Too much is just too much

My favorite group, U2, says "Too much is not enough." Well in this case, too much is just that—too much. This is what I mean when I talk about the typical "Dallas look." Some of this stuff is lovely, I admit, but when this seems to be all that anyone carries in one's town, it’s a little crazy making. This kind of stuff epitomizes the ubiquitous affordable store décor products around here:

you got your Horchow

http://www.horchow.com/store/catalog/templates/P8.jhtml?itemId=cat6280731&parentId=cat3960731&masterId=cat2570731&cmCat=&page=&view=all&filter1Type=&filter1Value=&filter2Type=&filter2Value=&filterOverride=&sort=&icid=viewall

And your Kirkland’s

http://www.kirklands.com/s-17-in-stores-only.aspx

And Hemispheres

http://www.hemispheres-us.com/

And Ashley

http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/Showroom/Showroom.aspx?PageId=Showroom&CategoryID=11&SetDomTab=1&PageNumber=1&IsClicked=1

And World Market

http://www.worldmarket.com/Furniture/living-furniture/lev/1/Ne/1100001/sectionId/2868/N/1100038/categoryId/1100038/pCategoryId/1100004/gpCategoryId/1100004/Ns/TOP_SELLER_INDEX|1||CATEGORY_SEQ_2879|0/index.cat

And The Arrangement

http://www.thearrangement.com/access.html

Restoration Hardware

http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/category/category_collections_gallery.jsp?navSrc=leftNav&navAction=jump&navCount=1&categoryId=cat1536029

Even Homegoods, TJMaxx, Marshalls and Ross fall into this category much of the time.

http://openhouse.homegoods.com/index.php/finds/

Thankfully, the city is salvaged by places like Bova, Roche-Bobois, DWR, West Elm, Ligne Roset, Z Gallerie, Crate & Barrel, Eurway, Cantoni, Scott+Cooner, not to mention the whole Knox-Henderson area and the Dallas Design District (although I have noticed that some of their websites are so tiresomely outre, they can make one feel—as Decorno would say—stabby). Stop with the Flashy madness, people, and just give us the goods!

My fasc with glass

I don't know when or how my obsession with glassware and glass objet d'art came about, all I know is that I love the stuff. I'm forever fascinated by the colors, the swirls, the textures, the composition, how versatile it is, and how glass looks like liquid frozen in time. Plus it just makes me go: "Oooh preeety!" I have my own small "glass menagerie", but I'm always looking to expand it (of course, yet another thing on my long list of "to do's" when I start working again).

Case in point, my own photo set on Flickr featuring my favorite artist, the ultimate guru of glass, Dale Chihuly. Of course he has his own site here. What that man can do with blob of molten silica is beyond astonishing. That he does it with only one eye (from a car crash years ago), is even more amazing (try covering one eye and driving some time). Another favorite is Blenko glass, ubiquitous and cheap in the 40s-60s, now coveted by collectors, including me. Here are a few bright and shiny glass tidbits of interest. Click on any picture to enlarge:

Wallpaper 2009 Design Awards

Wallpaper's Design Awards 2009 have come out. *Kanye West was one of the judges. Whose idea was that??? He must have good taste because the winners really are winners. Here is where you can read all about it. Check out the winner of "Best New Restaurant," created inside a former bank space (hence the name of the restaurant, "Banq"):



And even though this didn't take first prize, as one of the runners up, this particular home in Chile - the House of Eleven Women - is absolutely AMAZING. While the house itself is absolutely stunning, the setting makes the house even more amazing: one side overlooks the hills of the city, the other overlooks the ocean. Talk about a win-win.

However what really fascinates me is the fact that this family has eleven daughters. ELEVEN, people. That's one more than ten. Either they kept trying for a son really really hard, or they were simply blessed with lots of hormonas de feminina. Either way, I would LOVE to hear what the father/husband has to say about all of his girls, and having to live amongst all that estrogen! Hope that fancy house of theirs has a "man cave" in which he can lock himself into when need be. LOL!

I enjoyed the comments about Kanye after the AT article. I wholeheartedly agree. Wallpaper circulation must be way down.

However...I found this very interesting tidbit of information:

"Here's news to us: West studied fine art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago on scholarship. He collects pop art. And he absolutely adores design.

"It's been my dream to be in Interior Design." O_o With that unsolicited introduction, he steps into his Los Angeles house for a portrait session, fresh off a transatlantic flight from the Concert for Diana. Without missing a beat, he's ready to pull out his laptop to preview a music video in the works with Takashi Murakami, then talk renovation with Desiderata Design principal Don Stewart."

Hark! A glimmer of hope in Dallas!

I haven't been shy about my disdain for the lack of decent modern furniture and decor stores here in the Dallas area (I don't include Ft. Worth because from what I've seen and heard, there are actually some pretty nifty places there...who knew?). Thanks to the uber-amazing website 1st Dibs--purveyor extraordinaire of all things antique, hip, and cool--they list a few places in the Dallas area known for their interesting products. It's an extremely short list, with the first two being my personal favorites. :)

Sputnik Modern

Collage

Jan Showers gives a bit of a happy medium between the modern shops and the more traditional shops:

Jan Showers & Associates

These Dallas stores tend to be famous for the what I call the typical "Dallas look:" very traditional, lots of flourishes, too much ornateness and gilding, and Bombay store-esque "exoticness." Clean lines? Modern sensibilities? Not so much. But the look is something that seems to be ubuiquitous here in Dallas:

Urban Electric Co.

Ceylon et Cie

East & Orient Company

Oooh, me likey.

So there I am, going along, minding my own bidness, la-dee-dah, still dreaming of one day owning a Barcelona or two ("cool and sublime" indeed), when to what do my wandering eyes should appear, but a vision in eBay at the start of the new year! This:
*gaaaahhhh* (incoherent drooling noises)

then I found this:
WOW. (I think the fun fabric really adds to the whole effect)

I also saw this one as well (but that ghastly fabric has got to go!) *shudder*


Milo Baughman's chrome rocking chair and matching footstool (which also rocks!). Simplicity of form, function, and comfort. Ah, bliss. I think if I had one of those, my kiester would undoubtedly never leave it!

And I reeeeeeally want these chairs for my dining room, also by Milo Baughman, love the brown velllllllvet:








or these interesting chairs by Paul McCobb. I can't tell if that's the original fabric on the seats, but it's cute and whimsical, I like it!


And what's up with this thing?












It's like the Willy Wonka of "MSM Chrome Furniture Land", with all those crazy curlicues! Frankly, it looks like one good rock in that thing would launch you backward off that baby so fast, you wouldn't know what hit you!

Those after Christmas sales!

Well, as of January 1, 2009, this girl is still unemployed (Desperate? Table for one? Desperate?), so after Christmas shopping is put well on hold for another year, grrr! However, you, dear reader, might be able to scoop up some FABU bah-gains at some of the various places around Dallas. As well as on line.

First we have Z Gallerie, over by the Galleria, which has its own version of this Eames style chair:


As well as these great side chairs (love the zippi-dee-doo-dah zebra stripe!):


















Love this fun, sexy mirrored coffee table as well:

Then we have these little lovlies from CB2 (the younger, hipper sister of Crate & Barrel), one of my favorite on line stores (Mama may just have to go off the wagon for some of these babies, because at these prices, they won't last!).

Time for another eBay watch

Yeah, yeah. It's just a filler, I know, but sometimes a girl gets too busy to normal stuff. And blogging is hard work! *sniff* Kidding. But it is time consuming, and time is something most of us don't have enough of already. So without further adieu, here are some eBay "pretties" I happened to notice this week:

HAPPY NEW YEAR....say it with COLOR!

Happy New Year y'all! Hope everyone's holidays were FAB, the gifts were great, the food was yummy, and family and friends warmed your hearts and didn't work your last nerve!

So let's start off the new year with a bang - COLOR! My new favorite decor blog is Decorno. LOVE. HER. She mentioned the website for LS Fabrics, which has a sister website called StaceAge, located in Atlanta.

Now, I’m not that much into Hollywood Regency, but OMG. I think I could be swayed (or is that suede?) when I happen to see amazing pieces like these. Look at this luscious blue foot stool, gaaaahhh! And the lovely blue and white chaise with the subtle outline...of an AK-47. That's pleasant.



And these:







And THIS! *drool* gaaahhhhh....fit for a diva! All it needs are some string curtains and a white flokati rug!



Doggone it, this makes me go woof! with its cute little fire hydrant applique!



Man. All that color is TOO stinkin' cute!