Mood Board Modani

Dear readers, I received a very nice invitation from Modani Modern Furniture to create a mood board using some of their pieces. I get many requests like this, but am often unable to accept. I'm very strict about whether a company fits my aesthetic. The clean, modern lines of Modani is a definite fit.

As you know I'm planning to move soon. I've been paring down, and having fun fantasizing about decorating a new place from scratch.  I will, of course, have clean lines. It starts with a great place to sit, then adding accessories. Artwork, pillows, lamps and vases. Perhaps a rug and coffee table. Clutter won't do. It must appear modern, simple and restrained, and yet, also cozy.

Starting with the sofa. I am in love with the White Phantom Sofa. It can be used as a sectional or split up to create a cute conversation area.

I love a low scale sofa with legs, especially with white floors. I like my furniture to look like it's floating on a cloud. The clean lines of this sofa make it easy to layer in your favorite pieces. My other favorite piece is from the Modani site is the Eko floor lamp.

The sensuous shape of the Eko satisfies both my addiction to lamps and my addiction to pottery. So that's where it started. I decided to take a cue from my recent wardrobe additions, and add a gray accent wall to come up with a cool bachelor pad for an international man of mystery.

Although, I think a woman could live here as well!  The low scale of modern Italian design works very well with Asian design.  So I decided to add my two of my all time favorites:  the Noguchi Akari lamp and the Noguchi coffee table.

Sources clockwise starting at left:  Noguchi Akari lamp, Eko lamp showed here in staggered sizes. Not sure if the Eko is available in different sizes. If not, it should be - it looks fabulous in multiples. Love the organic shape. Artwork is one of my photographs. A Brutalist lamp from Etsy shop owner We Love Lucite, adds just the right amount of edge. Man I love that lamp! End table from West Elm is the perfect place to stash coasters, corkscrew, remotes, chargers, candles, lighters, etc. Metallic pillows from Modani. Hot pink pillow also from Modani, because all rooms should have a pop of hot pink. Luxurious Mateo rug in pewter also from Modani.  Noguchi coffee table in ash. Silver ottoman from MoroccoDeco.

I couldn't stop there, I had to design a girly pad too. This pad is for the busy super model for those times when she needs to stretch out and chill. Perhaps she's even dating the international man of mystery. But you know what Virginia Woolf said, girls need a room of their own. Okay, I paraphrased. But the sentiment is correct. Sometimes you gotta put your feet up and enjoy an unapologetically girly space that's all your own. And even though it's girly, it's still gotta have edge.

For her place I've used the Phantom sofa in gray. Moroccan wedding blanket from West Elm, end table also from West Elm, but I would probably bling out those knobs with something like this:

from Anthropologie. Hot pink pillows from Modani, pink ottoman also from MoroccoDeco. Art on the wall is from Lime Crime.  I think these pieces would look great in the loft apartment I featured below. A girl can dream, right?

Check out Modani Modern Furniture's website here.  If you'd like to see their pieces in person, here is a link to their store locations.

Good Things are Happening in Cleveland

I took a mini vacay to my old stomping grounds in Cleveland last week and experienced a whole gamut of emotions. Somehow I took a wrong turn and ended up on Denison, a little south of my destination. Anyone who doesn't know what poverty is like (thinking of some politicians) should take a drive down Denison. I was in utter shock. I've only been gone for about two years, and it looked like a war zone. The streets and sidewalks were caving in. Buildings were being torn down, but many were simply falling down. The holes in the streets were so large I feared for my car. I literally drove about two miles per hour, it took me almost an hour to travel about 10 blocks. Poor people lined the streets, and many came up to my car. Presumably to beg for money, I was too chicken shit to roll down the window. I ached for my city. I've watched my city decay over the years, but this. This was something new. Decay mixed with criminal neglect. If I knew how to use my new Android phone, would have taken video, put it on YouTube and hope that someone notices. But it was not meant to be.

I almost turned around. But I didn't. I headed north, close to where I used to live. I intended to go to Gordon Square, which I hear is really happening. Instead I ended up a little west of there, and was pleasantly surprised to see some exciting shops sprouting up. This yellow reindeer caught my eye, so I had to pull over.

This cool fella is the mascot of an awesome store called Heck's Revival. I peeked in the window and had to go in.

I almost peed my pants when I walked in this store. I didn't know where to look first! The owner and I are clearly kindred spirits - with a love of pink and turquoise. I used to paint furniture back in the day and dreamed of having a little store like this. But my skill level was no where near hers. I knew it was going to be tough getting out of there without spending money.

Isn't this lamp bitchin'? I really wanted it but resisted the temptation. Such a lamp tramp I am. And dig those turquoise walls. I wish I could paint an accent wall turquoise in my living room.

The owner is very talented. Not only does she paint furniture, but she also reupholsters. I love this little chair recovered in fabric from a vintage dress.

Check the Saarinen chair!  I think I need to have mine painted.

I've never seen a peacock chair looks as fabulous as this one.  I love it in pink!

Cute bench reupholstered in shiny silver fabric.  I'd love to have this in my entry way!

As you might have guessed, these bad boys went home with me. I couldn't help it. She gave me a good price.  Heck's Revival is a great place to get something fabulous for your home, and the owner is a sweetie. I had a lot of fun talking vintage furniture and color with her.

As it turns out I had a guitar pick table (like the one above) in the trunk of my car. I found this table on the curb! I had intended to sell it.  But when I attempted to sell the table to another dealer - the trunk wouldn't open! Upon seeing her custom work, I decided to have her paint it. And wouldn't you know, the trunk opened without a problem! Must be meant to be! I really love the shape of the table, but not the color. That's all I'm going to tell you, I'll keep it a surprise until it's done.

Next door to her shop is a Multi Cultural Barber Shop. That's what it said on the sign. I like that. The dude that owns the joint is cool and let me take his picture. I was excited to see vinyl by Grace Jones on his wall.

She is the shit. I miss my vinyl collection. I had a lot of fun talking to these cool peeps. Then I drove back to Akron feeling very grateful.

For photos of the barber shop, see my urban photojournal here.

For photos of post industrial decay that I also took that day, see my urban photojournal here.

My Apartment for Today

Spent my Saturday cleaning, rearranging and organizing.  This place is finally starting to feel like a home.  It takes a while.  Felt like lightening up.

I'd like to have the legs cut on my Parsons end table, to lower its scale.  If interested in the boring details, see post below.  More pics tomorrow.  Hope you are enjoying your Saturday as much as I am enjoying mine! xo

My Apartment: The Process and Some New Stuff

Good day dear readers!  Hope you are doing well!  This was a difficult week for my family and me.  We had a death in the family.  Unfortunately, with death brings drama.  Some members of my family acted ... hmm...how to phrase nicely.... let's just say I'd would've preferred to be treated differently. I can't understand why at my advanced age I still allow my feelings to be hurt.  But, there it is, I am sensitive. My girl Haley asked me what I expected.  Right.  This person has been treating me this way for 52 years.  Why would it all of a sudden change?  Why am I still surprised? That's what the Buddha meant by letting go of attachment and expectation. I keep expecting her to change, she does not, I allow it to hurt.  She doesn't hurt me, I allow her to hurt me.  If I let go of the expectation, then I no longer give her the power to hurt me.  Simple.  But not easy.  Also had drama with lawyers, doctors and the heat is friggin' killing me.  

You know how it is with chronic illness.  Like anything else.  Good days/bad days.  You learn not to take anything for granted.  Pain is bad today and changes in my meds have me sick as a dog.....but.....

Even though I felt like shit, I spent some quality girl time with my sister-in-law yesterday.  Just the prescription I needed.  Always feel great after that.  She's a world traveler so she had a ton of gifts for me!  Ah, it's great to be queen.  I'm stuck in the A/C again, but...it's not really a complaint.  You know my apartment is small and  humble, and I love it!  I have a lot of new things today to show you.  Yes, it's a balance.  I'm a lover of beautiful things, but I still want simplicity.  I'm moving slow, but I'm having fun.  Since I didn't suffer with insomnia last night, I am having a cup of my favorite Colombian coffee, and the music is loud.

Here's how my living room looked this morning. I experimented with not using a rug, I get so sick of straightening it.  It looks odd to me without it, though.  I hate carpet!  I miss wood floors and wish I could paint the walls.  Oh well.  I'm lazy anyway.

Wish I could afford a new rug.  It's crazy what rugs cost!  I'd love to have something that looks tie-dyed or even perhaps a Moroccan wedding blanket.  Oh well.  I have a lot of pretty new things, take a look:

  

How fab is this!  A beautiful pink tea kettle.  This was a mothers' day present from my adopted daughter Haley.  I gotta lot of love in my life.  So grateful, honored and humbled.

As you know, my new favorite color is gray!  I almost fainted when I saw these pieces at the Goodwill!  ASA Selection tea pot and tea cups!  You already know I am obsessed with ASA Selection pottery.  Such perfection and simplicity.  I have been coveting this set for a long time.  I first saw the set at a gift shop in Cleveland.  $54 for the tea pot and four cups, too much for my cheap ass. I spied this lovely set from a distance and couldn't get over there fast enough.  Okay, it's only got two cups, but who cares?  I got this set for $3.00!  Yep, $3.00.  Score.  I have one other piece of ASA Selection pottery.

My beautiful footed bowl.  I bought this years ago for $24.  I thought it was ridiculously priced at the time, but had to have it.  It is so perfect in its simplicity.  It's very tactile, as pottery should be.  Matte finish, my favorite.  And did you know a beautiful piece of pottery will sing?  This one makes a beautiful sound when you run your finger around the edge.  Kinda like a Tibetan prayer bowl.

Here is another vase I got at the Goodwill.  Beautiful simple shape, beautiful matte finish.  It's marked made in Thailand on the bottom.  I'm sure this was available at Ikea at one time.  Got it for $1.00!  I'm fighting the urge to paint it hot pink, cuz it's already perfect.  I tend to paint vases that are not perfect.  Pictured along with the vase is part of my rock collection.  Yep, another obsession.  I love rocks.  Loving beautiful things and maintaining a simple, uncluttered look is all about balance.  Sometimes I panic that I have too much stuff.

I've finally committed myself to decorating my balcony.  But I gotta do it on the cheap.  Here is a cute solar lamp I got at Target.  Not cheap.  $9.99.  Almost didn't buy it.  But do love it.

Yep, another obsession.  I admit it.  I'm really five years old and I play with toys.  I have a few of my favorites in my cute little damaged, yellow lacquer box (for the story of this little box, click here).  I love toys, but can't figure out how to display them since I don't like clutter.  May have to have some custom furniture built by Antonio Ballatore.  Maybe I'll do a vertical wall toy display when I when the lottery.  But for now it pleases me that I have a toy box on my end table.

I've been looking everywhere for a pink light bulb, to no avail.  I finally found a red one at Target.  I kinda dig it.  Nice cheap way to add some spice to your living room.

Meet my new coffee table!  Isn't she gorgeous?  Oh gosh, I just can't get enough of neon colors.  Especially love how the cover is balanced by the black and white stripes.  I have a blanket stashed in there, I love my A/C so much that sometimes it feels like a meat locker in here.  I love covering up while watching Rules of Engagement. (I'm obsessed with this show, I watch it over and over - it's hilarious!)  Since my place is small, I love using multi-functional, easily moved pieces.  I got this at Target for $19.99, which is a pretty good price.  It was all I could do not to buy two more ottomans.  I was digging the square ones, in a neon pink and turquoise.  Love those colors together.  But desperately trying to exercise some restraint.  Not always easy, humans sure make some beautiful things.

Speaking of beautiful things, here is a little glass garden I put together in my living room.  As you know, I love vessels.  Ceramic and porcelain are my first love, but I dearly love glass as well.  For some time now, I have been mixing glass and ceramic in my display.  But for today, I thought I'd do a glass display and a ceramic display.  All are pieces I got on the cheap (including that Murano-looking blue piece - $3 at the Goodwill!).  The little blue flower bowl to the right is an expensive piece.  It was a gift from my sister-in-law who, as you know, buys me the most beautiful gifts.  I dearly love it.  She got it in Seattle!  One of my favorite cities.  Click here for my series on Seattle.  I put it on top of a glass piece I got for cheap at TJ Maxx, to give it the place of prominence it so deserves.  This little glass garden has two influences.  One is the great Dale Chihuly.

The other is this pic from my paper inspiration file which, thankfully, is dwindling thanks to digital technology.  (O at Home, Winter 2008)  Paper can be so hard to manage.  I strive to be as paperless as possible.  I know it seems like an unlikely color combination, but I love the color combo of blue and orange.  To see my other blue and orange experiments in a previous apartment, click here and click here.

Sister-in-law brought this promotional flyer for me to see.  She knows me so well.  The flyer shows amazing pieces by Benjamin Moore.  His work is amazing!  I particularly love pieces that are miraculous exercises in balance.  I wonder if Benjamin was inspired by the great Elsa Rady's Cycladic Swing.  I'm going to send him a message and I will update.

Here is yet another fine gift from sister-in-law.  A mug from the original Starbucks' store!  And my favorite place in Seattle, Pike Place Market.  I love the graphic art on the mug.  I love Seattle, I dream of living in a loft over Pike Place or in a house boat.  As you know, I dearly love rain.

Here's yet another new vase from the Goodwill.  I know, I know. I have a lot of stuff.  I am organizing today, though, and some stuff is getting donated. I do love organization.  This beauty was only $1.00.  Love the shape.  Thinking of painting my bookcase white (again).

And because even the most mundane object, must be beautiful:  pink dishwashing soap by Palmolive and pretty sponge.  The sponge was a gift from my favorite cousin.  Man my peeps sure buy me some good shit. Stay tuned to see how my apartment turns out.  Happy Saturday my loves!  xo

My Apartment for Today

I celebrated my birthday recently and my mom gave me money to buy pretty things for my apartment.  Thanks mom!  I was ecstactic.  Seems like it's been forever since I actually bought anything.  My mom knows I'm picky and sometimes our tastes differ. However, we avidly agree that that color is magical and has the power to cheer you up.  So my favorite cousin and I went shopping.  First stop TJ Maxx.  I admit it.  I'm addicted to TJ Maxx.  It has replaced Target as my go-to for cheap home accessories.

Here's a couple of pieces I considered.  I really love this ottoman.  It was made of a soft vinyl and I love the quilting.  At $24.99 it was very reasonable, but it wasn't quite the color I wanted.  I had my heart set on a hot pink ottoman.  I also considered this lamp.  Really cute shade, love the simple white base.  But, I have my heart set on a very retro looking over sized lamp.  I know I'll find it eventually.

Something like this.  I love the teal color, love the shape and would love to have an over sized lamp shade.  I don't remember where I got this image.  Probably Etsy.  From TJ Maxx we went to Burlington.  Where I got this gorgeous pillow for $12.00!

I've been wanting to add some chartreuse to my decor.  I think it looks lovely with the hot pink sofa cover.  The stitching is very beautiful.  I really haven't been a huge fan of patterned pillows, but Hilari Younger may have changed my mind.  I adore the pillows she used in the final challenge of Design Star All Stars (see previous post here).

I also found this cute ottoman at Burlington.  A little small in scale, but I don't care!  It was the last one so it was only $9.99!  Perfect color and it provides storage for my winter blankets.  Did I mention I love hot pink?

High/Low

It's a difficult balance to be design-obsessed with no money to spend.  On the other hand, having no money to spend forces creative solutions.  I am always more interested in how resourceful people become when faced with a design challenge like a small budget or a small place.  Still, wouldn't it be great to decorate a room - just once - where money was no object?   I am always trying to come up with new ways to display my pottery collection.  I like open display, but am tired of the ubiquity of Ikea's Expedit and its many copy cats.

The gorgeous Kansai Bookcase from Anthropologie is haunting me.  I love its severe geometry and its simplicity.  I would love to set this between my living room and kitchen, still giving the look of an open space.  Ah, but at $1,200 it is not to be.  I wish I could build furniture, but I am sure this is difficult even for a skilled builder.

It seems my list of wants for my apartment goes on and on.  I'd love to have a new ottoman.  This shiny teal one from Target would fit nicely.  The price of $89 is comparatively reasonable, but still too high for me.  So I keep my eye on the Goodwill.

Here is a piece I had to pass on at the Goodwill, and it broke my heart.  It was only $5.00!  I would love to paint this baby yellow (like this dresser in previous post) and add some new handles.  And look at those cute little legs!  It's difficult to be an artist without a pick up truck or a studio.  But I will not give up, I will find a new medium that is clean and non-toxic.  Because I must create, I have no choice.

Color Obsession: Sage

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you already know of my love affair with color.  I used to decorate my apartment in all white, and I still really love all white interiors.  But ever since I got a taste of using color, I'm addicted.  I can obsess about a color for days, and it brings me great joy.  I've been obsessing about lilac a lot lately, which led me to think about sage.  Sage looks great with lilac.  Sage is such a beautiful, versatile color.  It evokes images of nature, it can be used with cool or warm colors.  Here are some pictures from my inspiration folder.  I'm sure you will agree that sage is a very beautiful color.

This is one of my favorite rooms of all time!   I adore the undecorated, almost careless way  this  room is styled.  This is harder to pull off than it looks.  Whenever I attempt carefree decorating, it just looks messy. I  am completely smitten with the Finn Juhl sofa.  It's one of my favorites and it looks great in sage.  The sage  sofa looks fab with the pops of lilac provided by the rug and pillow.  Image from Domino.

 

This beautiful room is from the Crate and Barrel catalog.  I adore the sage chairs coupled with the yellow sofa.  Look at that gorgeous fireplace!  This is my fantasy fireplace I'd like to have in my fantasy atomic ranch.  It's simple and not overdone.  Love the white subway tiles, and I love starbursts over a mantel.  Beautiful pottery display on the mantel provides continuity with sage and yellow being repeated.

I love monochrome collections in simple shapes.  I adore this collection of sage McCoy Floraline pottery.  Simple objects gain power when clustered together and still remain uncluttered looking due to the consistency  of the pieces.  Image from Cottage Style magazine, Fall/Winter 2010.

These beautiful gourd lamps look great in sage, and look great paired with the Chinese buffet in aqua.  Works very well in this earthy dining room.  Image Cottage Style, Fall Winter 2010.

Here is an example of sage being used in a light and airy room.  Sage is a great neutral and a pop of it fits in almost any color scheme.  I love the blue curtain panel paired with the sage panel.  Image via the Designers Guild.  BTW - have you seen their new line of sofas?  I love all of them!  I need to do a post on them.

Another light and airy room, also one of my favorites.  I love the low scale of it and the use of color here is amazing.  Sage throw, gray rug, yellow and lilac pillows.  Colors you might not  think of combining.  It works because of the white walls and the fact that pattern is kept to a minimum.  Image Elle Decoration, April 2010.

Sage and blue pop in this beautiful rug.  A cool contract to the otherwise warm room.  Image Atomic Ranch, Spring 2006.  (Can you tell that I am doing a lot of magazine reading while being home bound?) Fab painting by Judy Gittlesohn.

I am in love with these ottomans!  They look fabulous with the black and white rug.  I'd like to have four of them.  I'd do a cute Moroccan influenced seating arrangement in the alcove in the front of my apartment.  It's fun to dream.  Today my dreams are made of sage.  Gorgeous ottomans available from Etsy user Fabulous Mess.