Yacht Club

We've just started working on a scheme for the re-design of a local club and I wanted to share our initial thoughts! The concept is a fresh take on the old school Yacht Club, using fresh, contrasting, nautical colors, textures from marine materials, and layers of interesting visual elements. The end result will be a comfortable, casual, fresh, and relevant yet timeless space. Check out our initial concept board.

The existing beamed ceiling will be stained a dark brown to contrast with the white wood plank ceiling. Nautical Chandeliers such as the ones above will be hung in the dining room and tall wing back chairs will be used at random throughout the dining room to break up the visual space. Old nautical flags and fishing/boating photos will get an update with modern frames and be hung from rope such as the mirror above. A nautical map wallpaper will be used on the walls and ceiling of a hallway that will become the display area for fishing trophies and nostalgic black and white photos. Stay tuned for updates!

Wonderful Washstands

I'm always looking for interesting washstand ideas and these are all unique ideas. 

I LOVE a concrete sink. Combined with the rustic wood stand, beamed ceiling, and tile floor pattern, this bathroom is organic chic.

 The modern, clean lined sink, mounted on the sea-toned Mosaic tile creates a luxe powder room for a home by the sea.

This is a great example of re-purposing an antique table for a washstand. 

Very cool idea of suspending mirrors in front of windows! I love the grid that it creates, as well as the clean look.

You're Making Me Blush

In honor of Saint Valentine, below are some of inspirations in the blush color palette.

Happy Valentines Day!

 www.cocokelley.blogspot.com

 www.piecesinc.com

 www.3.bp.blogspot.com

 www.pashley.co.uk

www.ruemag.com

New Year, Fresh Start

I hope you all enjoyed the Holidays and have gotten off to a great start in the new year! I took some much needed time off and have just come back to reality after two weeks in sunny south Florida ;)

With the start of a new year brings a clean slate and new resolutions. No color palette says clean slate to me more than white! Take a look at these amazing white loft spaces - they're sure to inspire a fresh start.

Happy New Year!

Katie Long Stevenson

Katie Long Stevenson is one of my favorite modern artists, and also a great friend! I had the opportunity to ask Katie a few questions about her work, inspirations, and favorite things:

SK: How do you find your color inspiration/palettes?

KLS: Choosing color can be as simple as what moves me that day or what looks most fun to work with at the art store, but mostly depends on my approach to painting abstracts.  I start each by listening to classical music and let the rhythm and emotion of the piece dictate the mood of the painting.  I associate bolder and faster music with bright colors, so reds can be dominant; whereas a slower and softer piece inspires me to use pastel hues.  I have been going through a big neon stage for a while, so I like to include a little hint of it here and there.  

SK: Do you prefer figurative or abstract work?

KLS:I love painting both figuratively and abstractly.  Rather than having them be dueling genres, I've been working toward keeping the approach and goal for each very similar so that the greater difference is that one has a more obvious subject than the other.  However, I go into phases with both--for a few weeks I'll focus on one body of work, then switch to the other.  It's important to keep exploring one genre until you've pushed yourself as far as you can go, then move on to something new...you always come back to the first with a fresh take.  I abandoned figurative painting for nearly a year, and when I came back to it the images were much more abstract.  

SK: Where do you find your inspiration for you abstract works? I've noticed that titles of a few have music references...?

KLS: The biggest inspiration is music, and if a painting is "built' listening only to that piece, then I consider it a literal interpretation.  That's why some are named after the composer.  Others have numbers beside them, like "Concerto 28x", which meant that I listened to the piece exactly 28 times through before it was finished.   I'm also incredibly inspired by Willem de Kooning, Simeon Braguin, Mark Rothko...

SK: What are three things you can't live without?

KLS: My son, my husband, and sleep/fruit/dark chocolate/Shu Uemera eye lash curler (how can I choose?!) :)

Below are a few of my favorites of Katie's pieces.

A Fireplace

This gloomy NY day got me dreaming of a cozy fireplace to work beside.

Ahhh, the NYC dream ;)

For the love of OCD

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I'm sorry that we've been MIA in blogger land - we've been busy wrapping up our latest project, Burgerbar, but now we're back in the game! 

I loved today's Design Milk post on Karim Charlebois-Zariffa and was reminded of Austin Radcliffe's Things Organized Neatly and other groupings of curated objects. I'm always amazed by the patterns and grids that the groupings make, as well as of the deconstruction of simple, everyday objects. Enjoy!

Karim Charlebois-Zariffa via Design Milk

From an Ikea Recipe book. 

From a fellow pinner on Pinterest. 

Above camera and below deconstructed bike and Eames chair grouping curated by
Things Organized Neatly.