in a holiday mood (lighting)

i planned this post earlier to be relevant during the holiday season, but between the flu, and the demands of work, somehow it didn't happen. but better late than never, right? so here's the story: early in the holiday season, maison21 attended a party at an acquaintance's home that promised to be a lovely evening- the guests were chic, the host's new home was pretty darn fabulous, the food was amazing and the liquor abundant. and you know what? maison21 couldn't wait to leave! he thinks many of the other guests felt the same way, too. the reason? because the hosts committed one glaring error, and i do mean glaring- the house was lit as if by klieg lights! every single ceiling light, chandelier, and table lamp were all blazing away at full wattage- it was so bright, you could have easily performed surgery in the living room! in a word, it was uncomfortable. maison21 was a little shocked- he really thought that since the hosts were fairly sophisticated people, that they would have known better. so maison21 started paying close attention to the other parties he attended, as well as to the parties and dinners he observed while walking his dog in the evening hours, and he realized that this partay faux pas was actually fairly common. while most of you reading this are probably already aware of the power of proper lighting (and by proper, maison21 means dim), maison21 thought if he can save just one last holiday party from a potential ambiance disaster, then this tardy post will have been worth the effort...

in the age of trader joe's and whole foods, everyone can serve delicious food at their parties, (even without the expense of a caterer), and everyone has access to a costco or sam's club to load up on the jumbo bottles of ketel one, so it's the little things- that extra attention to detail- that will make your party stand out. maison21 thinks that one of the simplest ways to establish an ambiance that signals your gathering is an event, not just another party, is with your lighting. and when maison21 talks lighting, he means lots and lots of it, but with the end effect of seeming like none at all.

in a simple poll of my friends, i found that most of them weren't even aware of god's gift to the table lamp, the 7 1/2 watt bulb (on right in below photo). maison21 always has these in the table lamps of the public areas of his house, and before a party will actually go through every other room and replace every single bulb with them as well. lamps with black or opaque shades get the clear version to create a pretty puddle of light, and the rest get the frosted white version. you can get these little miracles at most hardware stores, and sometimes at places like target, for about 3 bucks a pop. but if you buy online in bulk, in advance, you can get them for as little as .50 cents each (here's a source). with these lovely little bulbs, you can have every lamp in your home blazing away, yet still keep things deliciously dim- think intimate lounge or restaurant kind of dim. your guests will look fabulous in this lighting, and so will your home, and when your guests feel they look good, they are much more likely to freely mingle and flirt, and that's the real secret to a great party (of course, lots and lots of liquor helps too).
now here's where maison21 gets even a little crazier with the lighting shenanigans- he then gets up on a ladder and replaces all the bulbs in his ceiling fixtures and chandeliers with lower wattages as well. even though all his ceiling fixtures are on dimmers, he likes to take this extra step because nothing ruins his carefully lit atmosphere faster than someone cranking up a dimmer switch to full blast so they can share baby pictures or vacation photos- maison21 will gladly provide you with a flashlight for that purpose if needed, thank you! most specialty light bulb retailers have 5 and 10 watt candelabra base bulbs bulbs available (online as well, of course), and in the above photo, i placed a clear 10 watt globe next to a standard 25 watt clear globe from the grocery store. they are a little smaller but still look fine in most chandeliers (maison21 almost always prefers a clear bulb in overhead fixtures and sconces).
the last step to successful party lighting is fire- lots and lots of it. maison21 likes candles everywhere, and if you have a working fireplace, it should be lit as well- even if you have to run the air conditioning! maison21 thinks candles should be in every room where guests will congregate or pass through, including entries and bathrooms (hallways and stairwells too, if you can do it without creating a fire hazard). don't overlook the kitchen- maison21 changes the wattage in there too, and scatters lots of votives over the counter tops and shelves, because like it or not, guests always end up in the kitchen at the end of the night, and even dirty dishes look prettier by candlelight!

one last note- go easy on the scented candles- maison21 loves a scented candle, especially since he has pets and is a little paranoid about odeurs (mariage freres' thé des mandarins is his favorite if you are reading this, santa). masion21 likes to extinguish any scented candles before guests arrive ,though- the scents can become rather overwhelming over long periods, like the course of a cocktail party. oh- and never light a scented candle beforehand if you are having a dinner party- your guests should have their appetites whetted by smelling the food to come, not a diptyque candle.

now, please go enjoy the last of your holiday parties- maison21 has to go a plan a cocktail party of his own for the new year, since now all his friends are going to be too scared to invite him to their next party lest he critique their lighting on the internets...

ps- kudos to patrick, one of maison21's oldest and dearest friends, and from who's delightful party maison21 just returned- your ambiance was perfection!

farewell my lovely...

i'm always excited about my next find- the item i'm most in love with is usually the one i haven't found yet. that's why my "catch and release" decorating system works so well for me- it's more about the hunt, not so much the keeping: find it, use it, sell it. keep things churning, and i'm happy.

except sometimes. every so often i sell something, and then find myself wondering "why did you ever let that one go?". that's the situation i found myself in this week, as i packed up this fabulous mirrored zebra statue to go to it's new home. isn't he fabulous? so chic, yet just a little bit on the gaudy side, like a judith lieber purse gone mutant big (in a good way- if there is a good way to reference judith lieber purses). of the hundreds of animals that have walked in and out of the maison21 atelier over the last few years (i have a bit of an animal obsession right now), this is one i'll remember wistfully. come to think of it, the last animal i regret selling was a zebra statue too. that's it- i hereby swear- with all 5 of my blog readers as witnesses- that the next fabulous zebra statue i find, i'm keeping it. forever. cross my animal-addicted heart, no more selling the zebras...
ps: my apologies- i swore my blog would never degenerate into an infomercial for my ebay sales, but i've had the flu and haven't felt able to come up with a decent post idea. so i'm taking the easy way out. plus, i really am shockingly sad to see this guy go... (is there a psychological term for becoming emotionally attached to inanimate objects, just because they are pretty?)

p.s. i love you, part three

** sadly, the 111 mall has gone out of business, so this post is now just for nostalgia's sake. ps- john, we miss you! call us!

maison21's final super "secret" palm springs' source for fabulous finds, is of course, like the rest, no secret at all, but i'm surprised to find how many decoristas within driving distance of palm springs don't know about it yet. i suppose that's a good thing for maison21, but at the risk of hurting our own business, and far worse- the risk of someone else finding a treasure THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED FOR OUR OWN HOME, the secret is this: when maison21 is in the desert, the very first stop he makes on his way into town (and usually the last before he leaves again) is the 111 antique mall.

the 111 antique mall is in the most unlikely of locations, tucked into a half-empty mini-mall on the corner of racquet club and palm canyon- the first major intersection as you arrive in palm springs on highway 111. you'll know you're in the right spot when you see the carls jr in the corner of the parking lot. please note- if you visit the 111's website via the link, the cathedral city location listed has recently closed (a good thing- means the palm springs location has even more stuff, and you don't have to make the schlep out to c.c., unless you want to visit maison21's other "secret" sources out that way).

the 111 mall is run by maison21's two favorite johns in the desert- no, not what you're thinking, as maison21 is FAR too old to be a rentboy- we're speaking of john hall and john connell, sweethearts both of them. john hall is a true pioneer of modernism in the desert, having run the fabulous john's resale for years, selling mid-century modern long before the current craze ignited, and john connell, well, his schtick alone is worth a visit- he should charge a cover for his comedy act. warning: his act is rated "m" for mature, so leave the kids at home (and your husband/boyfriend too, especially if he's hot). just kidding- he's actually pretty harmless, so the kids won't be shocked, and please do give the guy a thrill and bring your handsome husbands :). here's photo of the outrageous john c. in action on a consigned red satin heart-shaped hooker bed- talk about an unusual find, but somebody's gonna love it and work the hell out of it in their home (the bed, not john connell).


the 111 antique mall is divided into individual booths, some run by individual vendors, and some filled with consignments edited by john hall, and the whole thing is simply PACKED with goodies, in every style imaginable- from the one-a-kind high kitsch of the hooker bed to the incredible chic of the following pair of rougier lamps and faux machalite-lacquered widdicomb sideboard (they would be lovely and welcomed additions to the permanent collection here at the maison21 atelier, thank you very much). maison21 never leaves the 111 mall empty handed, and if you do, well, you just aren't trying hard enough...



the best thing about the 111 is that because the merchandise is supplied by individual vendors and individual consignees, both the styles of merchandise as well as the prices vary greatly, so there really is something for everyone, and some incredible bargains are to be had. on our last visit, the highest price m21 noted was $2400 for the most amazing super-thick scrolled lucite coffee table- not the cheapest price ever, but if you were to purchase the same table in any metropolitan area of the world, that price would be quadrupled. most of the prices are much more reasonable- like $600 for an incredible pair of high back modern chinoiserie throne chairs, or $995 for a double helix stacked lucite coffee table, and some prices are a downright steal, like $95 for a giant chinois brass lamp or $195 for a set of slightly scratchy lucite nesting tables (an easy fix). maison21 is getting those last two on his next visit to the springs, along with the coral mentioned in a prior post if they are still there- he greatly regrets passing all three up this time, and doesn't know what in the heck he was thinking. note: these prices are all from maison21's rather addled memory- please don't go to the 111 mall and demand those prices because m21 posted them on his blog. the 111 mall should not be made to pay the price for the brain cells killed during maison21's misspent 80's youth.



one last tip before you run off to plunder the 111 mall of all it's merchandise (and quite possibly ruin maison21's livelihood and future home decorating dreams in the process): while the 111 mall is worth a visit any time you are in palm springs, it's worth a special trip out to ps in the hottest dog days of summer. because when it's hot, and tourism is down and business is slow, most (but not all) of the dealers will have sales marking down everything in their booths by 10%- 30% off. and since many of the dealers live in palm springs year-round, they are still stocking their booths with fabulous finds- so you have fresh treasures with less competition, and bargains to boot! maison21 is willing to risk a little heat stroke for that! now those of you who live in southern california, or are planning a visit to ps in the near furture, get your decorating-addicted bootays over to the 111 antique mall! but maison21 would appreciate it if you were to please wait until after the holidays- maison21 wants that lamp and set of nesting tables and will be in palm springs between xmas and new years to get them- he thanks you very much.

p.s. i love you, part two

the heart of vintage shopping in palms springs lies in the dozens of resale and consignment shops that line the 20 miles of palm canyon drive from palm springs in the north to palm desert in the south- when maison21 is in the desert he likes to make a day of stopping at every sign that says "consignment"along the way. not for the faint of heart, this day's journey involves finding lots and lots of "desert dreadful decor"- more lodge pole beds and giant terra cotta amphora lamps then you could have possibly ever imagined existed, but maison21 guarantees you will find a treasure or two amidst the sea of white wash and dusty rose. now if a day of encountering dream catchers in the hopes of finding a dorothy draper sounds more like a nightmare than a pleasant time waster, maison21 is going to lay out some sure fire winners in the vintage sweepstakes, sure to leave your decorating sweet tooth satiated!

on this last trip to the desert, maison21 made the discovery of a new resale store, and was quite taken with it: leftovers, in cathedral city- it's a little off the beaten path- which probably explains why it was so good and so reasonably priced. the store has an nice, electic mix of furnishings, heavy on the chinois, (always a good thing). maison21 spotted these hot dorothy draper-esque mirrors for $95 and $135 each! they are undoubtedly plastique, but at that kind of price, who cares? maison21 also picked up a pair of incredibly glam faux oryx horn mounts for hisownfineself! the shop isn't large, but it's worth a trip, and there is also a nice selection of mid-century modern pieces at hedge, another resale store in the same complex (you can skip the large shop in between them, though- brand new "modern" furnishings available in any city in the u.s., heavy on the black leather and chrome- not really our thing).

maison21's next recommended stop is further north along palm canyon drive towards palm springs, on the border between ps and cathedral city, the estate sale. the estate sale is a cavernous collection of buildings with individual consignee's selling a little bit of every style, with an emphasis on nearly-new furnishings, kind of in the henredon mode. still, it's most definitely worth a stop, and maison21 always makes a point of visiting when he's in town- it has a large section devoted solely to art, and maison21 has picked up a few great (reasonably priced) pieces for clients over the years. on this trip to the estate sale, maison21 spotted a fab 70's modern brass chinese chippendale headboard, and an awesome sleek early 80's brass and mirror bedroom suite. maison21 apologizes here- no photos as he left his camera in his car, and was too lazy to go retrieve it- he blames a slight hangover he was nursing from cocktails during dinner the night before at wang's of the desert (the gayest chinese resaurant ever).

speaking of hangovers, maison21 decided to cure his by meeting rudy for a deliciously greasy fried egg-topped bacon cheese burger at tyler's burgers(can you hear m21's arteries clogging through your internet connection?). tyler's for lunch is a must in the desert, and has the most amazing burgers, fries, potato salad and cole slaw. plus, it's outdoors, so maison21 can bring mona, who gets to enjoy a plate of bacon of her very own, plus all the attention lavished on her by her fellow diners and the dog-loving servers. yum.

after lunch, we decided to revive ourselves by walking along indian canyon to starbucks when maison21 made another palm springs new-to-him discovery: we were passing by the stewart galleries, which m21 has driven by for years and had never given it a second thought, thinking it a musty old lady art gallery, when rudy remarked that he read somewhere that it was one of kelly wearstler's favorite places to shop in palm springs. well, maison21 didn't need coffee to revive him from his burger coma anymore- he was into that shop like a rocket! and he must say it was pretty fab- as usual, our hero, ms. wearstler was on the money- the stewart gallery is filled with rock crystal obelisks, bronze mounted animal horns, faux tortoise shells and other exotic tchotkes. maison21 was particularly taken with a painting of a corgi with a tennis ball, as it reminds us of our own tennis ball obsessed little lady, and he thought these selenite votives were quite chic- an architectural twist on the ubiquitous rock crystal votives. they are a great gift idea too, at $20 bucks each, and by far the most affordable things in the store.



we also stumbled into the shop next door, the r. shafer art and antique gallery, mistakenly thinking it was an annex to the stewart galleries. maison21 is still kicking himself for not purchasing a large white coral on a lucite stand for the bargain price of $175. again, we blame the hangover. this is why drinking is bad for you, kids- it prevents you from improving your life with the purchase of pretty things! m21 was also taken with the giant pair of blanc de chine quan yin, also below, but at $1250, they weren't quite the impulse buy of the coral.

our second to last recommended stop on our day of design shopping, is to visit rudy's friends jimmy and miguel at their great mid-century modern shop, palm springs consignment. they have a wonderful selection of vintage modern goods at prices that seem pretty darn reasonable to those of us that live in los angeles or new york. of course, you'll have to take our word on that selection, as once again, that silly camera stayed in the car- hey- this blogging thing is new to us, and i'm not used to being maison21, intrepid boy-journalist, always ready to break a big story!

our last recommended palm springs source, is so amazing, so packed to the rafters with decorating goodness, that it deserves a post of it's own, so you'll have to stop back when we update "p.s. i love you, part three" in the next few days, and reveal our final "secret" source... until then, we leave you with one last photo of our friend rudy's palm springs modern living room:

p.s. i love you, part one.

when my local buyers visit the maison21 atelier to pick up an ebay purchase, virtually every person asks maison21 the same question: "where do you find all your great stuff?", and about half then add "i'm sure you don't want to give up your secret sources" but maison21 is pleased to shock them a little and readily admit where his goods are found. the truth of the matter is that there is no secret- maison21 shops the same places everyone else does: flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores, garage sales, all manner of antique shops from high end to low, as well as online sources like ebay, cragislist and bazillions of assorted websites.

the difference is that my buyers are simply normal people who enjoy nice things, whereas moi-self is a deranged decorating obsessive-compulsive. i'm crazy enough to spend 10-12 hours a day searching for pretty things, willing to climb into a dumpster to get them (and have, on more than one occasion), and willing to trek far and wide, even into some pretty scary areas in search of treasures (i've been into neighborhoods in some cities that look like bombed out war zones in search of a promising estate sale or junk shop). maison21 is also willing to take sick and wounded finds and spend inordinate amounts of time (and sometimes money) to nurse them back to health, something that a normal person probably would be too smart to do. so when my buyers want to know want to know the best and easiest place to find the pretty, without risking life and limb (or their sanity), maison21 gives them the simplest answer- just two little words: "palm springs".

palm springs, california is an amazing treasure trove for the lover of vintage and antique decor, and frankly, there is more than enough goodness to go around- that's why i don't even bother to try to keep my sources there a secret! so go, knock yourself out, shop until you drop, the stuff is literally is falling out of the trees the city is named after. the only place that maison21 has ever been that has better vintage shopping is the coastal area of florida from palm beach to miami- that stretch of real estate is literally heaven on earth for vintage decor, but palm springs is a darn close second. so having just come from a weekend in palm springs, maison21 thought he'd share a few of his palm springs "secrets" with his blog readers (all 5 of you).

maison21 has been helping one of his closest friends restore his 1950's era palm springs home-a project is that is literally a labor of love as there isn't much of a budget, but here and there, little by little, my friend has been whipping his desert home into shape. recently, he extended the angled roofline of his home to shade his patio- it may not look like much in the following photos since it now looks completely original to the home, but if you saw the hideous mobile home-like metal awning it replaced, you'd know what a vast improvement it is. maison21 recommended the simple ball lighting fixtures from fantasy lighting, used on the patio, and we think the whole thing turned out quite nicely. good job, rudy!


when the patio roof was added, a metal cone fireplace was also installed (the fireplace was a m21 find, as were the vintage fiberglass chaise lounges around the pool), and with the addition of the fireplace, rudy thought it would be nice to warm up the limestone floors with an area rug, so we drove over to one of maison21's favorite palm springs "secrets"- the alley- and purchased the cowskin rug shown in the bottom photo for the bargain price of $219.00!

the alley is a chain of stores here in southern california that stocks close-out home and kitchen items, and is the kind of treasure-hunt store maison21 loves: 99% junk with the occasional bargain priced jewel and m21 has found some really great items there in the past. maison21 also knows some very fancy fellow decorators shop there too, as he's seen the goods in their homes (not that they'd probably ever admit to it, unless forced). but since maison21 firmly believes in mixing the high with the low- nothing wrong with putting a target pillow next to a hermes throw- he is coming clean, and admitting it: moi-self has purchased from the alley! the trick is to be selective, and don't buy every item in your home from a place like the alley- mix it up with some really good pieces and it all looks great.

on this trip to the alley, besides the cowskin rugs, maison21 found these lifesize cast iron crane statues for $149.00, and while maison21 isn't crazy about the "antiqued" finish, he thought they'd be show stoppers if powder coated black or white, or even gilded. for those of you that like to DIY, instead of powder coating, a little black or white lacquer spray paint would do the trick looks-wise, and maison21 simply loves the stuff- it really works magic. m21 also spotted a set of three karl springer inspired shell mosaic vases/urns for 20-30 bucks each, and the biggest bargain of all, an awesome overscale fretwork framed mirror for $349- it's about 6' by 4', so that's a lot of decoratin' for the price! and last, check out the so-bad-it's-good fake fendi bag!






more palms springs secrets to come...