Designing, Styling and Why – Finding Personal Style

Styling is a vague term used popularly now for many facets of artful design that come together to create a presentation (in this case) for interiors. Interior designers practice the artful tricks of “styling” while calling on their expertise with many other important professional elements regarding practical and functional design decisions, structural considerations, mechanical and electrical aspects, client collaboration, budgeting parameters, and more. Terminology can confuse the conversation because often the illusive thing that clients are seeking is finding their “style.”  This goes deeper than embracing a new trend or changing a style of furniture from Scandinavian to French. It goes deeper into the very personal places that are uniquely individual. It’s about lifestyle and personality, temperament, and taste.

Assembling elements in your home or workplace is about lifestyle and personality, temperament, and taste. This living room is taking shape for a single man wishing to update his furnishings and fixtures throughout his home.

I was told in school that there is no such thing as bad taste – just bad design. I love that. It takes an enormous percentage of the judgement out of it and leaves the important characteristics to be critiqued such as function, form, balance, color, texture, volume, lighting…

Styling and designing both require balance – designing being the more comprehensive of the two. Each consider many of the same elements, but designing digs deeper. I often converse with clients about the opposites in their spaces. Hard/soft, smooth/rough, light/dark, warm/cool, simple/complex…finding the effective, pleasing, balance in all the elements in a space is critical to the comfortable success of the design. I seek the positive, buoyant, uplifting effect that elicits good vibes.

The result should be more than satisfying, it should be joyful and personal. This chair and ottoman were vintage pieces handed down in this family and here we reupholstered them to give them new life in a new context.

As an interior designer my job is to extract and decipher the wishes of my clients – commercially or residentially. Not only what they want and need, but how to achieve it. It has to do with the art of design and the practicality or reality of executing the work. The result should be more than satisfying, it should be joyful and personal – designed for the specific needs and goals of the individual(s) with whom I am working.

Discovering your personal style might be like a lightbulb turning on – it’s been there all along but wasn’t recognizable. You have it but don’t realize it. Which begs the question, what is style? It is very representative.

From my experience, there is no such thing as no style. Not having style. The very concept of that is like a reverse condition of being without style (un-styled ) – like messing up a hairdo. Yet that disheveled do is a style unto itself – albeit not in the contrived sense of order and intent. That same hairdo in a fierce wind might become similarly disheveled – but without the intent – it might be considered an organic style.

Tidy to disheveled, style is limitless. The occupant of the space is surrounded by books that never quite get put away.
Fascinating to some – unnerving to others.

Interior design can be contrived with much intent, formalized with attention to detail or a more unselfconscious approach that always appears more casual, organic and lived-in. Of course, there are happy mediums too. However, the risk of the “unselfconscious” approach is that by the very nature of the approach to create that which does not LOOK contrived – can be very contrived!!! Hence the unfortunate, if not unintended, result!!

Tidy to disheveled, style is limitless – the permutations and opportunities are endless. But when styling a “scene”, do we keep books in the bookshelves with perhaps one on an end table or nightstand for practicality and interest or do we present piles of books as though the occupant of the space is surrounded by books that never quite get put away? Fascinating to some – unnerving to others.

Some categories of interior design allow a “stylist” to express themselves – rather than focusing on the specific design needs, desires, requirements, and ultimate joy of a client. Style for the sake of imagery. These categories include product representation and promotion/branding – ads and TV commercials, and vignettes that are not intended for real life but for effect. To create appeal and promote trending marketing efforts, assembling for model homes or staging for individual homes for sale and theatrical set design are also examples of the applicability of styling. This “styling” is a very marketable talent – different from designing for and about a client’s personal wants and needs – in a residential or commercial setting.

Commercial interiors combine the branding of the business as well as the personality of the occupants and the culture of the workplace. We completely redirected the focus of this insurance office by emphasizing their brand in color, imagery and graphics. Corporate marketing material was enlarged and used for artwork to further reinforce the brand and emphasize the mission for both employees and clients.

Style evolves. Styling can be an ongoing process – even daily. But that becomes a preoccupation that is not necessarily practical for everyone. Our tastes change with life experiences and with them new interests, accommodations and necessities all contribute to the evolution of personal style. But look at your own personal style and see what about it has remained constant even if your design direction has changed.

You have style. You need to try to articulate it, embrace it or change it. I often hear “I know what I like when I see it.” That’s true of all of us. But being a “creative,” a designer, we create and not merely discover, find, and assemble – through all parts of the process.  Helping clients distill the flood of inspiration, imagery and ideas presented, on the limitless platforms dedicated to interior design, new construction, remodeling, styling, and decorating, is the first stage of the job. With so many choices and directions from which to choose, navigating that circuitous path through the oh so many images and ideas is daunting, but essential to finding the right elements to combine and create the design – and set forth the style.

The stuff of life. This couple downsized and culled their belongings to their very favorite things. Their new interior, in their custom home, incorporated all of their treasures and added some new pieces for their next chapter.

Knowing what you like when you see it and collecting as you go is what results in what I fondly call the stuff of life. Your life is partially represented in the things you have discovered and saved – things that bring you joy that you want to see and have around you. They may change over time. Your fascination or appreciation for an object might wane…but the principle of having things collected over time and life experiences (or minimalist lack thereof) is a personal expression. Often the trick is to re-arrange what you have. The style is there, but the placement and orientation can make a significant difference. Arranging is very much a central part of effective styling and interior design. Styling is a fun way to play with options, trends, make statements, influence, and experiment. Have fun finding your style and incorporating all you love and enjoy into your interiors!

Details of Home

Whether a minimalist or an eclectic collector/gatherer, one’s details of home are important and personal. Like personality types, what is important to one person is not so much for another. However, it tells a story. The details of a home make it just that. Home. 

This interior has a lot of personality and very much reflects the artist who lives here. Antique family side chairs take a near full century leap with this new, colorfully eclectic upholstery.

Residences, the dwellings in which we live, can take many forms – from short-term to decades of ensconced living. To “reside” regardless of the length of time – suggests a certain level of comfort to include some detail(s) to make it “home.” 

Each home is an individually personal space filled with details that make it so.

What might YOU consider imperative elements of what you call “home?”  Consider comfort, color, ambiance, familiarity, convenience, nostalgia and perhaps just pure joy.  

A hotel room for the busy “road warrior” traveling for business, might reveal a photo of a loved one placed thoughtfully on the nightstand. Something as simple as this can make a temporary residence feel more like “home.” 

Upon plopping the overnight bag on the hotel bed, one of the first things to unpack might be the framed photo of a loved one to place on the nightstand.

Dorm rooms will reflect personalities, pleasures, interests, colors and imagery for young people leaving home for the first time. They create their own sense of place and “home” while embarking on their new chapters of life.

While looking around your place of residence – this place you call “home,” consider what is important to you. It might be the actual architecture, quality of natural light, a collection, a piece of art, furniture, photographs, decorative accessories…

A little over a year ago during the throws of our introspective isolation, my cousin, a thoughtful artist of photography, commented from Connecticut about The Essence of Home. In it she shares intimate observations and encourages personal study of your significant space – memory or current abode. She also suggests an interesting little project in which she invites us to “take half an hour and create a photo essay of a place that has significance” to us.  “Challenge yourself to capture a feeling. Wait for the right time of day and seek out the mystery of the place. (This is a great activity for kids, too. You’ll be amazed by what they choose to photograph – what “home” means to them.) See what thing you’re drawn to capturing; become aware of the everyday beauty in the space around you.”  https://www.catebarryphotography.com/

As an interior designer, I am engaged in creating and illuminating details that are meaningful. Whether a view or an object, color or finish, access or privacy – inside or out of the interior these elements collectively contribute to create the overall design. I encourage my clients to identify things they do and things they own – things they have gathered and how they live. What of them is of greater importance and why. This process begins a dialog of preference, value, and interests. Establishing priorities to springboard a project is key to a firm platform for the design. 

You know the old question…If your house were on fire, what would you want to get out? It might be a person or a pet certainly – but if it were a material possession(s), it is a question worth pondering. The same is true if you moved or remodeled, what elements would you want to retain or replicate and what would you eliminate or change?

Vintage family pieces reupholstered, new pieces repurposed, bookcases filled with personal treasures, and the precious pet in the center of the action. Home.

 The details of your home are personal, identifying, comforting aspects of your interior design. Discovering these important details is significant in effectively planning your interiors.

Color Scheme Tips

Color schemes are limitless. The permutations are endless. Color is exciting and fun. It is personal. Colors evoke feelings, memories, emotions and are key to a comfortable interior.

How often have you been asked or pondered on your own…”What is your favorite color?” Some people hesitate to answer, while others blurt-out readily with their fav.  But what color you choose to wear versus what you enjoy in your interior surroundings and how much might be quite different.

Several weeks ago, I launched a weekly post on our PATRICIAN DESIGN Facebook page called “Color Schemes.”  The idea is to inspire design ideas by pairing artwork with designer fabrics. When planning an interior there is always a focal point complimented and surrounded by supporting elements.  Whether a key painting will command the space or an expansive window with a view will direct the focus to a scene of outside colors and textures – that key element will greatly influence a successful interior color scheme.

Annette Donald creates colorful cubes in her creative take on our beloved chile ristras. A serrano chile oil painting, on canvas, by Federico Leon de la Vega is quite representational. Paired here with Romo and Ralph Lauren fabrics, Sherwin Williams paints…fresh and festive!

Here is the example of a November Scheme and you can scroll back each Monday for the past few months to enjoy a variety of the Color Schemes! https://www.facebook.com/PatricianDesignABQ/photos/a.243005986618/10157154423221619/

We embrace the The Nature of November with its unique colors and textures. As the air becomes chilly and the leaves fade…warm, soft colors bring us indoors. Featured here an elegant fused glass ribbon wall piece by Lisa Checnoff.

There are four primary considerations that I discuss with my clients when determining which colors to choose, emphasize, avoid, use as accents and where. To establish these selections, we evaluate personal preferences, contextual implications, seasonal influences and even trends. 

PERSONAL:  In planning an interior, I always want to know what colors make our clients happy, comfortable, stimulated, vexed or relaxed. These personal insights reveal important information for selecting types of materials too.

By examining what might be one’s favorite color, the discussion will navigate the distinctions, if any, regarding preferences for clothes versus interior furnishings. Interestingly, they are not always the same – although, by mere comfort and familiarity, they often are.  Simply asking about a favorite color is not enough.

Brilliant golden yellows and blues – splash color! Featured here are fabulous photo-realistic acrylic paintings by Sheri Mays paired with amazing fabrics of the same exciting palette.

CONTEXT:  The context of the interior might dictate or at least steer the direction of the design. The luxury of having multiple personal environments offers the opportunity to have different color pleasures exercised in different places. The ski condo might be woodsy and textural with browns, greys, stone and wood punctuated with a pop of color versus the seaside retreat with its crisp whites and cool blues and greens punctuated with pastels or bold contrasts. Therefore, the location of an interior might direct the desired color palette.

Inspired by this spa-aqua pottery bowl by Penny Roberts and the custom glass tile mosaic we recently combined to face a newly remodeled kitchen wall – the cool seaside/spa feel balanced with ambers and warm dots of color – pink, fuchsia, orange and golden yellow. Durable brushed cotton solids come in myriad colors and are perfect for pillows or upholstery.

SEASONAL:  This one is tricky because it plays on the perceived climate outside – even if the interior is maintained at a constant temperature. It takes a concerted effort to plan a color scheme – including textures and finishes in anticipation of changing seasons and relative temperatures. I previously mentioned that a window with a view might be the focal point of a room…imagine the effect the changing seasons might have on the selection of interior colors and textures versus a consistent tropical scene, for example?  

Perhaps you love purple – ever pair it with golden yellow? Here, functional, fantasy pottery designed and crafted with the most precise attention to detail by Jen DePaolo inspires our boldly brilliant scheme.

TRENDS:  Inasmuch as I avoid being steered by trends, it is impossible and not advisable – in design – to avoid them. Clients are influenced by them and bring that would-be preference to the table.  It is essential to continue to have “colors-of-the-year” and other market-driven colors change to stimulate the economy with buying and selling, replacement and updating.  It’s our socio/economic norm.  It also serves as an encouragement to re-fresh. But to limit that influence, in favor of long-term personal pleasures, is best.  The pressure of this marketing color influence contributes to our being a disposable culture. Not time here for a lecture on such things – but rather to instill an appreciation for and confidence in personal selections an decisions – in this case,  color.

Patinaed pearls and stunning glasswork by Margaret Hidalgo Vanderheyden inspire the soft, greyed lavenders and blues of this cool scheme.

An interesting and on-going test for evaluating a successful interior is when designing in one season – it has to work in all others. For example, when I meet with clients in the heat of July with lush foliage and color, warm temperatures and long days, that same interior has to succeed when it is frigid outside, barren, and with darker, shorter days. What might the challenges be in creating a successful scheme and what might be the solutions to make it work?

Having noted all of this and knowing the different reactions people have to color, isn’t it interesting when an interior is so successful that it appeals to many, if not the majority, of those who experience it?  This is more applicable to commercial or public spaces – from doctors’ offices to hotels.  However, the challenge and success is in knowing the many things to be considered and implementing a balance of them throughout all aspects of the interior.

Anne Marie Werner-Smith’s brilliantly glazed pottery here with Margaret Hidalgo-Vanderheyden’s lovely fused glass crosses along with coral and dyed stone necklace and woven table runner from Chiapas reflect the changing colors of fall leaves…

Appreciating color is a gift to designers. It truly is an imperative to appreciate all colors and have the sensitivity to discern the nuances between various values and the effects of selections and combinations from the infinite choices.

I hope this has given you ideas and inspiration to move forward with YOUR color schemes! Sign-up for our weekly email of Color Schemes with classic blue and white and stunning neutral greys coming!! And follow the posts on Facebook every Monday.

CONVERSATIONS ON DESIGN – SPECIFICALLY, PRO TIPS ABOUT COLOR

This past week alone I have consulted with a commercial client about reception seating and color, a home-owner, in a mountain setting, about durable floor finishes, bathroom remodels and color, a couple in a new home downsizing from one of 20 plus years about furniture arrangement and color, a couple from Las Vegas buying a second home by their daughter and grandkids about color, and a woman stopped in the shop yesterday visiting from Santa Fe and said that she didn’t know we were also a design firm -picked up a brochure and told me inasmuch as she had “a pretty good handle on design – she always struggled with color.”

See a common thread here? The comments were from that where she admitted to always struggling with color to another wanting her seemingly tract home to feel like a woodsy cabin with color, others wanted their spaces  lighter while others wanted to make a corporate statement that would support their brand and not go out of style in the coming few years. They all had steered toward neutrals – but not in a good way – because they were uncertain about committing to COLOR.

The whites and greys are their own beautifully valid color scheme. https://patriciandesign.com/project/modern-make-over/   I have written before about when white is a color or when it is the absence of color.  https://patriciandesign.com/white-by-design/

I also continually stress that all design decisions are based upon context. Many of you reading this, with whom I have consulted, will recognize much of these observations and tips. I stress select color to compliment your context!

Interestingly, the mountain home has existing painted doors and trim. To change those elements would be costly. How can we woodsy-up this interior without those seemingly necessary key elements?

I asked her for her priorities and “comfort colors.” As a result, we will change the flooring for look and durability, building from that add color and various textures to enrich the space – stacked pebbles at the fireplace, a slab hearth, a wooden mantle and a light neutral will be the main backdrop splashed with strong elements of color (notice them on the mantle). The very vertical fireplace will be a bold golden yellow color to intentionally work with the honey tones of the pine architectural elements.

By contrast, a magnificent home (also in the mountains with great wooden details), had too much of a good thing for the owners’ other interior furnishings. In this case, the seeming sacrilege of painting the solid wood doors and trim was in order.

To paint all the solid wood doors and trim in this home was a leap of faith. But the goal was to add back stacked stone to carry a theme from the now naked fireplace to the kitchen bar and over to the entry door wall. Having it in three places will commit to an architectural theme for this finish selection. New colorful rug and fabrics for throw pillow will enliven the space and bring focus to individual accents throughout the interior.
The grey hand woven grey rug was not providing the needed backdrop for this new scheme so we gathered rug and fabric samples to “punch-up” the scene.
After the new rug arrived, we assembled the fabrics for another study of our options to detail the design.
Before, this little powder room was a bit bland. The quality, solid wood, raised panel, pine doors were too rustic for the owner’s preference – but painting was not an option – until we discussed it. What was a possible sacrilege became a beautiful solution to changing the design direction of this interior. Mirror and sconces remained while vanity, sink and colors were transformed!
The AFTER of the little powder room is still in the process, but it is clear that the transformation is startling with the newly painted doors and trim and the fresh POP of turquoise on the walls. Layers of color and emphasis changed. It is not about painting wood, it’s about creating balance. The massive, solid wood front door and antique and art pieces throughout will be emphasized as key features

Another such interior was over-burdened with stained wood and to paint it all out white was a major commitment yet, the results will make for a lighter backdrop still revealing the bones and their texture, but freeing the owners to showcase their other pieces of fine woodwork, art and furnishings.

PRO TIPS

  • The trick with design decisions is to determine and understand the primary purpose and intended “read” of the space. What is most important and where do you want your focus?
  • Once you have evaluated the space, identified its primary purpose and selected what you want to emphasize; see what is either in the way of, or competing with that emphasis, and clear all else away. Add back the things that you consider most important either for function or joy (form).
  • If the architecture is most important, determine what about it and work from there to complete the space. If a piece of art is most important – place it to its best advantage and build around it so as not to compete, but compliment. If a view is most important – the same is true – clear away and frame with the most important and/or effective pieces.  Pick your priority, yet take everything into consideration.
  • With regard to color…it can emphasize the architecture or be inserted for a bold statement(s) of art or fabric on furniture, rugs…When using color, the idea is still to have balance in the context of where you are placing it. It can be a backdrop or a foreground accent.
  • Consider existing conditions that will not be changed – such as flooring. Select colors that include the compliment to that material. Whether in direct opposition for contrast or to meld in   a way that creates a subtle transition – the consideration of existing materials is important.
  • The effect of considering existing materials can result in their appearing as though part of the plan rather than being inherited unintended.  This is generally a desirable result. Therefore, if you have a material that will not go away – make it intentionally part of the plan.

The corporate color issue was about updating their image and connecting with their clients in an intimate and comfortable manner- an environment that carried the trust of years of experience and embracing a new generation of financial management. They developed a marketing plan moving forward to identify a theme, feel of confidence and carry it through the entire experience. In a recent Facebook post you will see this project in the process and notice that the carpet was an existing condition and that it was used deliberately to make the new materials appear to all have been coordinated from the start. Long time clients and new are comfortable with the changes!   https://www.facebook.com/PatricianDesignABQ/

It’s OK to play it safe with neutrals – but in this case, it was time for a updated “brand” for this business. The unusual eggplant and chartreuse carpets inherited in the move to a different suite required some deliberate coordination, to have it all “read” as though designed afresh!

The want-to-be woodsy cabin project will have new, durable porcelain tile floors imitating variegated slate and from that palette of colors pull paint colors to add whimsy and visual impact along with other new additions of stacked pebbles at the fireplace and wood encasing the now sheet-rock mantle.

The stacked pebble stone, engineered stone, new wood mantle and splash of colors against the neutral will make a dynamic statement. Notice new color chips leaning on the mantle.

The couple downsizing and wanting more light and a less heavy southwestern feel panted their entire ceiling of beams and tongue and groove including support columns in white. The wood still “reads,” in all its hand-hewn texture and knots. The white is no less natural than the dark chocolate that had been their previous faux finish. Albeit the tongue and groove had a clear lacquer that we concealed behind the new cloak of white for a uniform backdrop.

The dark chocolate opaque stain of the pine members was no more valid than painting them an other color. We selected a white to open and refresh with a neutral backdrop to allow other elements to be more focal.
Painting currently underway!! Watch for before and afters of this refreshed interior.

The couple with the second home had history in Hawaii and wanted a beachy, fresh theme for their new desert home. The flooring was a mottled light brown glazed tile and we selected a noticeably light, subtle sand colored wall paint to contrast and POP the existing off-white doors and trim throughout the home. Accents in recessed niches and doorways will become a soft turquoise while an interior laundry room gets a splash of citrusy yellow. The layers of color will be visible from different angles and vantage points. With the golden oak kitchen cabinets being painted out to match the existing off-white trim – the scheme will be fresh and beachy! Their artwork presents these colors and will being their personal touch to the arrangements. Watch for this project in coming weeks.

Do you have ideas about certain features in your interior that do not quite seem to come together? Do you feel the need to refresh? Are you looking for a new color scheme? Please do not be afraid of color and do not be confused about current trends. White and grey is a soothing combination. Trimmed with black, you get a defined contrast. Insert organic greens and the combination is sharp and now – and yet potentially timeless. HOWEVER – colors too have their place and selecting those and their combination that will speak to today and not be out-of-style tomorrow, as certain trending combinations might – select colors to compliment your context.

Here are a few other Patti Says blogs and PATRICIAN DESIGN projects about color selection:

KEMP BEFORES  https://patriciandesign.com/rejuvenate-and-expand-your-interior-spaces-by-opening-walls/

Friends Don’t let friends pick paint colors  https://patriciandesign.com/5677-2/

Johnson’s PHX https://patriciandesign.com/spanish-style-brings-interior-spice/

Color forcasting  https://patriciandesign.com/color-schemes-and-the-complex-simplicity-of-it-all/

Bay area bungalow https://patriciandesign.com/project/bay-area-bungalow/

Celebrate the LOVE of COLOR!!!!!!!!!!

Hidden Talent Exposed

Hidden talent – that remarkable artwork that appears (seemingly) out of nowhere, on a par with great masters of the medium. I considered this element of surprise – looking back several decades to a local painter, Wilson Hurley, who had more than one very different, distinguished career and diverse life experiences before he delved deeply into his passion for painting in his 40s. Once exposed, his paintings revealed his extraordinary talents and he become a nationally recognized treasure for his sweeping landscapes and a variety of other subjects.  

On that note, I have just gotten off the phone with a very good friend, in Florida, Houston Evans. I have recently learned that he is a passionate weekend photographer! An amazing photo appeared in a Facebook post and I was astonished by the enchanting image, color and composition. I was instantly captivated – and curious. Upon closer inspection, his stylish swashbuckling  signature made me realize that this hobby was subtly becoming more than that – yes, he had his mark digitally mastered and is probably THE perfect brand for his diverse and stunning work.

“Star Power” is the luminous celebration of a pineapple.

As I quizzed him about his interest in photography, I learned that he attributes his eye for art, color and design to his mother who’s side of the family has spawned other talented artists, in his generation. He has been posting on Instagram for quite some time – hundreds of images. I didn’t know. I didn’t “follow.” He is modest about his photos and does it for his own amusement, pure pleasure and personal enjoyment – that he likes to share. “I don’t do it to imagine it on someone’s wall.” Yet this observer believes that there is where it absolutely should be! Many walls…many places! #houstonevansphotography

He plays with the medium and all the tools and tricks of the trade. He enjoys the freedom of experimentation. The results are controlled, yet spontaneous. From high resolution to fuzzy pixels that require distance to assimilate. Up close for precise detail and soft smears for imagination to take hold, the variety of clarity or lack thereof are a part of the experience and expression.  

“Makin’ Hay” has an enhanced pointillist treatment – a Van Gogh-esque subject with a twist.

From my interior designer’s perspective, his bold images would be key focal points in the drama of architectural spaces – interiors from Miami to Honolulu and on around the world!!! I can see the towering orchids in hotel lobbies, bars, restaurants and swanky condos everywhere!!! I am eager to find a project, for which his work would be the key to the scheme, unveiling a spontaneous design resulting from the inspiration of the image.

“Oblique Orchid” screams floral superiority as a commanding focal image.
“Shooting the Bird” speaks to paradise revisited!!!

In the beginning, the photos stood on their own merits. Evans keeps his originals – some of which remain just that – in their original form, while others are tweaked or more radically manipulated to create stunning subjects and compositions.

This brilliant, fresh simplicity of “Aqua Eye” observes the droplet’s reflection in the center of the cheery chartreuse petal.
Coming upon a cool caddie “Daddy Long Legs.”

I can see his limitless fantasies contributing to the imaginative narrative of Meow Wolf, gracing hotel lobbies with larger-than-life orchid explosions and commanding condo walls with magical statements of tropical color, subject and form. Translucent installations of LED illumination could result in magnificent walls of design influence.

“No Flies on Me” is a fantasy of oozing colors and form melting and melding around the psychedelic dragon fly.

The digital age is advancing with such a pace that we are all caught-up in photos of food, whacky selfies and sunsets on fire…but having an artist’s eye, to truly see the potential and master the tools that are now available – using them to create valid and valued masterpieces of art, is extraordinary.

“Copy Cat” reflections mirror a chorus of color from sky to watery impressionistic likeness.
This “Roadside Attraction” must have been a startling scene to distract dazzled drivers.

I truly believe that his work is exceptional – full of heart and soul – and spectacular fun!!!!!!!! I’m thrilled to learn of these images and now enjoy the continued progress of his discoveries and creations. Let’s see where this goes!!!!! He just might be coming out of hiding!!

Yes, his selfie – “Prickled!”

A Designer’s Eye

Hidden genius can be found amidst seemingly redundant arts and crafts.  Walking by you might not notice. Passing by many beach stands, they begin to look alike – very repetitive. The colorful wares and handcraft are striking and eye-catching and full of fiesta, yet if you pay attention you will notice the nuances. Discovering the true designer/artist.

An escape to the tropics and especially to another country offer a reprieve from the cold and add an exotic element to getting out-of-town. Discovering the many indigenous art forms that come from all over Mexico is fun and exciting. Getting to know the makers and the distinctions in their work is another exciting level of appreciation.

As is true with so many things, detail and design matter. I buy a smattering of things for my gallery/gift boutique. I like to support the local vendors and makers that produce these fantasy-filled folk-art pieces.  From fabrics to stuffed animals, painted pottery to murals and mosaics, the art is abundant and deserves to be examined.

As an example, I am focusing on Victor Rivera. Victor is an artist and more so, an incredibly gifted designer.  His sense of pattern and imagery is exquisite. It reminds me of my mother’s love of Marimekko and Lily Pulitzer in the 60s and 70s. Her appreciation was a tremendous influence on me. The joy of color and pattern was a exhilarating celebration to wear and accessorize your home. Victor seems to possess a like-kind of innate sensibility and talent for devising and executing sensational color, pattern, motif and resulting design. He is currently creating, from a modest beach stand, what I believe is clearly different from others doing what might be thought to be similar work.

Like Maija Isola – a peer of my mother’s, having been born in the 20s her designs transcend the many decades in which she influenced color, pattern and bold imagery. Her work continues to live and influence the evolution of Scandinavian artistic direction and its impact on the world of design.  https://www.marimekko.com/com_en/world-of marimekko/design/designers/maija-isola

Similarily, architect Josef Frank contributed greatly to the design world through his architectural work and also his love of his limitless artistic expression through color and pattern. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/josef-frank-fabrics-london-exhibition

Watching Victor select his brushes, for the various applications and control on his designs, is fascinating and amazing.

The sense of pattern and design is a different category of artistic talent, in my observation and estimation. A master, of pattern, form, design detail and art, is an artist. However, the focus on the repetition and integral connection of patterns – for this purpose in a one-dimensional application – is an intensely different pocket of an artistic brain.

And this brings me back to Victor. I want someone in a position to embrace and promote him, in the world  of fabric design and influence, to catapult him to the level to which he can and should aspire. Shout-out to Alegreea and the fabulous designers at Pineda Colavin!!!!!!!

His hummingbirds begin with a pencil drawing and basic “fill” colors at the start.
Working on both clay and wood prefabricated bowls by other artisans, his many layers of colors and details take shape.

With myriad, mostly monotonous, Mexican street/beach artists, Victor is a beacon of light that stands out among the throngs. Once you stop to notice – the work he is creating is astonishingly  unique and beautiful. His designs are laced with meticulous detail, outstanding color combinations captivating and beautiful.

He will paint expeditiously simple works to satisfy the tourists and keep an inventory at the ready for spontaneous purchase – but when he has quiet time and is caught-up on his table of offerings, he creates amazing pieces that are truly remarkable. It is important to note though, that his more expeditious pieces still have a color combination with strokes of accents that still are above and well beyond the common.

He will paint commissions all day long – but left to  his own devices, his creativity is boundless. And, referencing back to the Scandinavian designers, his floral designs are outstanding!

Taking time to examine the world around you and the beauty of detail that awaits, is a joyful experience of great discovery and satisfaction! Not to mention great fun!!!

Fun with Victor, art and design!!!!!

Taking Time to Observe Intimate Details – Observations from Nature

Had I planned this blog, I assure the readers that it would have been more thoughtfully compiled. However, as it is a pure reaction to recent exciting experiences, I am without much fodder that, although was before me, I neglected to document. Such as card racks full of Georgia O’Keefe greeting cards featuring prints of her magnificent work and exact pairings of the amazing landscapes we witnessed with her paintings and her magnified flowers too. Dashing in and out of her distinctive museum just off the Santa Fe Plaza bearing her name and thoughtful work (a MUST see when visiting Santa Fe), to stepping up the steps at the Ghost Ranch Abiquiu property, I didn’t document as I was too busy looking at and absorbing – so much.  Yet without prior planning, I seem to have assembled enough that surprises me and therefore has become the body of this blog, about taking time to look

The striations of color are as though painted – nature and its creator – amazing art and artist.

On this recent road trip and surrounding days in our immediate environs, I experienced inspiring images and pairings, beauty and detail, color and form…that evolved into this blog featuring the landscape and expressive paintings of Georgia O’Keefe. Captivated by the remarkable light and surreal landscape as have been so many artists, O’Keefe settled into the colorful backdrop of Abiquiu where the formations of color, sand, rock, and sky were interwoven with sparse, but all the more beautiful vegetation and flowing water carving its way through the enchanting scenery.  

Georgia O’Keeffe. My Front Yard, Summer, 1941. Oil on canvas, 20 1/16 x 30 1/8 inches. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Gift of The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation. © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. [2006.5.173] Although we did not photo this exact scene, the landscape was just as magical all around us.

Those of you who enjoy taking photos, capturing moments, items and scenes will appreciate the exhilaration and awestruck sense of this humble presentation.

An iconic land form Abiqui, New Mexico

Art and nature. Design and nature. Nature inspires artists and designers with color and proportion. The natural world is a limitless collection of examples of perfection, majesty, detail and form. Living in New Mexico presents amazing opportunities for studying so many offerings from the natural world – verdant valleys and lush bosques to towering mountains, contoured mesas, golden plains, glistening rivers and rainbows of geology rising up from the earth. The sculptural land formations are  what seem other-worldly.  And yet there they are – majestic sculptures against the sky. 

O’Keefe was keenly aware of the extraordinary world she encountered and she captured it through her eyes and expressed through her strokes with fluid sensitivity and sense of color.

Georgia O’Keefe loved and appreciated around the world for her sensitivity and ability, to capture and convey her enchanting surroundings.

Very real and hauntingly beautiful landscape of Ghost Ranch – Abiquiu, New Mexico translated into the sharp, crisp, colors and forms of O’Keefe’s paintings.

Years ago a very dear friend gave me an exceptional gift, of a book. The farther along I progress in this world and enjoy the vast opportunities to appreciate the beauty of nature, limitless boundaries of design, art and all that is produced by talented, creative, observers, treasures such as this have increasingly greater meaning. One Hundred Flowers a 1987 masterpiece collaboration of photographer, publisher, editor and scholars presents an outstanding collection representing this significant subject matter – flowers – that she took time to observe.

Up close and personal…in intimate detail she saw and rendered sensational studies of flowers. Expanded to enormous scale well beyond their reality, these explosions of color and contrast, fluid form and detail are amazing to encounter. Even in the pages of this stunning book her work is startling. In person it is awe-inspiring.

Upon returning from the Abiquiu visit, I retrieved  my beautiful book. I took great joy in the dust cover – suitable for framing. A brilliant white squash blossom captivates, before even opening the cover. As I leafed through these large format pages in this lovely, exquisitely bound tome, I realized that, within a week prior to this O’Keefe familiarization trip, I have taken photos of flowers for a similar reason as she  – stopping to look and observe their singular beauty amidst all else in the surrounds. 

Unknowingly, a couple of days earlier I captured this spectaculalr squash blossom that had survived our first frost.

Just a few days prior to the Abiqui visit, while walking among the petroglyphs at the base of the dramatic black volcanic rock rubble of our west mesa, we came upon a singular, stellar squash blossom. Having survived recent frosts, this one was luminous and brilliant among so many other spent blossoms dried and shriveled away for the season. It was irresistible.

Little did I know, at the time we encountered this beauty of a squash blossom, that I would soon revisit O’Keefe’s studies of this wild and magnificent bloom.

Here more studies from the One Hundred Flowers book featuring this dazzling white squash blossom.

In the design world, we often quote architect and furniture designer Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1886-1969), one of the founders of modern architecture and an advocate for the simplicity of style with his popular phrase “less is more.”  I felt that O’Keefe’s interpretations distilled the forms of her subjects to the essential elements that best conveyed them in a manner of simplicity. Her flowers are bold and clear sweeps and contours, of the design of each. Distilling to these essential elements is the practice of “less is more.”

Her bell-flower trumpets of petunias and hollyhocks in purples, pinks and even arresting blacks reminded me of a photo that I took less than two weeks prior to enjoying my book for this study.

However, she was not sparing with color nor scale. Fabulously daring color combinations and contrasts are signatures of her interpretations along with her magnificent sense of magnification – presenting bold gifts to we, her viewers.  

The opening of the book quotes O’Keefe about her profound appreciation for a flower.

“A flower is relatively small. Everyone has many associations with a flower – the idea of flowers. You put out your hand to touch the flower – lean forward to smell it – maybe touch it with your lips almost without thinking – or give it to someone to please them. Still – in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t time – and to see takes time like to have a friend takes time. If I could paint the flower exactly as I see it no one would see what I see because I would paint it small like the flower is small. So I said to my self – I’ll paint what I see – what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it – “   Georgia O’Keefe “About Myself,”  1939

Be surprised. Be inspired. Be aware of your surroundings, for all the beauty of nature and its influence.  Embrace color and contrast, punctuations and accents. Take time. How might your next design project reflect observations from nature?

Upholster a Rock?

Some fabrics are just so fabulous that they can carry a design scheme. You could wrap a rock with them and feel that they are accomplishing the design statement to set the theme, mood and encourage interest, if not confidence in comfort! Stimulating the senses is a major part of design.

Often, a throw pillow can make an effective accent. We joke often when we find exclusive fabrics in the hundreds of dollars a yard and say “Perhaps a throw pillow?” Knowing that the projects affording such luxury for miles of drapery panels are few and far between!

Duralee offers statement furniture pieces of unpretentious luxury and comfort with a collection of fine fabrics that will satisfy any budget. Birds take flight from this delightful Duralee pattern.

Sight Sound Smell Taste and Touch – you know. Colors and textures catch one’s attention. They set the mood.

Upon entering a space you take-in the colors and textures and if fabric is in play.With further tactile examination fabric contributes greatly to these two sensory perceptions – sight and touch.

This playful Donghia organic has fuzzy tactile balls sprouting from the linear twigs. From the “ground” to all the intertwining and overlaying weaves, the complexity of textiles is exciting. Come see these exceptional designer fabrics in our studio.
Many fabrics have multiple colorways. If you see an intriguing fabric that’s not “your color”, its worth asking about the entire collection.

Juxtaposition can also be an effective technique. When placing a modern pattern on a vintage piece, you breathe new life into the forgotten history – refreshing and capturing the best of both worlds!

You might not have a lot of confidence in someone who wants to wrap a rock to make a design statement. However, my point is, when you love something you want it regardless of the delivery system! Find fabrics that you love and insert them into your rooms – home or office. It’s like your favorite flavor. Sweet or savory – slather it on a piece of cardboard and you’ll be significantly satisfied. You need not struggle with how to do it – just make it happen. So to get a little taste of an exciting textile, make a table runner, simple dining chair seats, select a backing and make a throw or an accent pillow. Bring the joy of exciting textiles into your interiors.

Here are a series of fun fabrics from our source library – tools of the trade. We LOVE fabrics and must touch the texture, feel the weight and evaluate the colors. Seeing images on-line do NOT do justice to the many incredibly creative textiles are available to enhance interiors.

Cute critters march across this sophisticated yet whimsically novel woven.

 

Other considerations not necessarily in evidence are the wear-ability/durability of a fabric and the resistance to ultraviolet rays, mildew and other elements. Wool is inherently flame retardant, for example. And exteriors have come alive as these amazing performance textiles will often fool you in disbelief that they have the properties to withstand the radiating ultra-violet rays of the sun and damp conditions which invite mold and mildew. These incredible fabrics are truly indoor-outdoor in appearance and extraordinary performance!

High-performance luxury weaves such as jacquards, piques, tapestries, matelassé, ottomans, damasks and sheers defy their extraordinary performance properties.

Roy Hamilton a recognized designer in many media, brings fresh patterns to Chella.  Roy Hamilton, designer of exclusive ceramics, sculptural and textural interior elements and fabrics for over sixty years.

Call for an appointment to explore our source library for the most unique fabrics in the world!

Floor-to-ceiling shelves of samples await your exploration for commercial and residential application!! You can order most textiles by the yard!

The Wealth of Art That is Our Elegant Library of Congress

If the Basilica in my last blog didn’t get your juices flowing about incredible public art spaces, the Library of Congress was our next stop. Yes, it houses nearly everything having to do with writing, recording, documenting…but the building itself is amazing! It in itself is a wealth of artistic detailing. The interior has more gold leaf – not gold paint – but hammered metal gold leaf – than any other building in our Nation’s Capital. Inside and out, the craftsmanship of the stone carvings and architectural embellishments is magnificent. This inestimable landmark is so much more than the sober name suggests.

We parked in the garage of Union Station and walked the few blocks past the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building to our destination of the Library of Congress. The brilliant blue skies behind the bright white edifices belied what some regarded as the oppressive heat. I however am a heat freak – it’s summer – bring it on!

Columbus Fountain at Union Station also known as the Columbus Memorial is a public artwork by American sculptor  Lorado Taft, located serves as a tribute to the explorer Christopher Columbus.
The Supreme Court – cool, brilliant white against a striking blue sky – at 100 °
Crouching to get a shot of our Nation’s Capitol Building.

Symbolism is executed with every inch of the design details both inside and out of the imposing Library of Congress. Ascending the exterior stairs sets the stage for arriving at a monument of immeasurable wealth of human dissertation and history. Here I can only touch on the tip of the iceberg…

Picnic tables out front at our Library of Congress…relax, grab and bite and read a bit before going back to work!!!

From an inauspicious beginning of modest expectations to greater expanses with devastating fiery catastrophes in between, the Library of Congress has an amazing story. Thomas Jefferson played a significant role in re-building the foundation of what we now have today.

While waiting for the tour to begin in the magnificent Thomas Jefferson building, we were directed to two remarkably entertaining exhibits on the lower level – a Gershwin gathering and a Hope homage.

The George and Ira Gershwin Room is a tribute to the two brothers and their contribution to American music. This nostalgic and very familiar subject matter makes you hum and tap your toes. The exhibit presents George’s piano and custom-designed writing desk, Ira’s table and typewriter, self portraits and myriad documents that trace their lives and amazing careers.

The Hope for America Exhibit focuses on the varied careers of Bob Hope along with other recognizable entertainers. The exhibit offers the satirical humor – crossing party lines – both socially and politically for which Hope was so appreciated, admired and beloved. Hope received the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his commitment, in his nearly 50 year service, entertaining the men and women of the armed forces abroad.

As the actual tour began, we were introduced with a short film as an overview of what was to come. We were then guided up a staircase and gathered in what was a most astonishingly beautiful, expansive space full of piercing, daylight, sunbeams glancing off incredibly detailed architectural stone carving and sculpture. Vast murals, vaults and arches in the 360 degrees of beauty from floor to voluminous ceiling was staggering.

” Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark the imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions.” Thomas Jefferson stepped-in to save the Library of Congress after a few inauspicious starts.  Not enough time devoted here to a history lesson – learn more at https://www.loc.gov/  –   but this grand space into which we entered is the Thomas Jefferson Building.

The focus of this blog is to share a bit of the art and decorative embellishments of this stunning architectural environment – beginning with the Commemorative Arch by Olin L. Warner (1844-1896) featuring a young man to the left and a bearded elder man on the right signifying that the process of learning never ceases…

Grand staircases on opposing sides of the space are adorned with carvings of “putti” – Italian for little boys – as they are pictured representing various occupations from gardeners to astronomers – the depiction of each vocation is fascinating with what it means to have that respective knowledge to pursue one’s career path.

Beneath the string of putti are representations of the 4 corners of the globe depicting figures of each, Asia paired with Europe and American paired with Africa.

Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Learning and Wisdom is aptly featured in a series of statues and images.

Most fascinating to me, up in an adjacent domed ceiling area was the “Evolution of the Written Word,” a series of lunettes by John White Alexander (1856-11915). Having previously written about the importance of handwriting for a million reasons that go beyond, but are directly connected to, this depicted evolution, I found this to be simple, yet profound. It is a beautifully rendered and fascinatingly distilled artistic expression of a very significant timeline. Beginning with The Cairn – we see them stacked stones on beaches for fun and on paths in the wilderness as markers, but here Alexander renders primitive man communicating by stacking stones to possibly mark the dead, a passage or a place of significance. 

As the history progresses, Oral Tradition becomes the means of communication – but only/obviously in personal contact. Words are created. Then Egyptian Hieroglyphics enter the scene with images representing words depicted on surfaces.

Picture Writing on animal skin – and ultimately more refined to vellum – becomes a more mobile means of communication.

Theologians recording ancient stories of biblical history brought monks to the art of the written word in compilations of the Bible as the first manuscripts/books became recorded.

And then an exponential leap in communication came with the invention of John Gutenberg ca. 1400-1468 of the Printing Press! Asia had its versions of printing machines even before Gutenberg, but inspired by seeing grapes at harvests being “pressed,” he put that concept into the process of placing individual letters in place and pressing them onto paper. Western Europe then had a movable metal type process that increased productivity of printed material – printing the first ……in Western Europe. The tour guide sadly explained to us that Gutenberg died a pauper as his investors, not patient with economic fluctuations, excused him from his rightful place in the business and left him to live out his life only to receive proper recognition posthumously.

It is the first complete book extant in the West and is also the earliest to be printed from movable type. This rare version is printed on vellum.

Unfortunately, at this point in the tour, we had to excuse ourselves with a quick wave and thanks to our guide as we were departing later that afternoon. Before leaving the building though, we dashed upstairs to discover the main Reading Room – entering from a way upper tier, we had a bird’s-eye view of this grand space. The scale was daunting and the spectacular architectural detail was breath-taking. The WOW-factor was palpable!

The Reading Room.

Eight giant marble columns each support 10-foot-high allegorical female figures in plaster representing characteristic features of civilized life and thought: Religion, Commerce, History, Art, Philosophy, Poetry, Law and Science.

Layer upon layer of intricate, symbolic details.

The 16 bronze statues upon the balustrades of the galleries are a tribute to men whose lives symbolized the thought and activity represented by the plaster statues.

Shhhhhhhhh……it’s the Reading Room

And with that – we only had enough experience and education about this incredible resource and monument of artistic beauty to whet our appetite for more and surely lure us there again for more information about all that comprises this amazing public gift and resource.  

Ta Da!!! Seriously – standing there in awe…taken with my phone!

There are so many wonderful things to see and do – get out there and see it!!!

Mosaic Majesty at the National Shrine

Artistically embellished architectural splendor is an understatement for all the wonders that await when visiting our Nation’s Capitol. Washington, D.C. is my home town. Growing up inside the Beltway, venturing into the District for work or pleasure was once my norm.  I know I took it for granted. Like many, when one lives and plays in a place, it often becomes routine. Work the same place, drive the same route, play in the same spots…unless there is a special concert to catch or event prompted by others to attend, one often misses the wonders that are right around the corner.

Therefore, when I visit, I try to make it a point to investigate and experience things I have never seen or things that I haven’t seen for quite some time. This visit featured the grand dome of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

It was the focus of our outing, but the surrounding chapels and all there was to see became such an educational and eye-candy dazzling afternoon of mosaic artistry that our eyes and neck were fatigued from staring at the details and craning to view the enormous vaulted expanses of blazing glory.

Lest you think I exaggerate, know that the majesty of the iconic images have been rendered in such exquisite detail and with such amazing colors of tiny, precisely placed tiles that the work makes you gasp and say “whoa” at every turn.

And this is just touring the many spectacular chapels on the way to the nave where the vaulted domed ceilings explode with color, detailed imagery and astonishingly expansive scale! It is then, upon entering this awe-inspiring space, that gasps and whoa fall away to near breathless speechlessness as eyes well with tears at the splendor.  

The detail was similar to that of the magnificent mosques we experienced in Istanbul – but there, we walked in and BAM the spectacular space was huge and instantly revealed – definite WOW factor – but here at the Basilica, it was a fascinating process of discovery as we investigated each chapel and made our way up to the grand expanse of the vaulted nave.

I am not going to give you a guided tour of what we experienced, nor am I going to attempt to convey any aspect of the historical tracings of the biblical references…but I am going to attempt to impart the beauty and artistry that one doesn’t have to be a catholic to appreciate. Photos can’t begin to accomplish what it takes to get the full effect of these amazing designs, patterns, details…

Marble columns throughout the Basilica are identified by place of origin of the stone.

I encourage everyone to experience this majestic edifice and the beautiful grounds towering above the trees in NE Washington, D.C.. It will not disappoint. https://www.nationalshrine.org/