It’s On
November 27, 2016
The holiday season is officially on. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday help with a kick-start once Thanksgiving has passed but there is a solid month of gifting, decorating and entertaining ahead. If you’ve picked up a cold along the way like I have you might just want to stay in, lay back, gather up some inspiration and make a few lists to put into play in a few days. I’m taking the easy way out today and rifling through the simplequietmodern archives. Easy enough.
As always I like to keep things pared down and neutral, like the common area of this home by Belgian architect Nicholas Shuybroek. Light a fire and you’re ready to get started. And, why not start at the front door. This heavy dried vine coil is perfect.
Top photo via http://www.ns-architects.com/works/architecture/46/ Heavy twisted vine wreath photo from: http://www.shopterrain.com/holiday-wreaths/dried-vine-coil
In The Dark
November 13, 2016
Evening darkness comes so quickly after “falling back” with Daylight Saving Time. Now is a good time to search out some additional light source so you don’t find yourself shuffling off to bed shortly after walking in at the end of a long day. This mid-century pin-up light, with it’s articulated arm and adjustable shade, might be just right if you can find one. Designed in 1960 by Dutch designer JJM Hoogervorst, the Paperclip Wall Lamp is the perfect solution to shedding some necessary task light on a project or washing your room with a warm glow. Finding one would be nice…a pair even better. It’s going to be dark for a while so you better start looking.
http://massmoderndesign.com/gallery-detail/anvia-paperclip-lamp-jjm-hoogervorst-1960
Good Witch…or,
October 30, 2016
Bad Witch. In either case a girl needs a stylish ride. Enter the classic Barn Broom in natural or black. Corn husks on a classic wooden handle made in Pennsylvania. Perfect. I’d love to take one for a simplequietmodern spin myself.
photos: http://lostine.com/collections/kitchen/products/barn-brooms
Home Grown
September 25, 2016
It might technically be Fall, but it still feels like Summer. And, Summer’s bounty is keeping things green by the armload and basketful thanks to generous friends and neighbors. Until the leaves start to turn and the temps start to drop I’ll be good to go.
Top to bottom:
A tangle of Limelight hydrangea and hops thinned from a friends garden and casually dropped into a simple glass vessel makes a simplequietmodern statement that will last for weeks.
Another surprise package of homegrown heirlooms included these green zebra tomatoes…a welcome addition to a panzanella or caprese.
Taking advantage of the limited availability of Romanesco it was hard to pass up those locally grown.
I planted artichokes in containers this Summer for the color and texture of the foliage alone. Until the first buds appeared I had completely forgotten about the added bonus.
photos: gp
Old School…New School
August 24, 2016
Carrying a white linen handkerchief is definitely old school. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. Carrying a handkerchief in a Liberty of London print? Definitely new school. And this print, Black Pepper/gray in the Tana Lawn Classic is the perfect way to shake it up. The small pattern, while not exactly a floral, comes in somewhere between a classic composition book cover and camouflage, and is equally at home in the back pocket of your jeans as it is the breast pocket of a suit jacket.
Fabrics and DIY instructions are available at https://www.purlsoho.com/tana-lawn-classics.html
photos: gp
Putting the plan to paper,
August 20, 2016
starts with a little inspiration. This garden by Australian designer Peter Fudge totally embraces the simplequietmodern aesthetic. A beautiful composition of clipped hedges and hardscaping against the softened edges of natural treeline and massed plantings of native grasses. Dappled sunlight and gentle sounds of moving water. The perfect place to spend a late summer day. I’d start here in the morning with coffee, break here midday with lunch, nap here in the afternoon and finish here with dinner or cocktails. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Are you there yet?
Photos: http://peterfudgegardens.com.au/
Lucky 7
July 17, 2016
If the bright lights of Las Vegas won’t draw you in, maybe this will. Seven Magic Mountains, by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, is a site specific installation just 10 miles from The Strip. Comprised of seven towers of brightly painted boulders stacked to over thirty feet high, Seven Magic Mountains will be providing a jolt of color to the Mojave Desert through the spring of 2018. If you’re on the west coast I think a road trip might be in order.
photos:http://sevenmagicmountains.com/
Worth the Wait
July 14, 2016
Perfect for dining al fresco now or to put into service indoors during Fall and Winter. Harry Bertoia’s plastic side chair for Knoll International, a re-issue of the original 1956 design in celebration of his 100th birthday. Shells will be available in neutrals to brights…the frames in polished chrome or powder coat.
Hot Summer Days
July 10, 2016
Cool summer nights. Perfect sleeping weather might just have you reaching for a little cover, like a summer quilt. Reach a little further back in time for some inspiration from the original modernists, the Shakers. These antique quilts will satisfy both your comfort level and simplequietmodern aesthetic whether you’re spending your weekends in the woods or at the shore.
Photos: University of Alberta Museum
Secatuers
June 13, 2016
You don’t realize how much you need them until you do. Then, you wish you had these. Smart Scissors designed in 2009 by Japanese architect Hagino Mitsunobu. Chic anvil shears of stainess steel coated in matte flourocarbon polymer.
Top photo: https://food52.com/shop/products/1796-contemporary-japanese-shears
peony photo: gp
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