Chad Dorsey designed this beautiful kitchen. My favorite part about it of course is the Bird decal on the ceiling. This is what I had in mind when I was talking about the Birds Halloween theme in Part I. Subtly spreading these Birds and making them look like art, rather than just temporary decorations makes them look tasteful, and almost curated. Very adult yet I’m sure that the kids would love them too!
Did you notice the nest on the table? Genius!
It’s almost Halloween 😉
Oh this old thing?… Well it fits perfectly with my Birds Halloween Theme!
Alexander McQueen
Tamara Kvesitadze’s latest work, The Passage, (which she just created as the world went into a lockdown) inspired my Halloween decoration this year!
Hoards of haunting birds fly towards an invisible force, drawing them into the trap of the human head! Its what nightmares are made of! or should I say, what horror movies are made of! In fact, it reminds me of the horror movie that influenced every other horror movie! The Birds.
The Birds is a 1963 Natural Horror-Thriller Film produced and directed by non other than Alfred Hitchcock. It was very loosely based on the 1952 story of The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. It focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks over the course of a few days.
Hitchcock decided to do without any conventional scores. Instead, he made sound effects in counterpoint to calculated silences. He used the electroacoustic Mixtur-Trautonium to create the bird calls and noises. How scary is that? Wouldn’t these sound effects be the perfect addition to the spooky ambiance?
So far those are my favorite finds for this year. The one on the left is the iconic midcentury accessory House Bird by Eames. It fits perfectly in this theme and yet can be displayed throughout the year. The Crow Wreath is another Pottery Barn find.
A few of those removable birds wall stickers from Amazon will completes the theme!
This book is a brilliant introduction to poetry and contemporary art. Angelou’s fearless words and Basquiat’s daring paintings are carefully pared to create a powerful ode to courage. It is a place where every child can experience their own strength.
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn’t frighten me at all
I love everything about Autumn, the colour aesthetics, the comfy clothes, and even the weather. Autumn is when I want to be surrounded by all things Hygge! Now I know that it isn’t a trend anymore, however, I think we need that sense of coziness this year more than ever! The kind that makes you feel like all is right with the world.
While we can’t gather with our friends and family right now, Hygge will help us make the most of our time with our loved ones at home. Family movie nights, game nights, or just simple, funny conversations over dinner is more than enough to make you have that sense Hygge.
True hygge will come naturally to you. Like laying down on the sofa with a good book in your comfiest lounge wear and fuzziest sox! The fuzzier the better!
You’ll find it in things like a good cup of Hot Coco, or even a good home made Pumpkin Spice Latte!
I came across a flexible recipe from Pottery Barn of Pumpkin Spice Latte! I thought I’d share it here incase any of you need to find a little more comfort this year. I have to say though, the sugar content in this recipe seems to be a bit high, so I would start with a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon and then add another teaspoon if needed. I will have mine with almond milk and might add a pinch of cinnamon to the mix!
Enjoy!
When I am not watching Frasier I normally love to watch mystery shows. Castle is one of my favorites from that category. Its a light and funny show that has a cute story line balanced off with murder mysteries that need to be solved on each episode.
The “Ruggedly Handsome” Richard Castle played by Nathan Fillion, is a famous mystery writer who is brilliant and has a witty sense of humor. When the NYPD asks him to consult in a case where there were a series of murders staged to imitate crime scenes from his books, Castle was more than happy to help find this copycat killer. However while he was consulting them Castle found inspiration in Detective Kate Beckett played by Stana Katic. She was the perfect muse to base his new novels on!.
Once that initial case was solved, Castle and Beckett continued to investigate crimes in New York, combining Castle’s witty and creative approach to crimes and Beckett’s impressive detective skills. I won’t say more ( don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t watched it yet) besides we are here today to talk about the set design! More specifically Castle’s Manhattan penthouse which he shares with his mother and teenage daughter.
The set is designed by Claire Kaufman SDSA and Alfred Sole. You can check some of their other works in the link… But I must say that Richard Castle’s apartment is their best work.
There are many things in his apartment that might not be to your taste or style, however I think that the layout of the apartment and the layout of the furniture is what makes this design a success!. It is modern and masculine yet its so cozy …It feels like home!
Its a two floor penthouse. This is the layout of the first floor where the main living areas are. Castle’s office and bedroom are on this floor too. His mother and daughter each have their own bedroom on the 2nd floor.
Besides the fact that Castle’s office room is a book lovers dream (with all those books) It has a great flow to the bedroom. The apartment is truly designed for a writer!
The main focal point of the room of course is the “Lucee Charlemagne Staircase, Down View” I think that its a smart choice from the designer because it added depth to the room especially when you are looking in from the living room.
Here is a view from the opposite direction, looking towards the living room. I love how the spaces open into each other yet each space feels so cozy.
The bedroom feels like a secret room. It is hidden behind the built-in bookcases and a steel door. Very appropriate for our mystery writer don’t you think?
My Favorite feature in Castle’s bedroom is this beautiful photograph of Linus the lion. In an episode Castle said that he bought it from his first paycheck of his first novel and that they have been friends ever since!
Ella Raines by Man Ray
If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be?
People often love to ask this question and I thought it would be interesting ( and maybe fun?) to have a series of posts where I would write about each of my guests!
My first guest in no particular order would be Man Ray!
I’m inviting him for many reasons but my two most important ones are:
First:
His amazing avant-garde photography of course. He was a key player in the evaluation of photography as a form of art
In 1922 shortly after his first experiments with camera-less photography Ray said “I have finally freed myself from the sticky medium of paint, and am working directly with light itself”. He became well known for those images, commonly called photograms but which he famously dubbed “rayographs” combining his own name and the word “photograph.”
To make those rayographs he placed his subjects or objects in front of a photosensitized paper and exposed them to light, creating negative images. This process was not new, camera-less photographic images had been produced since the 1830s but in his photograms, (or should I say rayographs) Ray embraced the possibilities for irrational combinations or arrangements of objects, emphasizing the abstract images made from this technique.
Man Ray was an artist of many talents. He directed a number of influential avant-gard short films, known as Cinema Pur. He directed Le Retour à la Raison (2 mins, 1923); Emak-Bakia (16 mins, 1926); L’Étoile de Mer (15 mins, 1928); and Les Mystères du Château de Dé (27 mins, 1929). He also assisted Marcel Duchamp with the cinematography of his film Anemic Cinema (1926), and Ray personally manned the camera on Fernand Léger’s Ballet Mécanique (1924). In René Clair’s film Entr’acte (1924), he appeared in a brief scene playing chess with Duchamp.
Second:
His sense of humor!.
According to his many famous friends he was really fun to be with! I can imagine him mesmerizing every one at the table with his stories about how he fled paris in WWII and about the many famous people he photographed such as Picasso, Salvador Dali, Peggy Guggenheim and the eccentric Marchesa Luisa Casati to name a few.
I couldn’t ask for better company!
Ramadan is my favorite month of the year. I recharge my faith, I detox my mind as well as my body from all the toxins that have built up physically and emotionaly through out the year by fasting. It brought me so much joy growing up, it was something my siblings and I always looked forward to as kids.
I always look forward to family and friends gatherings in Ramadan … most of which last very late at night! … We normaly wear caftans in Ramadan which I’m loving at the moment and am having fun creating new looks!
Today I thought I’d share those 2 images below from a photo shoot taken for vogue in the 70s. It is my insperation for my Ramadan waredrope this year! I love her hair and make up and although I wouldn’t nessesarily wear her outfit, I do love it! Those images always remind me of Ramadan for some reason and I just find them so insrpiring!
Talitha Getty, Patrick Lichfield, Vogue, January 15, 1970 … classic!
Running In Heelz 