DIY Tables by Goncalo Campos

 
  

I love the genius of product design. The series of tables designed by Goncalo Campos, are made only using two basic materials, fabric and wood, the most commonly used materials in most households They are designed to be assembled with no glues or external fixtures, other than fabric, using a simple construction technique - they look primitive but at the same time very elegant. I can see the possibilities using beautiful woods, such as ebony, walnut, or perhaps fumed wood, and coordinating the fabric to match the colors and mood of your room. They would make wonderful conversation pieces for a wedding, or summer lawn party.

Images Courtesy of Gonçalo Campos. Goncalo Campos is a Portuguese designer, born in 1986. Graduated in product design in 2008, after which joined Fabrica team, for a year and created a series of  of tables which were featured in the exhibition Mais que Partes (More Than Parts), shown in the Fabrica features shop in Lisbon.

Fumed wood veneers – White Ebony

Patricia Gray Inc is an award winning Interior Design firm  in Vancouver, Canada who blogs about WHAT'S HOT  in the world of Interior Design.
2010 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Furniture IS Lifestyle - DEDON LAUNCHES “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER

 
DEDON LAUNCHES “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER

I love the new lifestyle advertising campaign that the Dutch company Dedon, a manufacturer of outdoor furnishings, has launched.  You may have seen the ads for this Dedon campaign in some of the recent Design magazines - Dedon is selling their furniture as lifestyle.  DEDON takes its collaboration with legendary American fashion photographer Bruce Weber to a next level with the publication of a new book Coming Home, a sumptuously produced, limited edition book. Building on themes that Weber developed for the current DEDON advertising campaign, Coming Home is an exploration into the meaning of home and the feelings we hold for it. Personal, poetic and eclectic, the book weaves together exclusive imagery by Bruce Weber with artwork and illustrations specially commissioned by the photographer. Watch the Dedon movie in large format here, or on YouTube here.  The music and imagery are spectacular.  The movie starts with a quote from the movie Out of Africa - the words of Denys Finch Hatton, played by Robert Redford: “I don’t want to live someone else’s idea of how to live.”

 
DEDON “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER

DEDON “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER

DEDON “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER

 
DEDON “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER
A multilevel treehouse, a cast and crew of 60 people with legendary fashion photographer Bruce Weber keeping it all together.

DEDON “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER

When I first saw the Dedon ad campaign, by Bruce Webber I was mesmerized by it.  Some people I have talked to just don’t get it. 
After all Bruce Webber was the photographer for the controversial ad campaign for Calvin Klein in the 90’s, and
Webber also photographed a shirtless Chris Isaak in bed for a fashion spread in Rolling Stone. 
Dedon says about Coming Home “…….it is an exploration into the meaning of home and the feelings we hold for it.”
I say that ‘Furniture IS Lifestyle’ and has as much of a message to say about how we live as Fashion does!

What do you think about ‘Lifestyle Advertising?’  Leave your comment here.

  

DEDON “COMING HOME”, A LIMITED-EDITION BOOK BY BRUCE WEBER Architectural Digest Spain - May 2010
Postscript:  These are scans from a Spanish magazine that my friend and fellow blogger Ivan Meade sent to me after I published this article.

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and WHAT'S HOT
in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

Reinventing Blue

And I mean a deep, dark, luscious Blue. It is showing up in walls, fabrics, carpets and accessories. It is a blue that doesn't have green or red in it. It is almost black and is warmer than lighter blues and has more life and depth than Black. It is the deepest shade of Indigo as seen in Ikat Textiles. It is the color of the sky on a moonlit night. It is mysterious, moody, classic, timeless, calming, and refreshing. It can have a glossy finish or be totally matt. It is beautiful when contrasted with pure white. My favorite Benjamin Moore paint colors are Polo Blue, Blackberry Punch, Kensington Blue, Blue Gaspe, Hale Navy, and Old Navy. Some deep blue colors are: sapphire, azure, beryl, cerulean, cobalt, indigo, navy, royal, midnight blue, slate, steel blue, Prussian blue. 

The high gloss finish on this wall has a subtle reflectivity to it that changes at different times of the day and literally sparkles at night.

Alberto Pinto has used a deep blue in the bold geometric carpet as his only color in this wonderful Master Bedroom.

A deep and refreshing Mediterranean blue has been used on the walls at JK Capri Hotel in Italy.

A deep "French Blue" velvet for this classic chair.

 
I am in the process of designing a guest bedroom and I have chosen a deep blue silk for the curtains called Moonlight. I am putting a natural woven raffia roman shade on the window behind the curtains for some textural interest. The walls will be painted the same shade as the silk curtains: Benjamin Moore "Blue Gaspe". The Headboard is a heavy white Belgium linen. The bedding is white Egyptian cotton with an Hermes cashmere blanket in a deep charcoal color on the end of the bed. The carpet is wool and is the color of white coral. I will hang black and white "ocean" photographs that I have taken on my travels on the blue walls to finish it off.

Let me know if these deep luscious shades of blue are slated to become one of your new favorite colors?

Photo Credits from top: Dominio, Alberto Pinto, JK Capri Hotel, Jayson Home.

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

2010 Color Reform Trends

 

ABC Carpet & Home Vintage 'over-dyed' carpets

ABC CARPET NEW YORK INTRODUCES COLOR REFORM TRENDS COLLECTION TO SALVAGE OLD RUGS

I got an interesting email from ABC Carpet & Home New York this week, that captured my interest - they (ABC Carpet & Home) is encouraging us to look on the bright side for 2010 with a their new rug collection that promises to: "escape predictability, embrace the unconventional, and help preserve our planet." This new assortment of hybrid carpets called Color Reform, transforms imperfect, vintage rugs into modern works of art. ABC Carpets are literally  “...rescuing carpets from the “rug graveyard” and giving them a new lease on life.”

ABC Carpet & Home has utilized this notion to develop the concept of Color Reform, which refers to evolutionary change through color. Each one of a kind rug was individually handcrafted by Turkish artisans in the Toros Mountains. The vintage rugs are neutralized to remove their original color and then over-dyed to create their remarkable chromatic state. The variations in the tonality of pigments result from the carpet’s original concentration of color combined with the dye application process conceived from each artist’s distinct vision.

Exotic rainbow hues range from neon pink and electric green to opulent reds and saturated yellows. The striking compositions evoke an almost translucent appearance as irregular, partially faded motifs emerge through the color, adding complexity and interest to each piece. Below is one of my favourites in the series, in a more neutral color palette, that I think you would be able to live with for many years to come and pass on to future generations.

 
ABC Carpet & Home Color Reform
Vintage 'over-dyed' carpet

PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm writing about lifestyle and
WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.
2011 © Patricia Gray | Interior Design Blog™

To Kindle or Not?

The controversy for me is to read a book on Kindle, or to hold a book in your hands? Here is what I have decided. There is a place for both. There are certain books to read on Kindle. For me they are current best sellers that I usually devour, and having read them once they are cast to a separate and less prominent position on my bookshelf. It seems a waste of paper to me to have stacks of books that I will only read once. And another advantage of Kindle is that you can have that book instantly downloaded onto your Kindle wirelessly and be reading with no wasted time (and time is a precious commodity) standing in line at the bookstore or waiting for it to arrive by mail.

The new Kindle DX comes with a larger 9.7” display and I am debating on whether to wait until they come out with a color screen. I discovered that they now have Kindle for PC & iPhone (free download). I downloaded Kindle for PC last weekend and really enjoyed the ease of reading on my laptop. You can turn the pages in a nano second, which is good for speed reading certain types of books and I liked the illuminated screen for reading at night. I have read two bestsellers on Kindle for PC : The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande & Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – both excellent books.

But then there are books that defy the use of Kindle for me, and those are the books that I want to hold in my hands, smell the pages, turn the pages, start reading from the back of the book, explore the beautiful pictures , arrange them in alluring stacks on my coffee table, line them up as works of art on my bookshelf. There is nothing as delightful to me as owning and reading a precious first edition.

1st Edition 1940 – I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson

So what do you think – to read a book on Kindle or hold it in your hands?

Patricia Gray is an award winning Interior Designer in Vancouver, Canada who blogs about WHAT'S HOT in the world of Interior Design. 2010 © Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog™