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Materials are the key elements in creating any kind of interior. |
Showhouse Bath
The most successful projects are the ones where a specific material
informed the entire design process. It is at it’s best when they disappear
and become one unit.
Respecting the integrity of a material is key. A space should never appear
as a menu of disassociated selections.
A few years ago I was asked to participate in a showhouse in the Hamptons.
The only space that was not spoken for was a small bath in the guest house.
It was opportunity to celebrate materials and create an oasis in this tiny house.
My inspiration was as simple as discovering a powdered pigment that I found
in a fine art store. I experimented with a plaster base by adding copious amounts
of metallic pigment with glass particles. When I finished, it looked as if the walls
were clad in gossamer. It was a variation on the Veniziano application visible in
many commercial lobbies. The gold tone to the wall inspired the use of trimming
the muslin drapery with metal zippers. It was a glorious experience having received
so many compliments and inclusion in a book and magazine. Everyone wanted to
know the secret ingredient.
The menu of materials is so vast that often it is difficult to decide on a finish.
We are imbued with more responsibility regarding materials and how they relate
to the environment. The choices designers make affect the quality of life on many
levels. Every choice we make as designers directly effects how our clients live.
The one formidable resource for sustainable materials for Architects and Designers
is Architectural Systems Inc. It is my idea of nirvana.
The showroom never ceases to inspire a project by first glance or first touch.
Despite the panoply of materials, the one finish for a particular application
always stands out clearly.
Materials tell the story of a space .
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Words of Inspiration:
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Inspiration of the Week:
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A talk about nothing. |
What does that have to do with design you may ask?
Sunrise at Kirpalu
Sunset at Kirpalu
Everything...
This past weekend I had the great fortune to be in the same
room as the director, creator, artist, Peter Sellars. Most people
assume I am speaking about the actor of “Pink Panther” fame, Peter
Sellers. The difference clearly is an "A" instead of an "E". A similar name,
yet another kind of magician of the Arts.
Peter Sellars is a theater director and iconoclast of an artist. He teaches at UCLA
and has inspired 400 students per year for over a decade. He is the director that presents ancient text in modern clothing to provide great meaning to our life. A new vision that invariably pauses one to think and question all.
His words inspired me deeply.
In addition I am in suspended belief how his hair takes flight so perfectly .
Gravity does not exist in his presence.
The talk of nothing was a lecture series at the Rubin Musuem.
It featured intimate talks with a variety of artists over two months. This evening
was the last of the series. A perfect time of year to visit “ nothing” when we are shrouded in snow, revealing small sections of the landscape of New York City.
Peter shared the upholstered chairs with Raj Patel. Raj is an activist, academic and author of "The Value of Nothing". How to reshape the market society and redefine
Democracy. The "Nothing" talk included a gamet of subjects. They kept returning to the primary subject of community. The power of a group of people to communicate, to make a difference in the world by realizing the power of one.
The talk of nothing referred back to "silence". It is so difficult to articulate what inspires one to create. Peter did so perfectly. I have noted below the essence of what I found so moving.
"As all artists do, they start the day with a blank sheet of paper.
They see the empty pages and they acknowledge what is missing.
As an artist it is our job to engage the absence.
To find the purpose.
To engage oneself fully."
They closed the evening by the director of the museum placing white Tibetan scarves around Raj and Peter's shoulders with great appreciation for the talk of nothing. My iphone caught the last exchange and I am still processing the words, my intentions and purpose as a designer in New York City. |
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Words of Inspiration:
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Inspiration of the Week:
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Larger than the normal or unusual size or large in relation to its surroundings. |
What does that have to do with interior design?
That is the question.
I confess it is one of my favorite design elements in creating a product,
art or a room interior.
The image above is from the play space we designed for the Columbus Tower
building in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The concept was an over scaled view of a coloring book. It is easy for a space
to appear large when you are only two years old. In this case, the experience was
to be surrounded by a garden, the size of a lady bug.
We even over scaled the potted plant in a wood cut out to create to depth to the mural.
I think I had more fun than anyone designing this space. The green looped carpet was
the perfect touch to feel more "bug like".
In terms of interior home furnishings, scale is employed in the furnishing selections.
Lets take a popular fabric pattern, a damask. A damask is a woven fabric originating
from the city of Damascus. It is a reverse printed fabric and the motifs are endless.
There is a standard curvilinear abstract pattern that is then repeated. The trend of the
damask in black and white has been in full force. It is classic and beautiful.
Once we isolate the graphic image and enlarge the motif, the design changes.
We then apply the same graphic to a wall with a few repeats. Perhaps the color of the
motif is a light shade of grey on an even lighter shade of grey wall . It presents a subtle
visual layer of the very same damask motif that is perhaps upholstered on a sofa.
I have included a few visual references in the images below.
We then take the same pattern and enlarge it further.
We apply the design to an area rug. It takes on completely different
Character. The way the pattern is cropped will make the design interesting.
One hint regarding area rugs is to be sure to place the rug on the floor when selecting.
It always reads much darker from viewing vertically as opposed to horizontally.
John Saladino is one of my favorite interior designers. He designed a wall with the over scaled application of a base of a column. That one image has remained in my mind's eye and has
continued to be a source of inspiration.
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Words of Inspiration:
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"Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration and love"
Louis Kahn, Architect |
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| Claes Oldenburg pictures
Damask wallpaper |
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