Showing posts with label furniture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label furniture. Show all posts

Friday, December 9, 2011

Theodore Alexander miniatures

One of my favorite companies to visit at Highpoint Market is Theodore Alexander. Their commitment to high quality wood furniture, both new and reproduction, is always astounding. While their reproductions are what the company is most well known for, such as Althorp, they also produce a line designed by the Keno Brothers, of Antiques Roadshow fame. The brothers' line is inspired by the lines of mid-century modern but incorporates the high quality wood detailing that the company is so well known for.
I think my favorite pieces of all though are these miniature chairs and reproductions which measure in at a mere 11" high. How great would these look lined up on a bookshelf? I suppose they bring out the child in us all!

Katrin Sigurdardottir at the Met

Exhibited last year at the Met were 2 extraordinary exhibits by the Icelander Katrin Sigurdardottir that I've meant to share for awhile now but was waiting for the perfect opportunity. Katrin created 2 white boiserie 'rooms' based on originals in the Met's period room collection, playing with scale and the absense of color to highlight the forms of 18th century France. The first was an architectural screen with 82 white painted boiserie panels that, in Alice in Wonderland style , quickly descended from full scale at 8' to a miniature 12".

The second was an enclosed room which could be peered into through 1 way mirrors, a replica of a salon at the Hotel de Crillon. The mirrored panels then cleverly and infinitely reflected the room as if one were inside.
The absense of pattern, gilt and texture create a whole new experience: would even Marie Antoinette even recognize such a room?
Read a thorough critique online at the New York Times for more information..

Baroque wood stove

Located in the collection of the Met's period rooms is a fantastic white glazed and gilded baroque wood stove. While this may not be a traditional 'hearth and home' piece, these wood stoves were considered much safer than fireplaces and were widely used in northern Europe and most sat on stone hearths. I could see something like this used as contrast in a very modern loft or house- useful AND art!

Ally Coulter for the Holiday House

I wasn't able to attend this year's Holiday House in NYC (open until December 11!), but my friend Todd from Ralph Lauren Home sent me some great photos of the Living Room designed by Ally Coulter, which featured some of RL's furniture line.

Beautiful Ally is seen seated above in front of her room wearing a Ralph Lauren Collection dress, naturally. The Modern Penthouse Sectional is upholstered in a creamy taupe while the room shimmers in shades of white with a lot of glass for sparkle, like the Carlysle Cocktail table.

Ally used the RL Luxe Console as a bar set in the corner beneath the RL Conservatory Garden Wall Sconce. Isn't that Venetian mirror just so incredibly beautiful!

The RL "Runway Chandelier" fits right in with the architecture of the room; check out this gorgeous door surround with Corinthian columns and a broken pediment.

Not only does the furniture have prominence, the band you see playing is none other than Chris Gillespie from Bemelman’s Bar! It looks like I missed a fantastic party!

The wall paneling has beautiful lilac applique details, which is why Ally also refered to the room as the Mother's Day Room. Beautiful all year round!


Be sure to visit the Holiday House soon before it closes until next year!

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of meeting author Deborah Needleman at a book-signing party to celebrate her new book, The Perfectly Imperfect Home at the Room & Board showroom here in DC.

Best known as the founding editor of the much missed magazine Domino, Deborah has since made a name for herself at the Wall Street Journal (which I adore!). I received the book last week and I kept joking at the party that it had been to bed with me every night, I love it so! A great book of basic ways to make a house your home, it is charmingly illustrated with watercolor sketches by Virginia Johnson. As most of the images are well known to us savvy to design media, showcasing drawings rather than photographs really enlivens the book and gives it a great casual personality.Of course, I knew I was reading the right book when an illustration of Kate and Andy Spade's New York apartment graces the chapter called 'A Proper Welcome', probably my favorite apartment ever published (by World of Interiors Magazine).With chapters endearingly named and on numerous practical topics such as Places for Chatting, Cozifications, A Bit of Quirk and Delicious Scent, the book should be #1 on everyone's Christmas wish list. It's also a perfect house-warming present, especially at the low price!Other bloggers I read who have fallen in love with the book and wrote reviews are Style Court, A Bloomsbury Life and My White Shirt (who stood in the book signing line with me!)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Highpoint: Hooker Furniture

I was fortunate enough to be invited back to attend Fall market this year by the High Point Market Authority. As so many people who have gone in the past have been saying, Market is an amazing (but exhausting) opportunity to see what is new and hot in the design business.When back, the most common question everyone hears is "What was new this year at market?". Thats really a floating target but you do see similarities between a lot of the different furniture lines.


I'll use Hooker Furniture, my sponsor during my visit, to share with you some of the new fall 2011 trends.

Shape wise, the circle or oval shapes are HUGE. Circles everywhere!

Kim Shaver, the VP of marketing for Hooker furniture (follow the link for her interesting blog) thinks this is because in such uncertain times, the circle is soft and nurturing and symbolic of hearth and home.The circle was popping up all over like in the sides of this desk.


A new bed frame, the Marquette bed, also continues the round theme with an Art Nouveau inspired pattern.Following further trends towards tradition with a twist, Hooker released a new line called Primrose Hill, named after the famed neighborhood in London.The furniture in this line is inspired by 19th century European antiques but with an urban edge ( much like the neighborhood).I loved the Lattice Bed from the collection seen in the photos above.The woodwork details throughout the collection were really inspiring.Also new in the collection is the Braddington-Young (Hooker's leather division) tufted brown leather chair in a great small scale, perfect for apartments and smaller rooms (like my own apartment!).Not everything was traditional though; minimalism may be considered dead now in the design world but good modern design will always have a place in the field. Mixing upholstery in pieces was also popular such as in this chair with a plaid seat and leather surround.Loved this mid-century inspired chair from Hooker's Sam-Moore (the upholstery division).Another of the big trends was COLOR, particularly shades of red.In this economic climate where people are not investing as often in whole suites of rooms, accent pieces are more important than ever.RED is the perfect accent color as it's bold without being too crazy and goes with everything and any style.








Little colorful occasional tables are a great way to update your space without spending a lot of money.

These magenta leather wingchairs will certainly make a statement! Love the shape of the shelter back and those elegant little legs.This tufted leather corner chair looked straight out of a country manor house like Downton Abbey.The new Keltie chair comes in a variety of finishes and colors -again a great accent! Texture on furniture is something Hooker has always excelled at in my opinion. Maybe you remember my post on Hooker from last market HERE?The finish on this Curlacue chest from the Melange collection was stunning, like real linen!




While not strictly a texture, I think the Macintosh inspired Ludlow collection qualifies in the way the screens play with light and shadow like in this desk above; check out the shadow on the floor.

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