do as i say, not as i do (maison21 kills a lucite pretty, so YOU don't have to)

maison21 should know better. really.

after google searches for "maison21" and "maison 21" (it's all one word btw, if you care), the number one way for people stumble across m21's blog is by googling "how to clean lucite" or "acrylic care" or "remove scratches from plexiglass". or any and all possible variations thereof; so of course it follows that our top visited post would be "i ♥ lucite: maison21 explains the care and feeding of one of his favorite materials" (and we do 'splain, so if you want to know, be sure to sheck out the post, k?).

so since maison21 is the de facto internet expert on cleaning and maintaining lucite, you think he might follow his own advice, right? like when we specifically, and at some great length, describe in our post how extremes of temperature will cause permanent damage to lucite, in the form of crazing and cloudiness- so keep the lucite from strong sunlight that might cause it to act as a magnifying lens and heat up. but noooooo- maison21 doesn't listen to himself. nope. he gives great advice to others, and turns around, and ignores it for himself.

at our outdoor pop-up store this past saturday, we dragged out a rather fab vintage lucite obelisk leg coffee table, and didn't think twice about leaving it for shoppers to check out. (you might wonder why maison21 would bring out such a nice item to what is basically a yard sale but he's learned over the years that while junque sales attract bargain hunters, they also attract serious collectors, designers and dealers, who are willing to pay some bigger bucks to score a higher end bargain). but what we failed to consider is that what was a beautiful day for humans- 80 degress and not a cloud in the sky- might not be so friendly to our friend, glamorous little mr. lucite table.

here is how the table legs looked before our sale- perfectly crystal clear:

and here is a close up of how the legs looked after 4 hours in the sun:
that rime of what looks like condensation or frost is a chemical reaction in the very structure of the lucite itself- the black portion of acrylic leg absorbed the sun's heat and radiated it up to the clear portion above, causing the damage. had we left it out longer, the crazing would have spread upward looking very much like ice crystals; longer still and all the outer surfaces of the lucite would fog, giving the entire leg an overall slightly foggy or milky appearance (in addition to the frosty/ice crystal-y portion at the base). so please, do as m21 says, not as he does- before more innocent lucite is harmed! no hot water, no pounding sun (normal indoor sun exposure is fine- not like it needs to be kept in a dimmed room or anything), no rapid temperature extremes, no harsh chemical cleaners, no abrasives of any kind.

in case you are wondering, little mr. pretty table now has a place of honor in maison21's living room- we inflicted the crippling damage on the poor guy, the least we can do is give him a spot to live out his days in peace.

we should know better. really.

maison21 reaches a pinnacle

the gayest thing m21 has ever done:
was purchasing this giant size acrylic portrait of judy garland at a yard sale a few weeks ago.

it was late, and the yard sale was packing up, and the thought of judy being left on the curb or tossed in a dumpster broke m21's heart- she is part of maison21's cultural heritage after all (we are old, but not quite old enough to be part of the generation of gay men who worshiped her. still, we should respect those who have gone before us, right?). most of all, judy was cheap, and maison21 thought she was campy and funny, so we went ahead and bought her.

painting has been on maison21's mind as of late, so he thought he could indulge in the time honored tradition of appropriating another artist's work into his own, and re-imagine the canvas into something he would not be embarrassed to hang in the atelier.

our first thought was to warholize her, but upon reflection, it seems like way too much work for way too little effect- after all, warhol's portraits were camp in and of themselves- to give judy the warhol treatment is a bit redundant, dontchathink?
then we thought we could do a homage to damien hirst, and paint giant pills floating across her face. but painting photorealistic pills might be beyond our meager abilities. i guess we could always try decoupaging as an option, for a little mixed media camp.we could give her the barbara kruger treatment, but again, painting letters might be beyond our abilities- not necessarily technique-wise, but patience wise. like the warhol treatment, just too much work...
a few well-placed john baldessari dots seems much more doable, so it's an option ...
easiest of all, might be a duchamp moustache, ala LHOOQ... in the end, judy might meet the fate m21 was originally trying to spare her, and be set out on the curb for the trash man (we already tried to get rid of her at our own yard sale pop-up store this last weekend, but no takers). we'll have to ponder her fate for a bit... in the meantime, we leave you with classic bit of judy that makes m21 kind of understand why his gay ancestors worshiped her (added bonus: the art direction of the clip is pretty fabulous too- love that door!).

rich bitch.

my daddy says thanks for stopping by his pop-up store today! everybody had fun, and he says once people pick up all their stuff, he might actually have enough room in the garage to set up a spot to paint. as for me, i cleaned up with the whole "$1 stinky dog breath kisses" thing, so i'm off to petco to buy treats. lots and lots of treats...

laters!

oxoxo-

mona

first ever maison21 pop up store event!!!!!

maison21 pop-up store event!

ONE DAY ONLY
SATURDAY
MARCH 28TH
9am-2pm
@ the atelier

maison21 has combined forces with tisha of varela interiors to unleash one mutha of a sale! it's kind of like a great sale at your favorite vintage resale gallery, along with the biggest yard sale ever, all rolled into one delicious day of deals! several of our friends and neighbors will be joining in as well, so there will be something for everybody, and at every price point! high end to low down! bring cash to buy, or join the fun and bring some stuff to sell- all are welcome! heck, just stop by for a cup of coffee and some witty yard sale banter...

the maison21 inventory will be slashed by 20% or more on pretty much everything, and there will be lots of other designer goodies as well- fabrics and wall coverings, furniture, lighting and tons of home accessories. all kinds of stuff, from the good to the bad to the really ugly!

added bonus- mona will be offering really stinky dog breath kisses- two licks for a buck! (richard will be hiding under the bed).

no atelier tours this saturday, but if you leave your name and number, maison21 promises to invite you to his next cocktail party, and you can get all your voyeuristic needs met then...

free pony rides for the kids!
(just kidding)

ps- if you bring stuff to sell, totally cool, but you have to stay with your merchandise & haul it away if it doesn't sell- we ain't running a staffed consignment shop. we do like to swap cool stuff for cool stuff on occasion, though ;-)

pps- some gentle bargaining is expected, but prices are already pretty low, so hardcore hagglers will not be tolerated. if you want stuff for free, the maison21 security staff will tazer your ass and forcibly remove you. or at least throw you some serious attitude. 'cept mona, she loves everybody. even hagglers.

ppps- speaking of attitude, that's all earlybirds will get. attitude. lots of it.

sorry to be a buzzkill, but a few gentle rules will make this a fun event event for all. and it will be fun, promise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

meta post: blogging bloggers on blogging

we bloggers are a funny group- willing to broadcast bits and pieces of our lives anonymously over the internets for any and all to see, but we can be sometimes surprisingly shy in person, even reticent to publicize ourselves. funny that, when you consider that's basically what we do every time we hit the publish button.

such was the case today, when at noon, m21 saw the following message on his facebook page, posted by fellow blogger, megan of beach bungalow 8:

"going to the PDC to speak on blogging and design......"

um, excuse me? and why was this not publicized on your blog?

m21 lives 5 minutes from the pacific design center, so he was on their website in a flash to find out when and where this secret blog lecture was taking place! he was already pissed at himself for missing stephen salny's lecture about his tremendous new book on michael taylor on wednseday, so he wasn't going to miss meeting megan in person on thursday! (we've never met face to face, but we've emailed a bunch & we crack each other up on the FB).

turns out this mystery event was a blog panel co-hosted by schumacher and decorati, presented as part of west week and titled "the influence of the design blogger" (we did not know we had influence but we like it. makes m21 feel important- "we have influence and we're gonna use it!" yeah, right...). the panel featured andrew puschel from schumacher, timothy corrigan, AD100 designer and decorati guest blogger (who knew that a designer of his stature had time to blog, right?), mark cutler of mark cutler design, shane reilly of decorati access blog & shane’s studio, and finally our own shy little megan arquette of beach bungalow 8- who didn't publicize her appearance for fear she "might say something embarrassing" (she didn't- she was funny and articulate, and as beautiful in person, as in her photos).

the panel: mark cutler, megan arquette, shane reilly, timothy corrigan, and andrew puschel

even without megan's publicizing the event, the lecture was was packed- standing room only (bonus of the event, standing next to m21 was coleen of coleen & company, another email only friend- until today, of course! fun!). they even had to cut the question and answer portion off at the end because of too much interest.

the discussion was lively, and full of interesting stuff- everything from the trivial (megan does not want el pollo loco ads on her blog) to pretty significant stuff- if a designer of timothy corrigan's status says every designer should be online and blogging to "build their brand", well, then maison21 is verrrrry glad he started awhile back...

megan also believes that we should be using facebook, myspace and twitter for promotion (really, do i hafta tweet?), and mark cutler spoke of how he has met overseas clients he otherwise might not have, solely because of his blog (note: maison21 will accept commissions in any world class city, preferably london or paris- 'cuz, you know- there is a such a lack of design talent in those spots, and all).

the panel was split on publicist's soliciting press for their clients- shane from decorati was all for it, and megan, while she didn't mind receiving press releases from publicists, preferred a more personal approach, with emails directly from the artist or designer as much more likely be noticed. maison21 couldn't agree more on that one- if you can't at least bother to address your email with maison21's name, then it's nothing more than spam ("m21" will do, if you are too lazy to do a little research to find out my christian name). m21 also thinks it's a good idea to know the blog you are soliciting to see if your product is a good fit- a hip local dress designer might not be a good fit here at maison21, but would totally work at megan's, and if you are an up and coming los angeles interior designer, you would be TOTALLY barking up the wrong tree to solicit m21 for press (there was lots of discussion about that too- how we designers are competitors, but for the first time via the blogs, have a friendly forum in which to exchange ideas and resources, and so true that- the best part of this whole blogging deal is being a part of our community. i love you guys). ;-)

there were also lots of "how do i start a blog" and "how do you think of stuff to blog about?" questions too- if that room was any indication, you'll be seeing lots and lots more design blogs in your future- not a bad thing, in m21's humble opinion- after all, isn't decorating everyone's favorite subject to talk about?

thanks megan, for your great work today! (read megan's own recap here). m21 had a blast, and is thrilled to have finally met you (and coleen) in person. we look forward to seeing both of you again this saturday! oops- did we just say that? watch this space for the announcement of a *very* special weekend event...

playing it forward, decorator style

well, m21 is sure if you visit here, then you probably already visit my friend heather over at habitually chic, but if you don't, be sure to visit this post, recapping her recent conversation with design legend, albert hadley- a seriously big "get" for a design blogger, as there probably is no bigger living luminary in the design world than mr. hadley.

and now, because m21 has never met a subject he couldn't twist back around to himself, here's his own (tenuous & once removed) connection with mr. hadley:

when m21 was a wee 'lil designer-to-be, still going to school and still making foamcore models and hot-gluing fabric to presentation boards (both things he has NEVER done since he was a student, btw), he decided to get an internship, and through a good friend, scored a meeting with a big deal decorator from new york, who was establishing a practice here in los angeles.

to save said decorator embarrassment from having his projects associated with moi, m21 is not going to use his real name, but maison21 will say he was incredibly fortunate to have had the internship, and to have had "mr. NY decorator" as a design mentor. mr. NY decorator was, and is, extremely talented and tasteful, and raised maison21's game in a way schooling never could have. he always listened to m21's opinions- how ever ill-formed and immature- and also always answered any questions m21 had, never talking down to him, patiently explaining what the hell eglomise was, and that a gimp was not a non-PC word for a handicapped person, but a tape used in upholstery...

a powder room, maison21 helped design when working for mr. NY decorator- the custom sink is a solid block of marble, hand-carved in italy and shipped over at no small expense. m21 couldn't be prouder of the way the sink turned out, than if he carved it himself.

mr. NY decorator also said that he would try to give maison21 interesting tasks that m21 could both learn from and enjoy- in addition to the tedious schlep work that interns normally do- filing, returning samples, running errands, etc. he wanted to do this because mr. NY decorator said that was how he learned, and well, we're sure you can guess from the beginning of this post where mr. NY decorator got his start: working at the offices of mr. hadley.

back then, maison21 was both ignorant and cocky- he didn't really know who albert hadley was, and probably didn't care much either, and he certainly didn't realize how lucky he was to have a mentor who worked for such a design legend. if m21 were able to go back, he wouldn't be so stupid and he'd ask mr. NY decorator to tell him in great detail everything mr. hadley ever told him. as it is, maison21 remembers that mr. NY decorator always spoke of mr. hadley with nothing but the highest respect and praise, and the words "gentleman" and "extremely gracious" were often used. reading how nice mr. hadley was to habitually chic, and grant gibson during their meeting, and how freely he credited those working with him, made maison21 realize that perhaps even in his ignorance, he did learn much from mr. hadley, simply by having a mentor who followed mr. hadley's example of working in such a generous and gracious fashion.

so thank you, mr. hadley, and an even bigger thank you to mr. NY decorator for giving m21 such a great introduction to the business. maison21 promises to uphold the tradition and play it forward when it's his turn...

love.

love. these.
Pair of Italian c.1980's Tole painted Faux Book tables via the newly launched mjh design arts website.

OCDD design challenge: cookin' with la maison fou

maison21 has received lots of dining rooms, entry halls, living rooms and bedrooms, even a garden conservatory as submissions to our last two design blogger's challenges, but today, we have a first- leslie, from over at la maison fou, has submitted our first kitchen!

when we first read her email, m21 initially thought "she did not just call me a fou? i'll cut the beeyotch! maison21 ain't nobody's fou!", then we wondered if perhaps she was making fun of you too, as in: "i pity the fou that reads maison!", but then we visited her blog, and calmed down. we found that the title merely references "a mad house" ala francais, - that we could relate too- sometimes things get a little crazy around here, too...

leslie had so much fun with the challenge, she actually made 2 posts about it! (read here & here). her entry was so complete (right down to the brand of paper towels), maison21 could find only one omission- he thinks every kitchen should have a dog or a cat patiently waiting for the odd scrap to fall, so we inserted la maison21 fou's delightful little pooch, sir derby digmoor, into the picture (love that name):

filing for reorganization (a meandering walking tour of the downturn, amongst other things)

they say "nobody walks in LA".

well, that's not true, and i have the sore calves to prove it. i returned to hiking in runyon canyon this week after a 2 year hiatus. runyon is LA's largest off-leash dog park, and mona and i used to be regulars there until she developed arthritis and would limp so bad after a hike, we just couldn't go together any longer. i didn't have the heart to go alone, so i stopped going too.
in the back of my mind, i guess i hoped she'd get better, and put things on hold, hoping we'd resume our hikes in the future, but as our walks in the flat neighborhood surrounding the atelier have grown shorter and slower of late, i've realized that there is no turning back the hands of time, and i have to accept our new reality. we've still got plenty of good years together, but those years will have to be spent cuddling for naps and lots of treats, because our days of chasing the tennis ball and hiking are over. things change, but change- even a sad turn of events like this- doesn't mean that life is over. it's just different.
still, as i returned to runyon, i was sad at first- don't let the smiling picture i took of myself fool you (i tried and failed to capture the hollywood sign- it's directly behind my forehead). not long after these photos, i had a moment when i reached the point in the trail where mona and i used to stop for a treat and some water, but it's hard to be sad when the other doggies are tirelessly chasing each other over the steep hills, and babies are laughing and people are talking. of course, there is the sweeping view of the LA basin too, which can cheer anyone up.one thing i noticed about my return to runyon, is how much more crowded the trail was on a weekday. in los angeles, because so many people work in entertainment and aren't tied to a 9 to 5, it often feels like nobody works, but these days that feeling is more fact than fiction. in LA county the official unemployment rate is 10.9 percent, but that's just people receiving benefits- the number of people who can't get benefits like freelancers, and people who own their own business and now have little or no income, aren't reflected in those figures. i'd say it's closer to 15%, maybe even as high as 20% based on anecdotal evidence of the number of friends and neighbors who aren't working. it's pretty scary stuff.estimates of the range of reduction in total global wealth since the downturn range from 15% - 40%- staggeringly large numbers, even if the lesser figures are correct. in my opinion, the loss amounts to the fact that things are never going to return to the way they were- at least not in most of our lifetimes. the jobs that were lost might stay lost for the foreseeable future. as i was forced to do with mona, i think many people are now accepting our new reality, but like with my little girl, just because things have changed- and not necessarily in a good way- doesn't mean that life needs to be put on hold until things get better. we just have to recognize our new reality, and do a little adapting and adjusting- a little reorganization.i am continually amazed by how resiliently the people i know are coping with their new circumstances- one out of work friend has been filling his free time shooting a documentary, another has gone back to school, still another has set up a home office to do his own thing. reorganizing and reinventing, but not stopping and waiting until things improve.we all know the business many of us are in- design- has been strongly affected by the economy, but again, it's time to accept the way things are, and if things aren't as busy as we'd like, we need to accept and reinvent. i consider myself exceptionally fortunate to still have some business- i know of others who don't have any work at all. still, i find myself with more downtime, but instead of sitting around watching oprah while waiting for things to pick up, i've been doing a little reorganization of my own to carve out a space in my garage/showroom to paint- another one of my true loves, and something i didn't have much time for over the last few years- until recently that is... of course less work coming in, also means more time to enjoy the truly simple (and free) pleasures of life- like taking a hike (even alone) or cuddling with the one you love for a nap. i think the silver lining of this global reorganization is the realization that those are the things that matter in life, not the constant acquiring of more stuff. we had too much of that for too long, and now it's time to get back to basics. no more mad rush for bigger and better- that's our old reality. time to accept the new age we are in, and make the best of it. for better or worse, it's where we are now.

so how are you going to reorganize for our new reality? has your life changed? or is it the same as it was a year ago? do you see things getting better, or worse? let's talk...

spring*

spring comes
on little cat feet.

*sorry carl.

please don't report maison21 to peta- we swear no animals were harmed during the making of this post ('cept perhaps some temporary damage to someone's pride).

happy spring.

hi-larious hand gesture hooks

"a series of wall-mounted coat hooks and wall art by cheeky British manufacturer Thelermont Hupton, based on familiar gestures from the welcoming to the more expletive."
via kirk

ok!

rock on!

peace!

shake!

up yours!
this last one's for ___, (no names, you know who you are) -
you did say you liked to visit my blog
;-)

OCDD challenge: a dining oasis!

Dining Oasis - by bjpdesigns on Polyvore.com

ok, how fabulous is it when a new blogger and budding designer teaches an old dog new tricks? bonnie of the brand spankin' new blog, love your place, wrote to m21 saying how much fun she had creating her fantasy room for the design blogger's challenge II, but she didn't know how to get all the images together in one photo collage (not necessary to enter, btw- only mandatory if you don't have a blog). maison21 shot back "photoshop honey, but we warn you, there's a learning curve". a few days later, she sent back the above collage, assembled via polyvore.com- put together all pretty with links and everything- no photoshopping involved. genius.

so bonnie, love your room, and love the tip- now get to posting! your blog officially has readers!

spring awakening

we're telling you (again), flowers are the cheapest thing you can do to make your decor seem fresh & beautiful- fresh as the beautiful spring day we just had here in los angeles. trader joe's, $6.99- even if they die in a day, maison21 has already got more than his money's worth.

OCDD design blogger's challenge: extra credit

we have another great student entry in the design blogger's challenge II, this one from tony, a student at the art insitute of dallas, who has creatively taken an element from a m21 post of the recent past- the cast iron conservatory from V&M- and adapted it for this challenge. tony also deserves extra credit points in that he had to submit his entry twice- mean old professor m21 made him redo the first entry in a more blog friendly format, and good student that he is, tony obliged. maison21 hopes your real professors are giving you real extra credit for your internets homework too!
This monumental cast iron greenhouse from Vintage & Modern will be used as the structure and will be painted in Benjamin Moore white dove oc-17 like M21 did for his trim in the challenge. For the flooring, reclaimed stone flooring made up of 11” x 11” tiles from BAC Antique Materials, will be used. Lighting will be provided by 10 lanterns hung at various heights; two chandeliers will also be hung and lit by candles at night. For up lighting North American Indian torches will be used on both sides of each door. The stone birdcage will be used to house exotic songbirds. The Art Nouveau marble swan fountain will be placed in the center as a water element. During parties the water will be replaced with champagne. Large palms and fruit trees will be planted in 9 large “Versailles” enameled iron urns, filling the space with lush greenery. The turquoise ceramic tripod table will be placed in between the pair of Anglo-Indian silver low chairs which will be upholstered in sora velvet-ora bark by Kelly Wearstler for Ground Works (yellow and brown fabric). The Japanese bronze incense rooster will be placed on the Indian white marble coffee table and will be used to fill the room with perfumed smoke. The Italian Renaissance Revival daybed will hold a mattress upholstered in amiens chenille-sun by Lee Jofa (solid yellow fabric). The accent pillows will be in the remaining fabrics loyd-raspberry by Lee Jofa, faux bois-gold/noir and edo linen-teal both by Kelly Wearstler for Ground Works. The large Chinese marble bathing tub will be filled with a variety of orchids. The stone desk with Renaissance Revival Savonarola Chair in Oak, will provide a place to write. A brass bar will run the perimeter of the greenhouse, hung with the West Elm curtains from M21’s challenge. All pieces are from 1st dibs unless otherwise noted. These fabrics, furnishes, and finishes result in a pleasure pavilion, a place to spend leisure afternoons chatting with friends over tea, while enjoying the plants like our earlier student entry, pretty sophisticated work, right? if the young'uns in school are this good, m21 better step up his game before they graduate!

we have a couple more great OCDD entries on tap for later in the week, so stay tuned, and if you still think you might want to play along, go for it! read the rules here, and send your entry on in!

m21 redecorates the world...

we wish we had room for this marble "m" base dining table somewhere in the maison21 atelier- we'd use it as our central operations desk while plotting world decorating domination- you know maybe with a light-up wall-sized map of the world as a backdrop. we'd sit behind it (in an arne jacobsen oxford chair) while gleefully cackling, "our redecoration of uruguay & uzbekezstan is complete, now on to venezuela- soon the whole world will be pretty! bwahahah..."

cheap 'n chic: pagoda bed crown

maison21 isn't the biggest fan of bed crowns- he just finds all that draped fabric a bit fussy, and the idea of all those folds collecting dust over m21's head while he is innocently sleeping, is giving maison21 a sneezing attack right now- ka-choo!

still, in the right application, a crown over a bed can be charming- m21 likes the proportions of them to add some drama to a pair of twin beds in a guest room, or more likely, in a room fit for a little princess. sometimes m21 even likes them over bigger beds for all -growed-up girls, who still have a little princess inside of them, too...

so we thought these chinoiserie pagoda style crowns from domestications were a bargain at $69.99. don't particularly care for the tie-backs- they seem a bit out of proportion with the crown, but the crown itself is pretty genius for the price. lacquered a solid color, they might be even chicer!

design blogger's challenge: suzy chic

our good blogging friend, and tasteful hong kong interior designer extraordinaire, suzy annetta of studio annetta, has turned her signature 20th century chic style to our blogging challenge. you know it's gonna be good when it features one of maison21's all time favorite pieces of furniture, the traccia table by meret oppenheim. go see the rest here.


whos' next up for the OCDD challenge? we want to see more!

is it just me? (or boy, is my inbox stuffed!)

is it just m21? or has anyone else noticed an uptick of email ads since the downturn? seems like we get an email ad every single day from some retailers (talkin' to YOU, j. crew!) and the rest seem to be averaging at least twice a week. target, west elm, williams-sonoma, pottery barn, z gallerie (15% off accessories right now, btw), crate and barrel, cb2, amazon, borders, restoration, gumps- the list goes on and on. we know we should unsubscribe to declutter our inbox, but what if we miss a true bargain? or something completely essential to our health and well-being, you know- like these straw bluebirds, 4 for $24.00 from williams-sonoma?
just kidding about the bluebirds, btw- they're cute and all, but we need them 'round the atelier like octomom needs more kids. besides, we're not buying anything right now, as we're saving up for the upcoming michael jackson auction....

how's everybody else's inbox doing? is maison21 the only fool that subscribes to these things?

IT'S ONLINE!

finally! browse the breathtakingly glorious "collection" here. warning: hideously clunky flash catalog browser (as well as hideously clunky furniture)- we only got a few pages in before we had to give up. m21 will try again later, after he's had a glass of wine to take the edge off.
and be sure to save the date- the "collection" is on display here in los angeles beginning april 14th. we can't wait- we are SO bidding...

now, back to our regularly scheduled pretty (trina turk fab-rics)

our fave highlights from trina turk's new collection of indoor/outdoor fabrics for schumacher:

trellis print in watermelon

arches print in bamboo

pisces print in punch (our favorite)

peacock print in driftwood (our other favorite)

super paradise print in pool (our other other favorite)

yummy, yes? and just in time for summer...

DO. NOT. WANT.

"TROLL, TROLL, GO AWAY,
COME AGAIN SOME OTHER..."

screw that- forget about the rhyme! just go away, already! really troll, you are not wanted here. we do not like and do not want.

today, during my morning blog reading while waiting for my coffee to kick in, i saw a post by a good blogging friend regarding a negative comment she received on a perfectly innocuous and entertaining post. said follow-up post generated a big ol' flame war, which i stupidly participated in (i'm a big believer in sticking up for my friends), and things got nasty, but now i find myself asking "why"?

why would anyone visit another's blog to post nasty things? why invest the time and energy? if you think design blogging is self-absorbed and frivolous, why even visit our world? why not just keep your opinion to yourself, and move on? obviously, we find our blogs to be a great outlet for discussing our passion (or as in our particular case, discussing our passion AND our clearly superior design skilz). we like what we talk about- a lot- so if you don't, please stay away. you are not welcome at our party.

so let me be clear- i will NOT post negative comments referring to any living person on this blog, and will ALWAYS have comment moderation enabled in order to prevent it. criticize suzanis all you like, but when it comes to the people who love suzanis, save your breath. not gong to happen here. ever. if you want to start an "i hate maison21" blog of your own, go for it- it's a free country and i absolutely believe in freedom of speech, so i would never dream of censoring your right to publish such a blog (though i might sue you if it's libelous), but i won't allow your negativity here, and i certainly won't visit any blog that promotes such, either. DO. NOT. WANT.

which brings me to my second point- i recently had the non-privilege of discovering a blog doing exactly what i just described- hating on fellow design bloggers. again, i would ask, why? life is tough enough, do we need to be hating on something we love? we should be thrilled that there are so many design blogs out there with so many divergent voices, and we should actively encourage others to share their love of design with us- even if we don't agree with the particular blogger's point of view, or how they express said view. like your mama told you- if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all, or in this case, if you don't like the blog, don't visit it. easy enough, right?

last, to those who have blogs making fun of others, as well as those blogs that encourage such activities in their comment sections (you know who you are), and to the all the people who take time out of their busy days to leave negative comments, i ask you to please remember that there is a real person behind every blog, and that real people have real feelings- why would you want to intentionally hurt another person's feelings? i know that most of the people who leave rude comments over the internets would never dream of doing so in real life- but the thing is, the internets are real too, and even the most thick-skinned of us can get hurt. so just don't do it, k? there are better hobbies. really.

let's stay positive, have fun and IGNORE THE TROLLS. you are not wanted here. now, back to some self-absorbed and frivolous design...

*troll doll photo courtesy of the otherwhirled.

design blogger's challenge II: staying neutral

during our last challenge, interior designer katie denham of the katiedid blog turned out a room that blew maison21 away, turning our focal point of a big gaudy, vegas-y chandelier, into a glittery silvery winter scene straight out of dr. zhivago. her work was so brilliant, we almost hated to feature it on blog, since katie being in sacramento is a little too close to home for our comfort (in the interest of self-preservation, we like to avoid publicizing designers in a 500 mile radius who might be more talented than our own fine self). ok, so we're kidding with that- we appreciate talent wherever it may be located, though we do sleep easier at night knowing we aren't competing for the same jobs with katie, right here in los angeles. since katie has recently launched her own private practice, we can call bakersfield our mason-dixon line- she gets everything to the north, and m21 gets everything south... ;-)
with this new challenge, katie has turned out another work of brilliance, creating a chicly masculine bedroom with a 1920's yacht as her starting inspiration. she describes it as "wood, brass, a bit art deco, new industrial age feel" and we just think it's plain old cool. as usual, excellent work, katie- we are in awe. check it out here.

for those of you who would still like to enter the challenge, here's a brief recap of the few simple rules:

decorate a fantasy room by picking two different things from m21's original post or from the m21 inventory (slideshow, upper right corner of blog), and then add in your own current design obsessions. the elements culled from from original post could be the beige paint (you'll need to use our specific color if so) and something else, like the moooi random light, or blond cowhide rug, or whatever; or you can do like HOBAC or katiedid and use an item from the m21 atelier inventory, like the tusk table or gold task lights; then add in your own elements pulled from the web (whatever strikes your fancy) and incorporate it all into your own unique fantasy room.

once finished, let m21 know you have posted your room on your own blog and we'll link to your blog post here, then both our blog readerships can follow the game! no need to make a photoshop collage unless you want to, but if you don't have a blog and want to play, then a photo collage and BRIEF description are mandatory (sorry, no time to post individual photos or edit long descriptions). remember, this is all just good clean decorating fun- no winners and no losers, and no deadlines.

cheap 'n chic: 30 days of glamour for under 10 bucks

maison21 spotted these small fakedy-ass blue & white ceramic pots at wahlgreen's of all places- 2 for $2.00! (though since they were made in china, are they fakes? confused, we are).totally cheap, and the perfect fit for the small sized trader joe's orchid.

at a dollar for the pot, and 8 bucks for the orchid, even with tax we're coming in at under 10 bucks. since orchids can last up to a month or longer, we're talkin' serious decorating bargain time: 30 days of glamour for under 10 bucks.

we like to give these as little gifts with a homemade card. people seem to like them, though of course they could be smiling and saying "thank you" on the outside, while thinking on the inside "m21 is a freakin' cheapskate- some nasty-ass tj's flower and he couldn't even spring for a real card".


now, if you are thinking you've seen this post before, that means you are a long time reader- we made a similar, but more in-depth post on this very subject 231 posts ago, back when we were just a 'lil baby blogger. it's still one of favorites though, so if you want to read it, click here. now, is stealing from one of our own posts plagiarism? again, confused we are...