Looks like this:
Words truly fail me, so the best caption wins my undying love.
There is no clever way to title a post about windows
My Friends Bryan and Hannah just bought a house, and, being the GENIUSES that they are, they contacted me ASAP to inquire about window treatments coverings. I hemmed and hawed over helping them. I mean, there are only a few nice things a girl can fit into her 100 mph lifestyle. Then I imagined, what if poor sweet Brian were to, say, fall victim to an injury and he had to, oh, I don't know, spend several weeks in a cast and wheelchair with nothing but a telescoping lens and Hannah's sketches and sandwiches to keep him company? Well, I really couldn't bear the thought of Brian suffering through such a tragedy without a beautifully dressed window to peak out of. So, I decided to be the bigger person and help the kiddos out by compiling this small collection of window goodness.
Oh, one last thing before we get started, and this is VERY important... whenever Erin and I advise a friend via the blog, it is your responsibility, dear readers, to take a shot every time we type their names. This is why we usually only help on Fridays. This week is bonus because there are 2 names: Hannah and Brian (shot! shot!) Hooray! Back to windows
My knee jerk reaction to any window dilemma is Roman Shades! I love them! I think it's because you get all the luxury of fabric but they're nice and crisp and tailored, not all flowy and showy. I just bought some lovely black and white striped fabric to make roman shades for my bedroom that will look similar to this:
Tracey Garet's home via Alkemie
I will forgo the silly wooden sculpture and the fancy wing-back chair. More Roman Shade Porn:
photo 1: Kelly Wearstler / photo 2: Muriel Brandolini via Desire to Inspire
The first picture shows that Roman shades really do have a decadent side, if you must. The second shows their all out sex appeal. Something about the sheer shade that creates texture and depth when it's folded is just oh so hot! I've never really been a big fan of combined window treatments, what does everyone think of the roman shade paired with the printed curtain?
(I'm sorry, I can't remember where I found this picture)
MMMM, naaaa, I don't think I like it.. what about you Brian and Hannah?
Photo by Paul Costello
If you're going to go with curtains, I say go with curtains. These neon yellow over-sized raw silk numbers were clearly hand stitched by the angels in heaven, carried down by little doves and installed by tiny baby kittens with golden paws. Clearly. I also REALLY LOVE when curtains are hung at the top of a wall, just below the ceiling, despite how tall the windows are:
photo courtesy of survive style 5's flickr photostream
Some people like floor to ceiling curtains so much, they just skip the walls altogether, I strongly advise this:
Phillippe Stark via Desire to Inspire
I'm sure that Brian and Hannah's back patio looks very similar to the one below, in which case I suggest the following outdoor treatment:
from le Chateau Les Crayeres (via notcot)
Now that we're all sold on floor-to-ceiling, let's talk pattern. Everything should match perfectly, right?
Ok, admittedly, I have a big, huge, giant soft spot in my heart for over-done pattern. Go big or go home, I say. Actually, I've never said that, but I do really love seeing every last inch of a room covered in a perfectly repeating pattern. If Brian and Hanna would like to go with something less, um, dramatic, I would like to suggest a nice chevron or stripe:
Curtain Selection by House of Mann
Yes, I know that is not a window, but isn't that fabric to die for? Yes, yes it is. It will also be a perfect save incase Brian ever gets thrown in Jail and Hannah has to make a beautiful dress from her drapes so she can go find him and beg him for money. (Wear Gloves Hannah!!!)
Oh, and look at this luxurious floor to ceiling set up:
residential project by lazzarini pickering
I need to quickly interject and provide the most important piece of wisdom to Hannah and Brian: no matter what, despite the type of curtain you choose and the height at which you choose to hang it you can never ever even consider for a moment hanging it with these:
I have just this very minute decided that I don't like them. I think it's the wimpy cord, or the wimpy litle circles... maybe if the clasps were more substantial? Oh, I don't know, they just look like they're trying to be a little too clever. Speaking of clever, here are a couple of clever things that you might like:
ASCII Curtains via Nets 2 Go
Brian has one of those techy jobs that none of his friends ever totally grasp, so, I could be REALLY REALLY wrong on this one, but Brian just might appreciate that the above curtains are made from number patterns much like a programmer would see (I'm pretty positive he's not a programmer, though) I think Hannah would like the tree, Hannah likes things that are sweet (did I tell you? she's a nurse). That curtain is like Brian and Hannah: computer-y and sweet. If that curtain told you the most insanely dry and witty joke you've ever heard, then it would be exactly like Brian and Hannah.
Man you guys must be sauced right now! Well, cover one eye and feast the other one on this:
Magnetic Curtain by Florian Kräutli via nets 2 go
Look! It's magnets! Magnets are holding that baby up. No cords or nothing. awesome.
If Brian and Hannah decide, after reading this post, that they have a complete aversion to fabric, might I suggest some lovely indoor shudders:
Mmmmm, I really just like those more and more every time I see them. Here's another non-fabric window option:
Emma Jeffs White Orba Adhesive Film available at Design Public
Just slap a sticker on it and you're good to go (note, stickers are NOT OK on walls, just windows and only under the right circumstance)
Now if Brian and Hannah are blessed enough to have windows like this, then I suggest no treatment at all:
dream photo courtesy of survive style 5's flickr photostream
Happy early weekend, kids, and good luck sleeping off those hangovers
Sweet Street
A few days ago, Hunny Bunny went to check the mail and returned to report that our brand new mailbox had been tagged. Although he seemed rather annoyed, I was pretty stoked. A graffiti artist! Chose to tag! Our mailbox! I had swirling visions of Banksy and the old school subway taggers of yesteryear so I sprinted outside to take a look, only to find that HB had overstated the situation. It was total crap. Just a squiggle unworthy of the lowest tagger. Obviously the work of the roving preteen amateur gang of hooligans that live down the street, riding their skateboards and smoking their cigarettes and having their fun. Damn them. Perhaps the recent onslaught of graffiti'd furnishings can fill the gaping hole of bitter disappointment left by my lofty expectations?
London-based graffiti artist KID4EVA reinvents the classics at Burke and Hazelden. If I thought I could paint even half as well I'd give my fusty brown credenza the rainbow treatment seen on that dreamy armoire. Over the top tackaliciousness in all its glory. My favorite piece by far.
But there are tagged armoires a plenty, like this pair seen at Matthew Higham Antiques:
I wish I could give credit to the artists on this one because -- let's face it -- these boring boxes are nothing without their flossy paint jobs. Graffiti'd furnishings carried by upscale retailers create an interesting conundrum since the style is generally meant to be ephemeral -- non commercial, not permanent and not a commodity. (Although there have been many discussions lately about Banksyified walls being removed, so that what was meant to be street art can be sold as murals to private collectors. See this article here for more information.)
If you aren't grooving on those graphics but still pine for the hand painted, how about these refined meet edgy pieces by Jimmie Martin:
I have to say that I probably would have liked these pieces even without their fancy treatments because I've always had a sweet spot for the baroque, most likely because my dear mother never met a curved line or a damask print she didn't like. Still, the contrast colored interiors are flashy and fly.
Holla at these sleek street chairs produced by a collaboration between Deadgood and Mr Jago:
Holy camoffiti! The dreaded barstool attacks! So are these streetwise collaborations a way for graffiti artists to make some cheese off the work they already enjoy doing, or is it just another bourgeois commodification of art, becoming all style and no substance?
Instead of tagging on the surface, the tag becomes the surface in Luis Alcandu's shapely furnishings:
Wouldn't it be fun to tag up the wall behind a frameless mirror? You know, if you have talent (or an opaque projector)?
For those who live large, Ted Nemeth's designs combine an extravagantly tough aesthetic with an insane commitment to craft:
The result: ballers only. (seen here)
Meanwhile, these sweet and light pieces by Anna James have been making rounds on ye olde interweb:
The armoire is charmingly named "Vernona" while the end tables are "Romeo and Juliet." Stodgy Italiante structural flourishes merge with a juvenile spirit in a popular and adaptable style. A veritable DIY maelstrom of scribbles and gouges has been born. (seen here)
First up, the couch (on the left) by Pamela Bell inspired blogger Hidden In France to let her kids go graffiti in the family room:
John Derian sofa vs Ikea Klippan sofa. Hmmm. War of the wallets.
And the trend keeps devolving:
These photos are courtesy of the website DIY Kids. Surely everyone has joked that even a kid could make modern art. Does that mean we should actually let kids write all over our furniture? What happens when you sit on that ink filled fabric? Or spill a drink on that ink covered table?
Why not just give them some disposable furniture to ruin. Like this:
Factum is marketing a recycled cardboard chair kit that even comes with markers so you can make your own DIY disaster. Ok, maybe it's just me, but my chair would not come out looking like that. I may not even be able to top the Hooligan Gang's masterpiece on our mailbox.
Don't worry. I wouldn't leave you with those pictures.
Draga Obradovic makes gorgeous graffiti-inspired furnishings for grownups. (seen on Carolina Eclectic)
What is art, what is commerce, what is a pretty trend, and what is just a messy disguise for messiness? I see a lot of pieces I covet, and I'm a little conflicted. Anyone care to tell me how I should feel?