When It Could be a Don't No. 15 - Classically Informal

 

Free thinkers get it, that's why I love them and count myself as one. One who thinks that living in a harmonious home doesn't mean design by the rules. Harmony in our home design means to be unforced, classically informal, each piece in harmony with the other - no single piece taking the limelight. Call it mismatch or grandmillennial style - a new term that defines an old and established design style, a tried and true design style that gets a fresh look. I call it taking all the pieces we love and finding their perfect place to be in harmony while translating our style.

I used to think that I needed five different houses to be able to depict all the design styles that I appreciate and love. But I have learned that all these different styles can live in one home beautifully. Think of the anchors in the room - what are they and how will they "play well with others"? How will these different styles be part of a peacefully and harmoniously designed home?

I have found over and over again when designing that if you are brave enough to introduce the unlikely into a space, it changes the entire feel in the room. It could be changing the piece from a predictable one to one less considered. It could be changing the function of a piece to a fresh use of that same piece. It could be taking a family heirloom from its dusty history and creating a new history that says this is where your place is in history now beautiful treasure. Believing that this is not sacrilegious in the lest.

Keep in mind that this is not to design around a compromise but rather a love for something so beautiful that it needs to be part of our home in some way. And this doesn't have to be major elements in the design plan. It can be as simple as pairing a very traditional accessory with a modern piece. Try it, step back, and ask yourself how it feels. 

How we feel in our home is a critical element in our design plan.

Be inspired! 

Sources: Southern Hospitality, My Domaine, Pinterest, Jenna Sue Design, Breeze Giannasio Interiors

Garden Design No. 31 - What Does A Painter, A Gardener, and A Leadership Book Have in Common?

 

British Artist, Cedric Morris (1889-1982) was the only person of his generation to achieve national stature as both a painter and a plantsman says the Garden Museum in London. And Sarah Price did him proud at this year's Chelsea Flower Show with her Painterly Garden display. 

This garden's design inspired by Morris' paintings, his love for bearded iris, he cultivated over 90 new irises - is dear to my heart. My Mom loved her garden row of bearded irises that was planted between our vegetable garden and our row of clothes line. She called them flag iris and the internet goes back and forth about the difference between the two designations. So we will just call them irises.

What I did learn about the iris flower is that it is said to symbolize power, with the three parts representing wisdom, faith, and courage. That definitely defines my Mom - wise, faithful, and courageous. 

I can only imagine what standing in Sarah Price's painterly garden, inspired by Morris must have felt like. The photographs of this garden alone, have me awestruck. I've never experienced the reverse story of a live object mimicking a painting, only a painting inspired by a live object. I'm grateful for the experience of the photographs and the story behind this garden design that in itself inspires me. 

So what does a painter, a gardener, and a leadership book have in common? One of the books I am currently reading is "The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership."  Commitment #2 - Learning Through Curiosity, challenges the reader to be "present now - totally available to the moment and to what the moment brings."

At first, I dove into this commitment with the thought of looking for every "live" moment and making sure I was present in that moment. But this strange collision of my love of flowers and paintings, curiosity in what was new at the flower show this year, and my latest unrelated read -  presented a new meaning to what a moment is exactly. 

Here's what I found, that when one is learning to align their interests with their purpose and growth,  more and more moments become aha moments I think because we are looking for them with expectation and our soul is craving them.

When an artist/botanist, a garden designer, a memory of my Mom, and a leadership book all collide, it's a beautiful moment.  Curiosity is a funny thing.

Sources: 2023 Chelsea Flower Show, Garden Museum of London, Gardenista, Pinterest, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

Gotta Love No. 60 - An Alternative to the Banquette

I'm loving this fantastic alternative to the banquette. Just like the designer handbag with its well-chosen embellishments adds to an outfit, the strap back fixed seating with its leather straps, buckles, and hardware adds to the seating in the area of our home or favorite restaurant that is our gathering place. 

The strap back fixed seating offers a solution to optimizing space in a fresh way. And the customization options are still as present as they are with banquette seating. I love how this alternative calls out to you to come take a seat and seems to promise a good visit. The perfect place to start your day.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good banquette, one that doesn't scream roadside diner, our foods amazing but excuse our benches. Whatever you do, do it with style and do it with comfort in mind. Make a meal an experience. 

 

Wall seating mixed with dining chairs on the opposite side allows a choice of seating that provides the guest the most comfort to their liking. The choice can come down to our mood at the time. Are we hunkering down with our latest read and the perfect cup of tea or are we grabbing a quick bite?

Just like any design element, be thoughtful in your decisions. You are creating an experience of living. Do have fun exploring strap back fixed seating!

Be inspired! 

Sources: Jaimie Baird, Interior Design Magazine, Jonathan Rachman, Focus Design, Tumblr, Italian Bark, Room for Tuesday, Pinterest

Rethinking the Look of Things No. 67 - Repeat, Repeat, Repeat - A Relection on Repetition

 

I have this thing for repetition, and yet it is easy to mistake it for boring if we aren't mindful to commit to a curious path in our every day lives. Our daily routine can become our purgatory if we aren't careful, our monotony. The phrase, nothing new under the sun could apply to the design world if we let it, introducing monotony into our homes. Design isn't about creating something new, it is about an artist's impression, an interpretation, originating a new idea from a familiar thing.

Repetition is retelling a story about a collection that we love. It can be as simple as the repetition of two like items in a space which creates balance, symmetry or it can be displaying a large collection of like items in an uncommon way to create drama.

The drama of repetition can be interpreted in many ways. Energetic. Glamorous. Charming. Alluring. Fun. Flirty. Elegant. Whimsical. Enticing. Playful.

Repetition's story can also be a perceptive lesson if we are paying attention. I think this is why it has me entranced. It's too simplistic to be meaningful. Or is it silently teaching us to develop in place and restore momentum?

The photo of the balloons flying up from the piano is explained by it's creator, Federico Piccirillo, a three-D motion designer as, “My new project is a study around light and space. I tried to show how something immaterial like music can fill the room with his beauty.…”.  This is impactful to me as an interior designer. The musical notes being represented by a repetitive dance of balloons all in the same color is a reminder of the responsibility of the designer in how the light and space in a room is filled when designing that space.

Most of my pins on my Pinterest board entitled, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat are retelling the story of simple objects. Taking the object, partnering it with more of the same in an atypical way. An artful way of rethinking the look of things and how we learn from them.

The statement of repetition in a design plan takes a hand of restraint so that is partnered with balance. This is no different than any other design element brought into a plan. In a well-designed space there needs to be a function given to each piece. A function of comfort, a function of mood, a function of art, a function of storytelling, a function of well being, a function of living. 

The responsibility of a designer is a radical one. We are creating a space that invites the client to restore momentum, develop in place, and be curious about life.

Keep in mind that repetition is not always found in our home's design. It can be found in our garden, on our daily walk, in our travels, our visit to that museum, at the train station we are at every day in route to work, on the shelf of our shoe cobbler, at our coffee shop, at our local park. Those locations that are repetitive in our daily routine or are our favorite spots we visit over and over again, bring lessons anew if we are paying attention.

I'm reminded of repetition in many ways but it all started with Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence... and elevated to something of deeper meaning for me.

Sources: AD Magazine, Style Court, Wine Republic, Conde Nast Traveler, Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest

Be Inspired No. 95 - Dad's Office

 

My dad, though he didn't know it, shifted from a style of vintage minimalist to vintage maximalist. He was a self-employed mechanic by trade, but was talented in so many other areas. Quite frankly he was a master problem solver when it came to any kind of machinery and woodworking. 

He applied this to furnishing his "home office." What did he need and that was what it was furnished with, no more - no less. However, the surfaces of those pieces were often askew with collections of whatever happen to be in his hands at any given time. I use the word home office in quotes because his office was a minimal sized building separate from our house, sitting right next door to the garage that housed his 1937 Chevy that only came out on Sundays.

This office was the space where his side hustle used car business was handled. He flipped cars before flipping cars was even a thing. Purchasing a well-worn, sometimes not mechanically sound vehicle and completing revamping it to pristine condition, the engine purring like a kitten and reselling it. 

My Dad's home office inspired me to think about what a space would look like if he was an interior designer instead and gosh was it fun! I thought about the Underwood typewriter on his vintage teachers' desk, the skeleton key that unlocked his office door, the metal desktop fan with wide blades that rattled in the summer to keep the office cool. I thought about the scant furnishings on top of the old wooden floor, that still beckoned me to play in his office. And I thought about the bed of mint tea my Mom planted along the front of my Dad's office and the aroma it brought to this space when one would brush up against walking by.

And that's when I realized my Dad was both a vintage minimalist and a vintage maximalist. He had an industrial flair to it all as well. The rusty bolt, or well-used scissors, or the vintage teachers' desk chair that creaked on rugged casters were all accessories in his office. He didn't display these accessories as a designer, but they still defined his space.

The furnishings in his home office were not new and he wouldn't have referred to them as vintage; they were used. I don't recall where they came from, but I know that as a businessman, my Dad would take in trade items for payment when a customer couldn't afford to pay their garage bill. So I would venture that some, if not all of the items were acquired that way.

Dad's office was an unassuming square building but I admire that the placement of his desk was facing the only window in that building. Probably so his and my Mom's watchful eyes could always be on keeping track of just what the kids were up to.

The furnishings were mismatched and the drawers of the desk were known to get stuck, while the metal filing cabinet drawers sent out a sound of distress. The guest chair was a knock-off Arts & Craft style chair with a cracked red leather seat and creaky springs with horse hair fill. I have that chair, it's tucked in my brother's barn until I take on the project of refurbishing it. 

Even my Dad's Red Wing work boots inspired me when I was thinking about what a space might look like if my Dad was an interior designer. The worn leather and the rawhide laces looped through metal rimmed holes and speed hooks are a color palette in themselves.

Who knew Dad's home office, furnished for function and need only would be such an inspiration!

Sources: Flickr, Tumblr, Domino Magazine, Apartment Therapy, Architectural Digest, Pinterest