Tag Archives: shagreen

Mod Squad

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I attended ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) on Monday with the fabulous team from New York Spaces magazine. We scoured miles of isles in the vast Javitz Center (in NYC) looking for interesting, inspiring product and big-picture trends in the marketplace.
Here are a few notable designs that caught my attention at the show:

really wild extruded tiles that fit together like puzzle pieces. Roughly 7 inches deep if i remember correctly… Use them for walls, floors, exterior patios, outdoor shower floors that need good drainage… the possibilities are endless and these things are probably indestructible: strength in numbers. They are by eclectic and bohemian brand, Bespoke

Fun chair by Bend in collaboration with another artist. Great piece to get all you DIYers wheels turning…

Really beautiful hand-woven chandeliers by Naomi Paul. They are collapsable, so shipping and moving are not issues.

Was never a fan of Lladro, but they are doing some interesting things as of late. I really dig their “The Guest” collection, and in particular this one by artist, Rolito. Very funky.

 

Edgy (literally) large-scale chandeliers by Gabriel Scott. The metallic interiors glistened from within the matte-finished geometric shells. So fabulous and versatile. I can imagine in a number of scenarios, classic, modern and bohemian…

Perfect little ottomans by Gabriel Scott that screamed haberdashery and fine tailoring

Opulent shagreen-patterned wallpaper in a fish scale pattern by ShagreenArt Inc. So outrageous.

Flipped when I saw this snake china by the 2nd oldest (2nd to Meisen) china manufacturer in Europe, Augartem Wein. This pattern is by Gabrielle Rotherman and was inspired by her series of snake-themed fine art.

Fabulously simple white & silver giraffe wallpaper by Sissy + Marley. Would be great in a kid’s room (obviously) or a powder room or small space.

One of several large and outrageous lights by Fort Standard

There were so many incredible prints from Eskayel, I didn’t know what to shoot! They are just REALLY LIVABLE —yet funky—patterns. Very bohemian chic.

Incredible fixtures by Apparatus! Every single one was a stunner. The sconce on the lower right side—knocked my socks off and—is made with horse hair! They even have versions with black horse hair and enameled metal. I die…

Deluxe tropical wallpaper by Timorous Beasties. Dorothy Draper’s face would melt…

The Best Sink I have ever seen. From the Metrio System by Stone Forest. I want it all. I love how the hardware fits into the stone perfectly, the thick slab, the finish of the metal…it’s perfection… speechless. I want one.

Also flipped out when I saw these porcelain skull perfume atomizers by the 2nd oldest (2nd to Meisen) china manufacturer in Europe, Augartem Wein. This is the kind of perfume atomizer I’d have in my boudoir…

Delectable little bite-size thumb drives—by Beyond Object—that look like jewelry

 

 

 

 

DIY Shagreen: Console Transformation

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Photo by Laura Moss. Interior design & styling by me, Meredith McBride Kipp.

I found this great console table recently and dragged it home. It’s got great lines and would look perfect covered or lacquered in just about anything (except mauve). I envisioned covering it in real shagreen (j’adore shagreen) but my lack of diamond-tipped tools and experience steered me towards a nice faux alternative (they have alligator, ostrich and other textures too)!

If you dare to DIY—avoir patience! Here’s how I did it:
1. I cleaned the table thoroughly to remove all oils, dirt, etc. Then, sanded the entire table with a fine grit paper (I would go a little heavier next time: the more surface texture you can create the better) and wiped it down with a tack cloth: much better than cleaning again because you don’t want to add moisture to the surface you are about to adhere to.
2. I measured out all my leather pieces (with a little excess) and cut them with scissors. If you’re going to cut the pieces to precise dimensions, I’d use an exacto and cutting mat. If you are using a textured fabric or leather, make sure you center your pattern before you cut your pieces.
3. After stirring the DAP Weldwood Contact Cement (follow the directions well), I poured it into a glass tray (easy-wash surface)—for my mini-roller—and applied it generously to all surfaces of the table as well as the backs of all the pre-cut leather pieces.
4. After letting it “set for over 40 mins”, I attempted to apply all the pieces, but had little to no luck bonding leather-to-table. I went to bed completely irate: for not doing it the easy way from the get go (glue gun, staple gun, heavy duty spray adhesive: my usual). To my surprise and delight,  I awoke to surfaces that actually bonded! They had just needed more cure time. From there it was easy…
5. I aligned and bonded all the leather surfaces and trimmed them with a sharp exacto (always & often change your blades!), using the table itself as my straight-edge. The material cut like butter.
6. I cut the 45-degree angles with a proper metal angle (after learning the hard way on the now “back” of the table) and trimmed off all the excess.
7. I reached out to my leather expert cousin, Ted Kruckel, at Gigi New York (where all of my favorite accessories are from) for recommendations on what to use to finish the edges with. He recommended I use Basic Adhesives for custom-matched leather edge paint. Since I wanted to finish this project asap— so I could share w/y’all immediately— I decided to custom-mix acrylic t-shirt paint instead (same material I’m almost positive), and I painstakingly hand-painted all the edges. This gave it the finished, deluxe look I desired. et Voila: free to fabulous in less than 24 hrs…

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amerelife.com by Meredith McBride Kipp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

© Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Designer Showhouse Soirée

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On Saturday evening, I attended the Preview Party of The Designer Showhouse of New Jersey with stylish and hilarious friend, Meg Bashaw. We gabbed with tons of guests and designers at “Hidden Acres Estate”—a 10 acre property in the Chestnut Ridge area of Saddle River, NJ. Traditional Home is sponsoring the 11,000 sq. ft. home featuring more than 20 interior and landscape designers.
The showhouse is open daily through June 10th (closed Mondays) from 10am to 4pm. General admission is $30. The Heart & Vascular Hospital and Emergency Trauma Department of Hackensack University Medical Center will benefit from all proceeds.

The entryway (below) by modelesque sisters Linda Maley & Lisa Keyser of Whitepop was dramatic and fun. I particularly loved their Jagger altar at the top of the stairs.

The dining room (below) was sexy, sophisticated and eclectic. No surprise, as Jennifer McGee masters those qualities in all her work. She had fabulous artwork, comfortable chairs and great focal points. I especially loved the built-in lounge in the corner (shown below with friend Meg Bashaw) that would be a great spot for cocktails before or after a dinner party.

Next we hit Philip La Bossiere’s room (my favorite room of the evening), an ultra-chic den/study (below). His attention to fine (and inventive) detail would make anyone want to upholster a bookshelf. His work is casual and relaxed, yet so very polished. LOVE.

Down the hall to a total SHOW-STOPPER, Keith Baltimore’s ultra-glamorous party room (below). I can definitely imagine my alter-ego smoking Nat Shermans with a cigarette holder and sipping endless bubbly in here.

Upstairs we found Barbara Ostrom’s office (below) calming and just the right combo of lodge and cabana.

Opposite Barbara’s office (below), was the spouse’s office, handsomely decorated by  the lovely duo Susan & Eugene Barbieri. LOVED the carpet. LOVED the RL lamps. And great artwork by Richard Bruce.

And last, but certainly not least, Colin Patrick Corcoran (friend of a friend as it turns out) decked out a luscious bedroom (below) with eclectic and interesting art and objets. I appreciated his mix of materials throughout the room—from geodes and alligator skin to watercolors and shagreen—there was plenty of texture to behold.

Creative Commons License
amerelife.com by Meredith McBride Kipp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

© Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Shagreen & Ivory: stuff dreams are made of

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This Chiffonnier by Andre Groult is still one of my favorite pieces in The Museé Des Arts Décoratifs (also my favorite museum) in Paris. The ultra-feminine piece is an Art Deco twist on the bombe style (referring to it’s bulging design) that Groult designed for his “Chambre de Madame” (shown below) at the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris. The chiffonier is veneered in the most stunning, cream-colored shagreen, applied in a radiating pattern over a beechwood & mahogany structure, and completed with ivory fittings. It lives in a non-prominent corner of the museum, and if you’re not looking for it, you could actually miss it!

Many creatives have found inspiration in Groult’s work, but none more literally than that of designer Marc Newson. In 1987 he designed this “Pod of Drawers”—with fiberglass-reinforced polyester resin core and blind-riveted sheet aluminum—that is such an affirmation of appreciation for Groult’s 1925 piece.