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Design Find | Kelly Wearstler Fabrics + Wallcoverings for Groundworks

I have a confession to make. I have a girl-designer-crush on Kelly Wearstler. It’s been a real thing for a few years now. Why? She’s fierce, she’s sexy, she’s bold, she’s the embodiment of luxurious, maximalist chic, and she’s taken both the interior design and fashion worlds by storm.

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With that confession out of the way, it should come as no surprise that I am head-over-stiletto-heels in love with Wearstler’s new collection for Groundworks.

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An international tastemaker and famed interior designer, Wearstler has a remarkable gift for reclaiming a vintage aesthetic and reinventing it with such an overdose of modern, rock star glamour that it becomes completely fashion-forward, fiercely sexy and utterly drool-worthy. Take the stunning wallpaper pictured above, for example. Reminiscent of the 60’s? Yes. Totally bleeding-edge gorgeous? {bites palm} Yes.

In creating her first collection of wall coverings and second collection of trims for Groundworks, Wearstler references environmental elements {both natural and urban} including street art, brushstrokes, gradient colouring, water and wood. Her lavishly modern aesthetic reinterprets these references into a collection that is nothing short of stunning.

Kelly Wearstler’s work has been featured in international publications including: Vogue, Elle Décor, Harper’s Bazaar, Architectural Digest, InStyle, Conde Nast Traveler and The New York Times, among many others. In an extensive 2009 profile, The New Yorker called Wearstler “the presiding grande dame of West Coast interior design.”

If this little amuse-bouche of Wearstler’s aesthetic has whetted your appetite, you can get a regular fix by following her blog, My Vibe, My Life.

Better yet, go get your interior designer to pull all the memos he or she can find from Wearstler’s collections of fabrics, wall coverings and trims for Groundworks and infuse your home with some of her unapologetically over-the-top glamour.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|August 15th, 2013|0 Comments

Project: Kitchen Refresh | Lighting Option #3

If I’m honest, I’m rather giddy to be so close to a decision on the new pendants over the island. A change in lighting can truly transform a space, and given the broken and dysfunctional pendant that reminds me daily of its need to be replaced, I am starting to dance from one foot to the other in anticipation.

Even MORE exciting is that Lamps Plus has offered to sponsor my new pendants!!! So generous!!! Having been in business for over 30 years, Lamps Plus is the largest specialty lighting retailer in the US. They also offer accessories, furniture and home décor and even have American Lighting Association certified designers available in all their stores, by phone or online to offer product recommendations and advice on all of your lighting projects. I am so grateful to be partnering with such an amazing sponsor!

So, with all of that good news out of the way, I have another option to explore with you today. I must admit that I have a penchant for simple, graphic and modern spaces like this one.

{image via Pinterest}

All that white is the perfect canvas for the elegantly designed light fixtures and chairs to take their rightful pride of place. Simple, modern elegance. So, I found myself musing over the possibility of a pair of pendants such as this lovely modern, graphic punch of black from Lamps Plus:

I love the punctuated simplicity of its slim and unobtrusive profile, and the price is fantastic. I do, however, worry {like I did about the beautiful brass option} that perhaps the length of the shaft of the pendant itself would emphasize my less than dramatically high ceilings. Hmmm…

I would certainly LOVE to style my kitchen with a tidy row of gorgeous and dramatic glass jars of salts and spices from MARCH Pantry. Fine salts and spices in gorgeous black glass cannisters? Yes please.

Perhaps also a fresh and simple collection of coral from Layla Grace to nestle in with all of my cookbooks and some antique books in the bookcase.

{image via Pinterest}

And maybe a change to the counter stereo with this gorgeousness from Uncrate?

I like the mix of vintage and modern for sure. But for now, the decision is all about the light fixture. What do you think of Option #3?

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|January 31st, 2013|2 Comments

Brunschwig & Fils | Re-inventing Tradition

On my recent trip to New York City, I had the privilege and delight of visiting the creative design studio for Brunschwig & Fils. Recently purchased by Kravet, Brunschwig & Fils is one of the most renowned textile décor companies in the world. Their fabrics, wall coverings and furnishings have been used for generations in spaces as diverse as The White House and the Palace at Versailles to lovely English cottages and newly designed modern traditional homes. I was truly honoured to get a sneak peak behind the scenes of the Brunschwig & Fils design process and learn more about the future direction of this iconic company.

In purchasing Brunschwig & Fils, Kravet has truly maintained the integrity and history of the company while providing the infrastructure necessary for the countless historical documents within the collection to be revived and reinvented.

It is a delicate balance between honouring the history steeped into the prints themselves and the adventure of reinventing the fabrics in new colour ways, textures and weaves that will appeal to a modern clientele. The results are rather stunning, and in my opinion they are swinging the doors wide open to a much younger audience with their new collection.

I fell instantly head-over-heels for this gorgeous faux bois chenille in salmon {above}. Upholstered on an ottoman, a headboard or used as accent cushions {or for the bold and daring, upholstered on a sofa}, this would enrich and enliven any space, from modern to traditional.

I love this reinterpretation of the classic “Le Lac” chinoiserie – softer and more modern on linen rather than the traditional glazed chintz. This particular print dates all the way back to a 1775 French document, a decidedly European, romanticized portrait of life in China. The new modern colour way and weave speak to the longevity that is woven into the fabric of Brunschwig & Fils, right down to their motto: “Good design is forever.”

I hope you’ll indulge me with a decidedly un-designer reference on this next fabric, but the moment I laid eyes upon it I thought of Mary Poppins and her magical carpet bag. I would love to see this lucious weave combined with a distressed olive green leather – perhaps on a wingback chair similar to the one we all feel in love with from Coup D’Etat?

I wish you could feel the hand on this modern reinvention of the classic animal skin {above}. The weight and rich softness of the velvet are nothing short of luxurious.

From the fabrics being created to the work space itself, my visit to the design studios was nothing short of inspiring! My most sincere thanks to David, Jennifer, and the team at Brunschwig & Fils for your gracious hospitality.

For all of my designer friends who are in the Toronto area, you will definitely want to make it out to tomorrow night’s soirée at the Brunschwig & Fils showroom at 320 Davenport in Designer’s Walk. The doors open at 6pm for designers and architects to get an insider’s view to the stunning new collection over drinks, appetizers and the kind of hospitality for which the Kravet family are known. This event is not open to the public but is exclusive to the design trade.

Today I’ll be thinking about how I can honour history while embracing a spirit of adventure and possibility, weaving together the past and the present into a beautiful tapestry of self-expression. Thank you to the creative minds behind Brunschwig & Fils for inspiring this exploration!

Wishing you all a happy and inspired Tuesday!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|November 27th, 2012|1 Comment