Yay, it isn’t 90 degrees in the studio anymore. I even finished 2 paintings in one stretch without sweating on everything! Of course, fall weather arrives mere weeks after I finally get a portable air conditioner.
Tag: interiors
Daily Vacation in My New Pad
I had some people ask for more photos of my new place, so here are some very non-styled (because I am lazy) photos of a few parts.
Here is a little bit of the lobby, we have fishy tanks that go all around, and a fancy intimidating front desk concierge. Stay outta here riff-raff!
I hate the carpet and the fact that it’s very cookie-cutter condo style, but the upside is that it makes me feel like I’m at a timeshare property and on vacation. Needless to say, anyone from Cleveland who has visited me so far is very weirded out by the formality and hotel feel when you walk through the lobby and the massive hallways. I’ve been hitting the sauna, hot tub, and pool, so I’m just going to keep pretending I’m on vacation and not in Ohio!
We still need some more lighting and a book case, but it’s coming together I think.
Hi Tina!
My husband finally has a music room/office.
Ride, Spiritualized, The Dandy Warhols, and Delta.
Baby cat Ike and Led Zeppelin.
This bedspread is so ugly and weird that I sort of like it now.
new Stanka Kordic painting in the bedroom.
Bedroom view, the sun wakes us up so early! That isn’t good on a 2nd shift schedule but we get up and go swimming at least.
Blood Moon of summer.
Yeah, it doesn’t suck.
Hideous or Fabulous?
Gayfryd and Saul Steinberg…
YSL…
Jayne Wrightsman…
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor…
Jackie Beat…
Kelly Werstler…
Sao Schlumberger…
Dita von Teese…
Coco Chanel…
Diana Vreeland…
Helena Rubenstein…
Tobias Meyer…
Sometimes the most expensive things can be made to look cheap, and the cheapest made to look valuable. I always find it interesting what is considered to be of good taste or chic; sometimes gaudy awfulness and avant-garde triumphs are so close, yet so far apart. Your thoughts?
The Table Setting
My husband and I will be co-hosting a New Year’s Eve party with several other couples next week. This will be my first time hosting anything NYE related; I have in the past usually ended up at a bar, the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Beach, someone’s house, had only a few friends over, or set off fireworks with punk squatters in an alley behind Hollywood Blvd. I’m sure there have been other scenarios that I just don’t recall.
So, I’ve been looking at party and table settings for inspiration. I came across some rather nice ones I thought I’d share. Makes me wish I used my good china and crystal more (I’ve yet to ever get proper flatware).
Here’s a Tony Duquette…
If I had servants, I’d do breakfast like this…
Helena Rubenstein, a rather understated setting considering her usual tastes…
Another Duquette…
Sparse, and shabby chic a bit…
Elsie de Wolfe. Hmm, dunno about this Elsie…
A cupcakes and champagne party dessert buffet…
Something a little rustic…
A very fancy TV dinner for two…
A still from one of my favorite movies,”Vatel” about an event planner to the French aristocracy who must throw together the most spectacular “low-key weekend in the country” for the king. If you’ve ever enjoyed period costume films and like entertaining, this movie is for you…
Coffee Tables Books That Do and Don’t Deliver
I’ve had my eye on this new puppy, being that fits in perfectly with my art and design coffee table book addiction in subject matter and so forth. But until I can thumb through it, I am wary. What if it doesn’t live up to my standards? Granted my standards might not be everyone’s, but I expect a bang for my buck.
As an artist I expect good photos — lots of photos, but the writing has to be there too. Here are books from my collection I think were worth it, and some that fell flat in my expectations.
Happy Times. Oh Lee, you gloss over everything and the photos aren’t even that good or well produced. The only thing cute is the illustrations from the book you did with Jackie.
The Fashion Book. Odd choices of photos to represent various brands, models, and designers. Maybe the reproduction rights for certain photos were too much, but really, it tends to bore except for a few highlights here and there.
Dictator Style. Small, bad photo reproductions, and not enough of a visual sampling considering the subject matter.
Bright Young Things. You wonder why some of these people were chosen, let alone many photos don’t even show off their pad. There are a few good ones here and there, but it is spotty. The profile on Serena Alschul, for instance, just shows her in front of a concrete wall because her apartment hadn’t even been finished yet!
A Privileged Life. Jayne Wrightsman is referred to as Jane — enough said.
Pad Parties. This one falls flat and has a bunch of things you’d probably never get around to actually doing, as opposed to the first book, where there was something for everyone.
Books that DO deliver…
Galliano. Need I say more? A good overview of his process, inspirations, important collections from school onward + part bio and philosophies behind staying true to the Dior tradition.
Over The Top. Just get it, even if you’ve never cared for her style or heard of her in the first place, just get it! Jewels, interiors, art collections, and old beauty treatments in gorgeous photos.
Design: Intelligence made visible. The motherload for any designer no matter what the product.
In the Kennedy Style. A good range of photos; Tish Baldrige writing in her usual style of name dropping that manages to be fun; anecdotes about various events, and recipes you can actually make at home that are easy.
100 Years of Fashion Illustration. Every kind you can imagine from every time period. A thick book with good reproductions.
Pad. A fun peek into various homes of L.A. creatives, it has resources and DIY projects as well. It makes me wanna do more stuff to my apartment every time I flip through it.
The Marchesa Casati. I talked about this before, but it’s a very comprehensive memoir and photo book of her and the art she commissioned from the days before she became what she was, and the inspiration she left after her death for designers of all kinds. The authors were clearly very passionate about this subject.
Coveting During Convalescence
When you’ve been banished to lounging in bed all day, you have a laptop, and you’ve nearly escaped a death sentence, getting bit by the shopping bug happens!
Admittedly this whole chances of cancer coming back in my life are 50/50 thing has me mildly freaked out. Granted it may not be until I’m 64 or something, but I had a nagging dread since this whole thing started that I’d have to deal with it again at some point in my life — it isn’t done with me yet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad my oncologist was frank enough to tell me not everything is all unicorns and lollipops, but because of this diagnosis, I’m becoming a little more bratty about things I want. After all, my new motto is, “because you never know, you could get leg cancer!” Some people turn all spiritual rather than go for the material, but come on, this is me we’re talking about! Have I mentioned how excited I am about my new fabulous cane that should be arriving shortly? It is the best present from everyone, ever.
After I’m better and mobile I’m probably going to move to bigger diggs, although in the same neighborhood because I love my area. Having all this time on my hands to browse interior design blogs has me itching to redecorate, get a new wardrobe, apartment hunt, and so forth. So hey, here’s a list of fun crap that I am coveting.
A black chandelier
New curtain rods, because my cats keep climbing my damn curtains despite how heavy they are getting.
A fancy French writing desk for le office.
A Dodge Challenger. Not that anything is wrong w/ the Toyota, I’m just planning ahead.
The entire Burberry fall 2010 collection, especially the green dresses and bomber jackets.
Zebra rug, because it would look great in my living room.
Some real jewels. Nothing outlandish, but this video about the Duchess of Windsor jewelry auction makes me marvel.
