How PowerPoint made my home pretty

If I could have the pleasure of drafting a memo to the men and women who designed and built my apartment, I would say this: "Nice job on the flooring. Appreciate the spacious-ish bathroom. Enjoying the nook next to the closet. But for the love of all things holy, why oh why would you ever place the phone for the front desk almost smack-dab in the middle of a nicely sized wall that is just asking--ney, PLEADING--to be adorned with with beautiful pieces of art?"

This issue has plagued me for several years. And to be honest, I've just let it sit there and mock me, naked and white--unused, underutilized, and boring the heck out of me. So recently, when 20x200.com (one of my favorite art sites) had a sale, I decided to stick it to my big white wall (er, literally AND figuratively).

I purchased three pieces that I thought would go together nicely as a color series: "Squeeze" by Gary Petersen, "Curvilinear Time" by Jessica Snow, and "Shill" by David Corbett (as you may recall, I gushed over David Corbett in an earlier post). [Sidenote: At one point, I thought it would be funny to do a series on telephones. But then, I realized that I just didn't want to own several art prints of random phones. So that was out, and color was in. And color always wins.]

True my somewhat OCD-ness, I then got to work trying to decide how to hang those suckers around the annoying phone. And how did I do that? Digital photography + PowerPoint.



The above are some shots of my computer screen. I took photos of my white wall as well as individual shots of the framed pieces of art. I then inserted all the photos into PowerPoint slides, making the wall photo large and in the background, and re-sizing the framed art to how they'd fit on that wall in real life. And then I just played around.

I came up with several different ways to hang the pictures together as a series, and I am so glad I did. I originally thought I'd just hang them side by side in a long, horizontal line, with the phone acting as part of the series. But playing around with the photos on my computer showed me a better solution. Here's the final result:

I picked this option in the end because it's interesting, a little unexpected, a bit off-center, and, if you could see my whole studio, it helps reinforce where the kitchen ends and the living room begins (always nice in a small space). I also like how it looks like it's trying to sneak a peek around the corner at the bookshelves.

What do you think? And how would you have dealt with the giant white wall?

Redheads

The biggest challenge of this week's One-Bouquet-a-Week Challenge was getting the pink stains off the palms of my hands after cutting down these suckers to fit in the vase. (It took about a day or so--Trader Joe's must have used a gallon of dye for each one. Yowzah.)

When selecting this bunch of sunflowers, I was hoping to capture a droopy-cool van Gogh-esque look. However, a cobalt-blue container combined with the fiery red petals and punchy yellow centers of these bloomers make them look slightly comical and clownish. But since Vincent van Gogh probably never made anyone laugh, I think I might just like this LOL-like arrangement almost as much as his masterpiece anyway.

SWAK

E-mail be damned; I still prefer a good old-fashioned handwritten card in my mailbox to an electronic one in my inbox any day (and my guess is that you do, too).

I'm someone who buys random cards even when I don't have an occasion to send one. I just feel like it's better to have them on hand, especially since cards also make cute n' cheap pieces of art--just slap 'em in a frame and hang. Here are a few recent purchases that may be sent to friends, or may be added to my art collection.

(And for the record, Harry.)

William or Harry? by La Familia Green, available at lafamiliagreen.com and Catbird in Brooklyn

City Story by Rob Ryan for Roger la Borde, available at Catbird in Brooklyn

Elephant by Foxy & Winston, available at etsy.com and Foxy & Winston in Brooklyn

Shoe Whore by Bella Muse, available at bellamuse.com

Sunday in the Slope

Part of my job requires that I work closely on projects with graphic designers and art directors. And I love that--I'm always being introduced to new ways of seeing things, whether it's something I've written, a fun color combo, an interesting font, or even an understanding of when art can solve a problem better than words.

One of the most creative designers I've been lucky enough to work with is my friend Jorge. And in the past few years, I've also been lucky enough to call him "neighbor"(-ish)--he and his wife Dea and their amazing daughter moved to the nearby neighborhood of Park Slope and into one of the most gorgeous apartments I've ever seen in real life. It's modern and streamlined and smart and cool and bad-ass all at once.

What I admire most, though, is not the fact that their apartment is devastatingly Dwell-magazine-worthy. It's the fact that every nook and cranny has been carefully thought out--from the lighting selected for each room and the tiles gracing the stairwell, to the paintings on loan from Jorge's friend, artist Vince Contarino, to the art that hangs above Jorge and Dea's bed (the whole family helped craft it!).

It's a gorgeous pad. But it's also a place where every square-inch is filled with love. And that's what a home should be all about.

WHERE TO BUY

DINING ROOM

Painting: Vince Contarino, artist

Table: Company: B&B Italia Model: Athos '05   Wood: white oak

Chairs: Store: Design Within Reach Model: Panton   Color: white

Suspension Lamp: Store: Y-Lighting Model: George Nelson's Bubble Lamp

KITCHEN

Suspension Lamp: Store: Y-Lighting Model: Teca S3 Pendant  Color: white

Bar Stools: Store: Design Within Reach Model: LEM Piston Stool   Wood: blanched oak

Fruit Bowl: Store: MOMA Store Model: Satellite Bowl   Wood: black

LIVING ROOM

Photography: Ludmil Dimitrov, artist

Floor Lamp: Store: Y-Lighting Model: Kartell's Toobe Floor Lamp  Color: blue

Sofa: Company: B&B Italia Model: Tufty Time   Fabric: wool.

Rug: Store: Design Within Reach Model: Photon Rug   Color: cream

Curtain: Store: The Shade Store Model: Ripple Fold Drapery   Color: white

STAIRWELL

Suspension Lamp: Store: Y-Lighting Model: Artemide's Castore Suspension

Painting: Vince Contarino, artist

Ceramic Wall Tile: Store: A&K Tile Studio (Brooklyn)   Model: Porcelanosa Venis

BEDROOM

Artwork: Jorge & family   Frames: Ikea

Thanks, Jorge and Dea, for letting me photograph your beautiful home (and to Jorge for all these links)!