King of the Road

by product and concept designer Jenny Nordberg

Listening To: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

“40 Day Dream”

Reminds me in a major way of Arcade Fire, with the violin and piano leading the way for the guitar and drum, clapping punctuating the song, and choir vocals occasionally elevating the drama.  Also, am I crazy, or does his voice sometimes kind of sound like Joe Strummer from the Clash?  And for another random reference, I swear there’s something about them reminiscent of David Bowie… is it just the reverb?

Again, the whole album is really good– also check out “Up From Below” and “Janglin” for sure.

“Home”

Loving the work of…

  

More after the jump…

In the kitchen? 

THE Zach

 

When I was interning for Miles Redd, there was another intern on the days when I wasn’t there, and all I knew about him was that his name was Zach and that he was really funny and endearing, by the way David, Amanda, Nick, and Miles spoke of him.

Then I stumble upon this cool teeny tiny studio in the New York Times, start reading the article, and discover that it is the apartment of THE ZACH.  The mysterious-other-intern-Zach.  !!!!!!

Love the bar tray, love the stacks of books.

 

Hedi Slimane

More at his diary here, but I warn you, it’s addictive, and there are thousands of images.

Many Fold Farm Identity System

Seriously.  I’m totally hooked, just based on the identity system.  That’s impressive for meat and cheese, something about which you really want to be sure of the quality.

It’s not flashy or catchy at all, but the details work perfectly together– the font and its color, the image and its color, the card shape with its cutouts, the super-thickness of the paper, and the letterpress– to speak volumes about the quality of the brand.  …Exactly what you’d want in an identity system.

By Studio on Fire for Many Fold Farm, which specializes in fine meats and cheeses. You can check out Many Fold Farm’s blog here.

images reblogged from Pixels & Arrows

Nancy Meyers, I will love anything you do.

HOW did it take me this long to post the house from It’s Complicated.  I don’t know.  I actually sat in the movie thinking, “I can’t wait to go home and google the stills from the set!”*  and then somehow I totally let it slip.  Inexcusable.

So, to make up for the delay, I’ll do a massive post and even include pics from Meyers’ previous movies…

More after the jump
*(#whenyouknowyou’reanerd)

For the unitiated, Meyers is the writer and director of Something’s Gotta Give, Father of the Bride, and The Holiday in addition to It’s Complicated… essentially she is the doyenne of the thinking girl’s romantic comedy featuring older actors and great houses.  …or maybe she’s just created her on niche.  Either way, she’s great.

All of the houses for those films were also designed by the same production designer, Jon Hutman, and the last two have also had the same set decorator – Beth Rubino.  Below, a brief detour into her past films.

Above, the Father of the Bride house.  I actually decided at age 5 when I saw Father of the Bride for the first time (the first of many, many times), that I wanted to live in Pasadena because I found out that’s where this house was.  I had no idea where Pasadena was.

Above and below, the kitchen seen round the blog world, from Something’s Gotta Give.  This kitchen was actually copied by countless people (they were published) who broke down exactly what makes it good (like dark floor, white cabinets, dark counter and hardware),and then reproduced minutia down to things like the exposed hinges on the cabinets and the stove with red knobs.

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, back to It’s Complicated…

(Mom– it’s the vindication you’ve always hoped for!  She has her appliances out on the counter and no one’s stopping her.  And the kitchen still looks awesome.  Sorry for always trying to hide your appliances, if Nancy Meyers does it, I guess I can accept it!)  

Meyers, who is an interior-design lover herself, actually has her personal decorator, James Radin, work with the production designer on her projects to achieve exactly the look she’s after.  In fact, the beloved Hamptons house from Something’s Gotta Give was based on her own home.

However, having read more on the subject on blogs obsessed with Meyers’ films’ sets (you think I’m obsessed? I barely scratch the surface), his exact role is debatable, as he is only credited with a “thanks” in the film, but he includes many set photos in his personal portfolio.

According to the Traditional Home article, since so much of the movie was shot in the house, Meyers wanted Streep to look good in it and had the color palette (of lots of creams, neutrals, and oranges) done to complement her coloring.  Clever!  Who was it that said you should decorate your house so that you always look good in it?

Though the house is Spanish colonial, much of the interiors follow the Belgian trend (that Restoration Hardware has up-and-run with) going on right now– bleached wood, neutral slipcovers, slate-topped tables, etc.  I’m not complaining.

It is interesting to note that though the house does always look good, it looks much better in the stills from the actual movie than the staged shots of the set… goes to show what the right lighting can do!!

Love the painted wood floor!

Images from the trailer, via Cote de Texas, and  Traditional Home, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

Bon Voyage

Doesn’t this make traveling look stylish?  Like it used to be?  Back in those good old days I like to talk about that I didn’t live through? 

So maybe she’s on a private plane and she had hair and makeup people because this is actually a photo shoot and not real life, but leave that out and she’s still heads above the rest because there’s not an Ugg or sweatpant (#petpeeve) in sight.

I’m not saying you have to look like this babe while traveling, but I don’t think it’s even passable to stoop to the ugliness of airports and airplanes and dress so dismally to fly.  Let’s start a movement to resurrect the era when airtravel was posh.

Flavia de Oliveira shot by Fabio Bartelt – it was an editorial, so not all one designer, but I don’t even know what magazine it was for… sorry!


via Maison Chaplin

Hearth-Proud

While I’m on this winter/fireplace kick, here are a few more from the files… this time, truly vast fireplaces.  While not always the right look, when they’re good, they’re great.  A fireplace so vast you could theoretically walk right into it, or roast a lamb on spit in it*, makes you feel warm and cozy just looking at it. 

From the Mulberry Home book.  (I actually work with the woman who started Mulberry Home!  Hi Jill!  Also, incidentally, Jill’s wonderful old home in England is one of the most cozy I’ve ever been in.)

 The home of Laudomia Pucci, with a 16th century fireplace.

              

*(Vegetarians avert your eyes.)  I’ve had this (in my opinion wonderful) image stuck in my brain since a trip to Patagonia, wherein, after a freezing cold rafting trip, we got out of the river and went up to a lodge where we got out of our wetsuits, and there was a fireplace so big that I literally stood inside it to take off my wetsuit.  Only after warming up enough to regain full awareness of my surroundings did I notice there actually WAS a lamb roasting next to me.  So cool.  Then we sat by the river at a huge table and ate it with empanadas.  

Beignets

Early spring is usually thought of as a dry patch for holidays… Christmas/New Year’s is over, and Easter and Memorial Day are barely visible on the horizon.  But this year, we got a highly fortunate triumverate of holidays to break things up, and I for one, am not failing to appreciate it.

This is epic.  We just had Feb 14: Valentine’s Day, Feb 15: President’s Day, and now Feb 16: Mardi Gras begins!  Though President’s Day isn’t an excuse for any particular yummy food, it did allow time to regroup and think about yummy foods to make during Mardi Gras.  Haha, just kidding.  …Sort of… click jump for more.

I do love seasonal and holiday-oriented eating, and what better excuse than Mardi Gras to try my hand at beignets?  With the legendary Huey’s now closed in Atlanta, I haven’t had a beignet since a New Orleans trip in 2008 …and that’s far too long.

I plan to try this recipe by Paula Deen… doesn’t it seem like she’d have a good one?  She seems to be a master of anything involving frying.

photo at top from here and at bottom from Paula Deen