teh last 7 days, part deux

spring has been extra glorious here in LA, so ted and i have been taking long, flower filled walks. i admire the blooms, while ted pees on the stems- hey, we all enjoy beauty in our own special ways.  ;-) 

my design partner-in-crime, jill seidner, and i, enjoyed a rather fancy poolside party for  mary mcdonald's new fabrics , trims and rugs for schumacher.

see? kinda fancy. "chinois palais" made into a screen- the ultimate poolside accessory.

good stuff. "firenze", second from left is a fave from the collection, and that graphic black and white number  on the right is going to make some mighty fine pillows one day...

speaking of graphic patterns, my clients and i loved this brand spanking new moroccan inspired flor tile (not even in catalogs, so you are seeing it here first). it's going into a  room with charcoal gray walls, so i needed something that reads "light n bright" on the near-ebony wood floors, yet was able to handle the wear and tear of three dogs and a cat. flor to the rescue!

this SUPER-graphic tile was also loved, but just too much for this room. i will use it in the future though- love

i also picked up these 80's-fabulous brass and lacquer nightstands for the same client. i LOVE clients who are adventuresome enough "get" stuff like this- makes me soooooo happy!  and the results of being brave and eclectic are always superior to being safe and boring (at least in this designer's book).

next to teh nightstands, we are making a slipcover for their upholstered bed out of the perennials outdoor white fabric and then  sewing up some colorful duralee pillows to go with it. so excited.

i ended my week with a drive to san diego to celebrate easter with the family. these peruvian lilies are amongst my favorite spring flowers so i was delighted that they were the centerpiece to the dining table.

i can't believe my youngest niece is off to college in the fall- where does the time go?

ted travels with, so after being gone all day, richard was in a very talkative mood when we got home. i wish he could come too, but he does not travel well. i tried when he was a kitten- never again. ;-)

that was my week- hope you had a good one too!

the last 7 days

last week was one of those weeks, so i took a few hikes to center myself...

but it wasn't such a stressful week that we didn't repeat our mantra of gratitude while walking ted: i am very lucky to live in such a lovely city, surrounded by beauty everyday (don't let anyone tell you LA is ugly- they just aren't looking in the right places). 

speaking of gratitude, we were amazed and overwhelmed on tuesday & wednesday when our facebook feed turned red in support of equality- tears were shed, no lie. we've come a long way, baby, and to know that so many people care and support our struggle for equality is so wonderfully uplifting, words just can't sufficiently express. the battle may not be over, but i feel like we've already won the war, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

we also spent a couple of very late evenings working on floor plans for a new commission...

and then sought out a little inspiration from my friends at decorative carpets. these new pieced  carpets are kinda fantastic. graphically modern, yet traditional, a perfect modern/transistional rug.

i'm always looking for rugs that have enough pattern to hide the sins of wear, yet don't feel "contract-y", so this pattern from decorative which is graphic, yet almost reads solid from a distance is a great choice. plus, you know i loves me some black and white!

on my way home from rug shopping, i almost got into an accident on beverly blvd. when i spotted these chairs in the window of my friend annie's shop, empiric. she already makes my favorite side chair ever, so the addition of this smart retro number to her line makes her my one stop shop for dining chairs! loving the brassy goodness.

another of my favorite things from annie's store is the great line of convex mirrors she carries. i love a round convex mirror as they are an easy way to insert curves into plain square rooms (every room needs straight lines and curves. keeping things too rectilinear always feels harsh and lifeless). the convex reflection also always makes even the smallest space seem bigger, so win-win!

see? i use them all the time!

and here's another in a bungalow i did a while back.  oddly, i don't have convex mirror in my own home, so i think i'm going to have to work on that as they are truly one of my favorite decorating staples!

and of course, we'll close the post with my little man, ted, who gives me this look a lot, especially when i'm working hard and don't have time to pet him 24/7 as he would like... ;-)

stay tuned for part deux tomorrow!

happy easter!

all peeps are created equal.

and i hope all my peeps out there are enjoying the heck out of their holiday weekend. xo.

the last 7 days... (part 2)

we ran super late to the westweek events we wanted to attend on thursday- due to a plumbing issue which left the water shut off and us unshowered until about 2 pm, hence my look of consternation. grrr.

but late or not, we still made time to stop and smell the beautiful flowers (it's only design, y'all. running a 'lil late ain't gonna kill anyone). ps, i love my beautiful city of angels, especially in spring.

speaking of beautiful, this colorful display in the PDC of quadrille fabrics makes me happy.

these awesome prints by my friends at ferrick-mason are also happy making (represented in the chic thomas lavin showroom); i also love that this lovely line is 100% designed and made with love here in southern california.  yay for shopping local!

speaking of thomas lavin, james magni gave a standing room only talk and book signing in the lavin showroom the day before, but alas, i had an appointment and was unable to attend. thank goodness his people set aside a copy of his new book "magni modernism" for me, as the showroom sold out during the signing, so i'm very fortunate to have received my preview copy! 

talk about inspring! this glamorous entry way is one of many chic projects featured in the book. i'm really sad i missed mr. magni's talk after thumbing through the volume- i need to soak up everything i can from designers who work on projects of this scale in the hopes it'll rub off on me!

a children's playroom from magni's book. don't know why this one struck in my mind, except it shows that even the most refined designers can stretch a bit, and i also thought this kid's playroom probably had a bigger budget than many entire homes i've done. ;-)

speaking of inspirational designers, i somehow scored an invite to thomas lavin's vendors-only party at his chic hollywood hills home, where i met legendary designer erika brunson for the first time (her furniture collection "erika brunson couture living" is repped by lavin). i totes wanna be like her when i grow up- not only does she design palaces (yes, for reals, palaces), she is also charming, funny, and best of all, donates the profits from her furniture collection to rescue animals, including operating a mobile spay and neuter clinic that services low income neighborhoods. how cool is that? (ps- if you want to see lavin's cool pad in the hills, it's on the newsstands in the lastest issue of interiors magazine. of course, you won't get cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with it like i did).

later in the week, i also went to a packed party at the ralph pucci showroom where i really admired the ruben toledo installation of black and white paintings against bright red walls- it looked so fresh- and pardon the blurry picture, but you know, i had already drank me some wines. ;-)

designer delta wright, photographer john ellis, california home + design editor-in-chief erin feher (sporting the cutest baby bump), moiself, and designer/photographer amy benton, in the pucci showroom. we are all smiling because seconds earlier someone knocked over a kajillion dollar vase and we are all delirously happy it wasn't one of us. ;-)

i ended my week by hiking these steps, up this hill. kicked. my. ass.

but i was so winded, i had plenty of opportunities to stop and admire the native southern california wildflowers blooming everywhere. so pretty. as always, i'm reminded how fortunate i am to live in such a lovely place.

and of course, i ended my week where i am happiest, chilling with the kids.
;-)

the last 7 days, part 1

i started my week by discovering that j.c. penney is now called jcp, and actually has cute stuff i want to buy. who knew? well, so cal social media superstar jonathan lo of happy mundane knew, as he has been pimping cute jcp stuff on his pinterest boards for ages, which led me to take note, and then discover that hot fashion daddy* nick wooster also knew, as he curated a clothing collection for jcp- of which i bought a couple pieces for practically free!

*hot fashion daddy is a phrase i never thought i'd type as those three simple words NEVER seem to go together, much to my disappointment ;-)

see? i bought this bow tie there, and was particularly proud of myself for successfully tying a bow tie for the first time in my many years on this planet. all my prior attempts ended in tears and frustration, so thanks youtube!  normally, i might just keep where i bought my twelve dollar tie to myself, but i'm proud to be able to support j.c. penney as they've been supporting me with their equality-focused ad campaign. love them for that, so please, if you are looking for somewhere to buy cute high-style yet mass market-priced fashion and housewares, find a jcp and spend away! 

i wore my equality tie to a couple of cool parties to kick off westweek, the pacific design center's annual spring market, including a soiree at the beautiful janet yonaty showroom hosted by my friends at california home + design where i laughed and gorged on prosecco and chocolate-covered strawberries. rough life, right?

i also attended another packed house at michael smith's jasper showroom the same evening. i was super bummed i didn't get a picture with teh delightful  amanda nisbet , who i had the pleasure of meeting for the first time that evening. she and i  discussed our mutual friend (and her former employee) the very talented maggie waltemath, of vibrance + chaos. maggie is a designer to watch, as though she is just starting out, i have a feeling i might end up working for her one day! and while i didn't get a picture with my new friend amanda,  i did get a picture of a woman in an awesome hat with crow's wings, so that was almost as good.

westweek is all about the introduction of new fabrics and merchandise from our favorite industry sources, and though these fab velvety outdoor chenilles from donghia aren't new additions to their line,  i still used my time wisely while in the showroom to pull a few samples for a future project. how amazing will these be as pillows on white chaise lounges surrounding a blue pool?  oh yeah, donghia also had a party to celebrate their sponsorship of this year's los angeles antiques show in october (at a new location!) so that is exciting too.  last year's show was great, so i can't wait for this year to be even better.

kneedler fauchere had a party to celebrate 65 years in business, and in-between ogling the hot waiters they hired, i was captivated by this hand painted and lacquered wallpaper from dessin fournir. the lacquering and layered painting and gilding technique really sets it apart from some of the other hand-painted papers on the market. always nice to have more options!

the PDC also has several art galleries housed inside, and i had to stop i to the see line gallery because this colorful and unusual canvas by christopher cichocki caught my eye. scorched earth reinterpreted in unearthly colors = my kind of thing.

this painting by tyler vlahovich at wharton + espinosa also grabbed my atttention as i was walking by. love.

one of my favorite things was installation of 5 large "optic cloud" sculptures in the lobby by local architecture firm predock frane. good job, john!

of course the week wasn't all art openings, fabric shopping, and parties, lots of boring paperwork in the office was accomplished as well (ick), but sometimes our work isn't so boring- like when we get to go an a field trip to warner brothers studio facilities to work with their production people on a furniture piece we are having made...

at warner bros, i didn't just look at art, i made some! (detail of a mixed media assemblage panel i'm conspiring on).  20 bazillion years ago, i went to art school to make furniture before i decided that being a craftperson was not my forte and switched to interior design... so to be able to make art, that will be turned into furniture, for an interior design project is a full-circle bonus moment, and i'm incredibly gratified. i may bitch sometimes, but really, my job is awesome. :-)

and of course, even with all this going on, there was still time to cuddle with teh ones i love. ted's little pink tongue is just the cutest thing in the whole wide word, innit?

stay tuned for the last 7 days part deux!