Spoils of Market

While at market, other than checking out the latest trends I did some shopping for myself.  One of my favorite shops is the reproduction company Van Thiel & Co which also carries a selection of antiques which is where they got their start.  I picked up a fantastic framed watercolor signed E. Rotsaert from 1927 of a winter landscape at sunset. It arrived last night and I immediately hung it in my bedroom.  I love how it looks against my wall color, the sunset just pops.

Oddly enough the wall color is 'Tiffany Blue' from Sherwin Williams in their new Emerald label paint (which is the most fantastic paint to work with) even though it bears no resemblance to what one thinks "Tiffany Blue" should be. I hung the watercolor under my framed print by Jeremiah Goodman.

Have you found any treasures lately?

ArchitectDesign picks at Fall Market 2012

Last weekend at Market was a whirlwind of seeing the best of what was new and now that I've discovered the antique dealers at Market Square, the best of what is old too! For the first Market I actually was doing a bit of shopping for myself for my new place.

Market is always such a fun opportunity to catch up with friends and network, all thrown in with lectures, presentations, and thousands of visits to furniture showrooms.

Much of Market is simply separating the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Much like personal furniture shopping, most of what you find is dreadful (it has to be said, I'm sorry!) but there are some really inspiring companies out there that I am happy to champion.

I thought I would first do an overview of my favorite finds at market (right click on any picture to read the title which is a description of what and where I found it).

Next week I'll follow up with an overview of the new trends, using my Market sponsor, Hooker Furniture, as a reference (although some of their pieces are included in my picks as well).

The talk of Market seemed to be my friend Barry Dixon's collection for Arteriors. I especially loved these glass barley twist candlesticks.

One of the trends was mid-sized furiture rather than the over-sized things we have seen the past few years. I loved this B-Y settee from Bradington Young / Hooker furniture.

The Capiz shell console with Moorish influences from Hooker Furniture was spectacular.

Charlotte Moss seemed to be everywhere at Market (as well as Candice Olsen, but none of her collections made MY picks) and her art collection with Soicher-Marin was lovely. I especially loved these hand water colored landscape drawings from French palaces.

One of my perennial favorites, Century furniture, impressed with much of their new offerings. I loved these Chateau Lyon console tables; check out those casters!

Pinterest is everywhere (do you follow me on pinterest?) and Hooker furniture has based an entire new collection on what women want on Pinterest, Chic Coterie.  I loved their writing desk which would make a beautiful hall or console table.

The Crillion side table at Julian Chichester would fit well into any living room. I loved the details such as the pull-out drink try and brass casters.

A piece that will make its way into my own apartment is the Davlin sofa above from Hooker Furniture. I especially love this mix of velvet and leather! I love the practicality and look of leather, but hate sliding around on it and its cold touch; the soft and cozy velvet is the perfect cushion cover.

The lines of the Emma chair at Julian Chichester were positively sexy.

I loved the faux tortoise shell accessories at Karen Robertson.

Not new but something I've loved for the past few markets, is this bombe drawer chest from the Grand Tour collection at Century. I love the traditional lines with the rough wood bark texture.

Also from the Grand Tour collection but new was this cocktail table. Now this is something I need to save my pennies up for beccause I MUST HAVE THIS. I love the gilded metal legs and that beautiful stone top. Just say yes please!

Attractive bar stools are always so hard to find and I loved some of the offerings at Bungalow 5 such as this one based on the Wishbone chair.

Hickory Chair is always inspiring. I adore their designer collections and could easily furnish my entire apartment from their offerings. I especially love that nearly everything is American made and they're working towards 100%! The Gregory Chair designed by the charming Alexa Hampton would look great at my new Cocktail table; 2 please!

Jeffrey Alan Marks of Million Dollar Decorators fame has a new collection at Palacek and I loved these Gunn stools.

I loved this Helena console table at NOIR.

The Thomas O'Brien collection at Hickory Chair included this Keith Desk that I'm in love with.

Doesn't everyone love a Klismos chair? Four of these Layton Chairs from NOIR would be fantastic in my dining room.

Speaking of chairs, I loved this new malachite fabric available at Century, seen here on a chair from the Oscar de la Renta collection which the talented Miles Redd heads.

And speaking of fabrics, I loved these new marbleized pillows at Design Legacy!

And I can't forget these Greek key ribbon pillows at Dransfield & Ross.

I could look at lighting all day long. Maybe it's the architect in me? These new Motif Mirrored Sconces at Regina Andrew were amazing and so reasonably priced!

Also in lighting that I loved were these new Olivia sconces at the predictably wonderful Visual Comfort.

Starburst mirrors seem to be everywhere and I love them (I own one myself!). This riff on the classic shape was made out of pencils at Tozai Home.

While I'm not always a fan of painted furniture, I did love this chest in ivory and grey with orange and green accents from Acquisitions Limited.

This etagere bookcase from NOIR was oddly named Roosevelt. I envision 2 of these chicly flanking a doorway.

I love shagreen (faux or genuine) so this dresser from Regina Andrew was a no brainer! The combination of red, grey, and gold is stunning.

This Shagreen drinks table by Mariette Himes Gomez for Hickory Chair was also lovely.

I also loved the Southworth Sofa by the always friendly Suzanne Kasler at Hickory Chair.

While many of the Halo wares leave me cold, I loved this swagged pedestal.

Thomas O'Brien has a collection at Visual Comfort as well as Hickory Chair and I loved his new Fiona Lamp available in 2 sizes.

One trend that seemed to be everywhere and originated with my friend DC-based designer Raji Radhakrishnan are large scaled wall murals, seen here at the always stylish Oly. I'm not making this up, her name was constantly named in connection with these!

And one of my favorite products that I have to admit to are the Krispy Kreme donuts which were being given away EVERYWHERE. I won't even tell you how many I ate for endurance in this season's Highpoint adventure!

Highpoint 2012: Vanguard furniture

Another showroom I visited while in Highpoint was Vanguard.Strong color was in evidence at Vanguard as well as the other stores but with a more homespun, cozy feeling.Thom Filicia was on hand showing his new wares, seen above. That man has enough nervous energy to fuel and empire but he knows what he's doing!I loved this drinks table in bleached walnut - the legs have such great lines and the casters are so useful.These nightstands also had graceful lines. The pullout tray is always such a nice feature.These Cerello ottomans were also striking -especially paired like this. The cliffside gray finish is really popular right now but I've always loved it.This colorful game table was covered in a beautiful leather and the nailhead trim is such a great detail. I was so pleased and impresed with so many great furniture makers still in the USA!

Natural tablescapes

As Heather mentioned HERE in her post on Century Furniture, their showroom at High Point really had the best tabletop displays which rivaled a magazine spread. I loved this tablescape which featured antique books on an beautiful wood table alongside a terranium and a dome filled with even more books topped off by a bird's next. Nature, spring and books -what could be better? Have a great weekend and here's to bringing nature inside!

Back from Market!

I'm back from my whirlwind adventure to Highpoint Market week which was so incredibly fun but also highly educational (pun intended)!The talk of market seemed to be the new line of Ralph Lauren lighting (which I was sad not to see for myself) as well as the new line of AMAZING furniture for Theodore Alexander designed by the history savvy and passionate Keno brothers of Antiques Roadshow fame; also - the return of claw and ball feet, even on very modern pieces. The Keno line has not officially launched but believe me when I tell you that you will be blown away; not just by the quality but by the incredible design, a reinterpretation of mid century modern. The brothers chose the company for their line because of TA's exceptional quality and old world contruction techniques out of Vietnam. I also fell in love with a few pieces of furniture for myself (oh to have a bigger apartment and larger bank account!). I am having an affair with a chair: the Louis XVI square back chair from Hickory Chair. Most notedly in the weathered mineral gray finish seen above with ivory stripe and a blue ultra-suede upholstery (just in case those fine folks want to send me this sample, hehe). It was probably the most beautiful chair I have ever seen and I felt it could have been inspired by the great Jansen and classic French 40s design. Look forward to a future post on this great company right here.I also loved nearly every piece in the Grand Tour line at Century. The textures and quality really just blew me out of the water; I was even stuck oohing and aawing while the rest of the tour group ran on ahead! I'll definitely be showing you more from Century soon as well.We were able to meet with the adorable Bunny Williams and see her new pieces from BeeLine home. There are a few new pieces I'm sure you'll be seeing EVERYWHERE very soon such as this Swedish cupboard below.In practical applications, we were fascinated by the technology being incorporated into furniture at Sligh. Media centers which look like fine antiques caught my attention. These hide all of your nasty cords and machinery behind fine wood doors and traditional design and operate through smart eye technology. They even ventilate the insides of cabinets much like a CPU so your equipment doesn't fry. They had some great office solutions too: stylish and practical; who says office furniture has to be ugly?The folks at Hooker Furniture are shaking off their traditional image and creating some amazingly cute new pieces at very affordable prices. I think you'll be seeing a lot of them in the future -especially some of the quirkier finds that they feel appeal to a younger demographic like these chairs below. Not everyone was as friendly as the above mentioned companies however. We had a bit of a run-in at one of my favorite furniture companies (where I've encouraged friends and clients to spend a LOT of money in the past) which shall remain nameless but you can probably guess who they are from the photo below. Social media is here to stay and companies need to keep up. Oh and also don't piss off a tired group of design bloggers because you'll hear about it again!Everything you hear about market is true: wear comfortable shoes as it's enormous, book your hotel room months in advance so you're not stuck miles away, the parties are so much fun you'll never want to leave and you'll be seeing old friends as well as make many new ones (compare it to an adult summer camp for designers perhaps?) If you made it to High Point this year, what were your favorites?