Nate Berkus

First let me say my k style friends that I love Nate Berkus. So much so that I literally ran to Target today when I read that his new line had finally hit the shelves. The line is really gorgeous but what I fell in love with was his book! I bought the book first which is being sold at Target right along with his product line. It felt hefty and the cover beautifully photographed but I really had no idea what to expect. I hate to use cliched phrases but I was really "blown away" by this book. It is simply breathtaking in every sense of the word.

First there is Nate's personal story beautifully and poignantly told. He is a brilliant decorator but what I didn't know is that he is also a very good writer and I don't say that lightly. His words are beautifully chosen , his deeply kind persona and humorous take on life shining through on every page. It is not sentimental but rather authentic, raw and often funny.

Then there is Nate's decorating story which he evolves throughout the book focusing primarily on his love of "things" that have personal meaning and how he has integrated his life story into the homes he has created and lived in. And yes Nate has a lot of things, tons, which he somehow manages to "put together" in a way that frankly makes me want to clear every surface in my home and start over!

And then finally he shares the design stories of twelve friends and or clients. Each of these homes is absolutely beautifully photographed. Interesting stories of how objects and aesthetics came to be are told
in decorating and life story detail. I learned a lot.

And finally after reading the entire book which pretty much consumed my Sunday I decided to head back to Target. Not because I lusted after any particular item from Nate's new line. But rather because I wanted one "thing" that would remind me of this marvelous book and the really great day I had reading it. So my k style friends this is what I chose.

I love the stone texture of the frame. But mostly I love the personal connection I will feel every time I look at it. Thank you Nate for sharing. It was a great read and I don't say that lightly.
k









(k age 4)

Passionate About Lampwork

Just a little eye candy to get you through the weekend. I can tell you from my experience as a lampworker that these beads are just about as good as it gets. Corina Tettinger is one of  the best and each one of the beads in the bracelet above took literally years in dedication and practice to achieve. Not to mention an inordinate amount of time in the flame to create, literally one involved bead at a time. I am passionate about lampwork and you will see a lot on k style.
k

Loving

 I just got through reading and browsing through Gil Schafer's wonderful book THE GREAT AMERICAN HOUSE. The book is gorgeous and well, right up my alley with a beautiful display of homes and interiors combining the best of traditional classic design with a current modern take. His design process is brought into laser focus as he describes in detail the planning, building and designing of five grand projects including his own gorgeous estate "Middlefield". At the conclusion of the book Schafer includes a reference to some of his favorites sources for both design and custom detail work. One of the sources he describes is  lighting, furniture and textile company  Vaughan Designs. Take a few minutes this weekend and browse through this site. These are just a few of the breathtaking designs you will find.
Enjoy, k

                                                                     
          

Sofa Wars!

Before I start this story I will tell you it has a happy ending. But, my k style friends you would not have wanted to know me in "real time" during what I think of as The Sofa Wars. A little background is in order. By now you know I love decorating. LOVE it! But where there is love there is also hate and I'm here to tell you that trying to buy a new sofa in the far reaches of Southern Oregon could also be described as wilderness shopping. Sadly we live in a vast, decor void zone. Enough to make you actually immune to the sofa on "steroids" that has stared back at you for years. In my case a big, green, fat, fake velvet version.

Actually it wasn't that bad when we bought it during what I call the "overstuffed" years. The fabric both practical and a nice neutral green did the job for many years.

In fact, I wanted something similar but more refined. Streamlined with elegant lines. Maybe a little flare at the arms. Something that would look as gorgeous from the back as from the front as our sofa sits floating in the middle of a large vaulted space visually dividing living room from dining room. And yes, I wanted it to be in the green category. I didn't want to change the whole room. I already have chairs and accessories that I love and adding a new or out of sync color would send my budget into overdrive. I just wanted a new, "perfect" sofa that would complement the space and the rest of the furniture and accessories that I already owned. Sound reasonable?

Well, I thought so too. But reality quickly sank in. I  really knew very little about this process. So many things had to be taken into consideration. BUDGET, husband (he sits on the sofa for his morning newspaper, tv etc), style, color, accessibility ( I really wanted to literally sit, lounge, lay on it; try it out in real time). Well you get the picture. I hardly knew where to begin. So given the sofa void in our own backyard I knew only one thing for sure at this point. I would have to plan a trip. A sofa trip and I would have to drag my darling husband along. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this would NOT be his idea of a fun trip. But I simply could not take the chance of hearing him whine for the next 20 years that the sofa was too this or too that and he just couldn't get comfortable or whatever. Nope, he had to come, he had to sit, he had to sign off. LOL he also had to sign the check so this could be problematic.

So we planned a trip. We live in Ashland, Oregon and we had two choices. We could go North to Portland or south to San Francisco both about a 6 hour drive away. In the end after much deliberation we chose Portland mostly because we have no sales tax in Oregon and this would represent a big savings in such a substantial purchase. We could also hit a few furniture stores in Eugene on the way up. So k style friends, reluctant husband in tow, we headed north and we sat, and sat, drove and drove hitting up one furniture store after another. We took notes, we took measurements, we took lots of photos. I  really wanted to do my homework on this. I wanted to know there was nothing better out there that I'd somehow missed. I knew I wouldn't get a do over. Talk about pressure. I felt consumed, overwhelmed and yes obsessed. This was going to be hard. Really hard!

So we went to every store we could get to in three days.
In Eugene we hit

Pottery Barn
Ethan Allen
Edman Fine Furniture
Others

In Portland we hit

Restoration Hardware
Crate and Barrel
West Elm
Mitchel Gold
Parkers
Paul Schatz Fine furniture
Others

We looked at every line we could visually see and test

Stickley
Hicory Chair
Baker (gorgeous but very spendy)
Henredon
More
And all the contemporary lines found at the big online stores mentioned above.

We literally looked at and sat on over a hundred sofas. We learned a lot. Sofas are a very broad category. Here are just a few of the compelling issues that we began to understand in terms of what we wanted versus what we needed.

Sofa style: This was obviously a major consideration. I would say my aesthetic although eclectic would gear towards something traditional with a contemporary twist. As stated earlier I wanted something simple, maybe slightly sculptural, that would be visually appealing from both front and back. One of the issues here for us was the sofa had to look like a living room sofa but function like a family room sofa. Tricky

Sofa back: This issue was really difficult. I love the clean elegant look of a tight back sofa. Husband on the other hand definitely preferred a loose cushion style for the comfort he deemed necessary for a highly used  everyday sofa which this would be. Sadly I had to agree with him on this point so loose cushioned it would have to be. This ruled out a lot of gorgeous options.

Sofa arms: This issue proved to be one of the most challenging. I had a definite preference here which severely limited my options. I did NOT want track arms. I know they are very popular right now, very chic and definitely prevalent in the many showrooms we visited. But I had a vision of something different. Arms that were subtly elegant. Maybe slightly flared or something. Definitely not boxy and square. Again tricky. Husband weighed in here also. He didn't want the arm height to be too low. Difficult to hold a newspaper or book without a little support. Ugh, I had to agree, this was important.

Sofa legs: This one was fairly straight forward for me. I was tired of the skirted sofa I owned previously and wanted exposed legs. But definitely refined. Not big balls or boxy squares.

Sofa height: Many of the sofas we sat in were very low. Beautiful to look at but almost impossible to get out of. Again a really good reason to trek around and try out the lot. A sofa really needs to be experienced. So we wanted something reasonably cushy but not too low. It had to pass the "get out of bed" test.

Fabric: This was a tough one. Unless you're having a sofa totally custom designed or recovering an old sofa you are pretty limited to the fabric options provided by the particular manufacturer. There were sofas I liked but not a single fabric choice that would work for me. Again I knew I was being pretty specific but I wanted what I wanted. Something in the green category, something practical and something fairly dark as again we would be using everyday. A little problematic since I didn't want brown. I am just not into brown sofas unless they are leather. And you guessed it. Brown or a version of brown was everywhere. Green was very hard to find.

Availability: I knew I would be waiting for this sofa. There was no way on gods earth I was going to find something I wanted "as is" on the showroom floor. But how long was I willing to wait? Patience is not my middle name so over 3 months would be hard. I would have to really love/want it to wait any longer.

Budget/Quality: Predictably I left this issue for last because well who wants to talk about budget. Yes, I wanted a quality sofa that would stand the test of time. That would be "worth" recovering in the future. But, and this is a serious but, I didn't want to spend $10,000 on said sofa. It would have to be in the middle sofa range. Not cheap but not high end. Again tricky!

So k style friends I'm sure you're dying to know. Did we find the sofa of our dreams on this trip? Well the simple answer is yes and no. We learned a lot on this trip. A ton. But we still had some work to do. Predictably there was no sofa that totally called my name. But we were definitely closer to understanding the issues, identifying some feasible brands and armed with new and practical insights ready to hit the vast online world of furniture shopping with gusto.

Here's what I knew. Baker furniture lines were beautiful, gorgeous in fact but out of our price range and frankly too refined and formal for our space. Contemporary big chain brands like Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Restoration hardware were either too large scaled or well, not adequately made. The kind of sofas that would wear down and lose value in the future. We already had one of those.

But then there was Stickley. An American made brand that was beautifully crafted, rooted in tradition yet definitely offering many designs with a contemporary twist. I didn't find anything on our trip that was "perfect" but both husband and myself were attracted to many aspects of this line. We saw and tested a variety of sofa styles from this renowned company. So when we got home I hit the Internet. Specifically stickley.com. Well needless to say I wasn't disappointed. Flipping through the "Look Book"  I found this. The Broadway Sofa.

The Broadway

While up in Portland at one of the fine furniture stores I had photographed another Stickley sofa, the Wheaton, upholstered in a gorgeous deep spruce/pine green corduroy like fabric. Very thin whaled and natural looking . The sofa style was close to what I had envisioned but too big and bulky. However, I loved the fabric. So click, I had it in my "like fabric" file.
                                   
                                      The Wheaton

And well k style friends, whew, three and a half months later I had my "perfect" sofa. The Broadway sofa from Stickley, upholstered in the fabric as seen on the Wheaton. It was a quest. It was a journey. But in the end I got the sofa I had envisioned. A sofa with beautifully articulated arms, elegant and sculptural in shape, as beautiful from the back as front, loose cushioned, medium height arms, cushy but easy to get out of, in the green category, dark and practical and within budget. And not to be underestimated it passed the husband test with flying colors!

"Our sofa feels like a man's well worn corduroy jacket thrown over the shoulders of a gorgeous curvy woman. A perfect blend of the masculine and feminine and for me the best of both worlds."
                                     lov,   k

There's just one thing I should mention. Yes, all of my other furniture looks great with my new sofa BUT lol I'm thinking I really need a new coffee table to really do it justice. Stay tuned k stylers. The coffee table wars are definitely in our future! k

Birds Again!

I know. I am a little bird obsessed this week. But these are just so fun that I wanted you to see. Originally introduced in the 1950's these playful birds designed by Kristian Vedel quickly became one of the hottest  Danish wooden products of the times. They have been reintroduced and you can buy them here at Rare Device.

Found it on Etsy

It's no secret that I love birds. You will see lots of them on Kstyle. I also love Etsy and the myriad of  handcrafted originals that reside their. These darling birds found here are just too cute for words. LOVE them! Enjoy
k

Special Treat

Well kstyle friends, you can see I've been a little busy but not as busy as my son "the photojournalist" and my beautiful daughter n law Sally who just gave birth yesterday to my grandson Liam Adams Lusch weighing in at 8lbs 1 oz. We are all overjoyed and I am so lucky because we live in the same town and I will get to be a hands on grandma.

Anyway my friends hope to be back in kstyle swing next week. Have a great weekend.
k

Stuff

 

 Hi all,

I don't know about you but I have a "stuff" problem. It seems that when I sit in my favorite chair (not chair pictured) I don't travel light! Not at all. I need tons of stuff nearby, as in I just need to reach down and get it. BUT and big but here. I don't want to see it when I'm not using.

Well I found the perfect solution this weekend at Target. I was just browsing like I love to do when I saw these woven, felt, collapsible baskets and I knew I had found the holy grail of the need/it hide/it dilemma. So I can finally keep all my charging cords (ipods, nook, phone, underwater ipod, camera, more) hand lotion, pens, notebook, various club directories, backup hardrive, Emory boards, nail polish, journals, camera close by but out of sight. So problem solved! Yay and thank you Target once again for saving the day. k

Textured

In a previous post I talked about my design aesthetic and what words I would use to describe it. Textured would be right up there on the top of my list. I think its one of the basic design elements that give rooms a grounded, inviting feel. A connection to the real world we live in. I especially like textures that represent nature or in the case of these gorgeous pillows found here at West Elm evoke the sense of season. I would love to throw one of these on my sofa or leather chairs to announce that fall and cozy times are on the way. Out with the shiny silk summery pillows. Time to make a switch and I cant think of a better way to do it than with texture!
k

Zinnias

Well I guess you can tell from this post that I LOVE
zinnias. They have to be one of the most prolific and long lasting cut flowers of any species I know.
We buy them as seeds and plant several planters on the side of our house and here it is almost October and they are still going strong. I like the variety pack in all sorts of  colors, shapes and sizes. In thinking about the design question happening over at Little Green Notebook blog should we design our homes with a limited color palette or medium I think the zinnia selection at my home points out the limitations of such a tight strategy. The seeds come in a wide spectrum of colors which cannot be edited out in the planting process. If my color choices for my home absolutely ruled out orange or red I would have to ditch the zinnia idea. Or at least leave half of them languishing on the vine with no hope of making into my color schemed house. Instead I have the gift of flowers in my home pretty much on a daily basis throughout the zinnias VERY long season. They are above all FUN which I think adds a pop of interest and personality to any interior. k

Lovliness

I took this photo on our last trip to Mexico and whenever I need a lift I look into the eyes of this precious little boy who shared an eye to eye, heart to heart moment with me. Have a great day!
k

Loving/Wanting/Buying?

I came across these handcrafted book/sculptures from Jayson Home and Garden and well, they caught my eye. I thought they were really interesting and different. In other words I haven't seen them cropping up on any flash websites or on every other shelter magazine page I read almost daily. I get tired of trends. While I love deer antlers I have to admit I'm tired of their looming presence pretty much everywhere I click or browse. These sculpted books however were different. I could feel their uniqueness and originality. But would they pass my 'home invasion" test?  From loving, to wanting, to actually buying and integrating somehow into my already bursting home. Well maybe. My first question to myself is usually very simple. Other than the fact that I am attracted to the piece is it useful or is it art?  Well in this case definitely not useful  but yes they would qualify in my "art" category as each piece is wonderfully unique and handcrafted. I like that a lot. My next question would be, what if any  personal relationship do I have to the piece? On this question I am pretty brutal. I'm not a fan of things for the sake of things taking up valued space. There has to be something more to make the cut.  So in this case I would give it a yes. I am a huge reader. I LOVE books. Books define a significant part of my story. They are present throughout my home. There would definitely be a personal connection here. But the final question is tougher, more subjective and  challenging. Where do I see this piece in my space?  Would something else have to go to allow this new intruder an opportunity to shine? On this point I could waiver for weeks, sometimes months. And well, if I never manage to hit the buy button that action speaks for itself. So in the end only time and my current pocketbook will decide the fate of this "object art" and whether or not it finds a coveted space somewhere in my home. So what about you K style friends? What questions do you ask yourself before you hit the buy button? I would love to hear. Talk soon
k

Hint

Yes, I bought this little guy today. Not for me but for another little guy whose about to join me very VERY soon. Stay tuned kstyle friends. Cuteness is on the way. Talk soon
k

Please Yes!

Did I buy this absolutely stunning sculpture for a beautiful blank wall in our backyard garden?? Well my kstyle friends there's a story here. When I first saw this piece while casually surfing online it was one of those stop you in your online tracks sort of moments. I mean seriously, it had my name on it and more importantly husband R's name on it because you guessed it, it wasn't cheap. Not cheap at all! The name of the piece was "Riverbed Dish" which again suggested a serious connection. After all there is a riverboat parked in our garage, river stones collected through the years line various garden beds in both front and backyard gardens. Many hours and days of our life have been spent floating the myriad of rivers in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. We are river people through and through.Well you get the picture. This gorgeous sculpture found here at Wyatt Studio seriously called my name. So I began the process of acquiring this piece. Both R and I thought it worth pursuing. We contacted the artist and began a discussion involving everything from availability, to the process involved in making, to the time frame necessary to complete a custom piece just for us. Things were going well. I could feel its gorgeous presence and inspired conversations already happening at our next out door gathering. And then it happened. The deal breaker. Yep, I'm so sad to say this piece does not adorn our empty garden wall. There was a problem. Unfortunately a big problem and even I who tend to ignore the practical had to agree. You see the "Riverbed Dish" is made out of metal. It would hang outside. Outside in rainy Oregon. VERY rainy Oregon. The artist who is from California advised us that it would have to be treated for rust prevention. Not just once but probably every year, forever. I could not picture this gorgeous piece going to rust and I could not picture R and I year after year obsessing over every little spot that we did not take care of. I like aging on some things but not this. Rocks in the river  for the most part stay clean and shiny. For me this is part of their beauty. So sadly we did not buy this signature piece. At least not for now. Who knows, maybe someday we'll find a spot for it on another wall, in another place, in another home. But for now I will be content to share its beauty with you, my dear kstyle friends! Talk soon
k

Personal/Design

A little background and an update. Those of you who have followed kstyle in years past remember that I have three sons. Three amazing sons who are all doing very interesting things. The young son pictured above, formerly known as "waterboy" will now be referred to as "the climber" on this blog. The middle son formerly known as "the photojournalist" will still be referred to as the "photojournalist". And as you might have guessed "the photojournalist" who is now 6 years into his career with the Mail Tribune in Medford, Oregon took the photos of the "the climber" in the images above. My oldest son who currently owns a tourism company in Manzanillo, Mexico will still be referred to as "the Mexican". His life has been one big photo op which I have been privileged to witness and enjoy and so I hope will you.

So you might ask. What does this have to do with my blog post title which is Personal/Design. Well in a word everything! The current 'it" word on the decorating scene is personal. Spaces should be personal and then some. They should tell the story of who you are, where you've been, what you care about. Out are the perfectly designed showplaces that look beautiful, gorgeous in fact but have no real reference to the people who live within their sterile spaces. So how do you go about this? How do you make your home beautiful, true to your aesthetic but also personal? Well, there are many ways of course. Some expensive and involving a lifetime of travel or serious collecting. Or perhaps you come from a family with generations of antiques and interesting curiosities which you have been honored to receive and revere.

But if you're like me and none of the above really apply what can you do to create this ambiance, this sense of personal "history" in your home? Well one way, one very effective way is with photos.Not just any photo,
not the cliched I've seen this a million times boring photo, but the deep down, deeply layered, drop dead personal photo. This deserves a space on your wall or on your bedside table or yes even tacked up on your kitchen frig.

So yes, I know I have a bit of an edge in this department given that my son is a photojournalist and award winning photographer. But and this is a big but. Anyone can do it. With a decent camera and a good idea wonderful, personal "art" for your home is just a click away. Take the photos above. It started with a simple idea. I asked my son, "the photojournalist" to "shoot" a climbing sequence of his brother,"the climber"  for me for mother's day, (sometimes you have to milk it) and even better to find somewhere if possible to do it with our beautiful city (Ashland) in the background. And I wanted it in black and white. Just the pure essence of the experience and the place in focus. And this is what I got and this is what I did with it and now I have something deeply personal, layered and yes beautiful on a wall in my home. I love it and I hope you do to.
k

My Design Aesthetic

K's Garden Summer 2012

I love thinking about this. In truth I think about it way too much. But here's the thing. When I ask myself how I came to arrive at my current design aesthetic I know one thing for sure. It involved a lot of thinking! Somewhere along the line the notion entered my head that I should care about my surroundings. That I should take notice of the visual world presenting itself to me on a daily basis. And that is what I have done. Every single day for as long as I can remember. From the interior of someones home, to the inside of a bathroom stall I took it all in. Noticing everything. This became routine, second nature. This was key to developing my personal aesthetic but there was more to it. Much more. I was not formerly trained. For me this was a personal journey not a professional one. I would have to knock around this arena for awhile on my own without the benefit of a set of rules to guide me. Did this make it harder or easier for me? I will probably never know the answer to this question. In any event the next stage of my journey involved decisions. Tough decisions. Okay I noticed "it" but did I like "it", was I attracted to "it" or did looking at "it" make me want to gauge my eyes out? And if yes to any of the above the bigger question loomed. Why? What was the deeper connection causing my reaction, good , bad or indifferent. This was much harder to know and while I have made progress I expect this part of the journey never really ends. So what is my design aesthetic you may ask? What words would I choose today to describe it? There are many of course but I will try to edit the list and fittingly my first word would be---

Edited

Personal

Simple/Layered

Masculine/Feminine
Hi/Lo

Comfortable

Natural

Whimsical

Unexpected

Tailored

Textured

Dramatic

Imperfect

Useful
Clean
Airy

As the "new" k style evolves I would like to talk about each of these words and the concept behind them and what they mean to me and perhaps you! 

What words would you use to describe your aesthetic. I would love to hear.

k

In

Hello Kstylers,

Yes I know I have been silent for awhile and you might think I left the blogging scene entirely but that would not quite be true. I have definitely been around. Lurking around that is and watching quite intently from afar. I have seen new blogs arise and older ones reinvent. But mostly I have missed participating. The interaction, the "noise", the hustle bustle of design driven conversation. I would like to participate from time to time. To engage once again in this gorgeous arena. Maybe a little less often, and with a more personal slant but YES count me in.
k

On Our Way

Hi all!

We will be leaving soon for a sun filled month in Manzanillo, Mexico. Stay tuned for k style to go SOUTH OF THE BORDER!
Nos Vemos Pronto
k