Milky Way

August 16th, 2009 § 5

Milk Glass is one of my favorite things to collect. It’s cheap and everywhere. You can find it in virtually any thrift store, swap meet, yard sale or antique shop. It’s often over-priced in antique shops, but still relatively affordable. A while back, I saw a great milk glass collection perched on a shelf in an interior design photo, and I knew I wanted to start collecting. It looks great against a dark surface or brightly colored wall. And it’s translucent quality makes it special—It looks great near a window in natural light. Here are a few of my pieces. I had been looking for a small milk glass dish like the ruffled one to put small candy or nuts in. I found the small one on the left of the picture yesterday, and added it to my collection of milky champagne glasses. I’m hooked.




Hotel style-Mid Century rentals

August 2nd, 2009 § 54

Hotel design is a great way to get inspired to design your own space. Here are a few Mid Century Modern and eclectic hotel spaces that I covet.


Del Marcos Hotel

Del Marcos Hotel
I love the period style of this Mid Century modern vacation rental home.
The rooms have a casual, livable style, while staying clean and crisp. These rooms inspire me to

1960 Palm Springs Wexler House   

1960 Palm Springs Wexler House   

1960 Palm Springs Wexler House   
Another “fab” mid century spot is the Orbit Inn in Palm Springs. The studio spaces are all different, but each furnished in true mid-century style. They also offer some mid-century vacation rental homes like The Williams Roadhouse. They are so perfectly done, you’ll want to move in….permanently.

The Orbit Inn

The Orbit Inn

The Orbit Inn

The Orbit Inn

The Orbit Inn


The Williams Roadhouse

The Williams Roadhouse

The Williams Roadhouse

The Williams Roadhouse

Another favorite for Mid-century hotel design in the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. It is an eclectic mix of mid century modern, bright colors and some modern touches. It is tragically hip.

Hotel Valley Ho Tower Suite
The mirrored wall reminds me of the Viceroy in Santa Monica

Viceroy lobby

Viceroy lobby mirror wall

The Viceroy Hotel

The Viceroy Hotel

The Viceroy Hotel patio plate wall


Hotel Valley Ho Tower Suite

Hotel Valley Ho Tower Suite

Hotel Valley Ho Tower Suite


Hotel Valley Ho Studio Guest Room

Hotel Valley Ho Executive Suite
I love this circular tub for two, the bright red wall, and the black and white patterned wallpaper.

Hotel Valley Ho Executive Suite

Hotel Valley Ho Terrace Suite

 

Hotel style – Botero at Encore

August 1st, 2009 § 1



The Wynn Las Vegas is one of the most beautifully designed hotels. And its sister property, Encore doesn’t disappoint with detail. One of my favorite places in Encore is Botero Steakhouse. I haven’t actually eaten there, so I can’t speak to the food, but I’m sure it’s impeccable. I was fortunate enough to be working there, and took some shots of the interior. It is themed after the work of Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist. His sculptures and paintings dominate the interior. The gigantic gloss-black sculpture is the centerpiece of the restaurant. It is framed by pillars covered in white, button-tufted, diamond-quilted leather and the crisp white linens of the surrounding tables.

The circus imagery adds a humorous whimsical style.

Fernando Botero’s “The Seated Lady”

And the Botero bar is one of the best I’ve seen. I loved the white shelves and recessed lighting that glows behind the glasses filed with candy-colored liquids. And all of the artwork in the restaurant adds the right punch of color and whimsy to the black and white backdrop. The floor is a large graphic floral pattern with punches of red and orange. The contrasts of colors and textures in this space work perfectly.

One of the best parts of the restaurant is the front entrance sign. “Botero” is done in a gold puffy paint style lettering against more of the white button tufted diamond quilted leather. The lettering style is true to Botero’s voluptuous figures. This space is truly inspirational and charming—It feels fresh, bold and graphic.

sugarcubes

July 26th, 2009 § 103

I was having dinner in Santa Monica with a friend, and on the table was this chrome sugar holder. It contained sugar and equal packets. I knew I had to have it. It has a great retro vibe. Fill it with sugarcubes and it works perfectly in a retro kitchen.

 

my sugarcubes found the perfect home in my kitchen. This stainless steel sugar roll-top bowl sits on my seafoam diner booth against my chrome tile wall—The chrome tiles I did myself. They’re peel-n-stick square tiles you can purchase in chrome, brushed stainless, black and copper. I made a random pattern with brushed stainless and alternating with a few chrome tiles.

from The Home Marketplace

I can see right through you

July 26th, 2009 § 98

I found this beautiful George II chair at Plexi-craft. Along with some other great pieces on their site. I love the tufted upholstered seat. Looks much more luxurious and comfortable compared to some of the other acrylic classic choices.

And another dream lucite/acrylic chair is the Helena Rubenstein Chair. Featured at TheParisApartment


For a touch of color, I’m really digging these Alchemia chairs from Calligaris.
Love the orange and pink. They could really pop with some alternating color cushions.
Maybe get 3 of each color. Mix-n-Match.



macandmacinteriors

And these Ghost style knock-offs are fanatastic. Hmmm. decisions decisions. Maybe one of each.

These Ice chairs by Calligaris are at the top of my list as well.

and in every color of the rainbow

AdvancedInteriorDesigns


Jonquil lounge chairs



Munizplastics


unicahome

Kitsch me deadly

July 24th, 2009 § 177


Not a day goes by when I find something at a shop or on the web, that is just so bad, it’s good. Irresistable items you just gotta know about…..


chrome roller skate bookends

I stopped by a friend’s place, and she had this Voodoo knife holder in her kitchen. She had the black version. It’s quite the conversation piece.

Mirror Mirror

July 23rd, 2009 § 61


I have been obsessed with ornate mirrors lately. I have been looking for painted mirrors in the French Rococo, or Italian styles. When I do find the real ones, they can be a fortune, and weigh a ton. Usually, they are made from solid wood or metal. Occasionally, i’ll come across these molded styles. They’re lightweight, inexpensive and easy to paint. I lucked out with the last few finds—I found the oval mirrors at Stein Mart. They were on sale—gold tone and not in the best shape. But I brought them home, painted them hi gloss black and matte white, and they’re now some of my favorite things in the house. Soon after, I found these asian-inspired mirrors, that were also gold tone. I picked them up from Ross for a song and painted them hi-gloss red. This really brought out the asian vibe. 

before


after



Keep your eye out for inexpensive ornate mirrors—nevermind the color. They’re so much more fun to paint yourself. And when you get tired of the color, just grab the can of spray-paint.

Heart of Glass

July 22nd, 2009 § 105


I am just charmed by this Pulcino bird.
and am coveting some of this glass at hiandlomodern.
a few of my faves:

 

Glamour in the Garage

July 21st, 2009 § 66


Love this wall mural that adorns my otherwise unsightly garage. It takes up nearly the whole back wall and really classes the place up. I love the shot. It’s from a photoshoot we did for an ad campaign a couple years ago. This was a large piece of vinyl—a test proof from the printer to check the color. I loved the vintage look-we were going for a 60’s oversaturated Kodachrome thing. The entire piece was billboard size and was placed on a busy city freeway. It’s a winter scene—she is blowing snow from her hand. When this test piece came in, I quickly snatched it up and brought it home. Originally, I thought I might cover the living room wall—It’s at least 6 feet tall…but I ended up throwing it up in the garage-and it gives it a little something special. Why not make the garage look good too? After all, it’s the first place you see when you come home. Actually, it inspires me to do more-maybe a coat of paint and staining the concrete floors. Add that to the list. Can’t wait for the next test proof that comes in…..to be continued

This garage find is a relic from my shabby-chic days. I was inspired by some flower lamp shades I found at a shop on Ventura Boulevard. I thought: “Gee, I could do that.” So, I made a couple white rose shades on some antique gold and crystal bases. They flanked my Rachel Ashwell-inspired bed at the time. Unfortunately, this yellow “modern” version of the flower shade is the only one from the collection that survived. I got rid of the rest of them when I swore off shabby-chic for good. Silly me. Didn’t I know that what goes around comes around…again and again. Well, I keep my eye out for sales of faux-flower bunches at Michael’s and various craft stores. Perhaps I’ll do another. Maybe this time, a deep red Rose or Gerbera Daisy shade on a hi-gloss aqua base could be good. Perfect with my red bathroom wall. hmmmmm

Velvet Underground

July 21st, 2009 § 102

While I’m on the subject of semi-tacky art, how about velvet paintings. I haven’t ventured into the Velvet Elvis arena, but I’ve dipped my toe in with a couple of velvet animals. My first was the velvet cat painting. I found this vintage beauty on ebay a few years back—A cat soaking in a martini glass holding a martini in one hand (possibly a cosmo-how declasse) and a cigarette holder in the other….

and my next find was this sheepdog on velvet I picked up recently at the  Goodwill. What a find. I showed it to a co-worker I was with, who said: “if you’re not getting it I will,” and that sealed it for me. It had a large rip, but it was already priced at the low low price of $4.00, so with the rip, it came to a whopping $2.00. I almost felt guilty about leaving with it… well, almost.

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