Oh those LACK tables!

So I'm sure many of you have seen those ubiquitous Ikea "LACK" tables. They come in the form of coffee tables, console tables, side tables. They are truly inepensive, have a range of colors, are functional, modern, simple - and they are in my own apartment AND imagine my surprise when I discovered they were in Sarah Jessica Parker's own home! In the book, "So Chic" from Elle Decor they are featured in her house in the Hamptons!

Ikea LACK tables featured in the living room of Sarah Jessica Parker's house in the Hamptons:



Ikea LACK tables featured in the living room of...um, my apartment:




Ikea LACK tables:

Royal Mirrors

I came across this source of fabulous glamorous mirrors from Dilettante. The company is a collaboration between two Los Angeles based architects, Elena Coleman and Libby Kountzman.

The mirrors are manufactured locally in Los Angeles. They are water-jet cut and the cursive is laser etched. Priced between $800 and $1200, the sizes are:

his majesty
1'-4" x 1'-11"
2'-0" x 2'-10"

her majesty
1'-6" x 1'-8"
2'-3" x 2'-6"

The quotes read:

"who ever loved that loved not at first sight?" (christopher marlowe)
"shall i compare thee to a summer's day?" (william shakespeare)

- they are limited edition with the edition numbers etched in the bottom of the mirror
- they are 1/4" glass mirror - not acrylic
- they are frameless and are mounted on 1/4" masonite with hanging wires attached

Cool Tiles!

A client badly needed a makeover for his dated bathroom in his condo. He wanted clean, modern, and color. Leaving the existing layout of the bathroom in tact, we simply tiled one entire wall of the bathroom in cool blue glass tiles and a white porcelain tile for the floor. The wall tiles are what really makes the bathroom standout in addition to making it appear much larger of a space than it was before (see before and after pictures at: Jill Seidner Interior Design).

Overall, it wasn't a major makeover but with the installation of wall tiles, floor tiles, a new counter, sink, & mirror - it turned into a major transformation! The glass tiles are from Cool Tiles,the floor tiles are from Crossville,countertop is CaesarStone, and all the fixtures (sink, faucet, & recessed medicine cabinet) are from Kohler.

Check out some other great tile finds from Ann Sacks
and Walker Zanger that are modern and graphic.

Decorative Painting

Thought I would share the work of a very talented decorative painter I've worked with on a few of my projects, her name is Ellen Brown.

I initially contacted Ellen for a client in Beverly Hills who was looking to do some custom decorative painting in both a ceiling alcove off the entry and the adjacent living room wall. Both the client and I had some definite ideas in regard to what we were looking to achieve. We came to Ellen with some inspiration pictures, she provided some concept sketches, and the end result is seen in the pictures featured here.

Ellen was great to work with thru the process - conception to completion. Both the client and myself were happy with the end result. I just contacted Ellen again to provide some murals & ceiling decoration for a nursery.

The pictures here show the inspiration clippings, the process sketches, and the completed work.

Oly Studio

I just have to say I love EVERYTHING from Oly Studio. I discovered them several years ago when working for another designer, they seemed to be new around that time, from Northern California (Berkeley). Since discovering Oly Studio and their great collection of furniture, casegoods, lighting, mirrors, accessories...I've seen their items in magazines such as Domino quite frequently. I continue to source Oly for client presentations, have had a few clients purchase their items.

Happen to really love everything on their website but here are some of my favorites! I also love checking back from time to time, seems as if they are always adding new furnishings to the collections.

Cute Design for Kids!

Seems lately I've been working on quite a few nursery's, baby's bedrooms, & playrooms! I was recently putting together a presentation for a client and came across a lot of fun things for baby's bedrooms & kid's rooms. Here are a few of my finds!

Sources: Design Public, David Netto Collection, The Land of Nod, & Blik Decals.

Design Hotels

Over the last several years, I've been taking frequent trips to San Francisco (It's the west coast's version of an east coast big city). San Francisco has great shopping, great restaurants, and of course, some great hotels both new and old! One of my favorite cool design hotels is the Hotel Vitale which was designed by Colum McCartan of McCartan Design.

Here are some pictures of the hotel's lobby & restuarant/bar - both are great places to hang out even if you don't stay at the hotel!

For other cool design hotels check out: Design Hotels

DESIGN BOARDS

As most of us interior design educated designer’s know – design boards go back to the day’s of our training, in school, pulling late night deadlines for class projects. I think every project I ever did in school required a design board. It was a method of making a presentation to the class about the project, a way to convey and discuss our ideas. Even in the real world of design, design boards are used when making presentations to clients. So to this day – I still find myself pulling together a design board or more loosely a “concept board” or “inspiration board.”

Typically, I will use a mat/cardboard board, a canvas board, or even inexpensive frames. However, in the quest to be environmentally sound I am scraping cardboard from shipping material & other materials – anything I can find to be reused as a design board. As far as the materials, any images whether from books, catalogs, magazines, & online sources can be used for the images on design boards. Finding finish materials – a small knob, pull, fabric samples, paint swatches, wallcovering samples, and many other “found” materials can all be used to simulate a color, pattern, or finish selection.

Here are a few from my own design projects.

CONTEMPORARY LIGHTBOXES

In the process of specifying for clients, there is always the research involved to gain insight and inspiration for the project. Even the simplest items require in depth research and I almost always start with the internet. Sometimes you stumble upon something you weren’t even looking for. That’s what happened to me today! In my quest for bathroom sconces – I came across these very cool lightboxes! Is it art? Is it lighting? It’s both! I am definitely looking forward to using these in a future project. And of all things, they came from one of my favorite online resources: www.DesignPublic.com