house Archives - Page 14 of 61

High Point Market Highlights | Dunes and Duchess

Okay, okay. It was me. In the library. With the candlestick.

Remember that awesome game? I spent hours in my friend’s basement playing Clue as a kid, savouring not only the mystery of it, but also the scene that it painted in my vivid imagination. I don’t know if that’s how the game played out for other kids, but for me, I would envision the mansion and its various rooms in absolute detail. The wood paneling. The grand staircase. The massive doorways with transom windows above and the moody lighting throughout. And of course, that iconic candlestick.

As it turns out, that candlestick from my imagination exists in much happier form, brought to life by the dynamic duo at Dunes and Duchess. Yes, one could say that it is drop-dead gorgeous, but that’s as far as its weapon-like status extends.

{Hamptons Designer Showhouse | Interior Design by Mabley Handler}

The candlestick really is where it all began for photographer Michael Partenio and stylist and writer Stacy Kunstel. Their photography and styling work appears regularly on the covers of interior design magazines and books, and {starting with that candlestick} they have extended their visual iconography into the world of home décor product design. The Dunes and Duchess line has expanded significantly since the creation of that first candlestick, but it all holds true to a very clear and striking aesthetic. Form and colour are the two bold signatures of this collection, and each piece is a statement unto itself.

I adore the bold colour and high-gloss sheen of the wall sconces above, the perfect punctuation mark to make a striking statement flanking a bed or a dramatic piece of art.

Turns out Oprah loves Dunes and Duchess, too. They were featured in this August’s issue of O Magazine. The candelabra really did steal the show in this spread, don’t you think?

One of my favourite pieces from Market was this oversized floor lamp {don’t you love the navy?}. Its unusual height offers condo owners with concrete ceilings the opportunity to wash a room with light without having to opt for ugly track lighting everywhere. Brilliant.

{photo: The Curated House}

I also loved the sculptural simplicity of this etagère in canary yellow, one of the newer pieces in their collection.

{photo: The Curated House}

I hope Dunes and Duchess have inspired you with their bold and sexy use of shape and colour. I know they have me, and I look forward to the next project where I can feature one of their striking designs.

xo
s.

All images via Dunes and Duchess except where otherwise noted.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 31st, 2013|0 Comments

High Point Market Highlights | Luna Bella

I have an announcement to make: The days of the matching furniture set are gone.

Forever.

Six feet under.

Never to return.

We have come so far from our 1950’s model of interior design, haven’t we? Back then, it was desirable to have a home that looked just like your neighbour’s. I suppose in the post-war era we needed safe and predictable. Control and cookie-cutter-sameness were de rigeur.

I think we have shed a lot of fear since then. We’ve come through so much – triumph and tragedy – and in the process we’ve learned that our stories are what shape us. Real life is colourful, full of whimsy and embrace, and brimming with the unexpected, and we want to see that reflected in our homes. Interior design is no longer about predictability or “fitting in,” but about what is bespoke, custom and a true personal expression of who we are.

{Image Source}

Enter Luna Bella, a Nouveau Chic home furnishings design studio based just outside of Miami, Florida. With an aesthetic that truly defies category, they embody a luxurious modern eclecticism that ranges from the decadently chic to the industrial and even the classical. As I was drawn into their moody and beautifully curated booth, I felt as though I might just be walking into Johnny Depp’s lounge. Each vignette offered a compelling story, carefully composed with their exquisitely unique pieces.

Their dramatic light fixtures were definitely one of the showstoppers for me. Difficult to capture when traveling with only a 50mm lens, these fixtures are true statement pieces and often spectacularly long. I loved seeing them suspended over coffee tables to anchor a conversation area and dropped over dining tables to create sparkle and glamour. I would love to install one in a soaring two story stairwell and will be keeping my eye out for a project in need of some decadent and dramatic flair.

No detail has been left untouched with the Luna Bella collection. Artists and founders Nicolas Trujillo and Teresa Costa bring a distinctly unexpected and sophisticated aesthetic to their collection with their innovative use of materials, proportions, colours and textures.

{Can’t you just picture Johnny Depp sitting in this chair? I mean, seriously! It was made for him!}

Interior designers, rev your creative engines. Luna Bella definitely has something to offer that will help you curate the storied and unexpected moments of discovery you are longing to create for your next project. For more information on this exclusive collection, please email the Luna Bella team at info@lunabella.com.

All images © The Curated House except where noted.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 30th, 2013|0 Comments

Project Lake House | Introductions

When your favourite client of all time calls and says she’s just purchased a new Lake House and would like your help with a bit of decorating, the qualifying questions to get to “yes” are few and far between. Add to that a beautiful post-and-beam structure as the starting point, and you can understand why it’s not too much of a burden.

One of the first rooms we will be addressing is the kitchen. I’ve recommended that the clients paint out the wood cabinets to provide some relief and contrast to the wood ceilings, log walls and post-and-beam structure of the cottage. It’s always a tough one for people to consider as we’re all a bit precious about wood, aren’t we? I understand that, but I really do think this seemingly courageous move will help to define the kitchen area and break up the visual monotony of all that wood.

That said, there are other changes we will be making to transform the space either way. We will be installing a rustic splitface slate grey backsplash to tie in with the granite countertops and the floors; the cabinetry hardware will be replaced with something with greater contrast; the super-high raised breakfast bar {it’s almost chin height when you stand in front of it} will be coming down; and the lighting will definitely be addressed as well.

The previous owners had a serious love for all things green, but green is not my client’s favourite colour. Gratefully, the floors and granite counters in the kitchen are a more neutral palette, and in almost all of the rooms of this beautiful property we can remove the green accents without great effort and take things in a much more modern direction, befitting of my very sophisticated clients.

{All “before” cottage images via Royal LePage}

I actually love all of the grey and sandy tones in the natural slate floors, so we will be using that as our jumping off point for the colour palette for the soft furnishings, starting with a custom rug.

In fact, we’ve already got our strikes back! Strikes are samples that are made up before finalizing the order for a custom rug. Allan has taken very good care of us as usual. We fell in love with a more contemporary feeling Ikat pattern and customized the palette on site at the Lake House using wool and silk poms to reference the colours in the floor. We chose to have two strikes made up – one a combination of wool and silk, and the second 100% pure bamboo silk.

You can definitely see the dark and the light side of the bamboo silk rug more clearly than with the wool and silk in this case. The image above shows the light side of the bamboo silk, and the image below shows the dark side.

Here are the initial fabrics we are working with…

…which led us to the obvious winner: the 100% bamboo silk. The client and I both prefer the lighter side of the rug, so it will be installed such that it is what you see when facing the focal point of the stone fireplace. We love the airbrushed, softened effect of the striation the weavers used on the silk piece. It is still modern but bridges the masculine and the feminine very well. I can’t WAIT to see it in place!

In the meantime, the furniture is on order, including some custom designed pieces that will suit the rustic and organic vibe of this cottage while elevating it with more of a modern aesthetic. I’m so looking forward to updating you on our progress in the weeks to come!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 24th, 2013|0 Comments