Ahh, sofa dreaming...

The last two weeks I have been rereading my issues of Domino. It's amazing what you find in a year-old magazine issue that you didn't notice before. Our eyes are exposed to new things each day so what catches your eye today might not have interested you a year or two ago.

Like this couch from Room & Board.

Just a little side page ad, but today at lunch I was like "Ooooh, cute couch, must look that up on the internet!" So here it is for you to coo over too.


Anson in Discover Maize

SHELTER: Study in Scandinavia

Hurray, my first International SHELTER Study! I came across these sweetly retro apartment on Flickr and fell in love with that sofa. I was also intrigued by the clean and crisp decor of the space. Therefore, I was not surprised to find that the home was located in Norway. Though the owners, Rune and Cecilie, no longer live in this particular apartment, they wonderfully agreed to participate in this interview about their old space, and included some hints as to their new one.

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Q: Would you consider yourself an artistic person? Is it something that you use in your career or daily life?
A: Yes, I would. I have worked as an illustrator and a designer, so I am very interested in the design and looks of things.

Q: Which one of you had the most influence in the look of that space, your partner or yourself?
A: I think we are 50/50 on that, at least I hope we are. We are both fans of fifties to seventies design, and a lot of the furniture matches that period. I'm more into furniture though, and my fiancee are more into decorations.


Q: How would you describe your personal styles?
A: Retro, fused with Scandinavian simplicity and brightness.

Q: Do you think your décor style matched your personal styles?
A: Partly, I regret buying some of the more modern furniture we have. If I could undo some of the purchases, I would go for more vintage design all over, and improve the atomic-ranch look of the kitchen. I think my fiancee would agree with that.

Q: Would someone who knew you think your space represented you? Do you think it did?
A: I think they do. We are creative and playful people, and I think some of that was carried over to the apartment. With our new apartment, it's even better - since the layout itself is fun and unusual, with more space for putting little fun details. A couple of our friends are into this style to, but most people just consider this old-fashioned in a negative way.


Q: What was your biggest influence in choosing the décor?
A: We wanted it to be bright, with each room not having too many conflicting colours. I need things tidy, otherwise my mind gets distracted. And we both love the style of furniture from when our parents were young - design had a lot more personality then.

Q: What was the most expensive change you made in that space?
A: The oak floors, I think. That took a lot of time and money.


Q: What was the least expensive, yet most influential change you made to your space?
A: The colour of the kitchen walls (paint is cheap, right). That was my choice, and we like it so much that we will use it in our new kitchen too.

Q: How different is your current home? Did your style change and if so, how?
A: It's still a city apartment, but we have moved up a couple of floors. We have more sunshine, and the rooms are brighter. We have fallen in love with high gloss paint and painted floors, so there's a bit of that. But it looks really similar, which is nice. But the new one is our favourite :) I will be putting up pictures on Flickr soon, there's just a little bit of carpentry left.

Q: What decorating styles are you most attracted to: modern, traditional, country, mid-century, etc?
A: Without a doubt: Mid-century modern, particularly the Scandinavian version of it. I think in the US it's known as Danish Modern. I'm also a fan of the Atomic Ranch style, and have used that a bit in the kitchen.


Q: Can you tell me about your kitchen? In America, we do not have to purchase our kitchens. When we rent or buy, the appliances are already there. How much work is involved in putting together a full kitchen and is there an easy process in place for this?
A: Actually, if the appliances are built-in, they usually follow the apartment. IKEA is really what 99% of people go to here in Scandinavia. They are cheap and fast, and really convenient for most people. When I bought the previous apartment, it had the cheapest of the cheap IKEA kitchens installed, and I really didn't want to keep any of it. I tried finding a new one at IKEA, but I really didn't like the design and quality of their kitchens. After some looking around, I found a new one at a store called R.O.O.M - with a fantastic retro design. The kitchen was my favourite place in that apartment. When we bought are new apartment, the previous owners had just installed a new kitchen, and it had a most of the appliances built in, so they were included. We only had to buy a fridge, a lovely SMEG. This new kitchen is IKEA, and I really want to swap it out sometime in the future - I don't like the colour or the design of it :) Unfortunately, R.O.O.M stopped producing kitchens a few years ago, and I think our old kitchen was one of the few in Norway with that design.




Q: I love the sofa you had in that apartment, it has a very retro look, yet you mentioned that it was new from Eskoleia. I did some research and found that it was the Hea, but I could not find any retailers selling it or what was the price. Did it go with you to your new place? How many other pieces in those photos are parts of your new décor?
A: Yes, we still have the sofa, and all the other furniture as well. Except the dining room set, that was something we borrowed. We bought the sofa at a store called Living here in Oslo. We got it on sale, and I think it's because it wasn't any popular. I think they have stopped selling it, I can't find it on their webstore. The price was around 2,500 dollars for the sofa and two matching armchairs, which is what you pay for most sofa/armchair combinations here.

Q: Those lamps in the living room remind me of Vener Panton lamps, are they vintage or a new design?
A: Correct, those are actual Panthella lamps I got at a fair price at a vintage shop in Oslo. I'm really happy with them.


Q: I also love the pillows and table runners. Do you have any information on those?
A: The pillows are new, from a store called Åhlens. The table runners are all vintage. I think those are from Cecilie's mother or one of my aunts.

Q: How different is your grown-up style from the places in which you two grew up? A: The similarity is very much there in the furniture and decorations. But the textiles, walls and floors are different. Our parents had (and have) a lot more heavily decorated fabrics, dark and strong colours and wall-to-wall carpets.






Lost Highway house, Iron Man living room interior
Tony Stark house exterior, Chemosphere from Charlie's Angels

Q: Have you seen any homes in movies that you would want to live in?
A: I like the house in Lost Highway, David Lynch is great with interiors. I'm also a fan of Lautner, and the houses in Iron Man and Charlies Angels are very much my type of dream house.

Good luck, Rune and Cecilie in everything you do!

Images: Flickr, you-are-here.com, Phil Saunders (2), JohnLautner.org

Squint!

From my 2Modern Design Talk post:

The Selkirk chair

Squint furniture company founder Lisa Whatmough is a former artist. Her mix of period furniture like Victorian chaise lounges and comfy stuffed sofas and chairs with contemporary and vintage fabrics is eye-opening and has a cozy feeling. She started out making these as custom pieces, but now they are available made-to-order. Interestingly, "Each design is priced individually depending on the final mix of fabrics used." Therefore, they are made-to-order with a custom pricing structure.


The Simpson - front & back


The Chicago - front & back

Squint is available internationally through Squint, Liberty , Designers Guild, Lane Crawford, J Roaman , Barneys New York, and AADesign Museum in Seoul.


The Canterbury, Highgate, and Victorian Chaise styles.

Eye Candy Colors

In August, Domino shared Alice Turner's New York farmhouse. Her use of color and the uncluttered room layouts make me wish my place looked more like that. The opening spread shows her amazing 10-foot long custom designed couch. Wow! This couch is not only almost as wide as my living room but the backrest of it seems at least five feet high. Talk about feeling cozy and sheltered. The fact that this huge expanse of sofa is covered in a creamy white fabric keeps the room from looking crowded. Perhaps a light-covered love seat would help out my currently chaotic living room?

Also, instead of painting her walls a definite color, Alice and her friends whitewashed the entire place, even her floors are a lived-in white. She let the colors bloom instead on furniture and accessories.

When it came to her guest bedrooms, she let it bloom on the doors. See how she draped the ceilings? It not only looks cozy but it also hides the peeling plaster she hasn't dealt with yet. Smart.

I'm a big fan of painted wood furniture and love the raspberry daybed in her entry piled with graphic pillows. Unfortunately, I noticed the story doesn't source the ones that I like the best; those printed ones on the ends with just the right amount of white background.

Color does not have to be super bold, contrasting, or chaotic. Just add some color to your rooms and see if it changes the mood of your home and perhaps, your mood too.

The Only Sofa You Ever Need Buy

Note: Originally published at the 2Modern Design Talk blog.

The Jean-Michel Frank sofa.

You might not be familiar with the name, but you are familiar with the look. It is everywhere. It is classic and clean and works with most modern (after 1930) interior design. If you own this shape sofa, it will fit in almost anywhere, though it might not follow the other lines in your furniture designs, it will not interfere, stand out too much, or compete. It possesses straight sides; is not too puffy, and depending on the chosen upholstery, also not too unusual.

Jean Michel Frank [1895-1941] was born near the end of the 19th century. Consider what furniture movements were around at that time and you can see how this shape would have been considered highly unusual to some or extremely pedestrian to others.

The proof of this design as a classic style and the fact that it plays well with others is that almost every major furniture retailer has a similar style in their core collection, such as:

• Room & Board: Dean, runner ups: Essex, Winston
• Crate and Barrel: Axis, runner ups: Lombard, Cameron
• Restoration Hardware: Austin
• Pottery Barn: PB Square
• Macy's (as close as it gets) Corona
• IKEA (close but not it) Karlstad
• DWR: (close) Portula

For more on Jean-Michel:

• Jean Michel Frank: The Strange and Subtle Luxury of the Parisian Haute-Monde in the Art Deco Period, by Pierre Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, $64
• Architectural Digest Design Legends: Jean-Michel Frank
• Architonic: Products

Note: Jean-Michel never licensed his designs. The only way someone can guarantee that they have one of his pieces is if it can be documented that it was a part of an interiors he designed for a client's home.

Sofa Showdown: Round Two

Sure these sofas are not exactly bargains, but they are more affordable than the offerings I have seen recently in some home magazines. I can't remember what magazine, but recently I saw someone suggest both a $7,000 and a $9,000 sofa. My car cost only $10,500! Of course, that was ten years ago, but still. I feel good about that purchase but how would I feel if I had bought a sofa for nine grand ten years ago and now I want a different one? I think the cheapest sofa they had pictured was $2,500.

So I feel fine about posting these very beautiful sofas from lesser known manufacturers. Most of the sofas below are offered in both full-length and love seat size.

The sofa on the left is from Dania Furniture. I may have featured it before, but it is worth a second look. Though the Paramount is pricey at $1,395 it is still quite a bit cheaper than Design Within Reach's same-size, near look-alike Bantam for $1,950.

These next four are from Rowe Furniture's Cosmopolitan line and their MiniMod small-scale sofa collection.

Gayton

Martin

Greer

Caren

Hudson

Sofa Showdown: Round One

A Few of My Favorite Things

• Amber glass and red "swung" glass vases (also known as "pulled" glass)
• Beaded fruit
• Rehabbed and repainted sofa
• The over-the-top gold bureau
• The color orange

And above all, true funky decor!

Photos of Cynthia Rowley's home courtesy of marie claire magazine.

Sofa Showroom Update

I came across someone on Flickr who had just bought the $500 Evan sofa in Biscuit from Overstock.com and asked their opinion of the piece.

OK in NY said:

"I might have liked a darker brown and considered the Toast version, but the description said it was greenish, which I didn't want at all.

I am satisfied with the sofa but I would agree with anyone who says that it is not the equal of a $1,000+ piece of furniture. I had intended to buy a sofa at that price from Room & Board, but it was discontinued before I was ready to order.

The sofa was difficult to assemble and may not have a long life, based on the inner construction, but it's worth what it cost. Specifics to this range: the back is very firm, but this means that accent pillows will be welcome rather than a nuisance. And the back is low, which suits my MCM (mid-century modern) scheme but makes the picture look high when actually it is hanging slightly low."

The Sofa Show Down and Showroom

Whenever someone starts writing about buying a sofa on Apartment Therapy, a conversation starts about price, quality, and wanting a sofa that will last 20 or so years. Therefore, "they" say you should not buy a sofa for less than $1,000, as if that's the sign of quality. Hah!

Even though I'm older than a 20-something, I just can't see needing a couch that will last me 50 years. I see myself growing and changing much more than that. My style is not that staid that the same sofa would satisfy me for that long. No way. So I'd be pretty happy getting a beautiful couch that will last me the next 5 years.

They are out there, good sofas cheaper than $2,000, $1,000, even $900. How low you go is up to you, however, the one thing I hold to when buying anything is: always test it out yourself, if you can. Sit on it, lounge, lay on it the way you would at home, feel the construction underneath, test its legs by wiggling it, and run your hand over the fabric, with and against the grain. Then, if all that works out, buy it.

From Overstock.com:

 
Eldredge Sofa in Chestnut ($589) and Flint ($579). Size: 31.5 in. H x 72 in. W x 31 in. D

Spencer sofa in Bamboo and Biscotti for $419. (I think this is the discontinued CB2 Shelter sofa seen here.) Size: 31.5 in. H x 72 in. W x 31 in. D

Evan sofa in Toast, Asparagus, and Biscuit for $500. Size: 31 in. H x 72 in. W x 32 in. D

Jane Convertible sofa in Chocolate and Black for $959. Size: 34 in. H x 45 in. D x 79 in. L


Boudoir chair in Honey and Berry for $300. Size: 36 in. H x 37 in. W x 36 in. D

Apartment Recliner chair in Sage and Clove for $300. Size: 39 in. H x 30 in. W x 29.5 in. D


Salon chair in Eggnog for $300.
Size: 40 in. H x 33.5 in. W x 28 in. D

Not bad for variety, huh?

SHELTER: Study in Do-It-Yourself Décor

Snapshotradio's pictures on Flickr caught my eye over a year ago. This picture, of her sunny blue dining room, in particular. The sense of light is amazing. Going through her other pictures, I noticed that her personal taste and love of color was visible in every corner and vignette. So many of the things that caught my eye turned out to be projects that she had done herself.

Since then, she and her husband have changed apartments and all of those details and projects came with them. Instead of buying all new things for the new place, furniture and objects were reused or revamped. Below is a pretty comprehensive account of the different projects that she and her husband have taken on to make wherever they live into a home.

What was your biggest influence in choosing your current décor? My biggest influence in my current décor, or any décor, is nature. Our flat is very open, has many big windows with simple window treatments overlooking these old and beautiful trees. We also live near a body of water, which makes a lovely view. I’ve tried to make our space feel very organic, like an extension of the natural world outside our windows.

What specific difficulties did you have when decorating your space? There are probably a few things I could say here. For instance, because it’s a rental there is only so much I’m allowed/or want to do with the space. I don’t really want to (nor have the means to) invest a lot financially because I know we won’t be here forever. My goal was to create a comfortable and inexpensive space that reflected the overall location and feel of the flat, while at the same time incorporating my own style. Because we’re still moving around a lot, for the more expensive pieces (i.e. larger pieces of furniture) I want to make sure that whatever I buy at the time will transition well to any space. That’s sometimes hard to do, what works for one space may not work for another. I think I’m getting better about purchasing more versatile and timeless pieces that reflect my style. I find that the lack of investment that comes with renting makes me feel a little freer to experiment and be creative.

What has been the most expensive change you have made to your space? We recently purchased a new sofa. I had been trying forever to find a second-hand sofa I liked, but wasn’t having any luck. So we found a futon-like sofa from Urban Outfitters. I love the mid-century look of the sofa.

What has been the least expensive, yet most influential change you have made to your space?

It’s a tie between our window treatments (bought at Restore – a Habitat for Humanity home store) and painting a few of our rooms. When we moved in the entire flat was painted various shades of yellow (and one deep red room). I like yellow but we decided to take a few rooms and make them a little softer – this let a lot of light in and really gave the space a more open feeling.

Have you done any of the décor yourself (DIY)? 
Why yes I have… One of my absolute favorite things to do is buy second-hand or find things on the side of the street and fix them up. If I had it my way I would make everything myself: furniture, textiles, etc! Unfortunately, I don’t have those skills just yet, so when I find something already out there that I can play around with and make my own, I do that!

What exactly did you do? A lot! For instance, I put together a side-table with a paint-chip mosaic top. I spotted the idea in an issue of Readymade magazine. I picked up a ton of paint-chip samples from Home Depot, trimmed the edges, and used double-sided tape to stick them to the surface of the IKEA side table. I purchased the glass top from a local glass dealer. I used this same idea for another side table in our current apartment. We purchased a small table from Pier 1, and I found the plain already glass topped surface a little bland. To remedy this, I cut out a square of Pop Ink paper and laid it on the bare surface to create a brighter more appealing tabletop.

I love to use paint to transform pieces including store bought or found furniture, and home accessories such as teak bowls, candlestick holders, and picture frames.

Painted furniture remakes include a birch IKEA sideboard we purchased on sale. We repainted it with white milk paint and replaced the IKEA knobs with mismatched knobs from Anthropologie. Milk paint* has been used for a few pieces in addition to the IKEA sideboard.

I used Marigold milk paint to revamp an old bookshelf given to my husband from his great aunt. Milk paint in Slate was also used on a plant stand we found on the side of the road, as well as the wood trim on an IKEA chalkboard.

White spray paint is one of my favorite things to have around the house. The white mirror hanging above the sideboard was an awful gold color. So I spray-painted it matte white. The white candlestick holder sitting atop the sideboard was another awful gold project, also spray painted white. My inspiration for the candlestick came from Jonathan Adler’s designs. White spray paint was also used to transform a drab chair I purchased at a thrift store, as well as a small side table, which had been thrown out by our neighbors.

My latest spray-paint projects are the six small 4x4 thrifted mirrors hanging above our appliances in the kitchen. I used blue and white spray paint, along with pearly white nail polish (it was handy at the time), around the wood trim of the mirrors.

More wall accessories include a section of wall dedicated to various fabrics displayed in embroidery hoops. The swatch portrait idea is courtesy of the Purl Bee and can be found here.

I’ve used fabric to cover a canvas or two. I’ve also used it in the more conventional way – to reupholster. I found a vintage Costco stool at a local Goodwill and recovered the seat with Mexican oilcloth purchased at a garage sale.

I’ve made several pillows. The two floral pillows on our sofa were made from the fabric of a thrifted dress**.In addition, I’ve made a few curtains. One set of curtains, which currently hang in my husband’s office, was originally a bed cover from Urban Outfitters. I simply cut it in half and hemmed the edges to create a pair of curtains. My husband built a day bed-bench for my office. He also built and painted a plant stand. We make a pretty good team together.

What changes have you made that make you feel the most proud? I feel most proud of giving new life to second-hand or throw away pieces. It may sound a little naïve, but sometimes I get a little overwhelmed when I think of all the “stuff” out there in the world. So much stuff or junk out there has real potential to be turned in to something useful and beautiful again. It is a satisfying feeling to take something that most people might throw out or never bring into their home in the first place, and turned it in to something that looks good and makes our living space better.

If you received $1,000 that you could only spend on your home, what would you do with the money? A part of me wants to say I would use it to buy something off my “neat things” wists list. Another part of me wants to say I would use it as a flea market fund. But I’m also wondering if purchasing fabric, paints, and other supplies for DIY home stuff counts as home use only. If so – maybe I would set a little aside for a bit of all of the above!

What do you plan to do next in your space? I'm planning to repaint my office/sewing room (probably a shade of white). I'm also going to put up some prints of ocean plant life that I found on the Internet and placed on foam core board, (which is an inexpensive alternative to framing). I would also like to add one more piece of furniture - a bench. I've been scouring thrift stores and yard sales for an affordable bench I like, but haven't had any luck yet - so my husband and I may just go ahead and build a simple bench. Finally, I'm sure I will continue with various sewing projects for our living space; such as wall organizers, pillows, tea towels, oven mitts and pot holders to name a few.

What kind of homes do you most admire or lust after? I most admire homes with character, and homes that really reflect a person’s individual style, and not simply the trends of the moment.

How different is your grown-up style from the place in which you grew up? My childhood home was on a hill in the country – surrounded by open sky and small ponds. My parents designed the home. My mom is a huge fan of antiquing and DIY. She also loves to garden, so we had gorgeous landscaping. She’s always put a lot of her own personal style into her living space, and really made our home feel comfortable. I think I’ve been influenced a lot by my mom’s approach to design, my childhood home, and the surrounding land where I grew up. At the same time, I feel like my “grown-up style” is somewhat more modern, a little less country, and a lot more influenced by urban living and small spaces.

Do you think your décor matches your personal style and do you think it represents who you are?  My personal [style] is tremendously economical, somewhat fanciful, and most of all comfortable. I would say my [home] does indeed match my personal style in these aspects. I do think these things represent who I am in the sense that I am laid back yet organized and tidy, a spendthrift, and always getting lost in my imagination. I also consider my style to reflect who I am and where I am at this moment in my life.

* Milk paint is a chemically free green alternative to latex or oil paint. In a cool coincidence, the same company she used features my friend Andy Buck's studio furniture on their site.** She used the top part of the dress to make a shirt.