Wallpaper 'Tema e Variazioni'

'Tema e Variazioni'

I was spellbound when I first saw this wallpaper on the blog of The Peak of Chick. Then I saw it again a day later in Elle Decor UK Edition June 2007. My clients had given me the magazine with some pages turned over of things they liked and there I saw it again. So I have decided I want to use this paper somewhere and if I don't get to use it for a client I am going to wallpaper my own Powder Room with it. I think it would make a memorable visit to that room.

Here's what Elle Decor had to say:

Cole and Sons wallpapers are beautiful, well-made and bang on trend. Its latest collection transfers the work of bonkers Milanese artist and interior designer Piero Fornasetti (1913-1988) into bold wallpapers. My favourite ‘Tema e Variazioni’ inspired by the enigmatic face of a beautiful woman he came across in an old French magazine. (I thought I sensed some French Chic)

Piero Fornasetti was born in 1913 in Milan and became an eclectic painter, sculptor, interior designer, craftsman, engraver of art books and organizer of international exhibitions and events. Believing strongly in disegno – the practice of sketching and copying – as the legacy of the Italian artistic tradition, his unique style shows a strong sense of irony. He worked independently of the avant-garde and his production of exquisitely made objects, textiles and furniture, some of which are in the V&A Museum, is one of the largest of the 20th century.

http://www.cole-and-son.com/
Elle Decoration UK Edition June 2007

If anyone knows the translation for 'Tema e Variazioni' please let me know!!!

Translations:
Themes and Variations The House of Beauty and Culture

Topic and Variations Cote de Texas
Variations on a Theme Studio Annetta

Chairs as Bookshelves

I love the casual elegance of stacking books on a chair. I can never have too many books around me. They usually land in stacks all over. I love to have them around for inspiration. I have never been in a home in Paris that didn't have a stack of books in the living room. When I go into people's homes I always look to see what books they have on their bookshelves and what they are reading beside their favourite chair or on the night table. I went to see a new client today and saw some familiar books there. My heart felt warm and I felt an immediate kinship with them as I imagined that we had shared some of the same reading. I also came away from that meeting with a new book to buy. It was lying on the coffee table and I loved the cover and was compelled to pick it up. I loved the feel of it in my hand. I wrote down the name and author and on the way back to the office I stopped at the bookstore and picked it up. The book is The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff. The previous book that she wrote was 84, Charing Cross Road which was made into a movie with Anthony Hopkins and Ann Bancroft 1987. So I picked up that book to read also. I don't know how I missed the movie with two stellar actors in it. So one thing does lead to another and another and another.......... Happy book stacking.


If anyone has read these books
please let me know how you liked them.

Green Chic

The color green is timeless. Green is life. Abundant in nature, green signifies growth, renewal, health, and environment. I have just painted a client's entry and dining room Benjamin Moore Jalapeno Green. It is a wonderful color and I accented the room with white and dark wood. The color I used is almost the same color as the sofa Vincente Wolf used in the room he did below. I was looking through some archives of rooms that David Hicks had done probably 30 years ago and I was quite taken with the two rooms of his, shown below, as they are so current now. The first room is a match to BM Wales Green 2028-60. Notice how he has used a splash of neon yellow and turquoise to add a punch to the room.


The room above of David Hicks was done years ago and the two pictures below are current. Quite similar use of colors.

Eileen Kathryn Boyd
Antonia Hutt
Mary McDonald is a master at using color. This room makes me feel happy.
Sheila Bridges This room has a wonderful soothing quality.
Eileen Kathryn Boyd
Eileen Kathryn Boyd I love the touch of Schiaparelli Pink in the two chairs and flowers on the mantle above. Schiaparellia was a French fashion designer, born in Italy who lived 1890 - 1973 and made this color of pink her signature color.

This chair is similar to the one that Kelly Wearstler has on the front cover of her book Domicilium Decoratus. chair Jayson Home and Garden


LuLu DK fabric
Mary McDonald Shelley Gordon Love this Billiard Room Green

Kelly Wearstler Queen of Green

Tessellations tile

Le Gemme glass tiles Bisazza Bisazza tile is all the rage right now. This one has touches of mustard yellow to accentuate the green more.

Treillage The inexpensive and ever so chic and timeless ceramic stool

Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis Wallpaper

Interesting facts on the color green:

Nature of Green:
Green is a restful color with some of the same calming attributes of blue. Like blue, time moves faster in a green room. Green of renewal, fresh energy and new beginnings. Green is very nourishing to to your health, it calms your nerves and balances your whole body by bringing healing vibrations from Nature.

Culture of Green:
Because of all the green in nature the color is reminiscent of Spring. Coupled with red it's a Christmas color.

Language of Green:

Good green
Green light - go, permission to proceed (with a task)
The green room - in theater or televisions it is the room where performers and guests go to relax
Green thumb - good with plants
Greenback - US dollar bill, money
Greener pastures - something newer or better (or perceived to be better), such as a new job

Bad green
Green-eyed monster - jealousy
Green with envy - jealous or envious
Green - inexperienced, untested, untrained

Click here to see other posts on Color

John Saladino

Most people don't associate John Saladino with Architecture and Garden design as he is more well known for his Interior Design and Furniture Design. As I have an ongoing admiration for John Saladino's style I would like to profile these two areas of his work in today's post.

John Saladino on Architecture:

"Architecture, beyond being shelter and keeping the rain off your head, for me is an emotional experience. One should be enveloped in a world edited and made endorsing the occupant." John Saladino

John Saladino

John Saladino

John Saladino on Garden Design
"The landscape is a created reality, an improvement on the real world. The garden then may become a quest or seeking of paradise. We transform nature so that we may spiritually embrace it". John Saladino

John Saladino

John Saladino

photos from John Saladino web-site

Vancouver Artist Glenn Payan

"Artists help us to understand what is around us."

Andree Putman

Patricia Gray - South Granville Residence

photo BPlus Studio

I recently completed a residence for clients shown above and hung a piece Glenn Payan's art.

"The subjects of many of Glenn’s paintings are colourful and, sometimes moody, whimsical landscapes: west coast and mountain villages, local Vancouver scenes and perched roadways winding along coastal waterways and between majestic mountains. His obsession with the Sea to Sky corridor, between Vancouver and Whistler has produced many stunning pieces."

In case you haven't heard Vancouver & Whistler are hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The following pieces of Glenn's work are of the Sea to Sky Highway which links Vancouver to Whistler mountain. Above the Cheakamus II 2007 Oil on canvas 40" x 60"
Howe Sound 2007 Oil on canvas 72" x 18"

Glenn's works are on display at the Ian Tan Gallery

Marrakesh

Last night I spent some time on the My Marrakesh Blog. It is Maryam's Blog and she lives in Marrakesh, Morocco. Her and her husband have recently purchased 9 acres of olive grove and are building a home there. She hails from the US and has lived in Marrakesh for 6 years. She is an accomplished Blogger and has received quite a few awards for her Blog: The Bloggers Choice Award for Best Travel Blog, The Blogitzer, and she is the finalist in the WebLog Awards for Best African or Middle Eastern Weblog....among others. Her Blog is fabulous and it has wonderful images and information about living in Marrakesh. I listened to her Podcast and now I am dreaming about visiting this wonderful city. Check her out at My Marrakesh .

Maryam did an interview on her blog with Alan Keohane , a British photographer, now living in Marrakesh that caught my attention. "Alan Keohane’s images of Moroccans are some of Morocco’s best known and most loved. His touching portraits of nomads with their camels, Berber women from the Atlas mountains, fantasia horsemen in full regalia, and young beauties preparing for hammam, can be found for purchase in upscale boutiques throughout Marrakech." I fell in love with his images of the desert and went to bed dreaming Lawrence of Arabia dreams. I have to have one of his pieces!!!!!! He wrote a book in 1994 Bedouin Nomads of the Desert which is now out of print and is only available used at the UK Amazon store. I have just put my order in for one and now I can hardly wait to receive it in the mail.

Image owned by Alan Keohane. May not be reproduced in any form without Keohane's written permission. His portfolio can be seen at http://www.alankeohane.com/.
Excerpt taken from My Marrakesh .

10 Things I Love in my Bathroom

Pampering for me starts first thing in the morning. I like to have few things, but the necessities that I have need to be the best. I love the quote by Gucci "Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten". Case in point being my Pratesi towels. Just about broke the bank, but I have used them daily for several years and they are still like brand new, and I love them every single day. Fine Egyptian cotton gets better with use. I don't have a lot of time to get myself together in the mornings. My day usually starts @ 6:00 AM with a work out with my personal trainer. I have tried to do it on my own but it is too easy when the alarm rings to make an excuse - like I'll do it tomorrow - and roll over and go back to sleep. So I pay my trainer in advance and if I miss a morning I forfeit the fee. Good Incentive. My make-up and hair regime has been tailored down to a fine science.

Minimal, quick and oh, of course, CHIC.......... Louis Vuitton Make-up Bag

My minimalist 5X Magnification wall mirror

Jo Malone Bath Oil Pomogranate Noir
I love the scent and can't start the day without it. The fragrance lasts and lasts.

I have often been asked hours after I have put it on, what the fragrance is that I am wearing.

Bobbi Brown Long wear gel eye liner lasts all day and is water resistant

KissMe Mascara This revolutionary cream mascara from Japan encases your lashes in tubes of color which plump and lengthen your lashes. (It gets even better!) The tubes create a water-proof, smudge-proof seal. To remove, the combination of water and pressure pop off the tubes clean from your lashes

Ionic Hair Dryer dries my hair in half the time with 1/2 the heat

My Pratesi towels in white with 3 lines embroidery in ecru. They are the softest, dreamiest Egyptian cotton.

Last but not least my heated limestone floor in my shower (Picture to follow)