corner office

hello there!
I'd like to share this great office that I decorated in Boston.  The view is really killer, but here are some shots of the furnishings.  The cowhide rug really keeps it from looking too corporate.

Pouf Pouf Baby

I've been dubbed pouf baby by my husband.  
This is funny for a few reasons.  The first is because it's an hilarious name.  The second is because our summer neighbors have a Pomeranian that they have called Puff Baby.  (It's puffy when not shorn and small & sweet like a baby.)  The third is because it's retro, as in: not Pouf Diddy, nor is it Pouf Mommy (also funny).
It's funny because there is some truth in the moniker: I am a bit pouf crazy.  It's not as though I set out to be, but in about '09, I graduated from a pillow overload person to a pouf person.  


They are the easiest thing to add to a room without the space or cost commitment of a piece of furniture.  I have a pair of antique Moroccan orange leather ones that I'll never regret buying.  I've recommended at least one to almost every client.  
Embarrassed to admit it that.  


But they are great.  For kids, for guests, for foot stools, for a little shock of color.  For the hell of it.  When shopping for accessories to add to a room, I may shout out "how about a pouf, Baby?"

John Derian has the best, 
but here are some other great ones.  Lot's work well in kids' rooms:

Above from Anthropologie

Above available through Etsy

Above from Serena & Lily

Above available at Mohr & McPherson

From CB2

Above available through Tazi Designs.

to fake or not to fake

I’ve been a decorator for a while and have learned quite a bit.  My tastes have evolved, but there are certain things that are just GOOD.  And they will always be good.  (Eames chairs,  Cherner chairs, Saarinen tables, George Smith sofas)

Eames Molded Plastic Rocker version

Cherner chair

Saarinen Side table

George Smith Sofa

Like fashion, there will always be exciting trends and of-the-moment looks, but there are certain things that are just GOOD.  Classics.  (The LBD, a great trench, black)   There will always be black.

In all design, there will always be the paradigm: classic modern shapes, classic traditional shapes and a slew of interpretations in between.

That’s what makes this fun!

So I am left pondering my few favorite classics. 

I covet a Burberry trench.

I can’t afford said trench.  Over the years, I’ve purchased at least one trench a year at one price point or another.  At this point, I could have a Burberry or two. 

However, that is not how I look at it when I spot a stylish and more earthly priced trench at Club Monaco, or H & M, for that matter.

At last I get to my point.

Would Eero Sarrinen mind if I purchased a knock off tulip based table?  I doubt it.

  Does it make me less chic that I own a “cozy chair” from white on white as opposed to the Womb chair?  

Maybe.

What do you all think?  It’s a mean, tight purse string world out there. 

I seek out bargains for a living.   Sometimes I pat myself on the back.  Sometimes I hear myself saying, “I really got what I paid for.”

The more I see, the more I know what is worth the splurge and what gets bang for the buck.  It's a delicate dance.  

In the blog-o-sphere

Thank you to the ever cool Marni Katz, with hand-on-the-pulse and eye on design, style & art for her story on The Inside Source. "Taking the Mod Outside" features outdoor spaces that have maintained the modern look loved inside outside.

 

Lookee there!  It's my outdoor space to the left. Should have raked & styled it a bit better (um, hello - where are my striped pillows?), but so glad to be included with such beautiful outdoor spaces.  The space on the right is totally inspiring with it's Kartell sofas.  I hope my bamboo grows to that height.  Check out the story here.


Now I am motivated more than ever to get some professional pictures.