Friday, May 29, 2009

Lights on Gaga

Sorry folks! Took a little vacay to La La Land, had a blast, zoned out, and got re-inspired on the plane trip back reading Rolling Stone with Miss Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga, a.k.a. Spaghetti Pizza (to the one who will barf over this post) on the cover:


Some thoughts: Vive le retour de David LaChappelle! Also, say what you will about her ripping off Ziggy Stardust or Hussein Chalayan or Martin Margiela (check, check, check), I think it's really Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons who called and wants her look, nay, entire existence back:


Gaga, like Madonna before her, knows how to steal from the best and if her songs are the musical equivalent of Fun Dip at least she seems in control of her own image. I'd certainly like to meet this "Matty Dada" who makes all her astrofrocks! Anyhoo the Chalayan bubbles-over-Mugler corset on RS reminded me of this light fixture:


And it got me thinking maybe it's not so hideous after all? Gaga does this to me! There's more:



She's the light when I'm in my dark place. LGG also played a lucite piano with her foot on Ellen while wearing a gyroscope:


And now your dining room can wear one too!


Stef likes hoods but she's not from the 'hood, okay?


Unless you're referring to the Convent of the Sacred Heart school, where she and Paris Hilton both attended. WTF is in the water over there huh?? AXO makes a similar little red riding lamp:

Finally, all that glitters isn't Gaga, but her gold and black origami dress could put a backup dancer's eye out:


This pyramid pendant's a bit softer, like when our gal slows it down and sings a ballad ... about her radioactive muffin. Vive La Gaga!!

*UPDATE*
You know what they say about great minds? CasaSugar has a fab photo gallery of GaGa-inspired goodies, and Loft & Found decorated an entire room for her two months back. Am dying for those shell lamps. Thanks for the heads up ladies!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Double the Blog, Double the Fun


So Decorno already broke the news -- gracias, amiga! -- but last week I started blogging for this great new site DoubleX, a spinoff of Slate made for the ladies, by the [v. smart] ladies. Two "X" chromosomes, get it? See, the building blocks of DNA ...

Kidding, I got no clue about that stuff, I just know I'm super proud to be on the team (and to be one of the few "XY"'s contributing). Check it out:

Nick's Dream House

Cute title, right? 3x weekly I'll be doing my usual decorating beat with deals and tips and stylish doohickies, but I'm not giving up this here Bloggerspot. (I know, I know, then maybe I should update more often ...) Keep coming back for more random style stream of consciousness, for better or worse. Like I wouldn't feel comfortable posting about spotlights and mall bangs on DoubleX. You don't want to miss that, right?

Anyhoo, I'd SO appreciate you adding my Dream House to your bookmarks, signing up for an RSS, revving up your Widgets ... I have no idea what I'm saying right now. Just spread the word!

XX (get it?)
Nick

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Gravitas* + Whimsy

illustration via NYTimes

= Maira Kalman = chicness. I just discovered her 'And the Pursuit of Happiness' blog** on the NYTimes website (begun after a trip to the inauguration) and it's like tonic for my snark-addled, New York over The New Yorker soul. But then I remembered I don't subscribe to the latter because it requires reading more than fifty words at a time and, you know, NYMag has all those approval matrices and photos of Eve Harrington's dorm room (haha, pt). But back to Maira. For the unfamilar she's an illustrator, author, artist and designer whose work ranges from children's books to magazine covers to wristwatches, and every single one of her collaborators is so uimpeachably cool: The New Yorker, MoMA, Mark Morris, Isaac Mizrahi ... even my old stylish friends from the ninth grade, Strunk and White!

Her interiors combine the fantasy of Jean Cocteau with the looseness of Albert Hadley with maybe the opening credits of Juno. Who would want to leave that room? Brava, Maira.

*I don't use the word "gravitas" in conversation.

**Pigtown's on it too!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Design Your Wall

Today's gently prodding email from someone we'll call Panda:

Subject: divorce

You are neglectful of your blog and you are neglectful of me. It’s over between us, and there is no use in trying to salvage this relationship for the sake of our panda offspring ...

She goes on, but this is a family blog and my after-work nap is wearing off so I'll get to the decorating bit. Sean introduced me to DesignYourWall.com over the weekend and, WHOA, what a resource -- guess I wasn't paying enough attention to Top Design because they were on it eons ago. One day I'll scroll through all 3500 wallpapers, custom photographic murals, papers and borders, but these are favorites from pages 1-60:


Adorable fishies by Sam Trout ($6.50/square foot)




Chic digital marble murals in black, green, and pale blue, also at $6.50/sf (office obsession with faux marble and malachite lately!)


And finally these killer 70s-80s swirls that Sean picked for his accent wall ($44.95/double roll) Yes, I'm supportive! Four walls of this baby might induce nausea but the colors totally remind me of our current style icon, Adventureland's Lisa P. Razmatazz indeed.