TGIF, 10/29/10 Edition

("The Halloween Judge" by Jamie Shelman, via her Etsy)

Hallelujah, another weekend is upon us!

I'm at the tail-end of grantwriting at work and, as a reward, my mom is visiting me this weekend! Mom's going to help me with some projects and bring me a few pillows she's made for my linen loveseat (how great are moms, btw?). We'll be dropping off my ottomans to J.t.U. on Saturday and will be waiting with bated breath until they are done.

Secondly, my dear Adam will be back on Halloween day from his world tour. Maybe we'll gorge ourselves on candy in celebration.

Happy weekend! Happy Halloween! See you in November, friends.

Obviously, I'm Cheaper Than Most

Look, I'm going to be honest with you all. I really, really want to like One Kings Lane and their fabulous discounted offerings, but I've never pulled the trigger on any of the items I've admired. Reason being?

I'm cheap, that's why. Either that, or the things offered on One Kings Lane just aren't discounted enough. Am I alone here?

Let me give you a couple examples from Tori Mellott's Tastemaker Tag Sale, which started on Tuesday evening. I've loved Tori's apartments featured in Domino and elsewhere, so I waited excitedly for her Tastemaker selections. But to my dismay, I was met with very expensive pieces on Tuesday night that I just can't get over.

Here's a sampling of the items, some still available for sale.

A vintage tulip chair, $599

A velvet x-bench, $599

A 1950's chrome chair, $599

An octagonal table, $1,499

An upholstered headboard, $1,999

A shagreen box, $249

A marble egg, $199

(all via One Kings Lane)

Okay, so I get it. Tori is famous and has great taste, and these are one-of-a-kind items....buuuuuuuuuut, am I the only one who could find similar pieces for much less? Am I the only one who thinks One Kings Lane is still expensive, despite being a discounted site?

Please tell me I'm on to something here. I don't want to go on believing that I'm the only one still living in a recession reality.

Spotlight on: Chairloom

If you're a regular reader of Lonny, you've probably seen the cute ad for Chairloom above in the last several issues. Chairloom is a modern upholstery business run by Molly Worth that just happens to be located in the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore!

Chairloom's portfolio demonstrates just how transformative fabric can be, especially when talking about an unlikely duo of traditional furniture paired with a punchy print. Choice fabrics include Virginia Johnson, Hable Construction, Studio Bon, Rubie Green, and Katie Ridder.

Feast your eyes on these lovely pieces:

A sofa in Katie Ridder fabric:

Richard Saja's toile in action:

Pineapple Express: Rubie Green's fabric invigorates a once-tired chair:

You can never go wrong with a little Hable Construction:

A chair brightened with Rubie Green yellow rose fabric:

A side chair with the Madeline Weinrib treatment:

And last but not least, my own chair, in a lovely Rubie Green print:

(all via Chairloom's Facebook page--see, it pays to use Facebook!)

When I approached Molly to reupholster my chair in the Rubie Green "East Village" fabric, I knew I could expect a job well done; what I didn't expect was how friendly and genuinely excited she is for each client's vision. Even if you aren't in the greater-Philadelphia area, I highly suggest checking out Chairloom's work for those upholstery projects that you don't have enough inspiration to finish.

Visit Chairloom's website at: www.chairloom.com

p.s. I don't receive any compensation for the post--I'm just highlighting a local small business that I think is a cut above the rest.

Green With Envy

The color green connotes a lot of things in western culture: envy, wealth, luck, youth, rebirth, and nature. It's such a fresh color and I'm currently obsessed with Ellen Hamilton's use of green in several rooms she's designed.

(via Hamilton Design Associates)

'Til I'm able to make enough green to hire Ms. Hamilton to design a green room for me, I'll just have to be green with envy.

(See what I did there? Yeah, I'm good.)

Divine Inspiration: Sister Corita Kent

Happy Monday, friends!

Today, I share with you a little artwork from Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986), a Catholic nun, artist and educator whose artwork conveyed messages of peace, love, and social justice during a time of war and great cultural change. During her time at Immaculate Heart College in California in the 1960's, Sister Corita produced countless numbers of serigraphs with the help of her students that are now available through the Corita Art Center. In her work she invoked the new wave of the decade's pop cultural iconography, including the Beatles and Wonderbread, to reach a wide audience.

Later in her life, she left the Order for a new life on the east coast. She befriended Charles Eames and stayed dedicated to her social justice commitments, working with George McGovern, Amnesty International, and Physicians for Social Responsibility on their advertising and political campaigns.

Here are just a few pieces I'll highlight (saving more for you to check out yourself here):

Entitled "Understanding":

Entitled "Only Speak of Hope":

Entitled "Wonderbread":

Entitled "Damn '78":

I've purchased the "Wonderbread" print, as well as this lucite paperweight and I can't wait 'til they arrive.

(all via Corita Art Center)

It'll great to be surrounded by divinely-inspired artwork that represents a life dedicated to hope, tolerance, and love.

TGIF, 10/22/10 Edition

(via Virginia Kraljevic's Etsy)

TGIF indeed. As the work week looms, I develop psychological angina that only subsides as the weekend approaches. That said, here we are again!

This weekend:

• Spending some QT with Adam before he's off to London-Hamburg-Barcelona. (Quite the world traveler my guy is!)
• Ottoman update: I've ordered my Togo fabric from Premier Prints, and am hoping to drop the 2 pieces off next Saturday to my guy J.t.U. (Joe the Upholsterer, as I've dubbed him). For more on the intended project, read about it here.
  

I bid you adieu until Monday, readers.
Now get off the computer and go enjoy your much-deserved weekend!

Can I Make This?: Felt Organizer

So, in the perpetual quest to improve my guest bedroom, I'm looking to rid myself of my red Ikea Helmer filing cabinet that holds an assortment of craft items in that room.

Truthfully, I could manage to pare down my crafting supplies and I think this cool felt organizer is just the thing to me motivated... 

Spotted over at Apartment Therapy in Annie and Paul's House tour:

(via Apartment Therapy)

As well as on Casasugar:

(via Casasugar)

...But the main theme of this blog is my cheapness, so naturally I'm not willing to shell out $70 for Mio's Grid Wall Pocket Organizer. I can be pretty clever, so tell me, could I replicate this?

Our modern crafting maven Martha regularly recommends using 100% wool felt from Magic Cabin. Their 18" x 18" squares come in dozens of colors, and retail for $8 per square. 2 pieces seamed together strategically might just do the trick...

(via Magic Cabin)

Once I gather my supplies and start working, I'll be sure to report back. Wish me luck!

Color Now!

Sorry for the late post, friends.

This week, work has been absolutely crazy. I'm not an interior designer nor do I do anything creative professionally. Instead, I work in academia and it certainly has its ups and downs. Right now, I'm in the midst of a series of downs.

This week, I'm desperate for some inspirational, colorful interiors that revive me when I come home feeling nearly dead.

These Jamie Drake rooms should do just the trick:






(all via Drake Design Associates)

Like a jolt of adrenaline, no? Just what we all need on a Wednesday.

Interiors at 1:12 Scale

Sometimes I'm really intimidated about decorating my apartment. There is so much to consider: colors, lighting, the scale of the furniture, etc.

That's why I'm amazed at what Mrs. James Ward Thorne, a Chicago woman, created at just 1:12 scale: these lifelike recreations of the nineteenth and twentieth century American home in doll size.

These dollhouses are chicer than my home!

The little girl in me is enchanted, while the adult in me is envious of the beautiful decor.

(Cape Cod Living Room, 1750-1850, c. 1940)

(Pennsylvania Drawing Room, 1834-36, c. 1940)

(New England Bedroom, 1750-1850, c. 1940)

(Virginia Entrance Hall, 1751-55, c. 1940)

(Virginia Drawing Room, 1754, c. 1940)

(California Living Room, c. 1935-1940, c. 1940)

(California Hallway, c. 1940, c. 1940)
(all via The Art Institute of Chicago)

If you're in the Chicago area, check out these rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago's exhibition of the Thorne Rooms beginning on November 1.

Maybe decorating would be easier if I made a practice run on a dollhouse...nah.

Delphine Krakoff

Did you know that Reed Krakoff, president of Coach and designer of his own eponymous line, has a French gamine wife who is a talented interior designer? Her name is Delphine Krakoff and, with her design firm Pamplemousse Design, Inc., she is really making a name for herself.

Here are some lovely homes (or should I say "estates"? "mansions," perhaps? or is "compounds" the best word?) that she's added her touch to:

(all via Pamplemousse Design)

C'est magnifique, Ms. Krakoff, c'est magnifique.

Happy Monday, readers!