the last 7 days...

ted and i took a beautiful drive to visit family in san diego

where our SIL made us a russian-themed dinner of blinis, creme fraiche & caviar (and maybe some vodka shots between courses ;-)

ted took some time to smell the flowers ;-) 

we reveled in our our longer days, but our mornings were a wreck as we tried to adjust...

we listed to our inner junque whisperer, and made a quick stop at a consignment store where we found this dorothy draper beauty (in the marketplace if anyone is interested)

i got a new weave, courtesy of ms. pamela payne

ted got pretty too, after we gave him a bath 

stopped into nicky rising ltd for some fabric inspiration, like this carleton V indoor/outdoor flamestitch fabric

but as usual, was distracted by some de gournay goodness. *sigh*

and left nicky rising haunted by this tulu embroidered fabric- need to use it!

and was dumbstruck by nature- the best colorist.

we have a part 2 coming up this week- stay tuned...

*** all photos pulled from the maison21 instagram feed- follow along for even more fun! 

designer inspiration: du verre hardware, brutalism, silas seandel, and blogtour london

i recently purchased a 1970's brutalist lane dresser for a client (above from 1stdibs, mine purchased locally at sunbeam vintage), and i couldn't be more in love with it.  in fact, both my clients and i are so inspired by it, we are having a a dining table base custom-made in the same style by warner brothers studio facilities.  in a few weeks, a real life version of the below sketch will have sprung to life, and be living in my client's dining room (with a bronze tinted glass top):

of course, both 1970's lane, and 2013 maison21 are drawing on famed furniture maker and artist, paul evans, who worked with metal to turn furniture into sculpture  and was pioneer of a 1970's decorative arts movement called "brutalism" (a more "decorative" version of the harsh but concrete-cool brutalist movement in architecture around the same period).

paul evans cabinet at sebastian + barquet

brutalist furniture and sculpture is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world, but not every project can use such a strong statement, so when brainstorming for another project, i remembered the fabulous jewelry-like hardware from du verre. du verre was one of the sponsors of my modenus blogtour london trip last fall, and as always, when introduced to new design partnerships during such events, they have been firmly lodged into my brain for use in a future project and now i think i have the right opportunity! thanks modenus for reintroducing me to du verre so they could be my inspiration for the cabinetry in my project.

these sculptural "offset" collection pulls will look fabulous on the ivory lacquer and walnut cabinetry i'm envisioning- jsut hte right hint of brutalism to keep from being boring...

as would "rio"

or "kuba"

or even this simpler "forged 3" for just a hint of brutal style. 

table base my modern metal master, sila seandel.

and if you are interested in investing in a true handmade work of art, sculptor silas seandel, has been creating works, many in a "brutalist" style, of out of NYC for over 50 years and is still producing amazing pieces, like the bronze table base above. if you love abstract metal sculpture, take a spin around this living legend's website- there are some spectacular pieces in production, and he still handcrafts custom work- loads of design inspiration! can't wait to feature some of his new or vintage work in a future project...

vintage silas seandel at todd merrill

last call for entries! FREE, signed "john robshaw prints" book!

if you haven't entered, by sure to get your entires in for a FREE signed copy of  "john robshaw prints"  courtesy of my friends at duralee!

mr robshaw with alissa from "the goods" and myself, at a "meet n greet" last year in the duralee showroom.

a couple selections from mr. robshaw's latest collection for duralee

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the last seven days

in what may or may not become a regular feature here at maison21, at the close of every week, i'm going to repost some instagram highlights from the last seven days (more or less- i think i might have nine days here). i see and do so many fabulous things over the course of my week, why not share them one last time? but don't worry, i'm not going to share everything with you, cuz if i shared the reality that 90% of my week was spent in the office writing PO's, submitting invoices, sending follow-up emails, and making phone calls, you'd get the idea that interior design isn't glamorous at all, and that's the last thing we want to do. ;-) so just the fun, pretty, chic or cute bits of our week. enjoy.

we relaxed around the house a bit

and sat in the sun

enjoyed a groovy lunch and viewed new product at natural curiosities with my lovely friend, ginna christensen, creative director for marc phillips rugs.

tried a cute new artisan ice creamery in the 'hood, carmela's.  my friend, kathy's fab frenchy-french shop, vintageweave, is right next door and she's been raving about it. and when kathy raves about something, i pay attention- girlfriend is in the know.

did some shopping for accessories at the ok store, amongst others in the 'hood (love to shop local!)

visited my friend, emily henderson, who was hosting an etsy pop-up shop at teh west elm store

where we saw these adorable baby things (ps- we LOVE buying handmade and supporting artisans  & small business owners)

went to a chic dinner at designer michael berman's glamorous home

took a hike in teh great outdoors

went to a party at woven accents, where i fell in love with these shaggy beni ourain style moroccan rugs

went to a glammy dinner hosted by duralee fabrics, where i laughed until my sides hurt, courtesy of tobi fairley, amongst other delightful guests.

went to cost plus just to see what they had and couldn't resist styling this vignette (designers, can't take them anywhere) leather butterfly chair, $199, printed purlap pillow, $25, flokati, $99, and fakey african table, $149

took some walks in teh rain with ted when the weather turned

and finally, hosted a giveaway for a chic john robshaw book on the blog (thanks duralee!)  ps- have you entered?

duralee john robshaw book giveaway! (lucky me, lucky you!)

the last few days have been rather extraordinarily fun- as many of you know, there was a design blogger's conference here in los angeles, and though i didn't attend the conference (have to work and pay the bills!), i was lucky enough to be invited to some chic parties, dinners and events surrounding  the conference. seriously- lucky me- amongst them was a fabulous dinner at one's of LA's top designers, michael berman's glam home (we'll be taking a field trip to his new "bronze studio" on beverly soon), as well as an incredibly fun dinner hosted by duralee at the chateau marmont (one of my fave LA places).

glammy!

fancy!

now i ain't laying out these dinners as a humble brag, i know just how fortunate i am be invited to these events, and part of that reason is because of you, my dear readers, who keep visiting here day after day, year after year.  if it wasn't for you, i would have had been goin' thru the in n' out drive thru monday night instead of attending a glam chateau marmont dinner hosted by one of my favorite fabric houses. as you are also probably aware, duralee has a partnership with design heartthrob, john robshaw, and so at the dinner, we were each given a signed copy of his book, "john robshaw prints", and here's where the lucky me, lucky you, comes in- you have a chance to win a *signed* copy of the book for your very own!

pretty!

signed!

so how do you win? simply like duralee  and maison21 on facebook via rafflecopter (if you've already "liked" us you can still enter), and then get an extra entry if you tweet to your friends about the contest! easy peasy!

thanks, and good luck!
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