Lovely Books

Via cafecartolina.

Seen and Liked: Doors

Three completely different door pics I stumbled across last week and liked. 
Lila and Tom's guest room door.  Via designsponge;
Mexico by Katey Joy.  Via sfgirlbybay;
Blue door. Via mypointofview;

Abigail Ahern

Some great images from Abigail Ahern's blog.   Owner of a super cool London store, she is a stylist, interior designer and more recently product designer with a lamp collection I am totally in love with (see first pic below).  Her style is eclectic with a touch of whimsy so its hardly surprising that I like a lot of things she likes. I definitely share her aversion to blank walls.  And while I like it and half my shop is painted gray, I am not quite as obsessed with the color:)

Store Close-ups

I love this time of year in the shop as we get in something new practically daily as we stock up for the Season.   Took a couple of close-ups of things I am liking this week.  Plenty more to come over the next few weeks!

Stuart Haygarth

Thought a colorful stairway to heaven would be a great way to get Monday rolling.  Recycled picture frames make a sweeping impression on this staircase at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  Stuart Haygarth is the artist behind this colorful installation that is part of London Design Festival. Via Treehugger.

Joburg Home

Love the combination of sophisticated eclectic design with family life in this home in Johannesburg.  I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from adding more color but otherwise, this is pretty much a perfect home. Gorgeous kitchen and fun kids rooms.

Images from a feature in September issue of South African magazine, Home and Leisure.  Via InteriorDivine.

Happy Weekend

via backyardbill.

Friday's Fabulous Woman: Julie Taymor

The creative genius behind two of my all time favorites: The Lion King and Frida, is Julie Taymor, the acclaimed film, theater and opera director.  There is an interesting article on her creativity and Across the Universe here.  The winner of numerous accolades and awards including a couple of Tonys, an Emmy and an Oscar; she recently unveiled her amazing designs for the Broadway version of Spider-man on The Early Show.

Images: Taymor via meetinthelobby; Spiderman via movieline.

Lullaby Moon

Lullaby Moon performance art filled with whimsy and humor. They have an extensive gallery of wonderful images on their website.  Via pursuitofhappiness.

Seen and Liked

Indian interior by Tobias Harvey via indiansummer;
Photograph by Damian Russell via mandarine;
Set of six blue and white unglazed porcelain bottles by Taikkun Yang Li via stylecourt;
Poster by Anthony Burill via bloesem;

Creating a Product Line

Some of my thoughts on creating a product line over at DesignSponge.  Thanks Stephanie and Grace for thinking of me:)

Mark Mawson

Stunning photographs by Mark Mawson.  Bottom pick is paint poured into water.

Sweet Paul

The new Sweet Paul magazine is available here.   It's full of beautifully styled food and some wonderfully creative features.

Loving this corner of Paul's apartment with its stunning ostrich egg and accents of yellow.  The deer shot glass is a favorite of ours and is available in our shop.

Sailing Fall-ward

Thought the best way to approach the busy week ahead was in full sail.  The beautiful sails in this photograph by Jim Henkens remind me that Fall is well on its way with its offering of reds, rusts, pinks and greys.

Images via Jim Henkens, Lonny, Anthology, CoteMaison.

Peter Dunham

Great profile on LA interior designer and textile designer, Peter Dunham here.   It's always interesting to see how people's childhoods influence their design aesthetic.

Friday's Fabulous Woman: Elizabeth Taylor

A day late (and probably a dollar short - whatever that means:) ) . . . This week, I want to celebrate the always glamorous Dame Elizabeth Taylor who seems to have crammed five lifetimes of achievements into one.   An iconic actress of the "golden age" and the winner of two Academy Awards, her movies include National Velvet, Cleopatra and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

Known for love life (she has been married eight times to seven husbands) and her jewelry collection, as much as her work, she has been active in raising funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS since the 1980s - long before it was 'fashionable'.  Unsurprisingly she is accredited with saying "I've always admitted that I'm ruled by my passions."  I hope that when I look back on a lifetime of living, I have lived with at least a small percentile of her passion.   Loving these Life Magazine covers from the 1940s to the 1970.

When You Run Out of Space in a Trailer Park...

via poppytalk

Seen and Liked

Love the painting in this shot in the new Anthology Magazine;
Beautiful artwork from here via ApartmentTherapy; 
Clever idea for a hall table -- mount an old set of drawers.  Via sfgirlbybay;

“Gastrotypographicalassemblage”

The latest Design Within Reach catalog landed on my desk last week.  At the back there is a double page spread linking to a story on their blog about a wall of typeface in the CBS cafeteria designed by Lou Dorfsman in the 1960s.  It's 40 years old but would be viewed as very "current" today.  I really love his early sketches of the different typefaces. 

These images come from a great video with Dorfsman talking about the design process involved on the DWRblog.