mirrormirror

Go Fug Your Room - is this right for Elle Deco?

I don’t usually like to use unknown people for ‘Go Fug Your Room’ – it’s generally far more satisfying to diss celebrities and famous designers - but I have to admit this recent photoshoot in Elle Deco UK  of the New York apartment belonging to Leif Sigersen, a Danish set designer, left me rather befuddled and confused.

Sigersen is described as a collector of ‘weathered vintage pieces and quirky accessories’  who has turned his home into a ‘showcase of stunning displays’.

Or has he?

This looks like a particularly squalid student bedsit. 

Since when does a pile of leather sandals piled up on a rusty radiator equal either interior design or a ‘collection’?

Aren’t kitchens meant to be for cooking? And isn’t this all a little unhygienic?

And who does all the dusting?

I think the plants must have died of depression.

So, I can just about get on board with the restrained colour palette and use of texture, though it’s not exactly my cup of tea; and there are probably some very interesting vintage pieces in with all the old junk and I genuinely think the photography (by Ditte Isager) is delicious and redolent with atmosphere.

I could probably be persuaded to classify this as conceptual art if you asked me nicely, but seriously, does it count as interior design and decor? And if it does would Elle Deco like to come and photograph our basement?

Really interested to hear your thoughts.

poll by twiigs.com

Back with a BANG – on the cover of Ideal Home!

I bet you’re all chewing your nails with anxiety wondering what has happened to mirrormirror recently given that I’ve hardly mentioned it at all over the last few months. (Actually the way sales have been going I reckon you’ve even forgotten it exists).  I’ve hinted at stuff going on behind the scenes but haven’t been able to tell you the full story until now, when I can REVEAL. EVERYTHING. Aren’t you excited?

As you may know I have been running mirrormirror from Seattle with the help of someone back in the UK, who sends out all the orders, deals with customer and journalist queries and generally keeps the show on the road.

At the beginning of the summer my colleague Diane decided that she could no longer fit mirrormirror into a hectic freelancing schedule which increasingly involved lots of week-long business trips to the US (and who can blame her?) so I was casting around to find someone else.

To be perfectly honest I thought the chances of finding a replacement were slim to non-existent.  Most of my friends back in the UK either don’t have the space or have too many work or other commitments to fit mirrormirror in and I was in no position to interview someone I’d never met before for the role.

A vague and sad plan crystallised, involving me running the shop down over the summer, hoping Diane could manage one last Christmas and then transferring everything to the US in the hopes that we’d get our green cards through quick and I could open in the US early in 2010.  And after struggling so hard to keep the shop going through the Minx’s babyhood and our move to Seattle I bet you can imagine how happy this plan made me feel.

Now, I am not a believer in anything very much, but sometimes the world really does move in mysterious ways.  In August this year I hooked up, through the magic of Facebook, with an old college friend and his wife who we’d lost touch with a bit following our move to Seattle.  And it just transpired that said friends had moved to a big house very close to Cambridge where the mirrormirror stock was living, and my friend’s wife was casting around for something to do now that the youngest of her FOUR kids (yes, she is also crazy) is going to pre-school, and said friend’s wife is one of the nicest, most efficient and well-organised people you could ever meet. And bingo! mirrormirror is BACK.

Which is fortunate as today we just got our best bit of press coverage ever.

The Cut Steel Garland by Atelier LZC is featured prominently on the front cover of December’s Ideal Home magazine (see it on the back of the chair in front)

  and also inside

while the Tree of Life is also featured in the same article

Vancouver and Visas and Wearstler and Wanders

Can you believe it’s been three years since we first got our visas for the US?

When we first came out to Seattle we assumed that definitely be back in the UK before our visas ran out. But here we are three years later, happily settled and with no return to Europe in prospect, needing new visas.  You have to leave the country to get them renewed so we’ve driven 150 miles up the freeway to spend a few days in Vancouver. 

Here are a few pics from a gorgeous autumnal walk we went on yesterday in Stanley Park.

And here are a couple of links which might be of interest until I’m back properly in front of a computer (on Friday).

First up Alexandra from A Bit Late is not impressed with Kelly Wearstler’s beach house. While I don’t think I hate it as much as her previous effort (she appears to have given up raiding the British Museum) I’m not sure it has a huge amount to commend it.  I haven’t yet seen the Metropolitan Home feature though.

Also our friend Marcel Wanders has apparently designed a range of Christmas decorations for Target here in the US.  I had high hopes for these as he’s done good stuff before for Habitat in the UK but really, with the exception of the big red, white and silver column candles which I may have to acquire, he was phoning this in without even bothering to switch on the phone. BO-RING.

Fancy Hotel of the Week – Mondrian Miami

I’ve never had much of a desire to go to Miami, but all that changed when I saw this hotel.  I totally adore the whimsy and wit of Marcel Wanders and his masterful use of shape and pattern, though the only thing I have that he’s designed are my gorgeous patterned storage boxes from Habitat.

The Mondrian Miami is still very ‘Miami’ with lots of shiny, lots of heavy columns and lots of huge curly chairs, but it does all look rather fun.

Design details I love include the faces on the walls, the shiny white floors, the layered monochrome patterns, the indoor and outdoor chandeliers,  the strangely curving staircase and the funky modern chairs (not so keen on the faux French antique chairs, but I can see what he’s trying to do).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The World of 100

Or if the world were a village of one hundred people.

Graphic designer Toby Ng has produced a set of 20 posters, each conveying a simple statistic about the state of the world.

 

 

Which I’m finding to be very thought-provoking as I sit at my spanking new computer on my overweight, college-educated butt…

See more stats and realise even more how lucky we all are here.

Go Love Your Room? – Lulu Guinness

I’m a little bit on the fence about this one, as it’s a little too romantically girly for my taste, but there’s still a lot to love in Lulu Guinness’ Notting Hill house.

Love the refreshing colours, but there’s too much spindly furniture – which never looks comfortable and wallow-y

 

My least favourite room in the house.  I love her bags, but I’m not a fan of LG’s bedding (it’s from her homewares range) and the mural commissioned from an art student doesn’t redeem things much. And I do wonder who dusts that collection of powder compacts.

First up the bones of the house are superb – the Victorian houses built in Notting Hill are larger and grander than in other parts of London, so the proportions are generally, as in this case, more splendid.

And there’s something about the quality of the light there, I lived in Notting Hill for twelve years and even on gloomy days it always seemed brighter and lighter than the rest of London – something to do with the white coloured houses and the sunset views to the west.  But maybe it was just because I loved living there so much.

But I digress.

I love the eclecticism of the decor, the bold use of colour, the collections of objects which are clearly much loved and personal and the way the whole thing reflects LG’s own quirky feminine but slightly kitsch style. (Is she well known in the US? I haven’t come across her here.  In the UK she is renowned as a handbag designer, but she also designs homewares.)

 

I ADORE the pearly queen wallhanging and her tchotchkes (one of my favourite American words) are mostly fab though wonder how practical it is to have everything lined up behind the banquette like that.

The other interesting aspect is how the house has evolved since it was last photographed in 2001 (seen here on Hidden in France) – LG has kept many of the same pieces but the style is a little more pared down and the colour palette more restrained, with much more use of white.  It’s so refreshing to see a wealthy person who doesn’t throw everything out and start again every few years, but who keeps their house full of familiar, much-loved  treasures.

 

Kitchen 2009

Kitchen 2001

Just loving all the perspex and the black and white

 

I’ve always loved her trademark perfume bottles

What do you think? {All images, by the way, from Living etc}

Go Fug Your Magazine - Lonny Mag

As you know I was never a big fan of Domino -  I’m becoming more American every day, but nothing has come remotely close to replacing the British shelter magazines such as Living etc and Elle Deco in my heart – but I was looking forward to the launch of Lonny, the online magazine brainchild of former Domino Market Editor Michelle Adams and photographer Patrick Cline.

Issue 1 was launched today and I’m afraid you’ll just have to colour me rather disappointed.

First the good news.

- The online reader tool is fantastic – clear, fast and making it very easy to flip between the pages (though it seems strangely old-fashioned to just duplicate a print magazine online – if you can add hyperlinks, for example on the shopping pages, why not just do it?)

- The photographs are aces.

- The styling, though completely not to my taste, is generally excellent.

- There’s lots to read, with plenty of home tours and not too many ads.

The bad news, unfortunately, is that the whole magazine is a celebration of the fussy, over-ornate, grandma’s old knickers style that dominates American interiors magazines and which I’m sure led partially to Domino’s demise.

The front cover is spectacularly meh. I know it doesn’t have to stand out on a newstand, but really couldn’t they do better than this?  If the cover of a magazine is supposed to tell you what a magazine is all about then this says is ‘fussy’ and ‘mumsy’ (do Americans understand what this means? Should I be writing ‘momsy’ instead?), which is not a decorating style I aspire to.

Inside the layout is full of the multiple fancy fonts, strange dotty lines and fussy boxes which we’ve discussed before about American magazines, though it is less busy and better organized that some.

The shopping pages feature some quite spectacularly ugly stuff.

 

The fashion pages are EXECRABLE. I have no words.

And there of course are loads of rooms cluttered with overdecorated repro furniture and table lamps in every direction (what is it with Americans and table lamps?)

Regardez

Table lamps outside? Seriously you guys are OBSESSED.

The one more modern home featured is about as imaginative as a Crate & Barrel catalogue

Even the home of Grace Bonney from Design*Sponge, whose taste I normally quite like, is made to look dull.

Finally our old friend Eddie Ross is back with his special brand of granny style, featuring even more zebra than he had in his New York apartment and a ton of fuss and clutter on every surface (a shame as the bare bones of his country house look absolutely amazing).

The very best news though is that we now have a great new source of ‘Go Fug Your Room’ fodder.  I thereforewish Lonny Magazine many, MANY years of success.

And now, having offended most of the American online decorating establishment, I will go and do some real work.

Dead Good

We’ve talked about British furniture company Deadgood before and I’m completely smitten by the cute little ‘Capsule’ sofa and chair they unveiled at 100% Design.

   o

Who are the good independent furniture designers in the US?  I’d love to find stuff like this here, but don’t seem to be able to track it down. (Check out more from 100% Design – oh how I miss it – here)

Update: Just editing to show the comments that have been appearing on my Facebook page….maybe I’m liking this chair a little less now…

Blanket Coverage

 

Delicious eye candy via Decor8 yesterday of the home of photographer Danielle Thompson. More photos of the rest of her home are on her blog, but I was particularly drawn to the pictures of her sofa, which sort of have the vibe I’m aiming at – a smooth modern sofa accessorised with a vibrant granny blanket. And her warm contemporary pastel colour scheme is so wonderful.

I also really like the arrangement she’s created above the sofa. I’m a bit over very frilly frames like these, but love the idea of collecting frames and framing fabrics.

If you’re looking for a easier crochet blanket, check out this simple but beautiful one from Casapinka.  I love its clean modern vibe, crochet can so often look overwrought and fussy.

Plates with Holes – Andrew Tanner

Not terribly practical if you’re chasing your peas round your plate, but I do like the way these wall plates with holes subvert the whole plate as practical item concept.  And look nice too.

All details of British designer Andrew Tanner’s Silhouette plates are here.

Style Guile

Or what makes this work?

Holly over on Decor8 put up a very thought-provoking post recently asking for styling tips and wondering how interiors stylists manage to achieve that sort of perfect lived-in dishevelment which just looks desirable and comfortable rather than messy and cluttered.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at rooms that ‘work’ and see if we could analyse what makes them look so good and try and pick up some styling tips of our own.

This room takes the city of Barcelona as its inspiration and comes from the Habitat-sponsored supplement in October’s Elle Decoration UK.

So, what makes this work?

Colour Editing

- The colour palette used is very limited – just splashes of red, orange and yellow against a white background. A few touches of blue and green are introduced in the kitchen and on the sunburst clock just to stop it all looking too ‘matchy matchy’ (and because I suspect the tiles were a permanent feature the stylist could do nothing about).

The colour values on the other hand are varied, from the dark red chair (and note that half-hidden but important black chair) to the medium values of the yellow and translucent orange and the lightness of the white.

Echoing Shapes

I love it when stylists do this. Look at how the orange rectangles in the windows are echoed by the orange fridge and how the straight lines of this quite boxy room are reflected in the large floor tiles.  Then see how all those edges are softened by circles of the table and round chairs, which are again echoed by the lampshade. And how the rounded corners of the fridge are repeated in the rounded arms of the straight-legged chairs and the gentle curve of the fireplace.

Tchotchkes/Knick Knacks

The funny modern chess set on the table looks a bit incongruous I think, though I can see why something predominantly white, black and boxy was used for the scheme. I love the way they’ve used the beautiful tins that Spanish packaging is famous for but then mixed in some slightly less glamorous packaging with the salt and the teabags so that it looks like a real person might live there (though the salt pot echoes that little canister at the front and the colours of said salt and teabags match perfectly). Varying the heights and sizes of the canisters to the left also gives some visual interest.

I particularly like the artfulness of having front chair a little askew so that it looks like someone has just sipped their drink (note the perfect colour), got up from the chess game, and is lurking just out of shot. Though why this person needs sunglasses to play chess beats me.

Hidden Theme? 

I think the theme here is ‘sun’. That’s certainly what this room makes me think of.  The colours of course are part of it, but also the sunglasses and sunburst clock, the bright yellow daisy-like flowers in the tea cosy and wall art and the shape of the pendant shade say ‘sun’ to me.

What do you think?  Does the room work for you? What other little pleasing tricks do you notice? What could the stylist have done better? Why has the enormous pepperpot shown in the main picture disappeared from the kitchen close-up?

Go Love Your Room – KenzieKate’s Nursery

I’m always a bit jealous of fabulous nurseries.  For the first year or so of her life when we were in our London flat the Minx slept in with all the mirrormirror stock in our second bedroom – not exactly conducive to beautiful decorating schemes.  Not that she really noticed if the truth be told.

This baby nursery is truly stunning – not many people could pull off a zingy green, yellow, turquoise and red colour scheme but Kenzie Kate of wedding blog ‘Something Old, Something New’ does an incredible job.

 

I think it’s a great idea to do a bright scheme like this, as in my experience most little children are not very fond of pastels and will let you know that in no uncertain terms as soon as they can.  The Minx can be very vociferous on the subject of her dislike for baby pink (though hot pinks and fuchsias are another matter entirely). So this scheme should last for some time.

 

The thing that really pulls this together are all the little homemade touches – the gorgeous mobile, the soft toys, the homemade quilt and art work.  I would give my eye teeth to be that talented a craftsperson.

All details can be found here.  Found via the gorgeous Helen of Countryside Wedding – ex mirrormirror staffer and soon to be yummy mummy herself.

Go Love Your Room - Colour Me Amazed

I was just flicking through the most recent copy of the Elle Deco UK when I came across this house by Dutch designer Carlos Weeber.

I’m not sure I could exactly live with the colour scheme, but it is so refreshing to see an architect using colour – so many seem to be members of the ‘any colour as long as it’s white’ school.

Funnily enough the architect himself is colour-blind, so he works with an artist friend to put the colours together, and yes, the house is in Curacao, where a bright palette like this will fit in more, but still, I wish others were a bit more brave.

 

 

All photos from Elle Decoration UK (Aug 2009)

I apologise for the scanned-in quality of the images.  Of course if Elle Deco got its act together and had a website….

Ta-da!

So here is the new sofa in situ. It is as comfy as hell, IMMENSELY practical, extraordinarily well -made and we are thrilled to bits with it. Thanks Couch Seattle!

You will note that we’ve also taken your advice – you were right of course - and bought a new rug for that end of the room so that the coffee table sits on it correctly and moved the green rug to the dining area. We also moved the green curtains to that end of the room to give a bit of colour and raised the curtain pole so that they hang better and give more of an illusion of height.

 

Things Still To Be Done About Which We Need to Talk

- Paint the walls. I have a completely different colour in mind from the last time we discussed this and am going to get samples this weekend.

- Reframe and move the artwork. Commission or buy huge and expensive piece of art (ha ha! – Ed) or at the very least do SOMETHING with the wall above the sofa.

- Replace (or possibly just paint?) the incredibly ugly door on the left which leads straight out onto the porch.

- Do something about the light fixtures, about which we have still done nothing since last we spoke.

- Crochet the sofa a beautiful present.

- Learn how to style photos better and at least smooth down the cushions on the couch before photographing it. 

There is much to discuss and much to do. But we are getting there slowly.

The weather is supposed to be glorious this weekend which I suspect will be the Seattle summer’s last hurrah. So we are going to go out and PLAY!

Engraved Upon My Heart

 

Like everyone else in the world, I do like a good Moleskine notebook.  Portland-based company Engrave Your Book  produces beautiful reuseable leather Moleskine covers, laser engraved with artwork by up-and-coming artists and graphic designers, including Amy Ruppel.

Aren’t these just fabulous? I might try and get some of these in the shop. Currently available here.

Amy Ruppel for Engrave Your Book 

Jubilee

Isn’t this rather gorge? It doesn’t quite fit into our house decor, and it costs an absolute fortune, but je l’adore, oh yes I do.

To me it sort of sums up Britain in a way - different and edgy, fun and funky, a mish-mash of styles, slightly uncomfortable-looking and with a heart of pure unadulterated old-fashioned chintz.

 

 

Available at the Rug Company, { via Countryside Wedding}

Separated at Birth?

Or, calling a Spade a Spade

Incredibly fashionable Kate Spade Fall 2009 bag 

Fantastically terrifying decoy owl

{via Making It Lovely and Whorange}  

So, let’s start as we mean to go on shall we?

This bag has been doing the rounds of the blogs in the last day or so. Much as we like an owl motif or two round these parts, and much as I hate to contradict two of my favourite design bloggers, I frankly find this bag both extremely ugly and utterly, bone-chillingly, terrifying.

It reminds me of the ferocious looking plastic decoy owl which you, dear readers, encouraged us to buy, and which was perched on our roof deck for the best part of the summer in an attempt to scare the birds from our cherry tree. I think it worked with the birds – there definitely seemed to be fewer around this year, and it certainly gave me the screaming heebie-jeebies every time I glanced it out of the corner of my eye.

Oh, and if you must buy this bag (and we would encourage you not to) the bag is available here.

We’re off to visit our friends’ cabin in the mountains this Labor Day weekend (oh how painful it is to write ‘Labour’ without a ‘u’ ) so I’ll be back on Tuesday.  Next week we’ll be talking about my new knitted cardigan and the new sofa.  How can you stand the excitement?

And speaking of owls…

…I’m very much loving the new bamboo owl mobiles from one of our favourite suppliers Petit Collage.

For UK peeps we also have her beautiful wooden owl collage for sale on mirrormirror.

Lorena at Petit Collage has also brought out a couple of fun owl-y packing tapes

Must think about getting all these in the shop.

While we’re on the subject of real estate…

… this has just gone on sale for $25million in Brooklyn, NYC. This is apparently twice the previous record price for Brooklyn, but, truly you can see why.  I think I could live here quite easily, if anyone fancies gifting me $25million.  The clocks all work too…

  

See the full slideshow here

Wise Guys

We all loved the Mibo Beetle stickers I blogged about earlier this year (and no, I haven’t yet done anything to personalise the car) and today I found out about another cool idea from the Mibo website – downloadable, print-at-homeable OWLS.

The Minx and I will be making these on Monday after we return from camping.  That is if our fingers can move for the chilblains and frostbite – after last week’s record high temperatures, temps have plummeted this week and the weather forecast for the weekend is awful. I will be attempting to blog my camping experiences from my new iPhone (the silver lining to my car being broken into on Tuesday).

Speaking of iPhones, has anyone get any favourite apps they want to share?  Either for me or the Minx? If you have a pre-schooler about the house you could do much worse that to download Smacktalk. 

Alexander McQueen’s (Ex) East London Home

As you know around here we’re rather partial to a peek at fashion designers’ houses (we’re looking at you Matthew Williamson, Betsey Johnson and Vanessa Bruno), so here for your delectation and delight are pictures of Alexander McQueen’s East London townhouse. {From the Real Estalker via the HolyMoly mailout – yes I do read it}

I don’t think it’s fair to make this a ‘Go Fug Your Room’ candidate as these photos are only estate agent’s photos and don’t fully reflect McQueen’s personal style, but it’s still interesting to snoop.

Personally I’m finding this rather boring.  As you may have guessed I’m not hugely into minimalism at the best of times, but this strikes me as rather boring minimalism. My main gripe is with all the square and boxy built-ins – I prefer a few elegant curves in my rooms.  And that house looks as if it dates from the 1850s? so it probably had quite a few nice original features – ceiling mouldings, fireplaces etc -  which have all been summarily destroyed.

I also have to say that this house could benefit hugely from a bit of American-style home staging – some pictures, maybe a rug and a funky chair here and there would make all the difference.

I am loving the roof deck (though for me the glass skylight directly above the bed is not exactly a selling point), the pond thingy (pool?) and what we can see of the outside spaces though. Here the minimalist lines are softened by the plants, though a few flowers wouldn’t go amiss.

Anyway, if this house is for you it will only set you back 1.7 million pounds (I’ve just got a new computer and now have no idea how to find a pound sign) or around $2.8 million.  Please bear in mind though, that this house is in Hackney, one of the, shall we say, edgiest areas of inner London.

So(fa) Exciting!

This is apparently what our new sofa looked like before it left the manufacturer. So fabulous to see it with the cone legs at last. It looks even better than I thought it would. Ameer and his team have done an incredible job.

It should be delivered next week, so then we get to see it in situ and sit in it. Can’t wait!

River Mirrors

I’m sorry and I’m enjoying life in the US more than I ever thought I would, but from a design perspective I still wish I was living in the UK, there’s so much fabulous stuff coming out of there.

A case in point are these spectacular ‘River Mirrors’ by British artist and designer Caryn Moberly {via The Art of C}.

Each River Mirror is created from beautiful pieces of burred elm and resemble water flowing between the natural banks of a river.  Caryn uses the natural undulating shape of the tree to form the ‘river banks’, and so no two mirrors are the same.

I find the choice of wood particularly poignant – as a very young child I lived close to a stand of magnificent elm trees and remember feeling quite overwhelmed by their height and majesty.  It pains me somewhat that, due to Dutch Elm Disease, it is unlikely that my daughter will ever see a mature elm tree in all its glory.

Paris Hilton’s Doghouse

Fun whimsy or a little bit sick?

Apparently Paris Hilton has been Tweeting about the house she’s had built for her enormous collection of chihuahuas.

The house is 300 sq. ft and two storeys, and features a clay-tile roof with copper gutters, intricate ceiling mouldings and a black crystal chandelier hanging in the bedroom complete with a closet and central air conditioning. It was designed by Paris’s interior designer Faye Resnick and is apparently furnished with faux designer doggie products from such design world luminaries as Jimmy Chew, Pawda, Sniffany & Co. and Chewy Vuitton. Oh and it has a price tag of $350,000.

Am I alone in thinking that in this day and age, this is just a tad inappropriate?  I just hope those dogs like candyfloss pink.

Lampshade Couture – It’s Competition Time!

 

Dawn Bassett of Seattle-based LiT Shades makes bespoke lampshades for any room in the house, using designer fabrics such as Marimekko, or custom letterpress printing.

Until 7th August Dawn is running a competition on her blog where you can win your very own custom couture lampshade. All you need to do is send in a picture of a lamp in need of a revamp and Dawn will pick one to crown with its own special bespoke shade.

I mention this by way of a public service announcement because I love my readers, though I don’t particularly want any of you to enter as I’ve just entered my own sadly neglected Ebay lucite lamp. Anyway, if you must, full details of how to enter are here. 

A lamp in need of a vamp. 

Urban Craft Uprising

 

Just a quick reminder for Seattle-based peeps that the first ever summer Urban Craft Uprising is taking place tomorrow and Sunday at the Seattle Center.

I got to a UCU a couple of years back when I first arrived in Seattle and found it to be a charming mishmash of the homespun, the bizarre and the fabulous. Included in the fabulous this time round will be Dave Sheely Designs and the Cakespy herself.

Adventures in Knitting – Designing?

Just saving these pics of a metallic Alexander Wang cardigan (available here from Shopbop) as inspiration.

I love it, and its top down raglan construction is not dissimilar to a cardigan I’m currently working on.  I’m wondering if I could adapt my current pattern to become something like this, maybe knit with this silk and stainless steel yarn.  Of course I could knit it out of spun gold and it still wouldn’t reach the $495 price tag for the original.

Adventures in Knitting - Noro

Just a bit of a knitting catch up. As you've probably noticed I'm not afraid of a bit of colour, so I've become endlessly fascinated by Noro self-striping yarns from Japan. The colour changes are beautiful as they're spun into the yarn, not just dyed into it and it's mesmerising to watch the individual plies within the yarn change colour as the next colour comes through. 

The colour combinations are also very unusual and generally contain a couple of 'ugly' colours, but somehow they seem to work incredibly well together - with the ugly colours somehow making the colour scheme seem more sophisticated.

Firstly, I finished my crochet project. I'm really pleased with it and it has had loads of compliments on the few occasions I've been able to wear it (Seattle has been ridiculously hot and sunny these last few weeks).  I think I can now officially say I can crochet, which is good as I have a ludicrously large crochet project in mind.

I obviously hadn't got the Noro completely out of my system when I finished the scarf because I immediately cast on a Gaia shawl in Noro Kureyon Sock.  I'm enjoying knitting my lace wrap but it's taking forever and is not very portable/social, so I was looking out for a quick and easy very casual wrap that I could wear up on the deck on chilly evenings. This wrap is a lot of fun as the colour changes in the yarn dictate the pattern.

 This colourway  (180) is incredibly garish, but I'm sort of loving it - I think it will work really well with jeans and a purple tee-shirt for a sort of 'punk grandma' look.

All details as before on my Ravelry page.

Sofa SO Good

So we've made a decision.

We're going with the Deep sofa below from Couch Seattle, though we're going to switch out the wooden plinth underneath for mid-century style cone feet and the whole thing will be in buttery soft ivory leather. The leather was a bit of an indulgence, and in all honesty I'm not really a leather sofa person at all, but it did seem the most supremely practical option with a Minx in the house - our existing white slip-covered sofa really does look horrific nowadays.

We partly made this decision because this is one of the few sofas we were able to sit on and test - and goodness me is it comfortable - but also on the basis of a long email discussion with Ameer at Couch. That man knows his couches.

I'm reproducing one of his emails here as I believe the advice he gives might be useful to anyone else currently buying a sofa, but also because this sort of exemplary and helpful customer service really needs to be celebrated.

Over to Ameer (the below is his email in response to my previous sofa post). I've included mini-pics of the sofas he is referring to, so we can follow the argument.

'It seems you want a modern or mid-century sofa that sits like a big lounger - which is a bit of a challenge. 

Mid-century styles like the Petrie and Jasper are a bit more upright.  Not familiar with how the Jasper sits but it mimics the depth and geometry of the Petrie so I assume they sit the same-which is to say well, but hardly plush, which is what you liked about my Deep model.   

For reference the Deep is 40" while the Jasper and Petrie are both 36"- and the Deep features down blend in the back and seat while neither the Petrie or Jasper do.  Styles like that are both all about the straightness of the line, which down would compromise. 

As for the 51 , the other style you scanned, I dig it but simply don't dig it as much as the Deep.  Seeing both in person in California the Deep was a fair bit more modern and eye-catching.  I don't think it's necessarily rounder by any means than the Deep. 

The Rae and Nina are both nice looking but the Nina   is only 75" wide, while the Ray looks from here like it sits stiff (and being only 32" will sit quite shallow). 

The Danner is pretty (but again shallow) and undoubtedly well made but you're paying maybe $1,500 to get the Adler label.  I could do the Nina and probably the Danner as well.  But since you've mentioned you want loungy comfort I might encourage you to look at options that include back pillows.

Byward is an awkward knock-off of a B&B Charles.  It looks awkward because the seat cushion is too fat by about an inch - and the back cushions need a touch of space between them so you can see the frame.  The Charles needs to be knocked off perfectly to look good.  An inch off here and an inch off there and it's not so very pretty at all

Movie sofais good but CB2 quality isn't quite the same as that of the CB main line - and the problem with a sofa like that is that you NEED lots of cushions to put behind you and while lots of throw pillows are nice to look at, they can drive one crazy trying to find the right arrangement on dvd night.  Sleek yet plush is really kind of a difficult thing to do. 

The Frigerio line at Limn is amazing yet Italian made with prices to match.  Restoration Hardware has some great designs, but perhaps a little too traditional for your taste and they're overpriced and Chinese built.  Kasala and Alchemy are always options for some contemporary styling, but you undoubtedly visited since they're both on the same street I am.  Hmmm.  Given your parameters I dunno where'd I'd get a sofa if I didn't get it from me. 

If I didn't have 10k for Frigerio (which I don't) I'd probably go for a Steele from CB (which would fit with your room aesthetic).  It's got a nice sleek look and in my opinion sits better than the Petrie.

I'm also of the mind that the aggressively mid century style of the Petrie won't age as well as a more updated style like the Steele. You could also get the Steele in time for your parents in a suitable fabric since it's stocked in a nubby polyester.  The Petrie is stocked in a cotton which just isn't the right call for you given the Minx.  To change out the cotton to the leather on the Petrie you're going to be waiting till well after your parents have come and gone. 

I'm going through my databanks here for a good source for a deep, stylish, plush, sofa and coming up blank. 

Best I can do is the CB Lounge   which is stocked in a stain resistant poly velvet.  Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it -  though that one is 46" deep so will have a large footprint in a not so very wide room.  I really did try!

To answer your question I've got the exact spec for both the Petrie, Jasper, and Movie but I'm not in love with any of them.  I'll take another look at my resources and see if I can't suggest a couple others.  For a really progressive piece that looks fantastic and sits well, I really am a big fan of the Deep.  I think it would look right at home in one of my neighboring boutiques at 3x the price. 

ameer

Sofa, So Very Not Good

The inlaws have booked their flights out to visit us this August and we are now panicking because our crummy thirteen-year-old sofa is in a state of severe delapidation and is hugely uncomfortable. I suspect rather too much of this is to blame.

So, a new sofa must be procured.

This Saturday we went along to Couch in Seattle, whose owner Ameer was really helpful and incredibly passionate about sofas (see also this write-up on Apartment Therapy ). He has a range of sofas which are eco-friendly, completely customisable and competitively priced, plus he can get sofas made 'inspired' by those at the big box stores, but again customised to your own requirements.

So here are some sofas I like. I find that I'm drawn to a sort of mid-century vibe (definitely want feet) but it needs to be incredibly comfortable and relaxing and not the sort of sofa that makes you sit bolt upright.  Any other ideas?  Are there any other aspects I should be taking into consideration? Anyone got any experience sitting on any of the below? I'm thinking of shapes at the moment rather than upholstery colours/fabrics/prices, though if anyone knows of any mid-century styled slipcover sofas I'd be all ears.

Jasper at Room & Board, $1,299 

Movie Sofa at CB2, $999 

 

Byward at Velocity, $1,800 

 

 

Petrie at Crate & Barrel, $1.499

 

 

Rae at Chiasso $1,598

Nina at Maine Cottage,  $1,700 - $2,590

 

Danner, at Jonathan Adler, $3,800

 

Finally, here are a couple of ideas they had a Couch, both of which can be made up in a gorgeous buttery soft ivory leather, which I'm very drawn too due to the practicality aspect. (Excuse the quality of these, they're scans of scans).  I'd get the feet changed on both of these though.

 

Oh and here's reminder of the room it's going in. An no, we still haven't painted the walls.

Beetle-mania

So here is the new baby.  She's not exactly the colour I would have liked (we saw a fab orange one which was just out of price range) but she's cute and nippy and the Minx loves her very much. We are in ongoing discussions about her name - I favour 'Myrtle' but the Minx pefers the alliteration of 'Belle' (though we should be grateful that Aurora, Ariel and Tinkerbell have not yet come up as options).

I am naturally wondering whether any embellishment is in order - or would that be unspeakably naff and cliche'd?

Options include.

Retro flowers from TonyaBug on Etsy

Daisies from the Daisy People

 

Fabulous and fabulously expensive offical Beetle decals from Mibo.

Daisy tail light covers

and er, 'eyelids'

and, just in case you have money to burn, daisy hubcaps

Just in case I have any readers left after my shameful lack of blogging in recent weeks, here is a poll.

 

Abigail Percy's Hyacinth Watch

One of our very favourite suppliers is Scottish jeweller Abigail Percy, who makes, among other things, our very popular Sweet Horse Chestnut Earrings.

She has a wonderful blog detailing her inspirations and the creative process in her tiny studio and has recently been taking us through a project she calls  'Hyacinth Watch'.

Together we've watched her hyacinths grow, seen her sketches, marvelled at the limited edition jewellery she created from the sketches of hyacinth blooms, and you can now buy her photo postcards, wrapped in a brown paper band printed from one of her hyacinth sketches.

Do yourselves a favour, wander over to her blog and see the process for yourself.  Or, even better treat yourselves to a necklace or a set of postcards.

  All photographs copyright Abigail Percy.  Find her Flickr here.

Adventures in Knitting - the Blue Period

I'm still on my massive knitting jag, though I was amazed to find that for a couple of days after the accident my head was so all over the place that I found even that difficult.

Here's what I've been working on recently.

Firstly I managed to turn the yarn barf into this. You can't see very well, but I beaded the ends instead of adding a fringe. I'm absolutely delighted with it, and have been wearing it often

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secondly, I knitted these on the way to and from Portland. It was a revelation to me that I could knit in the car, as reading anything usually makes me very nauseous. I'm really pleased with these as well, though the Husband does start singing 'Gotta pick a pocket or two' every time I wear them. Ha ha. NOT.

Finally I'm working on a wrap/shawl thingy since I'm now very addicted to both Sea Silk and lace knitting after the Yarn Barf Scarf and Megan's Garter.  It's the first time I've knitted anything this lacy but I'm really enjoying it.  It's knitting up quite slowly as it's pretty dense, but my aim is to get it finished for wearing on the deck on a summer's evening while sipping margaritas.  Apparently lace looks awful until it's pressed out and 'blocked' at the end of the process. The little white threads you see running through are 'lifelines' made of dental floss.  If I make a horrible mistake I just have to rip back to the closest lifeline and not right back to the beginning of the work (and let me tell you, if you drop a stitch with Sea Silk all hell breaks lose pretty quickly.)

More details, including patterns etc., are, as usual on my Ravelry page.

Secret Knitting- Part Deux

I'm sorry this week has all been about knitting and photo collages - still getting back in the groove after spring break.

I was a bit concerned that three knitted dishcloths was a somewhat mean present for Megan (though it seems from your comments that I needn't have worried) so I took up the tiny bit of blue Sea Silk I have left from the scarf I'm knitting and decided to knit her a lacy garter as well.

Actually this was a very selfish present as I've been dying to try out knitting lace and this seemed like the perfect size of project, and I could knit with Sea Silk all day, I love it so.  Here's what I came up with.  I found the pattern on Ravelry of course, and it seemed very appropriate since it's called 'Eloping'.

I also managed to knit a little Easter gift for the Minx, who is very fond of a soft-boiled egg for breakfast. I was going to make three - one for each member of the family - but the other two are going to have to wait until next year. All details on my Ravelry page. Come and be my friend.

Oh by the way, I've decided I LOVE lace knitting and have already embarked upon a lace project for ME.  

 

 

 

 

Dressed Up To The Nines

Photos by Paola Thomas

I have SUCH a weakness for gorgeous hotels.  This weekend we managed to get a deal on the recently-opened the Nines in Portland.  Great location and a fabulous boutique-y feel for a largeish hotel.

There were some great decor touches.  I liked the taupe colour scheme with accents of aqua, lilac, purple and amber in the pillows, sheer drapes, and Murano glass light installations; the subtle taupe on taupe patterning in the wallpapers; and the lovely bespoke carpets which reflected the accent colours and the patterns in the papers and drapes.  The Minx adored the sparkly chandeliers and a somewhat strange sculpture of an enormous jewelled necklace in the lobby  (I didn't get a good picture of this though).

The lounge and bar area in the enormous central atrium was fabulous - divided up into a number of different 'rooms' each with their own decor, lighting and seating, but working together harmoniously as a whole.  And we were quite memerised by Matt McCormick's art installation comprising four enormous LCD panels showing silhouettes of cars crossing Portland's Fremont Bridge at sunset in the restaurant. Here's an article with more about the hotel's art collection.

All-in-all highly recommended next time you're staying in Portland.

Seattle Chocolates

Talking of pretty patterns, I know I'm supposed to be doing Weightwatchers, but a couple of these chocolate bars from Seattle Chocolates just happened to fall accidentally into our shopping trolley at the weekend.

Of course I only had one or two squares (who are you kidding? - Ed) but I'm pleased to report that they taste just as gorgeous as they look.

Oh and the below would make an extremely acceptable Easter egg substitute.

Giveaway! - Pretty Puzzle Books

Everyone seems to be doing pretty patterned bookcovers nowadays - I posted recently about the Virago special editions and Penguin has recently got in on the act with foiled hardbacks designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith, which I would dearly love to own. (More images here).

You too can now jump on the patterned book bandwagon with the new Spring collection of gorgeous little puzzle books from Andrews McMeel and the Puzzle Society. 

Each book is about the same size and shape as a Moleskine notebook but features a different, beautiful, embossed, foiled or flocked cover. It makes sense really - we take care to find pretty notebooks and pens to stash in our handbags, why should puzzle books be ugly?

To have a chance of winning all four of the books pictured, just tell me in the comments below what is the prettiest or ugliest thing you currently have in your handbag.  I'll keep the competition open for a week and choose the winner using an unbribable random number generator (though you are welcome to try bribing ME). I'm also happy to ship anywhere in the world. You will need to make sure you leave an email address with your comment so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck!

I am so tempted to keep these for myself, as they really are rather attractive, but the chances of me finding a spare moment for puzzling, are, shall we say, somewhat remote.

These Would Make Me Happy

Flower radiators from Hellos.  A mere £460 ($650 - good grief, the pound is crashing through the floor) for each flower.

Made of aluminium and available in a variety of coloured, matte and shiny finishes.

Light Up My Life

Jona Hoad is a UK-based lighting designer, who specialises in wallpaper-like lighting panels and lighting installations for hotel bars, restaurants and your house if you've got enough money.

Here are some pictures from the DeVigne Bar in Marylebone and the Vanilla Bar in Soho. Sometimes I do like a bit of spangly overthetopness.

  

 

I also liked these pictures from his website, which reveal that things are not always as they seem in the world of interiors photoshoots.

 

Adventures in Crochet

Holly at Decor8 has been writing a fabulous series about unleashing your creativity, which has made me decide that this is the year I learn to crochet.

I have a couple of super scary projects I'm contemplating (to be discussed when they've percolated a bit more) but have told myself that I can't buy the yarn for anything big until I've finished the incredibly tedious blanket of doom. In the meantime I'm attempting a few simple projects, so I can see what this crocheting lark is all about and whether it really is for me.

My first project was a cover for the orchid the Minx gave me for Valentines Day.  I adapted Erika Knight's bottle covers from Simple Crochet and used some string I found in our useful drawer and a length of fine chartreuse ribbon I found at the bottom of my knitting bag which I must have bought for some project I can no longer remember.

It wasn't difficult, though string and ribbon are not the most forgiving of media, and has encouraged me to persevere, though the Husband did take one look at the finished article and said, "Isn't that all a bit macrame'?" and I couldn't really disagree. 

Here's some crochet that actually looks good. Found via the Style Files and available here if you can read Dutch, these are all crocheted in polyester so are good for outdoors.  I'd love some for the deck.

 

More details in my Ravelry notebook.  Come and find me there.

 

Go Love Your Room - Victorian House in London

I was awash with nostalgia after seeing these pictures on Crooked Shmooked of the quintessential London Victorian house. Most of our friends with kids in London live in houses like this and if we had stayed in London I'm sure it's the sort of family house we would have ended up buying.  (This particular house is not far from where we lived in Notting Hill in London and in an area we were definitely considering moving to).

Vast swathes of houses like these were put up in the 19th century all over London, and while this is certainly not on the cutting edge decor-wise it's a very well done example of the genre, is quintessentially London and the sort of decor I love. If you want to use it for a photoshoot all details are here.

Come in! The encaustic tiiles inside and out are very Victorian and very typical, but the colour of the front door is fresh and modern and the beautiful stained glass is again a very Victorian idea, though I'm not sure if the glass in this particular door has been restored and modernised.

I've sat in so many rooms like this, with beautifully ornate fireplaces, a large bay window and an ugly telly tucked in the corner, because no one knows quite where to put it. Not sure about the sofa though.

  

Got to love the that Paul Smith 'Love' needlepoint from the Rug Company.  It's the companion piece to the one hanging in Carrie Bradshaw's redecorated apartment and something I'd love to have here in Seattle, if only George Bush and Gordon Brown hadn't stolen all our money.

I wish twinkly interior light strings were more prevalent in the US.  We had them all over the flat in London and you can generally find good examples at Habitat and Graham & Green.  Unfortunately the voltage is all wrong for the States (which we forgot about when we shipped some twinkly lights back for the Minx's room last year).

Pretty much everyone in London has extended into the loft to get a bit more space.

Keyboards of Desire

 

I want one of these so badly it hurts (though probably not as much as my hands would hurt using one, as I can currently only use a very ugly ergonomic keyboard). I never knew before that there was a hole in my life only a decorative keyboard could fill.

Handmade and available here and here for about $165 or £115.

{via If It's Hip It's Here}

Fabulous Lampshades - Insatiable Studios

The wonderful lampshades in the house featured below are handmade by Seattle-based designer Jill Smith, owner of Insatiable Studios.

The shades are all meticulously crafted using a papier-mâché process and then decorated with found papers. Her lampshades are available to buy online and her work also adorns several commercial spaces, such as PCC and the Dahlia Lounge here in Seattle and Nordstroms in Chicago.

 

Two of my favourite places to go - the Dahlia Lounge and PCC 

I really want one for the lucite lamp base I found on Ebay last year which is currently adorned by a VERY dull Ikea lampshade.  It's going to have to wait a bit though as I've just had a nasty bill for camera repairs.

This is NOT a fabulous lampshade

Go Love Your Room - Seattle Craftsman

I was flicking through last month's Sunset (which just gets better and better), when what did I see? A Seattle Craftsman house very much like ours, even down to the need for kid-friendliness. 

Loving the furniture placement here.  Unfortunately we can't emulate it because of our built in bookcases.

They've even got a Tripp Trapp! And I like the way they've done the lighting over the table.  I've been contemplating doing something like this, but am wondering about maintaining the symmetry in the room.  Need to think about this.

Nice kitchen, for when we ever have the money to do ours.  I like how the cabinets and shelves look modern, but completely fit in with the look of the house.  

I ADORE this lamp. The house is owned by an architect couple, and from their website it seems that they've done some very sympathetic renovations of Craftsman properties in Seattle.  I'm keeping them on file just in case we ever win the lottery and can afford to remodel our basement and downstairs kitchen.

What's Your Decorating Style?

There's a great quiz here on Sproost {found via Esthetic Eclectic} which will help you find your decorating style. Mine is apparently 100% Cottage Chic, which, while I hate the name, seems to be pretty much spot on.

What's yours?

Stacked Neon

As you know from Matthew Williamson's house, I do love a bit of neon, though I've got none in the house and I'm not entirely sure how I could get it to work in a turn-of-the-century craftsman (though it would be fun to try with the multicolored lamp below).

So I made a note to write about neon artist Roger Borg when I saw his lamps on Kanye's blog (yes, I LIKE Kanye's blog) and was delighted when the man himself then contacted me.

Here's the person to call when you need a huge neon installation in your stairwell.

 

Be My Valentine

These are the Valentines that were exchanged in the 'mirrormirror' household this weekend. I wonder if you can guess who got what.

A Jean Pelle candlestick.  Sometimes dropping hints via your blog actually works. My vintage lucite owl likes it too.

 

The beautifully packaged Chocolate Pie Chart from Mary and Matt, perfect for the geek in your life.

 

A tee-shirt featuring parachuting Bambis from Etsy shop Circles and Squares. This is NOT the Husband.

 A heart-shaped Hello Kitty pendant necklace with matching bracelet (I have no idea what has become of the bracelet though)

Go Love Your Room - Fatboy Slim's Yacht

Or in this case go love your yacht.  I've realised that I don't post enough pictures of rooms I find inspiring, mostly because I don't come across them all that often. 

Everything about this boat though - which belongs to superstar (in the UK at least) DJ and producer Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim - is utter perfection. It's even moored in Sardinia, of which, as you know, we are very fond.

The only teensy problem is the price tag, as it will cost you £20,000 (approx $30,000) to rent the four spacious cabins for a week.  Oh, and the name Barracuda, which now reminds me of a certain governor of Alaska.

For more details and pics, including what music they have on the fully stocked Ipod, go here. If you want to hire it more details are here.  

   

{via the ever fabulous Style Files}

P'kolino Little Reader

It's been mentioned in the comments below, and for anyone with a pre-schooler at home, I can't recommend our P'kolino Little Reader chair highly enough.

It's made of high-density foam and incredibly light weight and so can get carried around by the pre-schooler in question no problem (there's even a handle on the back for the purpose); is covered in easy-to-wipe-clean microsuede; is very difficult to tip backwards (though the Minx has managed it once, but that's the Minx for you) and has two side pockets for corralling books and the other random cr*p which seems to follow my daughter around. 

Apparently it's good for one year olds but the Minx is now four and it still fits her fine and she's quite tall for her age.  I suspect she will get at least another year's use out of it.  And at $70 + Free Shipping on Amazon, it's not even very expensive.

The only downside is that it comes in the usual range of startling colours which are great for kids' rooms but not necessarily so good for adult rooms.  When will designers realise that it's nice to be able to incorporate well-designed kids' furniture into an adult scheme?

Case in point is the wonderful Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair below which we have in walnut and blends in fabulously with our dining table and chairs.

Pink or Green? Or Something In Between?

I've been going through agonies of indecision about the paint colours for our main living room. I can't tell you how many different sample colours I've tried out and rejected.

Just to bring you up to speed, we're looking for a colour to replace the egg-yolk yellow walls in the downstairs living room. There's a bit of a crazy colour scheme developing in here of chartreuse and white with raspberry sorbet, cranberry, dark brown and er, orange accents (see pictures below) and I need a paint colour to pull it all together.

And before you say anything, yes, I am well aware that this room needs lots of 'editing', though at least it is mercifully free of the toys which are normally scattered about with gay abandon.

The sitting area is going to be a white, though a white which will pick out the mouldings and the white fireplace which you can see better here.  This white is TBD. However I'm looking for a colour to go above the panelling in the dining area.  The colour needs to be sufficiently bright to withstand the grey Seattle winter light; sufficiently deep to emphasise the panelling, but not so pastelly that it looks like a little girl's bedroom in bright sunshine (the room has lots of south and east facing windows, so can get very bright).

After much deliberation I have narrowed it down to this green (Greenwich by Ralph Lauren) or a pink.  The pink in the sample is actually the pink of the sample board itself which I rather like, but I don't actually have a paint identified.  I wanted your input before I go searching further though.

First up the green.  It is a beautiful colour and I think it's the right green if we decide to go the green route. I'm just a bit worried that with green curtains and a green table runner and a green rug the room is just going to end up being rather er, green. 

Here it is in strong sunlight

And here it is when the light is more subdued.  I'm pleased that it doesn't go too grey.

On the other hand here is the pink in strong sunlight

And here it is when the light is more subdued which is when I like it best. Subdued light happens a lot in Seattle.

Here finally are both colours in tungsten light. The green stands up well, but the pink goes a bit too 'bubblegum' for my taste. Sorry about crappy blurred photo - my little point and shoot doesn't do well in low lighting conditions and flash would have defeated the object.  I do miss my camera!

Anyway, shall I go for the green? Or keep looking for the right pink? If so, do you have any suggestions for pinks I should try? Or should I do something completely different entirely?