mirrors

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

Shrine Sale Scorcher…Vintage Mirrors on an Extremely Hot Day

Today was a very hot although lovely day at the shrine sale, full of friends and faces missed over the summer. The temperature forced us to be leisurely and it was fun to be open to exploring and not have an agenda or be on the hunt for anything in particular. That being said, like all days at any market, a theme usually emerges and today was no different. One of my personal obsession jumped out at me today and I did my best not get lured in, trying instead to take photos for you and pretend to collect instead of buy.

Remember these mirrors from John Derian in this post? The caption identifies them as nineteenth century, but I think they are more likely to be 1920-30s and were often used on shaving stands and dressing tables. I checked and the date on this tear sheet is 2002 – which should give you a sense of how long I have been holding on to it. Add to that the myriad of posts this summer showing old and etched mirrors in the bedrooms and bathrooms back at the Shore and that should give you a sense of the depth of my love for anything silvered and bevelled.

Well today was a mirror day at Tomioka Hachiman, starting with this beauty, with its heart shape scroll stand and bevelled edge. If you can ignore my point and shoot ruining the photo, the reflection gives such a great sense of what the market is like.

Next up was this tiny round and a small hanging shop mirror. I thought the circular shape would make a great counterpoint to the larger rectangle above.

And you know the rule of threes – I thought this smaller rectangle was just what was needed to complete a trio.

Along the way I found this frameless one compelling. It’s hard to see how pretty the chain and clips are, but take my word for it.

So what do you think I did? I was a good girl and bought only the first mirror – no way I could resist that scrolling stand – and I am waiting to see if the regret rolls in. There is always the chance I’ll be racing back there soon, hoping against hope, that the others are still unsold.

My trusty helper had a great day too, finding boxes of matchboxes to sort through. Unlike last time, no one bought the entire box out from under her! Some friends bought matchboxes too and we are thinking of having a shadowbox workshop sometime soon.

Sep 9, 2012 By tokyojinja in Glass, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets 2 Comments Tags: John Derian, mirrors, shrine sale, vintage mirror

Pale & Interesting…More Mirrors From Dave Coote and Atlanta Bartlett

So my subconscious kept percolating about this little book on my coffee table – The Relaxed Home by Atlanta Bartlett – and the idea of links between it and my last post on mirrors. A little gift from a friend for design inspiration after we bought our beach house, I have enjoyed its photographs of pretty vignettes and romantic rooms. I decided to do a little research about Ms. Bartlett and it turns out that she and her husband Dave Coote are both bigwigs in the world of styling and interior design. She is a stylist with a series of books under her belt and he is an interior and furniture designer known for his use of reclaimed materials. Between the two of their websites and portfolios, I seem to have hit the mother lode of grouped plateaus and other vintage mirrors. At this point, if you had no interest in yesterday’s post, you might stop reading, but if you loved it, time to open up your Pinterest page, because you will surely be pinning!

His portfolio is full of simply styled rooms chock full of detail, like these three engraved mirrors hanging above a bed.

There is a sparkling all white and silver Christmas mantle.

I guess Dave Coote saw and loved the 2003 Martha Stewart Living cover too.

Another mirrored grouping in an entry hall.

And again, above a daybed in a rustic cabin.

Together they also have an online store called Pale & Interesting, where this incredible antique mirror is for sale.

While their aesthetic is definitely linked to Martha Stewart and Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic, they add their particularly casual Aussie-Kiwi white sensibility to the spaces they design. You can just tell that all of the following kitchens are not found in the USA.

They paint floors white or pickle them a light color in many of the spaces for a dreamy look, like this white bedroom…

…and bath. If some of these spaces seem familiar to you it is because they also run a photographic locations agency and many of their spaces have been styled in advertisements and shelter magazines.

This painty white aesthetic is also hugely popular in Japan and you see it in styling at clothing and home goods stores and even at some charming antique market booths, like these at the Oedo market.

This one is more French, but similar in overall feel.

I love these white spaces, but I am not sure I could give up color…What about you?

Image credits: All photos via Dave Coote or Atlanta Bartlett except the first and final two from me.

Apr 22, 2012 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Color, Glass, Interior Design, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets 7 Comments Tags: Atlanta Bartlett, David Coote, etched mirror, mirrors, white, white interiors

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…Vintage Etched and Engraved Plateaus

My last post finished up with a comment on charming vignettes of objects with handles, but as I lay in bed last night I kept feeling I had forgotten something. This morning I realized that I had – and not only from that post – but one prior as well. I had found this photo from Anne Kelly’s new book Rooms to Inspire by the Sea and meant to include it in the post on her book. After I had forgotten it there, I decided to use it in yesterday’s post as it was yet another example of display with handles, but I forgot it once again. So a double oops has spawned its very own post.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I love this image of grouped mirrors over the painted vintage dresser, although I am a little less excited by the heads.

Groupings of mirrors can be easy and inexpensive to create, adding a sense of jewelry to any room. Etched and engraved round plateaus are my favorites, made not only to hang on the wall, but also to place on dressing tables to hold bottles of lotions and perfumes, keeping wood surfaces safe. This tear sheet from Martha Stewart Living, dating to the early 1990s, shows a few beautiful examples up close. You’ll notice a little pen note written in the corner – I actually tracked down the dealer of the small oval mirror and tried to buy it – but I couldn’t wrest it away from one of the stylists on the shoot who bought it for themselves.

About ten years later, the magazine featured plateaus again in this stunning bathroom lined with shelves to hold the largest collection I have ever seen. The variety of shapes and sizes just takes my breath away!

I have been collecting similar antique etched mirror plateaus for years and I am hanging them on the wall in our bedroom at the beach house. I have placed the mirrors so that they reflect the ocean and the beach back into the room. The larger one engraved with stars is one of my very early antique purchases, which I believe I bought in 1992 in Annapolis, Maryland. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find the others, only two have surfaced so far, so I am hunting for some more, both in my own boxes and out in the marketplace.

I have my eye on this one…

…and this one.

A few years ago Williams Sonoma sold modern versions of the mirrors, but they lack that certain something that you only get with an antique. Call it patina, call it personality, call it whatever, but definitely missing.

The round plateaus are not the only etched mirrors to catch and keep my attention. I love the long floral engraved ones common to old medicine cabinets and bathrooms. I love the tongue in cheek placement of this pretty vintage one.

Etching or engraving isn’t even necessary – just a great bevelled edge will do – especially if you have the little glass star bolts. You can reinvigorate an old mirror by adding them, easily found at hardware stores according to this article. I have passed up many mirrors in my day because they were missing them.

A scalloped or ruffled bevelled edge paired with an unusual shape makes this one a winner too. I bought this for my hall bath, but it was the wrong size so I am using it in my daughter’s bedroom instead.

Small decorative mirrors like these are wonderful on dressing tables and in the bath. They are commonly found in Asia, so keep your eyes open at the shrine sales.

Irregular gallery walls filled with a variety of old mirrors are another favorite.

Love the hanging chains on all these frameless ones.

The variety and coloration here are outstanding. Love the mix in with other objects and images.

Image credits: 1. Rooms to Inspire by the Sea, by Anne Kelly, photographs by Tim Street-Porter, 2-3. Martha Stewart Living, photo credits unknown, 4. me, 5-6, 10. via Etsy, 7. Williams Sonoma Catalog, 8.House Beautiful April 2009, photo credit: Lisa Romerein, 9. Country Living Magazine November/December 2001, 11. New York Magazine October 7, 2002, 12. Haskell Harris in Southern Living, April 2009, photo credit: Charles Walton IV, 13. Ben Brougham in Lonny Magazine Aug/Sept 2010, photo credit: Patrick Cline, 14. via Pinterest.

Apr 21, 2012 By tokyojinja in Glass, Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report 1 Comment Tags: antiques, engraved mirror, etched mirror, mirrors, plateau, vintage mirror