Designer Spotlight: Robert Stilin

Robert Stilin (www.robertstilin.com) is incredibly talented and one of my favorite designers. He is based in The Hamptons and now has his own shop there. What I love most about him is the way that he combines modern art with antiques. Though some of the furniture appears rustic the look in its entirety comes off as crisp and clean. Take a look at my favorite selections from his amazing portfolio below.

Calming blues and browns.

Wonderful black light fixture.

I love this ebonized trunk.

Beautiful sisal carpet and trestle table.

Note the green glass jugs on the shelf and the interesting fireplace configuration.

This bathroom above is so fresh and simple.

This light fixture is gorgeous...actually so is the whole kitchen.

The stool, the table, the chair, the sculpture.

Alicia B.

The Movementality

Need to relax? Yoga is the answer. A friend of mine, Emily, started her own company called The Movementality, which offers private yoga instruction based on your personal needs and abilities. She has studied dance for her entire life and is a certified yoga instructor. Not only is she an amazing dancer/yoga expert, she is one of the most creative and fun people I know. Don't be jealous.

Check out her website http://www.themovementality.com/

"Movementality:  the connection between one's habitual way of thinking and moving. It is the exploration of developing strength, flexibility, and awareness both mentally and physically as one."

     

Alicia B.

Visually Offensive

As much as I adore Domino Magazine, this spread in their last issue made me physically ill. I know I'm being dramatic but....this is NOT good design. Can you imagine living here? Nothing works. NOTHING. This is fashion designer Matthew Williamson's dwelling and there is no way that this abode warrants a spread in Domino. The colors, the styles, the tiled mirror on the fireplace??? WHAT???

Shock is right.

acid reflux

oy.

Have fun cooking with that blaring neon pink.

Below are some of his fashion designs. How on earth can a man who has such great clothing designs inflict such visual pain on his home?

Love the yellow.

A lot of design blogs just praise praise praise. I thought it was time for a little criticism. Thanks.

Alicia B.

Eco Furniture

"Going green," despite my initial fear of everything being made of hemp, is actually a lasting trend. There are a lot of "green" or "eco" products out there. A lot of it is cliche--made of driftwood or pebbles; but there is some that it pretty attractive (see below). It adds a natural look to your decor and makes you feel like you're doing something good for the environment! How could you go wrong?

Above is a Pottery Barn duvet and sheet set, organic.

mini concrete planters from www.vivaterra.com

Ship wood bench from Viva Terra. Recycled products!

Woven basket from Gumps. www.gumps.com

Cork bath mat from www.gaiam.com.  My roomate and I have been faux fighting over a new cork or teak bath mat for months. Perhaps this one will be "the one!" I just discovered Gaiam today and it's a really great source for eco products and yoga accessories!

Ha-dong Patchwork quilt from Gaiam

Linen Shower Curtain, gaiam.com

Also from Gaiam, I really like the sheets but could do without that pattern as a quilt.

Alicia B.

Pink Bedroom

In the latest House Beautiful I was absolutely in love with this whole spread of a house in CT designed by Jason Bell. The bedroom especially caught my eye. I love how light the room is and how there is pink everywhere. Also notice the beams in the ceiling painted white. Enjoy!

www.dashandalbert.com has an amazing selection of these striped rugs--custom sizes too.

J Pocker and Sons, Antique red coral print, $75.

Garnet Hill Coral Orleans Quilt; full is now $88.

House Beautiful mentioned the lamps were from Target I believe. Even so, the room is adorable.

Alicia B.

Throw Blankets

If you haven't noticed, the temperatures have dropped in the past few days and I can feel Fall coming. A snuggly throw would come in quite handy in the coming months, so I have done a search for some of my favorites. Any other suggestions?

Polo Cashmere Cable knit throw, $ 595. Comes in other colors, too.

Williams Sonoma Home at wshome.com on sale for $149 right now! Who doesn't need more plaid in their life? So classic--and it's cashmere.

Gumps cashmere throw in persimmon! $275.  

(See earlier blog entry on how orange is the new pink.)

Etsy store Austin Quality Knits. Love the homemade look of it--looks like a big sweater.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5708763

I think these are my favorites c/o Gumps.  Cashmere, and on sale for $169.

Williams Sonoma Home, Jacquard Throw. $ 368 and you can monogram it, too.

Polo Cashmere fringe throw. $495

Alicia B.

Back to School

It is THAT TIME of year again (my favorite, actually). It's Back to School time! I used to love going to Staples before school started to get all the cool new notebooks, pens, folders and everything for organizing your things. Even if you're not going back to school (I am, actually), you can still get caught up in the fresh new fashions as well as being organized. One of my fave things to do was to make lists and cross off each task when I completed it...in fact, that's one of my fave things now. Below are some fun pads for making lists:  to do lists, organizers, pads, amazingness. Oh, above is a Kate Spade organizer.  Adore.

Kate's Paperie plain pad, $12
(kate's paperie changed my life...just FYI.)

Kate's Paperie, $9

www.knockknock.biz

Container Store, $14.99

www.knockknock.biz has some funny sticky notes. This one, $15.99

Alicia B.

Book Organization

In my recent quest to find painted bookcases, I came across a trend which I've previously tried to ignore: COLOR CODING BOOKS. It seems on the ever-trendy flickr.com, that people LOVE this idea. Personally, I disapprove. I love books--art books, interior design books, silly novels, cook books etc. I love owning books, too. Organizing them in the above fashion, to me, seems like the owner of these books only has them for show, not because they truly value these books. I admit, to have something organized in such a way is fun and somewhat visually pleasing, but at the same time these objects are books, something you take off the shelf and read.  Seems suspect.

This is just my opinion however. It also got me thinking about how I organize my books. By genre? By type? By size? SHOULD I color code them? haha, please.

From Domino Magazine. I really like that painting off to the left, though.

From Domino Magazine

From HGTV.com

For tips on how to organize books, I found a method on wikihow.
http://www.wikihow.com/Organize-Books

Alicia B.

Spotted!

I'm never one to brag (yes I am), but look who was filming for the upcoming season of Gossip Girl! I was busy taking pics of boats in the sail boat pond while Chase Crawford and Penn Badgley were directly behind me.

Can't wait for the new season!

Camera/crew and Chase Crawford.

Chase...contemplative close up.

xoxo
Alicia B.