Sunday, October 4, 2009
We've moved!
New features include monthly newsletters, before & afters, and a search feature to find articles on all your decorating dilemmas. Thanks for following the Design Cobbler! :)
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sneak Peek: South of Market Loft
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Artisan Collection from Restoration Hardware
Printmaker's sideboard, $1,995
*This would make my office (or anyone's) very happy*
Fore more info: Interior Designer San Francisco - Niche Interiors
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tools for Living by DWR
Granit sugar bowl and creamer designed by Eva Zeisel, on sale for $51.
For more info: Interior Designer San Francisco - Niche Interiors
Friday, September 11, 2009
Design Inspiration: Four Barrel Coffee Shop
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Decor Mag Highlights!
For more design inspiration: Visit my San Francisco Interior Design Portfolio
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Modern Wallpaper Sources and Tips
It's no news to you that wallpaper is back! Now there are tons of fun, modern prints to choose from. Say goodbye to boring floral and country prints and hello to graphic and whimsical patterns that will add interest and drama to almost any room in the house. (Except for a full bathroom: Steam and wallpaper don't mix.)
Bold wallpaper prints are best applied in small doses for maximum impact. Instead of doing an entire living or dining room, consider choosing one accent wall. If you are going for a dramatic effect, foyers and powder rooms are great places to hang wallpaper on every wall. Both spaces are small in size and transitional in the flow of the house.
Modern Wallpaper Resources
Read on for highlights of my favorite wallpaper manufacturers.
Ferm Living (http://www.fermlivingshop.us) is a Danish company coming out with lots of inventive, easy to install papers.
Twenty2 (http://www.twenty2.net) is a Brooklyn based husband and wife team that have been creating bold patterns since 2001.
Jocelyn Warner (http://www.jocelynwarner.com) is a designer from the UK. Her designs range from intricate to simple and bold.
Hygge and West (http://www.hyggeandwestshop.com) See Julia Rothman's collection for Hygge & West for beautiful bird and tree motifs.
For more information visit: San Francisco Interior Design Services
Monday, August 10, 2009
Chic online furniture deals!
Wisteria Venetian Bamboo table, on sale for $339
Glam it up by adding a mirrored piece to an otherwise boring corner.
Viva Terra Ivory & Gold Suzani bench, on sale for $235
This bench would add some charm at the foot of your bed, in a foyer or in front of a fireplace.
West Elm Patterned-Sphere table lamp, on sale for $59
Perfect for a small table or night stand.
Pottery Barn Wooden Door mirror, on sale for $179
Perfect for your bedroom or (if you are lucky) your walk-in closet.
For more info: Visit http://www.nicheinteriors.com
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Current Obsession: Rotary Phones!
Vintage black wall rotary phone, currently at $18.50
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Challenge of Built-ins
He was able to match the existing molding by utilizing San Francisco Victoriana, who carries a variety of architectural ornamentation, including many traditional moldings used in San Francisco buildings. If they don't carry the specific molding you are trying to match they can make it for you.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Design Icon of the Week: Eileen Gray
The tubular shaped Bibendum chair is shown, one of her most recognizable designs.
Eileen Gray has always been a favorite of mine. Maybe it's the fact that she was a woman in a male dominated field, or maybe because flexibility and function were at the forefront of her furniture designs. Here is an excerpt from the Design Museum about Gray:
Neglected for most of her career, EILEEN GRAY (1878-1976) is now regarded as one of the most important furniture designers and architects of the early 20th century and the most influential woman in those fields. Her work inspired both modernism and Art Deco.
In the August 1917 issue of British Vogue magazine a writer described the work of Miss Gray, a lacquer artist who had fled her home in Paris to seek refuge in London during World War I. “Influenced by the modernists is Miss Gray’s art, so they say,” it began. “But is it not rather that she stands alone, unique, the champion of a singularly free method of expression.”
Her design style was as distinctive as her way of working, and Gray developed an opulent, luxuriant take on the geometric forms and industrially produced materials used by the International Style designers, such as Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Mies Van Der Rohe, who shared many of her ideals.
Her voluptuous leather and tubular steel Bibendum Chair and clinically chic E-1027 glass and tubular steel table are now as familiar as icons of the International Style as Le Corbusier and Perriand’s classic Grand Confort club chairs, yet for most of her career she was relegated to obscurity by the same proud singularity that makes her work so prized today.
Above: The adjustable E-1027 table, a modern classic. Reproductions now available at DWR.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Serving up the succulents
We also decided to plant a vegetable garden this year. (Growing the vegetables has been easy compared to building and installing the planter boxes on the edge of our patio deck.) The green onions, garlic, and tomatoes are thriving well from seeds, and the basil plant was added after the red peppers didn't take off. Nothing is ready to harvest yet, but hopefully before the end of the summer we will have a home grown salad. We used redwood (cut to size at the hardware store), deck screws, and metal brackets to create simple planter boxes to fit between the posts on our patio fence.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Design Icon of the Week: Alvar Aalto
The most important Finnish architect of the 20th century, ALVAR AALTO (1898-1976) was a central figure in international modernism. His greatest buildings, like the 1927 Viipuri Library and 1928 Paimio Sanatorium, fused the naturalism of Finnish romanticism with modernist ideals: as did his influential furniture and glassware.
Here are a few of his most recognizable designs. And yes, the forms in his designs are evident at IKEA today.
Paimio chair, designed in 1931. Made of bent plywood and birch.
For more info visit: www.NicheInteriors.com
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Modern Wallpaper!
For more info: San Francisco Interior Design Services by Niche Interiors
Monday, June 29, 2009
Farley Bar at Cavallo Point Lodge
Friday, June 19, 2009
Decor Mag Highlights!
For more design inspiration visit: My San Francisco Interior Design Portfolio
Friday, June 12, 2009
Picture Hanging 101
Despite the run-on sentence, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Red, White & Green: The Many Faces of Spray Paint!
- Clean the item prior to painting
- Use a spray primer if you are trying to cover a darker color with a lighter one
- Use multiple light coats
- Keep your distance: Don't spray closer than 8 inches
- Look for new cans that can spray from any angle! (Even upside down)
Have fun!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Decorator Showcase Inspiration
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Brighten Up Your Ceilings...
The Ziyi chandelier by Thomas O'Brien for Visual Comfort successfully blends tradition and modernity.