Aren’t these classic magazine covers from the early 1900’s wonderful?

The middle one reminds me of hanging out on the beach in Bolinas with my in-laws’ jack russell terriers.  To me, the one on the right reminds me of how relaxing it feels to be near the ocean.  And the one all the way to the left is so chic and exotic – I could design a whole room using this photo as inspiration.

This trio of framed magazine covers would look wonderful hung in a woman’s office.  There are many more classic magazine covers at www.condenaststore.com.   This is a great resource for afforadable art.  Check it out and pick out your favorites.

What are these?  Beautiful needlepoint door stops made by Chelsea Textiles.  I grew up tripping over them in my parent’s house and they used to drive me crazy.  But it’s those things from growing up that you tend to love as you get older. I especially love these because of their graphic patterns.  They are another example of a traditional object brought back to life by a modern approach.

Add these to your guest bedroom or master suite and you will find that they are put to good use.

I have an affinity towards beautiful linens.  This comes from my mother who is even more in love with them than I am.  Leontine Linens, who make the linens shown below, have revived the art of couture linens for the modern home.  They produce heirloom quality luxury linens, bringing life back to this artisinal craft.  Not only are they nice for your own home, but they also make the most wonderful and thoughtful wedding or housewarming gifts.

Feel like getting creative?  Then design your own monograms and have them custom embroidered.  In San Francisco, I use a wonderful company called Aur Embroidery and their pricing is very reasonable.

If you are not a monogram person (which many of you are not) then you can always embroider a symbol that is meaningful to you, or else embroider some sort of graphic print or design that adds a bit more personality to your powder room hand towels or table linens.  I went to an engagement party recently where the napkins were embroidered with the word ‘Love’ in a whimsical rouge font.  That litte detail added so much to the spirit of the event.

Start doodling and locate your local embroiderer!

In custom furniture design, the hardware selection can dramatically alter the look of the piece.  The same is true with cabinetry in the kitchen or bathrooms.  When I draw a custom piece of furniture or cabinetry, I usually draw it with three of four different hardware options and then decide from those drawings which is the best fit for the environment I am trying to create.  If the budget allows it, my favorite place to look for quality hardware is The Nanz Company, based out of New York.  Here are a few examples of their hardware:

The option on the right would be nice to use on a sliding door.  The middle option would be adorable in a boy’s bathroom used on the cabinetry and that one to the left is a nice polished, versatile option that would complement a clean-lined bedside table or maybe the hardware for the drawers in a man’s closet.

Changing the finish of the hardware can alter the feel of the piece as well.  Brass, copper, nickel, brushed, smooth?? This is another detail to think about when selecting hardware.

Here are a few examples from Kelly Wearstler’s book of some beautiful, unique hardware selections.

Sometimes you can find antique hardware at an estate sale or flea market to use for a project (Liz’s Hardware in Los Angeles is a great resource for antique hardware).  If the piece is not the correct finish (let’s say it’s brass and the rest of your room is polished nickel), you can always have the piece re-plated in a custom finish.  In San Francisco, I recommend Biro and Sons, located in the South of Market neighborhood.

Think of this as accessorizing your outfit.  What jewels would you select for you home?

This Frank chair, made by Mattaliano, is the perfect piece to fit that small space and add one more seat to the room, a comfortable one at that!

The wood frame is made from white oak wood with a cerused finish.  The cushion is down and the back height is quite high at 39″.  A pair of these would be very nice on either side of a grand piece of furniture.

It could be nice to upholster these in a small scale print to add interest to a room where all other furnishings are in a solid fabric.  Or else a beautiful, high quality linen in a natural color would fit the classic look of this fine furnishing.

This bedside table, made by one of my favorite furniture designers, Madeline Stuart,  is absolutely ideal.  It has a drawer to hide the remote controls and whatever else you like to have by your bed.  It is a truly classic piece with simple, clean lines.  It is something you could most definitely pass on to your children and it would never go out of style.  You could make the piece feel more contemporary or traditional based on what lamp you choose to go with it, making it a very versatile piece.

Splurge on the furniture that will be versatile, that will age gracefully and that you will love for a long time to come.

This 24″ x 24″ tray table (from Jean-Marc Fray in Austin, TX) has a gorgeous peacock bird scene painted on it with beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom.  I tend to like bird scenes and this one is no exception – especially since peacocks are involved.  I live very near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and there are some amazing Cherry Blossoms blooming in the Japanese Tea Garden right now.  Be sure to check them out if you are in the mood for an afternoon tea!

I also love the simplicity of the gilded x-base.  The scale of this small cocktail table is ideal for the scale of San Francisco Victorians, where rooms tend to be on the smaller side.

I’ve had my eye on this chair for a couple of years now, but I never knew where it was from.  We originally had it in mind for a Los Angeles beach bungalow as occasional chairs for a Living Room, but we never moved forward with it.  I went to a Giant’s game last night with one of the Palecek boys of the Palecek furniture company and he gave me the online password to check out their furniture portfolio.  I flipped through it this morning online and here it was!  The metro swivel chair!

I recently redecorated our home office and would LOVE to add this to the mix.  It’s the perfect balance of an office chair/occasional chair, so it could really serve as either in your home.

For the office, we decided to go with a white and warm wood look, so this chair would really work well with what we have selected already.

To add color to room, we decorated the walls with playful and colorful Andy Warhol prints.

Here are a couple that we selected from art.com.  I have always loved that green cat.

This mirror starburst pendant light is the perfect ceiling fixture to dress up a small powder room or to add a little personality to your foyer.  This one is only $123 at Circa Lighting.  At only 7″ wide, you could also use it in your closet.  As one of my friend’s put it, real luxury is when even the hidden spaces are well decorated, like when the inside of your jacket or pockets are lined with a beautiful fabric.  I would have to agree!  This light also comes in 10″ and 18″ diameters.

To me, this Lora chair from Jean de Merry is a unique combination of mid-century and classic aesthetics.  I think it is a fabulous, one-of-a-kind, gem of a chair.  When you look at it from the front, it is almost like it is smiling at you.

Jean de Merry specializes in making furniture that will become family heirlooms.  They work with gorgeous materials such a shagreen, parchment and antiqued mirror, but the heart of their company is creating furniture upholstered in aged goat leather.  A craft the Jean de Merry family has practiced since the 19th century.