putting lipstick on the pig...

one of my esteemed fellow bloggers, the house of beauty and culture (who also provides the best music playlist to pair with each of his posts), recently took the "moscow mafioso" chandelier of my recent post, and designed a stunning room around it- literally, as he put it, making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.


the room he designed includes the above classic regency recamier chaise- a piece of furniture maison21 has always coveted, but never, ever had a spot for. you NEED to go check out the stunning imaginary room he's designed here.

maison21 thought that hobac is on to something here, and thought this might be a fun idea for a "design blogger's challenge"- take the overblown monstrosity, and try to chic it up. so here's our own effort- not quite as tasteful as hobac's room for a robber baron, as m21's magpie-like predilection for all things shiny naturally renders his room more "robber" than "baron" (think scarface):


we're picturing using the chandelier in an grand scale entry hall with red lacquered walls like this steven gambrel living room (via studio annetta).

we'd tile the floor in camel colored parchment leather from costello studios, inc.- michelle costello does the most exquisite leather and parchment floors, walls and furniture.


we'd toss in a zebra skin on top of the leather (responsibly culled, non-endangered, zebra skin, via the trophy room).



add one of these fab heathcote center tables- grrrr! (jamb, via 1stdibs).



we'll need a pair of these chic black lacquered karl springer-esque console tables (sydelle & jay livingston, via 1stdibs)


above which we would hang these goatskin mirrors, bringing a bit of the floor up on to the walls. (craig van den brulle, via 1stdibs)



we'd also need to add in some antique elements, like these gilt bronze wall sconces, to bring the modern down a notch, as things really are getting a little too scarface in our imaginary entry hall! (antiques on old plank road, via 1stdibs).


last, even robber barons need a place to throw their bag when they walk in the front door (filled with $100 dollar bills and blow, no doubt), so we'd add a pair of these mastercraft side chairs along a wall (talisman, via 1stdibs)

so is anyone else up for a design blogger's challenge? all are welcome to play! mrs. blandings, you commented that a romp with the chandelier in a bordello could be fun- up for it? katiedid, you mentioned you thought it could work in the right setting- care to share said setting with us?

c'mon bloggers, let's rise to the challenge, and put some lipstick on this pig:

fabulously faux (and feline friendly, we pray)

maison21 had a set of dining chairs covered in shiny white faux alligator vinyl with a black cord trim for a client, and we thought they turned out so well, we had to pop off one of the seats to take back to the maison21 atelier and try it out on our own 1980's black lacquer queen anne dining chairs (cushion is a little too big for our chairs, but you get the idea).

kinda fabulous, no? and please agree- we've already bought more mock croc vinyl and dropped the seats off at the upholsterer.

m21 has actually been dithering about what to cover his dining chairs in for like, ever- we really would have liked a black horsehair with a black leather welt, but it's just too darn expensive for richard to destroy. then we had our hearts set on a natural woven raffia (with a black contrast welt), but decided the texture of raffia would be just too tempting (might as well sprinkle catnip on them, too). after seeing how luxe the chic vinyl we recommended as an inexpensive, low maintenance option for a client with kids and pets turned out, we realized that it was also the perfect option for the pet-centric household here at the m21 atelier.

can't wait!

what's wrong with me?

cruising ebay the other day, your intrepid decorator spotted this chandelier- he never realized there was a decorating sub-genre of "moscow mafioso":

but here's where your decorator has his problem- he actually kinda likes it, and it makes him feel a little dirty on the inside. sure it's an overblown, grandiose monstrosity, only suitable for a bordello, or a trump casino, but m21's inner liberace is going crazy for those glittery onion domes on top.

now don't worry, your decorator would never actually use anything like it in one of his projects (unless he was in fact, actually decorating for a madam or the donald) but since the chandelier was just much too much muchness, he just had to share.

whaddya all think? worse then the complete hideousness of the arielle the slutty mermaid table? or can you almost see thru the glitz, to the beauty of the bejeweled onion domes?

and justice for all... (a love story)

the recent ruling by the california supreme court allowing same-sex couples to marry was an incredibly important victory for equal rights, but m21 thought the ruling probably wouldn't have a direct impact on his life or on the lives of those close to him. maison21 ain't the marryin' kind, and he assumed that his friends in committed relationships weren't in any rush to change the status quo, either.

turns out m21 couldn't have been more wrong, and he couldn't be more thrilled or touched about it. you see, m21 recently received an email from two of his oldest friends announcing their recent surprise nuptials. seems that on the morning of their 22nd anniversary, m21's old friend, tony, proposed to m21's even older friend, paul, (older as in length of relationship, not as in age). within hours of tony's proposal, the two were at city hall tying the knot- after 22 years, they are still committed, and still in love, and now it's legal too! maison21 couldn't be happier for the two of them, as they are as much a part m21's family as his actual blood relatives. and m21 is only a little bit miffed that he wasn't invited to the whirlwind ceremony. after knowing those two longer than some of you have been alive, you'd think m21 would've been asked to be best man, or maid of honor, or whatever- i mean after all, m21 was there the night it all began...

here's back story of maison21's relationship with the newlyweds:

m21 met half of the happy couple- his oldest friend in the whole wide world, paul- on the first day of the 3rd grade- many, many, many, years ago. our teacher, mrs. radebaugh, made the mistake of seating the two of us next to each other, and we immediately hit it off, bonding over typical school boy stuff- you know, things like sewing clothes for g.i. joe, and decorating his "command headquarters" with fresh flowers and a custom waterbed (made of lincoln logs and a water-filled ziploc baggie). didn't all 3rd grade boys enjoy that kind of thing?

here's m21 and his buddy paul, a few years later, at our junior high graduation dance- held in a for real disco- we thought we were so sophisticated...
cut to about 10 years after the above photo- a young m21 was showing his visiting san diego friend, paul, a drunken good time at a san francisco nightclub and over a soundtrack of banarama and the pet shop boys, paul met tony's eye. the rest is history- soon after, a simple vacation fling turned serious, and while paul gained a long-distance boyfriend, m21 gained a new bestest buddy.

when tony decided to move to san diego a few years later to live with paul and start their life together, it coincided with m21's own move to los angeles, so he and tony rented a u-haul together for the move down- a u-haul which they packed up, and then proceeded to park it for a week, while having the longest (and funnest) farewell party in history! ah, youth... (we think the below picture is from our week long farewell tour- the memories are very blurry. m21 is on the far right with the totally natural blond hair, and tony is on the far left, in the turtleneck. we hate him, btw- apart from a some gray hair, the eternally youthful tony looks almost exactly the same today, whereas m21 looks, well, less blond, amongst other changes).
in the two decades since, paul and tony have built a beautiful life together in san diego- tony is now dr. tony (a for reals MD, not a fake-ass PHD or anything, like dr. phil), and paul owns a successful business. m21 counts himself fortunate to still be included in their lives, and is looking forward to being included for the next twenty-two years, and hopefully, the next twenty-two after that, if our hearts and livers hold out long enough...

congratulations, kids! i love you both, and feel truly fortunate to have you in my life.

and congratulations to the supreme court of california, for ending a discriminatory and prejudicial practice, and recognizing that ALL couples are equal under the law.

score one for equality and true love.

only mad dogs...

and decorators?

the fiery forecast for the 4th of july weekend in palm springs- where mona and maison21 will try to avoid spontaneously combusting into human and canine torches by spending as much time in the pool as possible. mona, surprisingly, is quite the swimmer. well, maybe not the best swimmer in all actuality- but she sure loves to jump and out of the pool- over and over and over again! with each brief dunk followed by a loudly barking victory lap run 'round the perimeter of the pool, and then a few vigorous shakes, before jumping back into the water to do it all over again. repeat to infinity- she will literally do this until she drops.

richard, being neither fond of swimming or of car rides, will sit out this holiday in the more temperate environs of the maison21 atelier. smart kitty!


happy fourth, everybody!