Another Black and White Post

Interior decor is as much a part of the fashion world as clothes are -- trends are born and then trends die. It's the cycle of style. Because I'm short on time and have to work whenever I find a spare minute or two, I tend to bookmark my posts well in advance (and for my responsible nature I deserve a gold star, right?), but the downside is that I often find I'm tired of the pictures before I even get to post them. So, yeah, I've had this awesome black and white roundup lassoed and hogtied for weeks, but I was all sick of it because I've already seen a zillion (good) black and white roundups splashed all over the blogosphere. Anyhoodle, this is my long and rambling way of saying that you're getting a (mostly) black and white post whether you like it or not, because there are some good things about black and white, and besides -- it's a classic, dammit.

Sabrina Bignami

Nicolas Matheus

Richard Powers

OWI

Francois Halard

Studio Ilse

Style Files

Studio Ilse

Jeff Andrews

Emmas Designblogg

Elle Decor

Skona Hem

Jeff Andrews

Sabrina Bignami

Did you see how many pictures I had bookmarked??? I'm nothing if not thorough, and I couldn't exactly let all that gorgeousness go to waste.

So what do you dudes think? Is black and white itself too chilly? Does it need a pop of color or the warmth of wood to make it work? Tell me your favorite picture, and I'll tell you mine... Inquiring minds need to know.

Light and Bright Feels So Right

Today I'm going to keep it casual  -- bathrobe still on, coffee in hand, chillin' on the patio, casual. Summer is over, but fall in Austin is a glorious time. For one thing, it's actually hospitable, in that going outdoors may not induce spontaneous combustion. For another, things start to wind down and transition into the holidays, and it's important to take a breather before the madness of Hallogivingxmas is in full swing. So I've got a double dose of cozy goodness for you, to help get the unparty started. First of all, Alek of the very awesome blog From the Right Bank to the Left Coast is running the "What's Your Style in One Picture" challenge, and Ima gonna play. Of course, I can't really answer this question because I am the most schizophrenic decorator ever born, loving the sleek seventies one day and rustic touches the next. But today is casual day, and having a theme always helps me to winnow the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.

Ace Hotel, Palm Springs, via If the Lampshade Fits.

I know, I know. It's so uncharacteristically spartan of me to choose this. But sometimes I feel I need a visual vacation from overdecorated spaces. I like the undone quality of this room, and the carefully chosen furnishings (that metal perforated dresser!!!!) help make it special. Of course, the tv would be replaced by art if it were my own home, but it is a hotel, so don't blame me.

And now, my fine friends, a collection of images to help keep the Om Me Padme Hum going. Sit back and hang out.

Living Etc

Gaelle le Boulicaut

Desire to Inspire

Via scubadam67's Flickr stream. Found on Even Cleveland.

Living Etc

Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects

Jeff Andrews Design

Apartment Therapy

And finally, this crazy inventive hanging bed is courtesy of the very awesome AB Chao, who will be guest posting for us while Karly in on vacay. Hooray! AB is currently leading against some serious pros in the best bedroom contest on All the Best and you peeps need to get your fannies over there and vote for her, not because I said so, but because her room is clearly the winner. Lady knows how to live casual to the max. Y'all know what I mean.

Industrial Chic Part Deux: Non-Lighting (and Also Some More Lighting Because I Said So)

Ok, wonderful readers, in my quest to bring back that bright and shiny feeling of hope and growth and prosperity, I'm taking our bandwidth to the max to present a day of industrial inspired furnishings that evince the streamlined yet utilitarian perfection of yesteryear. I have so many pictures that it may be a miracle if I don't find myself babbling in a rudderless sea of despair somewhere around the middle of this post, but right now I feel GOOD, so let's capitalize on this moment and get started, shall we? Come on in!

These fantastic Art Deco doors welcome you to a tour of machine age simplicty, of Bauhausian form and function, and obviously of scintillating surfaces sure to dazzle the eye.

Yesterday I showed a lot of kitchen pictures because it seems so easy to integrate the industrial aesthetic into a space devoted to utility. Let's review with this image from Desire to Inspire:

Apparently the lighting, cabinets and stools, are of the vintage medical/dental persuasion, and given the sterility of those environments, it's easy to see how those pieces work well in a food prep space. I'm not normally a fan of bar stools, but I like that pair.

Here's a homier set up courtesy of I Suwannee's lovely blog, and while I adore the articulated lamp, I'm really fixated on the stools. Actually, it seems like vintage laboratory style stools have been cropping up everywhere lately:

Clockwise from the top left: Super cheap industrial stool from School Outfitters, Alchemy Stool from CB2, Rollie Stool from AvroKo (via the fabulously Nerdy Fashionista), and Modern Times Stool from Sundance.

If you're looking for something a little less curvy, you could always pull these stools from Crate and Barrel up to your farmhouse table:

I'm guessing that you savvy readers saw the home of ersatz director Roland Emmerich in The New York Times. If not, I'll skip the craziest rooms and go straight for the highlights:

Love the webby wire chairs with the wooden table, the gorgeous stainless cubby, and holy moly, yet another bank vault in a home!

This room is kind of Captain Insano amazing... check out the lamp, the vintage dental chairs, and the repurposed airplane desk (and the chalkboard wall that totally makes this room happen).

Continuing on the wartime industrial magical mystery tour, this bed has a custom headboard made from a plane parts. Do you think he dreams of flying? (Also, I think the headshot on the nightstand is of him, which is kind of... different. But the GI Joe is hilarious!)

If you want your very own piece of a plane, check out LA Designer Voila's booth at the recent SF Art and Design Expo, which Leah from More Ways to Waste Time so elegantly documented:

Lo and behold, Voila carries all kinds of recycled sheet metal pieces, which have found new uses as homey aesthetic anchors:

This desk looks like it's primed for lift off!

For those of us with slightly less adventurous tastes, these pieces from Sultana (formerly known as X21) could easily blend with contemporary rustic and vintage 70's furnishings.

The desk is a little, tiny bit expensive, and ok -- the bookcase isn't much cheaper, but I can honestly say that Sultana is THE GREATEST STORE I HAVE EVER BEEN IN. The top floor is crammed full of 1st Dibs caliber pieces, and the bottom floor is a labyrinth of of the most amazing "castoffs" you have ever seen. Deals abound. I found a sweet Milo Baughman chrome base couch for $400 bucks, people. Plus the guy who runs the store looks exactly like The Dude from The Big Lebowski. If you are ever in SF, go there. You will find something.

My friend and I were drooling over the vintage industrial stainless cabinets, kind of like these:

The one on the left is designed by Piet Hein Eek, available through Cibone, and the one on the right appears courtesy of the Ferm Living blog. When I used to live in Hawaii, they had tons of those at the State Surplus, and I even saw one or two (sadly, already sold) at the Austin State Surplus. So if you have access to your local surplus, it may be worth a look.

Warning: the next image is so powerful that when I saw it on Miss Raina's awesome blog, If the Lampshade Fits, I nearly wet myself.

Yeah, I'm busting out with 70's architectural modern, but it works as industrial, right? I'm not going to split hairs when I can't stop staring at this hot number from Jeff Andrews Designs, who has hereby earned a spot in the Design God Pantheon with this room.

Plus it inspired me to think outside of my tufted box and check out these fancy furnishings:

Gorgeous hunk of burning chair from the previously mentioned AvroKo:

The original gangsta Brno chair reissued through Room and Board was designed in the 1930's by his majesty Mies van der Rohe (and you can ditch the tulip table. Really. It's ok):

I'm getting tired and punchy... told you this would happen. Know what always makes me feel better? Coffee (tables)!

Clockwise from the top left: Spool table by CB2, vintage red firehose table that I desperately want at Sultana, crazy 1940's coffee table at 1st Dibs, Bradley Hughes coffee table on casters (via Raina at La Lampshade).

Nope. Not done yet. Perhaps you already have some ladderback farmhouse chairs, but you really want to mix them up with a more modern dining table?

Below: 70's chic Rivet Table on left by CB2 (if their lighting was better, they'd be my one stop mid-price interiors shop), uber hot 40's metal table on casters at 1st Dibs on the right. You know, I think I like just about anything on casters...

Above, tables on a smaller scale: Lime green desk at left by CB2 (on casters for under $150! Use it as a console table, perhaps?) and stainless table on right by Ikea. It's for a kitchen, but who cares? Why should they have all the fun... use it as a console table or desk. For even less than CB2's version, you can buy two.

Ok, we're almost done here, but I'm throwing in a couple of home porn pictures via Desire to Inspire that show the most amazing industrial lights (I know, I know... I already did that post, but I think you'll thank me for this anyway).

Don't you LOVE the eclectic mix of things in this room? Mix and match eras at will, just keep the color and pattern minimal if you're going to wildly vary shapes, textures and scale. One more:

This is probably the kind of person I'd be if Hunny Bunny would let me. A freaky pack rat with a penchant for 40's lighting and a row of bald mannequin heads to watch over me. Yes I would.