grey interiors

Sleeping in a Cloud…Dreamy Gray Bedrooms

Funnily enough, as I was packing paperwork for our trip back to the US this summer, I stumbled across an old folder with some of my long-term gray bedroom inspiration images. In light of my last post, I can’t resist sharing them, although they are actually the old-fashioned version of actual tear sheets and in most cases I have no information on designer or publication. If you know any of the details, please drop me a comment and I will be sure to credit it.

Familiar players appear in this tight shot reflected back in a gorgeous Venetian mirror, including it, lovely white linens, stripey gray silk taffeta and European style bed. I’m not sure I would ever get up if this was my bed.

This is one of the earliest images, torn from The Washington Post Magazine and dated Oct. 4, 1992. It is on very faded paper, but I promise you it is gray, as is that standout Belgian cabinet. Just noticed now that there is even a blanc de Chine figure on the ledge.

I always had a hankering for a bit of architectural wall detail, which has been created here with the simple use of different color gray paints. There is some ticking stripe here too – in the bed hangings for instance – although it is hard to tell in the beautiful bright light of the photo.

In this very well-known bedroom by Mary McDonald from the November 2001 issue of House & Garden, photographed by Melanie Acevedo, simple molding has been painted out in white to create architectural interest. In the end, I have never had a space that would have been suited by this kind of detail, but I always love it. Note the Bagues sconces over the fireplace and the bits of ticking stripe amid all the stark gray and white. The natural floor covering warms things up, which is something I should consider.

Other images, saved the more modern way on my computer include this divine one by Alex Papachristidi in a 2006 Elle Decor. Yards and yards of gray silk taffeta tempered by the contrasting glow of the gleaming antique commode and gilt-wood mirrors.

Another influential Papachristidis image is from the living room of the same apartment (and the one the cover of his book The Age of Elegance), in particular the grid of black and white images above the daybed.

A corner in Suzanne Rheinstein’s NYC apartment is another favorite, with its Bagues sconces and Gustavian settee covered in what looks to be a very fine stripe. The whole apartment is subtle and full of gray and can be seen in Elle Decor.

Do you keep tear sheets? I still like them better than Pinterest somehow – more tactile, more real.

Jun 16, 2014 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Color, Interior Design 8 Comments Tags: Alex Papachristidi, color, gray, gray and white, gray interiors, gray rooms, grey, grey interiors, grey rooms, Mary McDonald, mirrors, stripes, Suzanne Rheinstein, ticking

More Pale Grey From Abroad

“This is an interior that’s modern and old-fashioned at the same time, and in all the right ways.”

Sometimes I really wish I could still get my hands on a paper copy of the Sunday New York Times. The ritual of holding it, reading it on paper – the fun sections on Saturday with the early edition and more serious sections on Sunday itself. You’d think I’d be over it after 7 years, but sometimes I still crave it desperately. Now there is also that great new Off Duty Saturday section of The Wall Street Journal, something I have never experienced outside of the internet. I know the paper form of journalism is turning into a thing of the past, but call me a luddite if you will, I still love it.

This past weekend was the Design & Living special Style Magazine and it featured the amazing Stockholm apartment of illustrator and artist Mats Gustafson (whose dreamy portfolio is well worth exploring) that I must share. While sunny and warm outside, it’s been a few grey weeks here at Tokyo Jinja, with my post on Megan Morton’s Australian home and my own purchase from the Bunny William’s shops Belgium tag sale on OKL. Add to those this apartment, filled with shades of grey and that wonderful Scandinavian light. You can’t miss the giant Noguchi lamp in this outstanding living room, so it even has a Japanese edge. And do I spy more taxidermy in the window? Just a swan instead of a peacock…goes with the color scheme.

The masses of organic pottery on the mantle remind me that I must get up a post following up on the pottery artists at Mashiko and my visit to Kimiake and Shin-ichi Higuchi‘s rebuilt glass studio.

The illustrator drawer cabinets in the studio could almost be tansu, don’t you think?

Aaaah, this kitchen! New, old, natural wood – what’s not to love…except maybe that stuffed crow? Perhaps people outside of Japan don’t have that same horror/fear/disgust that we do about those black birds!

And for my other glass junkies, look at these formal vases in the window, understated, and not competing with the view.

Check out the whole issue as there are many more articles of interest! And if you click on “View Print Magazine” it is almost as good as holding it in your hands…

Image credits: opening quote and all images from Design & Living 2011 New York Times, photo credit: Magnus Marding, styling credit: Jacob Hertzell.

Nov 9, 2011 By tokyojinja in Color, Expat Life, Interior Design, Kitchens 8 Comments Tags: grey interiors, Mats Gustafson, Stockholm apartment, The New York Times