Stylish notes in decor :: The Eames Chair


Better Homes and Gardens

I have a thing for chairs. All sorts of them. Lately, I've been noticing Eames chairs all over the place, or so it seems - perfect pops of color punctuate all sorts of different styles in decor. I'm seeing them in rooms that are both formal and casual - kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms- every room, really. When I think of these chairs I think of my youth - the days I spent with my mother at work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. They weren't the most comfortable to sit on - from what I can recall. But even as a child I found them visually striking - bright pieces of molded plastic sitting atop of thin metal legs. I spent a fair amount of time, during my younger years, at the museum, both in the offices and wandering through the exhibitions. I recall these chairs mostly in the museum - I don't think anyone I knew had them in their homes. I have a fondness for these chairs that are a perfect combination of design, architecture and function. They just make me smile. My grandparents were dear friends with the Eames, and therefore it seems only fitting that I should write a post about the iconic Eames chair. There are several versions, rockers, leather, and lounge chairs but it is the simple plastic chair that has captured my memory and my heart.

via Vitra

Charles Eames was born 1907 in St. Louis, Missouri and studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. He opened an office with Charles M. Gray in 1930 and 5 years later, in 1935, he founded another architectural firm with Robert T. Walsh. After receiving a fellowship in 1938 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, he moved to Michigan and assumed a teaching position in the design department the following year. In 1940, he and Eero Saarinen won first prize for their joint entry in the competition "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. During the same year, Eames became head of the department of industrial design at Cranbrook.  He married Ray Kaiser in 1941.

Ray Eames, nΓ©e Bernice Alexandra Kaiser, was born in Sacramento, California in 1912. She attended the May Friend Bennet School in Millbrook, New York, and continued her studies in painting under Hans Hofmann through 1937. During this year she exhibited her work in the first exhibition of the American Abstract Artists group at the Riverside Museum in New York. She matriculated at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1940. 

via Vitra

The Eames were among the most influential designers of their era with major contributions to furniture, architecture, film and graphics. They were pioneers in the molding of plywood which was developed from their experiments and projects for the United States Navy during WW2. Their association with the museum dates back to the 1940s. 


via Indulgy


via Houzz

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

via Refinery 29

via Lonny

via Design Sponge

via Soho House Berlin

Ilse Crawford

Jessica

Stylish notes on Decor :: Yellow, does it cut the mustard?

Albert Hadley via Mark D Sikes

Yellow. Happy cheery, sunny... bright, vibrant, golden, buttery, pale, citron, pastel... The color is as diverse and malleable as can be. It complements every color available, is suited to any climate, room, style and personality. Yellow is a bold and proud color and was favorited by such legendary designers as Albert Hadley and Nancy Lancaster. A simple accessory has enough strength to become a statement piece. An entire room painted in a bright or bold yellow suggests the owner is self confident, strong - not fearful of color or design. A room painted in a muted or softer tone is gentler on the eyes, more relaxing than her brighter, more energetic counterpart. Whether your style is traditional or contemporary there is a shade of this jubilant hue that is perfect for everyone.

Albert Hadley via Mark D Sikes

Albert Hadley Park Ave Apt

via Pinterest - Original source unknown

Tobi Farley via Traditional Home

via At Home Decor

via CBID Home Decor

via Decorpad

via Mix and Chic

via Tumblr

via Tumblr

Nancy Lancaster - ElleDecor
Which yellow are you? Sunshine? Yellow? Buttercup?
Are you a little bit or a whole lotta yellow kinda gal?
Jessica

Stylish Notes on Decor :: The Incredible World of Andrew Martin International



While in London we had the incredible privilege of being given a private tour of the Andrew Martin showroom on Walton Street. My British compadres, and there are many of you now, if you haven't visited you simply must! In this shop my camera had the most sordid affair! The interior is a harmonious mix of old and new - It is eclectic, creative, whimsical, colorful, thought provoking, and provocative. A pure delight the senses. It's busy and bright, bold and fun.  This showroom is sensory overdrive -  a veritable playground for the senses! The Andrew Martin staff was as magnificent as all the goods within. They were warm, friendly, knowledgeable and deeply hospitable.


Founded in 1978, by Andrew Waller, Andrew Martin International is a UK brand with global authority within the world of interior design. The objects d'art within comprised of wide range of fabrics, wallpapers, furniture and home accessories are all inspired by a unique mix of cultures, nostalgia and decades. Andrew Martin International is the go-to place for tastemakers in search of individual interiors with a twist.

The Andrew Martin aesthetic draws inspiration from a kaleidoscope combination of cultures and eras. Its ideology is to surprise, stimulate and entertain; its aim, to bring its multilayered, multicultural, easy living style. The showroom has been described as "like stepping into Aladdin's Cave, with an almost bonkers mix of beautiful and enormous objects that shouldn't go together, yet somehow do." -

There are currently 17 Andrew Martin locations which include Dubai, St. Petersberg, Moscow, Athens, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai,  Pasadena, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Visit any one of them and become immersed in a truly unique brand experience that boasts an eclectic, glamorous mix of product.

For more information please visit the Andrew Martin Website. Meanwhile, I do hope you enjoy my visual tour and become inspired! 

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House


Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

Jessica Gordon Ryan/The Entertaining House

XOXO,

Jessica

Notes on decor :: The Color Purple

via New England Home

I grew up in colorful homes. Where most of my friends' homes boasted white or cream or pale lemon walls, the ones in my home were bright bold, happy and sophisticated.

As I sit around my small, temporary, rental home, thinking of topics to write about I am struck by the whiteness of it all. At first I welcomed these walls devoid of color. They were calm, tranquil, peaceful... but my ADD personality soon grew bored with them. Now I could paint every room in this house, but I would have to repaint them back and since I have no idea how long I will be here for, I'm quite certain that's an expense I would like to avoid at the moment. Accent pieces, furniture, pillows, rugs, flowers are taking care of my color fix at the moment. But I do wonder how much longer I will be able to refrain myself...

I saw a photograph on Pinterest the other day that caught my attention. The above a room painted in purple. (Not wild, crazy, hallucinogenic purple, but a calmer, more peaceful, more subdued violet.) The room had a graceful sophistication - This purple worked. I loved it!

I searched around for more images of purple rooms that seemed not to scream children's playroom, cheap motel, amusement park, disco or brothel... because purple can be tough to work with... Let's be honest, purple can be cheap and tacky. But the images I found show purple to be graceful and elegant... soothing and yet energizing... mature and sophisticated, yet youthful and whimsical.

via The Brooklyn Company

via Architectural Digest

ElleDecor

via House Beautiful

via Tumblr

Would you consider the color purple?

XOXO,

Jessica

Pink & Green in the Home... Classic and Preppy, Modern and Edgy

Everywhere I look I see pink and green... I don't live in Palm Beach and while I do live in a very preppy community it's still cool here and we New Englanders/New Yorkers tend to dress in mostly dark and sombre colors this time of year - at least until the temperatures start to climb. Then, slowly we tend to shed our layers and our colorful and vibrant personalities are exposed. But we are still a couple of weeks away from trading our blacks and greys to pink and greens... or whatever cheery color combination you prefer. A very elegant room caught my eye the other day. It was dressed entirely in pinks and greens. It caught my attention and captured my eye and made me smile. It was a perfect combination of sophistication and whimsy. And so I did a little research to find other rooms dressed in pink and greens. While some were quite obviously too "little girl" for me, and too "prissy," others were not. I would even go so far to say some were modern and edgy, others almost masculine (with the addition of charcoal or black). I'd like to know what you think. Would you have a pink and green bedroom?

original source unknowns
This was the image that initially caught my eye, I loved it for it's bold and dramatic play on the colors. Nothing prissy about the color combination here!


Andrea Brooks Interiors

original source unknown

ElleDecor

original source unknown

Anne Hepper Projects

original source unknown

original source unknown

via Decor8

House Beautiful

original source unknown
 Canadian House and Home

Southern Living

Madcap Cottage

Country Living

Beckworth Interiors

So now, after looking at all these images, what do you think about pink and green in the home. Could you do it? Would you?

XOXO,
Happy Friday!
(Wahoo!)

Jessica










Green with Envy :: Decorating with Green

Tory Burch's Living Room. In love with all of the green...especially that sofa!
Tory Burch's Living Room via Habitually Chic

Truth be told I disliked green for many years. I really don't know why but it never sat quite right with me. If you had asked me what my favorite color was I most likely would have said blue. Pale blues (and now bright and darker blues) have been my favorites for years. Blue (more specifically periwinkle) was my bedroom color in two of my past homes. It was tranquil, soothing and relaxing. My bedroom became my oasis, my sanctuary. The rest of my home was painted in bright and energetic colors. It wasn't until my last home that I decided to use the color green. I'd always grown up with green kitchens. My mother's kitchens were green as were her mother's. So when I looked to repaint the kitchen in my last home I looked to green, naturally.

I love the look below of the dark green, rich woods and the white subway tile, but our cabinets had more of a yellow undertone to them, and not blue... so I would need to find a brighter green.

Dark Green Kitchens | House & Home
via Canadian House and Home


Green kitchens
via Attic Mag

The green above (how I love that tile) resembles the green that I used to paint my walls. I had chosen Benjamin Moore's Leaf Green and it fit the room perfectly. We had a large eating space with large bay windows and large skylights overhead that looked over the large backyard that was bordered by thick, tall pines. It was almost as thought we were dining outside. The green paint was a way of bringing the outdoors inside... and this is when green became a favorite color of mine. Peaceful, energetic and at one with nature are the feelings that this room evoked.

I've since moved and I'm in a rental for the moment. While lovely and charming and full of character, (my home was built in 1941) the antique white walls are crisp and refreshing but they lack the personality and energy I am so used to. Of course I could paint, but then I would have to paint everything back to it's original state and that seems to me to be a waste of time and money. Instead, I will dream of the greens I will one day use in my home... 

lovely green nook
via Emily Clark Design


Tumblr
via Tumblr

And we ought not rule out green as an accessory... whether it be in a rug, curtains, a piece of furniture or a decorative piece such as a lamp or vase....


office space via @Adore Home magazine  www.adoremagazine...
via Adore Home Magazine


Green Spool Chair in the Bedroom
via House Beautiful



Polka Dot, styling by Emma Clayton; Photography by Joanna Henderson
via Bright Bazar



Love the door color...bold!
via Tartanscott

I do love this leaf green front door!

So what do you think? Are you green with envy?

XOXO


Jessica



If your walls could talk, what would they say about you?

I like to fill my space. I do not like blank spaces. Perhaps because when I was taught how to paint on a canvass my art teacher was insistent that there be no white showing at all. We were to cover our canvasses completely. I feel the same about writing. I love my pages filled, scribbled, scratched, complete with the written word from top to bottom. I prefer to write in pen in lieu of on my laptop but I digress. My walls can't be bare either. My house feels naked - bare -exposed - raw - incomplete when there is too much white space on my walls. I like them covered with as much of my personal history as possible.

I like my walls, like my home, to tell a story. My walls, complete with photographs, artwork and pictures by the children reflect my style, my story... my personal history. My walls are not fully covered at the moment. It's a work in progress and I am working on it.

The same way a bookcase needs books, a bed needs pillows (the more the merrier) and a closet needs clothes, walls, in my opinion, need frames and artifacts. Lots and lots of them. The more the merrier, in my opinion. These help to add personality and warmth to a home. They personalize a space and make it your own.

As you'll see below there are many ways you can cover up the 'white' space on your walls. Whether you prefer to group or cluster pictures, line an entire wall, or cover a segment of a wall, there's a lot you can do determined on your taste and style. Maybe you want to stick to a monotone theme, or perhaps an antique theme. But there are those who like to combine the old and the new, modern and classic. There's no reason why children's artwork can't live on a wall peacefully with an expensive watercolor and family photographs. It's all in the presentation and how you group your pictures together. If you have a single, large piece of art, let it occupy the space and draw attention to itself. Personally, I adore the look of many framed pictures, together, leaning on shelves against a wall. Below I have chosen some wonderful examples of how you can warm up your walls as well.

...
Pinterest

Google Image Result for http://blog.arcadianlighting.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/7-Dorm-Fall-Finds.jpg
original source unknown

entryway
Pinterest


LOVE the picture wall!!



wonderful horizontal arrangement
Kevin Corn

beautiful
Tumblr

Amazing photo gallery in Steven Gambrel's barn makeover
Southern Living

blue and white- oscar connecticut
home of Oscar de la Renta

Polaroid / Instagram wall
Poppy Talk


White & Wander
source unknown


sophistication.
Tumblr

Love
Pinterest

world of interiors
Word of Interiors

vignette
Canadian House and Home

Simple and stunning
Tumblr

Gallery walls


bench + shelves + frames
Holly Mathis Interiors

Simply GORGEOUS!!! house beautiful october 2012 amanda lindroth bahamas
via Quintessence Blog

How To Hang Artwork - Art Display ideas - ELLE DECOR
elledecor.com 

nice job on wall art
Pinterest

If your walls could talk right now, what would they say about you?

XOXO,

Jessica

Color me Happy ... It's Monday!

I love color. I love colors. Bright. Happy. Energetic. Colors make me smile. Both in my outfits and in my home I need a splash of color. Don't get me wrong, I adore all white and I love black for it's sexy, demure and sublime qualities but color is where it's at (for me). Give me yellows and oranges, bright blues and greens, reds and hot pinks. Give them all to me, in splashes, in touches or in great big vats. When I moved to my new home in April I fell in love with the whiteness of it all... the crisp white trim, the soft off-white walls so wonderfully complemented the gorgeous hardwood floors and were immediately illuminated by the over-sized window in the living room where the sunlight danced in. White is beautiful. It is calm and serene, but it is not me. I need color. Big bold splashes of it. I will not repaint these walls but I will find other ways to add color back into our lives. Not pale, soothing color, but big, bold color! As you will see below there are so many ways to add color to your living space. Even a small amount can create a large pop! Paint the walls or not. Toss in some colorful pillows, rugs, or simply brighten the room with bold accessories and art. Whichever you choose to best reflect your own personal style, there are many ways to make your living space a colorful one!

COLORS!
source unknnown


15 Most Colorful Apartments Presented on Freshome in 2011
Ideas to Steal


bedroom brights
Matters of Style


Chairs as rainbow.
via Real Simple


/
via Houzz


Love the colors!
original publication unknown


coffee table
Pinterest

Blue lamp, yellow picture on the wall - works wonderfully!
Caitlin Creer Interiors


Living Room :: love all the pops of color! Is this Anna Spiro?
Pinterest


rainbow stairs
House Beautiful


Color, Windows, Brick, Chandelier and lemons
House Beautiful


MASH by Tiffany


Colorful art. <3
House Beautiful


Large colorful painting + neutral sofa, by Liz Caan Interiors
Liz Caan for Made by Girl

   

 Make your Monday sparkle, make it shine... Make it a colorful Monday!

Love,

Jessica