Presidents' Day My Way...

If you've seen my post about the history of the interior design of the oval office, then I assume that like me, you feel there leaves some room for improvement. Check out some of the sketches from other designers who wanted the chance to redo the big O. How did some of these not win?!

Kelly Wearstler

Calvin Klein

Johnathan Adler

Ron Edmonds/AP

Even Ikea took a stab at it!

Happy Presidents' Day!

I felt it only seemed right that I post about presidential interior design today. Oh, the thought of being hired to design the White House!

Let's take a look at the many makeovers that have happened at the oval office over the years...

Eisenhower

 

 

Johnson

JFK. How equestrian!

Carter

Nixon

Bush

Clinton

Bush

Gotta hand it to Bush's designer, these are some gorgeous wood floors. The sunburst pattern is an excellent choice for an oval shaped room.

Bush

Obama

Obama

Designer of the Day

AMIE WEITZMAN

 

All images via Amie Weitzman

It's All in the Details

via Lonny

This semester, among many other things, we are learning about architectural detailing. I rarely design in a traditional style, but I do have a deep appreciation for it; an appreciation which has grown even deeper since taking my course, Advanced Detailing. This course teaches us how to properly panel a room and deck the place out in mouldings. More importantly, we learn how to communicate with contractors to get the job done just the way we see fit.

Most of us living in pre-war NYC apartments have the kind of mouldings that stick straight to the wall (apparently this is taboo). Proper detailing is all about proportions and the way one moulding transitions to another or to the wall. Mouldings should have depth and serve their proper purpose. For example, the chairrail. The chairrail's true purpose is to prevent wall scuffing when you leave a table and the chair backs into the wall. Most importantly, moulding hides the creaks and seams between walls.


Here's some are the construction documents I've been working on...

Elevation of mouldings

This is a section detail of the base moulding touching the floor. This is what it would like if you sliced your wall in half vertically. This tells the contractor how to attach the mouldings.

via Inspace Locations

Next week we start applying color and finishes...the FUN stuff. I personally enjoy having the moldings painted a darker shade than the walls. I think it gives a nice contemporary twist to a classic style.

Tuesday Take-off!

Today I'm blogging about the start of a new interior design related magazine and a new blog started by one of my design idols. Technically, neither of them started off today but its news to me.....also I love using alliteration any chance I get.

High Gloss Magazine                                                               I can still remember the day when my dear, beloved Domino magazine went under. Since then, I've longed for a young, hip, fresh interior design magazine. The design Gods have been kind this year...bringing us High Gloss Magazine. Actually, it was Paloma Contreras ( blogger of La Dolce Vita) who brought us all this great new imagery and design interviews. The best part? No subscription needed - it's all digital!

My Vibe My Life

The very woman who inspired me to enter the field, Kelly Wearstler, now has a blog! This is HUGE. I own every single one of Kelly's books, follow every line that picks up her products and pretty much frame every magazine interview she's ever had. So far, she hasn't blogged much..but give her a break..she's KELLY WEARSTLER!






Happy web surfing!

Name that Year

A while back, my roommate bought me this gold-foil covered book she found at a salvation army, Creative Home Decorating. I just had to share this....

" Interest in home decoration is at a higher pitch today than ever before. More and more, conversation among women everywhere turns to this fascinating subject, and technical terms once reserved to the professional decorator are now widely current coins of speech. This is a good sign. It indicates that larger numbers of women intend to decorate or re-decorate their homes, drawing upon their own knowledge and good taste. It means that, as knowledge increases, standards in home decoration definitely will grow even higher. It enhances the likelihood that women, no longer content with drab and listless homes, will contribute new and interesting ideas to the art of decoration.

With growth in interest, there has come about a new attitude toward home decoration. The notion that a home is decorated only once to last for a lifetime, arose as a psychological reflection of earlier scarcity economics and is now outdated. Modern techniques of production have made home furnishings available to all persons and at all income levels. Accordingly, it is not surprising that many persons are re-decorating their homes periodically. True, they retain cherished pieces, but they altar color schemes, window treatment, slipcovers and accessories, and they add many new pieces of furniture. Since home decoration is usually a co-operative venture involving both man and wife, this new attitude may well be one of the healthiest developments in the field of present-day marital and family relationships. In any event, certain it is that the home is basic to the family, and that beautiful homes inculcate ideals and values that make for a decent, upright society."

Ok.... who can make a guess as to the copyright year on this one??

Fun Fun Friday

It's Friday!!! And to actually take a well deserved break from all the schoolwork, a few of us are stopping by the Ace Hotel for a few drinks. Seems to me like a poor attempt to break away from interior design for a night, surrounding ourselves by a Roman & Williams designed hotel. I've been dying to see this place in person. The firm responsible for this design also did the Standard Hotel in the meat packing district. They've got  a real knack for casual chic - expensive bohemian - it's the new trend of hipster hotels.

The designer's sketches of details within the rooms. I love seeing pen and paper turn into the real thing!

Happy weekend everyone!!

Images via Roman & Williams and Ace Hotel New York

Inspiration

By Wednesdays, I'm usually pretty drained from the school workload. Sometimes I like to just flip through my inspiration folders to re-energize my creative juices.

Here is some artwork I've been collecting overtime, just waiting for the right project to use them in.