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Regular readers may remember us enthusing abut by Cornelia Parker’s, 30 Pieces of Silver on display at London’s Tate Modern
We can’t help wondering if it was the inspiration for Vos Kristall’s Flight Chandelier.
Their twist on a traditional chandelier involves each element being individually suspended. The light comes from four recessed, trimless LEDs, a trick they are able to carry off with confidence as their sister company is VOS LED, well known for doing clever things with the increasingly popular environmentally friendly light sources.
The chandelier is incredibly flexible and can be configured in various ways to suit the space, in a choice of colours and tints. The overall effect is ghost like and ethereal.
Vos Kristall are looking for a US distributor but are happy to ship to the States.
I just can’t take it, these are absolutely great!
Do I really have to blog about this or will just the photos do and I shut up for once?
Well, here’s the gist to keep you in the know.
Created by Stephen Newby of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK we give you the Full Blown Metal line of, well… blown metal pillow sculptures/mirrors/furniture and anything else, it seems, that you never realized could be created from stainless steel pillows.
Oblong pyramids are cascading waterfalls comprising blown stainless steel pillows arranged into a pyramid structure. The project was commissioned by Unique Interiors who also supplied all the furniture .
Water flow clings to each highly polished surface, following different paths in the creases of the blown steel as it decends* L 1.6m / H 90cm
Stainless steel and soft leather seat* H 90cm /W 80cm /D 75cm
Centre piece bowl* W 50cm (large size)
Modular stainless steel pillow screen, for use as room divider. The design employs a vertical hinge system to allow the screen to fold up or be repositioned – model shown: H 1.6m / W 1.6m / pillow size 33cm square.
Water wall in polished stainless steel with attached pillows that appear to float in mid air in front of the moving water * H 2m / W 1m
We come across a lot of fabrics, wallpapers, furniture, all sorts of things that we see a place for in clients’ homes, things we like, things we admire.
And every now and then we find things we really want for ourselves. That’s what happened when we visited the Original BTC showroom in London’s Chelsea Harbour.
Original BTC were formed by Peter Bowles, a man taken with the elegance of industrial design and steeped in the tradition of production in places like Stoke on Trent, where BTC have a factory producing their bone china and Birmingham, where their copper and brass lights are produced.
They are looking for a US distributor but will ship to the States now.
There is an enduring elegance that comes from design which follows function, and our favourite pieces are those which are closest to the industrial elements which provide the inspiration.
That said, we love the whimsy behind the “Tea” range, inspired by the 1930s tableware that was originally produced by what is now BTC’s Stoke on Trent factory, we covet the “Drop” range which, we agree, would make a statement above any dining table or entrance hall and we have completely fallen for the warmth of the brass and copper hammered “Stanley” lights.
And one more thing, notice the cord? It’s a lovely woven cotton braid, none of that perfunctory plastic cable here!
Feel free to download the Original BTC catalogue, which will provide you with endless lighting inspiration.
The Drop Range. Matt or gloss, a great statement piece. And then, someone’s cup of tea? How about these for English whimsy?
This is what I personally fell in love with. Part of the Stanley range in solid brass, Of course that also means I need a bigger kitchen!
And, then, for a new addition to the BTC range, the London, I need a tidier office!
THE MUSEUMS
Yes I know, it’s not like they’re an insider tip, I think London’s museums may not need too much in the way of PR from me. But they are great and must be mentioned in the “Ten things….” blog or else I will never ever be permitted to set foot in London again. So what, you rightfully ask, are my favorite things within those museums? While the exhibits are great and the Tate Modern contains one of my favorite exhibits ever, I will have to say it’s the sheer architecture itself that keeps me returning again and again. Before I jump into that I want to also point out that museums in London are free, although a donation is appreciated, and I always marvel at how crowded they are and how often I find people just there to idle, or to sketch or a dad explaining the concept of mummies to his five year old. Museums in London are a living, breathing part of a living, breathing city. Culture as part of life, not an afterthought.
The grande dame of museums surely, the building’s Greek revival exterior (opened to the public in 1759) belies the Great Court the main doors open onto. The largest covered square in Europe, the effect of the glass dome over blinding white stone surfaces never ceases to amaze. It is a glass and steel construction made with 1656 uniquely shaped panes of glass, for those of you who need numbers.
In stark contrast to the British Museum’s classic exterior comes now the forbidding facade of the Tate Modern, a former power station complete with turbine halls that house larger than life exhibits. My favorite however is by Cornelia Parker, 30 pieces of silver and I must say images just don’t do it justice, so just get over there. Hey, Richard Branson!! I need a ppc ad here!!
The other favorite at the Tate is not in the Tate, it’s the view from it. It’s one of views of London I love the most and having drinks at the bar on the top floor while looking at this is pretty hard to beat.
And as usual when I get going I can’t stop, so I will put together a part two to talk about two more favorites.
To everyone around me, my love for London is not a secret and when I get that faraway gaze which usually indicates an anecdote, family members tend to excuse themselves and scurry off, faster than I can say high tea.
High tea is actually a bad example since that implies posh London in a way and it’s not posh, the London I love.
So what about Veronika’s London?
Here are a few tidbits of the things that matter to me the most and since they all have a little story I may have to break this into a little collection of things to do and places to see in a city t hat was, and always will be, a contradiction onto itself.
A lovely place to stay….The Main House in Notting Hill.
My first visit to London in many years and I was desperate to find a place that was not opulent but stylish, not touristy but in a vibrant part of town. The search took a while since I can be selective in that area but then, on Concierge.com, I found it.
The Main House is small, only four rooms, but the feel is that of a stylish home, not a hotel or a B&B.
Caroline Main, the owner, could have easily squeezed in another room or two, but opted for lavish bathrooms instead.
The top floor is a little suite with a separate bedroom, a living space and bath.
Portobello Road being in walking distance makes this the perfect place for both, a romantic weekend and a hub from which to go perusing antiques and thrift shops or taking a slightly longer, but lovely walk through Notting Hill towards Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.
Speaking of Kensington Gardens, a brand new exhibit at the Palace showcases rooms designed by various designers and actors, including Vivienne Westwood, to tell the stories of the people who lived there.
Tea and coffee are brought to your room in the morning but breakfast is not available in the Main House. For that we have Tom’s deli, Tom being Terrence Conran’s son, just around the corner. A veritable Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium of foods and chocolates and as much a feast for the eye as a lovely place to sit and take in the Notting Hill crowd.
Not even a glimpse of Hugh Grant by the way… ever.
Caroline, I am proud to say, has welcomed me with open arms at the Main House and remains a very dear friend.
Stick with this blog for more on London, featuring Borough Market, Columbia Road, Spitalfields, the museums and some hidden gems along the way.
When she collected an OBE from the British Queen, Vivian Westwood dressed in a transparent dress, no knickers and a strategically placed fig leaf. It didn’t stop her from becoming a Dame in 2006. She walked out of the premiere of “Sex and the City” ten minutes into the film, saying the clothes, presumably excluding the featured wedding dress she had designed, were frumpy. It is believed that she later contacted the producers about being involved in a sequel. She told people not to buy her clothes, was pictured on the cover of Tattler wearing the ‘never delivered’ suit destined for then British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher. She was there at the birth of punk, made t-shirts that we just aren’t going to put on this blog and, well, we love her.
Vivian Westwood is a mess of fascinating contradictions and a crafts person supreme. So it is hardly surprising that her furnishings, rugs, cushions and wallpapers are creative, beautifully detailed and sought after. Maybe the only real surprise is that some, ok, not all, are so user friendly.
We’ve put together some of our favourite Westwood home decoration pieces. They have been around a while but we think there is no harm in reminding people about the things we really love.
Vivian’s inspirations are as varied as her political pronouncements. And her work is just as bold. The squiggle on the rug is based on her signature,. The same design is available as wallpaper. The tartan on the wallpaper will be familiar to those who know her clothing and the insects wallpaper is based on something from the wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth the first.
And for those who are more familiar with her work back in the 70’s, don’t worry, there’s not a single naked cowboy on show this time!
The wall papers, some intricate, some bold are available from Cole and Son. The rugs, perhaps too special/expensive to walk on, are available from The Rug Company, along with designs by the likes of Paul Smith and their own very impressive collection.
If you want to know more about Vivian, check out her Active Resistance Web Site and her clothing range.
Every once in a while I catch myself totally aware of my love for a trend. I’ll be completely enraptured with a color or a style and will go ape-shit crazy hunting it down and buying it up well aware, albeit sadly, that the love affair will end in one or two short seasons.
I’ve been pretty whack-a-doodle crazy about white walls for a while. I keep waiting for it to pass, hesitant to paint yet another room in my house white, wondering what will come next. Well, apparently next up is white. Yep, 2 years into my love affair with crisp walls, I renewed my trend-vows when I stumbled upon the interiors of Nacho Polo. That’s Nacho Polo Spanish designer, not to be confused with Nacho the Polo player from Argentina, who’s hotty hotness was featured in this month’s Elle Decor.
Let’s see if you all are still smitten with white as well:
Ok, so this may be the meeting ground for every single trend of 2009 (hello bust and metallic gold tile) but you can’t fight me on the awesomeness of this space. You just can’t.
I am a fan of monochromatic texture. Especially if it’s white and anchored by a sexy black lamp at the end of the hallway.
There’s that bust again.
Prey tell, why would you paint your walls any other color with that sort of architectural detail and groovy view?
This must be the room we were seeing at the end of the white hallway. And this is a list of things I love: those chairs, that candelabra. Lovelovelove.
For those of you who need a little more pattern mixed in with your white (I’m guilty of this a-plenty) Nacho brings stripes to the game.
And what better color to accent your large scale soft core artwork? Yep, you got it.
Posted on 
Wed, 24 Mar 2010 by midcenturyjo
At times elegant, luxe but contemporary, understated but shocking. It’s the fuchsia focus. Today I’m stalking this Woollahra, Sydney house on a scale that most of us can only dream about. Lessons to be learned? The eye is drawn out from the interiors to the stunning outdoor spaces. That’s a bold statement colour choice. The more personal spaces are intimate and monotone with only the occasional reference to THAT wall colour. It’s a play between deep dark and bright bold, shadows and light, serious and fun.
More from Desire to Inspire
This piece is brought to us by Ally at “From the Right Bank”
If you’ve arrived here via Blog It Forward, welcome! And if you’re not familiar with it, over the past couple of months, 300 bloggers have been posting about what inspires them in a sort of chain letter form. The baton has been passed to me from From Lara and since today is the last day, I’m happy to close it out with what inspires me.
(Santorini, 2003)
For those of you who know me, it will come as no surprise that what inspires me the most is travel. I’ve been lucky enough to have visited over 40 countries and each time I travel somewhere new, I’m reminded of this quote by Jawaharial Nehru:
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
(Okavango Delta, 2005)
I could go on and on about how traveling has changed my life and shaped who I am but I think these women said it best:
“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
(Bali, 2003)
“Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, so that the intrinsic qualities are made more clear. Travel does this with the very stuff that everyday life is made of, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – Freya Stark
(Tuscany, 2006)
With each new experience, I look at life a little differently. Everything is infinitely more interesting, hopeful and well, inspiring! A big thanks to Victoria of sfgirlbybay for putting this project together and to all the participants for all the inspiration!
(All photos: From the Right Bank)
Open shelving (replacing wall-hung cabinets) has become very popular over the past few years, and I’m curious as to your opinion.
The ever tasteful and hilarious Raina Cox from If the Lampshade Fits posed that question to me last night. Before I answer it though, I need to crank out some effusive praise for the work of La Cox. If the Lampshade Fits is one of my daily must-reads. Poke around on her site and you’ll see why.
Anyhow, onto Raina’s question. I see these magazine spreads too and there’s no doubt that there’s a trend afoot.
Done and styled correctly, open shelves in a kitchen photo spread look terrific. But there are a couple of things at work here.
The photos you see in magazines are styled and propped extensively. They are also lit perfectly and professionally. Styling and photographers’ lighting then gets enhanced further by our pals at PhotoShop so by the time it’s all said and done, what’s left is a cartoon of a kitchen, it’s not real.
Cabinets have doors on them for a couple of reasons. One of those reasons is that they keep dust and airborne cooking goo off your stuff. The other thing cabinet doors do is hide your stuff. Stuff stowed behind a door doesn’t have to be pretty or arranged.
When you replace wall cabinets with shelves you seriously limit your storage capacity and you set yourself up for the additional chore of arranging and dusting your magazine-perfect kitchen shelves.
However, all is not lost.
I love the idea of limiting the number of wall cabinets in a kitchen design and I love the idea of white space in any room, kitchens particularly. In my own designs I lobby tirelessly to go easy on the wall cabinets and instead rely on tall cabinets and efficiency-minded base cabinet inserts for storage. The kitchen in the photo below illustrates the concept perfectly.
The only wall cabinets in that photo are very short and they’re probably where glassware goes. All other dish storage has been shifted to the two-drawer base cabinet on the rear left and into the tall cabinet between the wall ovens and the refrigerator on the back wall. Once all the storage needs were met, there was ample room for two display shelves on the left side of the rear wall. The next photo shows a variation on the same theme.
The two stainless shelves are for display only, the storage heavy lifting gets done by the wall cabinets to the left.
So as lovely a fantasy as this may be:
This is closer to reality.
Proceed with caution is all I’m saying.
Read Paul Anater’s Design blog, Kitchen and Residential Design, every day.
