What's Hot - McGuire Furniture

 
Classic McGuire Circa 1973

McGuire Furniture is celebrating it's 60th Birthday and they have just introduced a new collection of furniture for the Kitchen.  For those of you who aren't familiar with this Company, it was founded in 1948 in San Francisco by John and Elinor McGuire. When I was in Design School I will never forget rendering McGuire's glass topped octagonal black bamboo table surrounded by Cane chairs.  You can never go wrong with purchasing McGuire.  It is a time tested and proven classic, as I am sure their new Kitchen Series will be, for generations to come. 

McGuire glass topped Octagonal Black Bamboo Table Circa 1985 

New Kitchen line Circa 2008

Slatted Chair in Walnut or Oak                                        Danish Chair 

 

Woven shelter chair or barstool                       

Walnut Swivel Counter Stool

Chaparral Table                                                                 Heritage Table

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

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Santa Baby - Get a Head Start on Christmas

Good Books Make Great Gifts

A brand new book is slated to hit the bookstores just in time for Christmas - The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
with a Section titled: THE BLOG REVOLUTION IS HERE! (but we know that already)

 
This book refers to Blogging as "the advent of a new form of human communication - one that is more
interactive, more democratic, and just more FUN than what has come before."  But we all know that 
Blogging and Blog Surfing is  fast, interactive, and totally cool.....and I will add that it is also extremely
informative.  News, Ideas and inspirations take mere seconds to share. And to prove that Blogging travels
at the speed of lightening Liberty Post has also just talked about this book on her Blog.

 

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
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Leonard Cohen in Vancouver

 

I got an invitation this week for an exclusive showing of the artwork of the  legendary Canadian singer Leonard Cohen.  I did not know that Leonard Cohen was also an artist, and when I viewed his artwork I discovered that he draws and paints in the same poetic way as he sings. I quite like his bold, free, and graphic approach, and his wit certainly does shines through. For those of you who haven't heard of him, his first album - Songs of Leonard Cohen was released in 1967 with songs like: “Suzanne,” “Sisters of Mercy,” “So Long, Marianne” and “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Good Bye,” all now longstanding classics.  You can listen to a YouTube of his song "Suzanne" here. I remember this particular song from my teen years and wanting to learn to play the guitar and sing other songs of the time like Mockingbird by Carly Simon and James Taylor. (Yikes I'm dating myself)

Leonard's son, Adam Cohen, a renowned musician in his own right will launch the exhibition and sale of the 37 pieces that make up “Leonard Cohen: Artworks,” starting Dec. 3rd until Dec. 31 at LINDA LANDO FINE ART.

Full Press Release here

http://www.lindalandofineart.com/

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
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Today I am Loving....

This beautiful and classic wall sconce designed by John Saladino.

 

The Soho wall-mounted fireplace that uses natural gas or propane. It measures
33" h by 33" w by a mere 12" deep, which has to be one of the shallowest fireboxes
on the market. I would Install it on a wall, just like a piece of modern art. It has a brushed
nickel front.

Miele's new Clean Touch Steel finish which protects against smudges and scratches with a
thin layer of glass coating the stainless steel. It debuts in December on G series
dishwashers. www.miele.com.  Now that is some cutting edge technology that
will be appreciated!

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
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The Divine Law of the Great Chair

The excerpt below is from a wonderful Blog by Carrie and Danielle. It totally ties into my love for chairs and also the spiritual aspect of surrounding yourself in your homes with things that you love. Carrie and Danielle are also authors of the best selling book: Style Statement: Live by your own Design

Here’s a radical notion: what if you really liked, even outright adored every material thing in your own life? What if the quality, shape, color, function, and feel of the things you owned gave you satisfaction, pride, and delight?

Enter, The Divine Law of The Great Chair.
When you let go of things you don’t love, you create space for things that you do love to show up. EVEN IF: it’s “useful”, it’s filling an “empty” place, it was a gift, it was inherited, expensive, imported, exotic, or you truly loved it once upon a time -– if you don’t like something in your space, it’s dragging you down. This isn’t about old, or new, or what you can afford – this is about how STUFF makes you FEEL.

THIS WEEK: Identify the “old chair(s)” in your life that you’re making do with, and get rid of it. You may have to sit on floor cushions for while, but you’ll be dwelling in possibility – instead of compromise and regret.

Photos
Top: Thomas Pheasant
Top Row: B & B Italia, Vicente Wolf, unknown
Second Row: Bertoria Chair, Andrew Martin, Ghost Chair
Third Row: Knoll Eero Saarinen Womb Chair, Knoll Brno Chair, Knoll Warren Platner Chair
Fourth Row: Barbara Barry, B & B Italia, Barbara Barry
Fifth Row: Madeline Stuart, Thomas Pheasant for Baker
Sixth Row: All Oly
Seventh Row: Oly, Blanchard UK, John Saladino
Eighth Row: Chapman Radcliff, Baker, Jayson Home
Excerpt above from Carrie and Danielle The Divine Law of the Great Chair

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design.
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Banquette Seat

Banquette Dining

This is a picture of the new banquette which was recently installed in the Breakfast Nook in my own kitchen. When I moved into my new home I decided to keep these antique Georgian chairs (which I have had for years and had previously used in a bedroom and a den) and reincarnate them in the kitchen. I wanted to use white for the upholstery, and deliberated on finding the right fabric that would be user friendly and easy to maintain. I choose a soft washable leather and finished the bottom edge of the chairs with a antiqued nail head trim to keep with the period design. I paired them with a contemporary Saarinen table, which highlights the backs of the chairs and makes them stand out like pieces of sculpture. The custom banquette seat was designed to fit into the alcove and it is covered in the same washable leather. The top corners of the banquette are scalloped to match the back of the chairs. I like mixing different chairs around dining tables and not having them all match. The trick is to find a common element that ties them together. In this case it is the dark wood color that unifies them. I also have Phillipe Stark Ghost chairs that I use when I need more seating around the table. Ghost chairs are like a chameleon and work anywhere. Banquette seats are very comfortable and they encourage lingering. Already this is a place everyone gravitates to and wants to sit and talk long after a meal is finished. It is also one of my favourite spots to sit with a coffee and a good book.

What about you – do you always choose to sit on the banquette when going to a restaurant?
And do you tend to linger longer than usual?

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and WHAT'S HOT
in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Elica Hood Fans

 

One of my pet peeves is ugly hood fans. They are such a large element in a kitchen and if not handled properly can distract from the design of the kitchen, especially more so in contemporary kitchen design, as I am tending to not use overhead cabinets. The cooktop and back wall then becomes the focal point. So when I saw these innovative new designs from Elica I was pleasantly surprised. They are designed to look like a beautiful pendant handing over the cooktop and include ventilation, filters, lighting and controls.  They are now distributed in Canada and the USA.The fan in the middle row right is stainless-steel Platinum and packs advanced technology into a sleek lampshade diameter that works with any 24" - 36" cooktop and costs $1,600.00.

Download their catalogue here

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
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