Design: This is serious business

 As I venture into the blogosphere, hoping to make my impact on the *virtual* World of Design, my sister brings me back to the Real World with this blog link:

Catalog Living

Pay attention next time…Despite Elaine’s simple instructions (position 2 wooden pedestals on the table so that the smaller is rotated 45 degrees and tucked slightly under the larger one, top both with leaves and put just cheese on one and just figs on the other), Gary still managed to screw it up.--- catalogliving.net

I have to admit it took me a minute to "get it".  I have been so immersed in the details and business of design, that I forgot about the fun and, especially, the creativeness of it!  Because, if nothing else, the author of this blog is very creative and sees the humor in at least, the marketing of design!

I especially had to laugh at the September 18th posting -- I definitely would have used this advertisement in MY September 18th post on "Let the Sun Shine In.."  or  the "meaning of gray and yellow"!!!  Not with the same caption though!  :)

Ever since he was a child, Gary had wanted to play the decorative yellow stringless mini-cello, but he had to admit he did not take to it as naturally as he had hoped.  --- catalogliving.net

 

I hope something or someone has made you laugh today!

Paper or Paperless?

Remember when we first started relying on computers at work,etc?  Ok, I am probably dating myself!  Unfortunately, I do remember!  The big buzzword was the "paperless" office!  Wow! We thought that paper was literally going to go away!  All our storage issues would be solved!  How has that worked out?  I can pretty much guarantee that everyone now keeps a paper AND a  paperless/virtual copy of important documents at work and home.  Do we really "trust" our online documents?

One thing is for sure, paper is not going away any time soon..  

 Last week, two new online magazines launched:   Rue

and Lonny

I spent some time going "through" both magazines.  First of all, I have to admit I am a hoarder:  I have stacks of design magazines that I haven't gone through, but can't bear to throw out yet; I have files of "resource library" materials---i.e. pages ripped out of magazines that I use for design ideas, and I am a big book collector (not antique!)---but not so much a big book reader!   So I may not be part of the target (more young/hip?!) market of these online mags.

 From this perspective, I will summarize what I found to be the pros and cons of these two magazines, in particular, and of online magazines, in general:

Overall, I found Lonny to be an easier online read.  Here size does matter, and somehow the screen sizes and shots were larger and easier to read than Rue's---again I am showing my age! 
I also liked that Lonny's Table of Contents is linked to the article, whereas Rue's Table of Contents is a static snapshot.  I liked Rue's "Extras" section of take-home recipes and crafts (but didn't like that I couldn't preview them before downloading).  Both sites employ hyperlinks on each magazine page to sources; but Rue seemed to have more advertising pages than Lonny's.  Used as an online resource, the biggest advantage of these magazines is the quick browsing and hyperlink features.  These web tools make the online magazine more than what you get in the paper version.  

Having said that,  although I browse magazines websites, I won't be giving up my hard copies any time soon!   I find that I get lost: there is no beginning or end to an online magazine--you can easily jump around the site and "lose" your place.  Before you know it, you are worlds away from the actual magazine.  It leaves me wondering--am I missing something?   In a hard copy, I can always mark my place and come back to it.  There's a reason why it's called "surfing" the web, and as far as I am concerned it all contributes to my ADD.  Keeping articles, clippings and other noteworthy things is harder for me online than saving the actual paper document.  I have so many things that I "bookmark" online and then never look at again!  Out of sight, out of mind!  Plus, one computer blowup and my entire archive library is toast! 
Of course, I am finding that my paper archives are stacking up  and I have many vendor catalogues on my bookshelf that I never open because I go to the vendor website instead. 

So, as a result, I now have paper and paperless versions of my design sources and resources---just in case!  How about you, do you have a preference?  Paper vs. Paperless?

Let the Sun Shine In..

I'm back!  Summer is over --- but it looks like sunny days ahead! As I type the sun is shining on a beautiful fall day.
Looking at my current design mags, I see that the sun is peeking thru, too!  It had seemed to me for quite awhile, that all I had been seeing in design world was the gray, industrial look---look at the current Restoration Hardware catalogue to see what I am talking about.

So much of the look now is to monochromatic shades of gray.  I love the look, but can you really live with it for a long period of time?  Could these colors be a reflection of our bad economic times?

Apartment Therapy.com

We must be feeling glimmers of hope, because everywhere I look I see gray rooms with pops of sunny yellow!

From fabric manufacturers:

Vervain

Kravet

to photo spreads

Architectsforlife.com

Furntitureseen.com

to blogger articles ...

like this one from Belle Maison, which has some great inspiration photos!

cococozy blog post: Peony bowl, Bloomingdales

Let's hope this is a sign of better times ahead!  Let the sun shine in!

Blogs: A Great Design Resource!

 I have started to get announcements from vendors about their blogs, the latest being Schumacher. 

Schumacher

I hadn't really thought about exploring vendor blogs until recently--since I started my own blog (smile).  They are a fantastic design resource!  
Since I began surfing blogs,  I now see websites  as a formal and fairly static internet resource, and blogs as an outlet for current news, thoughts and observations.  Vendor blogs are great because they are talking about their passion (like every blogger) ----which is their product!   What's really nice is that they also link and discuss other design sites and products that you might not find out about otherwise.

Maison 21's favorite Schumacher fabrics

For instance, Schumacher's blog recently had a post about Traditional Home magazine's new interactive weblink.  You know how you look at a photo spread in a magazine and wonder where the products you like can be purchased?  Well, you can now go to Traditional Home's website; they have linked the items in the issue's room photo to the vendors!  It works great--they even have paint colors linked!  As a fabric and furniture manufacturer, Schumacher is interested in  this because it can be a link back to their product--a win-win situation for both customer and manufacturer!

Traditional Home

Another blog I like is Circa Lighting's.  First of all, I love their lighting products! 

Circa Lighting

Which makes me want to know more information:  how does a particular light look in a room, what about sizing lighting correctly? What other inspiration and ideas do they have around lighting?  What new products do they have and what designers do they like?  It's all here!

Finally, a shout out to my sister's company's blog for Dominion Electric Supply - "Enlightening"!  A great resource for what's up and coming in lighting, presented in an easy, conversational form.  It is very different from their website which is more technical in nature.

Get out there and blog!

Is Less...More?

It seems so, looking at this video!  Twenty-four rooms in 330 square feet?!  Truly amazing when you see the video, but could you really live in it?  Or more specifically, could an American, used to larger spaces in general, live in such a small space?

Interestingly enough, House Beautiful magazine's theme this month is "Is Small the New Big?" and features designer David Kaihoi's NYC one bedroom apartment that is 390 square feet.  He lives there with this wife and daughter.  It sounds amazing until you read that their daughter shares their only bedroom!  How long can that last?! 


The rich colors of this New York apartment made me feel like I was inside a Godiva chocolate, so warm and rich!  Very different from the mirrored, stainless steel apartment in Hong Kong.   Two such different approaches to small spaces!   Do you think you could live in either of these spaces?  Alone or with your family?!


Reading the Washington Post today, is an article of a family of five who lived on a small sailing ship for seven--yes SEVEN years!  24/7 with each other in a space the size of a standard hotel room.  The father said as soon as they left their port in Maryland all sibling rivalry stopped...Hard to imagine!


Perhaps our larger spaces are leaving us more isolated....something to think about...

Thoughts of architecture today

The Washington Post had an article today called "Potomac's un-Potomac".  Heading the article was a beautiful photo of a gorgeous home, which is part of a planned community with strict architectural guidelines---

I'd have sworn was an old Adirondacks house. 

Aren't we all surrounded these days by new homes that are a horrendous mix of architectural styles and materials?

Here's a typical McMansion..(the builder loved stone (all the way to the eves!) apparently!)

I loved that this Association's book of Architectural Guidelines contain 8 photos of "Examples of Unsuitable Design"(p.77).  All these homes are in their neighboring communities!  If you really want to understand the architectural components of what makes an esthetically pleasing home, download these guidelines!

As summarized in the Washington Post, regarding good architecture--- "no matter what the style, they use natural materials and proper scale.." 

One thing that I always remember---is that we don't have to recreate the wheel--look around to see what attracts you and then start looking at the parts that make the whole visually appealing.

A beautiful Neoclassical stone house

When planning the community, the Architectural Review Committee  looked around at homes that were considered beautiful and found that:

             "Houses built in older neighborhoods, though grand, had a more 'delicate and smaller scale'".

             "They were constructed from natural materials: slate roofs with brick, wood or stone sidings."

Most notably, and a little disturbing: "The architects who designed the old houses were better trained in scale and proportion than architects who work with large developers."
 The lesson here is if you're lucky enough to be looking to hire an architect don't make any assumptions!  Look at their designs and the homes they've built! 


It was wonderful to read about such a conscious effort to maintain high architectural standards in new construction!

Old Virginia Summer Cottage

On a recent day trip, my mother and I  trekked out of metro Washington to visit her 91-year old friend at her summer home in Lancaster Courthouse, Virginia about two hours away.

Taz, the guard dog greeted us

The property has been in her family for almost a century and is on the river.  BeeZee's cabin is deep in the Virginia woods down a dirt road, dense with hollies and mountain laurels.  It is just what you imagine the old summer places were---on a pond--complete with lifesaver ring and dock and stocked with freshwater bass.

 The house hasn't  changed.....

I love the tree growing in the middle of the wrap around porch.

The screened in porch is the main living area in the summer. 

     

Mom (in pink) and BeeZee relaxing before a lunch of Chesapeake crab salad, home grown tomatoes and cucumbers.

Stepping inside was witnessing a family history: it is obvious that the cottage evolved over many years, artifacts collected on the property mix with an eclectic collection of family furniture pieces.

The cottage has two rooms: one large room containing the kitchen, bedroom and living room, and a small bathroom.

                          Details, details, details---years of collecting can be seen throughout.