art
Scandinavian Made - Wall Tile with Cups Small - $545.00 » Here's a super original idea for wall decor: artistic tiles! Charlotte Thorup is a ceramist from the Danish island of Bornholm who creates these one-of-a-kind pieces entirely by hand in her studio. The craftsmanship is unbelievable; the artistry is truly stunning. Hang one for a dramatic presentation, or a grouping for a more substantial art installation.
Lab Grown Bismuth Crystals - $39.00 » The geometry and the colors in this mineral could hypnotize a guest all night. It's another great trinket for a coffee table.
Evan Chambers NIckel Plated Hawk Rocket Lamp with Green Glass - $850.00 » This light would be perfect for a child who is fascinated with space. In the right spot, it would be an ideal nightlight — though it does look like it needs a name.
great idea
What to do with old pencils. Pretty cool.
The V&A’s major autumn exhibition will be the first in-depth survey of art, design and architecture of the 1970s and 1980s, featuring over 250 objects. Postmodernism will examine one of the most contentious phenomena in recent art and design history, and how it evolved from a provocative architectural movement in the early 1970s and rapidly went on to influence all areas of popular culture including art, film, music, graphics and fashion.
Fucking brilliant Robert designed and built the foyer window to give the impression of frozen crystal. Plastic champagne glasses are stacked between a double-pane window on the exterior and a single-pane window on the interior. His inspiration came from an exhibit at the 2000 World Expo in Hanover, Germany. There a church made of glass panes included found objects such as feathers, pinecones, lightbulbs and more between the panels.
Casa C.D. Bookshelf » I have a sneaking suspicion that this bookshelf would become the ultimate racetrack in a house full of boys. Just a guess.
While this house is more introverted than the others (there are some distant views from the top floor, though), it echoes many of the same concerns that Marshall mentions: merging indoor and outdoor space, dealing with steeply sloping sites and relating to its surroundings through views, both near and distant.
They kept the general layout of the home's original construction in the living room but enlarged the openings between spaces. Metal stair rails and frosted glass keep the space open. The wall of masks in the entryway was inspired by a prototype for a restaurant Escobar designed. As the pair travels, the collection grows. The shelving on the right used to be in Escobar's office; now it displays travel mementos.
A client of mine came to me a few years back and showed me a dress that her mother gave her. She wanted the room we were decorating to feel like that dress," says Neithart. The designer had the heirloom professionally placed between two pieces of glass and framed in gold. "It looks beautiful in this living room and represents a piece of family history," she says.
4. Paint the walls and ceiling the same color. This is a great idea for rooms with low ceilings, since it obscures the division between the two surfaces and makes the walls appear taller. Even though that’s not a problem in my apartment, I still don’t want to feel like I’m living in a white-topped box.
2. Turn a narrow hallway into a big asset. One of the reasons I love the layout of this studio is that it has a 4-by-12-foot entry. To take full advantage of this feature and give the hallway a grander sense of arrival, I hung a 5-by-5-foot oil painting opposite a Parsons console table from West Elm. (The marble top element is repeated in the dining area.) The colors of the vintage ceramic bowls on the console echo those in the painting.
1. Go with a simple color palette. To keep the space from feeling cluttered, and to keep the eye moving, I used a basic palette of green, brown and beige with pops of orange. The walls are a pale gray (Benjamin Moore's Iced Cube Silver), which is a nice neutral backdrop for artwork but avoids the boring feel of rental-apartment white. The paintings are the primary source of color and are hung slightly higher to draw attention to the 10-foot ceilings. The swung-glass vases were purchased at various flea markets. The Reese Sofa, Oasis Shag Rug and couch pillows are all from West Elm.
Alexander Girard Wooden Dolls - $160.00 » Inspired and influenced by folk art, Girard's work kept a sense of playfulness and not taking things too seriously. “I think that I saw [folk art] as a way to recapture all the wonderful enthusiasm and the spirit of discovery that we experience as children but generally lose as we grow older,” he once said.
This neon light artwork is also by Pinky Wainer, creator of the neon installation at the entrance. In the foreground is a ceramic skull, often used as a symbol of mortality and melancholy — a deliberate addition to Torres' domestic space, where every piece of furniture has an aesthetic or functional purpose.
Sizzle Table, 3 Pod » Insider tip: For those who don't have the pocketbook to purchase a vintage piece, Castle's new designs can be found at designer showrooms across the country. This, his wild and wonderful "Sizzle Table," is one of the most popular pieces in his new collection.
Raquel Floor Lamp » Castle is known for his reinterpretations of the commonplace and the ordinary. In addition to scouring eBay and auctions, R20thCentury in New York City is a great spot for hunting down vintage Wendell Castle.
Sluggo Floor Lamp » Meet the "gel-coated beauty" floor lamp called "Sluggo," all dressed up in blue metallic auto body paint and completed in 1969. The name says it all, and there is not much more to add to its description. Castle has recently reissued eight more of these delightful lighting creatures, so now is the time to purchase one.
This enormous table is part of "The Black Edition" Big Table. Constructed out of gel-coated, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, it has removable and reversible center sections. The original table was designed in 1970 for an office in Rochester, New York. It is practical yet highly artistic, appearing to undulate when all of the pieces are together.
Wendell Castle Dining Table » This table, designed in 1978, demonstrates Castle's use of stack-laminated ebonized maple for a base that appears to be swirling. The top is composed of bird's-eye maple with a green resin inlay. The fluidity of the design makes the table appear to be in motion.
Here is a design of a shelf from his "White Edition" Molar Group Cloud Shelf, ca. 1969, also constructed out of gel-coated fiberglass. Using pieces that have a foot in the art world totally reinvents the look of a space and helps truly personalize a home.
His forms are organic and appear just shaken out of an artist's mold — as if you were to touch them, they might feel wet. His "Molar Group" red settee in bright red gel coating looks as if it might just take a bite out of you when you sit down on it.
This collection of vintage floor lamps designed by Castle, ca. 1969, are incredible sculptural representations of his extraordinary talent. They are all made out of brightly colored gel-coated fiberglass, a material he popularized through his work. Just about all of Castle's designs from the 1960s through the '70s are highly sought after by collectors today.
This image lets us appreciate the house’s tilt; it’s cantilevered at a 10 degree angle, while the interior wood floor is tilted by 4 degrees.
Simulated smoke in the form of steam rises from the chimney throughout the day. Inside, on the fireplace mantel, the picture frames even show photos of people from the engineering school. Only the large bookcase and desk are bolted to the floor, while the eclectic mix of other furnishings sometimes slip toward the door, but very slowly
Suh, who wanted a New England garden for the cottage’s exterior grounds, worked closely with landscaping firm Spurlock Poirier. African boxwood, Golden Nuggets, snapdragons, creeping thyme and wisteria vines accent the garden. “Like in most homes, we’ve added a cherry tomato here, a few sunflowers there,” says Stuart Collection Director Mary Beebe.
The house hangs half-lodged, half-perched on the rooftop of UC San Diego’s engineering building.
Artist Do Ho Suh is making people think about the precarious idea of home. His latest work is a powder blue gable roof cottage, the 18th permanent sculpture commissioned by the Stuart Collection at the University of California, San Diego. Suh, who came to the United States from Seoul in 1991, had to physically and mentally readjust to his new surroundings. The feeling of being plucked out of the comfortable and familiar and lodged into a dizzying unfamiliar environment is what this installation-sculpture, “Fallen Star,” is all about.
Notice how just hanging a simple mobile can provide a visually engaging and modern element to a space that might feel casual and sparse.
The structural presence of this eye-catching mobile is especially interesting when you can see it in juxtaposition with the light fixture.
Mobile
One of Robyn's happiest homeowner moments was when a good friend requested her services as an art consultant. A high-end real estate consultant by trade, she was blown away by the request. "He had the means to hire anyone he wanted, and he was very serious about his request," she says. Admiration from friends, family and acquaintances reminds the couple that their home is a peaceful retreat with positive energy flowing throughout.
Robyn and Norman carefully blended technical with artistic when it came time to place the television. Focusing on clean lines, Robyn enclosed the TV in its own space and blended in art around it.
The hallway leading to the bedrooms showcases an art piece by Richard MacDonald. "I love to walk in my home and see art around every corner. It truly makes me happy," Robyn says. The couple has taken the time to thoughtfully find each and every piece in their home and properly display it. The lighting on the sculpture enhances every detail.
The couple didn't use the formal dining room in their previous home much, so they wanted the space in their new home to be more casual. Robyn felt like she wasn't able to relax in a dining room chair, so she made banquette seating out of a sofa, along with two additional chairs. The table is architectural in nature and reflects the feel of the entire home. Neatly displayed vertically on a built-in bookshelf are various collected pieces from around the world. From top to bottom: "Icareas" by Dominique Friedrich of France; a vase from Italy; a jar by Rob Sieminski; a bowl from Canton, China; and China Jar, Horchow.
The couple decided to redesign their kitchen about two years ago, and did so with the help of good friend Kevin Studzinski. Robyn says, "Kevin was instrumental in helping us envision the kitchen orientation. His vision opened up the space and made it much more functional for our needs." A sleek, modern design took the place of the previously dated space, and the couple now spends a good deal of time there. Over the sink hangs a painting by Gwyneth Scally. Atop the island is a ceramic bowl by Rina Menardi from Baltus.
Being able to "see through" the furniture allows the couple to take in the great city view. "Chicago is one of the most beautiful cities, if not the most beautiful city, I have seen in the world," Robyn says. She also loves its vibrancy and architecture. "Having a love for architecture and design is what keeps my eyes open," she says. While traveling the world, she's always looking for art by local artists and functional art objects.
The couple's old furniture from their suburban home pieces didn't work well with their new city aesthetic. After giving most of it away to friends and family, they started from scratch. Robyn took her time deciding on how she wanted to furnish her new home. "I thought about the space constantly and decided that I did not want big furniture that cluttered up the space," she says. "I wanted the furniture to be architectural in nature. I wanted the furniture to be '"see-through" like the artwork, with the mahogany floors and the outside as the focus." Having collected pieces from all around the world, the couple wanted to accentuate the beauty of their art. On display atop the buffet are a Han Dynasty cocoon jar (left) from Lam & Co. in Hong Kong and "R-accolto" (center), by Rabarama from TeleMarket in Rome.
The living room features a small sample of the couple's art collection. Flanking the fireplace are sculptures by artist Eric Boyer. Above the fireplace is a painting by Sophie Rocco that the couple found at Bogéna-Galerie in France.
Fit a concept. "This sculpture was made at Porcelain Studio Klimenkoff, which was founded in 2003 and is located in Moscow," says Polina Zaika of MusaDesign Interior Design. "They specialize in producing one-of-a-kind hand-crafted porcelain creations, whose quality can be compared to those of Sevres, Meissen and the Imperial Porcelain Factory." She adds, "There's an architectural platform that contains metal beams and a metal screen that diffuses LED lights. Together, these elements create the perfect swimming pool for the sculpture. Our swimmer was originally part of a collection of design objects in a retail store. But it was absolutely perfect in terms of the scale and concept for this space."
Reflect your personality. "We like to use wall art as well as sculptures to reflect the personality and interests of our clients. It's another layer that reflects who they are and how they live," says Michael Fullen of Michael Fullen Design Group. In this case, the homeowners are avid travelers and take regular vacations to Fiji and Hawaii." This piece "is a giant palm frond mounted on an iron stand," Fullen says. "It's a simple piece of nature that takes on an entirely different appearance when used in such a new way."
Create a focal point. "For this living room, we wanted a balance of solid walls as well as natural light," says Hugh Randolph of Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects. "Rather than use a series of evenly spaced windows, we looked at the walls as backdrops for large artworks and then grouped the windows together in floor-to-ceiling arrangements. This gave us a balance of solid/void and open/closed, as well as enough wall area to highlight the art as a focal point." The sculpture "works especially well on this wall," he says, "since it's along a circulation path that provides a variety of angles from which to view the work."
Add curve appeal. "This piece is by Mary Callery. It was original to the house but was located on the exterior next to the main entry," says Steve Schappacher of SchappacherWhite. "We decided for conservation reasons to move it indoors. We felt the sculpture was dynamic enough to be located on a curved wall and balance the view at the steel-framed windows."
Turn an unusable space into a feature. "Our interior design is often about showcasing art, and this image is from the Miami Vice house, which we renovated," says Todd Davis of Brown Davis Interiors. The house had a cold, modern feel, and we wanted to bring a sense of art and whimsy to the foyer. This space under the stairs wasn't usable for furnishings, and it looked a bit empty without any decoration." Davis' partner, Rob Brown, "found these hand-carved dogs at a shop on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach," says Davis, "and they turned out to be the perfect combination of art and decoration for such an awkward space. In our designs we like to create unique and unexpected moments that entertain, and this was also a way to provide a relaxed feeling when you enter this rather serious home."
Happiness Is A Warm Gun, by Alfredo Salazar-Caro's first installation piece, commissioned by the owner. Really sweet appearance for a nasty image.
What a studio!!
This sconce is really cool. Should also be easy to make.
Craftsmanship high? Hell yeah.
Cool idea, but this must've been damned strange to create. Imagine working in a space with such a low ceiling.
What a great idea.
LOVE this wall color
Tiny bathroom idea. LOVE the color and tiles in the shower. One day, my dream bath in the hallway
Graphic glass tiles
Love this artwork. Singing cat. Very cool.
cool display idea for 2D art.
cool sculpture on the wall
Love this space even though it has a bland palette. The floating sofa rocks. My kind of thing.
pedestals on the wall!!!
Love the horse's silhouette.
Q