The Well-Layered Room, Redux

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on March 29th, 2010.

When you enter a well-layered room, you feel it. It welcomes you graciously and fills your senses with texture and color and vitality. It accommodates all kinds of activities and all kinds of moods. It can be cheerful, cozy or intimate. It speaks volumes, quietly.

(T. F. Simon, "Vilma Reading a Book", 1912)

If you ask me, I'd say there are four qualities to a well-layered room:

1. Comfort

There is always a pleasant chair waiting, a place to set your drink, an interesting book to leaf through, and a vista to settle your eyes on (whether it's a postcard leaning against a mantel or an open window onto Rue Jacob makes no difference). Furniture is arranged with meaning so that even as a first-time visitor, you feel immediately at ease.

2. Passion

A well-layered room reflects the kind of life lived within its walls. It offers an intimate glimpse into the lifeblood of its owners and makes you realize, "Aha, now I see who they are." It's like a journal entry into their soul.

3. Honesty

A well-layered room contains no concealment or pretense. If a piece of much-loved furniture is slightly shabby, it doesn't hide in a dark corner -- it's valued for its faithful years of service. Books and paintings and objets are collected piecemeal over time instead of during one-stop shopping trips. Nothing is overly precious. Curiosity is welcome.

4. Fearlessness

Timidity does not belong in a well-layered room. (Timid rooms are only one layer deep and usually colored beige.) A fearless room embraces the juxtaposition of different sources and patterns and histories. Just like a great cocktail party, it's filled with an assortment of interesting characters taking part in the same conversation.

The Bohemian painter Tavik Frantisek Simon comprehended all of this.

("Interior of My House in Paris", 1909)

So does Peter Dunham.

(Photo by Miguel Flores-Vianna)

Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) had an innate understanding.

("Interior", 1920)

As does designer Michael S. Smith.

(photo from "Michael S. Smith Houses" via Mrs. Blandings)

Matisse got it.

("Interior with Phonograph", 1924)

Tim Clarke does too.

(via Hollywood Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks. Her blog is HERE)

And Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947).

("Work Table", 1926)

Nicky Haslam grasps it on a cellular level.

(Photographer unknown. Nicky's blog HERE)

Do you have a well-layered room?

The Good of Small Things

It doesn't take a lot to make me happy.

In fact, I get an inordinate amount of joy just looking at this photo of a row of cups drying on a linen dish towel. It makes me think of order, tidiness, and all the inspiring possibilities that can spring to life over a pot of tea with friends.

It's the small things.

 

(Photo by LBG.)

And behind every small thing -- the freshly-washed teacups -- there's usually an even smaller thing that deserves a little credit too. An unsung hero, if you will. Something that doesn't get a lot of attention but whose contribution is equally important. 

Stand up and take a bow, scrubbing pads.

These cheerful striped ones are just aching to join your kitchen team, don't you think?

(Kitchen scrubber trio, $16.00. Available HERE.)

Below, some more beautiful small things and the small things behind them...

The Small Thing: 

An errant rose vine that strains for you to notice her while she's at the height of her powers.

(Photo by LBG.)

The Small Thing Behind the Small Thing:

A twine stand with set of scissors to gently give the fair dame a bit of support should she need it.

(Twine stand with scissors, $20.95. Available HERE.)

The Small Thing:

The gleam of a sweaty ice bucket as it waits for guests to arrive.

     (Photo by LBG.)

The Small Thing Behind the Small Thing:

Seeds Merit Silver Polish, recommended by both Tiffany & Company and the Winterthur Museum.

(F. A. Seeds Silver Polish, $10.00. Available HERE.)

The Small Thing:
Freshly-baked pumpkin bread for an eleven-year old who didn't do as well on the test as he hoped.

(Photo by LBG.)

The Small Thing Behind the Small Thing:
Corn broom cake testers. Used since colonial times to make sure there was something coming out of the oven to be thankful for.

(Broomcorn cake tester, $5.00. Available HERE.)

The Small Thing:
Italian parsley. For enhancing frittatas, soups, salads, and almost any other savory dish you can think of.

(Photo by LBG.)

The Small Thing Behind the Small Thing:

Kitchen herb scissors. Made to quickly chop delicate leaves without crushing them.

(Herb kitchen scissors, $16.00. Available HERE.)

The Small Thing:

A tidy laundry nook.

(Photo by LBG.)

The Small Thing Behind the Small Thing:

A dark galvanized pail for presoaking chocolatey napkins, red wine accidents and grass-stained jeans.

(Old-fashioned wash bucket, $18.95. Available HERE.)

The Small Thing:

A corner to call your own.

(Photo by LBG.)

The Small Thing Behind the Small Thing:

A traditional turkey wing whisk broom, ergonomically designed to sweep pumpkin bread out of corners.

(Turkey wing whisk broom, $9.95. Available HERE.)

I'm curious: What small thing makes you happy?

x/Lisa

Won't You Join Me For A Cocktail?

I've never put those words into a headline before, but thanks to MK Collection, I can. :) They have invited me to be the guest of honor at their Thursday open house for Legends 2013: Past Present Future Design. And I would love to see you there!

WHEN: 
May 9th, 2-5pm

WHERE: 
MK Collection, 8629 Melrose Avenue, CA 90069  (310) 436-4995

WHAT:
Lively libations and fresh fare

(All photos by Joel Longnecker.)

Legends is part of the annual celebration of the La Cienega Design Quarter, the renowned style corridor along the intersection of La Cienega and Melrose Avenue. Every year, leading designers team up with showrooms to create fantasy windows and it's always so exciting to stroll the sidewalk and see what everyone has come up with.

Inspired by this year's theme of "Past, Present and Future," designer Hillary Thomas decorated the MK Collection window in the spirit of the WASPy jet-set glamour of the '50's and '60's as chronicled by Slim Aarons. Don't you just love it?

MK Collection is a brand-new kid on the block, geographically speaking, and their Melrose Avenue showroom offers rugs, trims and a beautiful fabric collection inspired by the far-flung travels of designer Melissa Kirkpatrick. 

Here, frequent visitor Kole lounges in a sybaritic stupor on a chair upholstered in "Midsummer Madness" in Turquoise/Lapis.

See you on Thursday, and please do come up and introduce yourself -- some of my favorite people are people who I've met through my blog!

x/Lisa

The World's Most Poetic Wallpaper

I know what you're thinking. "It's just sunlight on a wall."

Yes, AND. The wall just happens to be in Emily Dickinson's bedroom. 

(The poet as a shy 16 year-old, December 1846, via)

The Story:

Uber-cool textile company Maharam commissioned artist Spencer Finch to travel to Dickinson's house in Massachusetts and use time-lapse photography to record the path of sunlight as it fell across the wallpaper in her room.

So this wallpaper is more than just wallpaper.

It's a historical document.

("Sunlight in an Empty Room" wallpaper by Maharam, available HERE.)

Over the years, Dickinson became more and more reclusive. By the end of her life, she lived in almost total isolation from the world. Her room was her refuge and her sanctuary.

So this wallpaper is more than just wallpaper.

It's a boundary line.

Within its confines, Emily Dickinson wrote nearly eighteen hundred poems. To me, those golden triangles on the wall are a metaphor for the passage of time, a poetic record of all the hours and days and months and years she must have sat there writing.

So this wallpaper is more than just wallpaper.

It's an ode to the creative process.

(Digital wallpaper installation. Approximate dimensions 10 feet high by 16 feet wide.)

I dwell in possibility--

A fairer House than Prose--

More numerous of Windows--

Superior--for Doors--

Of Chambers as the Cedars--

Impregnable of Eye--

And for an Everlasting Roof

The Gambrels of the Sky--

Of Visitors--the fairest--

For Occupation--This--

The spreading wide my narrow Hands

To gather Paradise--

~Emily Dickinson, Poem 657

* * * * *

Editor's Note: If you have a minute or two, check out Maharam's lovely "Stories" section.

Contributions include Todd Oldham's vintage paper dolls, art by Maira Kalman, an animated film by Hella Jongorius, and much more.

Have a productive week.

x/Lisa

Wish You Were Here - NYC

New York is a seductive mistress.

(All photos by LBG.)

And that's what I love so much about it.

Don't sleep, it whispers. And so you don't. Come down and see me, it whispers. I'm all dolled up for you. And so you grab your coat and go for a late-night walk and everywhere you look there are glittering tableaus...

...and muscular monoliths...

...and reminders that, in this town, enlightenment happens on the pavement.

While gazing through your window pane, 

you see the human struggle,

Framed.

The Book Deadline

It was real before, but now it's really real.

My manuscript is due in 60 days.

Writing it these last seven months has been like getting lost inside the most fascinating rabbit hole ever. 
But now it's time to think about finding my way out.

(Illustration by Katogi Mari)

So for the next two weeks, I need to take a blog break and buckle down.
Otherwise, my lovely kind editor at Random House will be sad and I don't want that.

You know what else I need?
Your positive energy.

Any comments, tips, or advice you care to toss my way?
I would be most grateful.

x/Lisa

Image Eaters

You are an image eater.

Pretty pictures feed your soul.

A room aglow with the poetic remnants of a winter sun can sustain you for days.

(Photograph by Sandra Lane from World of Interiors.)

You are an image eater.

You troll the internet like a restless shark, devouring inspiration for nourishment.

An ancient room with a dimpled stone wall, a primitive painting and a curvy red piece of confidence is nothing less than visual protein.

(Photograph by Sandra Lane from World of Interiors.)

You are an image eater.

Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr are weightless repositories for your passions. 

You collect.
You gather.
You sort.
You assemble.
You pare.
You save.
You keep.

And it's not just you.
Bit by bit, we are all piecing together our lives.

We are image eaters.

(Collage made with Picasa.)

Improve Your Color Coordination Instantly

I thought up a visual exercise for anyone who thinks they have no talent for figuring out how patterns and colors work together.

If you've ever said to yourself...

"Can a big pattern go with a small one?"

OR

"Do these colors look good with those colors?"

OR

"Help! This is giving me a migraine! How can I tell what goes with what??!"

...then this exercise is for you.
Because it's fun.
It's fast.
And it works.

What to Do:
Scroll through the following photos and follow my directions. That's pretty much it.

Tips:
Keep your eyes relaxed.
Don't worry about absorbing every detail of every photo.
It's okay if it doesn't make sense at first.
It's okay if you feel a little dizzy. It means your brain is working hard.

The main thing is, just keep your eyes relaxed and keep scrolling.

Ready?
Okay.
Go!

1. Take the colors in this photo and turn them into a wallpaper.


2. Now take the colors in this wallpaper and turn them into an abstract.


3. Now take the colors in this abstract and turn them into an illustration.

4. Now take the colors in this illustration and turn them into a really dense painting.

5. Now take the colors in this really dense painting and turn them into a room.

6. Now take the colors in this room and turn them into a picture.

7. Now take the colors in this picture and turn them into a fabric.


8. Now take the colors in this fabric and turn them into a map.

 9. Now take the colors in this map and turn them into a room.

10. Now take the colors in this room and turn them into an abstract pattern.

Congratulations, you did it!!

If this exercise worked for you, I'm about to explain why.

(But if it didn't, don't worry! It usually takes a few tries, so take a minute and then scroll through the photos again. I 99.9% promise you'll soon start to notice a wealth of new relationships between the pictures.)

I'm No Scientist But I Have A Theory Why It Works:

Usually when we try to match patterns and colors, we notice every little detail and wind up getting super-obsessive and OCD about everything. 

I don't think we need to be so literal.

By allowing our eyes to "graze" over the details in an image instead of dissecting them, we can train our brains to see things in a totally new way. Instead of categorizing an image as a room/painting/textile/whatever, we start to process it as a pattern.

And you know, that's all the visual world is, is patterns.
Lots and lots and lots of patterns.

So when we start to look at every image as a pattern, then suddenly we can see that there's a visual relationship between this...

...and this...

...and this.

* * * * * 

Don't forget, my first-ever One Kings Lane Designer Tag Sale starts TONIGHT at 6pm Pacific Standard Time. Be sure to check it out!

x/Lisa

(Editors Note: I am sadly credit-less for these photos. If they are yours, please email me and I'll attribute them asap.)