From A to

I have always liked using collections as displays. One of my favorites is the Alphabet. Firstly, you know the minute you look at it that it is complete, somehow that gives me a sense of calm, and secondly, it is always familiar, but as is the example here, not always childlike. I bought this collection on a trip to London, I had in mind a children's playroom, but when I got back, had it framed and hung, I realized that it had a somewhat dark side. Each of the letters shows a fairly macabre scene. For instance, here on the letter Y is a poor Rabbit loosing his life to a Hawk.

I actually like it more now that I know it has a dark side..... any thoughts?

Simplest Table in the World

It is constantly surprising to me, how simplicity can be the hardest thing to achieve. Take the Parsons table for example, can it get any simpler? 4 straight square legs, that are as wide as the top is thick.

Popular belief is that this table is theresult of a class taught by Jean Michel Frank at the Parsons School of Design in the 1930's. The brief was to design a table that could withstand any treatment, whether it be gold leaf, micah, upholstered or just bare wood, and boy, did they succeed!

Apparently the first was built by the school janitor in the basement, and now you can find them almost anywhere, at any price point, as consoles, dining tables, coffee tables or almost anything in between.

These are some of my favorites:

I know, Walmart!!!! This is a great example of the trype and less than $40.00!

West Elm would be one of the first places I would look for Parsons style, nicely made, well priced, what more can u ask for??

This is a great example of a Lacquered Parsons Dining Table at Twentieth ....Its Expensive though, but worth every penny.

Office Furniture

It's very tough to find great looking office furniture, everything seems to look much the same, and then I came across this series by Antoine Proulx I think its very chic indeed. I especially like the large two piece metal hardware on the front. I am thinking of using this for a home office that I am working on....it has a ver residential kind of scale.

What a great idea!

Living in Los Angeles, I have been inundated with the “Loft Trend” these last couple of years. Just a drive through downtown and you can see once commercial buildings that have been transformed into fabulous spaces housing floors of trendy lofts. So naturally, that is what I thought of when I got this link from one of our resident trend-setting Senior Designers.
The Swedish company Asko has dubbed the line “Designer Laundry” and what a perfect name! Imagine designing a fantastic modern loft and not having to worry about where to put the unsightly washer and dryer… I love it!

This is a Test

I am trying to get my blog to co-ordinate with Twitter....this is a test

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?

Kevin Patrick McCarthy

I love to go to all of the trade shows I can ( I am dying for a trip to Maison Objet in Paris), especially the Furniture and Gift Shows. My favorite presentations are not the major ones though, but the quirky little ones that are shoved to the side.

Well several years ago, I came across one such stand, and I am thrilled to say that he has gone on to huge success, and that is Kevin Patrick McCarthy. I absolutely adore what he does, it has such an original point of view, and is totally chic. I am always asking him for custom stuff and he has never let me down,,, so take a look at his site, you will see exactly what I mean.