stoppin' in at BIG DADDY antiques

I was looking at a blog post by Kelly Wearstler's last night where she is shown shopping in one of my favorite spots to pop into in Los Angeles - Liz's Antique Hardware.  Besides having fabulous people that work there (Woody - 'natch), they always have something that you didn't even know you needed.  Often I would find amazing hardware without even having the piece to put the darn things on!  When I worked for Lori Erenberg we would 99% of the time spec their vintage and antique hardware for new built-ins - thus giving these new pieces character right off the bat.  


Where am I going with this?  Well, while browsing K-Dog's interior photos of LAH, I thought about all the wonderful showrooms I am exposed to on a daily basis and I thought y'all might like to virtually  experience a few spots that I find inspirational and fascinating....sound good?  Okay, good.


First up, lets look at Big Daddy Antiques.  14,000 square feet (ummmm...their LA store is 42,000 square feet......) of crusty goodness.  What I am calling "crusty goodness" is kindof all the rage right now...degraded farm tables with iron bases, mismatched baskets, vintage rusted old pails from fish markets, birdcages (love!!), etc......mixing it with new glossy Verner Panton chairs, new upholstered leather club chairs, etc.  It's fun, funky, very interesting and maybe too much ALL at once, but I think BDA's message is more of showing how you can take the architectural misfits (old capitals, doors, stone troughs) and mix them in with your new, more contemporary objects.  


On another note regarding BDA, two of my uber-fab interior designer girlfriends - Amanda Teal and Rebecca Loewke - recently shot a spread there for Matchbook Magazine. The article is super cute and so are they!

rattan and quilted chaise.  hello, rad.

doggy carnival ride....love.

column in the back is beautiful and those sconces are fab.

i love that all their HUGE birdcages have these sweet cooing doves in them....so romantic.

imagine retrofitting these doors into your pool cabana dressing rooms...!

And the soundtrack for your happy hunting would have to be Big Bad Voodoo Daddy...of course!

my first San Francisco VINTNER'S MARKET....!

This weekend I attended my first Vintner's Market here in San Francisco.  It was held at Fort Mason which is always a great place to attend an event.  Located on the Bay with spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and an insane amount of sailboats on the Saturday that I went as it was really windy.  Sipping delicious vinos and soaking in these views....?!  Yes, please!

It was a perfect weekend to go with one of my dear friends visiting from Los Angeles and fellow lover of the grape, Jamie.  We scored a great deal on tickets through Living Social and off we went after a yummy lunch at SF's oldest restaurant...The Tadich Grill.

winner of my favorite packaging goes to JACK Cellars

Tudor makes delicious Pinots 

Kara's Cupcake Truck.  Amazingly, I managed to avoid a purchase here.

the boys of Idle =dolls.

great labels at Idle Cellars

the Huge Bear '08 Cab was a 100% Cabernet grape and was delicious....!!

 It was super fun to delve into the Nor-Cal wine scene as it is still so foreign to me compared to Southern California.  I ended purchasing the following and these are linked to the wine-maker's notes so you can check 'em out and possibly request a glass nice time we hang out...!


Desmond
'09 Pinot Noir


Huge Bear
'08 Cabernet


Idle Cellars
'08 Merlot
'08 Sangiovese


Coastview
'07 Syrah


Reynoso
'04 Syrah
'05 Cabernet

Soundtrack for this sipping Saturday is "Gardens and Villa" who I saw perform live the night before and they are the bee's knees.

live in SF

a sunny Sunday at the ALAMEDA POINT ANTIQUES FAIR

the first Sunday of the month in Alameda finds TONS of people pouring into the Alameda Point Antiques Fair.  it basically has hundreds of vendors with the most amazing backdrop of the San Francisco skyline and the Port of Oakland with all of its shipping containers stacked like colored legos being loaded and unloaded by giant mechanical claws.  Very dramatic, I know.

would love to drop this pair over a great mid-century table

lemonade + legs

This April's fair I met a friend later in the day and spent the first few hours just slowly poking up and down the dozens of rows and unknowingly getting quite an unattractive sunburn.  Note to self: ALWAYS wear sunscreen here....foggy, cold, windy - doesn't matter.


There were two pieces in general I kind-of went ape over.  This sculpture by William Bowie:

I may go in May just to stalk this piece and if it is still there it may come to live with me.


And the piece des resistance was this teak and ceramic tiled table that Edith Heath herself made for her Living Room.


so much more fabulous in person and I wish I took better photos.  It was still unsold at the end of the day.

My girlfriend - the ultra-fab Stephanie of The Pineapple Princess - scored on these totally cute tiki lamps for PP headquarters.....I think she was stopped, oh, 50+ times after purchasing these and carrying them around.  People were freaking for them/her....!

 

Here is my suggestions of what to bring if you're planning on hitting up the APAF:


- water
- sunscreen
- a big sun hat 
- one of those little metal, basket thingies on wheels
- your charged smart phone to research art and antiques as needed
- measurements of pieces you're actively searching for
- a measuring tape
- camera
- and finally....cold hard cash.


And if you stay until 3pm then hit up Forbidden Island for a delicious Mai Tai while you bask in the post-glow of buying all the stuff you probably really don't need. Like an oil-painting of a dog named Max....which looks slightly amazing on my art wall (I think):

Soundtrack for this fun field trip:


The Slackers.....just because that was what I happened to be listening to that day, of course!

my new FAV MANI...!

a pair of shoes....launches in finding the perfect dress to pair them with....to the specific event....with that one clutch......and in my case an inspired-by-the-dress, chic new mani!


i purchased this Kate Spade dress that I had been stalking for a few months to wear to a good friend's wedding in Santa Barbara....

I decided to ditch my signature red nail color and go with pink since this would follow me into my Hawaiian vacation and seemed a bit more "tropical" than my typical ruby red.  I LOVE Sephora by OPI's "Only Gold For Me" top coat and brushed that on top of their "It's All About Me" pink for a festive bit of sparkle.

I highly recommend this top coat on dark colors as well - it's pretty glam.


What are your favorite colors for Spring?


xoxo

Sassoon + Neutra

One of my favorite reasons when we lived in Los Angeles is the prime example of Vidal and Ronnie Sassoon’s Richard Neutra home perched atop Mulholland Drive.  While still in Los Angeles proper, their terrain is one of a much more natural side.  “Its still the Wild, Wild West up here”, Vidal says.  “We have bobcats and mountain lions”.  

This type of terrain is exactly what mid-century master architect  Richard Neutra had in mind when designing his homes around the idea of “bringing the outside in”…not fighting and ignoring the plot, but rather embracing it and incorporating everything from the color palette in the materials used, to cross-ventilation as air conditioning. 

I love how Vidal discusses the relationship between hair and architecture reflecting on how this home of easy, geometric lines directly translates to his appreciation and inspiration drawn from the Bauhaus movement.  All of which can be seen in his work.

The art Ronnie and Vidal chose to showcase along with key, vintage pieces from repeated designers such as Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand and Osvaldo Borsani to name a few don’t overcrowd the space and perfectly compliment the structure.

You can read the whole article here in the latest Architectural Digest.  All photos by Todd Eberle.

And remember, “If you don’t look good…we don’t look good”.

Sorry, had to do that.

retaining Isamu Noguchi's original garden stones placed here when the home was built

built-in by Neutra...stool and hanging cabinet by Prouve...Serge Mouille sconce and overhead light - they used Serge fixtures in the Master as well...a quiet repetition.

i think the plywood door frame is genius.

Visiteur armchairs by Prouve, Perriand coffee table - with a Calder over the fireplace.

I think Ronnie did a fantastic job with the poured terrazzo floors in the new Master Suite.  The Bertoia sculpture slays me = yes please

New bathroom with terrazzo soaking tub.

March 11th, SF peeps: