Mina favoriter - soffbord

Fick en förfrågan av Sara om jag inte kunde ge lite tips på snygga soffbord, så här kommer några av mina egna favoriter. Det blev en hel del svart, men nästan allihop går att få i andra utföranden.

Uppifrån och ner:

Elliptical Table ETR av Charles & Ray Eames. Bild från Paustian.

Gitt från Hay och C1 coffee table från Peter Boy Design.

Hockney och She från David Design.

Itomaki från Svenssons i Lammhult.

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I mitt eget vardagsrum har vi efter lite runtflyttningar i huset just nu det här från Plywood Group av Charles & Ray Eames. Inhandlat för ca tio år sen på rea hos Olsson & Gerthel i Malmö.

"Real" vs. "Kitsch"

As you know, I'm constantly trying to define my style, hone my skills & figure out what works & what doesn't work in spaces. Well, a concept I often think about is real or authentic design, art & accessories. vs. what make something kitsch or scripted or forced or "decorated."

I used to be THE culprit of kitsch when I started out. I wanted my college apartment bedroom to feel like a conservatory, so up went a huge painting of a conservatory & palms & a whole dollar store's worth of fake flowers along with it. eesh (I've mentioned this room before & still haven't found a picture of it- my albums are in storage!)

Anyway, since kitsch is often one of the easiest & cheapest things to do and one of the most readily available, we see it a lot in real life. Picture the person who wants their house to feel like a farmhouse so they buy farmhouse dinnerware:

When instead they could do something more authentic, like this home from Country Living, below:

Using materials & details that would possibly be used in a true farmhouse make this space authentic. The cow print is a fun playful addition to the room & it's not trying to be anything more than it is. The white ironstone is appropriate & beautiful.

Or picture the person who wants a Tuscan-feeling kitchen & fills it with an unusable amount of bottles of oil in the kitchen,

or dishcloths with winebottles on them, wine bottle artwork and throw in a mass-produced Tuscan scene or two. Now I do not mean to judge here, merely to get us thinking. I have been the culprit of this many a time. I think it's a really easy way of designing to get into for the inexperienced & I've SO been there. (how do you think I can describe this room so perectly?! ;)

But the interesting thing is how to figure out how we can evolve out of it, to figure out ways to create the spaces we desire without being inauthentic. To really evolve & become better. I like this styled buffet from Pottery Barn, below. It gives the Tuscan feeling without being as obvious:

Why show a picture of a bottle of wine with no intrinsic artistic value when you can simply have a wine rack? (This isn't to say that I think art with wine in it can't be beautiful, because I've actually very recently seen some amazing art with wine bottles in it) And, why have a picture of a potted palm when you can just head to Home Depot & grab a real one? (yeah, I know, you have to keep it alive ;) And I'm not talking about botanical prints of palms (which I love & I do think of as authentic), I'm talking about the early 90s looking artwork:

If you have stuff like this home, don't feel bad. Just maybe take a minute to reevaluate it. Ask yourself if you actually love the piece or if you just picked it up because it was inexpensive & came in 4' by 3' & fit the "theme" and in the blank space above the sofa. If those are your reasons, I'd say ditch it. If you actually look at it & do love it, then work with it. Thomas Kinkade (below) is one of America's top-selling painters & his name is also one of the first that pops up when you google "kitsch art." A lot of people love his work & the happy feeling it gives them. I say that if you really love something even if it is considered inauthentic, then keep it. If you love it, it's authentic to you.

I also do think it's possible to be ok with certain aspects of kitsch. For example, check out this space in decorator Kirsten Hollister's kitchen (below image from turquoisechic.com) where she uses a bunch of kitschy little paintings of flowers & groups them together casually, irreverently & has fun with them. She's using them for the pops of color & fun they add to the room and it's not displayed as precious art:

And I totally have a thing for really cheap old paintings of landscapes, boats, people & the water. I get them for around $5- $30 & I absolutely love them. I know they're not great art and are considered kitsch, but something about them makes me happy. I think the key is to just display them casually or en masse. The way you display art says a lot about it. (Is it lit up & in a $400 frame? Then that baby better be art in your eyes!) Image below from interiordec.about.com:

Here's a $5 cheapie I love (below) that I have on my mom's mantle right now. It's just causually leaning there & it's not a permanent fixture. It doesn't speak to me in any profound way, it simply added the color & feeling I was on the mood for in the room. It's more to create atmosphere than to be gazed upon as a work of art.

On this road also comes the fabric question. There are those who say that flowers belong in vases & not on fabrics. I really do see the logic & realness to this idea, but I'm still not there yet. I still love a pretty floral on a pillow or blanket. (I'll write more on this later)

One thing I am learning through all of this is that I don't believe in absolutes when it comes to design. Make your rules, but if something comes along & doesn't jive with your rules & you're okay with that, break 'em! I just think it's important to be aware of why you're making certain decisions & to be aware of why you're breaking the rules.

("They're more like guidelines anyway." ;)

Tine K - en vår med hallon och mjölk

För ett tag sen kom Tine K med tre inspirations bilder i vitt för att ge en hint om den nya vita säsongen. Nu kom katalogen med härliga bilder som fokuserar på färgerna vitt, armé grönt, kolsvart och hallon. Klicka in och bläddra i katalogen här.

The Washington Post Santa!!

I wanted to thank Terri Sapienza so much for putting Pure Style Home on Blogwatch today in the Washington Post!! (For the recent post on my client's dressing room, 2 posts down.)

I was just sitting down for breakfast & opened up the Home Section to Blogwatch & was so shocked to see it on there!!! I started yelling because I was so excited & totally freaked my husband out because he thought something had happened with the baby. oops!

Anyway, it's like Christmas morning for design bloggers & Terri, thank you so much for being Santa! (Do you know how exciting this is for us?!!) I really appreciate it & can't tell you how great it was to call my grandparents & have them open up the paper to H2. ;)

ps- my dad read this post & was like, "I think you should tone down your excitement." Come on dad, do you know me?!!

Gallery Pascale

I tidigare inlägg har den häftiga ljusstaken 'Merry' av Anna von Schewen och även 'Skugga' av Alexander Lervik funnits med. De ingår i Gallery Pascales serie 'Collection Pascale' som är en kollektion av modern svensk design från några av de bästa svenska formgivarna. Stolen 'The Red Chair' ingår i 'Selection Pascale' som är en serie produkter tillverkade i begränsad skala.

Från den 4:e februari till 21 mars pågår en utställning - Stones - på Gallery Pascale med den finske arkitekten och designern Ilkka Suppanen som bl a designat för Cappellini och Iittala.

Dream Modern Kitchen Design and Pictures

I just came across my dream modern kitchen design that has most of the elements that I want should I be able to build in the future. The first thing that catches my eye in the pictures is the wine cellar storage underneath the island. I love the look it creates in the kitchen. If you are a wine fan, then this may be a nice touch. I will admit that there is quite a bit of storage so perhaps a scaled down version would be appropriate. One idea would be to put an ice maker or beverage cooler in one of the sections there. To the left of the wonderful Thermador refrigerator is a small station for a computer and cookbooks. What a nice idea! How often are you waiting for something to cook and have to stand in the kitchen? Here you can multi-task while spending your time there. You can also store all your recipes electronically which is a nice feature.

I do love the size of the kitchen island and the fact that there is a sink there. It would be easy to have barstools or furniture brought up on one side of the island for kids or guests. The stove and oven are beautiful. I love the size of this appliance and the amount of cook space it provides. I am not so sure about the cabinet color. I would maybe opt for a different color of kitchen cabinets. The sink along the right counter looks great with the window. I do like where the dishwasher is tucked into the space to the right of the sink. My favorite elements of this dream modern kitchen design are the wine storage, computer workstation, appliances, and size of the kitchen island. Pictures:

great luxury and stylish minimalist kitchen

minimalist Living Room designs

minimalist house

kitchen islands

black kitchens

Source: http://temi.repubblica.it/casa / via / http://freshome.com

Satsa på flera nyanser av en färg

Det blir otroligt effektfullt att tänka över sina färgval och satsa på en färg eller som här flera nyanser av en färg. Om man sen sätter denna 'färg' i en vit, eller svart/brun bas som i föregående inslag, får man en grund som håller samman inredningen. Sen kan man mixa stilar eller t ex loppisfynd utan att det ser konstigt ut. Inspirationsbilder från stylist Selina Lake.

Selina Lake har också gett ut en bok som heter Bazaar Style - Decorating with Market and Vintage Finds. Jag vet inte om den kommit till Sverige än, men håll ögonen öppna för jag tror att den kan vara riktigt intressant.