Colour + Design Archives - Page 12 of 60

Fancy Hotel of the Week: The Ace Hotel NYC

March 19, 2012 By Paola 4 Comments

While in New York I had a great time at the Ace Hotel. It was fascinating to stay there since we’d enjoyed ourselves so much at the Ace in Palm Springs and I was intrigued to see how their aesthetic would translate to a New York setting.

And what they’ve done is very clever. The free-wheeling hippie chick of Palm Springs has smartened herself up for New York and become a little more glam and a little more polished, while still being a bit rough and ready around the edges and retaining her creative rocker vibe.

The refurbishment of the 1904 midtown Hotel Breslin is not exactly to my taste, but it’s hugely clever and hugely comfortable, and, as you would expect, full of thoughtful and quirky touches which add greatly to the pleasure of the stay.

Our room featured tattoo art (and super comfortable beds) a guitar (of course, every hotel room should have a guitar) and a full-sized fridge, a working record-player and water bottles in the shape of gin bottles (I loved those).

Downstairs in the lobby everything was dark and a little seedy, with glamorous filmstar lights, polished vintage woods and antique ceiling lights, while the funky graffiti wallpaper echoed the tattoo art in the bedroom.

Using vintage artifacts and furniture everywhere, while retaining the worn mosaic floors and chipped plaster ceilings made everything seem a little louche and decadent, while being respectful of the building and its history.

And someone had had huge fun with the graphic design (and having the address written so prominently on the keycard was super useful when grabbing a cab late at night).

The food was good, the coffee was great, the bar was jumping and staff couldn’t have been more pleasant, helpful and friendly.

All in all a fun, comfortable and reasonably-priced place to stay in New York. I will be back.

WTF Friday

March 16, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

New location-based phone app Highlight was apparently the breakout star of SXSW this week. I personally have no idea what is does because I just can’t get beyond the gruesome, migraine-inducing logo.

Is causing acute physical pain in your customers a new corporate trend? It’s not even a good logo – rendered smaller and without the colours – as it probably will have to be for mobile devices etc. – it’s just not memorable in any way.

But hey, I’m talking about it and so is Business Insider, so maybe they know what they’re doing. But does this count as good graphic design?

You’re getting this early because I’m off for a weekend in Portland early on Friday morning (not quite sure why as it is POURING with rain here in the Pacific Northwest). Any good shops or restaurants you’ve been to recently that we should try out?

Go Fug Your Room: Adam Levine’s Hollywood Hills House

March 15, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

Is the Husband reading? No? Good. Because here is where I confess to a teensy weensy crush on Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine.

It helps that he looks uncannily like an Australian I had a bit of a crazy affair with (it couldn’t be called dating) before I met the Husband, and I’m also really liking his attitude as a judge on The Voice (I think you really are revealing too much about yourself today, Ed) – he’s cute and funny and seems to really care about the contestants in his team and about music in general. I’d been afraid that he’d turn out to be a complete douchebag (how I still love that word) much like the handsome Australian turned out to be, but for me he’s added major charm points. Oh and I like his clothes.

But we all know that we can’t come to a proper conclusion about a man until we’ve seen the inside of his home, so fortunately Adam Levine’s house in the Hollywood Hills was featured recently in Architectural Digest so I could ascertain whether he was a worthy recipient of my affections.

Here’s Adam waiting to pick me up and whisk me off. It’s looking good so far, isn’t it ladies (and gay men)?

And here’s the kitchen. Some great furniture (a Florence Knoll table and some Jacobsen chairs). It doesn’t look like he cooks much, but I’d be happy to bake him a cake. A little bit of colour would be nice somewhere - this looks a bit like a space-age conference room – and the stylist who brought in the pink orchids obviously agrees. But overall not bad.

Oh dear. Purple VELVET? And the Chesterfield shape looks a bit incongruous and grannyish with all the mid-century stuff going on. I don’t like the rug either, something more graphic and less Miss Havisham would have worked better. And the dark drapes continue the ‘conference room at a mid-sized bank’ theme.

Admittedly it looks a little better from this side. I take it back, the van der Rohe daybed does work with the couch, and the big cushions outside are cool. I still wish he’d change that hideous rug though. Love the floor lamp.

This really feels like a musician’s house. Adam comes across as really loving music on The Voice and this feels really authentic and true to him.

However, I could do without more tufted velvet – I love the piece, but not here – and yet another granny rug, and although I have been known to like black walls in some contexts, this all looks far too dark and louche for southern California.

Adam, you are disappointing me.

Guns and Grammys? Seriously? I know you want me to know that you’re overloaded with testosterone, but this is all a bit much. I absolutely adore your sideboard though.

adam-levine-hollywood-hills-home-05-bedroom-lg

And THIS is the bed you are planning to throw me on to? Isn’t it, shall we say, a little staid and a bit Hilton Hotel-ish? More for snuggling up in flannelette pyjamas on your own with a good book, I’d say. And I’m not sure that black walls, looming portraits of hairy rockers and SKULLS are exactly going to get me in the mood.

I’m sorry Adam, but I’ve just remembered a prior engagement.

So my lovelies, what did you think of Adam’s ~~shag palace~~ tastefully appointed home? I really wanted to love iy, but to me it’s just too weird a mix of fabulous furniture, chain hotel and trying-too-hard mancave, with a hint of douchebaggery round the edges. But I have a sneaky suspicion that might be a pretty authentic reflection of Mr Levine’s personality anyway.

What do you guys think? Is this house fugly? Please post ~~your thoughts about his body~~ in-depth analysis of the interiors in the comments.

poll by twiigs.com

An astonishing 74% of you agreed that Ines de la Fressange’s Provencal home was fugly.

That Was The Week That Was: Back In Seattle Edition

March 14, 2012 By Paola 2 Comments

This has been an Instagram week of raincoats and snuggles, marmalade and bundt cake, polka dots and salted caramels, with a hint of spring green peeking through.

On the 1st January I started posting daily photos to Instagram. I’m @mirrormirroxx. Come and be my friend.

Blogging Your Way: NYC Road Trip Part 2

March 13, 2012 By Paola 7 Comments

Day two of the Blogging Your Way workshop (other pics here and here), found Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint taking her day in the sun (quite literally as the sun came out in New York after two days of Seattle-like torrential rain).

After hearing Leslie’s inspiring story of clicking with Holly online and subsequently striking up a great blogging and teaching partnership, we settled down for a day of more practical creativity.

The biggest thing I took away from the workshop is that styling is ALL about telling stories in an image.

Whenever I’m styling something I know I always look at the colours and shapes first, forget about the mood or story I’m trying to convey, and then wonder why the image seems flat and dead. I can be very dense sometimes. Of course, it’s all about the storytelling. Well, duh.

Leslie showed us how she pulls together inspiration boards to figure out moods and colour schemes. She’s just one of those people who can instinctively pull together a bunch of random stuff and magically turn it into a coherent and pleasing whole.

It does help that she has some great props – she gave us lots of sources for what she called ‘curated hoarding’. This was the second most useful thing I learned at the workshop. Now I can explain to the Husband what I’m doing when he complains about the crap on my desk.

We then talked about composition, lighting and the basics of photography and Holly gave us a ton of tips about styling and photographing interiors. Then for the rest of the day we had time to play ourselves and make the most of the lovely light at Divine Studio and Leslie’s pretty props.

Here’s a little ‘inspiration board’ I pulled together, with things I’d pulled off my desk at home.

And here are a few shots I styled and photographed of the beautiful food. Can you see what stories I’m trying to tell?

Leslie encouraged us to explore our subjects from lots of different angles to find the best composition.

At the end of the day we all had fun taking pictures of all our new-found fri ends. Of course a huge part of the value and pleasure of doing these sorts of events is meeting a ton of inspirational and creative women. New friends include Tina, Audrey, Michele, Natalie and Gretchen, Jessica, Ashley, Amanda and Fiona (seen below, who’d flown in all the way from England). Also special thanks to Marianne, for being the most charming and easy-to-live-with roommate one could wish for. I highly recommend taking a stroll through the links above, you’ll find some super charming and talented women and some new and fabulously inspirational blogs.

And once more a HUGE thank you to Holly and Leslie. You ladies rock SO hard.

The simple crepe paper hangings Leslie had put up made a great back drop for photos.

One day I’ll have a picture taken with Holly where I’m not looking either blurred or deranged (See also San Francisco pics).

Teeny Trend: Turquoise Leather

March 13, 2012 By Paola 3 Comments

Shoes from here. Bag from here. I want those ‘vogs so much it’s painful.

I have a horrible feeling these ‘Teeny Trends’ are going to feature a LOT of shoes.

Blogging Your Way : NYC Road Trip Part 1

March 13, 2012 By Paola 11 Comments

Very early a couple of Fridays ago I crept out of the house and set off on a little adventure.

When Holly Becker first announced that she was coming to New York to teach her hugely successful online ‘Blogging Your Way’ class in person, my initial instinct was to think that it was a crazy idea; then I remembered how much fun I’d had at Holly’s book signing; then Holly started a persuasion job on me on Facebook (and goodness that woman can be persuasive) and before I knew it I’d booked a place on the class, a ticket to New York and a room at the Ace Hotel.

The weekend was split into two parts: Holly taught the ‘Creative Business of Blogging’ on the Saturday and then Leslie Shewring of A Creative Mint followed on Sunday with a more active workshop on styling and photography. Since one of my goals for the year is to finally get serious about both my blogging and my food photography, it seemed like a great way of killing several birds with one stone. The fact that it was in NYC might have influenced my decision a leeetle bit too.

One of the things we talked about a lot during the Saturday workshop with Holly was uncovering and keeping true to your own personal style, aesthetic and voice. The quote on the slide above Holly’s head in the above picture is ‘to thine own self be true’ and she certainly practises what she preaches, as I discovered on the Friday night.

Friday night Saturday morning

Since I was three hours behind New York time and wide awake on Friday evening, I was happy to help Leslie Shewring as she styled Divine Studio in the East Village to turn it from its bare white bones into a creative and inspirational space. We moved tables, covered them with plain white paper, hung rolls of crepe paper, decorated jars with washi tape, arranged tulips and pretty notebooks. By the time Holly had added Liberty print ties and round tags and floral banners she’d made herself on the plane, being in the studio was like being within the pages of Holly’s blog – all white with pops of colours, lots of pretty pastels and florals, with the odd homespun, crafty touch.

It’s not exactly my aesthetic, but seeing a coherent look being pulled together with some cheap accessories, a deft touch and a focused styling eye, was one of the most fascinating aspects of the weekend for me.

Holly-isms everywhere

Aside from lots of practical advice about blog design, how to build readership, how to use social media successfully and how to monetize your blog, there was lots of stuff on finding your own authentic voice, focus and niche. Focus is one of the things that my blog has suffered from a lack of over the years (you don’t say! – Ed) so this really resonated with me. I did a lot of soul-searching, both during the class and on the plane on the way home and I think I came to some conclusions. I’ll share them in a separate post.

Even the food, from City Bakery, was both beautiful and delicious

The thing you need to know about Holly is how authentic she is.

She’s had a lot of success but that has come about because she has stayed true to herself, her passion and her vision. The whole weekend was an object lesson in ‘walking the walk’. From the décor, through the food, to the one-on-one attention, the course materials and the great team of helpers Holly had pulled together (Leslie, Michelle and Melissa below and Julie, whom I sadly don’t have a picture of), everything reflected Holly’s style and the fact that she is so utterly and ridiculously nice. This is a woman who really cares about her readers and the people who attend her classes and workshops, which is why they are so darn fun, creative and inspiring.

And that was probably the most inspiring, thought-provoking and fabulous thing of all.

I’ve got so many pics that I’ve decided to split this post into two parts. Tune in tomorrow for more about Leslie Shewring’s fabulous styling and photography class.

Pinterest Take Five

March 10, 2012 By Paola 5 Comments

This week on Pinterest we’ve been getting ziggy with it.

Source: Chevron iPhone case from Society6 via Leah Dent

Source: Faux Feather Neon Aztec Earrings from lovesexton via Marcia Prentice

Source: Design Crisis via Hammocks & High Tea

1. Paint the canvas all crazy like 2. Use painter’s tape to create a herringbone pattern with some missing 3. Paint over the canvas in white 4. Remove tape and voila!

Source: Cozamia via Melanie Hernquist

Source: Pattern of the Day from Karina Maranin via Poppytalk

Oh and have an extra one this week. You guys are so SPOILT.

Source: How to Make a Chevron Pattern in Photoshop from Ashli Nixon via Uncle Beefy.

Go Love Your Room: Circles, Rectangles and Stripes Edition

March 9, 2012 By Paola 12 Comments

One of the things we talked about at the weekend was the idea of constantly exploring and questioning and thinking about your aesthetic and why you are drawn to certain things – using your blog as a way to explore your own creativity and as a catalyst to live your best life.

I saw this apartment a few weeks ago, and it really resonated with me, so I thought I might try and work out WHY I like it so much.

This room is gorgeous. The beautiful focal point of the paintings sort of goes without saying, but the designer has also used texture subtly and cleverly– the smooth table and hard metals contrasted with soft leather rug and pouffe and the natural wooden floor.

I’ve noticed in my photography that I’m really drawn to complementary shapes and I love how the designer has used the large square art pieces to emphasise the rectangles of the doors and walls, while the circle of the ceiling rose is echoed by the cylindrical light, the round table, the cylindrical pouffe and even the spots and circles on the paintings.

Pull out into the lounge area and you’ll see more use of shape and texture. More rectangular pictures, more circular tables and a Tord Boontje metal light shade (which I don’t think is quite big enough). You’ll know through all my ‘Go Fug Your Room’ rantings that I don’t like uncomfortable chairs, and I think the seating in here could be a little more cosy (and maybe a rug would have helped), but my goodness, it’s still a lovely space.

Looking in the other direction the stripy art picks out the lines of the floorboards (love how they go in opposite directions), and echoes the stripy art and crib slats in the nursery. I also like how the curved top of the mirror reflects the curves of the Eames rocker and stops everything from feeling too square and boxy. And there’s a most beautiful stuffed owl with circular owly eyes. And we all know how much I like those.

Rectangular shelves, a round stool and a stripy rug complete the nursery and there are more circles and a whole family of round-eyed owls in the entrance hall.

More stripes in the bed cover and through the kitchen cabinets and more circles through the art, the cushions and in the Nelson coat rack.

Wow. To be perfectly honest, I hadn’t noticed how thoughtfully the designer had organised the shapes in the apartment until I was half way through writing this post. I thought at first it was the colours everywhere speaking to me, but I think it’s the underlying sense of organisation that is making my soul happy (unfortunately this is not reflected in my own home). This house makes me want to tidy up and buy art.

What do you guys think? Do you like it or is it too structured and sterile for you? Does anyone know who did those amazing paintings or where I can buy those FABULOUS owls? And where do the people who live here put their stuff?

This apartment belongs to Norwegian jewellery designer Stine A. Johanssen. More details are here, translated from the Norwegian.