Designer Love: Roman and Williams

 

 

Some of it is flat out luxury and then other of their work is restrained opulence, some whimsy interspersed with decadent pieces, clean lines and enough vintage so the room has a collected feel. To be honest I see a mash-up of Darryl Carter, Thomas O'Brien and Nate Berkus. This is the work of the firm Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors.

 

I do like most of it. Very masculine. Whose influence do you see?

Good Styling: Creating a Classic and Practical Outfit

When I look at magazines like Vogue and Marie Claire, pinterest or fashion blogs, I also look out for the manner in which different pieces of clothes are arranged and whether the pieces fit together to form a practical, yet striking outfit, that just makes total sense, and looks like it could be a lasting, classic arrangement. A skirt and jacket is totally predictable; and so is a handbag that matches the colour of the shoes. This is why even as I find the magazine spreads to be too high art, I still plough through to find ideas of shaking up a day's outfit. Here are some styling ideas I love:

1. Summery dress with Bolero/Cropped Leather Jacket:

2. This totally practical yet on-trend and fashion conscious vest-skirt-sweater combi fall outfit:

3. Belted faux fur vest over a dress. Makes total sense for October:

4. When you want to wear jeans and still look "dressy" and elegant:

5.A shirt instead of a cardigan:

6. I can never find a good pants suit. I am talking about one that is a simple pants with a matching shirt, as opposed to a tailored pants with a matching jacket. So I have been searching for a long sleeve jumper that I can belt right at the waist---so it dissects the jumper and it becomes a pantsuit.

7. Fancy-like jewellery on a casual piece or jewellery in unexpected places:

8. High-Slit shirt-dress with a skirt

9. Tiny shorts with a tailored shirt and dressy flats for a polished look:

10.Turtleneck sweater inside of a shirt dress or inside a flirty little sleeveless for added warmth:

Also, great options for transitioning into the Fall, no?

*Images sourced on Pinterest

If I Could: Moissonnier

If I could I would put a piece of Moissonnier furniture in most of the rooms in my house. Good wood, great old world design, colourful and sturdy enough to become next century's antiques.

1. In my Foyer:

A paneling mirror above an XIX century table would make a great entryway pair.

And in Brussels the town houses/row houses have really long and narrow foyers, suitable for waiting, and the Louis XIV-styled settee, below, is such a long time favourite it would have to be included.

 

 

 

2. In my living room:

 

 

I would not be shy in the least bit to put my black wall-mounted flat screen TV above this beautiful baby. Then I could store DVDs, remotes and miscellaneous wires in the drawers. Yes. I . Would. It is a Bernard II Van RISEN BURGH (BRVB) inspired chest. I would just have to make all the other pieces sedate in order to have harmony in the space.

 

3. In my kitchen:

 

 

I most certainly would want this breton wood china cabinet, above, and this little bench, also above, could sit in front of it.

 

4. In the Home Office:

 

 

This XVIII century Dutch dresser and XIX Century desk work so well together.

 

5.And finally, in my bedroom

 

 

I have a giant pile of books and magazines in my bedroom. They are scattered on blankets, in baskets and stacked one on top of the other on the carpet. This bookcase would be put to good use. 

In Search of Contemporary Art: Berliner Adrian Ghenie

"Adrian Ghenie’s paintings involve the big ideas that transform men into larger-than-life emblems"

Interview Magazine

 

 

The artists seems to be a fan of merging man and landscape in oil on canvas paintings--resulting in slightly distorted images which evoke a lot of emotion and added confusion, mostly owing to the intro of layers of different parts of various faces, piled on and paint-slathered one on top of the other. 

 

 

The artist is Romanian born and moved to Berlin in 2007. He says "I like the difference between the official story and the personal perspective"

 

 

 

And finally, the man himself.

 

 

See more of Ghenie's work at the website of the Tim Van Laere Gallery

What's Hanging on Your Wall?

 

This foyer wall display, found at Veranda, is very engaging. I have to do something about one of the walls in my dining room. I don't just want a bunch of paintings and it would be nice to have something to look at that could strike up a conversation. There are a few wall décor ideas I like:

1. I love mirrors in a dining room. I especially love the way candles look when they are reflected in the mirrors. Plus, double the light when there are mirrors.

2. I also love one or two interesting paintings.

3. I love African masks.

4. I also love baskets.

5. And juju hats.

6. I love pretty plates on display.

7. I also think that I could deviate from any one trend by putting functional things that I always need at hand on the wall, like a tray or cheese or bread board.

 

 

So can I just not put them all together and try to have a common theme (colour, texture, country/continent of origin) pull them all together?

Jewelry vs. Jewellery

In this September's issue of Tatler there is a beautiful advertising spread that may inspire you to wear more jewellery this Fall. Of course the Tatler ads were all Bulgari, Faberge and Chopard. But does it have to be? My pocket screams no. Whether you spell it the American way or the British way and whether they are made out of precious metals or semi-precious stones they are still meant to adorn and to adore. So I went on the hunt for rings and things-- antique,vintage and faux.