Friday Faves

This week has really been great. Work has been quite busy (take that, recession!!), and I finished my class for the semester! Next semester I'll finally be taking Auto Cad--I'm quite excited to take it. At last. And at last, it's Friday! It's time to sit back, and enjoy some beautiful design.

Matthew Patrick Smyth designed this beautiful room in a London townhouse. I'm IN LOVE with that carpet. It's different and I love that shade of blue.

Navy/emerald blues are everywhere this Spring. Isn't this skirt adorable? From Kate Spade for $295 in Emerald.

I'd love to enjoy a fun summer evenning at this outdoor dining room under the wisteria. By Robin Bell.

What are you all up to this gorgeous (minus Saturday) weekend? I'm planning on hitting up Central Park if the weather is nice and get my tan (okay okay, I burn) going for the Summer. I know I say this almost every weekend but I really want to go to the flea market. I'm thinking of maybe even going to the Brooklyn Flea Market! Is anyone else going? Tell me more!


Alicia B.

Botanicals with a twist

A few weeks ago I went to this great exhibit at the Yale Center for British Art of the botanical collages by Mary Delany. It was probably one of the most interesting exhibits in which I was completely unfamiliar with the subjects that I'd ever been to. She was a society woman who was married off strategically to a rather older man and developed a love for plants. She made these intricate botanical collages out of little bits of paper. Each color of each work is a different bit of paper that she cut by hand. These must have taken incredibly patience but through learning about her, she had a lot of spare time. I love botanicals of all kinds so take a look at some I found!

Black botanicals are not seen as often as others and I think they're quite beautiful. This is one by Mary Delany.

Here is another one. It was very important to her that all the botanicals be anatomically correct as well.Isn't the contrast of the black background against the beautiful flowers/plants breathtaking? S. R. Gambrel designed this interior and I'm blown away. It's fresh and traditional feeling at the same time.

This might not look too different but I really like this interior because when you think botanicals you usually think country. This room mixes the organic country with the hard lucite glass, the soft upholstery with the cold metal frame of the table etc. Interior by Michael Clattenburg from AD.

Via Velvet & Linen, these pressed botanicals are framed in a window pane--gorgeous and creative idea for framing them!

Robin Bell designed this traditional room. The botanicals really frame out that hutch. I'd love to see those quilts that are so nicely displayed in there.

Barry Dixon used these framed botanicals in one of the most admirable ways I've ever seen--to hide a TV! Nice choice.

Not only are botanicals beautiful but you can see that they really come from something. They are flowers, leaves, plants etc which can be seen as a craft, something horticultural, something simple, or something as intricate as one of Mary Delany's creations. The Yale Center for British Art put out a book about her with her works called Mary Delany and Her Circle. I'm super curious now about this book. I highly suggest reading more about her as she is a very fascinating woman. Actually, Peak of Chic wrote about her a little bit ago so check it out HERE.


Alicia B.

Hit the Ceiling...with paint!

Domino Mag. Soot paint from Benjamin Moore

Picking a paint color for your wall can be challenging, making sure the color is coordinating with the furnishings, and is harmonious with the look of the room. What you don't usually think to do is to paint the ceiling! I've been seeing a lot of that lately and it looks quite fun. It can either make the room look very cozy and warm or it if you do it with enough drama, it can raise the ceiling as well!

This Sills Huniford sitting room has a light lime green painted ceiling. It really draws attention to the beams above and draws your eye up. I really love that ladder off to the left with the newspapers on it--like a library.

Sara Story, who is always quite fun, used a magenta paint in this long kitchen area. I think it works well because there is so much light flooding in from the window and she used little purple and grey accents around the room.

You are, of course, never limited to just paint on a ceiling. Using ceramic tiles reminds me of an old villa or estate somewhere in Europe--perhaps Italy! Robin Bell used this Moroccan tile design in an outdoor space. I think it makes the space look very exotic, yes?

This is a child's room from Domino. Using wall paper on the ceiling is also a fun idea. The walls are a plain light green color, while the ceiling is the element of interest. This is a sweet and whimsical idea for a child; they can lie in bed and look at the stars! This is Osborne and Little Firibata Star pattern.

From House Beautiful: the walls are nearly the color as the ceiling and is only separated by a nice thick moulding. Quite pretty and classic in this small kitchen.

Exposed wood beams such as these add to the "lofty" feeling. These look like they are stained and even have brackets. Interior by Fern Santini of Abode.

This little den by Eric Cohler is one of the most creative ones I've seen. The colors in the room are gorgeous and you can find each one of them on the ceiling in the cross word puzzle! I wonder if it was customized for the client, and what it says. I love how the lines of it flow right into the lines of the windows and the curtains. SO amazing.

This living room has light chocolate colored walls, but is mainly covered with wall to wall bookcases. The top part of the wall then moves right into the ceiling so you're not sure where the wall ends and the ceiling begins. The blue color is agua vert by Philip's Perfect Colors. I love how they kept the mouldings white, even on the fireplace. They're such a beautiful architectural element.

Another ceiling treatment that I've seen is tin ceilings! Apparently they are quite affordable and definitely adds a vintage look to this room. Usually they are used in kitchens, but in a bedroom can be interesting as well. By Kathy Andrews Interiors from Point Click Home.


You can read more about ceiling treatments in Point Click Home HERE. I super wish I could paint the ceilings in my apartment. Usually they are painted the plain white and I'd love to add something fun like a painted ceiling someday. Do any of you have painted or wall papered ceilings? Thoughts? Feelings?


Alicia B.

Striped Love

Okay, who is with me when I say that I'm super sick of the downtrodden mood that the "recession" has brought down on the world? I know we are all cutting corners and saving and that's REALLY GREAT. Really. But, it's the mood that goes along with it. Maybe it's the rain, or the fact that people have to "shop their closets" now but I say let's take that attitude and turn it around! Let's enjoy beauty in simple things. I chose the theme of stripes for today! Enjoi!

I know this isn't an overwhelming use of the stripe but it is accentuated by those cute little Gothic mouldings above it. LOVE IT. Robin Bell astounds me.

Markham Roberts used these stripes diagonally. How clever. This makes it super busy but using the colors that he did, it appears more subtle.

Eric Cohler designed this amazing horizontal striped shower. Is that an ipod I see on the right? Rad.

Uber glam Victoria Hagan used a tone-on-tone green stripe on the wall and then mirrored it in the fabric of the chair. Subtle and pretty. Love the nail head accents on the bedside table!

One of my fave designers, T. Keller Donovan used Jane Churchill fabric on these chairs. I love the wide stripe of alternating blues but I do NOT care for the flat screen t.v. above the fireplace. Woah.

Miles Redd designed this busy little room, but I feel like the stripes on the walls really ground the space very well.

Miles Redd uses a horizontal stripe which makes the space seem wider. I love this cute sitting room right off the water. Is that my little tug boat I see through the window?

Michael Whaley used these striped curtains to frame out the space in the transition from room to room. I love the colors he chose.

Designer Joseph Abbati used a painted stripe that continues from the wall and onto the floor. This looks uber vintage glam to me with the mirrored surfaces, the Phillipe Stark Ghost chair, and the overall graphic feeling of it.

Celerie Kemble. Again, in a small space stripes are used to create an illusion of more space. I love how she used vertical stripes on the wall and then placed the throw pillows so that the stripe was horizontal.

As beloved (by me) designer Barry Dixon says, "Wallpapering horizontal stripes on the ceiling of a long, narrow room can make it look dramatically wider."

I love stripes. I'm the type of person who had to be TOLD that horizontal stripes are not slimming. I took that advice slash comment and threw it out the window because with interiors it seems to do wonders for the space!


Alicia B.

Hanging vs. Leaning.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when you see a beautiful or even not so beautiful art propped up against a wall instead of hanging. To me, it takes away from the value of the art to have it casually sitting there rather than displayed up on the wall. I know it has been a big trend and I see it everywhere but finally yesterday I was validated on this sentiment by designer Keith Irvine! There was an article about him (he's 80 and still amazing!) in the New York Times yesterday and he said, "the modern habit of propping pictures against the wall. It's A, sort of pretentious and B, tentative." GOOD POINT Mr Irvine! I think the fact that it's "tentative" makes me feel unsettled and unfinished.

On the other side of this, people enjoy the temporary aspect of leaning the art. It can be seen as casual and you are able to move it about. Derek Larson says, "Leaning art feels effortless and casual. And it makes it easy to rotate pieces in your collection."

In Domino, the art is hanging and leaning. I do like the gallery style on the back wall though--look how low those pictures are!

Living etc. A framed poster (inexpensive art!) is propped on this mantle.

Adore this white washed brick but one of these pictures is being blocked!

Leaning art on the floor. I don't feel well.

Bravo on committing! From Domino.

Even if you're going for a less formal look, you can still hang the art! This is from a Robin Bell house in House Beautiful.

We all know how I feel. What are your thoughts?

Alicia B.