Welcome to this week’s Frugal Friday! Today I’m sharing with you a project that I originally shared back in February. But a great project bears repeating.From the moment I laid eyes on them, I longed to have a set of these beautiful smocked curtains.And I knew then and there that I HAD to come up with a less expensive version of these beauties (i.e. one that didn’t cost $108 per panel). And I had
Frugal Friday~
The Skirted Roundtable chats with Christine Strutt "At Home with Country"
This week at The Skirted Roundtable Megan, Joni and I chatted with Christina Strutt, founder and creative mind behind the British lifestyle firm Cabbages and Roses and author of their latest book At Home With Country: Bringing the Comforts of Country Home (Cabbages & Roses)
The book is just filled with gorgeous images of homes in England and the US and how her quietly English country textiles work in many different settings.
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Real Cool Barstool
We totally dig this barstool from Arteriors. It has an unique shape to it, and we love the organic look/feel.
The barstool sells at $450/each (a little pricey, we have to say). But maybe it’s because it’s handmade.
You can find the specifications in our barstool section.
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Modern Silk Flower Arrangements
Just want to share with you some beautiful modern floral arrangements we just got in…
These can be found in our silk flowers section. If you see them in person you wouldn’t believe how real they look.
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Adding to the collection!
I’m a sucker for vintage orange/red tea cups and serving sets, and when I saw the set above on Etsy I pounced! Last year I found two cups from this same collection and I’m so happy that I can add to it. Below are pictures of others I have collected.
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Make Your Guests at Home~
I mentioned a few weeks back that we were going to have house guests on and off for several weeks this summer. I just love house guests!!And I love to make sure that my guests feel at home. So today I thought I’d share a fun idea with you…I always leave fresh, fluffy towels on the ends of the beds where my guests will be sleeping. But here’s a way to make them extra special… First, I tied the
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 28th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Posted on July 28th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Seasonal Decorating
When I think about decorating for the seasons naturally what comes to mind are the jewel tones of fall, the reds and greens of Christmas, and the pastels of spring and Easter. But as I looked around my home I’ve noticed that the greens of summer have infiltrated my home in the form of faux plants and moss balls, with a few florals thrown in for good measure.
Is your home sporting the greens of the season?
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 28th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Posted on July 28th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Linky Love~
Wow!! Last week’s Frugal Friday party was amazing!! So many wonderful projects you all shared…and tons of great furniture redos (especially hutches this week…you all must be on the same wavelength). I had a great time looking through the posts, and a really hard time narrowing down what I was going to share with you today.That said, here are a few of my favorites from last week…First up,
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Chanel N.2
"the world’s most legendary fragrance"Who does not love Chanel? Fashion, accessories, perfumes… and who is not fascinated by the legendary Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel? In a few months we had two movies (hence the title) to understand her better: first came "Coco before Chanel" and lately "Coco and Igor Stravinsky". I will talk about the latter which is based on the fictional novel "Coco & Igor" by Chris Greenhalgh and describes the affair between Chanel and Stravinsky in Paris in 1920, the same year that Chanel N.5 was created.
"There is time for work, and time for love. That leaves no other time”
is one of Chanel’s famous quotes and the movie talks about her at work and in love.
Jan Kounen, the director, shot both French/Russian-language (the one I saw) and English-language versions of the film. I was not particularly excited by the choice of Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen impersonating Coco and Igor, they were a bit too static, she had not much visual expression and moved like a runaway model instead of a person so full of personality and complicated character as the real Coco. The same thoughts I had watching Audrey Taoutou in "Coco before Chanel". Yelena Morozova, acting as Igor’s wife, instead made on me a better impression and her feelings of happiness, pride and at the end pain and betrayal were very well portrayed.
But let’s talk a little about the Interior decoration, very appropriately executed in terms of style.
The beautiful house outside Paris where the love affair takes place surprised Stravinsky’s wife at first glance with its black trims, not an usual choice for the time but we all know how much Chanel loved this color/non color. Even after moving in Madame Stravinskaya realizes that there is no color around and she tries to re-decorate her family’s rooms putting a Russian colorful shawl on the bed headboard and other small items around. I thought it was a clever touch from the director to help describe more how different the two women were in every aspect.
Coco Chanel had a passion for white camellia flowers so quite appropriately the garden in the movie is filled with white flowers.
Most of the interior white walls have black trims and black stencils reflecting the style of Art Deco which is evident also in the use of non-traditional materials such as glass, mirrors, chrome, and other human-made materials. The geometry is apparent in every room of the mansion, where there are steps, rounded corners, or repeated lines, they always have a basic geometrical foundation. The colors are rigorously white, black and metallics throughout the house.
Even in the bathroom beautiful graphic black wood trims give personality to the otherwise simple room. If you’ll go to see the movie please notice also the gorgeous black drapes in several rooms, just the right fullness… and all the graphic patterns on the rugs and the walls.
Photographs from the movie by Régine Abadia
The dining room above appears to me more Art Nouveau than Art Deco but it gives more credibility to the story, since the mansion was supposed to be Coco’s country house, obviously not decorated in one day but as in real life made of a few layers of style and objects acquired through the years.
Chanel entering her store, 31 Rue Cambon, in 1962. Image by Douglas Kirkland
Rigorous black and white is still used in every Chanel store around the world. On 31 Rue Cambon, above the store, Coco had a glamorous, lavish apartment, mostly used for entertaining. In fact it did not have a bedroom so she walked every night to The Ritz Hotel across the street to sleep in her private luxurious suite. The famous mirrored staircase, which allowed Coco to view everything when she sat at the top, still remains unchanged. Her apartment, still intact, is filled with antiques and chinoiserie and it is surprisingly ornate, given her love of simple design, it looks nothing like the sleek interiors of the country house in the movie.
You can see more of her apartment if you click on this link: At Home with Chanel by Vogue.
Coco Chanel, 1920
Igor Stravinsky, 1921
A portrait by Man Ray
A portrait by Cecil Beaton
From the collection of the Metropolitan Museum
Archive Photos/Getty images
"Fashion fades, only style remains the same" she used to say and so much style she had.
Back to the movie, the most appealing parts of "Coco & Igor Stravinsky" were the music and the interior decoration, the love story was exciting even if sad, the glamour of her life not so apparent and I wish I was in charge of the casting, I would have chosen Isabelle Huppert or Juliette Binoche, maybe Fanny Ardant a few years ago.
Who would you choose?
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Illuminated flowers
Ever since I had seen an illuminated arrangement at my Agents house I’ve always wanted to get a bunch of my own. Not sure where they would go but it’s on my list. I found a good selection at www.traditionsfurniture.com
Filed under: Decor
Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Posted on July 27th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Posted on July 29th, 2010 at 9:00 pm