m21 had a meeting with clients yesterday to present some options to turn a small sitting room into a media room/library. our goals were to provide some needed storage, a spot for a large flatscreen TV, and to update the bland (and architecturally inappropriate) mantel into something a bit more dramatic- all without reconfiguring walls, or any other major remodeling, just some "cosmetic" construction. the home was built in late 1940's, and remodeled within the last few years, and as is often the case, the prior homeowners didn't hire a designer to lay out furniture plans, or think about how people would actually *live* in the home, and thus we were left with nowhere to hang a TV and provide seating opposite, so we had to resort to hanging the TV above the mantel... never m21's first choice, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
and people, again, before starting any construction or remodeling, PUHLEEZE hire a designer to do a furniture and lighting plan; architects and contractors first priorities are not how a room will look and function with furniture in it, and you could be left with a bedroom with no wall big enough for a bed and headboard, let alone nightstands (so common, it's not funny) or as in this case, without wall to hang a flatscreen and have room for some some decent seating opposite (the arrangement the prior homeowners had to resort to watch some TV was just too ghastly for words). oh, and the fact that the architect didn't center the fireplace on the wall (easily accomplished by moving an added wall a mere FIVE inches) simply boggles my mind, and unfortunately, it's too late to make that 5 inch move now. a layperson homeowner reading the plan would never even think to look to catch such a thing, but to someone like me, it would jump out immediately...
so again, PLEASE, i'm begging all homeowners planning new construction or a remodel, spend a little extra money to do a furniture/lighting plan before you get your blueprints approved, even if there is no immediate budget to redecorate after the remodel- it will save you a lifetime of working around ill-shaped rooms with bad lighting and nowhere to put a sofa, and i guarantee it will be the best money spent during your remodel!
now that our little rant is over, here's a picture of the mantel as it stands today followed by sketches of our ideas to update things (just to be clear, that's not my client's furniture btw- they are too tasteful for that, thank goodness. this was the last occupant's decor on the day of the final walkthrough):
just not quite right...
a proposed sketch to return to the mid-century roots of the house. this idea was quickly nixed by all, even me. ;-)
a modern and minimal take... too modern, probably, but the homeowners have lots of contemporary art and furnishings, so it would have worked, especially given the clean lines of the home's original architecture.
a bit more transistional, with a combination of fixed and adjustable shelving, and a overscale picture frame style molding as the mantel surround.
this was the client's choice, a clean lined stepped out bollection molding fire surround, flanked by floor to ceiling adjustable shelving (you'll also note that with the addition of the shelving and everything else going on, it becomes harder to notice that the fireplace is off-center)
lady blogger ms. decorno, recently asked one of her timeless classic "yes or no" questions about bamboo shades- which really means she just wants free advice from her decorator friends, but that's ok- we get so much enjoyment from the hilarious, snarky (and occasionally vicious) comments section on her blog, we don't mind doling out a bit of free advice in exchange! ;-) plus, we're glad she is back- we missed our decorno while she was on hiatus.
woven wood shades, from a m21 project in progress
so yes, lady d, bamboo shades are a timeless decorator classique which we all know and love (see the dark mahogany top-down shades we just installed at a client's in the above photo). woven wood shades (as we call them in the business) are often, but not always, made of bamboo, and can bring an air of casual sophistication to a formal room, or a bit of global chic to more modern decor- but warning, use wisely- pairing them with too much global eclecticism, especially of the chinois variety, can result in your home looking like a pier one or cost plus store. not so chic.
and speaking of pier one or cost plus- do not buy the cheap shades with the little exposed metal hangers up top from either place (unless you are a college student living on top ramen), they look like complete poo-poo, and never go up and down smoothly after you hang them; instead, get proper shades, which fold up or down like a roman shade, with decent hardware up top for the raising/lowering mechanism (usually concealed by a self-valance). my advice is to purchase from a reputable local dealer to save yourself the heartache of measuring incorrectly when ordering online- almost all brick and mortar curtain showrooms sell and install for not much more then an online source. if you are a little DIY savvy and think you can successfully measure and install yourself, try the shade store or smith + noble (both of whom, btw, also will send someone to measure and install for an additional fee, so really in this instance it works out the same as buying local from your mom and pop curtain place).
a way to dress up woven wood shades, as we did in the above photo, is to layer curtain panels over them on either side, and if you *really* want to gussy them up, you can layer them under a fabric valance, similar to what is layered over the pale, custom-colored matchstick (tiny reeds) woven wood shades, in the below photo (from a project m21 worked on with his former employer over a decade ago see? timeless classique!)
now put up your damn shades, already, lady d! your neighbor chad really doesn't mind looking in, but he'd like it to be an elective exercise, not mandatory! Tweet
well, we know who the oscar is NOT going to, at least in two categories...
while going through our picks for the oscar pool at an academy awards party m21 is attending today, we were shocked to see the that prettiest picture of the year was NOT nominated for best art direction or costume design- what up with that? it may not have been the best movie of the year, but god dammit, "a single man" was the most gorgeous thing we've seen in theaters in a long, long, time (which also made it one of the best pictures of the year in our eyes too- pretty über alles *is* one of our mottoes, after all). the homes, the car, the college girl channeling bridget bardot, julianne moore's hair, colin firth's glasses- hell, ALL of colin firth, for that matter; scene by scene, "a single man" was meticulously visualized perfection, and deserves some sort of recognition for it. so even though it means we have no chance of winning our oscar pool by doing so, we are writing in "a single man" as our pick to win the oscar for art direction and costume design. in a more perfect (prettier) world, it would win for both, we're sure...
on a lighter note, the oscar party we are attending is a potluck, with guests asked to bring a dish inspired by a nominee. m21, inspired by both his lack of cooking skills, and the movie precious, will be bringing a bucket of greasy and delicious goldenbird fried chicken- and we're going to run out without paying for it too! ;-) .
greetings from wet and soggy los angeles! m21 has been a bad blog-father this week- hardly posting, as well as ignoring comments and emails (sorry) but you'll have to forgive us- we've been a bit all over the place lately- as in physically, mentally and emotionally, all over the place!
m21 feels like he needed a boat/car this week! the cool amphibicar picture from wired- all sorts of great obsolete gadgets in their post, if you like that sort of thing (we do), you should check it out.
we started off the week reading a facebook status update by our nephew complaining about his sucky monday: had his wisdom teeth pulled (ouch), the san diego chargers lost the playoffs, dashing his superbowl hopes yet again (oh dear) and oh yeah- his mom was in the hospital because she was in bad car accident. what?!? thank goodness, the painkillers addled his brain a bit- his mom was in a car accident, but my big sis was ok, and NOT in the hospital. she was driving home from northern california, and while winding through the grapevine, lost control of her car in the heavy winds and rain that have been pummeling southern california this week. her car hit the guardrail, but miraculously, she was unhurt and no other cars were involved. m21 hopped in m21mobile and drove to gorman (ie, the middle of nowhere) to rescue her. not what he had planned for a rainy monday, but he was certainly happy he was able to do it, and that his sister was ok. shook up, but ok. yay!
m21 hates, hates, hates, driving in the rain. those of you in other parts of the country may find this amusing as it's inescapable fact of everyday life, but sorry, we shouldn't have to do it here in sunny southern california- it just ain't right!
they say any accident you can walk away from is a good accident, and while that's true, m21 thinks perhaps to avoid them, maybe here in southern california, people just shouldn't drive in the rain at all. maybe we can have "rain days", like they have snow days in other parts of the country. m21 isn't criticizing his sister's driving by making this statement- far from it- she merely tried to avoid hitting another car who fishtailed into her lane, causing her to react and and spin out, but that's kind of our point: we southern californians shouldn't drive in the rain because we don't get enough practice to be any good at it! like anything else in life, be it driving or decorating, the more you do it, the better you become at doing it, plain and simple- so by having only half a dozen chances to practice every year, even the best drivers in LA can't ever get enough "rain time" to be any good! so we should just stay home!
hence "rain days"- an idea whose time has come! people can stay home and enjoy the weather from the safety and comfort of their living rooms. that's what m21 was going to do before he ended up driving to gorman (it was a real holiday- MLK day- remember? so we weren't even playing hooky or nuffin'). we even planned ahead for our rain day, buying logs for a roaring fire and some cheap n' cheery daffodils to perk up the gloom of the week's worth of storms being forecast...
note to self: when the skies are black, and the winds are blowin', daffodils just don't cut it. stick to hot toddies for rainy day cheer, m21!
during the continuation of the storm yesterday, in between mopping up soaked windowsills (our southern california homes, like our drivers, aren't prepared for rain either- virtually everyone m21 knows had water coming inside their homes this week!), m21 cleaned and polished a pair of lucite lamps who will be eventually headed for a client's bedroom. they still need to be rewired, but they are so pretty in our dining room (yes, we had to test drive them), we might wait until the skies clear up to drop them off at the lamp shop! ;-) and speaking of clients, one of our other clients took a "rain day" today themselves, and rescheduled our meeting for next week- our idea is obviously spreading!
normally, we try to style our photos a bit better, but we had our "decorator" bag out to remember to take to our canceled client meeting, and forgot it was in the frame, so please excuse the level randomly poking up on the left... this picture wasn't taken at night btw, but at 4 o'clock in the afternoon- it's *that* stormy here...
in fact, we almost canceled one of our own appointments today too (a haircut), as it was still raining cats and dogs this morning, but in this case, we're glad we didn't take a "rain day"- not only was our big bush of hair making us look positively homeless, our inner junque whisperer™ told us to stop by one of our favorite junque shoppes after the appointment since we had a block of free time due to the canceled client appointment! yay! and are we ever happy our inner junque whisperer™ is like the US mail and never stops for rain, sleet or snow, as we found a seriously cool piece of needlepoint art! m21 has had a hankerin' for some vintage needlepoint to hang in the atelier, but everything he has run across has been too "gramma" for his tastes, so this lil' number fits the bill pretty nicely. we wish "anne" had used white for the background of her "pottery" masterpiece so it would work in our breakfast nook a bit better, but no matter- it was cute, and cheery for a bargain price, so we'll enjoy it until we put it in the marketplace for someone else to snatch up!
framed in blue lucite, no less!
well, we warned you this post would be all over the place in the title right? funny, sometimes we get annoyed reading other blog posts that skip all over the place- "wait? where did the needlepoint come from? i thought we were talking about rainy days?"- but somehow, today, on our own blog, it seems appropriate- car crashes, daffodils, lucite, needlepoint and all... maybe because it's still storming outside, and the unusual weather has left us a bit more unusually scattered then normal...
we leave this hot mess of an "all over the place" post with a pop classic by the immortal karen carpenter. keep dry, and stay happy (and focused), people!
m21 would like to take a moment to discuss one of his pet peeves: can lights (also known as recessed lights).
we hate them. a lot. can lights provide harsh and unflattering down lighting wherever they are used- lighting that would be much prettier if replaced with the ambient lighting of a chandelier, pendant, wall sconce, floor lamp or table lamp (or preferably combinations of all the above). in fact, combinations of the above will provide more then enough lighting in almost any room, so why use recessed lights? the only place can lighting is ever even necessary (in m21's opinion) is the kitchen where bright, direct light (not ambient) is sometimes needed- even then, other light sources should be included: pendants, sconces, under counter, etc. m21 thinks a can light is occasionally ok in a bathroom; and if you own a picasso, maison21 will generously permit you the discreet use of a directional recessed light to highlight your masterpiece- but other then those exceptions, m21 says kick the can!
now please don't take this post personally if you already have recessed lighting in your home- most of us do- and don't call out a plasterer because your favorite style dictator m21 said so! we are mainly addressing this issue to remodels and new construction, where we find ceilings are often so riddled with recessed fixtures that they end up looking like swiss cheese. yuck.
the swiss cheese of which we speak. we ran across this picture somewhere on the internets, and decor issues aside, we we're shocked by 22 visible ceiling lights in the photo, yet nary a table or floor lamp, nor chandelier or pendent in sight. just two lonely sconces to provide ambient lighting. m21 imagines that being in this home at night would be oppressive, not to mention the impossibility of simply sitting in chair and browsing through a magazine. no good.
we aren't sure why architects include so many recessed lights in new construction plans, perhaps they just think their clients expect them. we DO know why contractors include them in home remodels- they are inexpensive to purchase and install, so a generous mark-up can be passed on to the homeowner. multiply that mark-up by as many as a dozen in a single room, and the profit is pretty nice (and every contractor reading this blog, is making a m21 voodoo doll right now). in fact, when maison21 is involved in the planning stages of a construction project, the first thing he'll do is x out all the unnecessary can lights on the blueprints- hopefully justifying the added expense of bringing in a designer at the early stages of the project! of course, m21 will probably immediately use up the savings by adding j-boxes for extra ceiling fixtures and wall sconces, as well as floor outlets for table and floor lamps (nothing worse then lighting the edges of a room but not the central seating areas)- but hey, those kinds of pretty and appropriate additions, are why you bring in a designer in the first place!
now if you don't believe m21 about recessed ceiling lights being verboten, try this simple test: open up the latest issue of elle decor or house beautiful magazines, and count the number of recessed lights shown in rooms that aren't kitchens. you won't get very high in your count- try it!
so what are your thoughts on the usefulness of recessed lighting? kick the can? or should m21 have more of a 'can do' attitude?
yes, that's right- less then two months until c-day- m21 can't even bear to say the name until after thanksgiving- it's just too scary, right? so much to do and already so little time! well, today, m21 would like to share a couple easy ways to lighten the shopping load while doing a bit o' good, and that's by donating to a deserving charity. seriously, who needs another scented candle or pretty book, when so many people around the globe can't afford such simple luxuries? (well, maison21 actually always needs another pretty candle or book, but this year he's willing to do without). just think what a difference we could make, if we took the hundreds and hundreds of dollars we spend on on little treats for one another, and use that money to improve the lot of the truly needy around the globe. m21 has done his share of griping about our lousy economy on his blog, but the truth is our crappy economy at its worst, provides us with nicer lifestyles than 90% of the people on this globe- it's time to be grateful, not resentful! plus, m21 is a true believer in karma- improving the lot of others can only end up improving our own...
one of the ways maison21 thinks is a great way of giving is purchasing a gift certificate for www.kiva.org. kiva is an organization that provides microfinancing to would-be entrepreneurs in impoverished nations around the globe. small amounts- literally a few hundred dollars- can lift a family out of poverty and provide them with the capital to start a thriving business. from kiva's website:
"Kiva (is a) a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur across the globe. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay their loan, you get your money back. It's a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty."
another organization maison21 reccommends is heifer international. heifer international provides livestock to impoverished families as source of both sustenance and income. m21 really likes the idea of giving a share of a llama or sheep as these animals provide a sustainable source of income via wool for as little as $10- who knows, you might end up walking on a carpet spun from the very fibers you donated! vegans can donate a share of a tree for the same amount, or even cooler, give an entire hive of honeybees for just $30!
there are tons of other worthwhile organizations to give to, and maison21 would love if you left your favorites in the comments. he would also encourage those of you with blogs of your own to post your favorites on them. let's really make this year a season of giving and goodwill to all- together, we can really make a difference!
next post, back to the fun and frivolity of of our utterly useless- and utterly fabulous- world of decorating...
yes, we totally just made up a self-important quote so we could use this photo of a vignette in the atelier from december, 2006, which we recently rediscovered on our hard drive (waste not, want not- reuse & recycle!). as you can tell, '06 was a blanc xmas.
Hairspray -- much like health care -- is a RIGHT, not a privilege."
how can that photo (and caption) not make you smile? courtesy of WHORANGE. the color of craving- one of our favorite blogs, full of random stuff, both design related and otherwise, always written in a hilariously entertaining style by whorange herself, tula jeng.
and did we mention she has the best blog title in all of the interwebs? whorange. genius.
doing a little furniture rearranging around the atelier also means that m21 has to do some shuffling of his decor and art book collection- our books are everywhere and we decorate with them both by choice and by necessity, since we don't have a dedicated room to use as a library (next home, hopefully). of course, this degenerates into move a stack of books, then pause for a half an hour to go through a volume we haven't cracked in years. move a stack, pause, repeat, until an entire afternoon is wasted...
yesterday, one of our 'pauses' was "modern fireplaces" circa 1975- so fun to look back at the architectural trends of our predecessors and see what's timeless and what's not (the 'not' usually wins). flipping through the volume, the trend that jumped out most immediately (and looked the most dated) was multi-level floorplans and built-in furniture- must have been very, very popular in the 70's. virtually every room pictured had some variant: split-levels, conversation pits, step-down living rooms, and seating built-in to all of it. it's fun to point fingers and say what "were they thinking?" but m21 guarantees you it will happen to the architectural and decor trends we are being saturated with now (don't believe moi? two words: "vessel sinks"- let's discuss in 15 years, k?). m21 also finds the architecturally dated trends particularly fascinating, as opposed to the decorating trends, because you can always throw out a dated chair, but what do you do when that chair is built-in with freakin' brick work? not so cheap or easy to fix that...
here's a selection of our favorites and our "wtf's" from the book:
ok, we have NO idea what they were thinking with this massive sculpture of a ceramic tiled chimney, but we are glad they built it- crazy, but cool and unique. oh, the book states this was a private home in germany, NOT a hotel...
this sleek stainless steel column in new york holds up quite well we think. filing it away for future use.
this concave stainless hearth is pretty chic too. outside of the track lights, we like the whole room (even the shag carpet covered chairs). we'll move right in...
um, just say no to stucco- we know they were trying for that old/new, modern/rustic thing, but it ain't working. and doesn't that stack of flat pillows look oh-so-comfy and inviting? ouch.
well, the 70's were part of the cold war era, so that's the only explanation we can come up with for this big ol' neutron bomb of a fireplace- and can you imagine the acoustics in this room? ceramic tiles on both floor AND ceiling, and the monster of faceted steel in the center to make sure the sound bounces everywhere? ouch again!
if we ever get a commission to design a vacation retreat in aspen or jackson hole, we are stealing this copper riveted fireplace AND the idea of surrounding it with modernist furniture in casually rumpled leather and bright ethnic rugs. hot!
we've always liked fireplaces that project to divide a room, so this number is quite cool in our book. note the glass apron extending from the wood down towards hearth- a detail we are going to file away for future use. and speaking of filing away, we take back what we said about wasting an afternoon flipping through old books- it's NEVER a waste of time. while we haven't cracked this volume since we bought it (probably 10 years ago), some of it must have sunk in to our subconscious, because as soon as we saw the above photo, we immediately thought of a fireplace we designed last year for an unbuilt project! next time, it's going to have a glass apron too!
happy friday, y'all- hope you enjoyed the flashback.
and in the comments section, please feel free to leave your idea of the split-levels of 2009: what architectural trends do you think won't stand the test of time, and keep future designers and contractors employed as they get ripped out? room dividing fireplaces? ;-)
by now, you've all seen kelly wearstler's beach house in this month's metropolitan home, and love it or hate it, there is is a trend ms. wearstler is on the cutting edge of, and that is the use of stonework in interiors (beyond merely flooring, that is). in her beach house, it's everywhere- walls, furniture, floors, art, you name it and she uses it, and trust me on this one- just as in fashion, ready-to-wear draws inspiration from the outrageous creations of the couture shows, you are going to see the stone decor trend kelly wearstler is currently on the leading edge of, eventually diffuse out into the mainstream (and probably end up at z gallerie and target, to boot- we'll keep you posted on that!)
the glamorous marble fireplace surround (sculpture, really) and marble faced walls in the living room of ms. wearstler's malibu retreat (photo from pointclickhome.com, via material girls).
so how to get in on the stone decor trend right now, before it's every where? (and maybe even do it on a budget?) well, first you can go to a prior blog post of m21's to learn a little bit more about vintage glamorous tessellated stone-faced furniture (if you haven't read it already, of course- and most of you did read it, right? you never miss a m21 post, right?). you can also visit 1stdibs, to see what they've got in stock...
m21 only has one piece of tessellated stone furniture himself right now, a glammy end table- but is always looking for more stone and marble pieces- regardless of trends, it's some of his favorite stuff!
as we mentioned in our prior post, ironies sells some gorgeous stone items, and so does maitland-smith, (though most of maitland-smiths's offerings are not particularly our style- too mcmansion-y). some, however- like these stone and brass tusks- most definitely are m21's style- splendiferous! probably not in our recession budget though...
which brings us to today's feature on how to bring some stone glamor into your life for a budget price... we found these marble veneered pedestals from the home decorators collection ranging in price from $119-$199- pretty cheap for a hand-crafted item we think. plop an interesting sculpture on a pair of them in your living room, dining room or entry (or even a sculptural plant or flower) and boom- stone cold kelly style for a rock bottom low price!
what do we think, kids- could you rock kelly's new look? or does it leave you (stone) cold?
ps- a big fat THANK YOU to tracy of comfort & luxury- i knew this post was missing something! (please visit her blog to complain when it is stuck in your head for a week):
and, sorry, to all those expecting a mogg blogg post mocking these crazy, crusty, carnivorous wall lamps, think again- we have come not to bury wally gator, but to praise him- we think they are fabulous! (hey-what was that noise? the sound of all m21's past, current, and future design clients snapping their purses shut, and fleeing in terror, that's what!)
seriously though, while not for everyone, m21 thinks these are fabulous and unique pieces- the sort of one of a kind, large statement piece that that elevates a room from routine to completely unforgettable. against a deep tone glazed wall of an otherwise fairly formal and somber dining room, these could be amazing, providing a sense of both menace and whimsy, and you can be certain that dinner party conversation will never be at a loss with the ready subject of your host's questionable taste in lighting staring you down from above...
in closing, before y'all run to the comments section to discuss what a kook that maison21 is, we'd like to remind you of a quote by diana vreeland: ''Never fear being vulgar, just boring.'' words to live by...
"future historians will marvel, that at the end of the fossil fuel era- even as oil was running out- the last few drops of crude were being wasted producing millions of hideous, land-fill clogging, cheap plastic holiday lawn ornaments" he thinks to himself as he stuffs a 100% polyester $9.99 doggy halloween costume into his red shopping cart, blissfully unaware of his own hypocrisy ...
this morning, m21 was perusing one of the non-design blogs he frequents (he won't say which blog, as given the current rancorous political climate it might cause heads to explode, and we are a design blog, not a head-exploding blog), and said blog had an interesting post on how mac usage on their blog had exploded almost 50% in the past two 1/2 years, from 20% to 29%
it inspired m21 to do some checking on his own stats, and yup- people are switching over to macs alright. last summer, we had about 29% mac users, and this summer it's up to 36%. we knew we'd skew higher then the average population because we are a design blog, and macs are, well, more designer-y...
admittedly, m21's non-scientific sampling ain't to be taken seriously- with our readership, just one of you making the switch could make the numbers jump! ;-) still, it took us aback a bit- over a third of our readers? we never imagined it would be that high, given the stats of overall computer sales say mac users comprise about 10% of the market. (fyi- our iphone readership was almost zero a year ago and is now a little over 1%).
we love macs, and basically, it's all we've ever known, computer-wise. to our highly refined and sublimly tasteful aesthetic *sniff, sniff* ;-) the windows operating system is just looks kinda clunky, and visually unappealing, so we couldn't ever imagine changing on aesthetics alone (we're taking interface, not machine- there are some groovy looking PC's out there). we've sacrificed learning autoCAD because of our mac addiction- admittedly a bit of a drawback in the interiors field- but other then that, m21 loves his mac. a lot. (though he desperately needs a new, shiny, faster one- but isn't that the case with ALL technology)?
what say y'all? are you mac or a PC? and why, or why not? ps: autodesk, maker of autoCAD, why the heck are you not cross platform? architect and designers like moi, lurve their macs, and we *are* your market- seems to me, you are missing the boat on this one. big time.
egg beater, no. 4- m21's favorite painting in the whole wide world.
maison21's absolute favorite american painter, is hands down, stuart davis (1892– 1964). he would tie with picasso for our favorite artist EVER, except he was in no way as prolific as picasso, and let's face it- picasso invented modern art (we know, we vastly oversimplify, but hey, this is a decoratin' blog, not art history 101 ;-). stuart davis, while a personal hero, isn't quite in the same league as picasso (no one is, for that matter), but we adore his work, and would rather have one of his paintings hanging in our home than anyone else.
we love davis because of his bright colors and his fusion of cubism and graphic art styles. his work almost can almost seem trite today because it has been so often copied by the graphics, illustration and advertising industries so as to seem commonplace (watch a pepe le pew cartoon from the 1960's after viewing davis' work, and tell me they weren't influenced by by him). in fact, maison21 would consider davis to be the first pop artist, presaging warhol by decades.
yes, maison21 loves him some stuart davis: so now, why is maison21 showing you all these fabulous masterworks? well, because a while back we wrote a post entitled "filing for reorganization", where we spoke of looking at the economic turndown as a positive, and now that design projects have slowed a bit, we hoped to use the spare time we find ourselves with to re-embrace doing some of the things we love- like painting. we stopped making art 3 or 4 years ago when we just didn't have the time any longer, and well, now we do- so no excuses...
we cleared out the garage of most of our inventory (except for the below table- it's so damn 70's chic we can't stand it, but even after lowering the price by 2/3 , it still remains in le garage, unsold (it would seem HOBAC and m21 are the only two people who "get" it in all it's chicness). so using that glam table as a workspace (don't worry, we covered it) and keeping mr. davis in mind as our inspiration, we actually finished our first painting this weekend. we took a vintage water-damaged cardboard print of flowers in a vase, purchased because we liked the gesso frame it came in, and we transformed it (frame was a dated off-white gilt washed 1960's french provincial number, so we just busted out the white lacquer spray paint on it). now we're not posting this to get compliments (swear), as we know that we aren't transforming the art world with our unique vision or anything. we ARE posting it because the process made us feel really good, and sometimes it's really easy to forget to take time to do stuff we love. we felt like we really accomplished something this weekend, other than worrying about swine flu or the housing crisis, and it felt great to just be "doing" rather than "thinking".
making something, whether it's a good meal, or a garden, or a painting, satisfies something basic and primeval within us, and maison21 highly recommends it- even if you are just gonna copy the work of someone else, like we did. so this week, if you have the time, m21 says make something, anything (a new recipe, a blog post, a craft project)- your soul will thank you!
maison21 is christian may, a los angeles based interior decorator with decided opinions about design. he'd like to share those opinions with you, to make the world a little bit prettier for the good of all mankind...
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um, just say no to stucco- we know they were trying for that old/new, modern/rustic thing, but it ain't working. and doesn't that stack of flat pillows look oh-so-comfy and inviting? ouch.
