rock and roll...

mona is barking at the front door, and richard is hiding in the closet. we just had a 5.6 quake here in los angeles, centered about 30 miles east of the maison21 atelier. big enough to scare us, but hopefully not big enough to cause injuries or damage.

scary stuff!

ps: ginny, are you ok? i think you are out that way...

suzy steps up (design blogger's challenge)

m21 knew the latest participant in our design blogger's challenge wouldn't disappoint- after all studio annetta has never posted anything less than completely tasteful on her blog, and with her incredible knowledge of classic 20th century design, we also knew that when she posted her entry, it would be gorgeous and refined. it is. (the floors, the floors, the floors!) go see suzy's vision in black and white here.

tchotchkefication (project preview)

yes, it's a word. a completely made up word, but a word nonetheless...

it also describes the state of one of maison21's current design projects- almost all the major elements are in place: wallpaper is up in the dining and living rooms, new flooring laid in the entry, and the rest of the existing hardwood floors buffed and polished. fresh paint is everywhere (our glossy chinese orange/red in the entry ROCKS), and crisp white wainscoting added to dining room and stairwell. the custom furniture we commissioned is due to be completed and delivered any day, and our super fantabulous 8 foot white marble saarinen dining table is already in place, surrounded by 8 black lacquer chippendale chairs (covered in white patent alligator, similar to m21's own). save for one pesky sideboard (of two) for the dining room- which is proving to be maddeningly elusive- we are good to go with all the furniture needed.

so now, on the the little stuff, i.e., tchotchkefication.

maison21 loves his tchotchkes, in case you didn't know, and as with everything, he likes to mix the high with the low, and the old with the new.
for the living room we have some great vintage blanc de chine-esque pieces (like the above quails) that we've mixed with some newer white ceramics, and of course, lots of maison21's beloved vintage animal statuary- like this vintage elephant figurine:
we might pull the large brass horse statues we currently have on ebay and have them gallop across the top of a console or credenza...
brass rams head bookends similar to below are on their way as well...
to keep things modern and mixed up, we paid a visit to our local z gallerie yesterday, to see what other inexpensive little splendors we could find.

"z gallerie?", you say, in a horrified tone- "aren't they a little down-market for a high-end interior?"

not when we're done with the room, they won't be! the trick to shopping somewhere like z gallerie is be selective (verrrrry selective) and make sure you mix up the pieces with some vintage and antique, so it doesn't look all modern and retail-ish. this goes for any mass-market retailer, like pottery barn or west elm- just use sparingly, and it's a great way to extend a design budget so you can afford to do things like have a custom 8 foot brass and glass parson's console table constructed, as we did for the project we're speaking of.

at z gallerie, we saw and liked:
this bargain of a 20 inch faux clam shell, which we purchased (we might lacquer it a bright white to customize it a bit). we'll probably fill it with a colorful collection of vintage japanese fishing floats, similar to the collection we inherited from our father, which always graces the m21 dining room table.

(oh and a side note to mean anon before you leave your comment: we already know that everything mentioned in this post- blanc de chine, animal statues, clam shells etc., as well everything NOT mentioned in this post, like zebra skin, kelly wearstler, table lamps, and all things decorating in general- are all COMPLETELY tired. so no need for you to type it out, ok?)
how can we resist these book shaped boxes, covered in a white patent faux alligator similar to that on our dining chairs? (in all honesty, we'll probably wait for these to go on sale, but you can NEVER have too many boxes used as accessories. they are just too perfect to hide all of the detritus of modern life we seem to collect- you know, like 25 remote controls, your old "emergency" cellphone, that ancient baggie of pot you've saved from your college dorm days, etc...).

we don't have anywhere for these smart horn tables in any of our current projects, or our own home, but we loved them nonetheless. trés chic for the price.

last, we went crazy for these large faux bois wall candle sconces- like the clam shell, we'd probably customize them a bit so they didn't look so mass market-y. given a coat of matte white spray paint, we think they would look very serge roche/diego giacometti, or or alternatively, gold leaf them, and have a little faux felix agostini...

stay tuned for more project preview posts to see all the elements we've been posting about finally come together... (including our long promised post on our lovely yellow chinoiserie wallpaper, below).

not as disgusting as you'd think...

when maison21 spotted this bacon and chocolate bar from vosges, while in line at the whole foods checkout, well, he knew he had to try it! his two favorite foods in one bite sized treat- how could he not?

the verdict? not bad- like a see's molasses chip, only saltier. the best use of bacon as desert food maison21 has had since he tried the "pig candy" at local l.a. wine bar, lou!

designers are like snowflakes... (design blogger's challenge)

no two are alike! lana, the sweet and talented blogger over at topsy turvy style, has accepted the design blogger's challenge and created a luxe garden folly around our moscow mafioso chandelier. go see the results, including this over the top stag's head sculpture, here.

this challenge has been more fun than m21 could ever have imagined when he threw down the gauntlet and challenged himself and everyone else to follow the example of the house of beauty and culture and design a fantasy room the now infamous moscow mafioso chandelier. we'd like to sincerely thank everyone for playing- the results have ranged from the hilarious to the sublime, and far, far, FAR exceeded our expectations. all the different visions and tastes have been so insightful and varied. if you haven't composed an entry yet (and we're talkin' to you, studio annetta), there is no time limit and no winners or losers- just fun for all- so get started now!