Have a Seat

Heading down to High Point to see miles and miles of sofas, chairs, tables, lamps and rugs at the monster furniture show.  It's always good to see what waves this industry is making.  Trends are started here and these companies set the pace for others to follow.   That said, there's a lot of well designed and well priced pieces out there so sharing a few favorite finds in case you're on the hunt.  These aren't future heirlooms but solid pieces that offer some personality.   Here goes....

Urban Outfitters got this adorable chevron chair that comes in a few different colors and all for under $300.  

Nate Berkus's ottoman is pretty great at $119 from HSN.  Having lugged one home from a trip to Moroccan, I am impressed with this look for less. 

Leave it up to Martha Stewart to try and get us all crafting.  Her table for Home Decorators gets me dreaming about all the projects that I could do on it-the painting, the sewing, the computer surfing.... And priced at $229, it's a "getable" dream. 

Leave it to West Elm to update the already classic parson's table. It's perfect for us who need to consolidate the cords in our lives.  It's a bit pricer at $399 but with it's built in speakers and docking station, it gives small space dwellers a nice two in one piece. 

Live large, 

Frances 

Laugh Worthy

Lately, it's seemed design has gone all high brow and seriously or maybe it's just the conversation at my watering holes but today's post is about getting the laugh back.  Sometimes we just need some silly in our lives.  We need something in our home that makes a smile every time we see it and that starts off conversations.  I call this the wacky factor.  Here's several things that would serve that purpose well.

Ceramic pig speaker from West Elm.  Seriously, never met a pig that I didn't love and this is not exception. Even funnier, this little piggy can be monogrammed so personalize your pig and make it your own.

Haus Interiors has laugh out loud cards that can be framed for instant, funny art. 

Check out these sticky notes from Fred Flare.  It'd be way more fun to write the day's to do lists on these. 

Put some state pride on that couch with this pillow from Etsy.com.  

Ok, I can't help myself-what about having one of these laying around to give a laugh from Regas.

Instant smile maker from Curiosity Shop.  Who doesn't want to put their pens in a monster truck holder?  Wouldn't it make writing bills that much more fun?

Live large and with loads of laughs, 

Frances

Art is so personal.  What makes a Picasso is a discussion I'll let others lead but I am grateful to art and people who live with it.  In my recent apartment spruce up, I looked around and realized that like having an aol email (yes, it's true and yes, it's still in business) and mom jeans, art can get dated or no longer represent my current "vibe."

So I did something really effective;  I took every single piece down.  Suddenly my freshly painted walls were feeling like a blank canvas and I allowed myself to think of new ways to arrange my favorite pieces and I parted with a few that had supplied their joy and needed new homes.

I found that some pieces just needed a new frame while others needed new arranging as some pieces were just ok or even silly on their own but in a pack, throw a punch.  As a big believer in the gallery wall for art,  it shows instant personality, especially when the gallery is full of personal articfacts and pitcutres.   West Elm has the best frames with lovely linen backing that look much more expensive than alternatives found at Target and start at $12.  Keeping the frames all one color like black or white crossed another decision off the list  (though I love to mix in some metal like below too).

A mass of frames is nice but adding in a few non framed items to keep things more interesting.  Here's a picture of a cool picture tacked up with Japanese tape that makes instant art so charming.

Need art but wondering where to go?  Art isn't something that I go to the mall and get but rather pick up a piece here and there and it tells the story of my travels in ways that words don't. On the hunt for new pieces, I've been hitting art schools like SCAD which features student works and ships nationwide. If you are lucky enough to have an art school in your town, consider contacting the school to see when their next student show is.  You could be buying the next great thing for a song.

Like Match.com for dating or streamline.com for ordering takeout, 20x200 brings great art home. They give artists a way to sell their creations as prints but still retains the cool factor because only 200 are actually printed.   (You'll also be seeing their program with West Elm this fall but definitely check out their own site as well for the very best selection.)

 Zatista is another online retailer that brings art to your front door and has a wide collection of art presented.   Lastly, VintageandModern has terrific art too.  Am a big fan of their photography in particular.


Life large and with great art,
Frances

Thank you, Mr. Jobs

You'd be hard pressed to pick up a magazine or newspaper without some nod to Steve Jobs and his influence this week.  While others debate his place in history and try to rank his importance,  I was just a fan.  An apple was my first computer and from that purchase, I was a convert.  For folks who care about design, he just made things better.  And like most New Yorkers, my iPhone isn't often far away.  His ability to make technology Simple and Intuitive while wrapping it up in a deceivingly cool design made people like me sign up and pay.

Saturday, I popped into this Apple Store in the Meatpacking District and touched at the personal notes left by others.   I wonder if there has ever been a CEO who was as loved as he was.  He made things personal and we, apple fans, loved him for it.  When Sam Walmart died, was it the same way?  Or the founder of McDonald's?  I know no one will be crying over the death of Wells Fargo's CEO (well, at least not the general public).  

Stories have been coming out over his obsession with keeping Apple designs truly steam lined. I wish everyone edited their home as well as he edited his projects to be the simplest design that worked incredibility hard.  With that as a design motto, we'd all live better.  

But it was his business sense that made sense to me as well.  In an era of focus groups and lack of vision from companies, his NY Times Obituary summed up his leadership, "Mr. Jobs' own research and intuition, not focus groups, were his guide.  When asked what market research went into the iPad, Mr. Jobs replied: None, It's not the consumers' job to know what they want."  

He summed up his life creed to the Stanford 2005 class, "Stay hungry. Stay foolish."  

Will do, Mr. Jobs and thank you. 

Live large, 

Frances