interior glass doors: 2007-09-16

Autumn

Why did summer go so quickly
Was it something that I said
Lovers walking along the shore
Leave their footprints in the sand
Was the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And a fragment of this song
Half remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the color of her hair

- Windmills of Your Mind

Composicion de recuerdos

En nuestras últimas vacaciones a Italia, visitamos el rastro del barrio del Trastevere , en Roma. Iba con una idea clara, encontrar algún pequeño tesoro antiguo que tuviera relación con las labores.
Escudriñar con la vista entre tanta cosa y dar con el objetivo, no fue sencillo. Pero por fín , pude dar con dos piezas que me parecieron una maravilla , y que después de regatear, se quedaron en mi bolso.

Fijaros qué dos agujas de ganchillo en plata más bonitas. Esta pareja trae la empuñadura labrada , con una niña bordando en una y una pareja en la otra. Por supuesto, ya desgastadas por el uso y el paso del tiempo. Según el señor, eran de finales del siglo XVIII, " ya" , le dije yo . " Sí , si señora se lo aseguro" contenstó él.

Pero quería que vierais lo fina que tiene la punta. He colocado un hilo de ganchillo al lado para que lo apreciéis. Realmente cuesta sujetar el hilo en la cabeza de la aguja. Y os lo digo por experiencia, que en mis tiempos también hice ganchillo gracias a lo que mi abuelita Francisca, que en paz descanse, me enseñó.

he
............De otras ciudades , fuí añadiendo a mi bolso otros pequeños detalles, como estos corazones hechos en bolillos.

...... el dedal en cristal de Murano, las tijeras de plata de la orfebrería de Venecia, o puntillas de alguna mercería que encontraba en el camino.

Pensé que sería muy bonito tener todo esto recogido como un recuerdo del viaje italiano. ¿ Qué podía hacer ?
Esto fue lo que se me ocurrió.

Composición de recuerdos

Utilicé unos marcos en beiege con cierto aire decapado . Coloqué una base de guata y sobre ella recorté una de las toallas de bastista bordada a mano. Luego sujeté todo lo demás con pequeños pespuntes y con pegamento caliente .

En el marco donde iban las agujas hice un trocito de puntilla de ganchillo que quedaba enganchada en el hilo, y este a su vez, a un pequeño ovillo que estaba dentro de una cesta de mimbre , también traída de una tienda en Roma. Añadí el encaje de la bolillera , en una esquina , y una puntilla que hiciese juego con la cinta que colgaba de la cestita.

Composición de recuerdos detalle

En el otro marco agrupé lo que me pareció más similar. El encaje del querubín con los corazones, el dedal, la otra pieza de plata ( me encantaron las tijeras que incluso se abrían , siendo tan menudas ) un encaje en forma de mariposa que rompiera un poco los volúmenes y el dedal de cristal colocado para lucir sus finas flores.

Composición de recuerdos 2

Ahora , cada vez que los vea, me llevarán de vuelta a nuestras vacaciones y rescatarán de la memoria todos aquellos recuerdos.

This morning, I was checking out Domino online when I stumbled upon a House Tour with designer Barrie Benson. I didn't really realize who she was until I started recognizing the amazing design job she did for the home of Charlotte boutique owner Laura Vinroot Poole that was published in the February 2007 issue.

Then when I went to the newsstand to pick up the October issue of Domino, guess who was on the cover, the designer herself, Barrie Benson! I have to say, it's probably one of my favorite all time Domino covers. I leafed through it a little but I can't wait to really sit down and read it this weekend. It looks like it's going to be a really great issue.

Below are just a few photos from Barrie's 1956 ranch house in Charlotte, North Carolina that she shares with her family. Enjoy!

Photos by Laura Resen

It's pretty much an unwritten rule that New Yorkers do not stare at celebrites or ask them for autographs. We don't even blink when we see a movie being shot as we walk by. That's just how it is. But yesterday, I almost had a total freak out when I saw Sarah Jessica Parker walk by me after filming a scene for the new Sex and the City movie! She is so unbelievably beautiful in person that these photos do not even do her justice.

I know this post has nothing to do with design other than the fact that her outfit was beyond chic! Check out the Eiffel Tower handbag. A little souvenir from their last trip to Paris perhaps? It's these little moments that make living in New York so exciting...even if we jaded New Yorkers don't usually admit it!

I think I mentioned once before that my study of art history has left me with a pretty good photographic memory. I think it was all that memorizing for compare and contrast exams. So this is probably the reason that I kept noticing very similar artwork in the homes profiled in quite a few magazine spreads. Turns out the man behind these beautiful paintings is James Nares, a New York based London-born artist who uses calligraphy brushes that he makes himself to create very unique and original art using only one continuous brushstroke. You can see him in action in the photo below.

Each stroke has a life of its own. Nares says: “It’s a fine balance between design and the thing making itself happen. The stroke has to have complete precision to work. Sometimes I lose it on the exit. You can’t fudge it. It ruins the whole thing.” The resulting figures are almost always contained within the rectangle. “It’s less of a window if I keep it within the confines of the canvas, but there’s almost always a drip that’s an umbilical cord.”

I love the fact that no two will ever be the same no matter how similar they look. And I think you will agree that they look pretty fabulous in the homes below.

John Barrett's apartment from July/August 2007 ELLE Decor

Todd Romano's Apartment from September 2005 ELLE Decor

Josie Natori's Apartment from October 2007 ELLE Decor

Photo by Simon Upton from march 2007 House & Garden

I'm sure you've all read over at Style Court that it's Asia Week. All the serious collector's are in town this week for the auctions, gallery shows and other events. Christie's was hopping on Sunday when I stopped by to check out what was up for auction, as was Sotheby's. Another great place for fans of Asian art to visit in the city that is often overlooked, is the Japan Society Gallery.

So that got me thinking about writing an Asia Week related post when I ran across the beautiful apartment of fashion designer Josie Natori in the October 2007 issue of ELLE Decor. I think it a wonderful example of how one can mix contemporary furnishings and modern art with Asian artifacts to create a soothing zen interior.

Josie and her husband Ken worked with architect Calvin Tsao of Tsao & McKown who not only designed the interior but the majority of the furnishings. "This is the Natori sensibility" is how Josie Natori described her recently redesigned apartment.

I think it would be very easy for a serious collector of Asian artifacts to go crazy and overwhelm the space but in this apartment, there is a sense of restraint even though "many design decisions were dictated by objects the Natoris love as well as how the couple lives." I love the Tang dynasty figurines that pose as a centerpiece on the Tsao designed dining table above.

Part of their antique textile collection was hung as wall hangings, while others conceal sliding wall panels. In the living room, a contemporary painting by artist James Nares feels right at home next to the glass cocktail table by Chris Cosma and a custom silk rug by Sam Kasten Handweaver.

The bronze desk above is also a Tsao design and looks so sculptural and modern in the corner of the family room. Just as in Robert Burke's apartment, the Natori apartment is a carefully balanced mix of warm and cool tones that was apparently inspired by Charles James and Yves Saint Laurent. I'm going to remember that the next time I redecorate!

I love the niche for the Buddha in the English sycamore paneling in the music room. Josie is an accomplished piano player and actually celebrated her 50th birthday at Carnegie Hall with a performance for 3,000. Now that's a birthday!

In the bedroom, an antique Chinese embroidery is used as a bedspread while a 19th century Chinese lacquer armoire acts as a pedestal for another Tang dynasty figurine. Mrs. Natori states that she's never moving and I don't blame her. The apartment is utter perfection!

Photos by William Waldron

The stitcher WIP

Esto es lo que estoy bordando ahora. Se trata del esquema " The stitcher" de Homespun Elegance.
Estoy utilizando los hilos de DMC y el lino Amber de Wichelt en un count 32, en vez de un 28 como propone el modelo. Tanto el lino como los hilos son los originales.
La verdad es que no había trabajado nunca con este color. La tela es algo tiesa, como muchos de los linos de Wichelt ,pero en fín, me gustaba el modelo y gracias a mi amiga Pilar que pudo facilitarme el lino , estoy ya manos en ello.

Me queda el texto del recuadro y bordar la mujer.

Aquípodéis ver el que hizo ella. También recuerdo el deMayté y cómo los botones tan pequeños le trajeron de cabeza. Por cierto en su albúm también podréis ver su impecable revés de esta pieza.
Como ando liadilla con otras cosas, intentaré terminarlo para el mes que viene.

When I was looking for Jeremiah Goodman illustrations yesterday, I came across one he did of Diana Vreeland's living room. I had been meaning to write a little post about the grand dame of fashion for a while and now seemed like the perfect opportunity. I also think it's another example of the world of fashion, art and design converging again.

Diana Vreeland was certainly a character. A larger than life woman who loved fashion and frivolity but who also needed to work to help support her family and their lavish lifestyle. She was friends with the who's who of the time including C.Z. Guest, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cecil Beaton, Cole Porter, and even Andy Warhol. She worked for Harper's Bazaar for 26 years, and later was editor in chief of Vogue. After she was unceremoniously fired, she went on to work with the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and turned it's benefit into the fashionable fete that it is today. Ali McGraw was at one point her wide eyed 21 year old assistant! Can you imagine working for Diana Vreeland? Amazing!

She was known almost as well for her blood-red living room at her apartment at 550 Park Avenue as she was for her fashion sense. "I want this place to look like a garden, but a garden in hell" she said and it looks like she accomplished that in the above photo by Horst and illustration by Jeremiah Goodman. She spent all her life pursuing the perfect shade of red, the great clarifier she called it, bright and revealing.

I could go on and on because her life story is fabulous and a bit tragic at times. She was a woman who when the going got tough, she got going and with gusto! I love reading inspiring biographies of interesting woman and I loved reading about Diana Vreeland. I suggest picking up Eleanor Dwight's wonderful book, Diana Vreeland, and reading that one first. I made the mistake of reading D.V. first and later learned that Mrs. Vreeland liked to exaggerate just a wee bit, kind of like my grandmother. Got to love her. I also own the Sotheby's catalog from the auction of her estate that is a wonderful record of her lovely home and life. Included in the catalog, are the two Oberto Gili photos above and below.

Not only did Diana Vreeland give us more than we knew we wanted, she gave us more than we could have ever dreamed up ourselves. She truly was one remarkably chic and elegant woman!

Carolina Herrera often cites artists as her inspiration. A few years back it was French photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue. This season, it's the interiors illustrator extraordinaire Jeremiah Goodman and his book Jeremiah: A Romantic Vision. Can you think of anything more chic?! It's also the perfect example of the way fashion, art, and interior design often converge with stunning results. Mrs. Herrera said she wanted an explosion of color and she certainly succeeded and in doing so, she also created a collection that can most certainly be described as a romantic vision. Once again, she proves why she's a style icon!