ELLE DECOR SAN FRANCISCO SHOWHOUSE 2010

Two weeks ago I visited the Elle Decor Showhouse 2010 in San Francisco. The house is located in the St. Francis Wood area and was open to the public three weekends in November, closing today. It is always interesting to see what other designers are doing and I was not disappointed.
The house was quite small, by showhouse standards, only about 4,000 square feet, on three levels, and especially the bedrooms were very small. This allowed the designers to showcase their skills in space planning.

Above is the Library by Will Wick, my favorite room in the house. It is a tiny room, almost a hallway, but full of interesting furniture and objects.

This is a corner in the Living Room, designed by Gary Spain. The feeling is very relaxed, lots of neutral tones and casual textiles, like burlap. I particularly liked his choice of artwork, a pair of large scaled tribal photographs that reminded me of the work of Hans Sylvester.

This small bedroom was designed by Suzanne Tucker. Again, she was able to make a tiny bedroom into a space full of interest and warmth.

Above are the Teenage Girls' Bedroom and Bath by Grant K. Gibson. What can I say! Could you keep calm in this riot of color?

ORGANIC TEXTURE

Long time no see! Summer just flew by and fall is upon us. In my photo files I found this image of a rock, covered in lichen. I took the picture in Finland in 2007. Aren't the organic shapes and colors of the lichen beautiful.

PARIS BIENNALE DES ANTIQUAIRES 2010

I just got back from an exciting trip to Paris and Vienna. I'll be writing more about my experiences in the days to come, but I wanted to start with the absolute highlight, the Biennale des Antiquaires at the Grand Palais. This is the second time I have attended the Gala opening dinner, and it is spectacular. The vignettes created by the most exclusive dealers in the world, and the treasures they contained, were breathtaking. Just to name a few, Didier Aaron, Steinitz, jewelry by Harry Winston, Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels. Kraemer had recreated the Oval Office of the White House and furnished it with 18th Century French antiques. Quite a twist on Michael S. Smith's concept.
My personal favorite was Axel Vervoordt's display. His theme was Yin and Yang. He was contrasting black and white as back ground colors and very primitive art with religious Baroque paintings. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Vervoordt. What a charming, earthy person. When I introduced myself, he started speaking Dutch, having been thrown off by my last name. I had to confess that I was only Dutch by marriage.

I was traveling my friend Kathleen Cartier and she attended the dinner with me. I will continue my name dropping as our table companions included Philippe Thomas, the editor of Connaissance des Arts, France's top antique magazine, Bernard Schotter of Mobilier National and a charming young author, Capucine Motte who has just published a best seller in France. It is called La Vraie Vie des Jolies Filles or The Real Life of Pretty Girls. I have ordered it from amazon.fr and cannot wait to read it. What an evening!

PASADENA SHOWCASE PREVIEW

This is a preview of my Pasadena Showcase House 2010 room, Mrs. Cravens' Sunroom, complete with two pairs of feet in the foreground! Kelsey, my assistant, and I are contemplating the opposite corner of he room. The house will open to the public on April 18, hope you come to see the finished look!

HAVING FUN!

These two photos were taken by South Pasadena photographer Shawn Bishop for THEMagazine.
They were taken at this year's Pasadena Showcase House.
My assistant Kelsey Zwang and I are having fun in our area, Mrs. Cravens Sunroom, with a New Guinea mask from the Sepik region. The photos show the "before" room. The room is now close to completion, the house opens to the public on April 18! You find more information and photos
on my KOID blog.

FOUR SEASONS SHAWL

Previously, I have mentioned my paisley shawl collection. I plan to feature individual shawls on a regular basis. This is a so called Four Seasons shawl. They usually have four colors in the center medallion, thus the name. This is a bit unusual as it has five colors. The shawl is rectangular, 120" long, 59" wide. It was made in France with jacquard looms and dates from circa 1850. These shawls were very fashionable during most of the 19th century.

PAINTING!

Painting is well along the way at the Pasadena Showcase House. This is what the room looked like end of last week,



and this is what it looked like today! Next our decorative painting artist Mary Linda will do her magic with the pilasters and the ceiling.

I can't wait, but I do look pretty happy about the way things are going.

WORK HAS STARTED AT THE PASADENA SHOWCASE!

Kelsey Mitchell Zwang, my assistant extraordinaire, carrying base moldings to the Pasadena Showcase House, seen on the background.

The work is in full swing in our Showcase room, Mrs. Cravens' Sunroom. We are adding down lights to highlight the Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings that will flank the French doors leading to the sitting room. The Versailles patterned stone floor is being installed.

Next week we will add new base moldings and the painting will begin. We are well on schedule for the program photo shoot end of March!

PASADENA SHOWCASE HOUSE 2010

The above page is from The Magazine, photographed by Shawn Bishop. The Magazine featured the preview of the 2010 Showcase House and the designers.

The 46th annual Pasadena Showcase House of Design will take place this year April 18 through May 16. I am very pleased and honored that we have been selected to design a room, making this the 20th anniversary of my Showcase participation. During this time I have designed 14 rooms and served as the Designer Liaison three times.

This year's house is the Cravens Estate, designed by Lewis B. Hobart, the famous San Francisco architect whose credits include the Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill. This is a 24,000 square foot estate, inspired by a French Chateau. We are designing Mrs. Cravens Sunroom. It is a lovely sun filled room with six pairs of ten foot high French doors and interesting architectural detailing, including Ionic pilasters flanking the French doors.



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My assistant Kelsey Zwang

The above rendering by Alex Dorfman depicts our concept for the room. Since the rendering was finished, we have made a change. Instead of the architectural fragments on the back wall, we will be displaying Australian aboriginal Dream time paintings. The room will have elegant backgrounds, but will be grounded by tribal art. I will keep you posted of the progress of the room!