Boho Fabulous

I know, I know, "Boho" style has been around now a couple of years - the throw back to the late 60s - early 70s resurrected by many celebs such as, Nicole Richie, Sienna Miller, Fashion Stylist/Designer, Rachel Zoe, among many many other famous or not. I myself fell into this look and style probably 20 years ago or so.

To me, before the terms "Boho" or "Bohemian Chic" were coined, I thought of it as a "Earth Maiden / Hippie fabulous". I guess they are synonymous terms, but, there's something about the words "Boho Chic" that just work.

It seems that with the ever increasing popularity of musical festivals such as Coachella (here in my home town of Palm Desert - well it's in neighboring Indio), the thousands and thousands of woodstock wannabees are working this look..... some work it good..... others, not so good. But just the same - this look is so much fun to watch and even more fun to wear. Even if some fall into the "not so good", the sentiment remains and you can't help but smile amidst the maxi dresses, crochet everything, and Goddess head jewelry.

Have you been wanting to give Boho a try? It's so easy but, it does take a certain knack to create your own look - it shouldn't look to studied - you know, like you're trying to hard..... it just has to happen. When it does, you'll know its good. Stay tuned for a little rundown on how to make this look your own - wear it and live in it........

Bohemian Chic living........ this is a story for another day.... let me just say..... Ikat, leather, Moroccan, Suzani - are all key words/styles/materials for this look. Just thinking about it makes me smile and makes me want to head out to the beach in my crocheted coverup and mocassins......... so simple, yet so good. More to come...... (photo credits - fashionreporterwannabe.wordpress.com, wearwhatwear.blogspot.com, coachella.com )

Where has the time gone?

cocokelly.com

Season's Greetings 

to YOU!! 

The holiday season is here - not only is it here, it'll be gone before you know it. This time of year brings out the best in so many people from lighter, more jovial personas, to compelling feelings to share one's abundance with those less fortunate.  Giving to charity, be it a monetary donation to the Red Cross (oh those poor victims of Hurricane Sandy.... still climbing through the rubble of that horrific storm.... I can't imagine what that would be like), a donation of food to your local FISH or Food bank program, Toys for Tots - this is always a favorite in my house, to spending quality time at your local mission serving meals and providing support to our brothers and sisters, who, usually by no fault of their own, find themselves homeless and jobless during "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (as my favorite holiday song confides).

www.Redcross.org    www.Toysfortots.org     www.FishCharity.org

photo courtesy of tlc.com

Sometimes, it can be kind of hard to get that inspiration to reach out, especially when so many of us are finding our finances to not compare to what they once did, oh, not so long ago before our economic "dip".  Boy, could I put that any milder?  I know, personally, that I've had to consider very carefully how, and what I can contribute this year. Aside from money and gifts, something most of us do have, is time.  I know, it's easier said than done.  I know this from my own experience.  But, what I have learned in the past few years since making time my predominant method of charitable giving, not only do I help others have a better day at the very least, but, what it does for my own spirit is almost indescribable.
Try it, you'll see what I mean.

So, from here I go. Off to join the masses in the trenches at the mall with my dwindling list (thank goodness!).  But first, I'm going to sit here for a quiet moment and think about this list of mine, and what I believe is the best and most important gift that I can give..... Love, compassion, and kindness.

We are after all on this Big Blue Ball together......

Maybe we are all just Someone up there's SIMS game........ hmmmmm

courtesy of:  EAgames.com

Have an amazing day filled with LOVE and LAUGHTER.  See you soon.....

Warmest wishes to you,
Lulu

Can Really Hot Furniture Kill You???????

I know that I've featured the chaise which is on the bottom of this fantasmic furniture foto totem pole...... but I just keep running across this line by Bokja again and again, I'm dieing.   I love these...... don't you?  

If you've got a staple gun, iron and some rivets (okay maybe a few more tools which I will list for you)......... you can do this!   I'm eyeing my personal space for a likely candidate....... probably my large square leather ottoman......stay tuned......DIY pics/instructions are on the way.........

Publish Posthttp://www.furfin.com/furniture/2010/2/1/vintage-furniture-in-middle-eastern-fabrics-by-bokja.html

These fabulous piece are by Bokja

That Crazy Ikat...........catch it if you can........

If you've turned your head slightly to the right, or, nodded to the left at all in the past few months, you've seen it.

Ikat is a near universal weaving style common to many world cultures. Likely, it is one of the oldest forms of textile decoration.

In Central and South America, what is labeled as ikat is still common in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.

In the 19th century, the Silk Road desert oases of Bukhara and Samarkand (in what is now Uzbekistan in Central Asia) were famous for their fine silk Uzbek ikat. Ikat floral patterns are traditionally used in Europe on Mallorca, Spain.

India, Japan and many South-East Asian nations such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand have weaving cultures with long histories of Ikat production.

Double ikat is still endemic to Guatemala, India, Japan and Indonesia: specifically: Bali, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra.

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Maybe you didn't notice it right away, but the gloriously colorful fabric that is showing up on everything from sofa's to swimsuits is Ikat, or Ikkat, is the method of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres.

The dye is applied prior to the threads being woven to create the final fabric pattern or design.  Don't you LOVE this?    

Double Ikat is where both warp and the weft are resist-dyed prior to stringing on the loom. Traditionally, and still commonly, a back-strap loom is used, though any variant or modern loom may be used.

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This is a typical Ikat loom used by an Indonesian woman as she  practices her craft

If not for these artisans, the world would be a much less colorful place..........

LOVE

Ikat is a near universal weaving style common to many world cultures. Likely, it is one of the oldest forms of textile decoration.

In Central and South America, what is labeled as ikat is still common in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.

In the 19th century, the Silk Road desert oases of Bukhara and Samarkand (in what is now Uzbekistan in Central Asia) were famous for their fine silk Uzbek ikat. Ikat floral patterns are traditionally used in Europe on Mallorca, Spain.

India, Japan and many South-East Asian nations such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand have weaving cultures with long histories of Ikat production.

Double ikat is still endemic to Guatemala, India, Japan and Indonesia: specifically: Bali, Java, Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra.

Ikat weaving styles vary widely. Many design motifs may have ethnic, ritual or symbolic meaning or have been developed for export trade. Traditionally, ikat are symbols of status, wealth, power and prestige. Because of the time and skill involved in weaving ikat, some cultures believe the cloth is imbued with magical powers.

I think I'll add some ikat in my house..... pillows first........... I can feel the magic already.........  pics to come......

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Back in Black............Black Walls in Design

Would you ever paint your bedroom black?  How about your living room?  There is something so automatically chic about a black room. Or even a black wall in a neutral space.  

What do you think?  

Don't you LOVE the Flokati Rug?  My fave.......

It's settled.....
black walls  = clean, sophisticated elegance.  Where do I start?  The hallway to my bedroom is similar to this one..... Hallway first, master bedroom second?  Time to bribe the painter (aka adorable hubs)..........  

"If it looks right, it is right".

Designer Dorothy Draper

Born into wealth, Dorothy Draper was the first woman to establish an interior design firm in 1923, when a woman going to business by herself was considered risky as well as socially uncommon.

Drapers confidence, and unique style gave her an ability to step out of the common historical designs of her time, and run ahead of designers of her time because she didn't feel pressured to conform. Her confidence allowed her to make the right decisions every time- “if it looks right, it is right”.

Draper designed for the very wealthy society figures. But that was not all, she had commercial business knocking on her door as well. She often custom designed for hotels, restaurants, theaters, department stores, commercial establishments, corporate offices. She designed furniture for Ficks Reed, Heritage, as well as a many fabric lines for Schumacher. 

(credit to Hollywood Regency Furniture...)

 History's First True Interior Designer

The actual profession of interior designer is credited to Ms. Draper, who was commissioned to decorate all thirty-seven floors of the Hampshire House hotel in 1937 Manhattan. Even though renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright called her an "inferior desecrator," Ms. Draper had decorated scores of offices, restaurants, hospitals, and even a car for Packard (in 1952) and an airplane interior for Convair (the 880) before she died in 1969.

Ms. Draper also left a legacy through a number of books, as well, including a string of books on entertaining etiquette, some of which have recently been reprinted to help modern socialites entertain guests and be the life of their parties. In a way, Dorothy Draper was the Martha Stewart of her day, offering tips on a wide variety of issues to her eager readers.

Although Dorothy Draper is no longer a household name, she had an enormous effect on American interior design ideas in her day, and though she had her detractors (like Frank Lloyd Wright and others), there's no denying that she was the one who made the profession of interior designer possible for all those who came after her.

Much of Ms. Draper's work hasn't survived to the current day, but you can still see some of Ms. Draper’s work in various places around the country. For instance, there are still Dorothy Draper chandeliers hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. For a less prosaic look into Ms. Draper’s influence, just look for the blue-and-orange facades of the many Howard Johnson restaurants that still dot the countryside from coast to coast. Their color scheme was first suggested by Dorothy Draper.

The science of interior design has come a long way over the past seventy years. Today, it's a multimillion dollar industry, and incorporates aspects of environmental psychology, and architecture, as well as product and furniture design to create spaces that work well and are esthetically pleasing to their owners.

See Dorothy Draper's Interior Design Ideas

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

America's "Dream Home" Maker Jeanette Fisher, author of best-selling real estate investing and interior design books, has researched the effects of the environment on emotions for over 15 years. She is the author of over ten books, including university textbooks, and encyclopedia articles on color psychology. For more information on interior design psychology, free ebooks and newsletters, please visit  Design Psychology

Permission granted to publish this article as long as the bio remains intact with a live link to http://www.designpsych.com

Check out these images from Dorothy Draper design:

A buffet of Hollywood Regency.......................


Thank you Dorothy Draper - 


....................................................................more to come............................

Show Me Your STRIPES!

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel on the Cote D'Azur, 1930's.

FOREVER our goddess of chic.  How did she know?  Ms. Chanel had this crazy, natural instinct for what "worked".  Not even that simple..... her style was and remains genius. One of my favorite looks made famous by Coco is (are?) the simple, nautical stripes...........  If I remember right, she actually started this look with an actual sailor's shirt,  and her male friend's pants & belt.  I love it.  The simple construction and ease putting this look together will always reign in my top 3.  

Check out a sampling of striped fashion for 2010.  Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel is definitely keeping it alive!

STRIPES in the home are screaming hot right now.  We've been seeing this trend since last year in the design world and it just keeps on keepin' on. 

The above rooms designed by one of our faves, Jonathon Adler, showcase such a simple way to grab this trend.  I've seen this herringbone (or Chevron)  patterned rug in several versions from around $200 (IKEA) to $2,600 (Jonathon Adler rug above), for example.  Add this piece to any room and it will beam your space into luxe-ville for sure.

Stunning stripes for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, 1964.

Even Barbie had the look in 1959 (then again in 2008 when Mattel - relaunched the original).

OKAY, so now, I am for sure rambling, but, just one more striped fascination.  Drapes, curtains, window coverings.......... any of these (especially in black and white) will take that space of yours and give it the simply chic - graphic simplicity that will make any design aficianado proud.  

Bye for now............