New Wisteria

It is always a good day in my house when I see that the folks over at Wisteria have posted new products on their site. The latest update did certainly not disappoint. While there seems an stronger than usual bent toward colonial and patriotic stuff, the items they have chosen still, do not disappoint.

The painted tramp art mirror, is without question, my favorite new piece. I am a big fan of this style, but painting it, gives such a fresh modern look, I can't wait to get one. Also the Moroccan chests in several colors, really caught my eye as well. I am a big fan of pink and with the bone detailing it really creates a very pretty cabinet. Lastly is the weather vane, with fourth of July, just around the corner I couldn't resist.

My Favorite Mirrors

The simplicity of this one, makes it a personal favorite. The faceted edges give it a little bit of interest, and I think it would be a great idea to give a coat of paint, I think in Flamingo Pink it would be terribly chic. It is from Oly Studio, so you know it's also not going to be too expensive.

I have to be honest, I have been a fan of Aesthetic for many years. Their work is all inspired by classical architecture, so the pieces are all quite different from many other things on the market. This mirror inspired by the Mannerist movement captures the elements of this classical style. A collection of these on a wall would look amazing!

Richard Shapiro is an antiques dealer in Los Angeles. His store is like a museum visit, some of the most exquisite examples of art and furniture from throughout Europe can be found there. He has also started creating his own furniture, which is simple, but elegant, and creates a beautiful counterpoint to the antiques. I love the way he has incorporated sconces into this mirror.

Designing on a Budget

Lets face it we all have budgets, some are just bigger than others. But the true value of using an Interior Designer, is that they know how to make your $1,000.00 budget look like $10,000.00. This thought reminded me of a project that I did a few years ago in Southern California, we were getting to the end of the project, money was starting to run out, and I still needed a drop dead fireplace surround for the Living Room. It was going to be the first thing you see when you walk into the house so I wanted it to be dramatic. Also, it was a big room, so it had to be able to deal with the scale of the space too.

I decided that a simple wall treatment would create enough drama and scale to create an illusion of a tall, grand fireplace. So I found some leather floor tiles and laid them up the wall. I used a sheet metal guy to do a very simple surround around the firebox opening and then had it coloured to look like bronze. So far, so good.

Now for the mirror, I wanted something simple, chic and slightly modern, so with a basic drapery rod, two leather belts from the gap, and a sheet of mirror, mitred with two slots cut into the top portion....and voila!

The point of this is to show that with a clear objective in mind, it can be not as daunting as you think to create something special, without blowing your budget.......

Nomination for "Would be Great With a Coat of Paint"

Sometimes you come across things that are soooo close to being terrific, if only it was taller, shorter, made of metal, or..... given a quick coat of paint. This mirror falls into that category. It is by one of my favorite accessory lines...Roost. Unfortunately its a trade-only resource, but you can get this and the rest of the line from Velocity Art and Design. In the plain wood its a bit too serious I think, but imagine it in a great color,,, I think a rosy pink would be great (very palm beach) or a dirty funky blue...

What do you think?