mona is barking at the front door, and richard is hiding in the closet. we just had a 5.6 quake here in los angeles, centered about 30 miles east of the maison21 atelier. big enough to scare us, but hopefully not big enough to cause injuries or damage.
for the living room we have some great vintage blanc de chine-esque pieces (like the above quails) that we've mixed with some newer white ceramics, and of course, lots of maison21's beloved vintage animal statuary- like this vintage elephant figurine:
we might pull the large brass horse statues we currently have on ebay and have them gallop across the top of a console or credenza...
brass rams head bookends similar to below are on their way as well...
this bargain of a 20 inch faux clam shell, which we purchased (we might lacquer it a bright white to customize it a bit). we'll probably fill it with a colorful collection of vintage japanese fishing floats, similar to the collection we inherited from our father, which always graces the m21 dining room table.
how can we resist these book shaped boxes, covered in a white patent faux alligator similar to that on our dining chairs? (in all honesty, we'll probably wait for these to go on sale, but you can NEVER have too many boxes used as accessories. they are just too perfect to hide all of the detritus of modern life we seem to collect- you know, like 25 remote controls, your old "emergency" cellphone, that ancient baggie of pot you've saved from your college dorm days, etc...).
we don't have anywhere for these smart horn tables in any of our current projects, or our own home, but we loved them nonetheless. trés chic for the price.
last, we went crazy for these large faux bois wall candle sconces- like the clam shell, we'd probably customize them a bit so they didn't look so mass market-y. given a coat of matte white spray paint, we think they would look very serge roche/diego giacometti, or or alternatively, gold leaf them, and have a little faux felix agostini...
the verdict? not bad- like a see's molasses chip, only saltier. the best use of bacon as desert food maison21 has had since he tried the "pig candy" at local l.a. wine bar, lou!
so this past weekend in steamy palm springs, while relaxing after dinner with wine and a couple of gossip & fashion mags to critique (our idea of a fun parlor game), maison21 and his friends noticed the refractions of the vintage chandelier through our wine glasses. pretty, and an unexpected design benefit.
in addition to his clearly superior taste in all matters of design (meant ironically, of course- mostly), maison21 also has a bit of an artistic bent (see our sixth grade batik masterpiece for proof- we wouldn't talk up our talent without being able to back it up. well, we would actually, but we aren't in this particular case), so it's kind of natural that we would combine our love of art with our passion for design, by doing a little design drawing.
what maison21 does when he collaborates with other designers, is to help them refine their vision for a custom piece by sketching out their ideas- like taking a leg from this piece, the cushion from that piece, changing the shape of the back, etc., and then seeing if the elements form a unified whole. or sometimes taking another's unique vision- that they can't quite articulate- and giving it form.
besides the enjoyment WE get out of it, the designers we collaborate with, find our drawings to be useful tools for themselves as well...
the designer can see if their idea works before money is spent producing it,
and if the concept is successful, the designer then has an effective visual with which to present the piece to the intended client.
the designer also has a sketch with which to communicate with the workroom, as a guide in the actual production of the piece- this can save time, money and heartache.
maison21 seriously loves the collaborative process- it's an instance of when work really seems like play...
and as an added bonus, every so often maison21 gets to see a project he's worked on appear in a national magazine- doesn't get any better than that!
images scanned from a 1962 edition of "house and garden's book of decorating and entertianing" (no decorator credit given). take away the dated flower arrangements and you'd hardly know these rooms are 46 years old. pretty and classique.
and get chicness as the result? 
behold the maison21 batik parrot, a sixth grade project of his very own, lovingly preserved for decades in an oversized manila envelope bearing m21's name, written in his mother's precise elementary school teacher printing. the art of batik must have been big in grade 6 arts & crafts! (this project, presaging a theme in masion21's later life, is completely faux- image was painted on paper, then crumpled and the wax process used to provide the batik effect).
maison21 received an email from suzy, of studio annetta this last evening, informing him that she had chosen his blog to receive a "brillante weblog premio 2008" award. maison21 was quite excited to receive the award- even though he's not quite sure what it is- because he hasn't won an award since the 8th grade when he was national merit scholar semi-finalist for an essay he wrote on thomas paine. that's a very long time to go between awards, so he's glad suzy has broke his 32 year dry spell!
if only there was a 12 step program for our disease. but alas, the betty ford center for addiction to bright and shiny things has yet to be opened, so we've turned our liability into an asset, namely the maison21 ebay store- where you can find the above beauties, as well as some more recent additions since the photo was taken (just one month ago).
here's the elevation of the living room wall, incorporating the benches, initially presented to the client:
pretty, no? we think it strikes the right balance between modern and traditional. we also wanted to dial back the femininity of the wall panels by pairing them with more masculine surface textures, like the polished brass table, zebra skin (cow hide) chosen for the seat cushions and ebonized wood with antique bronze nailheads on the bases of the benches, (not upholstered as the workroom's sample).
we are looking forward to the finished product, and we'll share that, as well as some more in progress items, as we go!
we're picturing using the chandelier in an grand scale entry hall with red lacquered walls like this steven gambrel living room (via studio annetta).
we'd tile the floor in camel colored parchment leather from costello studios, inc.- michelle costello does the most exquisite leather and parchment floors, walls and furniture.
we'd toss in a zebra skin on top of the leather (responsibly culled, non-endangered, zebra skin, via the trophy room).
add one of these fab heathcote center tables- grrrr! (jamb, via 1stdibs).
we'll need a pair of these chic black lacquered karl springer-esque console tables (sydelle & jay livingston, via 1stdibs)
last, even robber barons need a place to throw their bag when they walk in the front door (filled with $100 dollar bills and blow, no doubt), so we'd add a pair of these mastercraft side chairs along a wall (talisman, via 1stdibs)
but here's where your decorator has his problem- he actually kinda likes it, and it makes him feel a little dirty on the inside. sure it's an overblown, grandiose monstrosity, only suitable for a bordello, or a trump casino, but m21's inner liberace is going crazy for those glittery onion domes on top.
cut to about 10 years after the above photo- a young m21 was showing his visiting san diego friend, paul, a drunken good time at a san francisco nightclub and over a soundtrack of banarama and the pet shop boys, paul met tony's eye. the rest is history- soon after, a simple vacation fling turned serious, and while paul gained a long-distance boyfriend, m21 gained a new bestest buddy.
in the two decades since, paul and tony have built a beautiful life together in san diego- tony is now dr. tony (a for reals MD, not a fake-ass PHD or anything, like dr. phil), and paul owns a successful business. m21 counts himself fortunate to still be included in their lives, and is looking forward to being included for the next twenty-two years, and hopefully, the next twenty-two after that, if our hearts and livers hold out long enough...
