Blog
My Bowl Obsession
Can you name one item possessed by almost every human being on the planet? Something that bridges all cultural, ethnic, racial and socioeconomic divides? I speak of the humble bowl. Archeologically and historically speaking, the bowl is one of the oldest artifacts...
Downsizing Dilemmas #1 : Letting go of family photographs
Most of us have them….boxes and albums (remember them??), containing dozens, maybe hundreds of photographs. Obviously, I’m speaking to a certain age group, who remember taking rolls of film to the photo processing store and waiting, sometimes a week, to get them back...
Elegant Simplicity : the humble allure of burlap, muslin and velvet
A major aspect of my personal, and professional, aesthetic is the elevation of humble, everyday materials by how they are used. After decades of striving to find the best, newest, most unusual, and usually priciest furnishings for my clients, I now delight in re-inventing my relationship with the common place…
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abiquiu Home: A Master Class in Simplicity
She was known for her paintings of oversized flowers, and her penchant for animal skulls and black stones. But did you know that Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abiquiu home was as minimal as her canvases? Purchased in 1945, and four years in restoration, her large and rambling adobe was created to reflect Miss O’Keeffe’s…
In Praise of Cubbies
We sit on chairs and sofas, and sleep in beds….but where do our possessions reside??? I really feel that how we store, display and arrange our stuff is practically an art form, or could be if you give it a little thought. Cubbies (from “cubby holes”) are an easy, classic and attractive way to house our things from books to bathroom essentials to t-shirts. The pleasing square grid pattern is the…
The Perfection of Imperfection
For the 26 years I maintained my design firm in California, perfection was easy to define and essential to achieve. My clients entrusted me to make sure the reveal (space) between cabinet doors was consistent, that fabric patterns matched on upholstery, that curtains hung 1/8” off the floor…