Harlem HOUZZ Tour

I don't usually post on the weekends, but I couldn't resist publishing this right away because I'm so excited! I recently wrote a quickie post on houzz.com, the site that allows you to find ideas from designers and DIY-ers all over the country. I'm so honored to share with you the wonderful story about our New York apartment (prior to our Austin move), Houzz Tour: Killy and Oliver's Hip Harlem Apartment: Color, Clever Storage and Editing Turns a Tiny Apartment Into a Gem, written beautifully by Houzz contributor Lily Gahagan.

This is by far the most in-depth look at our (beloved) former apartment, complete with small-space decorating tips and explanations of the driving forces behind our design decisions. Sending out a huge thank you to Lily and the Houzz team!

All photos by Frisson

Spring Has Sprung

I couldn't resist taking a few photos yesterday of little buds I'm seeing on the trees around our house. It appears that spring has sprung, although I understand it's possible that we will have one more freeze before winter is officially over in Texas. But here's what's going on in the front yard:

And in the back:

It must be time for new growth because today I did the unthinkable: I created a Twitter account for The Studiolo (aptly named @TheStudiolo)! I didn't think it would come to this, but  alas, it has. I have NO idea what I'm going to do with it, but it seemed remiss of me to not jump on the ever-expanding social networking bandwagon to increase awareness of our little business – gotta stay in the loop, keep my finger on the pulse, and all that other corporate jargonry. My first post will probably say something like what I just said. It's going to be a slow journey, friends. No doubt I'm disappointing some of you (Brian? Sorry. I can no longer repeat my favorite quote of yours, "I don't tweet; I don't twiddle!") but I'll try not to be too annoying about it.

Nothing New Under the Sun & Stripe Roundup

I had a professor in graduate school who used to listen to us ramble on about how unique and cutting edge our designs were, then in his deep, guttural-yet-sing-song-y voice, he'd bellow, "Well, there's nothing new under the sun, that's what I always say." Thanks, Gus. You know we haven't slept or eaten in, like, WEEKS, right?

But he's right. Sort of. I submit there are new things under the sun, but they are often informed by old things. Ya' feel me? Gus has been practicing architecture since the year one, and has worked at Pratt for something like forty years, so he's pretty much where everything today derives from.

WELL! I was poking around the interwebs last night when I came across this interior shot of a hallway on Country Living:

Home of Jane and Billy Pritchard of Stray Dog Designs; photo by Victoria Pearson

And it reminded me of our own hall in our last apartment:

I certainly didn't think we reinvented the wheel with our navy stripes, but yowza! At least we know our instincts are on the right track ... Maybe Country Living is going to come knocking on my door soon. Fingers crossed :)

If not, at least Apartment Therapy gives us some love. As I poked around for more stripes images, I came across this "Get Striped: All Kinds of Striped Inspiration" story, featuring our home office (#13)!

I'm loving that turquoise chandelier with tiny striped shades in the Pritchards' hall–that's a great detail! Their's is clearly neither a rental nor an apartment, and I believe they shoot the catalog for their store in their home, so let's just say they have more resources. No matter! I think we did a lot with a little!

Obviously, its no secret that we love stripes, but clearly we're not alone.

Jeremy and Kathleen showcased their own striped hall on Apartment Therapy and their blog

The brown stripes in this galley kitchen are quite sophisticated:

Photo by Simon Upton for Elle Decor


Photo courtesy Anne Coyle Interiors


Mixing a pattern and a stripe at Elle Decor

If its good enough for Carolina Herrera, its good enough for ME:


Coral + Yellow = BOLD

Via Elle Decor

The tiny settee with small-scale stripes against the wide-striped wall, the mini-lamp, the abstract art surrounded by other work, gallery-style – this is a beautiful vignette:

Photo by Thiebault Jeanson for Elle Decor

Another perfect vignette:

Source Unknown

Oh my, that copper tub!

Photo courtesy Elle Decor

This is just too much fun, with the varying pinks, the formal silhouette of DOGS and the ornate picture frames (that I suspect were formerly mirrors with Syroco frame. We have an identical mirror!)

Photo courtesy House to Home

Oh, hello, gorgeous burled wood table with lucite legs!!! The stripe pattern behind you is lovely, too:

Photo courtesy Lonny Magazine

Designer Markham Roberts jazzes things up by putting the stripes in this room on a diagonal:


Designer Ned Marshall mixes silvers and golds to create this elegant stripe-infused room:


I'm loving the wide stripes on this sofa:

Source Unkown

Got some money to burn? Then upholster your walls in Osborne and Little fabric:

Design by Collette Ward Interiors

Photography John M. Hall captured the beauty of this opulent coral bedroom:


But stripes aren't just for walls. They are fantastic on floors and ceilings and exteriors.

Beverly Hills Hotel photo courtesy Second Floor Living


Jenna Lyons' nursery, via Domino


Umbrellas at The Viceroy Hotel, by Kelly Wearstler

Or just put them everywhere, as in this hallway from Domino:


And they don't have to appear only on soft things: paint them onto floors, create them with tiles:

Design by David Mitchell Interior Design


Photo courtesy Decor Pad


Design by Jeffers Design Group; Photo courtesy House Beautiful

This image (from Domino Magazine) sparked my love of horizontal stripes in small spaces offset with whimsical florals:


All this eye candy is fun, but Gus' insistence that there's "nothing new under the sun" still applies:

Mosque of Cordoba (Spain); completed in 987; Photo courtesy Ian Pitchford via Wikipedia


Notre Dame de la Garde, Marseilles, France; completed in 1864; Photo courtesy MJA Studios

Notre Dame de la Garde, interior:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Putting A Bird On It

I wrote about the owl trend a while back and I mentioned a disdain for birds (I believe I actually said something like, "I have been forever grossed out by birds"), but I would like to edit that sentiment, as I now realize its not birds I hate, its those winged rats referred to as "pigeons." They are vile and likely to poop on your head at the most unfortunate of moments.

In my previous post, I touched on the fact that while I didn't particularly care for birds the creature, I did like to see birds the imagery in interior and graphic design. I also astutely noted that birds were EVERYWHERE already, so I didn't have to write a whole post on them. Whew! Glad I did, because I think it excuses me from being the butt of the trend joke, as seen in this video:

Many of you have probably come across this already, but for those who haven't, I thought it was worth sharing. PORTLANDIA is six-part IFC short-based comedy series that premiered late in January. While the sketches focus on people (and are filmed on location) in Portland, OR, the characters speak to hipsters everywhere. The above video really hits the nail on the head as far as gimmicks designers fall back on when creativity runs out. Don't get me wrong; bird illustrations have a special place in history. They are complicated to create and require tremendous skill and patience. You can't exactly put this bird on just any old thing! (Thanks to John Gable for enlightening us about this show; we are sans TV right now and are out of the loop in terms of current shows).

Hand-colored lithograph published by The Zoological Society of London, 1848-1849
Available through Fine Rare Prints

But, it is true that the more silhouette-y versions of birds as embellishment are a little played. Today birds are the gimmick; tomorrow it will be something else.

As far as real birds go, I've come to learn that they are actually pretty great. The reasons for their greatness are many, but let's just go over my own personal favorites:

1. What with all those colors, they are pretty!

2. They eat bugs. YES! I like bugs even less than I like pigeons. This trait will come in handy when we sit outside this summer and finally plant a small garden

3. They leave cute little foot prints

4. The little ones hop around adorably

That's all for this soap box! 

President's Day Phunny

I have a few posts in the works, but none are done yet, so I thought I'd leave you with something funny (at least to me) today. I was poking through photos of the just-wrapped New York Fashion Week offerings, when I was struck by how many bizarre frocks there were on the runways this year. I'm fully aware that what comes down the runway isn't always practical for everyday wear, and that it's really an art form. I accept and embrace that. I also know models are chosen to act as walking hangers, allowing garments to drape, flow, cling, or do whatever the designers intended. I also know that models teeter down the runway in shoes that are either too big or too small, in clothing pinned, taped or glued on, so the fact that they make it look glamorous is impressive. However, I came across this look from Marchesa's Fall 2011 collection and was stopped in my tracks:


With the strange small head/voluminous shoulder proportions, I couldn't help but think of this look from Beetlejuice:


Uncanny, no?


Some people shop sales on President's Day; I rag on high fashion. Prefer to read about presidents on presidents day? Check out the post I wrote on Oval Office decor a while back. Otherwise, have a good Monday!

Houzz in the House - Feeling the Love

I "discovered" Houzz a while back (read: I didn't discover it at all. Check out all the press). It's a great tool for collecting ideas, inspiration and finding designers by region, specialty, style or all of the above. You can browse around, make your own ideabooks (more than 130,000 have been created), share them with others or keep them for your own reference.

A few months ago I created a profile, hoping to drum up a little interest in Austin's Newest Interior Designer, and I have been overwhelmed by the response to my work. Subscribers have been saving my images in their own ideabooks, and Houzz contributors have illustrated their informative posts with some of my project photos, along with the work of other talented designers! Check out some of the recent stories:

Have Lemons? Make a Decorative Statement by Lily Gahagan
Bedding Trends: Tailored and Tucked In by Janell Beals
Keep Your Collectibles (Without Losing Your Sanity) by Lily Gahagan
Relax A Little – Home Decor Should Be Fun by Kerrie Kelly

Becky Harris' post, How to Turn Your Closet Into an Office, even appeared on SF Gate!

It warms my heart that others are finding inspiration in my work – thank you Houzz community! Whether you just moved, think you'll move, or are always on the lookout for new ideas to implement in your home (current, future, dream home, etc.), but clipping images from magazines sounds time consuming and space-eating, I strongly suggest you get on Houzz and make some ideabooks for yourself! They'll be saved in the cloud so you'll never lose them and they won't require filling an entire filing cabinet with ideas!

Not Your Grandma's Wallpaper

Interior design, complete with scenic wallpaper, by Michael S. Smith

Wallpaper is dreamy. I wish we could have it in our home, but a few things are preventing my dreams from coming true:
1. Expense; it ain't cheap (I do firmly believe it's worth the price, we just haven't had the cash, ya know?)
2. Imperfect walls; ours have been around a while and they are a little texture-y. Wallpaper works best on nice, smooth walls
3. We keep moving. While we were in our last apartment for nearly two years, and the previous one for three, it would be nice to enjoy wallpaper for longer and/or not forfeit our security deposits because wallpaper we leave behind has to be removed for the next tenant, etc.

To quench my thirst for paper, Oliver and I take great pains to paint wallpaper-like patterns on our walls, which is a great, if time consuming stand-in for now. However, being an interior designer means I get to live vicariously through clients, and sometimes they let me do fun things to their walls. I worked for a fancy New York decorator who was all about wallpaper. Her clients had lots of dinero (and recently skim-coated walls), so wallpaper was par for the course. Case in point: this little bathroom we redesigned – it's really a powder room in the client's work studio, but the Trove wallpaper is a show-stopper:

Wallpaper: "Alula" by Trove

Not your grandma's wallpaper, right? Trove has all kinds of ethereal, shadowy patterns from which to choose. Additionally, their full library of patterns can be printed for window films and wood veneers, and they'll work with you to create custom colors and patterns.

Wallpaper (and other products) created from digitally manipulated paintings by artist/designer Shanan Campanero, ESKAYEL is another favorite among designers seeking untraditional wall coverings.

Culebra was featured in House Beautiful's March 2011 issue


Dynasty


Roman Ram - Lt Metal


Small Stag

Way back in March, when I reviewed some of the highlights of the Architectural Digest Home Show in New York, I wrote about a UK-based company, Fromental, which creates custom hand-painted wallpaper using silk, velvet, embroidery and silk screening in rich colorways, resulting in some of the most dashing designs on the market. Well, they are at it again; Berard, their latest line of hand-embroidered Italian velvet wallpaper was inspired by the work of artist Christian Berard, and is a sort of trompe l'oeil faux-paneled design.

The inspiration:

Architectural painting on fabric by Berard, 1939

The resulting wallpaper line:

Photos, history and heads-up courtesy The Peak of Chic

Jocelyn Warner doesn't need a plug from li'l old me, but she has some fun wallpapers, especially Kaleido:


Dan Funderburgh creates unique wallpaper (with pun-filled, play-on-words titles) based on traditional wallpaper designs, but with contemporary imagery addressing today's world. Some favorites:

Chinatown Toile


Flower Pedal (get it? flowers...pedals, not petals, but with petals AND pedals? CLEVER.)


Central Park (that fire hydrant is pure genius)


I'll end my little wallpaper tour with a new find: Dallas-based designer, illustrator and former interior designer, Meredith Conly (a born and raised Austinite, I might add) is the talent behind The Whimsey Chronicles, a one-woman textile and wallpaper operation churning out amazing storybook-like designs inspired by flea market finds, vintage images, patterns, and bold colors.

Brellas in Teaberry


African Cuff in Jade


Featherleaf in Teaberry


Winter Collection textiles


Foxtrot Wallpaper


Designs can be produced in several colorways, and Meredith takes orders for custom pillows. Her products can be purchased at her Etsy store or directly through her by phone or email – give her a buzz – she's very responsive!

While I think all of these wallpapers work in several applications, I understand that some may shy away from using them, feeling they are too bold for everyday use. I find that busy patterns, when covering all walls, tend to recede, providing an great background for artwork, photos or other wall hangings. If that just sounds way too busy, let the wallpaper itself be the artwork. I think bold patterns work beautifully in small spaces, too – hallways, entry halls, powder rooms, dining rooms, kitchens – you name it. The boldness makes small spaces feel extra special. I look forward to the day when we get to put some in our home!