Monthly Archives: June 2021

How Bazaar: An Antique Mecca in Stamford

Posted in Furniture, Shop Locally by

The term Flea Market is actually a French word, and you all know how I adore the French.  Marche aux Puces, technically translates to Outdoor Bazaar, and of course a bazaar is a market in a Middle Eastern country.  In all instances, goods for sale abound.  If the pandemic broke anything, it was my connection to the Parisien Marche aux Puces, which I try to visit at least every three years.  I was there last in 2018 when I bought my Italian Sputnik style chandelier around the last bend, after a long day in the dusty market with my good friend Tiffany.  Three years – that’s right.  It’s time for me to be there again, but Paris isn’t having it.  At least not yet, and the longing is strong.

A Mahogany Wine Bucket, or firewood holder, or table – use your imagination, and that mirror and bust – yes please.

This weekend my nephew graduated from high school and he’ll be leaving for school in the fall, and my sister is taking the opportunity to give her Lower East Side two bed an overhaul.  I love an overhaul almost as much as I love Paris.  It feeds the soul.  Creation is so satisfying, don’t you think?  Well I do, and Mary Beth does too, so we two skipped on out of the city to Stamford, CT, which is not really a place that I want to be, except for the fact that they have transported a Marche aux Puces style in door palace of an antique center to this center of nowhere, and when I tell you that it’s where it’s at, I am not exaggerating. 

I’m crazy for a bar and those glasses – gold fret on the exterior, black on the interior, stunning, and I’ll carry my canapes on this silver and wood tray.

I was in a total state of flow, immersed in a world of furnishings and accents, cement urns and obelisks, a wall of mirrors, a blue and white chinoiserie paradise, a mid-century modern moment, and a Palm Springs paradise.  I so wanted to carry home with me a coral lacquered game table, and a pair of bamboo palm covered occasional chairs that screamed Golden Girls.   There were Zebra covered suitcases – not faux – fabulously real.  There were red leather Chesterfield sofas, and velvet cognac x benches.  There was a sublime mahogany wine cooler lined in lead, that I would have turned into a stunning black and white leather finished marble topped coffee table.  If a statement piece is what you are after – you are likely to find it at The Antique and Artisan Gallery.  If you are looking for a tiny gift, or a set of lamps that will light up your world – shocking, Stanford, CT is going to be the place for you. 

I’ll take this tower for my shoe storage and the side board, which I’ll spray in black and paper the interior in some poppy paper that will have me purring.

Book a hotel across the street.  Increase your credit card limit.  Rent a U-Haul, and get prepared to be delighted.  You don’t need to leave with everything, but you’ll want to leave with something, and that something is likely to be pretty special.

Sikes on Stripes: One designers singular devotion to holding the line

Posted in Designer Profiles, Uncategorized by
Bold and Blue

I’ve towed the party line, I’ve drawn the line, crossed the line, lined my drawers with poppy paper that only I would see. I’ve outlined a plan, underlined the important parts, and I’ve penned a line of poetry, but of all the lines I loved, and there have been many, it’s a series of parallel lines – you guessed it – lined up neatly, one snuggled tightly next to the other, or spaced a safe distance apart, that I whole heartedly support incorporating into your interior.

The Switch Up – add Ikat for a Bohemian look, stick to geometric shapes for a clean, modern style.

My adoration for stripes preceded my awareness of Mark D. and his design brilliance. Maybe I knew him in another life. Do you have to believe in past lives in order to have lived them? A query for another time. Mr. Sikes likes stripes for the same reason I do, they go with everything. If you are afraid of pattern, as so many people are, stripes are your friend. You’ll never find a floral that doesn’t long for the company of a stripe, or an Ikat, or Houndstooth for that matter.

Spot the Stripe on this pillow?

Squiggly, or pinstripe straight they make a happy accompaniment to any style. Their versatility is inspiring. They can be preppy, pretty or prissy. Masculine, mousey or Mediterranean. They can be found in high-end homes and little old beach shacks. I wonder if that would have made Napoleon Bonaparte smile – he who was known to receive important guests into his living room, designed to resemble an Egyptian striped tent, with its walls and ceiling adorned in fabric. Stripes, they don’t discriminate. They provide definition and draw the eye to places that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Feeling anything but neutral about this look.

Don’t hesitate to go straight to the stripe when you are starting your next project. It’ll be pinnable – promise.

Homework? The office is where it’s at

Posted in Architecture, Interiors by

When I finally crossed the threshold from Elementary School to fifth grade, I thought I had arrived. I left a new elementary school to a broken down, historic building that had a list of past lives that was rather long. It served as a town hall, a high school, a community center, and a middle school. When the town grew up, the family had to split to accommodate its growing population. Fifth and sixth graders remained in the battered old building, and Seventh and Eight Graders high tailed it to the high school, only to find out that they’d be housed in trailers and carefully segregated from the bad influence of the older kids. That old dame of a building is still standing, testing out her new life as an Arts and Cultural Center. I liked her. I felt that we were kindred souls, it was the administration that I had a bone to pick with, having discovered that I was expected to do homework, like, for the rest of my life.

Image 4 . Graphics with impact

I hated homework then, and I hate it now. Who wants to work at home I ask you? Home is a sanctuary, home is a place to sink into the sofa, flip on the tv, or your Sonos speaker system, and rock out to whatever makes you happy. The works that are meant for home are house, yard, and repairs or improvements, not paperwork, data analysis, or budget logs. While we weren’t paying attention, they slipped in a series of systems – smart phones, laptops, compact printers, and we all smiled while our sovereignty was sliding from our grasp.

Every Space should have a statement piece like this light fixture.

This weekend I worked on the semi-final push to open our new headquarters – semi-final because I don’t know of a place at home, or at work that is ever really done. As any major project does, this one had a host of helpers make it a reality. There were designers and engineers, project managers, and graphic artists. We investigated live walls and preserved gardens, indoor gathering space and outdoor. We talked amenities, adding workouts to your workday, and showers so you could freshen up after miles of meetings held while speed walking on your tred desk. We brought back food, unveiled a new coffee machine whose bells and whistles rivaled my first car – though I think I will continue to love both them with equal ardor.

For me, there is no argument about going back to the office. I told some of you already, but I love working in the office. I love my monitors, my walls adorned with post-it notes, and strategy boards. I love my quotes and photos, paint swatches and pinned poems, and snippets from my very favorite projects. I love that my fifth wall is the floor and no one tells me not to use it. My most pressing priorities sit in my path and demand my attention until I complete, and put them to rest for the night. I love the people, and the noise that comes with production. I love creating stuff and printing stuff. I love work, and I am so happy to work in a place that values aesthetics as much as function, people more than profits, construction and community. Now how would I ever find all of that in my living room? Well, often the construction part, but the rest I’ll find at Elaine Construction. Hope you’ll come visit me there.