Category Archives: Colour

Time to Recline

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There is nothing better than getting supine in the summertime!  Stretching out and enjoying the sunshine atop a fabulous chaise lounge.  As we head towards the weekend I thought I would share some beautiful chaises to put you in the mood to lay back and relax.

The first chaise is the Faz Tumbona by Vondom.  www.vondom.com.  This contemporary modular chaise designed by Ramon Esteve is available in 11 fabulous colours.

The Canasta Chaise Longue by Patricia Urquiola for B & B Italia www.bebitalia.it is both traditional and contemporary in design.

Next is the Tropicalia Chaise from Moroso www.moroso.it.  The design envisages a tubular steel structure with complex geometrical shapes, embellished with a clever weft of threads that alternate solids and voids to a specific pattern, paying meticulous attention to detail.  Fun!

The Papillon Contoured Chaise by Michael Berman for Brown Jordan www.brownjordan.com is a contemporary take of a design classic.  This chaise’s curvilinear and cocoon-like shape with wing details echoes that of the papillon (butterfly).

The Bask Lounger from CB2 www.cb2.com is a study in sleekness.  This minimalist reclining lounger in grey-on-white stands on its own or looks great en masse poolside or dockside.

Have a great weekend!

Donald “Duck” Dunn

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Donald “Duck” Dunn, the legendary bass guitarist of Booker T. and the MG’s died this past weekend at the age of 70. Dunn was notable for his 1960’s recordings with Booker T and as a session bassist for Stax Records. It was Dunn’s bass lines recorded on many songs of the 1960’s that gave the world its ‘groove’; Otis Redding’s “Respect”, Sam and Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign”. The influence of this ‘groovy’ music also had a large impact on fashion and décor of the 1960’s as you can see in these photos.

The popular Better Homes and Garden Decorating Ideas was the magazine of the time that captured home décor as seen in this 1960 issue.

 

Colour blocking and swirls were very popular for patterns of fabrics as seen in everything from furniture to clothing. The Rive Droite chair designed by Patrick Norguet covered in Pucci fabric.

 

Airline stewardesses circa 1960.

The lava lamp was invented in 1963.

 

‘Mid-Century Modern’ furniture was in full swing with Eames, Platner, and Panton to name a few creating the design classics of the 20th century.

 

This white Panton Chair designed in the 1960’s feels very similar to these ‘mod’ Go Go Boots designed by Clark Shoes in the 1960’s.

 

Fringes on lamp shades, doorway curtains and clothing were all the rage. Tie-dye, shag carpet, peace signs were signs of the times also. As we bid a final farewell to Donald “Duck” Dunn his legacy will live on forever in the music and the ‘groovy’ influences of that music that reverberated into décor and fashion.

BHG.com/Allmodern.com/Planetlava.com/Vitra.com/Candysays.co.uk

 

 

 

Art – Wherever, Whatever

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Art.  A word that describes a diverse range of activities.  Visual art – painting, sculpture, photography, film etc.  Interactive art – music, theatre, dance, literature etc.  Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that is art.   Last year while shopping in NYC I saw this store display of all white mannequins dressed in all white clothing. (I don’t even remember what store; there were lots!)  It was the layering of white that the stylist had assembled with pops of colour which made me stop and admire.  Art – and it was not in one of the many NYC galleries either.   I took a photo and loved the result. Reminds me of a room with all the furniture slipcovered in white and the beautiful azure blue ocean just outside the window.

Photo #1 – Modmissy, Photo #2 Houzz.com

Have a Royal Weekend!

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Luxury is often associated with royalty.  But must we be royalty to indulge in royal living?  This weekend marks the 1st anniversary of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton.  To commemorate the first year of marriage, tradition calls for gifts of paper or in the UK, cotton to be exchanged.  How sweet.  Instead I thought you would rather have a glimpse into royal luxury where details like original, hand carved, gilded come to mind.  And silk, velvets and hand-woven damasks are the norm.  Soaring ceilings, grand staircases, opulent drawing rooms are everyday.

The 1st photo is of the Grand Staircase of Buckingham Palace.  Notice the magnificent gilt-bronze balustrade with detailed scroll work which is duplicated in the gilt-plaster on the walls.  And the larger-than life family portraits are grand in size too.

The next photo is the White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace.  The word ‘opulence’ comes to mind here.  Large gilded mirrors, yellow silk, massive crystal chandeliers.  Notice the doorway and the detail of the trim.  Beautiful!

This is the Crimson Room of Windsor Castle.  Is the colour combination of crimson and gold not totally stunning!?  Once again, massive crystal chandeliers, gorgeous silks and an area carpet that is probably larger than the square footage of my entire home!

This is the Waterloo Chamber of Windsor Castle.  Notice the length and shine of the very, very long table.  Like all the above photos, it is the soaring ceiling heights that have me mesmerized.

We can’t all live in Buckingham or Windsor Castle but our home/condo/apartment is our castle.  This weekend in honour of the anniversary indulge and pamper yourself with life’s luxuries.  Soak in a bath with scented soap and a stack of fluffy towels.  Drink tea out of a china tea cup and nibble on ‘petit fours’ served on silver.  Toss some silk cushions on your sofa.  Sit back and be served!  Enjoy.

Smile – it’s the Weekend!

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This past week has been a little grey outside and the weekend is calling for rain.  Therefore I believe that the upcoming ‘colour’ forecast calls for some cheery yellow.  Add a splash of yellow in your life like this Pantone Yellow M colour chip.

If you are brave enough paint a feature wall in a guest bedroom, the inside of a cabinet or a small piece of furniture.  If that’s too much how about listening to soothing sounds from a Tivoli radio. www.tivoliaudio.com

How about pumping up the energy of a neutral kitchen with the Jake chair from Room and Board www.roomandboard.com .  Takes tea time to a whole new level.

This contemporary yellow sofa from www.bebitalia.it would definitely create a statement.

So wherever you find yourself this weekend I hope it is a cheery one. And remember – smile!!

Blue Shutters

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Taking advantage of the nice weather yesterday I decided to get some exercise while the sun was still shining.  As I passed by this home now vacant and under major renovation the words of Forrest Gump played in my head, “You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes”.

Well there were no shoes lying about or construction boots either but the tell-tale signs were still present – the blue shutters.  The house had been sold and the previous owners are gone but the shutters still tell the story of who used to live there.  The shutters shade of blue was a paint colour very popular in the 1960’s and unless the previous owners were a young couple with a penchant for retro colours (which I highly doubt) this was the home where Grandma and Grandpa had lived for decades.   Colours have history.  In 1961 the Dulux® paint colour guide included Summer Blue, the same shade as these blue shutters.  Dulux no longer includes Summer Blue in their colour palette.  It’s dated.  (Just like clothing with huge shoulder pads that scream 1980!)

Blue is still a popular colour but it is the shade and hue that has changed to make it more current and up-to-date.  In the midst of all this renovation one can still tell that this home had been greatly loved and meticulously taken care of and I am sure the new owners will do the same but the blue shutters will be gone and replaced with colour that is more 2012-like.

My Desire for Pink

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This spring I have had a real desire to decorate with colour – especially pink.  I have never been a ‘pink’ person but I have been imagining my décor with hits of this bright hue.  It could be that the neutral colours of winter have me wanting anything but taupe, linen and grey.  I have been imagining how fun it would be to have something like this bright pink sofa from www.jamesstuartduncan.com and decorate a room around it with other hits of colours like juicy orange, sunshine yellow and chartreuse green.

So this past weekend I went shopping…..but for clothing/shoes/accessories.  Something I love to do!  A session of retail therapy always works wonders.  Of course a change of season is always a good excuse to go shopping too!  My subconscious mind must have been preprogrammed because the first thing that I found was a pink (actually raspberry) patent purse from www.badgleymischka.com.  I realized that my desire for colour had transferred over to my wardrobe.  It was way over my budget but I had to have it so I justified it by the fact that it cost a lot less than the pink sofa.

This purse became the ‘springboard’ for the shopping adventure that followed.  Those who know me will agree that generally I dress in black and white not bright colours so this shopping spree was a departure from the norm.  My eyes scanned the racks of clothing looking only for pinks, oranges, purples and chartreuses.

So this is what I came home with.

Whereas had I gone furniture shopping I would likely have come home with this – same colours, different pieces  Funny how that works!

Sofa and Chair: www.jonathanadler.com  Bouquet Chair: www.moroso.it    Lacquered Trays: www.westelm.com    Striped Pillow: www.roomandboard.com  Chartreuse Pillow:  www.westelm.com

 

 

 

Shedd Aquarium

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On a trip to Chicago I visited the Shedd Aquarium.  Considered to be one of Chicago’s no. 1 cultural attractions where visitors can make ‘inSheddible’ connections with over 30,000 animals, from snails to whales.  Initially I thought, boring…., but I was actually quite captivated.  Along with seeing beautiful fish and lots of creeping and slithering animals I was amazed at the amazing kaleidoscope   of colours.  Design takes its inspiration from nature and the colours at the Shedd definitely showcased this.  So I thought I would share some of my Shedd photos and parallel them to furniture pieces from Moroso www.moroso.it

All animal images via Modmissy.  All furniture images via Moroso.it

My Pysanky

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One day when my son was very young he asked me, “hey mom, what’s with the Easter bunny?”  Wanting to set a good example by always telling the truth I explained to him that actually there was no bunny that secretly came hopping into our house leaving eggs behind.  I explained that the eggs (that I hid for him) represented spring and all the new life that is born at this time of year. Ie. Spring flowers, baby birds, buds on the trees, and of course bunnies.  He thought this was a good answer.  As traditions go, each year at this time my sister-in-law (SIL) has an egg painting/tea party for all her female friends and family.  All of us gather on a Sunday afternoon to share stories, eat, drink tea and paint eggs.  My SIL inherited her mothers collection of beautiful bone china tea cups, so to honour her mother and the tea cups we celebrate.  A good friend of my SIL has taught us, or ‘patiently’ tries to teach us, the Ukrainian method of painting ‘pysanky’.  Pysanky are Ukrainian Easter eggs decorated using a wax-resist (batik) method.  Using a stylus or ‘pysak’ the design is written with beeswax melted onto the egg.  The egg is then dipped into coloured dye and then more beeswax is applied creating a layering of pattern.  The application of beeswax in sequence with dipping into dyes in order of light dyes to dark dyes creates the pysanky.   Historically in Ukrainian culture the pysanky were made at night when the children were sleeping.  The women in the family would gather together secretly and create the pysanky to give to their family.  The patterns and colour combinations were handed down from mother to daughter and carefully guarded.  To give a pysanka is to give a symbolic gift of life.  Each year at this time I display my pysanky in a crystal bowl that I inherited from my mother.  My pysanky designs are improving but it is the gathering of women, drinking tea and sharing that I think is real special.

Images via Modmissy