Summertime Fabric Inspirations
A sampling of summertime inspired fabrics. They feel crisp clean, whimsical, colorful and well, summertime like.
Manuel Canovas, Osborne & Little, John Robshaw Textiles, Schumacher, Cowtan & Tout
All available through Faiella Design
MC Loft- Inspirations 1
Defining my style;I like warm colors, rusty orange, deep purple and navy blue. I like stripes and bold minimal clean shapes. Pastels and the traditional or floral style are not my cup of tea.
Express Yourself With Color-Color In Case Goods
My Name is Jason Lees,
I design “warm modern” furniture that is locally made-to-order and available directly to the public and to interior designers. I have a showroom in Oakland and sell all over the Bay Area, nationally and internationally. I have been in business since 2003 and I have designed furniture for homes, offices, commercial spaces and boutique hotels.
You can see more of my work at www.jasonleesdesign.com, or by appointment at my showroom in Oakland @ 1577 East 38th Street (in the Glenview District).
“Only those who love color are admitted to its beauty and immanent presence. It affords utility to all, but unveils its deeper mysteries only to its devotees.”
- Johannes Itten, The Art of Color
How you choose and use color in your home plays a critical role in shaping its mood and character, and says a lot about whom you are. Whether used as a dramatic focal point or a subtle accent, color can add vitality and personality and even a touch of the unexpected
I have always loved color and have combined it with the warmth of wood in many of my furniture designs. Here are some examples of how an accent of color can give furniture a fresh, unique or strikingly graphic appearance.
Speak Up Or Be Sent Home
By Julie Thompson
Julie Thompson is a freelance writer, www.juliethompson.yolasite.com.
One of my guilty pleasures is watching the reality tv show Design Star.
Every season, those 12 bright and shining faces begin the season with such hope, such confidence, such swagger, I immediately form opinions about who is the real deal and who can’t hold a paint brush. By the end of the first episode, I’ve chosen my favorites and have been sucked in for another season. Week by week, I follow the drama as some designers shine, and others self destruct. And every episode at least one person ignores their gut instinct “for the good of the team,” or stands by and watches someone paint the ceiling a shade of “you’re going to lose” blue.
“Say Something” I yell at the screen. They don’t listen. I can already picture Vern’s sad eyes tinged with contempt as he does his walk through.
This process of wavering confidence fascinates me because as a writer, I recognize it all too clearly. In any creative endeavor, including running a business, it’s easy to have doubts and turn into a pretzel to satisfy a client or colleague, particularly when the rent is due.
Designers, chefs, writers, architects and all creative entrepreneurs are hired for their expertise and discernment. We are expected to have an opinion and professionally convey it. Other than the sheer fun of watching someone sweat to complete a task in an insane amount of time, shows like Design Star, remind me of the importance of having and expressing my artistic point of view.
Round 2-Contemporary Living Rooms
Are you a cozy cottage type? Urban Dweller? Lofty loft? In my last round of living rooms the focus was on a more eclectic and traditional style. In Round 2 living rooms I am drawn to urban, minimal and clean lines, have a look at all these inspiring pics! I love how color makes a few bold appearance too.
Thank you Dwell & Apartment Therapy for all these fantastic images.
Lovely Living Rooms
Are you looking to redo or update your living room? Where to start? When I am working with my client’s I always suggest to look at lots of pictures! See what’s out there, start a little folder of ideas and begin to think about what you want your space to look like. Ask yourself, how do I want my space to feel? That’s really an important and key element. Formal and sophisticated? Cozy and comfortable?
Then, what inspires you? Is it a color? A piece of art? A favorite textile? Many designers will suggest building a room around the rug, from the ground up so to speak or from a key piece of art in the room. There really are no wrong or right ways. I would suggest pick one element it could even be the sofa, and start from there! The world is your oyster and your space at the end of the day should really reflect you, your family and your lifestyle.
Okay, easier said then done. I have put together an array of beautiful living rooms. Check them out and truly see how many different looks are out there, then pick your top 5! I may think twice about putting a car in my living room, however, easy parking that’s a plus.
Where did this lovely images come from? Check out House Beautiful, Elle Decor, & Apartment Therapy
SFMade=San Francisco Made
My name is Janet Lees, I am the program director of a new organization called SFMade. SFMade was created to support and promote artisanal businesses that manufacture their products locally, in San Francisco. SFMade wants to celebrate our local artisans and make sure that the folks who care about locally made, high quality, small batch production know about them.
Examples from pictures above are local artisans who create unique product for the home and garden like, Lattice Stix & D:luxo. A few others not pictured here but we fell you should be given a mention are, Dawson Custom Workroom and Modern Cabana.
Learn more about our organization and products offered at, sfmade.org
HGTV’s Landscape Design Star Jamie Durie Selects Modern Outdoor Sculpture
My Name is Jennifer Asher and I am a sculptor living and working in Los Angeles, my company is Terra Sculpture, www.terrasculpture.com Recently my work was featured on HGTV with host Jamie Durie. Anastasia invited me to do a post as a guest blogger so I thought I would share a little bit about my work and my experience of being involved with and on a HGTV episode. Below please see a few thoughts about and on outdoor sculpture in the garden, then read about the projects featured on the HGTV segment that Terra Sculpture was apart of. I have also included a few pics and examples of my work.
Integrating outdoor sculpture is one of the most impactful and innovative practices in artistic, sustainable landscape design. Sculpture not only complements the landscape, it transforms it.
When sculpture is thoughtfully introduced into the garden, a new dimension is created. The mood is altered. The landscape at once becomes imaginative and thought provoking. A neglected grassy meadow or a city roof deck can become playful, energetic, meditative or even seductive with the placement of one stunning, simple sculpture. From both a creative and environmental perspective there are very few elements in the landscape that are as effective and long lasting as outdoor sculpture. It’s only requirements are admiration and an occasional wipe-down.
Last November Australian landscape designer and HGTV host Jamie Durie brought cameras and clients to visit Terra Sculpture (http://www.terrasculpture.com/), an outdoor gallery filled with modern garden sculpture in Los Angeles. Jamie came to shoot an episode of his new hit show The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie < (http://www.hgtv.com/the-outdoor-room-with-jamie-durie/show/index.html) which aired July 9th. Jamie Durie is a household name along the lines of Martha Stewart in Australia, and was Oprah’s go-to landscape guy here in the U.S.
Terra Sculpture artist Jennifer Gilbert Asher, designer Jamie Durie with clients Anna and Nick. They unanimously chose Snap (http://www.terrasculpture.com/snap.php) for their new art-filled, San Francisco inspired landscape Jamie’s muse for client Miles and Ana’s Los Angeles garden was the artfully-inspired, eco-friendly city of San Francisco. Jamie found particular influences from the California Academy of Sciences (http://www.calacademy.org/) so brilliantly designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, Flora Grubb Gardens <http://floragrubb.com/idx/index.php> (and public sculpture gardens. In only three days, Jamie and his crew completely transformed Nick and Anna’s Eagle Rock residence into a stunning, modern, artful environment. Jamie is an extremely talented visionary, a fabulous landscape designer and all around good fun. It was a g’day indeed!
Seeking Inspiration, from Mike Gracie of Gracie, Inc.
My name is Mike Gracie and I’m the 4th-generation President of my family’s firm, Gracie, Inc. (www.graciestudio.com),
Hand painted wallpapers are our signature product and I’m always on the lookout for design inspirations—even on vacation!
I recently had a great dinner at Euphemia Haye restaurant in Longboat Key, FL. I won’t get into the details of the meal, or the separate “dessert room”, but it was a memorable experience!
Design inspiration came to me from a small print of a blossoming tree by Van Gogh in the dining room. It struck me as a cherry blossom tree (a quick search tells me it might be an almond tree). I’ve always loved Van Gogh’s work, and seeing this made me think of him and Gracie handpainted wallpapers at the same time. Hmmm, maybe there’s a new design brewing here…
Van Gogh’s works figure prominently in Wikipedia’s entry on Japonism–a French term for the influence of the arts of Japan on those of the West. One piece, The Blooming Plum Tree, is a copy of the work of Hiroshige—a 19th century Japanese artist:
For Gracie, Asian design is more than just an influence. Our art staff has always been primarily Japanese and Chinese so their style and training is based in their culture’s artistic tradition. Here are a few examples of Gracie designs in the Japanese tradition:
Our artists have reproduced several Chinoiserie pieces (wallcoverings, furniture pieces, etc.) Chinoiserie is the influence of Chinese design on the West. I hope that soon, we might be able to execute some projects which involve reproductions or interpretations of “japonesque” works. And who knows what it will look like when a Japanese artist interprets a Western artist interpreting a Japanese artist?
Gracie, Inc. The D&D Building
979 Third Avenue, Suite 1411New York, NY 10022
Digital Magazines: The New Frontier for Decorating Magazines
As popular shelter titles disappear in print, independent publishers seize the initiative to bring new lifestyle magazines to the growing cyber scene.
By Jodi Murphy
Change is in the air—cyber air to be more precise—and we are experiencing a new wave in how women are consuming their favorite lifestyle magazines.
According to MediaFinder , 369 magazines folded in 2009. The high profile shelter and lifestyle magazines that ceased publication include Country Home, Domino, Metropolitan Home, Gourmet, Southern Accents, O At Home, InStyle Weddings, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Cookie, and Cottage Living. House & Garden and Blueprint ended the year prior. Magazine titles come and go every year due to lack of audience interest, but in 2009, publishers couldn’t sustain very popular titles due to a severe decrease in ad revenues, and increasing paper and printing costs. The decrease in ad revenues, the lifeblood of every publication, is due to the economic downturn and the fact that many advertisers are diverting ad dollars to internet sites and blogs where they can better target their potential customers.
The publishing industry as we know it will never return to business-as-usual. It was a bad year, leaving fans of these titles posting and sharing their sense of loss within their online social communities. With 102 million American women online and 84% of them engaging in social media, that’s a lot of unhappy consumers.
Enter the age of the digital magazine!
The internet offers up a new frontier of opportunity. Five major magazine and newspaper publishers—Time Inc, Condé Nast, the Hearst Corporation, Meredith, and the News Corporation—seek to tame the frontier by building an industry-standard platform to present their work on the Web, smart phones, and electronic readers. This consortium is speculating on the future evolution of full-color, high definition e-readers and count on migrating their magazines, books and newspapers to this new technology.
One of the most significant advantages of a digital publications over print publications is that readers experience instant gratification—featured products, people, and resources are automatically linked—one click on a photo or text will the reader them directly to the subject’s website. Likewise, advertisers like how their ads can link readers directly back to them.
Editorial pages aren’t tied to advertising revenues, another distinctive advantage of digital over print. There is room to spread an article over several pages so images can be large—and let’s face it, in a lifestyle magazine, most readers just enjoy looking at the pictures and are only drawn to the text when something catches their attention and interest.
A downside to the digital formatting is that it must be viewed on a monitor, but electronic readers are on the rise and products, such as the new Apple iPad, will allow more portability, thus changing the way users will read and interact with digital magazines. “Women still want to have their glossy magazines, and I am one of them,” says Lea McIntosh, co-founder of Nesting Newbies, a new online shelter magazine. “But we have to face facts. Soon it won’t be cost-effective or eco-minded to produce print magazines any more. Right now we’re in a transition phase—print is phasing out and technology is moving in. Slowly but surely, more of us are embracing and really enjoying the change.”
Here’s a look at some of the independently published women’s magazines that are taking advantage of the transition:
Lonny Magazine (lonnymag.com)
The defunct Domino inspired its former market editor, Michelle Adams, to start Lonny, her digital interpretation of the popular magazine. The mission of Lonny is to show that good design and affordable design can coexist. Each issue features themed market trends, as well as a variety of homes and the people who live in them.
Nesting Newbies, for a home tweet home (nestingnewbies.com)
Nesting Newbies is a refreshing look at cooking, entertaining and decorating aimed at those who are new to nesting. The compelling images along with enough gravitas attract avid foodies and decorating enthusiasts, too. Chef Lea McIntosh puts a twist on tradition, and her intent is to make entertaining fun. The embedded video clips offer follow-along-how-to advice. The decorating section includes inspirational rooms from top professionals and easy do-it-yourself projects.
Premiere Designers (premieredesigners.com)
This digital magazine focuses on the trends, ideas and features about luxury interior design, architecture and antiques.
Southern Flourish (southernflourish.com)
Southern Flourish magazine is all about home, garden, food, travel, fashion and beauty from a new Southern point of view.
