After my grandmother passed away last year, this petite chest of drawers was the only piece of furniture I took from her house (my mom, aunts, and cousins, of course, divvied up the rest). It had sat in her entryway for as long as I can remember, and of everything she had, it somehow symbolized her home -- where I'd always felt loved and welcomed -- the most for me.
The little dresser dates from 1939, not long after my grandma and my long-deceased grandfather were married, and it followed her through their many turbulent years together and their many cross-country moves -- from Chicago to New Jersey to Boston to Pittsburgh, back to Chicago, then to sunny post-war Los Angeles, and finally, to the Bay Area. It's not a particularly fine piece, but it's solid and useful, has a bit of 1930s-'40s flair with its chunky Asian-style brass pulls, and just reminds me of my grandmother in a fond way.
Its olive-green paint job had seen better days, though, and I wanted to update the chest with a splashy new color. I totally could have stripped, sanded, and repainted the thing myself, but I knew it would take me five years to get around to it and, truth be told, I'm just not all that meticulous about these sorts of projects. This is a special piece for me, and I didn't want to mess it up. So when I heard that Johnelle Mancha, the proprietress of Old Oakland's Mignonne, was offering a new furniture-refinishing service, I was all over it.
After consulting with me about the look I was after, Johnelle carefully stripped and refinished the dresser in a happy, glossy apple green that's a nod to the original hue but that gives the piece a more modern and surprising feel. (We literally matched the paint to a Granny Smith apple I'd brought from home.) I couldn't be more pleased with the results.
The cheerful chest now sits in my own entryway, where I've topped it was some of my favorite little treasures (like a vintage globe and wooden spool from eBay, a porcelain skeleton key from the Curiosity Shoppe, a ceramic-and-wooden apple from Relish at Home, and an Aida Dirse candy bowl from Rare Device), and where it reminds me of my beloved and dearly missed grandma every time I pass by. Thanks so much, Johnelle!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
House in Progress: My Grandmother's Dresser
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Over and Out
Have a lovely long weekend! (Monday is, of course, a national holiday and day of service here, so I'll see you bright and early on Tuesday -- aka Inauguration Day!)
Objects of Lust: Ladak Recycled Blankets
Another fave from our recent visit to Los Angeles's ReForm School: Ladak blankets. I literally could not keep my hands off of them.
Crafted in the Netherlands, each 78-by-55-inch throw is handmade from recycled moving blankets (which themselves consist of material from recycled sweaters, jeans, blankets, and mattresses). They are then embellished with scraps of colorful fabric, trim, ribbon, and lace.
The blankets cost 189 euros (about $247) apiece directly from Ladak, or you can buy one for $285 from the ReForm School e-shop. (That's not cheap, of course, but you can always rationalize the purchase by reminding yourself that 15 percent of the profits are donated to an Amsterdam homeless shelter.)
If you're crafty, you might also be inspired to create your own throw blanket on the cheap from salvaged materials. You can find simple wool blankets at most army surplus stores and on eBay, and then go to town with ric-rac, ribbon, fabric trim, lace, printed binding tape, and that collection of fabric remnants you've been meaning to do something with. (Consider writing a check to your local homeless shelter with the money you save.)
Mark Your Calendar: "Collective Compulsions" at Johansson Projects
Opening at Oakland's Johansson Projects this weekend: Collective Compulsions, a kind of "greatest hits" of the gallery's featured artists over the past 18 months. All share an obsession with "intricate visual detail ... Stepping back from the image, the meticulously built forms disappear into the context of the whole. Delicate, dense, panoramic memory maps stretch before us in one piece, only to collapse into spiraling abstractions in the next."
Among the featured artists:
Amanda Hughen (previously blogged here)
Val Britton (previously blogged here)
Anna Fidler
Nathan Cordero
Tadashi Moriyama
Kristina Lewis
Jill Gallenstein
Jen Stark
Misa Inaoka
Andrew Benson
An artists' reception will be held Saturday, January 17, from 4 to 7 p.m., and Collective Compulsions will be up at Johansson Projects through February 21.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Etsy Find of the Day: Devon Kelley-Yurdin
I'm utterly taken with these prints from Etsy seller, Pratt grad, and brand-new East Bay resident Devon Kelley-Yurdin. I especially love the combination of soft watercolor and pen-and-ink illustration in her pieces. Above: October 12-by-16-inch print, $30
Storm Clouds 11-by-14-inch print, $30
Just Balloons hand-bound book, $35
Recycle 11-by-14-inch print, $30
Two Hundred and Ninety Miles 11-by-14-inch print, $30
Check out all of Devon's Etsy offerings right here -- and see more of her work here.
P.S. Fingers crossed, I'll soon be the owner of this lovely original illustration/papercut from Ms. Kelley-Yurdin. Squeee!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Objects of Lust: More to Love from Adam and Viktoria
Dreamy new textiles and upholstered furniture from Sweden's Adam and Viktoria. The pair take inspiration from "the secret gardens of children's fairy tales" -- as well as the colors and motifs of classic artwork, vintage wallpapers, and Oriental rugs -- and turns them into objects that are at once modern and timeless. Above: Priscilla Chair
Andromeda Chair
Ombre Tischka Glass Green Pillow
Ombre Cherry Branch Coral Pillow
Ombre Small Antiguo Pea Green Pillow
See more of Adam and Viktoria's textile creations here -- and contact the duo's U.S. rep, Lisa Fontanarosa, for pricing and additional info.
Etsy Find of the Day: Whitney Smith Lichen Bowls
I'm crushing hard on this new collection from Oakland ceramist Whitney Smith. These delicate bowls' organic, modern form is a real departure from Smith's (also gorgeous) signature Art Nouveau-inspired pieces -- and one that I wholeheartedly approve. Above: Lichen Nesting Bowls, $240 for the set
Lichen Bowl, $44
See all of the offerings in Smith's Etsy shop right here -- and check out more of her work here.
Cool Stuff: Floral Cut Hurricane and Tea Lights
Loving the lasercut design of these pretty tea lights and hurricane from the U.K.'s Graham & Green. The tea lights are £2.64 (about $4) apiece, while the hurricane is £26.18 ($38).
Take a look right here.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Etsy Find of the Day: Under the Apple Tree Bed
Made from lasercut ash by Finnish designer Tiina Anttila, the king-size Under the Apple Tree Bed is a mere $9,225, including international shipping.
Check out all of Anttila's Etsy offerings right here, and see more of her work here.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Artful Home: Alexis Mackenzie Prints
Gorgeous new prints from San Francisco collage artist Alexis Mackenzie. Above: Butterflies Up the Spine
Excursion
Each 9.5-by-11-inch archival print comes in a limited edition of 20 and is signed by the artist. They're $40 each from the Beholder.
Check out more of Mackenzie's breathtaking work here and here.
House Voyeur: Rustic and Retro in Silverlake
Sheharazad Pezeshkpour and Ron Fleming's Silverlake home is, to me, the quintessential arty Los Angeles abode: set into a leafy hillside and filled with quirky vintage treasures.
I love how the couple has fused rustic, retro, and modern elements. This is no cookie-cutter midcentury modern showhouse, outfitted with the requisite iconic pieces but somehow lacking soul. Rather, it's a warm, inviting space that feels very personal and reflective of its owners' personalities. I'd love to come to a party here, sipping glass after glass of red wine out on the patio and having heady conversations late into the balmy L.A. night.
Here, Sheharazad gives us a virtual tour of the designing duo's (she works for a business-design firm called Studio Deluxe, while Ron co-owns YYES) 1,980-square-foot urban oasis:
"Built in 1952, our home is a California rancher with midcentury, clean-lined touches.
Our style is eclectic and considered. We like to mix pieces from different decades and have an appreciation for objects that showcase excellence in design and craftsmanship. We’ve designed the house as a whole to have a relaxed, atmospheric vibe. And within that, each room in our home is designed to have a purpose.
We’re inspired by so many designers: Tony Duquette, David Hicks, Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Ralph Lauren, John Lautner, Edward Durrell Stone, LaGardo Tackett, Yves St. Laurent … all have such an incredible sense of style. We also find inspiration through reading old issues of Sunset magazine and Architectural Digest from the ’60s, ’70s, and even the ’80s. You really get to see a variety of design solutions that worked in the past — and, of course, some that should stay in the past. But the most inspiring ones are always the things that were so ahead of their time that they still look futuristic, even now when they’re considered vintage.
A couple of our favorite things about this house are the exposed beams and high ceilings in the main room, which adds a lot of depth to the space, making it feel larger than it is.
We tend to gravitate toward midcentury modern and 1960s design, so we often buy secondhand. Most of our décor is pieced together from trips to local flea markets, secondhand stores, and yard sales, and from perusing craigslist. We’re definitely bargain-hunters. We see our house as a work in progress. We’re constantly changing the décor, adding and taking away. It evolves with each new find.
When it came time to think about furniture, we opted to keep our vintage pieces and have them reupholstered. For our couch, we chose brown Italian theater velvet and for our chairs, we chose remnants from the Holly Hunt collection that our upholsterer had left over from a previous commission.
We also splurged on the shelving in our main room. Ron's a vinyl junkie and we both love books. We needed quality pieces that were modern and functional to house our favorite books and Ron's record collection. Our good friend Amy Devers is an amazing furniture designer and carpenter. She and Ron worked together to come up with a design that fit the room, and Amy built all the custom hardwood casework herself.
Over the years we've collected a group of paintings, serigraphs, lithographs, etchings, drawing, prints, pottery, and glass that suit our taste. Many of the midcentury pieces are from artists associated with the Chouinard School in California, but they're peppered with an original Chagall (thanks, St. Vincent de Paul!), an early Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, various works by talented friends, and the occasional anonymous trash-heap find.
Our house is surrounded by bamboo, which grows incessantly and Ron trims regularly. We have so much of it, in fact, that we’ve begun to display some of the taller trimmings as vertical elements throughout the house. As they dry and age, the bamboo changes from green to a neutral color. It’s a nice homage to the living bamboo you see through the windows.
We tend to display the things we collect — pottery, ceramics, cast iron kitchenware — in larger groups to add visual interest.
Our biggest challenge is keeping our love of 'things' from taking over the house. To control our ever-growing collections, we recently started an Etsy store called the White Mole, where we sell some of our finds so we don’t have to start charging them rent.
We used Ralph Lauren paints throughout our home — specifically the Vintage Masters Collection. Our bedroom is painted in the Olive Tree shade.
We got a great deal on a set of black leather Le Corbusier-style couches that we use in our movie room. The paint color is Ralph Lauren's New Castle Brown.
Ron built the table in our 'Japanese tea room' from an antique head- and footboard that our neighbors were getting rid of. He designed custom fasteners to bring the two pieces together and had glass fitted for the tabletop. I’m so proud of how he was able to creatively repurpose something old and give it a new life. It’s a great conversation piece.
We love our home’s original wood windows. We don’t use window treatments, except in our bedroom and in the movie room (where we need the option of keeping light out), so it really brings in a nice sense of the immediate outdoors.
In our backyard, which is built on a hillside so that it has tiers, we’ve tried to create separate spaces, each evoking an emotional response. For example, a space you’d want to meditate in versus a space you’d want to entertain in versus a space you’d want to read in.
Our advice: Don’t be afraid to mix things up. Add your own touch by playing with different textures and shapes that speak to you. Put something old next to something new, and both items will have an added sense of character."
Thanks so much for sharing your enchanting home and garden with us, Sheharazad and Ron! (Pssst — you can check out even more of it on their flickr set.)
P.S. Want to see more? Click here for a look inside other readers' homes.
