the easy way

You don't find many decorating tips here on Country Weekend, because....I don't have many. But today I have the Easiest Decorating Tip Ever.

 The wall outside of the store was looking a little dingy. I was thinking about stenciling some vines, which I've done before. But I'm always so busy...I took the easy way.

Stickers. My friend Gerry was selling them in his store. 

Please don't sic the decorating police on me.

 I guess I should be embarrassed, but I love them. 

If you click on the pictures you can get a larger view.

 (That's the art gallery next door.)

In the 1980's the windows of hundreds of abandoned city-owned buildings in New York City were covered with vinyl decals of curtains, shutters, and flower pots. I lived in NYC then and remember them well. They got a lot of well-deserved ridicule. I thought of that when I put up my hydrangeas. Why is is bad for the Bronx but okay for me? Maybe because I'm not pretending anything. Just doing a little short-cut pick me up. (That's probably what Mayor Koch said too.)

Gerry had a package of pink ranunculus that I strongly considered, but I'm happy with the hydrangeas.The company has a huge variety available. See here. I'll try to remember to take a close up picture next time so you can get a better look.  If you're still talking to me after this.

New York City inspiration store # 2

After the flower shop, I found two more stores that were inspiring and informative in areas I struggle with. They made me consider color palette, which I will be consulting you about soon, but also organization and placement of objects. Today I'm sharing Michele Varian, 27 Howard Street, Manhattan. (Remember, you can always click on a picture to enlarge it.)

A very rich palette--browns, grays, creams, gold, silver... I'm sure there were blues, greens and reds, but the only place I remember them is in a selection of hardcover classics published by Penguin, with great covers and an affordable price of $20--they were a nice touch. The above picture is what you see when you enter--some nice industrial pieces.

This side of the store is painted cream and most of the objects on display are white and gold. It is a really nice mix of objects (most, if not all, new; often handmade) and very artfully displayed. One of the things I liked about this store was it had a good range of prices--something you might not expect in a store of this quality in Manhattan. Whether you have $200 or $20, you can walk out with something special. I also like the vintage, mostly industrial pieces that are here and there.

I love these reproductions of old Dutch paintings. Warm domestic themes and palette. Affordable. Doesn't scream reproduction, because it's not Monet or Hopper (who I love, but you see them everywhere). Don't they look great displayed on that old drafting table? And I'm crazy about those lighting fixtures, especially the one with the lit bulbs.

This is the opposite wall of that same area. It's a large store--I'm showing you less than half of it here. The wall is painted charcoal. You can see the books I mentioned. I forgot about the turquoise chair and yellow cushion--they certainly do stand out. What I took away from this store is the calm palette, and the deliberateness and thoughtfulness of the placement of every item, whether the price is modest or sky-high. Also those Dutch still life reproductions.

anyway, just what is a vignette?

Before I took a crash course in design at Blogworld University, I thought of vignettes in terms of writing--impressionistic written sketches. So what makes a vignette in home (or store) decor? 

Vignettes? I think not. Their uniformity makes them displays. They are what they are. No unexpected connections.

Can a vignette be composed of only two objects? If so, I give this a yes. A (minimal) visual poem.

vignette in process

Inspired by Steve's analysis of a vignette he composed, I decided to look a little deeper at the way I put things together. I was in the store all weekend, so played around there. In October I did this:

I was thinking rustic and autumn colors inspired by this walnut commode.

Last week I took away the pumpkin, and added the jug and berries with the little picture leaning against it. Yesterday, thinking about Steve, I added the pinecones and wood blocks, moved the small vases and added some green ones. I decided the theme would loosely be woods/trees. I had the log cabin birdhouse. The tall jugs are kind of like trees. The small vases--shrubs? Well, I'm not a strict constructionist--just liked the way they look.

I really like this little picture of the girls gathering wood. (I don't have much natural light in the store, so the flash makes these pictures less than optimal.)

Here's the full effect, except the berries are cut off in the picture, and they add nice height and color.

On the other end of the chest I added a woodcut of wood and a saw and what looks like part of a cabin. Too literal? I also added a book that has a picture of a tree on the cover. It looks more crowded in the picture than in real life. 

Today I switched the book. This color is much better. Then I added a red wood bowl with painted acorns. Now it looks too crowded and symmetrical.

Better. Still a little too symmetrical though. I think the woodblock should go.

It was a good exercise to think about theme and composition in the way that Steve laid it out. This week I'm going to try one at home. Maybe I'll even do a little sketch like he did.

pink & grey

One good think about Monday is Anne has her bird-inspired design gathering over at Bird/Like.
This week's bird was the pink and grey Australian Galah. I made a small dining room. Don't laugh at my efforts to make it look like a room. Okay, go ahead and laugh. I am starting to get the hang of it. A few more months of Mondays is all I need ... It is great fun--you should try it.

owls with spectacles

Anne from Bird/Like has a bird-inspired design board party going on. Today's inspiration bird is the Spectacled Owl. At first I read it wrong and thought it was Speckled Owl. I love the image of an owl with spectacles and so had to do a room with books in it. (Actually, in my house every room has books in it.) I had fun with this because I like the connection between design and nature and also because I am learning from it. I have no training in design and putting together different combinations and getting inspiration from all the choices on olioboard is giving me new ideas and insight.

I still don't have the hang of actually creating a room, so I threw together some elements for a family room for a family that loves nature and books--kind of like my family. I picked the bookcases looking for something an owl could perch on. The frog bookends are kind of twisted humor because I think owls eat frogs. I love the print on what I thought were curtains, but when I clicked on the source it's actually a shower curtain from Target! I'm leaving it up anyway since this is all make-believe I will pretend they are lovely drapes.