Children’s Artwork

Many of my clients face the dilema of what to do with their children’s beloved art work and mementos.  There is often a balancing act of displaying the artwork we love while maintaining the design look we aspire to.  I loved the idea pictured below that demonstrates making a poster of childrens artwork by shrinking down the projects and then printing in a poster format.  It is chic and family friendly.

 

I also like the approach shown below that was featured in Desire to Inspire.  This family created a gallery wall that mixed children’s art with professional art for an interesting and stylish look.

 

I have also tackled the artwork challenge by installing nicely framed, large expanses of cork board.  The cork provides the perfect backdrop for the constantly changing gallery.  Also, artwork matted and framed consistently makes a great art installation.  Give the artwork the importance it deserves with high quality framing and play around with mat size to create an interesting look.

How have you tackled the artwork challenge?

Look What I Found!

I was recently at the Architectural Digest Design Show and found a great closet organization system that I was really impressed with.  The Luxe wardrobe automation system is an automated residential system that uses conveyors for your shoes and hanging items just like those at the dry cleaners!  The Luxe Wardrobe system makes it possible to hang double the amount of items than with a regular rod system in the same space.  I think this system would be great in space challenged condos or older homes with limited closet space.  Saving square footage in the closet would leave more space available for actual living spaces.

There really is something to the old adage “a place for everything and everything in its place”.  A well organized home is a pleasure to live in and eliminates lost time and frustration searching for specific  items.  Starting your morning  with a well organized closet helps you face the day and its challenges feeling in complete control.

Does this hi-tech system appeal to you?

Bay Area Beauty

I loved this San Francisco apartment recently featured in Architectural Digest.  The designer skillfully balanced the needs of the homeowner’s  family demands  and their need to express their style.  Also, the collaboration between the designer and the couple in choosing interesting Asian art and antiques results in a home that is personal and beautifully designed. 

 

Like airports and railway stations, residences can be points of departure for life’s grand adventures. For a couple from Manhattan, she a psychotherapist and he a real estate attorney, the purchase of a 1,670-square-foot condominium overlooking the hills in San Francisco has been a chance to explore the city’s Pacific Rim culture and, perhaps more significantly, the terrain of the heart.

The couple was ready for “a new place and a new role for ourselves as grandparents,” the wife says of their decision to put down roots near their young grandchildren in San Francisco. (They commute from their primary residence in New York.) “We love the topography and ease of life, the Asian vibe. We wanted the residence to be emblematic of who we were in San Francisco.”

Longtime connoisseurs of contemporary art and architecture, the couple asked for a sophisticated apartment for themselves that would also function as a warm gathering spot for the extended family. “The Asian aesthetic is very sympathetic to ours,” the husband explains. “It’s all about simplicity, line and form.”

Of course, every difficult expedition needs a Sherpa. The couple, who “even deliberate on where to go to dinner,” says the wife, are still amazed by how easily they settled on The Wiseman Group and senior designer Judy McBride. They had researched the firm and admired the model apartments and interior fittings that Paul Vincent Wiseman had designed for the St. Regis Residences, where they now occupy a prime floor. Perhaps it was that fabled Bay Area karma.

“Their thing is modern,” says McBride, whose first in-depth design meeting with her well-traveled clients was held at the VIP lounge at San Francisco International Airport. “But this residence is about moving west, closer to Asia.”

For those desirous of architectural detail (and who isn’t?), even the most luxurious modern building can pose challenges. Here, the thorny issues were low ceilings and a structural beam beneath the windows running the entire length of the apartment. “It was tricky,” says Wiseman. “We wanted something bold yet simple.”

His solution took the form of a series of cantilevered alderwood shelves with Asian-inspired joinery and bronze hardware—a contemporary abstraction of the traditional Japanese tansu. The shelves visually anchor the interiors and, in the master bedroom, appear to float to the window’s edge. To further frame and define the space, The Wiseman Group designed a room divider between the master bedroom and the den that functions as a set of doors but reads like a paneled wall, establishing a strong architectural presence. “There was no detailing,” observes Wiseman. “So we had to create it.”

McBride and the couple scoured the Bay Area in search of fine Chinese and Japanese objects and works by Bay Area artists—expeditions that took them from Sausalito to Jackson Square. “We had a lot of fun going to places with Judy,” the wife recalls. “This whole new ancient world opened up to us.”

Click here to view the entire article.

Next Page »