One Room Challenge -- Where are They Now? My Crazy Dinette

True to form, I am continuing my headless chicken routine by linking up late to the ORC party. It's a wonder anything gets done around here, what with 70 rounds of the flu and a work load that just won't quit (thankful for that part, not thankful for the flu). But I really wanted to tell you about what happened with my dinette. When last you saw it at the ORC reveal, the walls were screaming acid green and the vibe was OTT:

Not to toot my own horn, but in the photos it looks money. Solid gold. I know my strengths, and I'm good at dressing a set -- which is exactly what this room is for me. It's my little corner of the world where I can experiment and run wild. It's small and easy to repaint, which is handy because that color got on my nerves. For real.

In the daytime it was ok, but at night it felt like I was locked in an insane asylum on the moon. It was SO BRIGHT and the room is so small... it was intense.

Add that to the fact that Bungalow Magazine asked to shoot my house right after the ORC ended and I panicked. As a self contained room this space worked, but when viewed in the context of the rest of my house it felt unbalanced.

So I did what I do. I repainted that shizz. Sanders helped me pick the color, of course -- Benjamin Moore Antique Glass.

And here's the photo Bungalow took. They made the room all dark and moody like, but you can see that the color is in the same vein but far less intense. I also swapped out the art with a vintage Round Top find and I think the whole thing is a vast improvement, although maybe not as bling bling exciting as the ORC reveal shots.

It's real world successful. My family can eat in here without sunglasses.

Next up for this room: figure out the horrible soffit situation. It can't be removed. Molding maybe?

Then I will probably repaint or wallpaper or get a new table and chairs or something. I can't leave well enough alone, you know. Designer problems!

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I’m linking up to Linda’s ORC Now party.  To check out updates on all the ORC projects, please check out Calling It Home.

Modern Memphis

I can't believe it's been almost four years since I first wrote a post about Memphis design... At the time I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, leaping into the void. There was still something so raw and surreal about all those sharp edges and blazing bright colors. Fast forward to the riot of color that is the 2014 Pantone Palette, and Memphis seems old hand. Maybe.

Modern Memphis is still playful, but a lot more polished. These sculptural lamps by Damm Design provide the perfect foil to old, dark, and dirty (You know I'm down with ODD).

That's not to say that Modern Memphis is totally tamed... it still has all the angular bite of the original iteration.

Maybe with just a little less color.

Get all the flavor and only some of the crazy with pillows by Safe House USA, a Kelly Behun style supergraphic, or Christian May's appropriately titled Memphis wallpaper produced by Black Crow Studios.

Or don't hide your love for the Memphis... trick it out a la Kelly Wearstler. Hello venus flytrap lamp! That thing is a man eater for sure.

Perhaps you're feeling a little gun shy about reliving the Esprit era? Don't get your graffiti tights in a wad. Relax. There's something for everyone.

Gray Malin's photography is pretty.

Robert Couturier also loves my favorite Clarence House fabric ever.

And Kelly Wearstler is pretty much just Ettore Sottsass with high heels.

My own brush with Memphis? Just this pair of Beetlejuice chairs I bought in the middle of a dirt field, strapped Beverly Hillbillies style to the top of my car, and drove 100 miles home to meet my husband who was SO HAPPY to see them.

Ok, that last part is a lie but the rest is truth. Commitment is what it's all about. Do something outside of your comfort zone. Push it. Push it real good.

Just don't get divorced in the process.

Every Pretty Room Needs a Touch of Ugly

I probably should have subtitled this post Crazy Erin's Rules, because I won't be surprised if most of the world thinks I took a side trip down magic mushroom alley on my way to crack town. But if we all worry about what most of the world thinks then no one will ever do anything interesting. So I say if not ugly, then every room at least needs something weird or vaguely dangerous or just plain unexpected. Something that feels a little alien, something that heightens contrast. A touch of ugly sharpens pretty and blurs the line between decorating and art.

I am obsessssssed with this room. That top drawing is the stuff of nightmares, naked lady or not. But the juxtaposition of confrontational and demure is perfect and amazing. 100% commitment is everything here.

Robert Couturier is a master at creating tension and contrast by combining traditional and contemporary elements in unexpected ways. I think I should hate that rug and the red on red on red, but in this space I love it. I can never figure out how his rooms began, and that is probably why I like his work so much. There is no formula, no magic combination of proscribed perfectly matched elements. It comes off as pure alchemy. For me, adding one detail that feels a little off, or disturbing, or rough around the edges, is a step in that direction and away from overdecorated doom.

Some food for thought:

A splash of ugly is the punctum -- the piercing of the veil. It's the thing that recalls humanity and brings life to a room.

Or at least that's what I think. How about you? Maybe I've been watching too much True Detective.