interior design | Musings

WIESERGUT

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Musings

Nestled in the mountains, one hour away from the city of Salzburg Austria, is Wiesergut, a modern retreat. A family estate, beautifully transformed into a sanctuary of light, nature and fresh air. The plot of land on which the Wiesergut stands, has been in the family since 1350 and has been used for small-scale farming for over two generations. This tradition continues, preserving artisanal craft with locally-sourced foods grown on the grounds that grace the tables of the hotel’s restaurant. Bespoke furnishings by Austrian designers commissioned exclusively for Wiesergut furnish the hotel’s 24 private quarters, from hand-blown glass chandeliers right down to the steel door handles. The attention to detail in every part of the experience, from food to view to space is intentional and beautifully designed.

Images sourced at Design Hotels

Tags: Arcihitecture, Austira, boutique-hotel, Designer Hotel, interior design, Retreat, ski resort, Spa, Wiesergut

Read more | Comments (0) | April 8, 2013

DIY Spring Inspiration

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Musings

The promise of spring and the color of the season is beginning to poke through the remaining blanket of snow. The vibrant tulip fields are a welcome image and inspiration, reminding me to bring color and texture indoors as well. This interior artwork is a great example of positioning a colorful display as the primary focus in a room. Demanding attention, and filing the space with energy, I love the the way this room reads. The furniture remains neutral, allowing the walls to change, creating a dramatic impact on the design. This composition could be easily created with painted cardboard boxes, mounted on a series of panels. Easy to install and remove on a whim with the change of seasons.

Image 1, Image 2

Tags: change of season design, color blocking, colorful interiors, diy, DIY artwork, interior design, spring inspiration, tulip fields

Read more | Comments (0) | April 1, 2013

A Pantone Colored Easter

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Musings

Ok, a little Easter decoration treat for you design focused folks. Pantone colored eggs are just the thing for an exquisite, modern holiday brunch. Perfectly matched to Pantone Chips, these colors are true, and a lovely display for spring. Prop the eggs up vertically in a cup with just enough dye to cover two thirds of the egg. If you want to label your eggs with their Pantone color ID, try printing on Tatoo paper, but remember to add text backwards, so it will read correctly when applied to the egg. A fun twist on a longstanding colorful Easter tradition.

DIY project sourced at How About Orange

Tags: Easter Brunch, Easter Egg Ideas, Easter Eggs, interior design, pantone, spring decor

Read more | Comments (0) | March 29, 2013

Sophie Delaporte for Comme Des Garçons’ Idomenee Book

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Musings

The artful and sculptural collection of Comme des Garçons, has been captured by Parisian photographer Sophie Delaporte for the new Comme Des Garcon’s Idomenee Book. The graphic presentation of this collections color and contrast is perfectly styled by Kanako B.Koga. Appropriately, this fashion brand has been exhibited in museums through the years, as the attention to detail, form, and texture is dramatic and oh-so beautiful. While living in New York, I often visited the store in Soho to view new lines, as it offered an up close study in design and materiality, and frankly some fabulous and beautiful people watching. Always anticipated at Fashion Week, and of course, not one to disappoint. The modernity and simplicity of model, costume and backdrop, paired with deliberate lighting and exacting color, create a dramatic image filled with intensity and purpose. Enjoy.

Image and excerpt sources.

Tags: Avant Garde Design, Comme Des Garcons, Fashion Design, Fashion Photography, Idomenee Book, interior design, Sculpture, Sophie Delaporte

Read more | Comments (0) | March 27, 2013

Sonia Delaunay

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Musings

Inspiration in our daily lives can come from numerous sources. Color, texture and pattern are abundant in our environment, whether dancing shadows as the sun hits the leaves of a tree, or an industrial grating, with intensity and rhythmic pattern. I recently came across a book published as part of an exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt Museum on the work of Sonia Delaunay titled Color Moves: Art & Fashion by Sonia Delaunay. Her studies in pattern and texture as a painter extended into varied medium and in turn, expression. It is wonderful to see through her eyes the design process as it evolved investigating the relationship of pattern, color and movement.

‘Painter, textile and stage designer and co-conspirator (with her husband Robert Delaunay) of the Orphist movement, Sonia Delaunay is a heroine of early modernist art and design. Known primarily as an abstract painter and colorist, Delaunay applied her talents and theories to all areas of visual expression, including graphics, interiors, theater and film, fashion and textiles. A characteristic of Delaunay work is a vivid sense of movement and rhythm through careful color combination.

Color Moves: Art & Fashion by Sonia Delaunay focuses not only on her art but also her avant-garde fashion designs for her Atelier Simultane in Paris during the 1920s, as well as textiles she designed for the Metz & Co department store in Amsterdam in the 1930s.The book features essays by Delaunay experts Matteo de Leeuw-de Monti, Matilda McQuaid and Petra Timmer, accompanied by more than 300 paintings, drawings, designs, textiles, garments and photographs.’

An accomplished and celebrated artist, ‘Sonia Delaunay claimed the first retrospective for a living female artist at the Louvre. She described her textiles as mere “exercises in color” that informed her true passion, painting. But her work in fashion and the applied arts, via her Maison Delaunay design atelier, may well be her broader legacy.’