottoman slip cover, sheets and a vase sitting on my wine cabinet.  Chances are, they'll show up somewhere else some time soon.  (Or in my next place on a carpet, like the one shown here... Yes, I definitely would!)  Animal prints are just sexy.  Always have been.  Always will be.

Eclectic Family Room design by Philadelphia Interior Designer Meadowbank Designs

PS:  I love patterns, in general.  Animal prints, florals, stripes, plaid, checks, paisley, you name it!  Mixing them together is even more fun.

Leather

I love its rustic warmth and practicality.  Leather is livable and very Sensible Style.  My next couch will be leather. And my office will get a leather recliner in the not-too-distant future, too.

Lancaster couch offers sink-deep comfort
(Photo Courtesy:  Restoration Hardware)

Velvet

Rich and touchable.  Soft but strong.  Elegant and durable.  The ultimate Sensible Style fabric.  I own a velvet couch that's seen more naps than I'm willing to admit to.  And I've been shopping for a velvet duvet cover for my bed for a while, thus far unsuccessfully.  I also love velvet drapery panels and my next home will probably have some.

Velvet panels add luxe privacy
(Photo Courtesy:  Pottery Barn)

Seagrass, rattan and wicker

I love strong woven textures like these.  I have them in storage baskets throughout my home, in a living room area rug and a hamper.  They all say 'coastal' to me, and I love living on the coast.  No reason not to bring that feeling indoors.

Contemporary Kitchen design by Other Metros Interior Designer In Detail Interiors

Last, but definitely not least... Art 

No home is complete without art -- certainly no home of mine would be!  I'm not talking about posters chosen because their colors match your couch either.  I'm talking about pieces that speak to your heart and soul, whatever medium and price tag they happen to fit.

Art doesn't have to be expensive.  It doesn't even have to be an original one-of-a-kind piece.  It can be a vintage McCoy vase you picked up at a garage sale that makes you happy.  Or a beautifully-composed photograph of a favorite pet, person or vacation.  Art should make you smile when you look at it.  That's its job.


I have three framed Clyde Butcher photographs in my office.  I see them whenever I walk into my townhouse.  They're hauntingly beautiful pictures by an artist considered to be the Ansel Adams of the Everglades.

I love remembering breakfasts on my screened lanai in Florida watching the herons, egrets, ducks, cranes and wood storks land on the pond behind our house. Art inspires memories.  That's its job, too.

This original photograph of Amelia Island reminds me of a wonderful vacation there
(Photo Courtesy:  Clyde Butcher)

Thanks for sharing my visual escape with me today.

Four Favorite American Originals - Roberta Kravette

Roberta Kravette is one of the leading American kitchen and bath designers, a LEED AP and a lovely lady, to boot!  We met at an industry reception following the 2011 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. I was delighted when she offered to share a guest post for Gold Notes' Fourth Anniversary celebration, and her topic fit right into All-American Week! Like Roberta, I love art and really enjoyed her finds.


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For me one of the most important parts of a kitchen project is the fabulous or funny, moving or magnificent piece of art placed as the centerpiece of a carefully thought out design. Even in a tiny space the right piece immediately defines the personality and atmosphere of the home. 


My favorites are original, one-of-a-kind works pertaining to the four things I am passionate about: Glass, wood, environmentally responsible design and cooking. I’ve been known to stalk craft fairs and off-the-beaten-track studios to find pieces that tell a story. Here are some of my favorites. 


Nick Leonoff

I love it! Especially the carved and layered art glass produced in France from about 1875 to 1910. I have a few very precious pieces and never thought that I would come upon a modern master of this delicate art. Nick Leonoff is that modern master. He blows layered bubbles of colored glass in his Brooklyn, NY studio then delicately carves the cooled shapes with diamond wheels. The result is a textured miracle of color and brilliance.   Don’t miss his mouth-blown pumpkins and magnificent glass pendant shades too. 

Urban2

Eric Pesso


Wood is unmatched for warmth in a home. Eric Pesso  is a computer programmer, holds a Masters in Science and loves geometry, math and symmetry. He credits this immersion in math and science as the inspiration for his sculpture. He literally gives new life to dead trees he finds in parks and yards. Look closely. Every work is created from one piece of wood carved in a continuous, unbroken line -- no patching, no gluing, no nails, screws or dowels. 


I could stare for hours …and…well…did one Sunday afternoon when I found him at the Brooklyn Crafts fair. 

Two Discs

Ken Orton


Are they photos or are they paintings?  The first time I saw Ken Orton’s oil paintings at the Lincoln Center Crafts Fair I was sure that they were super-huge photographs. His mason jars and bottles sit in a “window” catching sun light and teasing the viewer with hints of flowers, barns, and trees reflected in the glass. They are utterly amazing. His whisky bottles make me laugh. Talking to Ken with his lyrical English country accent and fabulous white beard, blue eyes twinkling you get the feeling that this man enjoyed preparing some of those bottles for painting! 

McDonald

John Burnmeister


Ever wonder what retired custom cabinet makers do when they ship the final kitchen or in this case custom bar? John Burnmeister looked down – literally and found… Marilyn…and Mr. Fox…and oh yes Kirby. Marilyn is rather flirty and she was born shoes first from wood blocks from his cabinet shop, next came her beauty mark. Mr. Fox is rather a serious fellow dressed in a still projector. I laughed out loud when I met the dreadlock-sporting hipster Kirby. John said he was crossing the street in Maryland when he saw Kirby’s green eyes lying on the asphalt following him, his chicken feeder torso came later. 

Marilyn and Fox

Final Thought


OK, maybe these “folks” do not create ordinary kitchen/dining room art, but they will keep family and guests smiling - a nice indicator of a successful design project.