Strange Brew

Mid-winter landscape: no snow, creeping fog. 
Strange brew indeed.

Photos: D. Sleziak

A Little Bit of Herve in My Life

Dream room: Interior design by Muriel Brandolini with wall sconce and side table by Herve Van der Straeten

Gimme Shelter

Do you ever open a shelter magazine and find yourself gazing at a room that you -- immediately, instinctively -- are drawn to?  The response is visceral.  There is no thinking here.  For you, it is just so right.

In one of my favourite magazines, I discovered my dream room a few years ago.  When I first laid eyes upon it, the image simply took my breath away.  Like Alice stepping through the looking glass, I wished I could tread through the frame of the picture and find myself in another world, that world.  And then I stopped and paused and asked myself, "What makes this room so appealing?" 

Was it the repeat floral pattern of the blooming branches, the embroidered silk panels, and the tufted wool rug?  Why, yes.  Was it the rich yet restrained colour palette?  Indeed.  Was it the unorthodox furniture placement?  Absolutely.  Was it the modern simplicity and downright beauty of the wall sconces?  Oh, yes.

And then, I found this room...


Mirror mirror
  

And then, this one.


Contemporary bronze chandeliers in a not-too-contemporary space

 

Hmmm.  I began to see a pattern here.  Was it the interior designer?  No; they varied.  Was it the location of the homes or obvious wealth of the interiors?  Oh no.  What it was, I quickly surmised, was the objects that in my mind made the rooms -- the statement mirror over the bed, the organic orb light fixtures whose contemporary design creates tension with the traditional architecture of the space.  Who it was, was Herve Van der Straeten, the creator of these objects.

Tell Me More

A Parisian trained in the field of engineering, Herve Van der Straeten is an independent designer, who eight years ago, was still relatively unknown in North America.  Each year, his showroom in Paris features a single collection of 25 to 30 objects created in his own workshop.  Employing skilled craftsmen of dying trades and newly apprenticed artisans, he produces furniture (much of it limited editions), lighting and objects that combine the triad of quality, beauty and elegance with an edge.  If you think this all sounds very expensive, it is. 

The desirable but largely unattainable

But Van der Straeten began his foray into the design world by creating jewellery -- beautiful pieces that feature organic shapes, textures of hammered gold, and fluid finishes of lacquer and enamel. With a collection featuring numerous pieces, including earrings, necklaces and cuffs, and available through major retailers, this was the way for Herve to find his way into my life (and if you love what you see as much as I do, yours too).

   Just one of the most desirable, attainable

and readily available!

Now when I see my dream room, I don't imagine stepping into it, but rather I see myself stepping out into the real world with my piece of Herve Van der Straeten gleaming on my wrist, while some chic stranger glances my way and thinks, "Wow, that cuff.  It is so her; it is just so right."

Portrait 

 

Van der Straeten with work and at work.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images via Elle Decor, Neiman Marcus and the World Wide Web.

 

Things Matter

Joshua Tree
woven photograph, Fernando Bengoechea
 

One Man's Treasure

 

If you believe that the things you surround yourself with, the things that fill your home and your life reflect and tell the story of your life, then you would agree that things matter.  This is the premise that inspires and defines interior designer Nate Berkus's approach to creating meaningful, beautiful, and functional spaces that are as unique as the individuals who reside in them. 

 

"I've always believed your home should tell your story," he writes in the opening line to his newest book, The Things That Matter.  Telling your story means bringing together and living with the items of your life in a purposeful way.  The start of a new year is the perfect time to look around and consider:  What do you really love?  What makes you smile?  What makes you reflect?  What connects you to others?  What brings meaning and joy to your life?  The things that do should be up front and centre, and if they are not, take the time to reorganise, rejig, and redesign.  (Everything else, if it doesn't have a value or place in your life, is clutter.)  Start small.  A shelf here, a desktop there.  Seek inspiration -- Berkus's book is a very good place to start.  He declares,

            "Each object tells a story and each story connects us to one another and to the world.
             The truth is, things matter. They have to. They're what we live with and touch each
             and every day. They represent what we've seen, who we've loved, and where we hope
             to go next."

So, identify, celebrate and enjoy the things you love.  Give them a place of honour in your home.  As for the clutter, move those pieces along.  Let them have the home they deserve; as you know, one man's trash is an other man's treasure.  
  

Things that Matter to...

These are a few of my favourite things

Nate Berkus include the top photograph by his late partner Fernando Bengoechea.  It is one of a pair that hang in his current living room.

For me, they are all things I loved on sight and things that connect me to a time and a place: a necklace of Russian amber I purchased while strolling through an old town in Europe with my cousin; a piece of coral being hawked by vendors outside a lighthouse that stands high on a cliff, at the edge of the ocean, on the most western point of the European continent -- the last stretch of land that marks the old world; an orphan dish with a delicate graphic depiction of the signs of the zodiac I found for a few dollars at a local flea market; and a few metres of fabric, whose gold and bronze threads create a striking Asian design of gnarled pine trees that remind me of those that run along the edge of our property. 

These are some of the things that matter to me.  What matters to you?

Top photo via Elle Decor; bottom photo D. Sleziak

Take A Chance

The Beyond, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1972

For the New Year

Throw your

dreams into space

like a kite,

and you do not

know what it

will bring back,

a new life,

a new friend,

a new love,

a new country.

 

Anais Nin