Interior Design and Beautiful Things
Among the easiest and most cost effective things to do to freshen up a room is to change out the hardware. Light plates, outlet covers, door knobs and drawer pulls are easy to remove and replace and can take a space from outdated to awesome, usually without putting a huge dent in your budget. However, if you too dream of the day you can custom-design everything in your world (down to the toilet tissue), then you will love the land of SA Baxter and their bespoke house hardware.
With Valentine’s Day upon us, it seemed appropriately cliche to talk about love. Specifically a few of the things I love. When it comes to tokens of affection, I love the idea of giving someone something really unexpected and thoughtful, like a tiny box. I am mad about boxes!
We have too much freaking stuff. I’m not kidding you. I know you know it. I know you probably live it. It’s how I met some of you (thankfully!) and it’s the reason I keep doing what I do. I want to help you. I really do. However, you have to want my help. You have to be ready to get help. As my new client Janel says of working with me, “You have to be willing to get rid of a lot of shit!”
Several months ago I wrote a post about Restoration Hardware’s ad campaign and how much I hated it. So now I need to backtrack a bit. Having now been in to RH to see the pieces individually, in all of their Belgian-Axel Vervoodt-inspired glory, I am totally in love. Axel is one of my biggest design inspirations. He has a style that verges on really spare, but is full of warmth, like a super-comfy weekend cottage. All of his designs have an organic bent, as if they just occurred on their own and were always meant to be there.
Although I love this time of year, from an interior design perspective, it also happens to be the most terrifying for me. People are just downright out-of-control. I’ll forgive the lawn full of disparate lighted animals (llamas, and penguins?!). I’ll overlook the retina-burning-blue-Hanukkah-lights. I’ll even give you a pass for the inflatable anything folks have decided is festive. I know that people get excited about the holidays. I get that. What harms me is the Every-single-red-Santa-sparkle-deer-snowman-tree-fugliness approach to holiday decorating. Stop it.
The reality of being young and living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that you already have or probably will have, roommates. Paychecks are now smaller and harder to come by and spending on single-living-situations is a luxury not many can afford. Although rental prices have come down, they are still so much higher than they should be for far less space than we all need. Such is the conundrum of living in such an incredible and vibrant area. Pooling financial resources is the number one way singles are making a go of it.
Flipping through the latest issue of Elle Decor I came across the new Restoration Hardware ad campaign. They’ve taken a new direction and that’s good, however, I think someone drank too much of the Kool-Aid with respect to the “industrial” bent of the room styling.
I love the space and time that we’re in when it comes to interior design. There has never been a moment like this one – a place where industrial, French, traditional, vintage, ethno-glamour, and minimalist can co-exist at auction, on fabulous web sites, and even in one home! While of course there are still firm believers in the mono-culture of specific design styles (mid-century modern anyone?) it’s an exciting time to be re-doing your space as there is so much amazing treasure out there to find!
Autumn has become my most favorite time of year. The weather isn’t yet unbearably cold, Halloween is on its way, evening hot cocoa outside seems right, and the Flower Mart is brimming with amazing gourds, branches, and gorgeous Fall blooms. When it comes to flower selection, it doesn’t get any better in my opinion. Brides who choose Fall for their wedding have so many magical options.
Last week I was out in my garden looking for interesting things to incorporate into my shop arrangements and it occurred to me that I hadn’t really explored my various succulents or other garden greenery beyond the obvious (rosettes wired on a floral stem or long pieces of Jasmine branches) so I grabbed my shears and got to harvesting the weird and the wonderful!