Merry Christmas
December 25, 2022
If you were hoping for a white Christmas, well, wish granted. However you are planning on celebrating the holiday today, stay warm…be safe.
photo: gp
Ya gotta start somewhere.
November 30, 2022
Today I’m starting with an armload of yellow twig dogwood and white pine boughs. This should fill out my large midcentury concrete bowls at my front door nicely. A few lights and done. Moving indoors I’ve selected pics from the last ten years that can take you from simplequietmodern and natural, to vintage shiny holiday combinations. Plus a few new floral ideas to compliment a modern mood and Christmas tree alternatives that offer a great bang for the buck. The holidays are upon us, so better get on this before the supplies run out. Maybe a smart cocktail and a visit to the simplequietmodern archives for the months of November and December will help kick start a fresh holiday tradition for you.
all photos except 3,6,7,10,13,15, 19 by gp.
Credits given in respective post accessed through the archives.
Deck Those Halls
December 15, 2021
Even if you’re still keeping a low profile during our second Covid Christmas, it’s important for our over all well being to keep those holiday traditions alive. Now’s the time to deck those halls and get into the spirit in earnest. Whatever direction you choose, do something…a string of lights…a vase of seasonal branches…a bowl of ornaments. The simplest modern touch can still say Merry Christmas.
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A sheet of plywood, a string of lights and a few screws. Boom! My absolute favorite Christmas tree alternative. If you don’t have the space for a fresh tree, then this is the simplequietmodern next best thing. Photo: https://apairandasparediy.com/2015/12/diy-string-light-christmas-tree/
This wreath of simply assorted cones makes a lovely modern yet natural statement that could take you from Thanksgiving to the Spring thaw. photo: https://www.shopterrain.com/
Gettin’ groovy with a modern Christmas color scheme? These brightly colored glass ornaments can help inspire a vintage Christmas look be it the 50’s , 60’s or 70’s. https://www.shopterrain.com/
A quick edit from a box of vintage mid-century ornaments will add some nostalgic modern charm. photo: gp
Like a Bertoia sculpture fabricated on a dime. These large 60’s looking stars are simply a handful of bamboo skewers stuck into a Styrofoam ball with the quickest spritz of gold paint. You could knock out a dozen of them and make a simplequitmodern holiday statement for just a few bucks. photo: gp
Nothing says simple and Christmas like an unadorned Magnolia wreath. https://www.shopterrain.com/
If you have vases to fill, fill them simply and lavishly with the selection of one simple material. In this case, Ilex. These striking branches studded with bright red berries arranged in clear glass cylinders will certainly inject Christmas cheer into any modern interior. Photo: gp
More holiday color play, this time in a 60’s blue-green direction. I remember as a kid thinking this look was pretty swanky. More solid color glass ornaments from https://www.shopterrain.com/ , the assorted vintage ornaments photo: gp
Look around. A big box of beautiful pine cones can be had for free if you know where to look. In my case it’s right outside my door. And, if the holidays have me running behind, a quick forage will fill multiple bowls, providing a simple natural beauty that only Mother Nature can provide. photo: gp
I might just keep ’em up.
January 8, 2014
Not the holiday lights, no, those are definitely down. But,these stars. I’m liking ’em enough to leave them up for a while. The simplest DIY project ever with the modern appeal of a Harry Bertoia Sunburst from 1960. Each impressively scaled at 25″ in diameter, a stacked cluster of three stood in nicely for a Christmas tree this year, with the added bonus of movement…each slowly revolving independently on the rooms air currents. A couple of packs of bamboo skewers, a few small styrofoam balls and shot of matte gold spray and you have got yourself a statement.
Snowflakes are like people…
December 15, 2013
each one different…one of a kind… each possessing its own unique character and beauty. Yet, en masse, both seem to lose their individual charm. That said, it’s no surprise that I’m not a fan of holiday crowds and even at Christmastime I’m not a fan of snow. The solitary snowflake captured by an artist can be a thing of beauty and a design inspiration in its own unique way. Too much of a good thing, however, and there are treacherous roadways, snarled traffic and shoveling. Give me little dusting on Christmas Eve and I’m good.
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This modern graphic was extracted from a box of Trader Joe’s holiday Pfeffernusse. Similar modern incarnations have graced everything from product packaging, gift wrap and greeting cards since the middle of the last century. And, it still looks good.
An amazing macro capture by artist/designer Edward Horsford makes you wonder how this single thing of natural beauty can, when multiplied, shut down and airport….or even a city.http://edwardhorsford.com/photography/macro/page2.htm
This gorgeous soft brass Lynlee chandelier looks snowflake inspired. Far and beyond any of the Sputnik chandeliers of the 1950’s and 60’s, I could warm up to this any time of the year.http://shop.thedpages.com/product-p/lynlee-chandelier.htm
George Nelson’s Ball Clock in natural beach has been a classic of modern design since it’s origins in 1947. It looks a lot like a snowflake to me.http://hivemodern.com/pages/product99/vitra-george-nelson-ball-clock-beech
When I was in early elementary school, we made some modern snowflake ornaments of round wooden toothpicks stuck into a small styrofoam ball and finished with spray snow and glitter. Mine was so cool I remember it like it was yesterday. What better time to revisit and resize with a few new creations made from a styrofoam ball, some bamboo skewers and a spritz of metallic paint? At 18 and 26″ in diameter I think I’ll do OK with no tree this year.
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