So I just bought this jute rug from Nate Berkus’ line for HSN. I absolutely love it. I don’t think the photo from the HSN site does it justice. It’s actually a bit darker and golden. The repeating rectangular pattern of the weave is beautiful and adds so much additional texture to the rug. It’s super soft underfoot and looks far more expensive than the $99 I paid for my 5’x8″ version. I think it’s an exceptional value and is perfect for anyone who loves the look of natural fiber rugs but doesn’t want to spend a lot of money. …
When I was in LA a few weeks ago I stopped into Harbinger, the design shop in West Hollywood owned by Joe Lucas and Parrish Chilcoat of the boutique design firm Lucas Studio Inc. Both Lucas and Chilcoat are former proteges of Michael S. Smith who teamed up to start their firm in 2005 and are now esteemed designers in their own right. After being inspired by my visit to Harbinger, I went pouring through the Lucas Studio website for more inspiration. I definitely see a bit of Smith’s influence in their work but Lucas and Chilcoat are…
A while back I was shopping the organic bedding section at ABC Carpet and Home and I stumbled upon the most beautifully dressed bed covered in Indian paisley printed bedsheets by Raksha Bella–a new brand that I was thrilled to discover. Raksha Bella is an eco-friendly line of 100% certified organic cotton bedding that is hand block printed using non-toxic, low impact dyes. The line is produced by a group of fair trade women workers in India who are recovering from poverty. Raksha Bella was founded by Carrie Peters who is truly passionate about sustainable design and what I …
I recently came across a cool feature on the website of San Francisco lifestyle magazine 7×7. Three area designers were given 10 days to re-create a room inspired by the work of three of today’s top names in the industry. Janelle Lovener, owner of the chic San Francisco home furnishings shop Anthem, was inspired by this living room in an Orlando Diaz-Azcuy designed beach house in East Hampton:
And this was her interpretation of the room:
Tyler Dawson loved the look of the library shown below designed by Michael S. Smith:
A couple of weeks ago I embarked on a little DIY drapery project. The windows in my apartment only had solar shades covering them for the longest time and I’d been wanting to soften them up with some fabulous draperies. If I could have things my way I would have had custom draperies made using Suzanne Rheinstein for Lee Jofa’s Ikat De Lin, but given how many yards I would have needed that would have far exceeded my budget so I decided to make my own!
My friend Robert gave me this sewing machine as a gift a while …
Cafiero Select is a New York City based antiques shop and design firm led by David Cafiero, whom I’ve been keeping tabs on since seeing his work featured in House & Garden a couple of years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting him at this year’s Design on a Dime event and we talked design, flea markets and he filled me in on some of the projects he’s currently working on.
The editorial from the January 2007 issue of House and Garden that caught my eye featured the East Village apartment of actress Chloe Sevigny which was filled with …
