On your mark…
August 9, 2012
get set….Whoa! Is it me or do both of these chairs look like they’re going somewhere while standing still? Produced decades apart, they share a similar design sensibility. The early Windsor style chair seems to proudly display the same rakish lines and simplicity as the Verner Panton design of 1960. It’s poised as if getting ready to sprint to catch up with the middle of the twentieth century from its early twentieth century origin. In a modern interior the Panton chair strikes a classic profile to be sure,but the introduction of a piece like this one-of-a-kind Windsor into a room full of modern classics presents all in a new light. We are encouraged to compare and contrast the shape , finish and patina of the old with the newer and see it as art, like sculpure…with a purpose, a function… even if that function is to simply and quietly please the eye. 
http://xenoscollection.com/index/home/ 
Naturally,
August 6, 2012
I wasn’t at my local hardware store looking for inspiration, but indeed, inspiration struck. Who knew that a $2 ball of gardening twine could become a handsome vase “wrap”? Softer than I had imagined, the resulting fabric presented the great color of jute linen and the simple garter stitch…a beautiful textural contrast to a simple glass cylinder. Secured with an additional length of the jute itself ( or maybe some tan leather lacing for fall ) you have a great seasonal receptacle for a bound hand full of blown garden roses or even an assortment of grasses and foliage. I’m thinking this could be a simplequietmodern answer to your next event or holiday centerpiece. Did someone say they were getting hitched?
There’s linen…
July 20, 2012
then there’s linen. All from flax fiber, but distinctly different. Thick, thin, crisp or rumpled, there is nothing else like it. This Shimmer drapery fabric and paperbacked wallcovering from Donghia Textiles takes linen for a fresh modern spin. In silver or soft gold fused to the linen itself, the effect is like the sun reflected off the ripples on a lake, either in the cool of the morning or the warmth of the light at sunset. I can’t think of a better backdrop for your collection of classic mid-century treasures. Wrap a room in it and, well…..simplequietstunning.
Skipping Stones
July 17, 2012
Up North…Up State…The Shore. Where ever you find yourself week-ending this summer you are bound to come back to the house with a pocket full of beach finds. You can take those smooth beach pebbles or wave sanded bits of glass…add a bit of Habu Silk wrapped stainless and black linen…knit them all together while relaxing with a tall cool beverage on the porch listening to the softly lapping waves. In less than an hour you have created ” Skipping Stones”, a great summer necklace that you will wear well into the fall. Beats the gimp lanyard of your youth, doesn’t it?
Stack em up
July 14, 2012
Every now and again you find yourself in need of additional seating at the table. You know, an impromptu birthday bash, your dinner guests had guests in from out-of-town ( do you mind if?) , or…heaven forbid…you’re hosting THANKSGIVING. Time to bring in the reinforcements and the Bellini Chair by Kartel fits the bill perfectly. Lightweight, stackable and most importantly comfortable, these stackable Italian wonders work as beautifully with your collection of modern furnishings as they do complimenting your more traditional pieces. No need to feel guilty about or assaulting your aesthetic sensibilities pulling out those folding chairs that have literally been a pain in the a** for decades. ( You know which ones. ) As a matter of fact, you might find these so appealing that you keep them out all year long, as pull-ups, home office task seating or an extra in the bedroom. Then, when the doorbell rings you’ll be well prepared to have your guests pull up a stylish seat.
Leave it to the French
July 7, 2012
to come up with a new spin on an icon of American design history…the log cabin. In my earliest recollections I have had on my wish list an”inspired” log cabin retreat…rustic yet with a modern turn. I never let my imagination run to this…simplequietmodern at it’s best. The fact that the “whole” has been broken into 2 living sections and that those are lined in one of my favorite materials, plywood, makes it even more perfect. It’s as if someone has been reading my mind.I can’t think of a better place to knock back some Champagne and take a deep relaxing breath.
http://www.busyboo.com/2009/09/24/prefab-house-flake/
Branching Out
July 2, 2012
What a simplequietmodern way to display a good handful of Rhoadsidiana ~grasses, wildflowers, seed pods~ picked on a relaxing walk around the lake. You are week-ending in the country aren’t you? Modeled from an actual tree limb by ceramist extraordinaire PaulaValentim ,Tree Branch maintains the shape, texture and detail of the real thing. Produced in porcelain clay, this vessel is glazed on the inside to hold water, yet is quietly matte in its exterior finish. Just like arranging flowers in one of your glass cylinder vases (you must have one by now), putting this to great use could not be simpler. Give all of your selected material a fresh cut, fill the container with clear clean water and drop in…letting everything arrange itself. Done.
All swatched up…
June 26, 2012
and waiting to cast on. I liked the result of the yarn and fiber combination of my California Dreamin blanket so much I’m moving on to California Dreamin 2. While the palette on the first was reminiscent of the sandy beaches or the desert, this combination brings to mind a nighttime drive in the hills around Mulholland Drive… hundreds of points of colored light scattered in the charcoal darkness above Los Angeles and the Valley. Berocco Boboli is responsible for the color and two neutral colorways of Remix add to the dry hand with their recycled blend of fiber. Combined with an assortment of espresso browns, charcoals and black…in yarns of linen, merino, silk, cotton and cashmere, this new blanket will possess same the woven appeal of first. 
https://simplequietmodern.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/and-the-skies-are-gray/
It’s not art…
June 23, 2012
it’s a T.V. Come on people…enough already. What’s with hanging the flat panel television over the fireplace? It’s not a painting. It’s ill-placed for comfortable viewing. So what’s the draw? Unless you like sitting in the first row at the movie theatre I can’t imagine you sitting on your sofa, grabbing your remote and focusing your sights on a picture centered 7o” off the floor. 
Exhibit A…ouch! ( Let’s leave it at the television placement for now.) A better idea is to leave the area above your mantle empty and save yourself a few trips to the chiropractor.
http://misscheekychic.blogspot.com/2011/10/age-old-decorating-question-fireplace.html
96 degrees?
June 20, 2012
Boy, that’s H O T. Sounds like perfect weather for a simple solution…an outdoor shower. What could be more refreshing on a hot summer day than that? More cost-effective and less complicated than a pool, yet plenty of people have those. So, am I the only one who really sees the value in a relaxing shower, in the fresh air…outside? After an afternoon in the yard planting, after a workout or just a long day at work…strip down, go outside, adjust the temperature and….Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
simplequietmodern 