Book Smart…

One of my favorite design blogs is Design * Sponge by Grace Bonney.  It’s fun, informative and ever so creative.  Grace Bonney is a Brooklyn based writer who created this blog in 2004 and has really cornered the market on design blogging.  We should all be so fortunate.  I just finished her 2011 book, Design * Sponge at Home, which is page after page of ideas, color and inspiration.  In keeping with my efforts to focus on color and paint this month I wanted to bring this wonderful book to your attention.  I hope to give many of you ideas for achieving your New Year’s resolutions of redoing your home. Following BjtO Design’s mantra of adding color, scale, balance, style and function to your home is a great way to organize your approach to any room.  Pick up a copy of Design * Sponge at Home at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, West Elm, Anthropologie and several other locations.  If you don’t follow the Design * Sponge blog, check it out…

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Think Outside the Box

Color and design inspiration is everywhere, we just need to think outside the box. Who would have thought that a beer label could be so inspirational – check out how these three Maine Cottage designers took the lead from their favorite ale.

THREE DESIGNERS INSPIRED BY THREE ALES
Souce: Maine Cottage

Inspiration can come from almost anywhere. This week we chose to feature 3 our favorite ale labels as design inspiration. We asked 3 designers at Maine Cottage to pair an occasional chair and side table together based on their favorite beer label.

Blue Moon Ale labelBlue Moon is a favorite ale of Maine Cottage’s Creative Director, Lauren Russell. The ale label inspired her to group the Adeline Arm Chair in Gimme-A-Ring / Marine with the Wendy Side Table in Almond Soy. The Adeline Arm Chair is a timeless chair that coordinates well with any design style. And, did you know that the pattern called Gimme-A-Ring was coincidentally inspired by the patina of drink rings on an antique side table? To bring it full circle, the pedestal on the Wendy Side Table follows the circular shape of the moon in the label and the fabric.

Adeline Arm Chair and Wendy Side Table

1 – Adeline Arm Chair in Gimme-A-Ring / Marine
2 – Wendy Side Table in Almond Soy

Duvel Beer labelDuvel’s logo has a font that is very old world and strong. It carries the duo-tone palette of Tomato and Ale well. Our Interactive Director, Amber Shriver, selected the Hazel Chair because of its simple lines and very strong structure and chose to upholster it in Otto / Tomato . The Infinity Stool in Ale is the ideal height for a low profile occasional chair like Hazel. The best part? When you are done with your beer the Infinity Stool can be placed in front of the chair as a foot rest! We LOVE multifunctional pieces.

Hazel Chair and Infinity Stool

3 – Hazel Chair in Otto / Tomato
4 – Infinity Stool in Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale labelSenior Designer, Sarah Wright, chose the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale label for her inspiration. The label is traditional in style with a fresh lime green ground color. The label looks hand-crafted just like every piece of Maine Cottage Furniture. Notice the loops around the words “Purest Ingredients” and “Finest Quality”. The Camille Chair has classic, strong lines that mimic the lines of the label. Sarah placed the Camille Chair in our Leaflette / Ale fabric and painted it Wheatgrass. She pairs it with the Cecilia Tall End Table in Creamsicle. Refreshing color combination, wouldn’t you say?

Camille Chair and Cecilia Tall End Table

5 – Camille Chair in Leaflette / Ale and Wheatgrass
6 – Cecilia Tall End Table in Creamsicle.

What’s your favorite ale?

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January Design Inspiration

As a member of the Interior Design Society, design concepts and achievements are shared with the membership and I would like to pass on this recent article which I completely related to.  Enjoy!!!

Calm January Design by Meg Crossley

Gentle reader, if you are anything like me, the hustle and bustle of the holidays leave you spent. I have been over-stimulated for months — too much food, too much drink, too many do-dads all around the house, just too much of everything. January has become one of my three “clean up my life” times of year. Second to April’s spring cleaning but somehow a little more involved than September’s back-to-school organizing (let’s admit, that is just a hold-over from school days so that the older I get, the less important it seems), January is my new get-it-done month. What needs to get done is for me to create a calm and serene surrounding in which I can relax and undo my Christmas season damage.

My first step typically involves finding some inspiration — something I can leave on my computer desktop, print off, or tape to my corkboard, as a way to keep me inspired and on track. Below are this year’s offerings:

Calm January Design by Meg Crossley

Calm January Design

Notice how each relies on a limited colour palette, a few well-placed objects and one or two pieces hanging on the wall. They are the antithesis of holiday houses, and a welcome breather for me. Enjoy.

For more ideas for de-cluttering, browse our Home Organization Tricks photo gallery.

Photo credits:
1-2. La Maison d’Anna G blog, photography by Marcus Lewett
3. Japanese Trash blog
4. The Style Files blog, photography by Bo Bedre

Author: Meg Crossley
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