Favorite Movie Sets

Nancy Meyers from her LA Times interview

I have been looking forward to seeing the movie, "It's Complicated", partly because it looked like a good movie, but mostly because I wanted to check out the set design. I knew I could expect great things being a Nancy Meyer's film. Nancy has worked with production designer Jon Huntman on a few other movies that feature some of my all time favorite sets; "The Holiday" and "Something's Gotta Give". Jon and Nancy's movie sets are not only extremely beautiful, but they are so well thought out and fit the characters in each movie perfectly. The sets in "It's Complicated" didn't disappoint. I was ready to pack my bags and move in to Meryl Streep's Santa Barbara abode, but funnily enough, Meryl's character is making plans for a big remodel throughout the film.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, here's a look inside::



While home for Christmas, we watched "The Holiday". Such a good movie. While my mom was tearing up, I was drooling over the houses.

Cameran Diaz's LA home::



Kate's Winslet's English cottage::





I really liked the movie "Something's Gotta Give", but I'll admit that I bought the DVD solely for the Hampton's beach house. To this day it's my favorite house on film::



*Photos from Architectural Digest, Coto de Texas, and Silver Screen Surroundings.

Hue by Kelly Wearstler

Love her or hate her, the woman is a genius. I got her new book from my parents for Christmas and I was in awe at every page. Yes, some of the designs are way out there; giving a serious nod to the 80's, but I love it. Her creativity, from the bold colors (or "hues"), to the eccentric pieces of furniture, is so unique and fearless that, even if you don't care for her style, you can't deny her talent.

Here is a sampling of the book, but I highly recommend getting your own copy!

Tortoise shell heaven::


Architectural details, abstract wallcovering, modern mixed with traditional::


Some of my favorite photos were the more neutral interiors that really focused on shape and texture::


I love her use of black and white mixed with metallic golds and bronze::

I love the furniture in this room. Vintage never looked so good::

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully some day Santa will bring me a house that I can decorate as cute as this one.

*Photo from One Kings Lane

Christmas Pillows

My sister, who got married this past summer, moved into her first little abode with her husband and his navy blue sofa. She's not in love with the sofa or the color, but it's comfy and not something that they need to replace right now. I'm a firm believer that most sofas look better with accent pillows, so for her Christmas present I did a little fabric shopping and decided I was going to sew 2 custom pillows for her.

The thought crossed my mind several times to just have my upholstery guy sew them for me (much quicker and much more precise), but I decided I wanted to work on my sewing skills a little more, so I did it myself. Originally they were going to have a zipper, but due to time constraints and my lack of a "zipper foot" for the sewing machine, I just sewed in my feather inserts on all sides. The pillows are far from perfect...crooked seams, uneven trim, etc., but luckily you can't see any of that in the photos! I was reminded once again that I am much more of a designer than a seamstress, but all in all, I think they turned out pretty cute.

Lorely Furniture

The other day I posted about MetroSofa, a very cool upholstery line in Los Angeles. So today I thought I'd write about a line that focuses solely on case pieces...and really cute ones to boot. Lorely Furniture has some great tables that would add character to a variety of interiors. One thing I admire and love about the Lorely collection is that that owner, Laura, isn't spreading herself too thin. With just 11 pieces in the current collection, she's doing what she does best and focusing on that, which was a good reminder to me as a business owner who sometimes has a few too many ideas at once. Here are a few great pieces from the line. Check out the website here.

Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People

One of my very thoughtful clients just gave me this Vogue Living book for Christmas. I was beyond excited when I opened it! I have a list about a mile long of design books that I would like to add to my collection, so this checks one off the list. Vogue Living is full of beautiful photos of various homes of artists, designers, and musicians. I love that none of the houses or gardens featured look too planned or too perfect. They all have a very personal and collected feel. Here is a little look inside.




Thanks again Frank & Stephanie!

P.S. Charlotte Moss has a great list of inspirational books (photography, fashion, interiors, etc.) that would be great to give or receive this holiday season. Vogue Living is on the list, along with some other really great picks. Check out the list here.

Christmas Florals

I spent some time today arranging some Christmas floral bouquets to give away as Christmas gifts. I wanted these gifts to have a personal touch, so instead of ordering bouquets, I picked out my own flowers and vases and arranged them myself. I was a little surprised, but there were really only 2 red flowers to choose from; roses and amaryllis. I thought roses were a little too Valentine's Day and I really liked the way the amaryllis looked with the hydrangeas and holly berries. Here are the 2 different holiday arrangements that I made.



This past week I also helped my sister make a wreath for her door to coordinate with the rest of her cherry red and white Christmas decorations. Here is our finished product, so much more fun and personal than buying a pre decorated wreath!


While I was at the wholesale flower warehouse today I saw so many different types of real holiday greenery for mantle and doorway garland and real leaves and needles made into square or round wreaths. There is such a huge difference between real greenery vs. faux, which I didn't really realize until I had a closer look at it today. It's a little late to start now, but next year I'm definitely going to see what I can create using real foliage.

MetroSofa

The other day I was searching "wing chairs" online and came across a website that I fell in love with. MetroSofa (by the makers of MetroShed) is a Los Angeles based green company that recycles old frames of sofas and chairs and makes them "new again" with new hip finishes and fabric. They also work with designers and customers to create custom designs if you want to supply your own fabric and specify a specific finish. Metro Sofa is very similar to the furniture line that I am currently working on, and maybe that is why I was so drawn to it. I've posted up some of my favorite pieces, but visit the MetroSofa website here to read more and see all of the funky furnishings that they have to offer.

Dabbling with Graphic Design

Inspiration photos

When I was getting my bachelor's in visual arts before I attended FIDM for interior design, I took quite a few graphic design classes where I was able to acquire a few Photoshop and Illustrator skills. Even though interiors are where my heart is, I have managed to make room in my sometimes busy design schedule to dabble in other arts, such as: photography (still need some serious help there, the technical side really weighs me down), sewing and crafting (sold one of my Etsy stockings today, yay!), floral design (can't wait to do the flowers for my roommate's upcoming nuptials), and graphic design.

Usually most of my dabbling is for myself and Brittany Stiles Interior Design, but the past 2 days I worked on a promotional flier for my hair stylist and now really good friend, Ali Jara. She's super hip, a little bit funky, and loves modern/urban style. All of those things combined with her likes of gold, black, peacock feathers, layered graphics, and natural beauty were the inspiration for the flier. Ali also gave me some inspiration magazine clippings, which are shown at the top of this post. Here is the finished product (of course we'll have to swap out the photo of Kristen Stewart, it's just a filler photo for now). {And don't forget to call Ali if you're looking for an amazing stylist!}

3-Form

I just received an email about a program that 3-Form is offering to designers called "3-Form Direct Cut-to-Order". Direct Cut-to-Order will allow designers to choose from 9 of 3-Form's most popular designs, cut to any specified size, and delivered within 2 weeks. That's remarkably fast for any type of architectural product.





3-Form panels are pretty amazing and can be used a countless number of ways in commercial, and even residential, interiors. They are eco friendly panels that can be ordered to a specified size and are installed for any interior application, such as counter or desk tops, wall partitions, or decorative wall or ceiling art. 3-Form has different material options for the structure of each panel (glass, resin, etc.) and several different options for the inner material or design. But one of the best parts about 3-Form is that you can submit or specify any design or object of your choice (personal photographs, artwork, fabric, etc.) and they will turn it into an architectural panel.





Nathan and I used a 3-Form panel in one of our very first projects, the Molly Moon hair salon in Long Beach. We needed a separation between the reception/lounge area and the hair cutting stations. The "Thatch" design from the Varia-Organics collection was the perfect fit for the modern/organic vibe requested by Molly.

{Thatch design}


{Molly Moon seating area}