Tartan Round-Up

With all this tartan talk, I’ve begun noticing tartan everywhere! And although a little plaid goes a long way, here are a few of my favorites!

[image above: long plaid chain necklace $19.99, tartan tape shade $128, audrey wallpaper £35. antique tartan print $120, henning sofa $3,998, ralph lauren chair $649, set of 6 coasters $14. 95, converse sneakers $44.80, brockhampton knob $2.95, laugharne blanket £71.00]

[image above: vintage plaid stamp sign $75]

[image above: tartan dessert plates $48, computer case $107.50, plates memo tray $9.99, tartan baubles bracelet $28 matteo scarf $60, tartan playing cards £5.99, plaid steamer truck $84.59, plaid locket $26.00 throw blanket $70]

[image above: throw pillows £34.00]

image above by julia rothman

If you’re thinking of a Scottish textile, chances are you’re thinking about tartan. The design was originally based on a simple two-color check, but today you can find an enormous variety of tartan patterns. So pour yourself a glass of scotch (OK – so it’s only 10am and we don’t live on the Mad Men set – but a girl can dream.), and let’s delve into tartan! (And many thanks to the ever-brilliant Amy Merrick- who just did a tartan project – for the idea! If you have a suggestion for a future column, please leave it in the comments!)

Difference between plaid and tartan?
Here’s the million dollar question. And it seems like nothing gets historians arguing quite like tartan! Here’s the basics: historically – plaid referred to a material/garment, while tartan was that checked pattern that we all know and love. A plaid was actually a large long shawl – usually 10 x 5 feet – the kilt was known as the belted plaid. Later the word ‘plaid’ came to mean any fabric that had a tartan pattern.

sir james macdonald (1741 – 1765) and sir alexander macdonald (1744 – 1810) by william mosman in about 1749, national galleries of scotland

Clan Tartans
The 18th century painting above of the Macdonald boys is often used to illustrate the point that the association of tartan patterns with a particular family was a 19th century invention rather than an ancient tradition. The boys are wearing three different tartan patterns. (By the way, note the date of 1749 on the painting, we’re coming back to that!) Historians believe that tartans had an association with the location in which they were produced rather than the particular family who chose to wear them. But because the tartans with similar color ranges would have been found in the same location (due to the use of local dyes) those living in close proximity would have worn the same colors and patterns. (So for example, tartans in the west of Scotland were produced in blue, black and green and worn by the MacLeod, MacNeil, and the MacDonalds, while tartans in the north-east used blue or black and green stripe on a red ground and were worn by the local families such as Macintosh, Robertson, and MacGillivary.)

an incident in the rebellion of 1745, david morier

Tartan and Rebellion
In 1746 the English defeated the tartan-clad Scots at the Battle of Culloden. As part of an effort to assimilate the Scottish Highlands and thwart their ability to revolt, the Act of Proscription made the wearing of tartan illegal. (This section was referred to as The Dress Act) Remember I told you to note the date of the MacDonald boys painting? It was painted in 1749, during the time that wearing tartan in Scotland was prohibited by the Parliament.)

CLICK HERE for more Tartan history after the jump!

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when it comes to shops, i tend to get mildly obsessed with new favorites until i’ve window-shopped them to death. my latest window-shop-till-i-drop obsession is terrain, and i was excited to check out their new jewelry collection online. i don’t normally post jewelry, but with valentine’s day on the horizon, it never hurts to drop a few hints. so i thought i’d post a little roundup of my favorites in their “for her” section. i love this time of year- it’s the only time i relish in seeing red and pink together.

[image above, clockwise from top left: bird card $3.50, cotton field earrings $48, wild rose soap $10, twig bangle $38, howlite necklace $118, pink long stems $34, rose petal jam $12, woodgrain pitcher (ok, maybe this is more a housewarming than vday gift, but i love it), red and white striped napkin $8 (wrapped around chocolates), orchids under glass $148, leaf bracelet $148, moss garden terrarium $98]

*click here and here to watch the diy videos i filmed at terrain last month.

good morning! i thought it would be nice to kick off today with a bit of my favorite color: green. amy ruppel has a beautiful new print at the working proof called “this land is your land“. 15% of each print’s sale will be donated to american forests (which inspired the design), whose mission is to work with communities on local efforts that restore and maintain forest ecosystems. you can read more about amy’s print (in her own words) right here, and pick up a copy right here ($45)!

and, to start diy day, i wanted to share a link to this fun topiary project from abby schill at tales and trials. inspired by a ballard design, abby converted a seriously sad little 99 cent thrift store topiary into a chic little (faux) topiary for her counter. if you have a mostly black thumb like i do, this can be a fun project to tackle over the weekend. thanks, abby!

This is one of the first movies I decided to do when I started this column 6 months ago and I’ve been biding my time ever since. It’s such an epically amazing movie that I wanted to give it my A+ effort, on the off chance that you haven’t seen it. But then I realized, there is no doing this movie justice. More so than any other movie I’ve done do far, it’s a knockout in every way. Acting, music, sets, costumes.
Amadeus, I bow, humbled, before you.

trumeau mirror $675, plymouth stripe and vine wallpaper, wall sconce $187, parasol $50, wig $30, boudoir rouge $15, louis xvi chaise, heels $120, tapestry pouch $56, candlesticks $28 each, vase $20, cameo $28, hair elastic $45.

This post is more of an “Amadeus Lite” or Living In: The first half of Amadeus before sh*** gets crazy. The second half of the movie hits me in the gut, hard. So I ignored it while pulling together this post. Let’s pretend Wolfie and Stanze Mozart made lots of money and lived happily ever after, okay? OKAY?!?

-amy m.

see’s chocolates $9, bacchus wallpaper, sword $255 each, resin antlers $128, schoenhut baby grand $1300, bergere chair, cakestand $50, mirror $110, Cardiff tea set teapot $50 & cup $18.

lately i’ve been spending more time with books, as part of an attempt to back myself away from all of the screens i seem to live in front of 24/7. now that i’m picking up more things to read, i’ve found myself looking for better ways to store my “currently reading” books. i always get about a third of the way through something and decide to dive into something else, so my collection of “need to finish reading” is pretty extensive, so i thought perhaps displaying my books on my desk or spare counter space would inspire me to pick them back up (rather than getting lost in our sea of books on the shelf). i’ve got plenty of room on my desk, so i decided to find the perfect set of bookends to keep things tidy- and during my search i came across so many i thought i’d turn them into a roundup. so here are my favorite designs, all under $100. if you’re willing to up the budget a bit, i included a small splurge section after the jump, for beautiful designs that might warrant an extra trip to the atm. enjoy!

looking for more product guides? click here to check out our archives, including office accessories, lanterns, doortstops, bar stools and more..

[image above, clockwise from top left: alpha bookends $29.95, fishbowl bookends $59.99, brass bear bookends $49.95, standard issue bookends (fit onto shelves) $55, pear bookend $35.95 each, owl bookends $100, scissor bookends $45, gold brick bookends $75, fu dog bookends $49.95, klaus hackl bookends $87, fleur de lis bookends $35, agate bookends $99.95, quote/unquote bookends $89, owl bookends $79.91, birds on branches bookend $49.95]

CLICK HERE for the full 35+ bookend guide after the jump!

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today’s biz ladies article comes from the lovely meg mateo ilasco. meg is the author of craft, inc. and the craft, inc. business planner. she’s shared book advice with us twice, branding advice, tips on starting a business in hard times, and today- logo design! representing your business in a succinct, visual way is not always easy, and today meg will be sharing her expert advice on creating your company’s logo (meg won an award from print magazine’s regional design annual for the logo she made for her company mateo ilasco). thanks so much to meg for sharing her logo tips with us!

*look for two new books from meg this fall 2010: creative, inc. and crafting a meaningful home*

CLICK HERE for the full post after the jump!

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[today we're headed south for our weekly city guide, courtesy of paula of neutral dwelling. in addition to "big cities" i'm thrilled that we're able to branch out into smaller towns on d*s. if you want to represent your small town on d*s, just shoot me an email here!]

Louisiana’s Twin Cities, Monroe & West Monroe are two small-town southern charmers. The first Coca-Cola bottling plant was opened here, maybe that’s why no one will ask you if you would like a soda, only “Would you like a Coke?”  Delta Airlines got its start here as the world’s first aerial crop dusting organization. Who knew? And, we even have our very own castle, Layton Castle, which is one of Louisiana’s 7 nationally registered castles.  You won’t find nicer people anywhere in the world and I am happy to share some of our local culture with you on Design*Sponge today.

CLICK HERE for the full monroe & west monroe guide after the jump!

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one day when ac and i have a bigger home, we plan on adding another furry friend to our family- more specifically, a dog. so whenever i see cute dog beds i get little “i want a dog!” pains in my stomach that make me head over to petfinder looking for a friendly face to rescue. until that day comes, i’ll keep on loving things like this- a colorful new pet bed from muovo. muovo is a design studio in helsinki founded by textile designers anni kääriä and sanna väänänen. on a mission to “design products that put you in a good mood”, anni and sanna recently released a dog bed and footstool design made of detachable, machine-washable cotton. what i love about the dog bed is that it’s inflatable- so you can travel with it! if you’ve got a fuzzy friend that needs a soft place to sleep, click here to check out muovo’s products online.

when it comes to cards, i tend to stay away from the humorous variety. i’m more of a decorative/blank-inside type of gal. but i’m loving these new “headlines” cards from old tom foolery. each card has a simple (and funny) message and comes with a bright red envelope. you can check out all 16 new styles on the old tom foolery site right here. thanks, lauren!

when designing this take- your-breath-away clinton corners, ny country house nina gotlieb strove to create a relationship between the house and its forest setting. a residential and hospitality designer, nina finds that she works best when she thinks about telling a story in a space rather than sticking closely to a particular style. the house was built from the ground up, and nina used the simple barn structures in the area for inspiration. she wanted the home to be open, airy and simple with modern, crisp detailing. but so that everything didn’t look too new, nina choose her materials carefully. Everything needed to have character and soul. for example, the siding is a knotty western red cedar, which was stained rather than painted so that the knots and grain showed through. and inside – it’s all about objects with history – industrial antiques and warm leathers and wood.  {thanks nina! and many thanks to miha matei for the lovely photographs!} -amy a

[photo above: the dining room table was made by my millworker - jay brennan, who i wish had a website, but is too much of a luddite.  he did all the millwork in the house, including the fireplace cabinetry (you can see a peek of it behind the couch), and did such an amazing job.  i had found a similar antique farm table that was insanely expensive, so i asked jay if he could build something similar but cheaper.  he had a pile of reclaimed oak in his shop that i think had just been sitting around since the 70's, which he burnished and fumed and "aged" to the point where he had made almost an exact replica of the antique table.  there's even spots of old red overspray from other projects on the legs that he just left there, and i love.  the sheepskin is from ikea, and i have it all over the house.  i had just returned from visiting friends in copenhagen, and loved how they just threw sheepskin all over everything as instant coziness.]

[photo above: the strategy for the layout of the house was pretty simple - we spend most of the time entertaining on the main floor, and bedrooms are just for sleeping, so they were all upstairs, and relatively small.  the kitchen / dining room / living room is one large space.  oddly enough, we still hardly ever hung out in the living room - always around the kitchen!  it ended up just being a place to read when you need some alone time by the fireplace.  the awesome rose pillow is from a détacher on mott street.]

[photo above: this is one of the two guest rooms.  the composition on the wall is actually woodblock prints of plants from an old french botanical dictionary that i found on ebay.  the smaller frames are shadow boxes that i filled with moss, sticks and stones i gathered from the property.  the beds are actually children's beds from notNeutral. the metal cart is from a company in ohio called american furnishings.  and of course, more sheepskin.]

[photo above: this is the same guest room.  i just like the idea of using crates here as shelves.  and i was obsessed with the idea of suitcase racks in a guest room.  the books are all about dutchess county, the hudson valley, or barn architecture.  i scoured ebay and other bookstores for these, but ran out of steam before all the crates were filled, which had been the original goal.]

CLICK HERE for the rest of Nina’s post! (and all 19 images on one page!)

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