Dazzleships: Ringin' in the New Year!

muteen magazine, february 2011

Happy New Year!!! I wish you and yours the very best in 2015!

Musings & Wants: A Dazzling Divider

just in time for the holidays, new shimmer at pier 1

I simply cannot! This room divider is well within Pier 1's wheelhouse and yet it is such an unexpected piece. Platinum-colored frame with a curvy, elegant Moroccan trellis design. The possibilities: dressing mirror, draped with scarves, angled near a window. Heck maybe dismantled and painted...teal? 

Or even paired up with this lovely...

Single-Girl Style: Downtown Decadence

now: nanette lepore's stunning bedroom

Six years ago, Elle Decor featured the Manhattan brownstone of fashion designer Nanette Lepore. It was one of those legendary shoots - eternally popular with shelter enthusiasts online. This is a family home, not a "single-girl's," but the styling is distinctly feminine. LIVINGetc just revisited Lepore's home with the launch of her homewares line... and it's still stunning.

Retail Odyssey: Rustic Modern at Target

the new asmara furniture collection from mudhut @ target.com

One of Target.com's featured home dec brands, Mudhut, is now offering furniture in a clean, earthy style. The Asmara line looks warm and sturdy being made of four woods and metal hardware. The collection is on the affordable side with nothing priced higher than $179.99. I love the long, slim legs on the tables. Plenty of room to store other things underneath them, especially that console. These are pretty versatile. The product line is Indian/South Asian style, so it will coordinate well with various global styles, whether colorful or monochrome. 

Fuschia + Aubergine: Peacock Towels

peacock feather jacquard towels

Unexpected combination of color and pattern, but these World Market towels are quite lovely. Feminine, interesting and the contrast between the two colors is not jarring. Of course, the real test of a towel is plushness and softness. (Back when I couldn't afford them, I used to think that Turkish towels were the way to go. Then the Thomas O'Brien collection dropped at Target in some irresistible colors. Large, soft and plush. Still love 'em.) 

Imagine mixing these up with some other patterns for an eclectic look. The Thomas O'Brien experience taught me that you don't need to limit yourself to two colors. 

Rooms on Film: Cloud Atlas (Luisa Rey)

There are a ton of film sets I want to talk about lately and that's all I really want to talk about. It doesn't make for a balanced blog, but so what? Some months ago, I had the tremendous pleasure of seeing Cloud Atlas for the first time. It came out in 2012, starring Oscar Winners Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, and the promos were downright confusing. Never having heard of the (magnificent) novel, I just didn't know what to make of it. My loss! This movie is visually stunning and best viewed in the theater. The story - tighter and more romantic than the novel - is entrancing, resonant and powerful. From the 1850s to the very distant future, the cinematography, CGI and set design produce a dazzling array of scenes in the 1850s, 1930s, 1970s, 2000s and distant future. If you haven't seen it, or read the novel, run don't walk...

Now let's discuss the 1970s studio apartment of Luisa Rey...

Retail Odyssey: A Peacock Hamper

one of those things you can't find just anywhere

I was in Toronto this summer and tried to take in as much of the city as possible. One of the first things I did was stroll a good length of Yonge Street. I mostly covered the retail-heavy part that is full of malls, restaurants and shops. One of my first stops was HomeSense whose ads I often see in Style at Home and House & Home magazines. Turns out it's just like our own Home Goods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx in the U. S.