As my clients well know, I am not a vey "woody" designer. I love wood floors. I love a touch of wood in a piece of furniture combined with white lacquer or even a wooden table with colored legs. A full on wood interior, however, not so much. I think wood looks great on trees though. It's not that I can't look at a woody interior and think its beautiful, but more that its not often something that I come up with. I love these wood drop stools from Skram--such a clever little twist to your usual wood stump stools.

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“Fresh air makes me throw up. I can't handle it. I'd rather be around three Denobili cigars blowing in my face all night.” -Frank Sinatra

Travel to Beijing is a long anticipated task, which makes the distance worth its torture. It is the capital of China and a heroic ancient city. Visiting Beijing can be overwhelming with sweeping traffic and overgrown city limits, and, after three days, I felt my glands swelling and my lungs gasping for clear blue sky; air pollution in Beijing is intolerable and visibility reminds me of Los Angeles smog.

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“My effort was to find a way to link that ritual of rocks which comes down to us through the Japanese from the dawn of history to our modern time and needs.” -Isamu Noguchi

First, the disclaimer: as one of the preeminent artists and designers of the 20th-century, Isamu Noguchi has been written about extensively, and there is little I hope to add to this conversation. Still, for someone familiar with his work for at least 20 years, I was excited and inspired by a book I picked up at a thrift shop last week, Sam Hunter’s "Isamu Noguchi". Published by Abbeville in 1978, this ove...Read More

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Show & Tell time—finally. First, let’s talk about the front door lighting. Joan and I are in disagreement about which to use. My vote goes for the ones from Remains Lighting. Although not antique, they do have some age and therefore some patina. I think the scale and shape are perfect. (I’m ignoring the comment from Yamira that they look like the light fixtures at White Castle).



Joan on the other hand wants to use these from D’Interieurs. They are very stylish, but just a little “dernier cri.” They are too light weight, more suitable for indoors. I took the iss...Read More

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I went to the “American Painting” exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum or Art on Sunday.  It is superlative experience that every American would benefit from seeing. There are 100 paintings on display from 44 institutions. The theme of the exhibition is narrative painting—paintings that tell a story overtly or subtly. The first picture, Watson and the Shark, is a great John Singleton Copley painting of a man overboard in shark infested waters. Since Watson lived, one understands the curatorial reason behind its placement at the entrance of ...Read More

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My obsession with styrofoam started some months ago when I went to fabulous group show at Mixed Greens gallery and saw this piece by Jinkee Choi.   I got a "gotta have it" kind of feel although I'm sad to say that the polar bear does not belong to me.  Then this week I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jason Rogenes as we discussed the details of using one of his amazing sculptures in the open stairwell of a townhouse I am working on with DDG Partners.

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The mailboxes in my building look nothing like this...mailboxes are part of our daily routine and it would be great if we saw some interesting designs available to us. With email, who knows how much longer there will be a need for them, but while we still rely on snail mail it would be good to see some fun designs on the market. Here are some images of the Mail Me Mailbox designed by Fabrica for BD Barcelona.

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Happy Halloween, everyone! Unfortunately, this is not my favorite holiday because it has ruined a perfectly fabulous color combination. I think black and orange look great together, but this holiday has really put the kibash on using it for interiors or fashion. I can't tell you how many times I have said, "black and orange would be good...no wait, maybe its too Halloweeny." I now curse this festive pumpkin picking time of year, but thats not to say that it cant be done.

Here is a table that celebrates Halloweeny black and orange in the best way possible, and I just purchased ths for a client's lobby. Did I mention that there are black walls in the space?

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“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is always a pleasure to stop in Shanghai and see friends as well as check out the latest in China’s contemporary arts scene. Immediately, I can describe the city as a vital and highly inspiring Asian city. It has many brilliant artists and creative intellects, and there are circles of artists from all over the world stirring up soaring energies, which make people turn their heads and open their eyes.

 

Shanghai is the largest city in China and the largest me...Read More

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The Alpha Workshops hosted their 4th annual Masquerade Ball last night at the New York Design Center, and once again the combination of Kenneth Wampler of Alpha and Jim Druckman of the Design Center staged a winning celebration. The theme this year was “C’mon Get Happy” and amidst the loud music, dirty martinis, and miniature burgers and chicken pot pies, much of the crowd seemed to get in the spirit of things, if dancing, drinking, eating, and reveling qualifies.

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If for no other reason than to keep people reading this blog, contractor Mitch must make some progress on the house, I need photographs. All this “internal work” just doesn’t cut it when it comes to posting, as interesting as a shower body may be. For all the money I spent on the septic system, it should photograph like an Ansel Adams, but it doesn’t. I must have more changes to document. 

Rest easy wild turkeys of Brokeback Mountain. Thanksgiving is not going to happen in my house this year. What a surprise! I don’t have great hopes for Christmas either...Read More

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Rick Ellis, my partner, is a food stylist and culinary historian.  He has over 5000 books devoted to American cookery.  I serve as an adjunct curator of sorts.  In fact, I suggested he specialize in American material because, when we started almost 25 years ago, American food was under appreciated.  Its serious scholarly study and even the interest from chefs were just beginning.

Since it is October, I have been thinking about the unavoidable decoration, pumpkins, as blog topic.  And recently, at dinner, amongst our towers of bookcases, Rick and I spoke about this iconic s...Read More

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