The Look Of Love

In our vocation we use furniture, fabrics, accessories and lighting to express a mood or feeling. In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, we wondered what it might look like to express the feeling of love using these tools. Here are a few examples of what the “Interior of Love” might contain…

  

A Fornasetti tray...

A contemporary "Tete-a-tete"...

A Chinoissiere bed frame from Anthropologie...

A fabric from Donghia...

A red Parsons table...

A silver Champagne bucket...

A red coral chandelier...

Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

David Hansen 

Inscribed With Light

Ever since my post on Holiday Illumination (which can be found here), I’ve been obsessed with light and how it photographs. Imagine my joy when I learned about collaboration between two European artists that involves just that.

Tabarly-Nantes 2011

Julien Breton (aka Kaalam) is a French artist who is inspired by Calligraphy. He melds Arabic and Old English styles in light using long exposures to create focal points that are seemingly familiar. He collaborates with photographer David Gallard (aka Mr. Guep). Together they create landscapes that they have dubbed as “abstract Calligraphy” using unique light accents, which are unlike anything I’ve seen before.

Under The City-Nantes 2011

Intimite-Dampsmesil 2011

The Movement Abbaretz 2011

All hail the marriage of photography and light!

David Hansen

Top photo:
Aerial-Dampsmesil 2011
All photographs taken from Julien Breton’s artist site here.

Visit Kaalam’s Flickr page here.

Feast For The Festive

With New Year’s Eve upon us, many of us will be celebrating with friends over supper – whether it be elaborate or simple, no matter.  It’s the thought behind the menu that keeps it interesting, and, of course, the company. 

I’m ringing in the New Year with dear friends at a sit down dinner party that promises to be nothing short of divine.  Boef Bournignon has star billing, the hostess is trés chic and I’m certain the table will be just as glorious as the meal.

Take a look at these fabulous table settings – giving truth to the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”  --I wouldn’t mind being a guest at any one of them, would you?  The range is marvelous and each one sublime.

Cheers,

Barbara Ashfield

Photos from top:

1.The Beatles from ticklebitz.com

2.Black and White from Housetohome.co.uk

3.From everythingleb.blogspot.com

4.Queen Elizabeth from the dailymail.co.uk

Celebrating Global Illumination

Nothing personifies the holidays quite like a beautiful display of light. This is something that every country in the world has in common. Let’s take a journey to see a few stunning light displays from across the globe…

Paris’ Champs-Élysées…

Tel Aviv…

Toronto…

Denver Colorado….

Madrid’s Plaza Mayor…

Paper lanterns in Buenos Aires…

From the Light Festival in Berlin…

Tokyo Japan…

And of course San Francisco’s Waterfront…

Here is wishing you a peaceful holiday season filled with light, and a prosperous new year ahead!

Barbara Ashfield & David J. Hansen

Photos from top:

A collage of light displays from digitalproductionme.com

Champs-Élysées from travelinparis.com

Tel Aviv from telavivartanddesign.com

Toronto from iloveto.com

Denver Colorado from crazy-frankenstein.com

Madrid from your-city-guide.com

Galleries Lafayette in Paris from myexpatgermany.com

Buenos Aires from escapefromamerica.com

Berlin from Magix magazine

Tokyo from celinecats.wordpress.com

San Francisco from junbelen.com

Saluting The Patriarch of Modern British Life

The Design Museum in London helps celebrate Terence Conran’s 80^th birthday by launching an exhibit on his legacy and impact on modern British daily life. The exhibit is called "The Way We Live Now".

Mr. Conran is undeniably one of the sages of modern daily life in Britain since the end of World War II, and has made his mark through products, books and the architectural vernacular.

Mr. Conran is one of the founders of the Design Museum, and helped establish it initially in the basement of the Victoria & Albert Museum. The exhibit traces the various incarnations of Mr. Conran’s career from his architectural practice to mass retailer of modern furnishings and house wares, to restaurateur.

The exhibit is on display until March 4, 2012 at the Design Museum on London’s waterfront. To learn more about the exhibit go here.

David J. Hansen

Photos from top:

1)   Photo of exhibition poster in the London Metro from the Conran blog whatsgoingonatconran.wordpress.com

2)   Photo of Terence Conran from e-architect.co.uk

3)   Photo of Habitat store in Dublin from ipernity.com

Details, Details!

Our local Dining by Design is one of my favorite events of the year. As a member of the Steering Committee I am always involved in the behind-the-scenes details of the event, but usually don’t have much interaction with the actual tables. My first glimpse is usually when I encounter them at the venue.

I’m always amazed at the creativity of the designers who create the event’s signature “Over-the-top tabletop”, and how much work goes into these works of art.

Most design is a sum of it’s parts and as they say: “the devil is in the details”, but in this case it’s the divine!

Here are some of my favorite details from our most recent event which was held on November 16^th and 17^th:

Monogrammed napkin detail at the Gary Hutton Design table:

Corrugated cardboard light fixtures at a table designed by Alexandra Torre:

Male and Female “bums” at a table designed by Room Service:

A “charred” chair at the “Phoenix” table designed by Mondo Guera (of Project Runway fame), and students from San Francisco State University. The table was sponsored by The Merck’s Living Positive By Design campaign:

A checkerboard floor covering utilizing various garden materials at the table designed by Shades of Green Landscape:

Concentric Strings makes a statement at the Academy of Art table:

Succulents at a table designed by John Witmarsh:

Beakers and elements at the “Periodic Table”:

San Francisco’s Dining by Design benefits the Positive Health Program at SF General. They deliver on demand care to those living with HIV and AIDS.

To learn more about San Francisco’s Dining by Design go here. To see photos from the 2011 event go here.

David J. Hansen

Top photo: The purity of white at the table by Gary Hutton Design

All photos by David Hansen for Ashfield Hansen Design Inc. © 2011

Gratitude As Attitude

Can it be as simple as that?…Gratitude as Attitude?   

Attempting to write something inspirational for my favorite holiday and thinking a little out of the box, I found that inspiration via the New York Times. Leafing through Saturday’s New York Times I came across Holly Epstein Ojalvo’s “What Are You Grateful For?” and John Tierney’s piece in the same issue “A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day”.  Both Epstein-Ojalvo and Tierney engage the reader describing the positive effects of kindness, generosity and reflection.

  

They promise us that we will be kinder, more generous less aggressive, and sleep more soundly.  Sounds almost like a magic pill!   Definitely a good “short read” and I felt time well spent. 

I am promising myself to practice more gratitude, as attitude, in the days, weeks, and months to come.  

Happy Thanksgiving.

Gratefully yours,

Barbara Ashfield

Photos from top:

1)   Photo from: danyaalise.tumbler.com

2)   Photo from: speaksoftlyandcarryaredpen.wordpress.com

Capturing A Designer's Attention!

Bonhams, the worldwide auction house has announced a new sale category to their monthly calendar. “Period Art & Design” will hold inaugural auctions in San Francisco and Los Angeles on November 20^th. These sales will include every category from furniture, decorative arts, silver, rugs, books and jewelry. In addition, the auction catalog for these sales will feature interviews with interior designers or important community figures discussing design trends and relevant topics

The sale for December will include property from the estate of Katherine Elkins Boyd who passed away in 2009. She is most famously known as the daughter of legendary interior designer Francis Elkins, who is a Bay area favorite.

This is exciting news for the San Francisco design community, as many of the lots have very reasonable estimated prices (everything is slated to be in the $500-$5000 range). I’m sure there will be competition amongst some of our peers over these great pieces.

Looking at the catalog online I found some interesting finds:

An Italian Olive Burl veneer square coffee table c.1970s.

Italian mid Century Yellow glass ewer / Mid 20th Century.

Biedermeier partially ebonized Birch wood vitrine on Stand. Second quarter 18^th Century.

 “Tree Lined House in Autumn” by Mary DeNeale Morgan 1868-1948.

Danish ebonized teak and parquetry circular table c. 1960.

Bonhams / San Francisco is located at 220 San Bruno Avenue. Their phone number is 415-861-7500. You can visit their web site here.

David Hansen

All images used are from Bonhams web site and online catalog.

Top image “the Traveler” by Joseph Solman 1909-2008.