Wednesday, June 30, 2010

"Delicious . . . "


Greetings,

Style. Costumes. Sets. Drama. Cuisine. Tilda. Swinton. All combine to create a feast of almost overwhelming emotions.

I am simply in love with "lo sono l'amore" or "I Am Love."


The Cast of "I Am Love"


I saw the film on a magical Sunday evening last weekend here in my beloved San Francisco. It tells the story of the complex relationships and family pressures of an affluent Italian family - as seen through the eyes of the matriarch, a Russian beauty married into this Milanese family, portrayed by the almost alarmingly luminous Tidla Swinton.



Check through your local papers - and you might need to seek it out . . . it is well worth the work. Equal parts heart-wrenching melodrama / design porn / food porn / and a breathtaking film score (from opera composer John Adams).

And to whet you appetite, here's a peek :



Has anyone else had a chance to see this? I'm curious of your thoughts on the film . . .

bon appetit,
tartanscot

Eco-friendly Woodland Birthday Party Supplies & Acme Discount

 

There is something so special and innocent about this delightful woodland themed birthday party by Acme Party Box Company. Perhaps it's because there are no mass marketed cartoon characters? {sorry Mickey!} When I found out it was eco-friendly too, I loved it even more.


Based here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Acme Party Box Company was born out of the desire to create unique parties for loved ones while while honoring both guests and the environment. 


Acme Party Box comes with custom designed letterpress invitations are printed with soy based ink on 100% recycled paper and include coordinating envelopes made from post consumer recycled paper.


Designed to be used again and again, the party kit also includes washable 100% cotton fabric table linens and decorations designed and manufactured in San Francisco. The biodegradable tableware and beeswax candles are made from renewable materials with sustainable practices.



The kids' collections of heirloom quality toy centerpieces are made in Germany from sustainably managed forests and toxin free water based paints. They are intended to be played with and passed down to the next generation.


No child's birthday would be complete without a little goodie bag for guest. Acme's is filled with responsibly manufactured gifts including a puppet, pencils and tin filled with organic seeds. Bravo!


Visit Acme's website to see more darling themes for parties including circus and kingdom.

And in celebration of the launch of their new website, Acme Party Box is providing all Simplified Bee readers a 10% discount off all orders now through July 12, 2010. Simply use the code ACMEPB-SIMPBEE at checkout. Enjoy!


*photography by nicole hill gerulat

Baby on the Brain

So I've definitely got nursery design on the brain. Here are some of my current favorite baby nursery design elements... though I'll definitely be looking for more over the next few months!

Love these two inspiration images from Domino. Both are sweet and adorable and simple at the same time.



This crib, the Oeuf Sparrow, is my favorite by far. Simple. Clean. Love the grey for either a boy or girl. From allmodernbaby.com.
With organic white Dwell Studio bedding. I think pink, white + grey would be a lovely color combo for a girl. allmodernbaby.com.



The matching dresser/changing table is cute too. allmodernbaby.com.

If you wanted to go a little girlier with the bedding - here are two fabulous options:
1. allmodernbaby.com.

Or 2. these cute cherry blossoms from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.

For a little boy, this Dwell Studio owl set is kind of insanely cute. allmodernbaby.com.


Serena & Lily has a simple and compact glider that won't over take your house.


Would be adorable next to a Moroccan pouf.

These graphic, fun Thomas Paul rugs would fit right in. allmodernbaby.com.Love it all!
If only I would spend this much time and energy designing my own bedroom!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Pretty Lamps

Looking for some fabulous lamps to put on a client's mirrored buffet in her dining room. None of these were right on in terms of size, but I thought they were too cute not to share.

From Plantation.



LOVE these Lotus flowers. The lamp is just too darn big for the space. Wish I had a shrinking machine. From Horchow.


I'm always a fool in love with a quatrefoil. Lamp from Horchow.
Light it up!

Family Room Preview...Almost There!

The curtains have been hung and the built-ins are almost complete, just a few more finishing touches and I promise I'll be sharing pictures of my (mostly) finished family room later on this week. Stay tuned!

{And please forgive the hideous utility boxes in plain view through the window -- the backyard is next on the "to do" list!}

Monday, June 28, 2010

Palm Spreezy

I spent a wonderful weekend with my girlfriends (and some of their husbands/fiances) in one of my FAVORITE getaway spots - Palm Springs. We had a relaxing weekend - chilling in a private house, cooling off in the pool... One of the highlights of the weekend was drinks on Saturday night at the Viceroy Palm Springs, designed by the guru, Kelly Wearstler.

Here are some great pics from the website.



The poolside cabanas (where we were hanging out) - image from THIS blog.


Such a great weekend - the reason we went was to celebrate my best friend's 30th birthday - I found this House of Harlow (by Nicole Richie) necklace as her birthday gift. I loved it so much, I bought myself one too!
My friend Jessica went to Palm Springs last week and blogged about some great design there...

I was hoping to visit some of my favorite Palm Springs furniture shops, but the 110 degree HOT HOT heat kept me in my air conditioned car...

Guest Blogger: Joshua Zerkel With 5 Tips for Easy Cable Management

Today, I am thrilled to have Joshua Zerkel of Custom Living Solutions guest blogging. Based here in San Francisco, Zerkel is a professional organizer and productivity expert. He has cracked the code on cable management {a problem most of us have in our home and offices!} and am excited to have him share some of his techniques with us.


This is Joshua Zerkel from Custom Living Solutions. In addition to the work I do with clients helping them get more organized and boost their productivity by managing their paper, space, and time, I specialize in helping clients integrate technology into their work and into their lives. I’m pretty geeky, so sharing how to best use technology is really fun for me. Part of working with technology means finding ways to deal with the array of cables that seem to multiply with each new device we get. I’ve spent many hours under desks and behind cabinets trying to make it seem like the cables are barely there. Here’s how I do it:

Reduce – The vast majority of clients that I work with have way, way more cables than they need. There’s a sort of “cable entropy” that happens for most of us. We get a computer and some peripherals, the cables go behind the desk, and when we get new devices or gizmos to replace our old ones, many of us leave the old cables behind or just let them drop behind the desk. This can lead to a giant cable tangle. Sorting out this tangle, and determining exactly which cables are needed, is the first step in cable management. Make sure you have all of your devices hooked up properly, and then responsibly dispose of the unneeded cables at your local e-waste recycler.


Go wireless – Lots of devices, from computers to speakers, can now live with fewer wires thanks to technology like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Fewer wires equals less clutter! If your computer or peripherals can work wirelessly, you may be able to significantly reduce the amount of cables you have to manage. If you’re replacing an older device, it’s worth it to spend the extra money to get one that has a wireless option. And if you can’t go wireless, consider purchasing shorter cables to reduce the slack you’ll have to manage.

Label – For any cables or wires that you are keeping, it’s definitely worth it to pull out your labelmaker and clearly label your cables. Instead of trying to figure out the mystery of a group of all-black, similarly shaped cables, clearly labeling makes it so much easier when you need to unplug and then re-plug your gizmos. I recommend labeling your cables at BOTH ends with the name of the device that the cable is connected to. 


Group – Once you’ve reduced your cables to the ones you actually need and use, then it’s time to start gathering them together. I prefer to create two groups - the power cables, and then the other cables (audio, video, USB, etc.). Once the cables are grouped, then it’s time to get some cable ties and wrap the cords so they don’t become separated. Make sure to leave enough slack so that you can still access your various components easily.

Hide - The final step in cable management is to hide the cables as much as you can. There are plenty of tools can help with this, from cable sheaths which you can put groups of cables into, to cable boxes which help to hide power adapters, extra cable slack, and power strips. A technique I like to use as much as I can is to route cables down the rear legs of a desk or table, and to tie them in place where they won’t be noticed. This is how I’ve made cables “disappear” for many of my clients. 


Cable management is definitely an art, and it takes some careful planning and ingenuity to make sure that you manage and hide the cables as much as you can.

Mood Board Monday

I'm kicking off this week with another Mood Board Monday courtesy of Sarah at Pewter+Sage. This round, Sarah has asked her readers to create mood boards inspired by one of three summery bedding sets. Now bedding is a great jumping off point for pulling together a bedroom and the three options Sarah proposed were all wonderful examples of that. I chose the Bohemian Medallion duvet from Urban Outfitters (featured above). I love the yellow and charcoal gray color palette and the intricate pattern, which has a lovely, exotic quality that I wanted to further incorporate into my bedroom.

With that as inspiration, I decided to create a warm, summery bedroom that reflected the duvet's more traditional print as well as its thoroughly modern color palette. But I also wanted to imbue the space with a subtle coastal vibe -- if for no better reason that it's summer and we all have vacation on the brain, but also as a challenge to create a coastal interior that does not rely on blue!

The key to creating a colorful coastal interior that does not rely on watery blues and greens is to bring in a good dose of natural textures (grasscloth, rattan, bamboo, seagrass, etc.) balanced by breezy whites. A few wonderful examples from my favorite designers include:

Robin Bell

John Willey

Phoebe Howard

Amanda Nisbet

Keeping these elements in mind, let's see how I'd go about incorporating this colorful medallion bedding into a bold (yet still soothing) coastal bedroom:

I'd start by painting the room in White Tie from Farrow & Ball, which they describe as "the white of old, pre-brightened, starched cotton" -- and I think that's a brilliant description. It's vintage-y and warm with just a touch of yellow. On the floor, I'd bring in a simple and modern gray and cream rug with a geometric print to ground the room. Curtains in a gray diamond print echo the rug's print without exactly matching it. The yellow slipper chair has a decidedly more feminine twist with its curvy spade print and elegant, spare shape. I'd echo this more feminine shape with a stunning, gray Rococo bed in a modern charcoal gray. The shape also reminds me of a shell, which I'd reference more overtly with a pair of Adler's modern shell lamps (and I love their gray shade). To balance the colorful duvet and shams, I'd stick with white sheets, which will bring in a strong dose of soothing white to the room.

To create more visual space (and keep the focus on that incredible bed), I'd bring in lucite nesting tables for side tables. This modern touch also works as a great foil to the ornate bed and intricate medallion pattern of the bedlinens, while emphasizing the on-trend gray and yellow color palette. To incorporate that textural element so essential for coastal interiors, I'd add a rattan and bamboo woven pendant (whose clean, modern shape is yet another nod to the other modern touches in the room), a grasscloth dresser (with tons of great storage to keep clutter at bay) and a jute pouf (which can perform triple duty as a side table, ottoman or extra seating). Finally, I'd bring in a few pretty and romantic accessories like the antique mercury glass vases (perfectly sized to hold one or two summer blooms) and a pretty lotus candleholder.

Source List:

Clockwise from top left: 1. Bohemian Medallion Duvet from Urban Outfitters. 2. Leran Pendant (24") from IKEA. 3. Shell Lamp from Jonathan Adler. 4. Antique Mercury Wine Bottles from Mothology. 5.Peekaboo Clear Nesting Tables from CB2. 6. 3-piece lotus candleholder from CB2. 7. Coralie Bed from Anthropologie. 8. Surya Fallon Collection FAL01 Gray Rug from Rug USA. 9. Maize Spade cotton fabric and Bark Diamond cotton fabric from Serena & Lily. 10. Avignon Chair from Serena & Lily. 11. Bungalow5 Frances Six-Drawer Dresser in White from Clayton Gray Home. 12. Jute Cube from West Elm. 13. Paint (Shown as background): White Tie from Farrow&Ball.

Be sure to check out all the other great mood boards HERE.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

"Sunday Morning, Old School Style . . . "


Greetings,

A quiet Sunday morning here in San Francisco. Clear, bright sunlight streaming through my window. A small list a chores and errands tacked to my refrigerator. A pot of English Breakfast tea steeping in my kitchen. And Bach blasting from my speakers . . .

When I was a very little boy - and the world had just become too much of me to understand - I would retreat to my bedroom and listen to my record player. You remember those enormous record players - the ones about the same size as a large dining room sideboard? Opening the lid of that giant piece of electronics was almost like opening the door to Narnia. I could drop in a round disc of vinyl and music would magically pour out and transport me to any one of a million different places.

One morning, when I was around ten, I discovered in a pile of my parent's unused LP's - a copy of Albert Schweitzer playing the organ works of JS Bach. I can still remember listening to it for the first time. It was magical. It was math. Simple and complex all at the same time. And it remains on of my very favourites.

The Prelude in G Major BWV 541 . . .




and "The Fugue" . . .



Cheers,
tartanscot

Saturday, June 26, 2010

"Design, in Flight . . . "



Greetings,

My sweet friend, and amazing designer, Benjamin Dhong just sent the most exquisite images of his room at the San Francisco Decorator Showcase - and I just HAD to share them. His space was in this marvelously tiny room up on the third floor, with beautiful views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge . . . and a wonderfully intricate roof line of slopping eaves and dormer windows. He was "inspired a chic Parisian garret," and the idea of "flight."

Let me introduce you to . . .


"The Aerie"
- a meditation on winged flight -


Beauty, by reflection.


"What could be more wing like than winged victory?
She’s perfectly placed in the dormer window and looks
like she just flew into to room. It’s quite dramatic and
it takes the room to another level."


I'll have to admit, I actually missed one of the best aspects of the room the first time I visited - and frankly, I was on the press tour, and the room was incredibly busy. But on my next visit, during a quiet weekday, I saw it - and it's truly breathtaking. First click on the image above. Then slightly *blur* your eyes.

"To make the room cozy and nest like, we commissioned
decorative painter Linda Horning to paint the most subtle chalky
mural all around the walls and ceiling. You’re sitting under a
canopy of trees…. in the fog. The effect is totally serene
and hypnotic. Restrained and subtle. People’s jaws
drop when they enter the room."
-Benjamin Dhong


And I so love the addition of the Arne Jacobsen egg chair to the room, covered
in a cut velvet from Manuel Canovas. Adding a strong, iconic piece of modern
furniture gives the classic space a great energy. And, for me, it also recalls that image of
being enclosed within wings.



and in what might be the most perfect piece of music to accompany this 'room in flight' . . .

"Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" by Eric Whitacre.
(seriously, @5:50 second - it's actually flight set to music . . . chilling)



Cheers,
tartanscot

for more information on Benjamin's amazing work, click here.