Rando Design Inspiration Friday

Hooray the weekend is (nearly) here! This has been a really great week so lets end it with a bang, yes? FYI, I had the most amazing gelato (for the US) last night at Eli Zabar's. You should go try it over the weekend. Or now.

From Southern Accents which has apparently folded (tear), I couldn't take my eyes off this gallery wall on a curved wall UNTIL I saw that mini chaise. In love.

This bathroom seems so soft and smooth with marble and stones even thought the tiles look rough and blocky. By Philip Sides.

Ever since the House Beautiful issue a few days ago, I've been thinking about what "my color" is. I love pink but oddly enough I don't have much pink in my own apartment. I have blue and yellow. I'm very complicated. Thinking I might try out La Dolce Vita's test HERE. Room by Kim Zimmerman.

My bedroom is painted blue and has green and wood accents . This bedroom from Martha Stewart looks just as lovely as mine. HA.

I've always loved Barry Dixon. This is a gorgeous room from a house in the Caribbean. Can anyone guess what my favorite element in the room is?

In a few hours I'm off to the train to go home for the weekend. My father is alllll alone this weekend and last time he was left alone he did some overly ambitious yard work, cut his hand and DROVE himself to the ER. That's not happening again. Hopefully there will be minimal yard work and maximum tennis and sailing. Have a great weekend--what are your plans??!!


Alicia B.

Closet Lighting Lover (Me)

From reading my blog, you wouldn't necessarily know it but I'm a closet lighting lover. I love a good sconce, or a fab nautical lantern. A really amazing lantern can take your breath away (yeah, dramatic). If lights are plain you don't notice them, if they're ugly, they can ruin a room but if they are something really special and beautiful they can become a work of art. They can make a room amazing. These are a mere smattering of pendants that I've seen that have caught my eye. Enjoi.

I find it very precious and glamorous when a sweet chandelier like this one is above a bathtub. By the brilliant Nate Berkus.

How much would you love to have a bowl of fresh berries and yogurt in this calm looking breakfast room? I think the soft square lantern with fretwork at the top really makes this room. By Mollie Johnson.

Very uncharacteristic for me, but this funky glass globe pendant looks so glam here. By Madeline Stuart.

I am obsessed (like the show) with this cut out lantern from the Veranda Estate showhouse. The shadows that it casts on the walls and ceiling is breathtaking.

This interior by Alex Papachristides, has a pretty but not too delicate chandelier over a cocktail table. This room is just plain amazing and the chandelier is what makes it.

Too bad I'm a renter otherwise I'd have so much fun with lighting in my apartment. I just have to make due with cute lamps.


Alicia B.

Happy Anniversary Alicia B. !!

I just realized that this day marks the ONE YEAR anniversary of the blog! How exciting is that? I never would have thought for one millisecond that more than 8 or so people would read this blog and only because I forced them out of guilt.


I'm extremely grateful for the support and interest I've gained through this whole experience. I've learned a ton about design along the way and I feel like I'm learning more and more every day. There are tons of fun and creative blogs out there so I guess I'd just like to thank you all for taking the time to read mine!


I'm so happy in fact that I want to thank you all by offering a 20% off discount today on all my photos on aliciabdesigns.com, which is my website for photography. If you haven't been there yet, do it now. Have a great day--you deserve it!


Alicia B.

De Giulio Kitchens

I've always had a fascination with Degiulio Kitchens because I used to work with them at my old/first job. They have amazing lighting, and are very grand and top of the line everything. Designer, Mick de Giulio used to work as a craftsman so everyone of his kitchens is different and amazingly constructed.

This kitchen could so easily feel heavy and bulky because it is quite large but instead of a solid island, De Giulio used one with legs to bring it off the floor. GORGEOUS: potrack, subway tile backsplash, window, and shelf next to window.

He can work with a mini space too! This tiled floor is perfection.

Does anybody have one of these "flexible sinks" in their kitchen? Are they functional or a mistake? They look amazingly handy, and everything on it looks so fresh!

He doesn't believe in trends really and thinks a kitchen should feel like a furnished room, just like the rest of the house. Which brings me to the refrigerator which is disguised behind a faux Gothic tracery cabinet. I usually am put off by when people hide refrigerators but I really like these!

De Giulio says he doesn't do such things as "Italian kitchens" or "country kitchens" but he takes the needs and desires of clients and works that into his design. HOW NOVEL.

I've visited their showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and it's so amazing. If you live in the area you should take a walk through. It's clean, fresh, and uplifting. What do you think of his kitchens? Take a look at the website and Decorati's article on him as well.


Alicia B.

Hobbit House? I'll take it!

Absent mindedly flipping through the latest Martha Stewart I was astounded by this amazing fireplace!

The scale of it is so unusual and the way it is constructed is so beautiful. The linear arrangement of stones with a keystone shape in the middle is so amazing. This house is a hobbit house in Northern Michigan designed by a developer Earl Young in the 1940's. It is a rounded sort of house constructed of stones with a rounded organic roof. Kind of reminds me of a yurt, which I've done a blog on before HERE. Throughout the rest of the house I was continually surprised at the integration of modern and traditional and organic elements. I just love the name Hobbit House, too!

Alicia B.

Art Inspiring Design: Matisse Style

The Red Room. Henri Matisse

Have you ever been super inspired by an artist or just plain fallen in love with a certain artist? I've always felt a certain affinity for Henri Matisse ever since my first art history class in high school(that I took because of a crush on a teacher). There is something whimsical and beautiful about all of his paintings, cut outs and drawings. Not everyone can afford to have a painting or work by their favorite artist so why not do something in your home that is inspired by them? In my apartment I have a few black cut outs on my mirror that I made for a project in college and then put them on my mirror as a reminder. Matisse has inspired many things in interior design such as fabrics, color schemes, and furniture.

From Eric Cohler's latest amazing work featured in House Beautiful, in this bedroom he created custom Matisse cut out lampshades. This room is so beautiful and surprising and I just adore the art work over the bed.

Stephen Shubel used Matisse fabric from Clarence House on this chair.

Bungalow 5 designed a leaf cut out cabinet inspired by Matisse. From Point Click Home.

From Flickr, Liselotte . A fun DIY project, this girl made a large scale leaf cut out mobile. What pretty paper she used.

From 1st dibs Lotus Collection Kathleen Taylor Rug has Matisse inspired cut outs on a black background.

Maybe I love the bright and happy colors, or the cut outs, or the gorgeous interiors that he painted, or maybe I just loved the spirit that is emitted from each painting, but I've continued to love Matisse throughout all my art history studies. Plus he says brilliant things like, "What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter." Thoughts?

Alicia B.