Dear Frontgate

Please stop making up words.

 It's not as cute as you think it is to smash words together making a new one.

Your so called "Barmoire" is lovely though. It would make a nice addition to my house.

Sincerely, K

That's all I got folks! Have nice hurricane...er...um weekend.

The co-founder of black is at it again

My mailman is pissed.

Restoration hardware, and all of its ludicrous iterations, sent me this bundle.

I'll give that RH has some rather tempting offerings but the prices and questionable quality really turn me off. 

I love Gary Friedman for his preposterous claims that make me laugh 'til I cry but, Dude! Wipe that smirk off your face! Its creepy.

Gary thinking real hard about the wheel

Let's talk about their latest discovery in the world of quantum physics.

Yes, tableware. 

The catalog gives us a synopsis of the creative vision and genius of Albert Einstein as a prelude to the introduction of their tableware collection.

"That is the philosophy we embraced to imagine our new tableware collection. Beginning with a quest to develop the perfect plate, one that would inspire us to replace our existing ones, we reconsidered every aspect - the material, the shape, the size the weight and the glaze - developing prototype after prototype until we explored every possibility and exhausted every option."

Guess what they came up with? Round. Wow, Gary my plates are just circles how the hell did you come up with this?

" The result is our rendition of the perfect plates (we developed three shapes, round rimmed, square and coupe), made of authentic porcelain. "

Groundbreaking round plates

If you are concerned about the word "coupe" its just round with no lip.

The other bits of ridiculousness include "Objects of curiousity"

Its a catalog of fake antiques  

concocted by "the Reimaginists" AKA big fakers who pose with silly expressions like this...

I'd love to work there inventing the old but I have not perfected my self-important pompous duck face. I tried but I couldn't stop laughing.
You really must read the original RH snark at WTF, Restoration Hardware?

Making my family room suck less

After Monday's post on pillows and my family's comments on our mishmash of furniture, I decided it was time for a new coffee table. Ours was a temporary, who cares table that I was putting up with while my daughter was little and destructive. I figured I could risk it all on this one from CB2. Not pricey and a little bit of style.

The table does not fix all of the problems in the room like the lack of paint and wall-to- wall carpet that I hate but it did remove one of the eyesores. I am seriously on the hunt for the right mid-century dresser/buffet to replace this shameful, Holiday Inn- looking business that holds the TV.

After that it will be some time until the painting gets done and flooring replaced. The ceilings are 18 feet so its no easy task and the open concept floor plan means a lot hardwood has to be installed. sigh...

The silly part was that I spent a whopping two minutes ( Can't you tell?) styling this while my three-year old was asleep. I took alsmost everything off again after this shot and it now looks like this.

Keepin' it real, folks.

inspiration boards

I have been struggling with photographing my paintings in vignettes or larger room settings. In the places with ligh,t there is no good wall or furniture space. The places with space have either bad light or something undesirable in the way, like a stair railing.

I have been playing with inspiration boards and using items from everyday catalogs or 1st dibs. This took forever but I am sure to get faster and make less obvious choices for the items involved.

The first one is using the very feminine and floral "In the future I" paired with sleeker items from CB2.

It was my first attempt and it shows.

Next I used "Walking King Street" with more feminine but colorful items from Wisteria.

I liked the items I chose here but I also felt like it was too many goodies in one basket, y'know?

This was my final, more restrained attempt. 

What is your favorite way to visually group items?

Goodies from the glossies

Ok, I know y'all get catalogs just like me so there is nothing profound here just some fave pics. This time of year they really start piling up around my house. Usually they go untouched but I have seen a few things that I like.

This tray from Wisteria is HUGE, almost a yard long and a bit more than 18 inches wide. It would make a great base for a stunning holiday centerpiece or sideboard decoration. Piled high with greens, pinecones and fruit, it would be amazing.

I want this car from RH so bad!

Shuttup! 

Maybe this one

HERE

 

Too bad that I am not 3 years old. Wait I have a three year old! Alas, we are toy minimalists and my husband would kill me for dropping $300 on one toy. Pout.

These cashmere hand warmers from RH are a deal at $18 for a pair and I think I know someone who would like them for X-mas.

Have you looked at any glossy paper catalogs in preparation for the holidays?