Harry and Sal's Design Blog

SAL: Attention Anthropologie-addicts, the Fall upholstery event kicks off tomorrow with 25% off for the month of September. I know Harry will be cursing that Anthropologie has not yet ventured to her distant shores, but I'm sure that time will come soon enough (Fingers crossed!). These two gems particularly caught my eye, the intensity of the orange fabric of the Jayne sofa - a confection in "naive tropical" - is even more stunning in person. "Rounded and padded in all the right places" according to the website - perfect! The Samovaari print of the Milo sofa pictured next, is perfect for this elegant chesterfield-inspired design.

Labels: Furniture, Sal, Seating

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 8/30/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY I've long been an admirer of Karim Rashid. There's a joy and exuberance to the Canadian designer's work - I'm thinking especially of his chairs (check out the blue Butterfly chair he designed for Magis). He recently opened an online store where you can peruse all his wares. But if you want to buy check out modernretro. They've got a great collection of design items and not only do they seem to sell things a little cheaper than everyone else, they are also having a sale on all their vases - including Rashid's 2002 "Rim" bud vase (it doubles as a candle holder).

Labels: Dining, Harry, Kitchen, Ornaments, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 8/22/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY Trawling through etsy I cam across this gem. I love this particular colour orange and also the graphic quality of the illustration. Plus it's $28. What's not to love. If you don't like orange it comes in lots of other colours (the dark red is pretty amazing). It's designed by a San Francisco artist called Joom. I've been looking for pillows for the kids rooms, our bed and the couch. Not sure where this would go...Of course, etsy.com has an overwhelming collection of pillows. Ruth's Crafts has a strong selection of retro pillows and Modern Art Everyday has some cool cushions covered in a simple branch pattern.

Labels: Art, Bags, Harry, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 8/13/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: I've long been a fan of treehugger.com. Their design and architecture coverage is excellent. I stumbled across this cool chair on their site today. It looks so soft and inviting. The Danish designers at Komplot used industrial felt made mainly from recycled plastic bottles. Another cool blog, Dezeen, has written a lot about this chair and has some great pics. And another green note - the NYT's finally stumbled on Anya Hindmarch's cooler than cool cotton bag (Sal has also covered it in the post above). It took Whole Foods selling them for the NYT's to pay attention. We hate to gloat but we blogged it in May and back then I felt like we were a little late!

Labels: Bags, Furniture, Harry, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 7/18/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: It's wrong, I know, to love a dining chair. But I do love my Eames DCM. Sal posted her new tag (711) for their house renovation - we will also be renovating our place in Sydney. We're working with great architects and can't wait to get started. And, although it wont begin til next year (2008) we've still managed to start shopping for a house that only appears on paper. I'll tag my stuff 94 (our house number) so you'll have an idea of what we're collecting. When we moved to LA two years ago we bought these DCM chairs for the new house in Sydney. Hilarious. But we needed an excuse to spend that much money. They were worth every penny. They are so comfortable and they look like a piece of sculpture. What more could you ask for from a chair? Best of all Herman Miller is releasing them in new colours this fall - imagine the chair in purple?

Labels: 94, Dining, Furniture, Kitchen, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 7/16/2007 1 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

SAL: Kartell's Mademoiselle armchair by Philippe Starck is well on its way to becoming an iconic piece of furniture along the lines of Knoll's Womb chair or the Eames rocker. Combine the armchairs with Stack's Louis Ghost dining chairs to add some color and vibrancy to your dining room. The chairs are now available in Missoni prints which I love, but I also really liked the bright green damask version too which is gorgeous. You can check out Questo Design for the full range of fabrics available and Highbrow Modern Funriture stocks the chair and offers free US shipping. Highbrow also have a nifty category for items under $300 - handy if you're up for something cool but not too exey.

Labels: Furniture, Seating

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 7/08/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: Carol Catalano designed the Capelli stool for Herman Miller in 2001. I love the sculptural quality of the piece. It's so simple. I always like to know where ideas come from. How do you come up with this solution? For Catalano the inspiration was her own hands. "In pondering how to improve the simple function of the stool I found myself observing the simple act of intertwining the fingers of my hands." The whole thing comes together without any fasteners and is covered in light ash. It separates easily for storage. The Capelli is now on my wish list with those classic Eames stools in walnut.

Labels: Furniture, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 7/03/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: The weather is so perfect in LA right now. I just want to be out in it all the time. Of course, that is not always possible - there are floors to be washed and clothes to be folded. But there are also picnics to be planned. Japanese designer Takeshi Nii designed this elegant portable chair in 1958. He called it the NY chair. When folded it stands on its own and is only 5.5 " wide. Love it. Will Rogers State Park here we come.

Labels: Furniture, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 6/30/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

SAL: Frazier and Wing have an interesting portfolio - featuring collections of brightly colored cushions on the one hand and these whimsical mobiles on the other - and yet, somehow it just all works! For even more funky mobile designs check out the Hanging Mobile Gallery for ideas.

Labels: Ornaments, Seating

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 6/27/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: One of the things I will miss about Los Angeles is the great shopping. I was at HD Buttercup today (returning a birthday present) and it is packed to the rafters with great homewares and furniture. And such good prices. The wonderful old factory in Culver City is now filled with over 50 manufacturers who sell directly to the public - they call it manutailing. Not particularly catchy, but a good idea. Cut out the middleman and keep prices down. I love the furniture at Floor-Model - you can see from the pic that it's lots of mid-century Danish and Swedish stuff. They also have great sales - check their website for details.

Labels: Dining, Furniture, Outdoor, Seating, Vintage

posted by cerentha harris at 6/19/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

SAL: I've been ogling this table and chair combo over at Room and Board for a while now. The table, called Andover, comes in Walnut, White Oak or Cherry - quite reasonable at $1299. The combination of the Walnut with the classic white molded Eames chairs is very dynamic and fresh looking. whilst you're there grab one of the Eames rockers - now I'm in heaven!

Labels: Dining, Furniture, Seating

posted by Sal Taylor Kydd at 6/14/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: I love these chairs. And once again Anthropolgie gets the colours and fabric just right. The frame is hardwood, the fabric is a weather hardy acrylic. Now we need the perfect little table to balance our book and drink and all will be well.

Labels: Furniture, Outdoor, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 6/04/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY: The perfect stool or sidetable is hard to come by. Look at this amazing one in chrome at Inside Avenue. Pop it next to the couch and it will hold a drink or two. Or guests can perch on it when you run out of couch space. (They've also got a great collection of lamps to go with your new table). If you want something even cheaper, Urban Outfitters has some very cute examples - I especially like the retro white tin table with the tile motif.

Labels: Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 5/30/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious

HARRY With spring here all things leafy are finding a way into our home. Twigs, blossoms, branches have been influencing designers for a while now. The joy for us is in the combining. Here a cushion covered in Florence Broadhurst’s blossoms echoes the wonderful graphic Algue designed by the ultra talented Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec - it hangs in a double swathe above our three seater couch. We picked up a set of 6 for $30 from San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. Google Algue and you'll find it all over the place. Other mobiles/wall art I love are: Moon lily branches mobile for $155 from Konrad's and Los Angeles designer Dave Wiseman’s porcelain branches (thank you Grace at design*sponge)

Labels: Art, Floral, Seating

posted by cerentha harris at 5/23/2007 0 Comments

Post to Facebook Digg It Add to Delicious