Newyork Blog: August 2009

Visiting Emily Joubert in Woodside

My friends and I love to meet for breakfast at Buck's in Woodside before heading out for a busy workday or for a leisurely weekend gabfest. It's always fun to watch residents of this woodland enclave dismount their horses and tie them to the hitching post as they nonchalantly amble inside for coffee and gossip.

Only deep in the heart of Silicon Valley will

you find a plasma screen installed outdoors

to show how the exquisite Juliska is made!

at Emily Joubert Home & Garden

When we finished our breakfast, I headed over to Emily Joubert Home & Garden, the source for things that make us feel like we are in a {deceptively luxurious} simple country place in France: Arte Italica, Juliska, William Yeoward. I also love that her traditional chic extends to the hip, green and sustainable Chilewich line of rugs and table linens, and the very hip and fun Danish Rice line of tableware, and bucketsful of the friendly affordable striped rugs of Dash & Albert.

Rustic Elegance Perfected in this

Welcoming Setting

I was stunned at the beauty of the new pewter

finish on Juliska's Octagon line....and even

more stunned to learn it's oven, microwave

and dishwasher friendly!

Simple & Elegant Etched Lantern

Juliska's Table!

A Grand Old Dauphin with Shell

Buckets of Those Charming Dash & Albert Rugs

If you adore the rustic elegant look, drop in here for a couple of hours of delightful immersion. You will want to take home everything you see here.

And speaking of buckets, just be sure to give Trigger his oats before you lose yourself completely at Emily Joubert Home & Garden!

................

Emily Joubert Home & Garden

3036 Woodside Road

Woodside, California 94062

ph. 650.851.3520

........................................

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Tadelakt: "Hard as Stone and Soft as Silk"

The first time I saw tadelakt was in St. Tropez, France, several years ago. I was immediately transfixed by the pearlescent, translucent, hand-rubbed-all-the-way-to-glossy, impervious-to-water finish. I had never seen anything like it before, and rarely have since. I had stumbled upon one of the oldest and most treasured plaster finishes in the world. The art of tadelakt is 4,000 years old, and comes from Morocco.

Designers in France are using it today for its silky texture and indescribable patina, which are unmatched by any other plaster finish available. It is absolutely stunning.

Tadelakt functions extremely well in wet areas and can form a seamless, monolithic finish to back splashes, countertops and sinks in kitchen, bathroom, shower and powder room areas. Made from natural hydraulic lime, quartz and marble powder, tadelakt is white in color and can be pigmented using natural earth pigments.

The tadelakt process is deceptively simple. A natural powder paste is applied to the surface, then polished with a smooth stone. This is repeated seven times. Finally, the surface is sealed by rubbing with a black olive oil soap.

To fully appreciate it's allure, it is said that you have to caress it. I couldn't agree more!

Satiny Coral Tadelakt Finish on

Integrated Shelves in

French Kitchen

A Parisian Salle de Bain Finished in

Black and Taupe Tadelakt

Tadelakt Taupe Walls in

Parisian Salle de Bain

Tadelakt Taupe Walls in

Parisian Water Closet

Charcoal Grey Integral Tadelakt Bathtub in

Parisian Bathroom

Tadelakt Red Shower Walls in

Chic Provencal Salle de Bain

Tadelakt Red Sculptural Bowl in

Provence, France

Creme Tadelakt Walls in Parisian Salle de Bain

Gorgeous Tadelakt

Parisian Salle de Bain

Beautiful Tadelakt Red and Gold Backsplash and

Integral Sink in Provence, France

Tadelakt Grey Countertops and

Shelves in Parisian Kitchen

Tadelakt Backsplash, Countertop and Integral Sink in

Provence, France

Tadelakt plaster finish would be gorgeous and luxurious in our American homes. I can see it working beautifully in chic Napa and Sonoma wine country homes.

If you have seen tadelakt installed here, I would love to see pictures!

Resources:

Photos Courtesy of Traditions du Maroc
and Maroc Design in
Paris and Avignon, France

.......

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

A Little Luxurious Levity

If you always play it safe, that's ok. But not everyone does. For some, life is tough enough out there; when they get home, they would like a bit of cheer. Something unexpected that makes them smile again when they see it. Something just a little luxe, but in a fresh way.

Enter the designs of Christopher Guy and Emma Gardner, two of my favorites for clients who emphatically don't want a plain vanilla aesthetic. Hey, they probably like Christian Liaigre, but they want to mix it up, shake things up. Here they are shown alongside iconic French designers Frederic Mechiche, Jacques Adnet, and Jean Royere.

Emma Gardner's "Whole Baby Fish" Rug in Acid Hand-Knotted

Silk and Wool

Christopher Guy's Playful Headboard

Made up of Silk and Mohair Upholstered Ellipses

Iconic French Designer Jean Royere's

"Upholstered Bear Chairs"

Emma Gardner's "Joy" Rug in

Springtime Green Hand-Knotted Silk and Wool

Pair of Raspberry Fauiteuls by Jacques Adnet, Celebrated Icon of

Luxurious French Modernism

"Fire Island" Rug in Pale Shell Hand-Knotted Silk and Wool

by Emma Gardner

"Fishtail" in Chocolate Fossil Hand-Knotted Silk and Wool

by Emma Gardner

Emma Gardner's "Koi Pond" in Aqua

Hand-Knotted Silk and Wool

"Canape Allure" by Frederic Mechiche, French Designer
Known for Injecting Playfulness Into Luxury Designs

"Palace" Rug in Midnight Hand-Knotted

Silk and Wool

Christopher Guy's Design Squared Headboard

Made up of Silk and Mohair Upholstered Squares

.............................................................

Kit Golson Design

for elegant, sustainable and pragmatic

Chic Provence Interior Design

Our Love is {Sphere} to Stay!

Adults spend an astonishing nine hours per day looking at rectangular screens: computer, TV, iPhone, blackberry (aren't I this very minute looking intently at my Mac screen, scrutinizing every word and pixel, in a rush to get this post done before the season premiere of Mad Men?).

And, as a designer, I spend an extravagant amount of time concerned with rectangles: graph paper, doors, windows, floorplans, tiles, floors, picture frames, rugs, cabinets, countertops....on and on the list of angular items grows. And it seems the younger and hipper the client, the more straight lines there are.

The Artist Model Keeps Two of Artefact's Wire Spheres Company

Is it any wonder then, that where ever I go, I see spheres? O happy sight! Roundness, curves that are so curvy they meet themselves again in an eternal embrace! No angles to square? Relief!

Out scouting design ideas yesterday, I fell hard for spheres. The antidote to too many angles in our worlds.