Posted September 19th, 2011 by Rachel
Since my husband is in the wine business, I see wine themed interior furnishings… All. The. Time. Most of the stuff I see is pretty darn kitschy, including the furniture made from old wine barrels. That is really a shame, because the reclaimed oak staves are some of the prettiest wood out there. Imagine the luminous color of oak stained by years of exposure to red wine. What a shame to turn such regal wood into blah furniture.
Happily, Stil Novo Design’s furniture and lighting is far from ho-hum.
In fact, it is downright gorgeous!
I love this little table lamp. Such a pretty glow.
They also use the hoops from the barrels to create great pieces like the Orbit chandelier.
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Posted September 7th, 2011 by Emerald
The latest installment in a series of artisan profiles by contributing writer Emerald Atkins.
The ancient Greek poets were said to be inspired by the Muses, nine goddesses who were the source of all art.
Visitors to the whyrHymer Store in Los Angeles may well believe that a tenth Muse is informing Brandon & Sundeep Morrison on their own creations. The couple & their work have been featured in California Home & Design and California Homes. The style of their lighting & furniture is solid yet elegant, evoking the philosophy of the early 20th century Arts & Crafts movement yet speaking in its own distinct, thoroughly modern voice.
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Posted in Furniture, Lighting, Profiles
Tags: artisan, design, fsc, furniture, green, lamp, Lighting, Los Angeles, sustainable, wood
Posted August 22nd, 2011 by Emerald
I’m excited to welcome back writer Emerald Atkins for another of her excellent Artisan Profiles!
There are many lights in New York City, but perhaps the most unusual are created by Allison Patrick of Zipper 8 Lighting.
Although the core idea behind her designs is simple – the covering of plain lampshades or paper lanterns with repurposed materials – there is a playful wit at work there: quirky, modern, fun… and green.
Allison has always been a creative person and early on was influenced by a craft-loving family friend with whom she was “constantly creating things.” Over time she realized that what she truly loved was creativity within the physical world, which led to a degree in Architecture. Place, too, influences her work, as the “already built” nature of NYC limits the scope of creativity while focusing the latter into the elaboration of interior space, such as the transformation of “a simple white box of a room” into something personable and unique. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted August 15th, 2011 by Rachel
She’s a svelte little stunner isn’t she?
Such a rich combination of polished wood and etched ceramic.
The charming Payton restyled vintage table lamp is available through virtuoso vintage lighting source, Mod Pieces.
If only she fit in with my decor… Sigh.
Thanks for visiting!
Rachel
Posted July 29th, 2011 by Rachel
I love how something ordinary can become extraordinary just by changing its context.
Take these crazy cool “Spaceship” pendants by Etsy seller Urbanhardware. Want to guess what they started life out as?
Give up?
They are actually fairly ordinary footed metal serving plates from India, turned upside down, stacked, and put to an entirely new use. Love it!
And those aren’t the only found objects Urbanhardware has transformed into great new lighting…
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Posted July 25th, 2011 by Rachel
Whether you think the traditional newspaper is on its deathbed or not, there are still thousands of editions being printed daily. All that single use newsprint adds up to a tremendous amount of paper to be recycled. Although many uses have been found for old newspaper, this has to be one of the more attractive…
NewspaperWood was developed by Dutch design label Vij5 as a way to create a wood like construction material out of waste paper. By rolling the paper up into “logs”, rendering them solid with binders, then slicing through them, a new material with a wood like grain is achieved.
Simple, yet elegant. Love it!
The resulting material can be used to construct furniture, such as this industrial style cabinet.
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Posted July 14th, 2011 by Rachel
Love!
Simple, rustic, natural,… quirky. Yep, everything that appeals to me today is summed up in the Manila Rope Light by Etsy seller Atelier 688.
Somehow, they have managed to keep the rope light from feeling like it’s part of some poorly conceived pirate theme restaurant. Instead it has the air of something you would find in some cool, old factory space. And you know how I love that!
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Posted June 8th, 2011 by Rachel
Every week I go on Etsy to look for something new to show you. And every week I think, “this is the week I’m not going to find anything that’s new”. I mean, how many fresh ideas are there really? Well, apparently quite a few, because yet again I managed to find something cool I had never seen before…
I mean, look at this lamp by Etsy seller pallethunters! How cool is that? I’m not even into butterflies, and I’m gaga for it.
Made of reclaimed pallet boards, and using pretty walnut wood plugs to cover up the screw holes, this lamp is both rustic and kind of sweet looking at the same time. After cleaning and assembling the boards, the lamp is given a light sanding and then a coating of non-toxic tung oil to protect the wood.
I think I am the first blog to feature their lamp, but as cute as it is I bet it’s going be making the rounds on the rest of them pretty quick.
They also have a selection of pallet furniture pieces, like this one… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted May 19th, 2011 by Rachel
images by Béatrice Durandard et Océane Delain
Floating above your head like a rustic flying saucer, the Aura lamp is a beautiful marriage between one of the oldest of handcrafts and the latest in lighting technology. Created by two young French designers, Océane Delain and Béatrice Durandard, who met during an internship at Ikea in Sweden, it immediately attracted notice and garnered them an award and seed money to start the production process.
The lamps are now being created by hand in Northern France. Here you can see the LED strips being woven into the design.
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Posted May 12th, 2011 by Rachel
Best, most efficient artificial lighting source?
LEDs.
Biggest reason given for not replacing less efficient incandescent and CFL bulbs with LEDs?
Cost.
That excuse is getting harder and harder to give, thanks to LED innovations like the new Lighting Science Group Definity A19 Non-dimmable 40-Watt LED Light bulb
, which is now available on Amazon for only $21.98! Read the rest of this entry »
