living room
last week my daughter had a piano recital on zoom along with two dozen other students. it was great to see her perform (she did a TIP TOP job), but the best part was getting a look into everyone else’s homes. my favorite was the one with the little sister laying on her belly across the top of the sofa with her feet in the air and her chin in her hands. runner up was the cat in the window seat behind the piano napping.
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i first discovered erica green’s work at her “passages” show at the AKA gallery in boulder last year. the viewer was invited to walk between the “walls” of knotted fibers green created that changed from portions so thick with yarn you could not see through them to sparser lengths that allowed you to peek into the next turn. it was an interactive installation meant to engage the viewer both in traveling along the maze-like route and by contributing knots or braids or tears in the fibers at the end of the journey, thereby participating in the art piece and sharing in a collective experience.
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one of my sweetest, most poignant learnings from living in the netherlands for nearly six years is the idea of “gezellig,” the dutch word for coziness. gezellig applies to social concepts like inviting or friendly people, parties, situations and meals, but what i have been really thinking about lately as we all “shelter in place” is how the dutch instilled gezellig in their homes. in a land where it rains at least a portion of most days, our amsterdam neighbors knew how to create welcoming spaces to retreat within and enjoy their families, while the rain drummed outside. corona is pushing us all inside now and we can learn from the comforting, warm interiors of the dutch.
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in this time of "social distancing" and "shelter at home" when we are meant to remain within the confines of our houses we probably have a bit more time. it is the PERFECT opportunity for interior improvement projects. channel your boredom and extra energy by reorganizing your bookshelves to maximize their visual impact. thoughtfully arranged bookshelves add life, color, warmth and intimacy to a room. bookshelves can provide amazing insight into your loves, interests, travel, collections and favorite authors, personalizing a home and making it unique. following are tips for turning what is often only a functional aspect of a room into something that enhances, informs and brightens the space.
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i am a bit abashed to admit that my children are the ones who have pushed me to consider how the product choices i make for my home effect the environment. because of them we now have a collection of metal straws (BIG ones so they can be easily cleaned with a little brush), reusable bowl and cup covers that look like my grandmother’s shower caps (used in place of plastic wrap) and cloth napkins for everyday use, rather than paper ones. i DO cringe each time they rub spaghetti sauce or jam on the napkins because of course that means they will need to be washed. “mama, you HAVE to let us wipe our hands - that’s the whole point” they say. so it was serendipitous when i was asked to write an article for boulder county home + garden on eco-conscious home items and furnishings. i had so much fun discovering these kitchen and home decor products that are both visually delightful (MUCH prettier than my shower caps!) AND support conservation and sustainability. THANK YOU to dot & army, MoMA, marley’s monsters, Khala & Co., minna, archive new york, area home, leah singh and coyuchi for your beautiful, creative and thoughtful designs.
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(carefree in new york when i knew everything about parenting, but didn’t yet have children)
when i was living in new york in my twenties spending sundays enjoying boozy brunches (after taking an early yoga class and wandering through the chelsea flea market - which is sadly now all condominiums - clutching a giant coffee from the bodega on my corner) i had all kinds of ideas about what my life would be like when i had children. i would, of course, still live in the city, but i would have a giant loft, rather than my run down holly hobby sized apartment and my children would just slip into my life without disrupting my routines. they would come to brunch with me wearing adorable outfits and contribute witty, charming stories to the conversation, enchanting the waiter so that we were sent a plate of free beignets each week. they would use their cutlery properly and keep their napkins in their laps and they would NOT whine or cry at the table like all the other bratty, poorly-parented children in the restaurant. they would be like this because i was going to be a GOOD mother who paid attention and set boundaries and generally just had my shit together.
i am so excited that a piece i wrote about using textiles as wall art is the cover story for boulder county home + garden magazine’s fall-winter issue. THANK YOU to heather knierim of HBK photography for the beautiful photos, to my clients for allowing me to share these projects and st. frank and the super talented fiber artists: my mother, aysun and aysel demir of wallknot and designs by filia for their creations.
(*the editor did add two artists to the article - the first and last projects included in the story are not my projects.)
we created a clean interior envelope of white walls and light blonde flooring to house the eclectic mix of bold colors, varied textures and warm woods in this south boulder home. the owners, a young family of four, decamped from northern california to the front range bringing with them a collection of bright, mid-century graphic prints. these vivid, compelling pieces inspired the color palette in the downstairs living spaces. a gold-hued print set the tone for a family room done in burnt orange and golds featuring a tweedy cayenne loveseat, an orange powder-coated side table and a geometric felt rug.
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for this one bedroom apartment in the peloton building we wanted to create both continuity throughout the flat and distinctive, pragmatic, yet warm, inviting spaces for the resident musician. the clean, white walls and pale wood flooring allow the bright colors in the art, patterned rugs, orange velvet lounge chair and textured cushions to stand out in the living room, which doubles as a guest space by virtue of the queen sofa bed. the white, powder-coated desk and bookshelf are both functional and aesthetic, without visually disrupting the living space. mid-century nods are found in the dining table and chairs and nelson bubble lights hanging in the living room and kitchen.
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the challenge of this large, rectangular living room was bringing intimacy and continuity to the expansive space. we started with a grand, persian carpet generous enough to unite the room and also to serve as artwork on the floor. we added spacious sectional sofas at opposite corners that mirror each other, defining and clarifying the space. the sofas were joined by rounded, organic-shaped, low tables and accessory seating in the form of the undulating wooden wave bench and the deep teal ottomans.
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i love learning about the histories and adventures of my clients. my goal, as a designer, is to help them create a home that provides a platform for the artifacts, photographs, books and unique objects that represent their experiences in an integrated, personal manner.
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with the approach of father's day, i wanted to repost this piece i wrote about my father-in-law....
my father-in-law was gone too soon. by the time i met him, he had been suffering from parkinson’s for nearly thirty years. there was still a twinkle in his eye that confirmed all of the stories i had heard about him when he was younger, but i missed knowing him when he looked like ricki ricardo and was celebrated for his violin playing, spontaneous fun, witty humor and dapper dressing. i did, however, get to see the beautifully tailored cashmere coats and suits he left behind. while none of them fit his son quite right, they were too fine and too sentimental to give away. we packed them away carefully and they moved with us to three different apartments and two houses. recently, i found them when i was doing a major post-lice cleaning. i know you don’t have to go through EVERYTHING in your house when your children infect it with lice, but once i get going on the cleaning i tend to get carried away. they were in the back of my sewing closet in an unmarked box. i am no longer married to my father-in-law’s son, so clearly i needed to give the jackets back. but i decided to take the cashmere herringbone coat apart and have it made into two sofa pillows because the fabric was so soft and appealing. after getting the deconstructed jacket cleaned, i had the pieces sewn together into two squares. one square has a pocket showing and the other has the jacket buttons going down the middle. my daughter and i picked out a neutral plaid that has a 60’s era feel and we used that as the backing on these pillows. my one-time husband had forgotten about the jackets and was delighted to have them repurposed and added to his living room…a cozy reminder of his dashing father.
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for this kalmia home, we wanted to create engaging, flexible spaces that work for entertaining both large and small groups, as well as encouraging cozy, intimate family time. in the larger living room we left the persian rug relatively free of furniture pieces so that the intricate, colorful design could be appreciated. the burnt reds and teals of the carpet and the morroccan floor cushion add warmth and dimension to the expansive space. we scattered several ottomans around the room that are easily moveable to allow for a variety of seating and social arrangements.
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