Nate Berkus

A Clear Choice…Modern Brass, Glass and Lucite Coffee Tables

Now for a totally personal decorating post, but after my furniture setbacks from last week I am hoping you will indulge me. Somehow, finishing the house has become much more than just getting it organized and usable – it’s become symbolic or representative of my success in settling in to our new life. There are days when the frustrations of getting things accomplished here make me feel like I am failing. While I know it’s all fluff, not rocket science and not world hunger solving, I can’t seem to help it. You can see we have made progress, but without getting too analytical, I don’t think that is really what this is all about. Nonetheless, for now, I can’t seem to think about anything else.

In addition to the French chairs and desk that I am now missing, my living room, shown above, still needs a coffee table. I’m trying to balance desire with practicality, and as ever, some kind of availability. At times like this, with a lack of antique stores and thrift shops, I find myself scrolling 1stdibs, the place where dreams are made. There is a whole host of utterly lovely vintage lucite and brass coffee tables to be found there and that is what I would really like to add here. Visually I don’t want to clutter up the space and I assume at some point I’ll be making my way to Istanbul or Morocco or somewhere else nearby and getting a fabulous carpet that I won’t want to cover up. I’d like something airy and light and at great contrast to Yamamoto’s trunk which is being used as the other coffee table in the large square space. At the same time, I’d love some brass to link the two pieces together as the trunk has beautiful brass fittings. Corners, as on the piece below in Ellen Rakieten’s Chicago apartment, would be particularly referential. And I’m loving the way the transparent table looks with a Chesterfield sofa.

Jonathan Adler’s Jacques Table is readily available on his website and oh-so tantalizingly says “Yes, We Ship to Qatar” in big letters on the bottom. Unfortunately, the table is one of those items that is exempt from international shipping. It is too small anyway, whispers the sour grapes voice in my head.

Even better than just brass corners or edges is a table that has a shelf. I love having space to put books and other items without cluttering the top. This one, in a room designed by Lindsay Coral Harper looks like it may even be a closed vitrine. I could definitely have some fun with that.

I think it was this 2010 photo of Elizabeth Bauer‘s NYC studio in Lonny that really propelled this table onto everyone’s want list. Hers has a bit of faux bamboo detailing around the edge and a low shelf that makes for lots of magazine storage.

There are some seriously to-die-for vintage examples of this style to be had all over 1stdibs, from this Romeo Rega beauty…

…to this one by Pierre Vandel. Serious love.

I haven’t really found a budget option in this style, but the Winston Gold Leafed Coffee Table from Worlds Away might do for those of you in the USA.

An X frame is another shape I love, seen in Vogue in the home of model Miranda Kerr.

Some pretty ones on 1stdibs…

…including my favorite Karl Springer shape. I’ve been sighing over different versions of this table for years and years and it occurs to me that Mr. Springer could really use a post of his own.

In the spirit of the Springer table is the new Helix Table from Design Within Reach, designed by Chris Hardy. The addition of wood to the legs gives the table a bit more heft, but I don’t mind. I tried to convince DWR to sell me the table without the glass top this summer, before leaving for Doha, as the legs come disassembled. I thought maybe I could squeeze it in my carry-on. Who knows? I may be forced to that plan this summer.

A possibly easier option to come up with is a full-on lucite table with little to no detail to detract. I don’t want this simple waterfall one and I haven’t seen it here anyway, but ironically, CB2 will ship their version to me here. The table is inexpensive ($300) but the shipping is another 150% of the purchase price.

I would definitely consider a big simple square like this one in Claiborne Swanson Frank‘s apartment and if I was back in Hong Kong I know I could get that made easily.

I like this one that shows its joints and we could use brass screws – see I can squeeze in a bit of brass – to connect the parts.

Again there are beautiful examples on 1stdibs, most of which are also quite expensive. I don’t mind the prices on the signed pieces made with metal in the photos earlier, but find it harder to justify prices when it is only lucite.

Especially since Wisteria makes this version, on sale for $719 right now. It too comes disassembled, so I wonder about packing up the pieces and having a new glass top cut here.

This is one of those posts that has no clear (ha ha) answers at the end, but I’d love to hear what you think and which ones you like. Any suggestions on sources that might be available to me or even making my own would be appreciated! I think I must be at the six month mark – isn’t that always a dip time in expat adjustment?

Links to all the photos and 1stdibs items can be found on my related Pinterest board, along with many other goodies.

Feb 13, 2014 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Furniture, Glass, Interior Design, Metals 13 Comments Tags: 1stdibs, acrylic, CB2, Chris Hardy, Claiborne Swanson Frank, coffee table, Design Within Reach, Elizabeth Bauer, glass and brass table, Helix Coffee Table, Jonathan Adler, Karl Springer, Lindsay Coral Harper, lucite, lucite coffee table, Miranda Kerr, Nate Berkus, Pierre Vandel, Romeo Rega, trunk coffee table, Wisteria

Carpet Conundrum…Adding Warmth to the Tile Floor

Some hard-core procrastinating happening over here as I just can’t bear to look at another box. I’ve managed to clear away some of the detritus and have started to place our furniture. It’s very easy to move everything around because the tile floors are smooth and indestructible. When I looked at houses last spring it bummed me out that everything everywhere was tiled, but I am really loving how light they are and the glow they add to the room by being reflective in the sunlight. And let’s face it, it is also an incredible shopping opportunity for rugs!

I’m showing you the living room as it looks right now, definitely against my better judgement. It’s like showing a photo of myself, unshowered, with no make up or accessories – you know what I mean. But the basic building blocks are these, as well as a lacquer tansu (seen recently here) on the left wall that you can’t see and a second coffee table (ideally brass and glass) as yet unpurchased. I’m doing the double coffee table thing both to fill the space and because I just love the way unmatched ones look together. Lots of art to go up on that blank wall and longtime readers will recognize many shrine sale goodies in this photo already taking on a different feel and a new life.

Originally I was just going to have my sweet husband order big squares of bound jute or sisal for the living room, dining room and TV room to cover almost all of the tile before we even got here. In the TV room I have two antique carpets to lay down over it, a kilim and a Khotan, but nothing for the other two rooms. I’m glad he didn’t get to it because I have been having second thoughts and all kinds of other rug ideas, particularly for the living room.

Over the summer I decided a great idea might just be to buy a big bound square of lavender carpet – certainly a cheap and easy choice – much like the one in Vanessa Bruno’s Paris loft below. Instead of living lavender dreams with wall color, I could have it on the floor, a lovely mix with the warm gray walls. But as I have been pulling things out here all week, there is starting to be too much color on everything else to want that much on the floor. The pink chairs had been hidden under slip covers and it is great to see them out in the light again. Sigh, but I do love this space, so perhaps its an idea for the girls’ bedrooms.

Another option that would be very appropriate is a Madeline Weinrib dhurrie, whether it be a Brooke or a Mandala or a less used pattern like the Wes featured below in an Ashli Mizell design. For the sake of brevity, I’m not going to show photos, you all know what I am talking about anyway or click the links to scroll her carpets. Madeline also has a great Pinterest page with tons of unpublished projects featuring her designs – it’s well worth a browse! I’ve never really seen a room look bad with one of hers on the floor, so I am considering it, but I feel like the very flat dhurries just don’t warm up the tiles enough to use in the living space. I don’t think I want that much of a dominant color either, for the same reason I nixed the lavender carpet. I do think one might be ideal under the dining table, but that’s for discussion some other time.

If I want to go neutral but graphic in the living room we could use black and white stripes, either Madeline Weinrib’s Buche or the easy inexpensive option would be an IKEA Stockholm, especially as IKEA just opened here this spring (a little bit of copy cat chic going on there too). The large size is just big enough for the space. But somehow it feels too bold and graphic and like a dhurrie, not quite warm enough. Especially since this Nate Berkus room was published, I feel like it is everywhere too!

I am utterly obsessed with the rug in Susan Hable Smith‘s living room (and the entire room for good measure) but it seems to be a custom one-off made for her by Elson & Co. based on one of her fabric designs. Maybe she is bored of it by now ands wants to sell it to me?

That rug leads me right back to Ms. Weinrib, who tends to decorate not so much with her own dhurries, but often with vintage Moroccan Beni Ourain rugs. They have the same simple colors and graphic quality as the rug above but with the added comfort and texture of the thick wool pile. Made by the Berber tribes in the Atlas regions of Morocco, they were originally used as warm bedding. Beni Ourains have been hugely trendy and desirable for a while now although their popularity in the design world reaches way back into the early 20th century. While I had always liked them, they had never been on my “must have” list as I tend to like my rugs very patinated and almost threadbare. But that shaggy warmth might be just what the tiles need! Madeline uses them at home in NYC…

…and out in the Hamptons. This room has so many of the same pieces that I have in my space. Chesterfield? Check! Octagonal Syrian style table? Check! (Hidden between the pink slipper chairs)

Funky brass stool? Check! Silk ikat? Check! No horns though, although I do spy some thread spools in my photo.

She even has a Chinese “antique” cabinet and some porcelain garden stools, East Asian mixes so well with Moroccan. For more of this great house, check out Hamptons Cottages & Gardens.

Yet another Asian meets eclectic interior from Ballard & Malson features a Beni Ourain. Dark lacquer cabinet? Check! (The aforementioned hidden tansu).

Pretty pastel chair? Check! The Scandinavians just have such a way with pale colors!

Trunk for a coffee table? Check! Jenny Wolf does it here in this NYC loft. I wonder what Mr. Yamamoto would make of me using his trunk as a coffee table?

I’ve spied a few promising rug shops here in Doha in my reading online but they seem to specialize in tribal pieces from Afghanistan and other eastern regions (which won’t stop me from visiting them, don’t worry!) So I’m thinking buying a Beni Ourain might just mean I need to take a trip to Morocco. Anyone interested?

Aug 31, 2013 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Furniture, Interior Design, Rugs and Carpets 11 Comments Tags: Ashli Mizell, Ballard & Malson, Beni Ourain, dhurrie, flatweave, IKEA, Jenny Wolf, Madeline Weinrib, Moroccan, Nate Berkus, Susan Hable Smith, Vanessa Bruno

Is It Copy Cat Chic? Or Is It Just Copying?

Lately the design press has been full of incredibly liveable eclectic spaces, none more so than this NYC apartment designed by formerly rising star – now arrived – Nick Olsen that was just featured in the August World Of Interiors. What caught my eye were the mass market bookshelves, the very same Ballard Designs Sonoma Bookcases I have in the TV room here at the shore.

Positioned on either side of the fireplace, they are beautifully arranged by color, but have a natural well-used character to them and not that overly styled look I am not a fan of.

I looked pretty closely at them because back when I got my Sonoma bookcase (on the left), I hadn’t realized that Mecox had their own version, the Provence Open Shelf Baker’s Rack (on the right) priced about 4 times higher – $499 versus $1995. Now ironically, the real Copy Cat Chic blog holds up the Ballard Designs Sonoma Bookcase as the expensive option, comparing it to lower priced similar versions from Overstock and the like. So it becomes a copy cat spiral from high to medium to low to lower.

I look back at this NY brownstone that Nate Berkus designed for Katie Lee, Billy Joel’s ex-wife, having assumed he used the Ballard Designs version, only to come to the conclusion that these look more like the Mecox Garden variety. So my question for you is whether this is such a classic vintage inspired shape, produced by many, or is it a copy of something original?

The bookcase has been on my mind because yesterday saw the installation of my long-awaited curtains in the TV room and I’ve been wondering if I should shift my bookcase over a bit.

As my long-term readers will know, I had been hemming and hawing over pulling the trigger and purchasing this Brigitte Singh Cream Hibiscus Branch fabric – choosing between it and its companion Hibiscus Flower Buta – until I almost missed out and was only able to get the final few meters available from Aleta Online last year. Luckily, my ingenious seamstress and I were able to come up with a plan to “stretch” the fabric, using a matching linen and framing the panels in such a way that I actually prefer it to just having used the one fabric.

Since buying my fabric over a year ago, I have become addicted to a fairly new online site called Jaypore, which is a bit like an Indian version of One Kings Lane and the other limited sales time sites. The prices are fabulous, many of the goods are really lovely and the shipping is free. One of the items that caught my eye was this bed sheet, which costs all of $35 and is 60″ x 90″, basically 3 meters long. That’s a lot of yardage for $35! In the right space you could line it to make very inexpensive curtains. I may cut it up to make Euro shams for my elder daughter’s new bedroom decor in Doha. Either way, it was a fabric bargain.

But the truth is that it is the Brigitte Singh Hibiscus Flower Buta pattern exactly – no bones about it – if you look below. Now what I don’t know and would love to, is whether these patterns are so traditional that they have entered into the cultural lexicon, or whether it is a unique design that has been copied, again a similar question to the one above. When I think back to the block print flower I used on the walls in my bathroom, I do know I have seen that particular flower pattern before and that there were multiples of the block available for purchase at the shop in Singapore. I think I’ll have to write to Aleta and ask her.

So how do you feel about copy cat chic? It’s a complex question as it addresses everything from income divides to intellectual property rights. I’d love to hear from you on the topic.

On a lighter note, for more on the Nick Olsen project, including this boldly colored dining room with its ship chandelier, head over to Mark D. Sikes.

And there is so much of this rich teal and blue going around these days, that I may have to revisit it in yet another post!

Addendum added August 15, 2013

I heard from Aleta and wanted to share her personal thoughts with you.

I just snuck a peek over at your blog and read your post on the Jaypore site and the ‘copycat’ issue, and as it’s quite an emotive subject with Brigitte Singh, who is the creator of your Cream Hibiscus fabric, I thought I should share a little more information as well as my own personal view on this very hotly debated topic.

From the beginning, Brigitte has always worked with the ancient motifs and floral designs of Mughal India to create her textiles. In some cases, her prints are faithful reproductions of historic textiles, using the ancient and traditional method of block printing to produce them. I don’t think Brigitte herself would ever suggest that she should have the exclusive right to print Mughal designs, but that is often how her point of view is interpreted by critics. In fact, where a design is taken directly from an archive reference, it is already often produced, quite legitimately, by other manufacturers -the Cream Pise, for example, is also made by Bennison in England, and Green Antelope by Caravane in France. I myself reproduce Mughal designs quite independently of Brigitte when it’s appropriate to do so.

The general argument for ‘copying’ is that the designs belong in the public domain as Brigitte’s original inspirations were sourced from designs that belong to no one, but the situation is more complicated than that.

Some prints like the Poppy, Cypress, and your Hibiscus have also been derived from historic textile pieces, but over the years Brigitte has refined the lines, changed leaves, colours, and subtly ‘tweaked’ the designs. This is when the issue becomes quite a grey area: Brigitte’s own printing blocks in the past have been stolen, these in turn have been recarved and recarved, and several ‘generations’ of printing blocks on, what you see being produced by some block printers in India are not reproduction Mughal prints, but reproduction ‘Brigitte Singhs’. Her printing blocks have also been used by the printers, without permission, to print for other companies.

Brigitte has built her reputation on two things: first, the quality of her textiles is completely and utterly unrivalled. This includes the printing process itself, from the skill of the block carving, to the fineness, accuracy and complexity of the actual printing; it includes the quality of the cottons and hand woven khadi that she uses to print on; finally, it includes the haute couture tailoring and exquisite attention to detail in her soft furnishing pieces and garments.

Second, the way that she puts together the disparate parts of various ancient designs -combination of borders, the layout and scale of motifs, and in particular her amazing use of colour, has created a very distinctive and instantly recognisable trademark. This is very personal to her, it has come from her own unique heart and soul, and it cannot be created by anyone else.

I would have no qualms about seeing or even purchasing the same print as one of Brigitte’s if I know that the original source of inspiration came directly from a historic textile piece (the exception to this is the Poppy, but I am irrationally protective about it because it was her very first and is still hugely popular), however I am concerned when I see her very particular combination of designs and colours being reproduced, often randomly and of poor quality, regardless of where Brigitte’s own original sources came from.

My personal feeling is that buying any ‘copy’ is ultimately a false economy -it will never compare in quality, or have the same sophistication, and it certainly won’t have provenance, although I try not to judge too harshly as I think we’ve all been guilty (if that’s even the right word) of it at one time or another. I do believe that you should always buy the best that you can afford -and if you can’t afford it, buy something different that you can afford and doesn’t compromise on quality. It is far better, creative, and honest to forge your own individual look based on the budget and lifestyle you have, rather than try to emulate someone else’s, possibly unattainable, style. But I’m starting to stray into social discussions far deeper than copyright! I’ll leave it there, and I hope I’ve provided some insight and not just gone on a long ramble. 🙂

Aug 8, 2013 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Furniture, Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, Textiles 2 Comments Tags: Aleta Online, Ballard Designs, Brigitte Singh, Copy Cat Chic, curtains, Jaypore, Mecox, Nate Berkus, Nick Olsen, Sonoma Bookcase, Sonoma Bookshelf, The World of Interiors, window treatments

Feeling Blue…The Perfect Library

Boy, have I been feeling blue for some time. It reached its zenith today upon seeing this perfect blue library – painted Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue – over at Cote de Texas, where Joni was showing preview photos of the June House Beautiful. I feel like owner Jeannette Whitson climbed into my brain (or at least my Pinterest board) and created my dream room. As always, be sure to click the photo for the large size view!

The desire for a library painted blue, somewhere between navy, Prussian and teal has been one I have been carrying a long time. Here’s a favorite – you’ve seen it before in one of my other obsessionary posts – that one on ticking.

Blue is always soothing, and there is something about being enveloped in a deeply toned room layered with books.

I think the blue highlights ordinary books, which I love, as I am really resistant to those fake staged bookshelves.

Where do people then put the books they actually read? Love the children’s books on the lower right here, just perfect for little folk to grab.

These kind of blues have a glowing brightness even though they are dark colors.

In particular, blue mixed with its complimentary orange is stunning. Whether it be wood tones and velvet…

…or leather with a touch of animal print.

And here it is one more time from the cover view. The matched velvet and the Michael Smith fabric on the ceiling are just divine!

I’m blue over a lot more than just libraries these days. Leaving the land of blue – the land of indigo – after nine years is going to be very very hard. Even if I manage to get a blue library out of the change…

All photo credits and links, along with more inspiration photos, can be found over at my Blue Libraries Pinterest board. Thanks Joni and thanks to Ally at FTRB, who has a blue and orange room obsession too.

May 26, 2013 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Color, Interior Design 10 Comments Tags: Ashley Whittaker, blue, blue library, bookshelves, Christiane Lemieux, Jay Fielden, Jeannette Whitson, Katie Ridder, Nate Berkus