A little inspiration for your Wednesday

A couple of years ago Interior Design magazine featured the (then) completely renovated Lanvin flagship store in Paris.  I fell in love with the images, just stunning - I wanted to fly to Paris and see it all in person.  Here are a few of my favoites, enjoy!

For the complete article with additonal images go here.

Images via Interior Design

A little inspiration...

I've been catching up on my magazines and tear sheets lately for a project I'm working on.  I pulled these images from the December 2009 issue of Interior Design for no other reason than I found them fascinating.  They were part of their "In The Air" piece about changes in 2009's design and art (see entire slideshow here).  Enjoy!

BALL-NOGUES STUDIO A photograph of Maximilian's Schell, shown with Feathered Edge: A New Installation by Ball-Nogues Studio at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. Photography: Neil Cochran/Ball-Nogues Studio.

FERRY STAVERMAN Space Odesey in cardboard, thread, paint, and glue for "Slash: Paper Under the Knife" at New York's Museum of Arts and Design. Photography: courtesy of the artist.

CHARACTER A 2-foot-tall signage letter salvaged and fitted with LEDs. Photography: Johan Warden.

Images via Interior Design

Amazing Hotel Alert! - Armani Hotel Dubai

On April 27, 2010 Giorgio Armani opened up his first hotel - Armani Hotel Dubai - in Dubai's Burj Khalifa (aka the world's tallest building).  It's exactly the luxurious minimalism one would expect from Mr. Armani.  Almost too minimalist for moi (the hallway looks like something out of "The Matrix"), but you be the judge:

(Can I get a floral print or something to break up the lines?  LOL!)  Get more details and read more about it here.

Images via Interior Design

Magazine wall, so cool!

I totally love this.  Glenn Leitch principal at Highland Associates renovated Playboy's (soon to be shuttered) midtown Manhattan office.  Check out the "magazine wall" in the reception area - which Glenn credits with getting them hired to do the job - made up of 15,000 Playboy magazines.  They were glued and stapled into 14-inch-high blocks, then routed to create tongue-and-groove connections and further supported by hidden steel tubes (see article and more photos of the office here).  I love that how when you just glance at it it seems like a painting (or some other sort of art) or even a quilt.  Completely awesome!

Images via Interior Design photographer Eric Laignel

I vant to be alone, dahling

This is where I would like to be right now, alone, in silence.  Just me, the pool and that Ron Arad chair (okay maybe a more squishy, comfy chair to nap in).  Can you tell I'm in desperate need of some me time?  Yeah, I am. 

See more pictures of this house in Brussels designed by Agence Andrée Putman here.  See entire article here.

Image via Interior Design photographed by Eric Laignel

"Fluent Steps" by Martin Blank

Sculptor Martin Blank's installation for the reflecting pool at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington - made out of, what else? Glass. Amazing! Check out the article and slideshow here.

Images via Interior Design

Groovy!

Check out these two groovy rugs from R-Evolution by Floor to Heaven (can't find a website to link to). They fascinate me. Greg Brady would approve!

R-Evolution's Batik Tapestry rug in wool in Earth


R-Evolution's Love Tapestry rug in wool in Multi

Images via Interior Design

Color Story - Purple

In my previous life I created many color stories and I'm kind of missing that. I always loved pouring through magazines, books, etc.; pulling images, sifting through them and pulling together trend and/or color groups. It never failed that something would emerge. So please indulge me as I share my first color story with you. I hope you enjoy:

This purple story started with the Bottega Veneta ad and quickly snowballed from there. It's not a conventional purple, it's more of a greyish purple and then a brownish purple - bordering on burgundy (though a straight up purple is represented by the clutch - by Nancy Gonzalez via a Neiman Marcus ad - in the middle of the collage as well as in the room's lighting). In my experience people have very strong reactions to purple - they either love it or hate it, rarely is a person indifferent.

Images (starting clockwise from top left) via InStyle, Mauboussin, Bottega Veneta (2), Neiman Marcus, Vogue (I think - correct me if I'm wrong), Interior Design

Icky in a cool way or cool in an icky way

Designer Bev Hisey designed these rugs for Radiant Dark 2009 (theme: Elegant Corruptions). Each rug is a sort of representation of giant Petri dishes with magnified bacteria and viruses such as: SARS, Acinobactor, E. Coli, Botulism, Cholera, Influenza, HIV, Streptococcus and Anthrax. Ugh! Appropriately enough all are part of her Dirty Dishes series. All are made of New Zealand wool with the germs rendered with varying pile heights for dimension. They certainly would be conversation pieces - "Hey, how do you like my new Botulism rug? Let's eat!" Ha! See an article about them in Interior Design magazine here.

Image via Interior Design