"Your stuffed Moroccan pouf has shipped!" said the email.
"Yay!" said me.

I love this silver pouf. Not your typical Moroccan styling, but I like the simplicity. Who knew Amazon sold silver poufs? What don't they sell?

Okay, I like this one too. Which to choose? Both from Casablanca Market on Amazon.

Seriously, who wouldn't want to sit on this lovely cushion and gossip while putting stuff away in drawers?


Claude Gossip Bench Set by Jonathan Adler, $1540 on jonathanadler.com

Check out all this lovely high-end convertible furniture. I cannot stop watching the furniture morph into other furniture. This video is positively mesmerizing. Thanks Steph!

Case Study Walnut Chaise, $1895 at Modernica

I know, I know. This DOES NOT look comfortable. But it is soooooo beautiful.

I have a habit of buying uncomfortable chairs. And uncomfortable shoes, come to think of it. I buy them for their looks, not for their feel. Ah well. The folly of design.

Wow, look at these legs!

As part of Modernica’s 20th anniversary celebration this month, Modernica studio and artist Peter Shire have designed the new Prince Charles Chair. The chair is a juxtaposition between past and present. ~DesignMilk

Panier by Kartell, designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

I would consider owning this coffee table. I do have a penchant for plastic, after all. Although it is becoming increasingly uncool to like plastics. What to do??

Ooh, how much are these?

A pair of chairs, currently in the window at ABC Carpet, the satellite location across the street from the flagship store. Great upholstery, great lines.


ABC Carpet & Home
888 & 881 Broadway
New York
212.473.3000

A room on the seventh floor of Bergdorf Goodman is devoted entirely to
John Derian's new furniture collection and his signature aesthetic.
To the left of the table: the "Field" tufted bench, $6160.
Against the wall: the "Dromedary" love seat, $4860.


The "Fritillaria" chair, against the wall at near the table.
Upholstered: $3410. Slipcovered: $3740.

The designer of the hour, John Derian, third from left.

Please turn to page 44 of your June/July 2008 issue of Domino Magazine. You will see a full-page spread of John Derian's new five-piece furniture collection which debuted last night at Bergdorf Goodman. The cocktail party, sponsored by Domino, was an extremely enjoyable event to attend. Beautiful spacious surroundings, great people-watching and delicious hors d'oeuvres, which included seared tuna on toasted black sesame rice crackers, vegetable spring rolls, fava bean hummus on baguette, duck in blinis, and miniature crab cakes topped with guacamole. The specialty cocktail of the evening was a vodka lemonade garnished with mint and sliced lemon. Very refreshing.

But let's get back to the furniture at hand. John Derian's new collection of classic antique-inspired couches and arm chairs were displayed in a room with a similar aesthetic found in Derian's East Village shop. The five shapes (four couches and one chair) are offered in muslin and two shades of linen, neutral tones which will please many a Hamptons summer home owner and interior designer. The collection will be offered exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman, on the seventh floor.

A Derian-style vignette.


Domino staffers peruse page 44.

The signature cocktail for the evening:
vodka lemonade garnished with mint and sliced lemon.

It was a cold and wet evening, but

the rain did not dampen the celebration.

Three categories from Jo Meesters (Netherlands):
Pulp, a series of vessels made from paper pulp, polyurethane, epoxy, $480-640
Reshaping Wood 2.0, maple table, $5690
Ornamental Inheritance, sand-blasted ceramic combines contemporary symbols with
traditional Delftware design, $975

New glass design from Esque

The Evolution of Love (right, 3 figures) by British design team, Committee for Lladro

Last night, I checked out one of the featured parties and exhibitions running concurrently with the ICFF. (See Flavorpill, May 16). The Future Perfect Presents, 6 showcases new work from six global design talents, including Jo Meester, Esque, and Committee for Lladro, among others. The special exhibition is very intermingled with the retail store merchandise that you will have to search a bit to find all six, but it is worth checking out if you are in the area.


The Future Perfect
115 North 6th St
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718.599.6278

Crisp, a brand new place for lunch with plenty of light and plenty of design,
on the corner of 43rd Street & 3rd Avenue

There are those Onda stools again!
Available at DWR.

I passed Crisp last night at around 6pm, soon after it opened, as it so happened. I started to take pictures, and a small crowd gathered around me, asking me what kind of place it was, and if it was open yet, and what they served. So I read the menu to them, and told them it was open. (I saw people ordering inside.)

Crisp certainly packs a lot of design into a small space. The popular Onda stools we saw at El Beit in Williamsburg, beautiful wood-grain counters, other-worldly torchier-meets-world's fair lamps, and flat screen electronic menus. Crisp offers an all-vegetarian menu of "handbag sandwiches" in (what I imagine will be fluffy Israeli) pita and "hummus bowls" with a small variety of vegetable toppings like eggplant or sauteed mushrooms. Sounds right up my alley. Prices are around $7-$10. The house-blended iced teas look tempting too: lychee red, gaucho mint, and apple mango, to name a few.

After reading a few articles and early reviews about Crisp, I found out that a "crisp" is a falafel which comes in all the "handbag sandwiches" and with the "hummus bowl." Why all the mysterious language? I think "pita sandwiches" in this day and age would suffice.


Crisp
684 3rd Avenue (corner of 43rd Street)
Midtown East
New York, NY
212.661.0000

Speaking of "Hyper Design," the design show to top all design shows, the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair), starts this Saturday, running May 17-20 at the Javits. Don't forget, the 20th (Tuesday) is the Public Day where you can purchase tickets for $50. It is more economical to be a design professional, to be sure.

[images: Grzywinski+Pons by way of New York magazine]
click to here view additional photos

Speaking of New York magazine's "Hyper Design" issue, did you happen to see this eye-popping Modernist home, pictured above, in Flushing, Queens? Admittedly, I am looking longingly at the subterranean pool, and at the room off the pool, and at the furniture from Ligne Roset and Poliform. The owner, John Hsu, is a developer with high profile projects in Manhattan, including a new 60-room hotel in NoLita designed by the same architects that designed his home, Grzywinski+Pons. For the record, Hsu got a discount on all the furniture through his pre-existing relationships with Ligne Roset and Poliform from "work." How nice.

My question is this. If Hsu met with such opposition from the neighborhood over the design of his home, as the article describes, why would he want it published in such detail for all to see? I personally would want to lay low for awhile until the neighborhood rage subsided.

Remember the Poldo Chest by Creazioni which I wrote about for Zoozoom? Well now there is a a matching mirror. The Babi Mirror is available in high-gloss orange polyurethane as well as other colors, $3400 at The Conran Shop.


The Conran Shop
Bridgemarket
407 E 59th St (at 1st Avenue)
New York, NY 10022
212.755.9079

[image from livingetc.com]

I found this on Darling Dexter, an aesthetically pleasing blog by graphic designer, Whitney Barnes. The image is from the British home decor magazine, Living Etc. Both are worth a browse. I hope this room inspires you today. I love the Eames chairs combined with the lacquer table. And the repeating Polaroids! Don't get me started.

This pleasingly sunny room decor features the very functional-looking galvanized steel 'A Chair' or Chaise A, created in 1934 by French designer Xavier Pauchard. The Burgundy-based company, Tolix, still manufactures the chairs to this day. You can find them online on Graham and Green.

Room-wise, I like the harmony of the colors: yellow, white and 'brass' which is not really a color but you know what I mean, and the outlined woodwork in the corner. Very pleasing shapes. I could be inspired to make a clothing collection based on this room.

[page print from zoozoom.com]

Published: Zoozoom.com, The Zoo Daily
Read it on Zoozoom: click here
Writing: Elaine Perlov
Photo: courtesy of Brave Space Design



Brave Space Design exhibited at BKLYN DESIGNS in Dumbo back in May 07. I was able to chat with BSD, Paul Loebach and many more great furniture designers there. It was a great resource. I love how the photos turned out in this article.



If you cannot view on Zoozoom: click on the image above
To read more of my articles for Zoozoom: click here

a seat on the V train

I am always pleased when I can ride the V instead of the E train in the morning, not only because it is less crowded and cooler, but because it has a better color scheme. Yes, that may sound strange. That I love the color scheme of a subway.

But think about it. The orange and the faux woodgrain color scheme that you can find on the V and a number of other lines is gloriously modern. Take a look at the lobby (pictured below) at the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel in Midtown.

You may remember that I have written about this hotel before, singing the praises of the mosaic door handles on the 51st Street side. There are many nice juxtapositions of orange and woodgrain in the lobby, recently redone to reflect the Mid-century modern look in which the hotel was originally designed in 1961. And when the lobby gets crowded, it looks somewhat like the V. Except I can always get a seat on the V.

the Doubletree lobby in a rare calm moment, bathed in warm orange tones

the orange George Nelson clock against the woodgrain wall


the lobby at rush hour, and not a seat to be had

[page print from zoozoom.com]

Published: Zoozoom.com, The Zoo Daily
Read it on Zoozoom: click here
Writing: Elaine Perlov
Photo: courtesy of Paul Loebach



I found every layer of Paul Loebach's witty design sense to be utterly captivating. Great furniture design for the brain and the eyes.



If you cannot view on Zoozoom: click on the image above
To read more of my articles for Zoozoom: click here