The Estate of things

I’m in the process of doing some redecorating in my office and here’s Part I in case you missed it.

I’m in the middle of a lighting conundrum. You see, I was quite certain I wanted this.

I see it as abstract branches more than coral. But I have two concerns, 1. is it too beachy 2. it’s not stark white

So I did some looking around and I’ve got some alternates. But the results of my search have ended in a few conclusions. The main conclusion is that there isn’t really a lot out there for under $400 that is both stylish, isn’t a drum shade or paper pendant and provides more than 60 watts. Maybe I’m just missing it. If you’ve got any source suggestions I’d love to hear them.

Out of the budget but its ok to dream,

Turns out PB Teen has some good choices and I’m leaning heavy towards capiz shell,

 Could kick it bamboo/pagoda style or go vintage chinoiserie,

Bamboo tower

nice brassy sub for the Arteriors chandy above,

Soho 

a modern, sensible white chandy,

Robert Allen, Ebay

A more glamorous shell-like fixture,

Lamps Plus

Faceted and super delish but outside of the budget,

Furbish

Love this one but again not enough wattage,

 

Oval ring pendant

I started searching some ocean landscapes on Etsy and found some that I really think are fantastic and so I felt compelled to share.

So Massimo Vitali,

Coney Island

get lost in this,

Lontano

Uninterrupted

love the tie-dyed effect and the color combination,

Dawn of Creation

Misty Blue

New in store–the newest addition to your vintage, modern pottery collection?

Like so,

Ruffalo home, Domino

I’ve been working on re-doing my office and I’ve known for several months that I wanted to paint a room navy blue. I’ve flip flopped on which room it was going to be and then finally chose my office.

The chosen navy hue is Benjamin Moore’s Blue Note.

And I couldn’t be happier. Its just the right the depth, the right amount of blue and I requested an eggshell finish for a little sheen. I went standard white with the trim and this time I decided to use a satin finish instead of my standard semi-gloss.

So we’re off to a good start.

I’ve collected a couple of other things like this print from NC photographer Valerie Chiang,

When I showed my Mom, she said, “so what…she’s at the fair?”  So she clearly LOVES it. The print looks fantastic against the navy wall, perfect really.

And I found this vintage dresser at a thrift store for $60, it functions like a credenza. It needs to be painted white but for right now the natural finish is tolerable.

 I plan to scoop this horse-y for over the dresser,

Peek-a-boo

Or this b + w photograph–I’ve been watching this one for a while,

 Horse and Halter

I like the idea of a b + w image in this spot, I was inspired by the photo of the woman at the Lonny office, not sure if the image is by Patrick Cline?

 But on second thought I could always be persuaded by a good abstract ocean landscape,

Another element I’m waffling over is the light fixture. I was almost convinced that I would order this,

In a way, I consider it to be an affordable version of a Stray Dog Design. I was all set to order until I read the reviews. The most concerning was that it wasn’t pure white. I’m not really looking for an off-white or a gray-white in this room. And I don’t really know how I feel about paying that much and then spraying it white? 

And so everyday I look at more light fixtures in hopes that just the right one will emerge.

On first blush, you might say the shield mirror in the TEOT Etsy shop leans traditional. But because of its clean lines and classic shape its actually pretty versatile.

Here it is in a more traditional installation, Eddie Ross’ dining room

It would be a welcome addition to this gallery wall,

How does it translate in a modern bath, pretty well I’d say,

Massucco Warner Miller

But I think my favorite placement for it might be a boy’s room like this maybe,

or this one,

David Scott

Went, saw, conquered– the flea at the NC Fairgrounds.

DC snacked her way through the flea market on Saturday convincing her grandfather to buy her popcorn and ice cream all before lunch.

great color but broken

nice detail on the legs I thought.

This curious set was marked Walker Toffee.

Gray was just one of the many colors these might look good in, $80 for the pair. They were Broyhill.

the newest addition to our shop,

isn’t she a beaut! A Franco Albini ottoman ready to live in your space like so,

David Netto, Vogue, good post on Netto via Habitually Chic

The Brick House

unless specifically noted photo source via Pinterest

I went to LA in February and now its mid-April…gee where does the time go?

Better late than never.

I went to LA because my Dad decided to live one of his dreams. Its all part of his rock n’ roll fantasy…

Here he is doing his thing, it was really gratifying to watch someone fulfill their dream. I love the hell out of my Dad and on the whole I’d say he’s probably…the best Dad ever.

Lita Ford was there. Betsy said she used to tap out “Kiss Me Deadly” on the family piano at like 8 yrs old, wholesome childhood?…kidding Sandy. My Dad said Lita was doing a lot of talking on her cell about a nasty divorce, thats not very rock n’ roll.

 We were served tiny bananas at breakfast

Watch out for this vegetarians, a daring closeup of a juicy burger topped with gruyere at Father’s Office adjacent to H.D. Buttercup

Mom and I breezed through Buttercup, but I did see this ocean landscape which reminded me of the one Jenny hung over Joanna’s bed

Betsy has not been to my current house yet so I was drawing and explaining the layout and what I will one day do to it.

While sitting at the same hotel bar we had some FaceTime with my girls and then my husband took Betsy on an iPhone tour of our house.

Because we were staying in North Hollywood and we like to buy old stuff, naturally we would take Emily Henderson’s advice and hit the Lankershim Blvd vintage shops

So first we had lunch at The Federal Bar and wouldn’t you know– Emily Henderson herself walked in the door.

Betsy didn’t recognize her so I had to text her because Emily sat down at the table beside us and I didn’t want to be you know…whisper-y/dorky.

And then Emily went in to the ladies room at the same time Betsy did and then Betsy came out with Emily, introductions all around. Emily was very friendly.

Then we hit all of the stores on Lankershim and saw things like this,

For some reason, when Betsy and I have a photo taken of us together it doesn’t turn out that great. Oh well, all we need is the visual memory anyway.

What’s been going on with me, well mostly painting or intending to and endless yard work. Don’t we always have good intentions of doing some home/design improvement. I’m full of good intentions when it comes to design.

The results of a recent Iphone unload,

What happens when paint isn’t stored according to the directions on the can? Peanut butter paint–this is Martha Stewart’s Rainwater. 

These are all the colors I’ve sampled in my dining room. 1. Glacier Lake 2. Stonewashed 3. In Your Eyes 4. Silver Crest 5. Pale Smoke 6. Healing Aloe 7. Palladian Blue 8. Iceberg 9. Martha Stewart’s Rainwater

Healing Aloe is in the lead!

Healing Aloe is in the middle.

Really like this pot my Mom bought on OKL, its by Evergreen. She planted Japanese Forest Grass in there which is an awesome plant, great for borders.

Still at Mom’s place, Irish Moss in a bright blue square planter, like the color contrast.

Agave popping off, sorry I don’t know the variety but could find out if you really want to know

Dan and I seriously considered this print at Anthropologie, we like bunnies

Love the vintage dresser I bought at a local thrift store for my office re-do, got to paint her glossy white–I think

color happening in my office, Ben Moore’s Blue Note. Move over Hale Navy, this navy blue is fantastic

this is Ted, I bought this print from OKL, very pleased. I’m trying to collect mostly black + white art work to arrange over the bookcases in my living room, Ted is contributing to this effort.

Checking out some carpet for my Mom. Didn’t I see cheetah carpet in a little girl’s room recently?

 Oh and here’s my girl, Laney having fun under the IKEA play gym. Love that thing. 

I’m about to.

I’ve got two lighting obsessions as of late. Asian inspired lighting and what I call faceted lighting.

First– Asian lanterns,

I have a lot of respect for Markham Roberts, he is in my personal top ten. Remember when I gushed about Cosima Pavoncelli’s Long Island home that Roberts designed, yeah that was fun. Too bad the knuckleheads at Town & Country wouldn’t send me the back issue.

Roberts uses some Asian lanterns in some of the spaces he has designed. They are an unexpected and exotic element in an otherwise traditional space. 

my favorite example,

you can faintly see the white paper pendant,

this is most likely a wire cage lantern, wonder if it is antique and he had it wired?

more round paper pendants

If my dining room could talk it would ask me for a cool, wire lantern instead of the chandy that is currently taking up space there now.  I might answer the call with these,

Some other examples, all antique from 1st Dibs and you know what the means—expensivo.

this one is actually Turkish and is offered by Nathan Turner on 1st Dibs, 

My second lighting obsession is something I categorize in my head as faceted lighting. I think this particular style is referred to as faceted because it has a lot of smooth planes like a cut diamond or any kind of gem stone really.  

Faceted capiz pendant 

My stairwell is screaming for one of these pendants, I think it would be the perfect balance between traditional and modern. I’m pretty sure Thom Filicia was trying to achieve the same thing in the hallway below.  Upon taking a quick inventory you’ll notice—neutral wall color, heavy traditional moulding, abstract landscape art, traditional railing, maybe mid century bench. Looks like a good balance to me.

Thom Filicia

Edmond pendant by Arteriors

Frosty, clear or capiz—I think capiz shell is my favorite but I’m not eliminating clear glass from the field just yet.

Tetra Collection

 What kind of light fixtures are destined for your house?