Design Inspiration of 2008

Well, we are here! The end of a very interesting year, historically, politically and spiritually!

I do not make New Year’s resolutions. Why? It’s like trying to buy a gift for someone who already has everything. In my case, I make lists all the time, so why do another one just because it’s January 1st?

So, instead, because my blog is focused on interior design, I thought I would post some spaces that were inspirational to me, that lifted me up, that made me think about the way that I wanted to design, that made me want to be a better designer, that made me want to have access to better workrooms and carpenters and skilled craftsmen. These spaces spoke to me.

I saw this kitchen on Ronda Carman’s All The Best Blog and instantly wanted to be sitting in this space on a warm, breezy summer afternoon with the french doors wide open. It also helps that the space it all white, which I love.

This kitchen was modeled after the movie “Something’s Gotta Give”. It’s my dream kitchen and I longingly look at this picture every once in awhile and hope that one day I will be able to buy a house where I can have this kitchen! I love everything about it from the wall color, to the bin pulls to the dark hardwood floors.

Well, it’s obvious why I like this space….. the view! I’m not sure where this living room is located. I do know that it was designed by Randolph Duke. And, I love the brick that extends past the wall of glass to the exterior, that leads your eye to the view. The furnishings are all kept monotone, so not to distract your eye from the view. Fabulous! And how about that fireplace!

This patio setting with a wonderfully distressed painted pedestal table and beautifully styled patio furniture just makes my heart happy. Not your typical patio furniture and that’s what I love about it!

Windsor Smith Design. I love the big wing-back chair at this table and the pendant lights mixed with the Chinese inspired chairs. I can just imagine cooking for all of my friends who would be hanging out right next to me at the table and chatting.

Windsor Smith Design.

I love the kitchen above for the Chinese-Chippendale chairs. And the fact that they used red chairs in this kitchen makes me love it even more. It’s hard to see in the picture, but there is a red lantern above the table in the second kitchen.

No Design Inspiration blog would be complete for me without my favorite designer, Michael S. Smith. This is the Painted Room that he did for the Lowell Hotel in New York. It’s so calm and serene.

Another relaxing bedroom by Tamara Magel.

A friend of mine introduced me to Jeff Shelton, an architect in the Santa Barbara area who builds really funky and really fun architecture. I love this space because the windows are so fantastic and organic. This building could be in a Dr. Suess movie!

Hamilton Design Associates, New York. I love the use of blues and greens in this space. It’s a bold mix of pattern and color and not for the faint of heart.

One more from Hamilton Design Associates. Here they use tangerine and light green in various patterns to create a fresh room that my daughter would love. It uses a fresh energetic color, but somehow this room feels restful to me.

Bob Barry Design of Los Angeles. Even though sparsely decorated, the stone and personal effects (look at all of those photos on the upper landing!) give it a warmth that I love.

Elegant, refined, airy and unconventional with the cowhide. Charme Tate Interiors out of New Orleans gives us this beautiful room.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! May your heart be filled with Love and may Blessings come your way in 2009!!

The Golden Mean and Modern Design

I was first introduced to the Golden Mean in an Elements of Design class. My professor, in her French accent, sat at the front of the class and slowly and methodically explained the Golden Mean and how it relates to many things in the world; architecture, art, music, design. It was fascinating to me then and still is today.

The Fibonacci Sequence

1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89
Every figure is the sum of the two preceding
1 2 + 3 = 5 8 13 + 21 = 34 55 89

O.K. Stay with me here… The Golden Section is devised from this ratio. When a Golden Rectangle is progressively subdivided into smaller and smaller Golden Rectangles, a pattern is obtained. From this, a spiral can be drawn which grows logarithmically, where the radius of the spiral, at any given point, is the length of the corresponding square to a Golden Rectangle.

The given symbol of Phi, which symbolizes the Golden Ratio.

Since then, it’s opened up a lot of doors for me in how I look at design, how I look at architecture and how balance and harmony are present in the world.

Since the Renaissance it has been used extensively in art and architecture, it has been used in historical and important architectures, such as the St. Mark's Basilica and the Parthenon and has become a standard proportion for width in relation to height as used in facades of buildings, in window sizing, in first story to second story proportion, even in the dimensions of paintings and picture frames.

The Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

Ceiling Mosaic in St. Marks Basilica.

A geometrical analysis of the Great Mosque of Kairouan reveals a consistent application of the golden ratio throughout the design.

The Swiss architect Le Corbusier, famous for his contributions to the modern international style, centered his design philosophy on systems of harmony and proportion. Le Corbusier's faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely bound to the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series.

Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, Poissy, France.

Villa Savoye Plan View and the use of the GOLDEN SECTION (1:1.618).

Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion. He saw this system as a continuation of the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", the work of Leon Battista Alberti, and others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. In addition to the golden ratio, Le Corbusier based the system on human measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the double unit.

Le Corbusier’s Modulor System.

Le Corbusier took Leonardo's suggestion of the golden ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his model human body's height at the navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he used these golden ratio proportions in the Modulor system.

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (ca. 1487).

Palladio’s Villa Rotunda.

The Villa Rotonda is symmetrical on all axes, including diagonals. Any architect will tell you this is hard to do, much less sell to a client; even Palladio only did it once, probably just to see if he could. Palladio based his design on simple progressions in the Fibonacci series leading to the Golden Mean. This is also hard to do.

In India, the Golden Mean was used in the construction of the Taj Mahal, which was completed in 1648.

Piet Mondrian used the golden section extensively in his geometrical paintings.

And today, architects are still frequently using the Golden Mean or Ratio in their work…

The CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest tower and freestanding structure in the world, has contains the golden ratio in its design. The ratio of observation deck at 342 meters to the total height of 553.33 is 0.618 or phi, the reciprocal of Phi!

The College of Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University have plans for a new Engineering Plaza based on the Fibonacci numbers.

What can you create using Fibonacci’s Golden Mean?

Silver and Gold

Silver and Gold… Silver and Gold…. Everyone wishes for Silver and Gold.  How do you measure it’s worth?   Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth….

Inspired by a Woman’s Day magazine, I thought it would be fun to stretch my interior design blog today into some more sparkly items for the holidays….

 

Gold earrings here.  Gold dress here.  Gold purse here.  Gold shoes here.   Gold sunglasses here.

 

Silver handbag here.  Silver earrings here.  Silver shoes here.  Silver ring here.    Silver/Diamond sunglasses here.

And, this is an interior design blog, so I could not forego some interior design ideas for you as well.

Venetian Glass by  Martino's Import Collection

 

Silk Velvet-Opera by Holland and Sherry.

 

Gold and Platinum “Pailette” Stemware can be found at Gore Dean.

 

The BeatrizBall Collection can be found here.

Amarillo 2 Silver Small Pendant Lamp can be found here.

 

Thin Silver Plate Napkin Ring can be found at Gore Dean.

 

Anichini Verona Throw can be found at Gore Dean.

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you have a little sparkle in your holiday!

Christmas Greetings

A friend sent me an email and I thought it was so beautiful that I wanted to share it with you.  So, in the most flagrant form of plagiarizing** that I know, I offer it here for you below. 

Before the ball drops in Times Square, the Big Apple turns on its
holiday charm with the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

The Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, D.C., is decorated with 3,000 ornaments that are the handiwork of U.S. schoolchildren.  Encircling evergreens in the 'Pathway of Peace' represent the 50 U.S. states.

The world's largest Christmas tree display rises up the slopes
of Monte Ingino outside of Gubbio, in Italy's Umbria region.
Composed of about 500 lights connected by 40,000 feet of wire,
the 'tree' is a modern marvel for an ancient city.

A Christmas tree befitting Tokyo 's nighttime neon display is
projected onto the exterior of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.

 

Illuminating the Gothic facades of Prague's Old Town Square,
and casting its glow over the manger display of the famous
Christmas market, is a grand tree cut in the Sumava mountains
in the southern Czech Republic.

Venice 's Murano Island renowned throughout the world
for its quality glasswork is home to the tallest glass tree
in the world.  Sculpted by master glass blower Simone
Cenedese, the artistic Christmas tree is a modern
reflection of the holiday season.

Moscow celebrates Christmas according to the Russian Orthodox
calendar on Jan. 7.  For weeks beforehand, the city is alive with
festivities in anticipation of Father Frost's arrival on his magical
troika with the Snow Maiden.  He and his helper deliver gifts under the New Year tree, or yolka, which is traditionally a fir.

The largest Christmas tree in Europe (more than 230 feet tall)
can be found in the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon , Portugal.
Thousands of lights adorn the tree, adding to the special
enchantment of the city during the holiday season.

'Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree':  Even in its humblest attire,
aglow beside a tiny chapel in Germany's Karwendel mountains,
a Christmas tree is a wondrous sight.

 

Ooh la la Galeries Lafayette! In Paris, even the Christmas trees are chic.   With its monumental, baroque dome, plus 10 stories of lights and high fashion, it's no surprise this show-stopping department store draws more visitors than the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

 

In addition to the Vatican 's heavenly evergreen, St. Peter's Square in Rome hosts a larger-than-life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

The Christmas tree that greets revelers at the Puerta del Sol
is dressed for a party.  Madrid 's two-week celebration makes
millionaires along with merrymakers.  On Dec. 22, a lucky citizen
will win El Gordo (the fat one), the world's biggest lottery.

A token of gratitude for Britain 's aid during World War II,
the Christmas tree in London 's Trafalgar Square has been
the annual gift of the people of Norway since 1947.

Drink a glass of gluhwein from the holiday market at the Romer
Frankfurt's city hall since 1405 and enjoy a taste of Christmas past.

Against a backdrop of tall, shadowy firs, a rainbow trio of
Christmas trees lights up the night (location unknown).

**I am not sure where this email originated, hence I cannot credit the author.   

Merry Christmas Everyone!