Kit Kemp's "Design Thread"
At the start of her book “Design Thread,” Kit Kemp writes about Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own” saying that it “left us with the valuable notion that, if you do not have a comfortable room and feel at ease with your surroundings, it is much more difficult to be creative.”
That sentiment is the basis of her book on “creating comfortable, functional, and well-designed interiors” - an art she calls “very often misunderstood and underrated.” For anyone who has spent time at one of the elegant and relaxing Firmdale Hotels designed by Kemp, the art of function and relaxation crossed with whimsy and ah-I-never-thought-of-those-things-together is paramount.
Her book is a tour de force of imaginative interiors from antique lamps with shades made from old maps and from “Much Ado” books to sunbursts of egg yolk yellow covering walls with “Sirenes” from the Pierre Frey Jean Lurcal collection.
For fans of The Whitby Hotel - and we count ourselves among them - Kemp lays out her design process for designing it. “New York can feel a bit like a battleground at times, so the feeling within our new hotel needed to be one that would pique the curiosity, delight all the senses in an adventurous and colorful way, and make visiting or staying with us worthwhile in every sense.” The book walks the reader meticulously through the myriad design “problems,” solutions and leaps of imagination for anyone captivated by the Whitby - including every single basket, hanging in an evocative jumble over the bar.
Welcome to Japandi...
The Japandi trend in interiors has been on the rise - a combination of Japanese and Scandinavian design. Graham and Green, on their wonderful Guru blog, describes it as “influenced by the ancient Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, a way of life which values slow-living, contentment and simplicity as well as the Scandinavian practice of hygge…blends the smooth modern lines of Scandinavian design with the sleek, functional elegance of the Japanese aesthetic.”
For our part, Japandi is all about being relaxing, soothing to the eye, comfortable for the body and soul and working well with the rest of your home. Natural colours, materials, woods and textiles are all part of the Japandi look. Here are some of our favorites!
The Welland tree stump stool is something we can’t get over. Love this for it’s functionality, the ease with which we can move it around to create a new tableau and, frankly, it’s cute. Use it by the front door as a soothing place to slip on or off shoes - creating a transition point between your day outside and coming home; it can also be a good addition to the bathroom - small enough to slip into a corner or nook with a candle or towels on top. Or as an extra seat in the living room. We move it around every room.
Jute area rugs are endlessly useful and can be layered under other rugs as you want to change up the look of your space. This version at 6 x 9 runs around $148.89 (at time of this post); a smaller version in 5 x 8 will run you around $99 here.
Vases add visual interest and personality to any space - you can layer the cream and taupe colours of Japandi-inspired style with sleek lines and textures…and move them around as your mood dictates. We love these “donut vases” that run around $31.99 (at time of this post) or check out our “10 Vase Decorating Ideas” here.
A-tisket-a-tasket-we-love-a-basket - water hyacinth is a durable and sustainable material - it grows so thickly and fast in some regions that it’s considered an invasive species so using this basket is part of finding another use for this material that helps you and helps the planet. This version runs around $55 - we have it here in the living room and it has been rotated to hold everything from pillows to newspapers to our entire few months of Book Club books.
For more baskets, our “PQ Basket Edit” is here.
Easy bowls for everything - sometimes it’s nicer to just be able to use the same bowl for cereal…or pasta…or soup…whatever you please, these Mora ceramic bowls rotate between all meals. Running $32.99 (at time of this post).
We, quite literally, burn through a lot of candles here for our monthly Candle Edit. Kyoto from Brooklyn Candle Studio is one of our favorites…and it’s right in the Japandi theme. Perhaps a little too on the nose but a lovely scent and long burn - cedar, pine, cypress. It’s a refreshing scent and never cloying. Hygge at it’s finest. Running $38 (at time of this post).
A lovely piece for use just about anywhere from an "drop-off” spot next to the front door for keys, change, and more after a long day to a centerpiece bowl on your coffee table or a serving bowl with an edge for your dining table. Multi functional - a little different - useful everywhere.
A pretty little waste basket that makes it a bit more sleek and chic to toss what you’re done with. Also try it’s paler cousin…
Also lovely - easy to use and clean.
Big fan of this all-in-one design for your front entrance.
The perfect pouf - 100% jute on the outside; poly beads on the inside in a lovely wheat colour. For resting your feet or resting your drink or books…or an extra seat when that post-pandemic dinner party gets an extra guest!
The PQ Basket Edit
We love baskets! Stylish storage that add a little personality to your space. We use them for magazines, clothes, books, pillows, blankets, and we even tried putting wrapping paper in one as a more attractive way to store it all.
From seagrass to water hyacinth, so many materials are woven into baskets big and small that can help upgrade each room. These are three we recommend!
This is the XX Large version of a durable water hyacinth wicker basket. Useful for storing blankets, books, pillows, we use this one for all of the above. Measures approximately 16.1” by 14.3” and is 17.3” at its height. Wipe it clean with a towel. Keeps your space stylish…and tidy. Selling for $54.72, as of this post.
As seen in our Japandi Edit, this tall basket with handles can go in just about any space with its swooping lines, wide wicker weave and natural look. Selling for $65.59, as of this post.
This handmade seagrass basket can be used for plants (put it in a pot first!), toys, magazines, newspapers. Pretty in a corner, even nicer “centerstage.” The large size selling for $21.99, as of this post.
Mad for William Morris
Like Lilly Pulitzer said, “despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.” So we’re turning to William Morris for some of the latest spring sensations by bringing the outside in.
Morris’s influential 19th century patterns and designs have been surging with popularity as of late and we’re seeing them everywhere - on wallpaper, coasters, placemats, purses, and a divine coffee table book!
Coaster set with four different patterns including “Strawberry Thief”. On your coffee table or your desk, you’ll always have something pretty to look at!
Red Strawberry Thief-patterned placemats that are easy to clean and the cork backs help them stay in place & protect your table. Also come in blue.
36 blank note cards with six floral patterns perfect for any occasion.
Gold-trimmed rollerball pen packaged in a commemorative tube features Morris’s iconic Blackthorn pattern.
We think this would make for great floor to ceiling wall art in the dining room or behind a bookshelf. Reviewers like this peel & stick wallpaper because it’s “easy to install” and “adheres well”.
How fun would it be to hang this canvas print with the Morris wallpaper as the backdrop!
“The most wide-ranging illustrated book about Morris ever published”, a must for all William Morris fans.
Transform your space with this tapestry inspired by “The Forest”. Also, perfect for the Leo in your life!
Spruce up your kitchen or bedroom drawers with these liners.
Stylish tapestry purse that’s fully lined and zips across the top (we love bags that stay closed).
Note-taking or journaling in (Morris) style! Pair with the Blackthorn pen as a gift.
We think this “old school” way of notating recipes would make a fun gift. Cute recipe box comes with 2-sided recipe cards.
10 Vase Decorating Ideas
Vases can transform a table, a shelf, a book stack. They’re a simple and inexpensive way to upgrade your space. We’ve rounded up these ten that we think are worthy of your home. Happy decorating!
We love birch everything - it’s part of our loving to bring the outdoors in. This Serene Spaces vase is lovely outdoors or inside on a breezy summer afternoon or a wintry dinner with a roaring fire. All-purpose. All seasons. Good price.
These sturdy ceramic vases can be grouped together or placed apart for a unifying look as you go from room to room. We like using them as a centerpiece for the occasional dinner party and then dispersing back to their respective corners post-celebration. Also useful and pretty in every season!
Peak of chic ceramics - a lovely look in the living room or on the bookshelf.
A bit of a break from the black and white we’ve been favoring for a robin’s egg blue, a butter yellow, and a bit of pumpkin spice pizazz to brighten up your coffee table or window sill.
We’re really switching gears here from birch and ceramic to show-stopping Czech glass. But hey, it’s the Roaring 20s…isn’t it? What better centerpiece than this crimson vase!
A sinuous ceramic fit for every room - perfect for the mantel or grouped among candles on the coffee table. Feels like it’s the right mood with Le Labo’s Santal candle, Brooklyn Candle Studio’s Kyoto candle and/or Paddywax’s Ralph Waldo Emerson candle.
Faces, faces everywhere - a modern take with “all eyes” on the vase.
Neutral with just enough moodiness from taupe to pale white - blends in everywhere from a farmhouse look to a Japandi style. Great in every room.
Four beautiful bud vases that go from blue to gold - arrange together or apart. Use the same flowers across the disparate vases for a unifying look. A pretty addition to just about any room or your summer table.
Bring the spring inside with this fetching William Morris “expandable” vase - white roses or tulips would look lovely in this. Or reverse your bouquet - let William Morris take care of the flowers - and assemble greens to loom out of the vase. Love William Morris like we do? MORE WILLIAM MORRIS HERE…
I Want to Decorate My Place...Without Hiring a Decorator...Where Do I Start?
I love interiors…and all that comes with them. I love turning a blank space into one that I can’t wait to come home to…and welcome people over for dinner, parties and hanging out to watch Ted Lasso. And I didn’t hire a decorator but I did read and page through a lot of books to find inspiration, color ideas, teach me how to get the right rug for the living room and how to brighten up the backs of the bookshelves.
A brief list of the best books to get you started…
DOMINO: The Book of Decorating
ELLE DECOR - Style and Substance
Domino has a second book on how to style your home.
Light it up…Our Winter Candle Index
March is coming in a like a lion and we’re still cooped up indoors during the pandemic. Three candles that passed our sniff test for these cold dark nights .
Mister Morgan - Paris. This beauty is very ooh la la in the best possible way. Blue cypress and absinthe combine to scent the room like a little bit Montmartre, a little bit Moulin Rouge.
This Linnea sea salt candle will have you thinking about heading off to the beach the moment Memorial Day Weekend hits. Scents of sand, sun, sea and…driftwood.
M. Baker - Eucalyptus Lichen - we hadn’t ever tried this brand of Colonial Candle of Cape Cod but it envelops you in a forest-like scent overlaid with lilacs and moss. Relaxing. Perfect for the bathroom - but we also enjoyed this outside on some of the warmer nights this winter (not many).
New Year, Blue Year!
Pantone named “Classic Blue” aka Pantone 19-4052 as their Color of the Year calling it a “timeless and enduring hued elegant its simplicity” that showcases our “desire for a dependable and stable foundation from which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.”
From sky to sconce – we’re big fans of the color blue – for lamps; for rugs to pull the room together; for an accent wall to a full classic blue library or kitchen. Inspirations for us range from Albertine’s jawdropping celestial ceiling on the Upper East Side, where all manner of French books are carefully crammed in under a hand-painted zodiac – to the famous “Great Wave” of Kanagawa immortalized in a woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai.
Want to bring some blue into your life in 2020?
Our favorites right now -
HOME
If you’ve ever seen “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries,” we think this would be Phryne’s choice for the perfect silk-shade lamp - Electric Blue velvet art deco style lampshade.
ACCESSORIES
And for the person who really likes blue and horology - the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 16 Automatic Chronograph Blue Dial means that you’re both classic and blue at all times.
