w*ink: July 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Origin of My Questionable Tastes

I know it sounds odd but I really think the aesthetic I cultivated in Junior High has stayed with me into adulthood. On one side, there is the Lisa Frank inspired love of jewel tones and pop art and on the other is an ardent devotion of everything WASPY and country clubish. I don't know how I came up with this. Oh wait, yes I do. On a summer trip to Shoreline Ct to visit my Grandparents when I was ten, my Grandmother introduced me to the fabulocity of Babe Paley via a photo essay on 50's & 60's socialites. Yes, this is probably when my fantasies involving Chinoiserie and habit of tying scarves onto my mother's handbags began.

Perhaps this is why I adore Jonathan Adler's designs so much. His pieces are funky retro takes on the classics but always with an unexpected slant and he embraces bright colors in a way that inspires me to paint my walls that horribly unflattering shade of lime green. I can't spend too much time on his website before feeling all hot and bothered by the things I want to own but, sadly, can't afford. Nevertheless, here are a few of my favorites.

It's an elephant! And a bank! I want it for the ostensible purpose of saving money to pay off bills and student loans, but we all know it will go towards pizza, bagels and coffee.

I love mythology almost as much as I love Gossip Girl so obviously I will one day own this lamp in Black & White and it will sit on a console table in my foyer next to a brightly colored tray containing that day's mail and our keys.

Who even uses pencils and pencil cases anymore? Me, that's who. Or at least I intend to when I have this adorable needlepoint pencil case in my purse. Of course I will promptly abandon the pencils in favor of lipgloss and other necessities that usually wind up lost in the abyss of my bags.

Images: Jonathan Adler

If we're lucky enough to even HAVE a washer...

I think these wall laundry racks are SO COOL! Even if we don't have a washing machine, we could put one in the bathroom for air drying handwashed delicates!!! NICE!

Image: apartmenttherapy.com

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

My New Philosophy

When I was in high school, I wrote an incredibly moody autobiographical short story about moving out of my childhood home against my will and being dragged across the country to the scary and uptight east coast where I would inevitably be forced to reject grunge music in favor of pop and rap. The focus of the story was a confrontation when the new homeowners arrived before we were entirely moved out and started aggressively stripping the wallpaper from our kitchen walls.

Now in reality, I'm not sure I cared so much since the wallpaper was in fact quite ugly and I had hated the horrible red, white & blue country pattern for years. However, my crafty high school self recognized that there was symbolism in this seemingly small act and therefore an easy way to write something 'meaningful' and 'honest' and therefore get an A.

Today I found something that could have changed the course of history (or at least my GPA). Tempaper is an ingenious self-adhesive wallpaper that you can readjust and rearrange to your heart's desire. It comes in 4 different art nouveau styles and 8 colors and more will be introduced each season. My favorite is the spunky light blue/red combo above.

Image: Tempaper

A Very Merry UnBirthday To ME!!!!!

I suddenly find myself with a lot of time on my hands. If I think really hard, I could probably come up with a good list of at least 10 things that would be more productive than spending all my time playing on the internet and designing my yet to be found or purchased new apartment. That list could include dishes, laundry, general organization of my eternally cluttered desk, and various errands about town that will inevitably drain my bank account. See why shopping online is so much more fun? That in mind, here are a few recent finds that I simply MUST have:

Prints from The Shinny Squirrel. The top is by Christina Vantzou and the second is by Brandi Strickland, whose name sounds oddly familiar to me. (A quick google search proved me wrong)

These prints are so delicate and pretty and small and I think they'd be fabulous together or on their own in a hallway or spare nook.

Love love love this pillow!

In my new life I shall have a cup of tea every night before I go to sleep. This mug, which comes with a matching stackable dish could easily hold the cookie and/or the teabag. Double the fun!

Images: The Shinny Squirrel and Three Potato Four

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Ikea Trip Leaves My Head Spinning

Oh the joys of Ikea. I'm not ashamed to proclaim my love for Ikea. Besides the obvious Meatballs and $.99 Cinnamon buns, there is nothing as satisfying to me as an afternoon spent marveling at how easily they manage to outfit a 300 sq. ft. "apartment" in the middle of their sales floor. Tonight I took a spontaneous boat ride (!!!) out to the new Ikea in Red Hook and quickly fell in love with most of the furniture and decorative objects I encountered. Here are some of the standouts:

These fabrics are so different and yet I love them both so much. The first, I could see as some jumbo throw pillows for a couch or as cushions for guests to sit on when seating is limited. The second I think would look good as a cushion of some sort (See previous post on upholstered bench obsession)

How cool is this magazine file? It's basically begging to be painted fuchsia and labeled TEEN VOGUE (suck it, anna wintour!)

Another craft project: I usually hate all things wicker and anything resembling a basket in any way. HOWEVER, this screen strikes me as particularly useful as a room-divider and/or general decorative object. I'm picturing a bright shiny China Red worthy of Diana Vreeland's living room.

I've been obsessed with mid-century danish anything since I was in High School and watched too much HGTV with my Mother and Ben & Jerry. (Shut up. I was cool.) I'm even more obsessed with oval and egg-shaped coffee tables so this pretty much made feel with faint with desire.

I must be really into red lately (lately? who am I kidding?). But wouldn't this be sort of cool as a side table tucked into a corner with a small but delicate lamp and a bright bunch of ranunculus? PLUS it would be excellent storage for such living room necessities as extra batteries for the remote, pens and notebooks, coasters, Werther's Original Butterscotch candies and cat toys.

Alright so I'm into drawers and organization. I admit it. But how AWESOME would this be if used to store things like placemats and cloth napkins and dish towels and whatnot? You love it.

Last but certainly not least:

This sideboard made my knees weak. Like, I literally almost fell over from the thought of it used as either a traditional sideboard/buffet complete with tabletop minibar OR an interesting take on a TV stand. (Versatility!! Yeah!) It comes in both Black and Yellow and has three drawers for storage and two cabinets with two adjustable shelves each, which I envision rejecting in favor of room for liquor storage and a wine/martini glass rack.

Images: ikea.com

Oh the possibilities!

These amazing chalkboard decals adhere to the wall and can easily be taken down or rearranged without damaging the wall underneath. Each kit contains 4 panels for only $58! Think of all the list-making opportunities and how pretty they would look in pink and purple chalk!

Image: seejanework.com