If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be? Man Ray

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!

Pretty Plates For Ramadan

In love with those plates  from  ecru. They are so perfect for Ramadan! Don’t you think?

French Onion Soup

As the weather is getting cooler I find my self craving soup … So thought today I’d  share a recipe that I love and that’s my ultimate comfort food!  Although this is a very easy one it actually takes a lot of time. I don’t mind though because my family loves it… I have adapted this one from a few recipes I’ve come across on pinterest.

Here we go:

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter, unsalted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 pounds yellow onions, cut in half lengthwise and sliced ¼ inch
• 1 teaspoon sugar or sweetener
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons Cognac or Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 ½ cups organic beef broth
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• French baguette, sliced ¾ inch thick along a diagonal
• 1 ½ cups (or more) Gruyère, swiss and fontina cheese.

Instructions

1. You start by caramelizing the onions
2. Melt the butter and olive oil in a Dutch oven or something similar over medium-high heat, keep stirring.
3. Add the onions, stirring to coat. Spread them out in as even a layer as possible, sprinkle with sugar and cook, stirring as needed to keep the onions from sticking. Continue to cook until the onions are soft, deep golden brown and smell fragrant and sweet, this takes about an hour!
4. Once your onions are caramelized sprinkle them with the flour and stir to coat. Add the thyme, Cognac or Worcestershire sauce, two large pinches sea salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir again and allow to cook on low for a few minutes.
5. Add your beef broth and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. This allows the flavors to develop and your kitchen will smell devine!
6. While your soup is simmering, toast your bread on a baking sheet under the broiler. Watch it carefully! Toast until brown on each side. I sometimes rub a bit of fresh galic on the bread but not always.
7. Ladle the soup into small broiler-safe, bowls. Top with several bread slices and then top with ¼ of the cheese mixture or more if you like. Broil on a baking sheet until the cheese has melted and has started to bubble and brown.
8. Serve immediately.

 

Note

Add a bit more water or broth if you feel this recipe is too thick!

 

Carolyn in the Fall

Fall always reminds me of Carolyn in New York… Remembering her always makes me sad … you see Carolyn shaped the way I dressed from a young age! I remember looking at those photos in some tabloid magazine and thinking I just love her style… I feel lucky that I found my style icon or someone to look up to style wise from a young age…. Her style made more sense to me and reflected my style. She never followed trends yet always was up to date fashion wise! I loved how creative she was with classics … how strict  she was with adding new items to her wardrobe! Her style looks easy but is actually very hard to do because you could very easily look out dated or old which she never did! Her style might be boring for so many (most people I know) but I always got exited seeing her wear her black coast in a new ways!

 

I also loved it when she wore something more daring like that red Prada coat That she’s been photographed in so many times or even the leopard one that she got at a vintage shop in Paris!… They were daring and modern coats yet so classic because they would still look great today!

I still love her fall looks, no one till today does fall better than Carolyn! Here is one of my favorite looks that to me defines her style! A black turtle neck, tan corduroys and a black birkin! I remember that she used to carry her gym clothes in that bag! How extravagant yet chic and simple is that?

I must say that John didn’t look so bad either! .. They looked so good together…

New York + Carolyn + John always made the perfect match!

Photos via Rememberingcbk

Restored by the Fords: The Collins Family Home

Last week I started watching Restored by The Fords and couldn’t stop watching it till I finished the first season in 2 days…

The show follows siblings Leanne and Steve Ford as they restore houses around Pittsburgh, their home town, and transform them into design showpieces.
Leanne, the younger of the Ford siblings, is an interior designer who spent years working in the fashion industry (which you can see from the stylish way she dresses) . She splits her time between Pittsburgh and LA and is charge of creating the design and floor plans for the properties on the show. Steve, the older brother, is a licensed contractor (and the owner of Surf Pittsburgh) is in charge of executing Leanne’s designs and maximizing the functionality of those outdated properties while making sure that everyone is sticking to the budget.

The Fords spend at least two months on each property, with other projects going on at the same time. I can’t wait for season 2 to premiere in Jan. It will consist of 15 episodes; almost double the amount of season 1 which was only 8 episodes.

For todays post I decided to share one family home. It is one of my favorites from season 1 and will have a different post for my other favorite from the same season!

The home I’m posting about today belongs to the Collins family. This project actually consisted of 2 phases ( in other words 2 episodes). The Collins loved phase 1 so much they brought back the fords to finish the rest of the house. Phase 1 was the living room, family room and kitchen and phase 2 was the master bedroom, the kids bedrooms, the 2 bathrooms and the pool area.

Anyone who knows me knows my love and obsession for mid-century modern furniture and architecture. I loved this home even before renovations began. I thought that his house is extra special because the architect who designed it was one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s students.  I was so worried that the renovation will completely take away the house’s identity and style but the Ford siblings did an amazing job restoring this home. They respected the history of this house, while turning it into a home that totally reflected its new owners!

I love this living room. It’s my favorite room in this house… I love that they kept the stone fireplace, and added carpet. I know that a lot of people hate carpets but I really love them!. I also love the wooden walls which I’m glad they kept. They did paint them though to make the place feel brighter and more spacious which I think was a good plan because it did. I love how that Vladimir Kagan sofa is so clean and sleek and how the wooden vintage console table behind it is so old. Nothing matches yet everything works so well together!

 

 

Can you tell that Leanne loves white and neutrals? I think her colour scheme (or lack there of ) really suited this house. Look at that white Carrara in the kitchen are, I love it! I also love those acrylic barstools… its added seating without looking cluttered. Talking about seating I love how Leanne used those Norman Cherner dining chairs with that old painted vintage dinning table.

 

 

 

Now, I know that a black pool isn’t for everyone … but I think that it works for this house. Leanne and Steve took a trip to visit Falling Waters House  by Frank Lloyd Wright for some inspiration, and thats where the pool insperation came from. “I wanted to paint it black so badly… which turns out is kind of hard to do… but of COURSE we figured it out and brought the pool up to par with the rest of the beautiful space” Leanne wrote in her blog. I think she is right… painting that bright blue pool black almost makes the pool look like a pond rather than an added pool!. I love it because it works so well with the house…   but also because it reminds me so much of the black pool at my grandparents farm house!

 

The master bedroom wall had “fake styrofoam style stone” on the walls which just looked so dingy and fake. They kept them for added texture and just painted them. I have mixed feelings about that… but it works with the house nonetheless.

 

The master bathroom spa! It looks like a spa and feels like a spa… Leanne put a bathroom island right in the middle of it! I love the way it looks but have mixed feelings about that too.. but it’s only because I like to be close to my mirror when applying creams etc!

 

I think this is my favorite kids bathroom of all time! The design is so smart. The floor tile was a budget friendly solution yet looks exxpensive. They used two different colors of hex to create some interest in there. Then used black fixtures and white concrete finish on the ceilings and walls… This is a bathroom that the kids wont out grow!

So what did you think of this house and what do you think of the Ford Siblings restoration of this place?

Pictures via leanneford.com

 

The Catroux Style

One of my main inspirations for my personal style as well as my home style has been this single picture you see above of Betty Catroux taken in her home in Paris in the 70’s.  The apartment was designed by her husband François…. That picture to me is everything. It could have easily been taken in the 70s, 80s, 90s or even today…. Catroux’s interiors from the 70s remain timeless because he knew how to mix the modern classics with warm or rustic pieces of furniture in a modern yet eclectic way.

Recently Catroux redid their apartment … I am not sure whether it was a full renovation or he just added on to the apartment because I recognize a lot of art work and furniture pieces from their 70s pictures that I came across on the net!.. I love that I can’t tell exactly what he did and where he did it… the revamped apartment feels like its continuing their story rather than trying to make a new one!

Here’s the living room, do you see what I mean? It looks so eclectic and modern. Again this could easily be a Catroux apartment from the 70s, 80s, 90s or even today!…

As always he not only mixed styles and periods but layered them in a way only he could do!  There are pieces that the couple had for decades, such as the rustic colossal African mask and the 1995 portrait of Betty by Philippe de Lustrac.

I just love Betty’s office. François designed the built-in cabinetry all around the room. I love that she put a casual photograph of her late best friend Yves Saint Laurent in front of another photograph.

The painting above the sofa is by Emmanuel Gondouin from the 1930s. That Noguchi coffee table is one of my favorite tables. It’s so timeless and so fit for this beautiful library. 

Even though that first picture will still be closer to my style than the current apartment, this is still my favorite home. It’s my favorite home for many reasons ( which I stated above) but mainly because it’s simply a home of a couple who have been married for 50 years (1968) who with the new renovations seems to be looking forward to living together for many years to come!

 

 

​Traditional Dinner Plates!

I believe that a hint of traditional items here and there works very well in a modern minimal home… They add interest and charm to any table!

I think that these traditional plates from Pottery Barn are just perfect for this season …

…and just look at those Turkey salt and pepper shakers aren’t they just cute? They do so well with the dinner set! Don’t you think?

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSaveSaveSave

SaveSave

When Frasier’s Gang Dressed for Halloween

Who remembers this Halloween episode from Frasier?

When Frasier hosted a Halloween party where he asked his guests to come dressed as their personal hero. … Roz dressed as Wonder Woman, Frasier as Sigmund Freud, Daphne as Elton John, Niles as his dad Martin Crane and Martin as Joe DiMaggio…. oh how I miss this bunch!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

SaveSave

Apartment 1901 at the Elliott Bay Towers

Frasier is hands down my favorite TV sitcom of all time! I think I watch it at least once a year back to back! It’s my go-to sitcom when I’m feeling a bit down or there isn’t much to watch on TV! I love the witty sense of humour and I just love Frasier’s apartment! I think that it is one of the many inspirations I had around me growing up to set my taste as well as my style today! The set was designed by the legendary set decorator Roy Christopher.

In the pilot episode, Frasier shows the apartment to his father, Martin.

Frasier: So what do you think of what I’ve done with the place? You know, every item here was carefully selected. The lamp by Corbu, this chair by Eames, and this couch is an exact replica of the one Coco Chanel had in her Paris atelier.

Martin: Nothing matches!

Frasier: Well, it’s a style of decorating – it’s called eclectic. The theory behind it is, if you have really fine pieces of furniture, it doesn’t matter if they match – they will go together.

Martin: It’s your money!

And a lot of money it was. The set cost a half-million dollars to build in 1993! But what a fabulous set. The apartment is filled with built-in shelves and display areas that highlight Frasier’s collections of African and pre-Columbian art without making it feel like a shop or a museum.

In addition to the treasures Frasier mentions in the pilot, the apartment also featured a Steinway medium grand piano, later on, a Chihuly vase, and several abstracts. Nearly twenty years later, it still looks great.

 

 

Frasier had to replace his beautiful Wassily chair with his dad’s grubby old Barca longer!…. I must say that the Barca lounger helped make his apartment look even more eclectic! Don’t you think? But Shhhh don’t tell Fraiser I said that LOL!.

I know that the apartment now looks outdated and very 90’s but I think that with very few changes this apartment would easily look up to date! I would love to replace the coffee table and its matching side table with a table by the artist Ingrid Donat! And that TV, of course, has to be replaced with a modern plasma TV…. Think that the dining chairs have to be replaced too?…. Anyways, the great bones are there so even little changes would certainly make the apartment look modern and up to date again!

I came across this beautifully rendered floor plan of apartment 1901 at Elliot Bay Towers (the building is as fictional as the view outside Frasier’s windows–such a view exists only from the cliffs overlooking Seattle) The artist who created this plan has a great portfolio of work that can be seen HERE.

 

 

The Picture above shows how beautifully the art went together in this apartment! Here a Dale Chihuly vase with the Ace, November, Venice USA Print By Artist, Robert Rauschenberg. Published for Robert Rauschenberg’s exhibition at ACE Gallery, Venice, California, November 1977.

 

The Frasier gang with the beautiful Chihuly vase when it was 1st brought in!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Friday Quote

Favorite Quote