I basically held my hand in front of my mouth for the entire length of Bright Star. Sheer and utter, insane beauty. Desperately romantic. Hopelessly sweet and sad. Even now, days later, I’m still a little dizzy thinking about it. Fellow d*s editor Amy A. did me a huge favor by sitting me down to watch it- a favor I am now thrilled to bestow upon you, lovely readers.
Bright Star follows the bittersweet romance between famed poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, the girl next door. Words are not enough to describe the beautiful homes, dresses and devastatingly handsome poets. When Fanny turns her bedroom into a living butterfly sanctuary, I suffered an extreme case of housing jealousy. But I waaant to live in a rooooom with butterflies! Luckily for both you and me- it’s a real possibility. -amy m.
Billy Baldwin certainly loved his brown and his lacquer. Billy once said that every country house needs a dog so I couldn’t resist including a greyhound in homage to the painting in his own home. Billy abhorred leggy furniture saying it made the room feel restless, but I was just not into the box pleat slipper chairs – I hope he’ll forgive me.
For our goodbye to Billy Baldwin, here are a few of his favorite things – rattan, chinese wallpaper and moss covered terra cotta – nearly 40 years later, they still look pretty good!
I don’t have much of a fashion memory, but when I was looking at Billy Baldwin interiors all week, I kept thinking about Gwyneth Paltrow’s Oscar dress in 1996. I’ve always loved that dress – it was all white, and she just looked clean, casual and effortless. (She also had Brad Pitt on her arm so that helped). (This is the only good picture I can find of that dress.) Baldwin’s style was crisp, elegant and a little slick, but it was above all simple and practical. (He always said that the best way to update a room was to simplify.) Baldwin’s style became defined as the American style, and he decorated homes for Cole Porter, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Diana Vreeland, and Greta Garbo as well as homes for your average millionaire. He was called the “dean of decorators” and was endlessly quotable.
Nothing is interesting unless it is personal – Billy Baldwin
Baldwin believed that you should surround yourself with things that you love and he detested what he called, “the sterility of perfection” saying that if you think you can spot a Billy Baldwin room, then it wasn’t his.
on the bookshelves of this Baldwin-decorated dining room are little mushroom paintings – good reminder of the trend life cycle! via billy baldwin decorates
Stick to the things you really love. An honest room is always up to date.
- Billy Baldwin
He preferred a more casual personal look. He believed in breaking the rules of decoration and loved to see pattern against pattern. When decorating, he always believed in using some furniture that the client already possessed as a way to make sure the home retained their personality.
Nothing is in good taste unless it suits the way you live. – Billy Baldwin
Born in Baltimore in 1903, Baldwin briefly studied architecture at Princeton then worked with his father selling insurance before finally settling on interior decoration as a profession. He designed the homes of some Baltimore families before catching the eye of Ruby Ross Wood – a big name New York City decorator – who offered Baldwin a job in Manhattan in 1935. Once in New York, his career took off!
[i'm so thrilled to introduce stephanie todaro to our d*s team! stephanie was my right hand during the d*s book manuscript process so i promptly scooped her up to join our team as the editor of both the biz ladies and city guides columns. click here (and scroll down) to read more about her. welcome, steph!]
design*sponge is happy to welcome megan auman to the biz ladies column today. megan is a jewelry and home accessories designer and also hosts a blog geared towards the crafting and design business. today, she graciously shares with us some expert advice on how to go about outsourcing the production of your designs.
from determining the best production process, to the right questions to ask a manufacturer, megan discusses everything that goes into getting your designs made in the most cost effective and productive way. thanks megan for sharing your insight with us! -stephanie todaro
today’s city guide comes from caroline duke of greedy girl and kelly beall at design crush. kelly and caroline are walking us through their hometown of oklahoma city and sharing her insider picks for the best spots to shop, eat, and site-see (organized by neighborhood). i hope the next time you’re in town you’ll check out some of these great local spots! thanks to kelly and caroline for sharing their home city with us.
CLICK HERE for the full city guide after the jump!
when i wake up in the morning, it’s thanks to a giant white cat stepping on my head and not-so-subtly jamming his whiskers in my nose. it’s not a pretty picture. as much as i love my cats, i would much rather wake up to the sweet chirping of birds next to my bed. but considering that the closest birds i have are a nasty gang of pigeons that congregate on the top of our air conditioner, i think i’ll have to go with the birdbox instead.
luckybits recently released a fun new product that combines a tech product (an iphone app) with an actual object (a simple paper house) to create a cheerful alarm clock. all you do is drop your iphone in the decorative box and turn on the app, that gently wakes you up to the sound (and sight) of nesting birds. such a clever idea. i’ve really enjoyed watching designers play with the iphone and find new ways to combine something digital with something physical. want to check it out for yourself? the app itself is totally free and the box is around $12- click here to get more info and to buy. [thanks, emma!]
if you’ve ever had dreams of backyard chickens, miniature goats or just becoming a better gardener, chances are you’ve picked up a storey publishing book (confession. i have two of their chicken books and i don’t even have a backyard!) three years ago, alethea morrison, now the creative director of storey publishing, her husband mars vilaubi and son xavier moved from san francisco to their own little plot of land in williamstown, ma. the couple had spent their entire lives in cities, but they’re all adjusting to life in the country just fine! and it’s giving alethea a chance to try out some of those storey books! {thanks alethea, mars and xavier! and special thanks to mars for the lovely photos!} -amy a
[Before we moved to Williamstown, I was desperate to get settled in a permanent home to ease the transition, but most of what we saw was a depressing assortment of dark houses with low ceilings that contrasted unfavorably to airy California spaces. The very last possible house we looked at was like a gift. Having just that day come on the market, we were the first to see it, and we bought it immediately. What I like most about the plan of our house is that the living room, dining area, and kitchen are all one big open area. It makes the space feel modern and is just plain convenient. I also love the exposed beams, the use of salvaged wood for architectural details, and the wide-plank pine
floors.
photo above: I have a longstanding design crush on Angela Adams, who designed the rug in my living room. My favorite piece of furniture in the whole house is the mid-century Scandinavian sideboard. Art on the walls is, from left, by Hatch Show Print, John Wischmann, Yee-Haw Industries, and decals by Blik. The pillow is by Crispina ffrench. I keep meaning to digitize my record collection, but I'll keep the vinyl all the same if for no other reason than loving the cover art. My dog Chico was born and raised in San Jose and can never get warm enough in this colder climate.]
[The ladderback chair and basket of pine cones at the foot of the stairs are from my grandparents. They were dyed-in-the-wool Yankees, and it greatly relieved my grandfather that I moved back east before he passed away. There's another Angela Adams mini rug. On the windowsill I keep a little nature shelf of pretty stones, driftwood,et al that I find here and there.]
[photo above: I bought this teak table and eight chairs for $100 at a tag sale my first summer here. Mars and I reupholstered all the chairs ourselves with Maine Cottage fabric, which taught us that we don't like to upholster furniture. It took us almost nine months to complete. What I do like is vivid color and bold patterns - vintage Harlequin dishes, workaday Fiesta, and Orla Kiely for Target fit the bill. I bought the enameled milk jug and wire egg basket at Brimfield. I can't say enough good things about these Modern-Twist silicone placemats: they are easy to clean, feel silky to the touch, and are beautifully designed. The ceramic fish trivet is something my grandparents bought when they visited Norway. I treasure it beyond reason. The art on the wall is a vintage Scandinavian plate and a print by artist Jen Skelley.]
[photo above: For our bedroom, I made portraits of Mars and me out of vintage wallpaper and housed them in Victorian frames. We have a lot of sock monkeys that we've rescued from flea markets and adopted. I had to put the kibosh on getting any more. There are only so many mouths you can feed. These two are named Gypsy and Harpo.]
CLICK HERE for the rest of alethea’s sneak peek after the jump!
catherine taret is a franco-american writer living in paris who works from her home located in the hip neighborhood of les abbesses, montmartre. all i can say is what an inspiring location, space and view to keep the creative juices flowing for catherine’s work on my little paris. the site, created by her friend fany pechiodat, is an insider website that keeps parisiennes – and those looking for a dose of paris – up to date on everything that’s happening in the city. their motto is “paris is not just a city, it’s an attitude.” enjoy the full sneak peek below (click here for additional and full-sized images), and see how you can channel your inner-parisienne in your own home! {thanks, catherine, elodie and charlotte!} -anne
{photographs by charlotte lascève, styling by elodie rambaud}
[above: It is a typical Parisian apartment, « parquet, moulures, cheminée », as we call it here. And if I had to find a word to define its style, I would have to borrow it from foodies : « fusion ». I guess it is a mixture of the many styles and influences that I cherish: my New England-antique-loving maternal genes, the Fifties (I can so imagine Don Draper sitting in that blue armchair), and Scandinavia. The ceilings are quite high and at some point I decided to get rid of all the high furniture, which increases the sense of space in the rooms. The pair of blue armchairs comes from one of my favorite vintage furniture shops rue Gérando, in SoPi (South of Pigalle). The white coffee table comes from KDesign. The 3-piece lamp and rug come from Habitat. The cat is Nino and comes from Avignon.]
Someone with great confidence in her taste once informed me that you could not have more than 2 colors in one room. Well, I am glad to say I am completely opposed to that or any other decorating statement. Style comes with time and confidence in one’s taste. I had no idea what my home would look like in the end and I still don’t. I just trust my judgement whenever I come across a piece. The walls are painted white and a greenish blue gray color from Ressource.
I love the reproduction from Jasper Johns. I bought it at the Moma many years ago. I bought the Danish buffet in another one of my very secret shops, located rue des Martyrs, Et puis c’est tout ! The dining room is also my office. I came across the architect’s table at the brocante on Avenue Trudaine, the best open air flea market in the city if you ask me, which takes place twice a year. Love at first sight. I just put all the chairs I find, all different, red formica, painted wood, fifties, around the table, and it gives it a shabby colorful look.
A few months ago, I decided to spice up the hallway with stickers by Domestic …. and Mellow Yellow from Ressources’s Fifties collection.
CLICK HERE for the rest of catherine’s sneak peek after the jump!
welcome to the parisian home of the creative couple bridgette comazzi (creative director of the crave-worthy fashion brand comptoir des cotonniers) and ivan duval (part of the duo behind the quirky, clever line, atyypk). they’ve been in this traditional haussmann style apartment in the 10th arrondisement of paris – along with their twin 10 year olds – for two years now. not much has changed since moving in (they shot these pictures a month after move-in), and they love the size of the apartment as they prefer to keep the space rather than filling it with too much furniture and decoration. adding further charm is the mix of wood and concrete floors it came with, which lead bridgette and ivan to coin the term “haussmanian loft” for their home’s look. click HERE for additional, full-sized images. {thanks ivan and bridgette!} -anne
[above: Living room. (45 square meters). The fireplace is currently working which is nice- and the lack of a mirror on top of it gives the room an atmosphere of the countryside rather than the city. The bear skin is from Atypyk, it’s a huge doormat actually. One of the biggest item we’ve created.(200x225 cm).]
The cushions come from India, old green boxes were used in the textile industry.
Rusted frames come from letters of a very hold hotel in Paris, I found in the street close to the flat when it was demolished. Arty but still not “Art” we prefer them to stay on the floor rather to be hang on the wall.
CLICK HERE for the rest of bridgette and ivan’s sneak peek after the jump!
amy and i took a trip to terrain last friday to stock up on green things, so i’ve got terrariumsonthebrain. so i was excited to hear from lauren at litill about these beautiful terrariums they’re selling. the glass structures themselves are a wide variety of organic shapes- the perfect structures for housing tiny growing things. litill makes 9 different types of terrariums, ranging in price from $125-$375. so if you’re looking to have a tiny garden delivered to your door, click here to check out litill’s collection and place an order. [thanks, lauren!]
*click here to watch tassy from sprout home show us how to make a terrarium from the soil up!
