A Sensational Color blog
I had planned to be in Paris this week for Maison&Objet but decided to skip this trip when the opportunity arose for me to go India for the first time in just a few short weeks.
The business woman in me thinks it was a smart decision, and the mom in me is happy to not be feeling quilty about being away yet again but the creative soul in me doesn’t want to hear from those two…she just wants to at the show absorbing every ounce of insight and inspiration.
So rather than miss it completely I decided to sneak a peak into what was going on at the show, get inspired from afar and and share a highlight of the day.
“An encounter with designer Pierre Paulin”
For sixty years Pierre Paulin has been creating world renowned furniture, products, and interiors and even if you don’t recognize his name you’d recognize his work whether from the screen of a James Bond movie, a display at the Museum of Modern Art or in seating area at the Louvre.
The Mushroom chair is a part of the permanent collection of MOMA
The Mushroom chair was the first design Paulin constructed using covered foam over a wire frame and its unique form was considered revolutionary at the time.
The shape and colors of the Tongue chair instantly make me smile
This chair was just the first of many sculptural chairs designed by Pierre Paulin in the 60s and the one that I instantly associate with his name is the Tongue chair.
Paulin is one of the most significant French designers of the 20th century that came to notarity in the U.S. in the mid-60s.
The New York Times first reviewed this marriage of cutting-edge design and material innovation in 1967. It was love at first sight for critic Rita Reif when she wrote, “the wedding of the sinuous, brilliantly colored prints with the sculptured furniture is so successful that it is hard to imagine one without the other” (New York Times, December 6, 1967). **
This brought back thoughts of design icon Jack Lenor Larsen (who’s work I have loved since college) because many of Paulin’s pieces were covered in funky fabrics which he designed. Larsen’s collection of innovative, stretch-woven upholstery fabrics were designed to work on the curvilinear designsand set a new standard in textile design.
Artifort re-introduced Le Chat, with a slight modification in JLL’s fabric “Momentum“
These two were quite the force in the 60s and I think Artifort sums it up best, “
ust thinking about them has inspired me to get back to a little creative design project of my own but I’ll be back tomorrow to give you another glimpse into my inspiration from Maison&Objet.
Resources:
More about Pierre Paulin and Jack Lenor Larsen at Artifort
From “Happy Birthday Pierre Paulin” at frenchculture.org**
See furniture at Surroundings and Architonic
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After an invigorating day of skiing, snowboarding or other outdoor activities, snuggle up by the fireplace along with our nostalgic print to help keep you warm. The blending of aqua with soft snow whites and cocoa browns naturally evokes a fresh feeling of the outdoors within us.
I am an avid skier and love outdoor winter sports. Do you recognize me; I’m the one on the right alongside my sister and father. Winter Wonderland was inspired from old photographs of family ski trips to the Quebec Laurentian Mountains.
In the 1950’s, novelty designs became popular and were known as conversational prints. Using these types of prints throughout your decor can conjure up happy childhood memories and give a home a story. Whether you’re in the city or the country, rekindle those memories with Winter Wonderland.
Resources:
See Winter Wonderland fabric at Jaima Brown Home
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While making dinner the other night I caught the tail end of a Project Runway re-run on Bravo. To be exact it was episode #4 from Season 4, and yes I had seen the episode twice before- yet somehow I never tire of this show so I watched it yet again.
If you are equally smitten as I am with this gem of a show, you probably remember it as the “outdated trends” episode.
Jillian diligently working in her overalls- she shouldn’t have felt too ashamed though, as it appears Karl Lagerfeld is on her side of this “one minute your in, the next minute you are out” dilemma.
If you’ve never watched… a quick run down.
Nine designers, each assigned with a popular fashion trend from the last two decades, or so … trends that seem to warrant giggles, snickers and even some personal embarrassment for designer Jillian who discovers she is wearing one of these taboo outdated looks herself- denim overalls.
The designers are asked to divide themselves into teams of three ( each with a team leader) and reconfigure these “dated” once popular fashion trends into a cohesive collection of “looks” fit for a modern-day woman.
The first two times I watched the episode I was too caught up in the drama of the sewing room to really give the trends any thought but the third time around, as the designers were pleading their cases in front of the judges ( which this week included guest judge Donna Karan), I was taken aback by how many of these “dead” trends I had recently spotted while clicking through photos of the Spring 2008 collections on Style.com.
In or Out?
In the minds of the judges, Team Jillian took denim overalls to a whole new level and won the challenge…
…and for Spring 2008 Karl Lagerfeld put the “Chanel” spin on his own version of this “outdated” trend
Team Christan attempted to bring zoot suits and menswear as woman’s wear back…
…and Haider Ackermann seems to have had the same agenda.
Team Ricky was given the trends neon colors, cut-outs and underwear as outerwear- three trends I’ve just recently been writing about…
…in fact, I think Anna Sui could have been the fourth designer on their team.
And poor Chris March, his team was on the bottom this particular week and his personal attempt at breathing life back into the trend of larger than life “shoulder pad” sent him home…
…ironically Nicolas Ghesquiere’s vision of bringing fashion focus back on “shoulders” for Balenciaga has got to be the most talked about silhouette of the season.
So the questions is– “Who’s to say if a trend is in or out?” Are there any trends that you wish would stay “out” rather than come back “in”?
Resources:
Project Runway gallery photos from Bravo.com
All Spring 2008 collection photos from Style.com
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I woke up last Sunday to the gloom of dense clouds and howling winds. I tried to close my eyes and think of sunny Spanish beaches and bright Paris studios, to no avail. So, as a resourceful girl, I called up my best girlfriend and planned a trip to MOMA. Where better to see the colorful world displayed than in a museum?
The Museum of Modern Art is 7 blocks from my apartment but I hadn’t been there since their grand re-opening 2 yrs. ago (except for an exciting catering job I did for the premier of the NY Film Festival opening film “The Interpreter”).
The center of the enormous space is flooded with natural light - it actually seemed sunnier inside than outside.
We decided to see the Georges Seurat drawings first , as the exhibit was closing soon. Most of the pieces were done with black ink but WOW were the shadows and figures he created, very powerful. We both agreed that our favorites were the circus and cafe series. There were some seascape oil paintings that were lovely blues and greens - very cheery.
Then , we headed to our faves- the paintings and drawings. The first painting I see is “The Ohio Gang” by R.B. Kitaj. He gained fame in London then came back to live in NY. The yellow and orange stripes of color almost take your eyes off the bare breasted woman above a baby stroller. Something almost sinister about this painting…can’t put my finger on it.
My eyes follow the frames until I get to Picasso’s ” Les Moiselles d’Avignon.” Naked women again, but this is a celebration of life. I want to be one of those women standing before Pablo- even if it’s the wolf faced lady. His other 2 paintings “Woman Dressing Herself” and “Girl Before A Mirror” are intimate but more lively. He has taken a solitary experience of a woman’s day and glorified it with his exuberant palettes. I believe it takes a Spanish gentleman to appreciate the true beauty of all women. (Or at least a Spanish cubist living in France).
Claes Oldenburg’s “Giant Soft Fan” bring us to our Swedish sensibilities. Who else could create a giant blow up plastic fan- the fog is finally lifting.
I don’t care how many times I see Van Gogh’s Starry Night - it thrills me. The lovely swirly clouds and stars seem to be dancing in the indigo sky. It’s shocking to me that he was in an asylum , in Saint Remy France, as he painted this - I hope he got as much pleasure from it as I do.
Through another gallery and I’m back in Paris. By way of Russia , Kandinsky enters my view. He’s my dad’s favorite artist- probably because his paintings look good in every room (every color in one painting). I know that Kandinsky has very heavy themes (The Apocalypse and political unrest) but his forms are pure and easy joy.
The gleam of Constantin Brancusi’s” Mademoiselle Pognania” proves that “All that glitters is gold” or bronze. I love the shininess of this beauty. She has a cute hairdo and looks both shy and coquettish at the same time. His travels from Romania to Paris seem to have been worth it.
Salvador Dali was in Paris when he painted the 11 layered glass piece “Petit Theatre”. My eyes are fixated on the red shoe. To me , Dali is simply another sort of being. I can”t understand how he does what he does with paint - all I know is that he is proof of the Divine to me. I’d love to talk about Dali all day long….but there’s more to see. We are done with paintings.
After a brief stop for refreshments- we decide to head to the Design Area. Patrick Nortguet designed “Rainbow Chair” - very cool and rainbowy. I want to put this chair next to a bright window and stare at the colored stripes . I feel like if the designer Paul Smith made furniture , it would look like this. Tailored , colorful, and engaging.
The only thing cooler than the chair is the Capsule Lights - they look like oversized pills- very “Valley of the Dolls”.
The perfect ending to my MOMA experience is to see a shiny Airstream trailer. As a very vintage girl….I have had many dreams of driving Route 66 in one of these very American vehicles. I agree that this should be in a museum - it’s very simplicity and functionality represent the America I love ; offering a promise of possibilities. On the road of life - take time to smell the roses and take in some art. I leave MOMA oblivious to the clouds
I’m looking forward to some shows coming to the museum. Color Chart: Reinventing Color , 1950 to Today will be exhibited March 2nd - May 12th. And my favorite, Salvador Dali, will have his paintings and films available June 29th - September 15th.
Related links:
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Baby it’s cold outside… but my mailbox is a hot bed of color talk, color trends and color advice… as another colorful, exciting year begins!
So cozy up with me by taking a quick, colorful peek into a few of my favorites issues….
“Soft hues of Gray and Beige are making a comeback this season”…notice how Harper’s Bazaar used these “new neutrals” for their cover shoot of Uma.
Lucky has a really great spread about mixing “rich, bright colors into your winter wardrobe”…”a peek of baby pink sweetens the vibrant tomato red of this jacket; gray pants an a cream turtleneck make everything that much more refined.” I absolutely love tomato red… I never would have thought about combining it with a soft pink… I will definitely be trying this!
Wouldn’t Elsa Schraparelli be proud “They Went Magenta-Way”. According to InStyle all you lilting-lilac girls, antique-rose sweeties, blush babies and cotton candy cuties get-outta-da-way because here comes a powerhouse pink that takes on all comers when it’s a match and takes no prisoners when it’s not. You’re either meant for magenta or your not.
House Beautiful asked top designers: Which paint color do you always come back to?…Keith Irvine listed Benjamin Moore’s Dark Royal Blue 2065-20 “I’m mad about this dark inky blue, as it gives great vibrancy and depth to a wall- especially if you put a topcoat of good varnish over it. That’s what we did in Rex Harrison’s Manhattan apartment in this fabulous little dining alcove.” Read more….
In a really fun issue O at Home showcases talented readers/decorators… “Winter White…It may be cold outside, but the design climate right now is warmer than ever-welcoming a slew of styles, from modern to rustic to downright baroque. So how to tie last year’s woodland craze into this season’s rococo revivial? A unifying dose of the ultimate neutral.”
Hmm, Elle Decor was on a similar wave-length… “Winter White…As crisp as a fresh snowfall, the color of the moment strikes an elegant pose, from an alabaster lamp to plush fabrics to a wintry ensemble.”
The “Color you need to now” according to Southern Accents… “peacock blue... One of those old-school colors that makes you think of grand hotels and beautifully appointed dining cars, peacock blue covers the wall of libraries, butler’s pantries and other spaces where intimacy and a little intensity seem appropriate.”
Metropolitan Home looks to brighter side with a “colorways” report on “Unmellow Yellow…. The color forecast this winter calls for a bright sunshine with a twist of lemon” I love those little stoneware hot/cold drinking cups!… they would brighten up my daily teatime, for sure.
Home’s latest is chock full of great color knowledge and ideas… This was a spread on a East Hampton house by designer Jamie Drake. I love Jamie Drake so much that whatever color advice he’s giving… I’m listening! “Drakes recipe: first choose a main color you love, then add a complementary shade, and finish with two dollops of an accent color. Voila!
New kid on the block, Vogue Living’s winter issue, featured these cool colorful rugs by Miami designer Gene Meyer. “I’ve been able to lose myself in color,” enthuses Meyer, : I’ve always loved it. I am a child of the sixties. Color then wasn’t the exotic thing it has become today.”
The cover of Martha Stewart Living features cool, sunshine yellow kitchen accents, but it was this article about houseplants that caught my eye… “The upright, linear effect of the snake plant, is emphasized by tall windows, while planters echo their verdigris colors.” I love what a color statement a common house plants can make in the right planter.
Coastal Living’s “Island Hopping… to chase away the winter chill, head somewhere tropical. Dress the part with accessories in warm tones of faux tortoiseshell and shades of golden sunshine.”… good idea, let’s pack our bags right now!!!
Read any fun color advice or discovered a new color trend you love this month?…. Let me know!
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