Hear Them Roar

You can purchase David Weeks Wooden Animals from online store Areaware

In 2010 one thing is for sure natural materials are going to continue to be important to those who like to shop for their home or bedroom. I love wood: it's a living material. I like to hold it, stroke it and sniff it. It gives a physical connection to the pre-industrial world. That sensual reality is a neccessary part for my home. The value of a natural made product that appears to be made by hand can add soul to our daily lives. I maintain that you can feel the mark of a living object, a piece of furniture, a building and even a toy. It's worth having and celebrating

Living Down In Chinatown

Enter the Dragon. Moving into a former restaurant in the heart of LA's Chinatown inspired one family to embrace the colourful style of this vibrant area. I had to send photographer Richard Powers to snap this home for me. I think this week for me it's all about colour! I hope you don't mind?

Los Angeles' Chinatown is in the middle of a renaissance - new housing and transport links have created a thriving district filled with great bars and art gallaries, as well as a multicultural 24 hour street scene. Still it's not everyone who would want to move in a former Chinese restaruant and transform it into a home that embraces the original vibe - and even fewer who could manage to do it in a contemporary way! 

 

Having started out as a popular cabaret spot, in the Eighties this place became Madame Wong's - a punk club that played host to bands like Blondie. But it was languishing as a furniture warehouse when American property developer Dan Bernier and his architect wife Amy Finn Bernier fell for it and turned it into a fun family home fro their sons Lewis and Moe. I love its playful mix of retro-meets-industrial furniture, a fusion of East and West that never gets too kitsch.

"I love colour and have never been afraid of it. With the high ceilings we decided to break the colours up into horizontal bands so that no single shade would overpower the effect" shares Amy

"We love to have our stuff on show for easy access, but to stop it looking cluttered we have chosen pieces that match the colour palette"

All pictures by Richard Powers

"When it comes to getting the details right, it's about sticking to the colour palatte and having a sense of humour," says Amy.

Small Spaces

There's a new word to learn and it's Puki! Not to be confused with pukey. I have just discovered the works of Linda Gavin who has put cool into doll collecting. The doll in question is the Japenese customised Puki doll. I knew there were doll enthusiasts out there but I always thought them to be a wee bit creepy but not anymore. Linda spends her spare time building super contemporary mini-size doll houses and then photographs her Puki dolls inside the room sets. I love how her imaginary world of Puki has loads of great decorating ideas.

All photos via Linda Gavin 

Cool fact about Ms Linda Gavin. She designed the Twitter logo back in 2006. That alone makes this lady worth a follow on her blog Imaginary World.

The Golden Rabbit

I want to introduce a very dear friend of mine.  Boing, Boing, Boing. It's a little golden ceramic rabbit made by fashion designer Paul Smith.

I bought him for my boyfriend a few years ago for Easter. We love him but our friends hate him. "What is THAT or haven't you decided to smash it yet" are generally their remarks when they visit. Every time they voice their dislike I scratch my head and think but I really love him. Ok yes I like to be surrounded by a little hint of bling so I get why some purists would not enjoy Mr Smith's bunny.


However, he will always have pride of place in our house and it could be easy to hide him in a less obvious place but why? This rabbit has meaning to me and I hope oneday my friends will recognise that.  I have no doubt a lot of you will feel the same as my friends. Perhaps the word going through your head is YUCK! But I guess what I'm trying to say is this rabbit is a little bit of me. He holds a nice memory, he has travelled with us from home to home, and he was one of the first things my boyfriend and I bought together. So don't let other people's taste edit your taste. Stand up for the things you love in your home.

Work, Rest & Play!

Have you guys seen Working Class Magazine? Well you should. This picture of Editor-in-Chief Megan Martin and Creative Director, Marcel Dagenais I think can ring home to all of us. I had to include her comments below. Just remember sometimes we need to step away from the computer and enjoy the space we live in.
Good luck with the magazine guys!

"We assumed this position for a good six hours yesterday. I don't even think I got up to go pee. Sorry, a bit too much info? Anyway, we cropped, cut, pasted, emailed, sent, laughed, edited, added, bickered and re-worded the content for our Summer issue, and I'm so proud! It's going to be beautiful so stay tuned, it will be up and out on August 15th. Much love! m and m"

Working Class represents a community of local artists in New York, who are Brooklyn-based quaretly online zine that showcases various talents from all aspects of the world. Writers, photographers, poets, illustrators, models, small business owners, actors musicians. They all work and live in New York, and know the struggles of things like bad tippers, overpriced rents, and disagreeable weather. Working Class taps the pulse of the underground art world, and disucsses why we all stick around.

By the way Megan and Martin I would love to send around one of my photographers to snap you in your home.

The Pink & Blue Project

OK I don't know about you but after seeing these pictures I think it's safe to say no more stereotyping when shopping for your child's bedroom. It's time to mix it up. I'm a big believer that our surroundings can play a big part in who we are and who we become. Oh I can here some of you now saying "well Amanda it is only colour?" Is it? However, I do have to say as little people they do understand how to collect. One of the key ingredients for displaying a collection is to stick to a certain colour or theme.

Jeongmee Yoon via Designboom.