Set Staging in Latest Elle Decor: Lumens Light and Living

I have had the pleasure of  working with Lumens Light and Living, a fantastic lighting and home decor resource, for the past several months. I have been designing and staging the sets to display featured light fixtures, and in this case, ceiling fans in ads for Elle Decor and Dwell magazines. This latest ad is in the July, August 2011 issue of Elle Decor!

  The process for designing the ads is similar to designing a room, but there are some very important differences. I do come up with a design concept based on "imaginary" clients. The client is based on a demographic that is interested in great contemporary design and wants it for their own home. They aren't afraid to "mix it up" and get creative.

I do use items that are available from the online furniture, area rugs, and decor that are offered on the Lumens website. The vendors and brands being offered by Lumens is expanding every day and include favorites like Tom Dixon, Dwell Studio, Kartell, Blu Dot, Artek, Moooi, Missoni and Thomas Paul. This is a sampling of brands in the Furnishings Home Decor section of the website and does not even scratch the surface!  Lighting is a whole other category and includes pieces by designers like Mary McDonald, Ralph Lauren, Tom Dixon, and Jonathan Adler. Truly, the list is just too long to attempt to capture here. I suggest taking a look over on the Lumens website. Click on "brands" to check it out.

So....I do have a lot to work with! After I come up with the concept, I meet with the amazing group at Lumens to make sure we can procure all of the items we would like to use within our time frame. We are working on a project schedule that includes building the set, or "room" if you will. It may include floors, walls and ceilings, but not always. In this set, it did include all three. Next we need to schedule the photo shoot and dress the set with furniture and accessories, and of course the light fixtures! Next, the Art Director does his magic composing the finished ad in time to meet the magazine issues' deadline.

I am lucky to be working with the amazing crew at Lumens, and look forward every month to hunting for the ads in Elle Decor and Dwell!

Right now, I am right in the middle of the process for some new ads that will be coming out in October! Stay tuned....

Cool: Matthew Studios

Robert Table Lamp by Matthew Studios in Amethyst. Annie Floor Lamp in Natural Python.

We have been avidly watching the Olympics this week, as I am sure many of you have. there is something about the Winter Olympics that I find mesmerizing. It has to do with the snow and the mountains. The scenery is just as seductive as the adrenalin rush of the events themselves.

We were inspired enough to make a couple of trips to the Tahoe basin to ski over the long weekend. The weather was perfect: lots of fresh snow and clear azure skies.

This time of year, the low sun casts it's light across the snow making it glimmer and sparkle. And there are icicles hanging from roof lines refracting rays of light like diamonds.

Frank Albert Table Lamp

When I received a notice this morning with these beautifully icy images of light fixtures from Matthew Studios, they immediately reminded me of the same icicles and crusty snow drifts lit by the afternoon sun we had seen just yesterday.

Frank Albert Table Lamp

Matthew Studios is the brain child of Katherine Wildt O'Brien, product designer and lighting specialist, world traveler, artist, and jewelry aficionado. Her experience spans work with places like Knoll, LucePlan NY, and Baldinger (where she launched collection by such notables as Michael Graves, Alvar Alto and Andre Putman) before she was instrumental in the establishment of Oxygen Lighting.

Curious? To learn more about Katherine and her brilliant background, click on over HERE.

Veronica Table Lamp

Katherine started Matthew Studios in 2008 to provide an outlet for her creative talents, love of nature and extensive experience with lighting. So glad she did!Her beautiful pieces are available to the trade through A. Rudin in NYC, San Francisco and LA, or through retail sources, Vivre and Rare Culture.

Alvey Sconce, and Estelle Sconce

Gavin Table

Katherine Wildt O'Brien with her house bunny, Matthew (the Matthew Studios mascot!) Notice Katherine's very cool malachite dress!

Spring is at the door here in Sacramento, but I just cannot let go of the cold winter beauty just yet. So it is back to the Winter Olympics for me tonight. And I can always catch that icy glimmer over at Matthew Studios.

Dream a Little Dream: Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz and ABYU

I wanted to be there. I even had a dream about it....flying off to New York to be at the Opus Lumen installation party featuring lighting by ABYU ( And Bob's Your Uncle). And why wouldn't I dream about it? It is very dreamy after all.

Over 20 light designs were exhibited in the new ABYU studio space and I heard the party was a huge success. For a little look see at the festivities...click on over HERE.

ABYU was started by Steven Wine and Michael Landon in 1994 to showcase their creative talents by bringing light to us all. Sadly, Michael passed away in 2008 leaving the company to "continue his vision of quality lighting products that infuses fantasy and fashion, a couture collection. "

Designer Benjamin Noriega Ortiz has long had a close relationship with ABYU contributing his own dreamy confections of lighting design. His design company, BNO Design, became the parent company in 2007.

I have long been a fan of Mr. Noriega-Ortiz and his unique sense of style. Clean and refreshing with a touch of fantasy, his style keeps you guessing. Mr. Noriega-Ortiz put a new spin on the ABYU studio which you can see and read about HERE.

And here are a few more fantasy fixtures for you all to dream about:

Twister Sconce

Nimbus - Nordstrom Stores Nationwide

Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz and Steven Wine Private Residence

Lenny Kravitz Private Residence

Glass Maille

Lawrence Isaacson Private Residence

Lenny Kravitz Private Residence

Battery Gardens Restaurant

To see more of these frothy fixtures click on over HERE.

And Dream a Little Dream.

All Photos courtesy of ABYU and BNO Design

Cool: Roger Borg

1.25.7a, enamel on aluminum, 7.12" x 5.736", 2007

This is just a small taste of the coolness that is Roger Borg. Artist, Sculptor, and creator of neon lamps, Roger uses forms from nature, studies and creates from a common theme a body of work that is at once serene and exciting. I hope you enjoy.

1.27.7p, enamel on aluminum, 4.171" x 8.28", 2007

untitled, neon (8300 white), 15' x 12' x 11', 2008

collection of suzanne and norman cohn

Pull In Lamp

Stacked Series: both hanging and free standing, these neon lamps are made by stacking individual hand bent neon components atop each other. in building a structure in this manner, through individual layers and cross sections, i am able to explore and produce illuminated forms, both simple and complex.

I can just imagine this lamp on a traditional desk (say a Louis XIV) in an office/library. I think the contrast is just would be needed to spice things up. That necessary dash of the unexpected.

each moment slides into the next, neon (4500 white), 7.447" x 64.659", 2005

There are a series of quotes from Roger that were unique and made me stop and read every one.

our paths crossed for but not long enough, steel, approx. 8' x 8' x 4', 1999

Roger has a number of landscape sculptures that capture the imagination.

Bulge

Flat Series: the first of this series, this wall lamp is distorted to appear three dimensional, while in reality it rests flat on the wall.

Artist's Statement:

through observation and speculation i test the world and its workings. what is of paramount interest to me is its nature at the most base level. how circumstances arise. how sequences form and events unfold. how single narratives merge with others, giving rise to more complex interactions. how information is transcribed within the fluid column of time. how the present moment comes to be, and how it is continually steered into the next. at this boundary of present and future, possibility reigns supreme. infinity rules what may be. permutations abound. but beyond this cusp emerges only a single lone instance of what is and what has become. it is with deference to these thoughts, and within this context, that my work is born.

roger borg, 2007

Harris Marcus Home. Cool.

Just some stuff I found today on the Harris Marcus website here.

Restoration Hardware: baby & child

I don't know if you all noticed that Brocade Home, a subsidiary of Restoration Hardware, is no longer taking orders. Perhaps it is because of the launch of this site: Restoration Hardware Baby & Child.

I was looking for a Dining Table and noticed the new logo at the top of RH's website, so decided to check it out. There are quite a few nice things here (like the sweet personalized crown piece above).

The furniture, I would suspect, is the same high quality you would expect from the parent site. This four poster is a really timeless design I think. And the bedding hosts a hive of little bees fit for a little Josephine.

The lamps are great looking and quite a good price. This gourd lamp is $119, plus the shade at $25.

Cute lamp reminiscent of Jaime Young. Painted ceramic, comes in a bunch of colors (as does the gourd lamp), and different shade choices. $69! Plus a shade at $25. This is not a tiny little lamp either. It stands 22" high. (Sometimes with a price like this I double check the size to make sure it is not a mini lamp.)

And there are area rugs and window coverings as well. I thought this woven rug (comes in other colors also) was very nice!

I was very impressed overall. Restoration Hardware has great things that blend in with many different decors, so I was very pleased to discover this site. Hope you will be too. Worth a visit for sure.

Love it to Pieces!

Here's a little weekend fun. Fresh from Pieces:

Time to get out that little green book and shake up some cocktails.

Pour them into this Orange Polka Dot Highball Glass.

Serve to all your friends from this Green Lacquer tray

Then sink yourself down into this new white Wingback. Isn't this the best Wingback you have seen in awhile?

Get comfy with this "pretty" yellow Pillow

Maybe a little mood lighting.

And RELAX!

New items from Pieces

Lighten Up!

I have been searching for some lamps and a Dining Room Pendant or Chandelier for my house, so I am a little lighting obsessed at the moment. So it is small wonder that I focus on interesting fixtures in every magazine I come across:

For example, I was struck by this incredible Sarfatti chandelier from 1952 which is so current, it looks like it could have been designed specifically for this house.

Interior Design Magazine, March 2008, Photo by Jean-Francois Jaussaud

And this grouping of twelve silver Brand van Egmond broom lights was so whimsical and unique. If you have never visited their website you should do so immediately, if for no other reason than for the very cool Madonna music.

Vacation Homes, February/March 2008, photo by James Silverman

The three crystal chandelier pieces from Moooi were placed in the 700 square foot reception area of a 12,ooo square foot townhouse in London designed by Rene Dekker of SHH Associates. ( I just have to add that the townhouse belongs to a family with six kids ranging in age from 6 to 27. Yes, that's right. You heard me.........and the design directive was to do a "white" interior....yes, the youngest is six.) Anyway, I digress. The chandeliers are breathtaking, no? SHH is another website that is pretty amazing. Very unique designing going on there.

Vacation Homes, February/March 2008, photo by James Silverman

Another room from the same townhouse is the first picture from this editorial that really caught my attention. These spherical fixtures come from a German company by the name of Windfall. Made from Swarovski crystals these pendants create a wonderful little solar system. Not to sound repetitive, but this is another "must-see" website. There is much here to capture the imagination.

So, in my search for that "perfect" dining room fixture for myself, I have come across some fixtures that are new this season from companies that really excel at lighting design. I thought I would share:

New from Bradley-Hughes, a company expanding their empire to the West. For a great expose on the company and it's founder Michelle Bradley, hop on over to Cote de Texas, where Joni has all the scoop. Please meet "Lucille" and "Twiggy", the chandelier and floor lamp that I think are going to be popping up in alot of magazines this year!

Forest Sepia Hanging Lamp, new from Seascapes Lamps. Bringing the outside in. Check out the new shade pendants on their website.

I am sometimes stumped when it comes to specifying a ceiling flush mount fixture for a client. There are many out there that are fairly typical or "expected". So I am always pleased when some more unique options come up. These two, new this summer from Circa Lighting, would really add some fun to many an interior.

Also from Circa Lighting, these are some of the new table lamps due out this summer. I am not sure I can wait that long.

These are a few of the table lamps I am just loving from Shine Home. Maybe it's just the Spring colors that are drawing me in, or the classic shapes with a twist. Whatever....I just like 'em loads. They may be finding a new home with me.

I couldn't leave you without reminding you to always check in with Swank Lighting. They always have a flow of wonderful new inventory. "Inventory" doesn't seem quite the right word......hmm.... "treasures" seems more appropriate.

Lighting can make or break a room. Ambient, task, or decorative, it pays to give it the attention it deserves. Maybe more importantly, let it brighten your day...and night.