Pretty shop windows

The other day I was walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood and noticed the window display of a shoe shop. There aren't that many small shops that go all out for windows that I've come across here, so this shoe shop caught my eye with giant poufs in ice cream colors- so fanciful I thought they'd be cute in my little girl's room. Well, randomly I happened upon a site today, Supermarket Sarah (you must see her site if you haven't already) which featured the creator of that very window display, a set designer named Cordelia Weston. I know everyone may be tired of seeing tissue paper pom poms hanging around in blog decor, but these were really different, and quite beautiful- more like ballet costumes than paper poms. I'm inspired to try to make some. (photos from Cordelia Weston's blog)

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Upholstery choices

from M Naeve in Houston, TX

Lately I've been contemplating upholstery options for a loveseat and chair that needs recovering. The pieces are Louis XVI style reproductions, made in the 1940's. I'm torn between a colorful print that makes the pieces more unusual and a solid, safer neutral. I've found lots of appealing options online.

 Little French Garden House blog

I love the burlap look. But have you ever actually sat on a burlap-covered chair? Not comfortable! 

A few solid choices above. And a red and beige striped option that still looks quite classic, from the home of Carolina Herrerra, featured in Vogue Living Fall/Winter 2007, found on The Peak of Chic blog.

from Nuevo Estilo

Love this clean white sofa. Not very practical for everyday use, but it really mixes well with anything else that happens to be in the room!

An interesting blue ikat print, from Barrie Briggs Spang blog

A suzani covered setee, from House Beautiful, via the blog Design Chat with Kim Lemmon

bright Suzani covered sofa, found on 1st dibs

from House Beautiful

Eye-catching mix of pattern and solid, from Atlanta Homes blog.

from Coastal Living, via the Chicer Antiquer

from the apartment of Kate and Andy Spade

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a Provencal collector: Michel Biehn

  

 

 

In World of Interiors, I recently read about Michel Biehn, a Provencal dealer of antiques and textiles and collector of objects amassed from his travels throughout Asia and the East. He seems like a real Provencal character.  His home in L'Isle sur la Sorgue (snapshots below) is a hodge podge of eye-catching things: beads, gourds and calabashes, costumes, embroidred fabrics, and everything else that he's brought along from his travels.  Collecting must be in his blood: over a span of 140 years, several generations of his family collected a variety of freshwater bird eggs! How unusual! He inherited this collection, and added to it his own varieties of eggshells he happened to have. They are each labeled with the type and where they were found. I love the way they are presented, so clean and uniform.

As it turns out, Mr. Biehn is also a interior designer and author of several books about lifestyle, cuisine and culture Provence.  Below are a few photos of his home.

His story made me immediately think of different people I've known through my life who've collected various things. I tend to be a collector myself, though my collections are often hidden away in drawers. But I do think the best way to get something out of your collections is to display them.  Almost anything collected, displayed well and with uniformity, can become a work of art. (photos by Bruno Suet in World of Interiors, May 2009)

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Vintage textiles at home

I enjoyed a peek inside this Suffolk farmhouse home (Country Living, Aug. 2010). The owners are Sara and Hugh Petre, who have a vintage textile upholstery company. I like the way they've incorporated their collection of textiles into their home. Below are a couple of examples from their company's website, which shows examples of their style in reupholstering antique furniture. (photos: Claire Richardson in UK Country Living)

It's great how old textiles on old furniture seem to give it new life! These are from the Covelli Tennant website. They also make decorative cushions out of silk scarves, vintage trim, antique flags and embroidered bits of fabric. I've seen the silk scarf cushions in person and they're really beautiful.

 

 love this vintage Paris map scarf cushion!

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Hand-stitched home of Aurélie Mathigot

Aurélie Mathigot is a visual artist who takes sewing to a new level. She embroiders, knits, stitches and crochets coverings for objects and colorful decorations, and her touches are visible all over her home! (Look closely at the piano in the first photo!) She says her art is an expression of the idea of recovery (a theme, I think) and the need for talking about everyday objects in another, new way. (Photos by Eric Flogny in Marie Claire Maison, April 2010)

p.s. I see that Famille Summerbelle has also posted about her this month. Take a look at their blog for some more photos.

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Bright, eclectic and colorful

The top five photos are of stylist Anna Richardson's Victorian home in East Sussex. (photos: Paul Raeside/ styled by Mary Weaver)





I enjoyed these two homes featured in Living Etc. recently (January 2010). Maybe it's just therapy to gaze at lots of bright color on this gray, dark winter afternoon. The lower five photos are from Anya Hoffman's Cologne period flat. The Scandinavian colors and fabrics and the bright tile are so happy. Love those over-the-door bookshelves too! (lower five photos by Christian Schaulin; styled by Kersten Rose)

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