Showing posts with label Alsadu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alsadu. Show all posts

Friday, March 25, 2011

Arts and Crafts project

I'm soooo excited about a current project that I'm working on, I just had to share!  I am updating a living room in a fabulous Arts and Crafts inspired newer house.  The inspiration for the project is from, yes you guessed it, the Arts and Crafts movement, but only in the philosophical sense--"truth to materials, simple form, handmade".  We don't want to be wedded to the predictable type of A&C furniture so are going to take it a step further--hang on to your hats!

I looove to use "found" objects in a functional, and creative, manner within my projects.  I had designed the room with a large, round coffee table in the middle.  See sketch below.


I found this incredible 19th century Turkish copper tray, which will be stunning as a central focus in the room!  It has a wonderful patina, and will only get better with age!


Of course, I found this wonderful piece from Donna Waldhauser of Alsadu who is excellent in helping me succeed with my artistic endeavors for my clients.




Isn't it stunning?  We are going to have the tray custom built into a larger coffee table.  It will be surrounded in reclaimed wood with a distressed dark stain bringing it from 31" to a finished table of 48" in diameter creating an exquisite custom coffee table for my client.


 Stay tuned for more updates on the room!


☯  Susan  ☯

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

New Project Photography!! Master Bedroom!

I've been photographing interiors at a clients home with an incredibly talented photographer friend of mine, Lisa Bond.  It's amazing how much time and detail goes into one shot, and yet, so humbling to work with someone who can be just as consumed with the smallest of details as I am--until it is just right!  Below is a sampling of both of our work.  We did a lot of shots of various spaces, so I'll focus on specific areas for different blog posts adding "before" and "after"pics.  Stay tuned for more rooms!

Before

After
Photo credit:  Lisa M. Bond Photography
One of my most enjoyable design strategies is looking for "found" objects to use in alternative methods within a home.  It adds incredible personality and a "collected overtime" feeling -- (if done well--huge key point!).  In this master bedroom photo, I found the wood headboard piece, and knew immediately it was perfect for this bedroom.  It is an old architectural piece from Afghanistan that had blown off a house.  I got it, as well as many of my finds, at Alsadu, an import company that helps support economic independence in developing countries.  They purchase products from artists and sources making sure it is at a living wage and within safe and healthy living conditions.  Gotta love that sourcing!  I knew when the empty arches were upholstered in a fuchsia silk from our color palette, this piece would just shine!  The bolster pillow was made from a textile piece from the Swat Valley area and the throw at the end of the bed is made from a wonderful old Suzani from Kazakhstan.

Before

After
Photo credit:  Lisa M. Bond Photography
As you can see in the before pic, the bed was centered in the room with a huge built in bed frame creating privacy from the entry/bath doors.  Because I decided to move the bed against the wall, the entry and bathroom doors are now positioned to the side of the bed, (behind the turquoise silk curtain--you can only see one of the doors in the after photo).  I wanted to give the couple a stronger feeling of cocooning and privacy that they previously had, so designed the ceiling cornice board (see 1st after pic) with the turquoise silk draperies to hang down creating a tented feeling at the head of the bed.  There is also soft lighting within the ceiling cornice board that lightly shines down onto the draperies creating a warm glow at night.  In addition, the walls and ceiling are covered in a light carmel colored grasscloth to intensify the ambiance of coziness.

Before
Batik Art Room Inspiration

After
Photo credit:  Lisa M. Bond Photography
Within the seating area of the room, you can gaze out the floor to ceiling windows at the beautiful lake or chat with someone in the bed.  To the right of the seating arrangement, I decided to remove one window that was not part of the larger grouping for an oversized Asian inspired bookcase which holds mementos and books.  The wonderful art piece overhead was our inspiration for the room hence the turquoise, fuchsia, and yellow grounded by the light caramel on the walls, ceiling, and luxuriously thick wool carpet.

Truly a bedroom to crash in at the end of a day!!