Design Day Monday

It's Design Day Monday chez BHB
La Brochanteuse has brought us garden design from her trip to the Chateau Villandry

The formal parterre...lovely isn't it

wow, talk about fresh local ingredients

with a vegetable garden like this, you could practically feed an entire village

From her post
An imaginative twentieth century re-creation of a renaissance castle garden. The moated Chateau dates from c1536 and had a formal garden in the eighteenth century. The present garden dates from the years after 1906 when it was bought by a Spaniard, Dr Joachim Carvallo. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, he wished the garden to have a sixteenth century character. Great horticultural skill was deployed, especially in the use of vegetables. An arbour of grape vines leads to a great parterre, conceived as a Garden of Music. On the other side of the canal is a Garden of Love. Symbolising the moods of love, it looks rectangular from the chateau but is actually trapezoid. The aesthetically designed vegetable garden is based on an illustration from Du Cerceau's Les plus excellents bastiments de France (1576). Despite its origins, Villandry is the work of a twentieth century imagination.

And then we have interior design from Dwell
with a Mid-Century meets Manhattan Beach at the home of Matt Jacobson and Kristopher Dukes.

I love the minimalist approach in a town full of millionaires and their beachside Mcmansions.

And then we have graphic design with the work of Paul Crifo, the master of the movie poster.
I found these images on the Mr Movie Poster page on Facebook
Here is some of his better known work

and some of his less known work

a fashionable gent from the 1950s

and equestrian art

Of course we must mention fashion design
with the new Fall collection from Akris at Bergdorf Goodman

Now I know that Akris clothes are manufactured in Switzerland
but with the cashmere jacket priced at $3990, the top at $995 and the pants at $895
are these clothes handmade with spun gold by Gnomes, Heidi and William Tell himself?

And finally we get to the really important part of this post...jewelry design
Here is my new favorite piece

 an important sapphire, diamond, mother of pearl and black onyx cuff bracelet

my photos don't do justice to how awesome the piece is
because this bracelet is truly a work of art

It looks perfect with these mother of pearl and diamond earrings from Beladora.com
Happily... I have an an event to attend tomorrow night
you can probably guess what estate jewelry I will be wearing...

Sharing The Love or Savoring A Little Savoir Faire

For your reading pleasure I bring you the Savoir Faire blog written by David Toms, my favorite Aussie in Canada.
Go ahead and read his fabulous posts on An American In Paris about the incredibly talented Mainbocher
and
Worth A Second Look about the rebirth of the House of Worth.
David has a amazing eye for not just couture fashion but all things stylish in design, decor, antiques, architecture and travel.
What's not to love.

Man Style - Is This What Men Want In A Bed?

According to this article from WSJ
Pimp my Bed: The Male Sleep Lair
Manufacturers, such as Hollandia, are catering to men in terms of design of mattresses and beds.
And what do men want?
After years of catering to women, manufacturers are setting their sights on men. The new macho mattresses they're introducing have "muscle-recovery properties" and cooling technology, on the theory that men are more likely to feel too hot in bed. The bed frames feature built-in TVs, iPod docking stations, wine coolers, safes and other guy-friendly gadgetry.
OK, I get the cool matress thing...because I've never known of any man who wasn't just naturally hotter, in bed and out, than a woman.
Meir Kryger, a physician at the Gaylord Sleep Medicine Centers in Connecticut and a past president of the National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit that supports sleep-related research, says he isn't aware of any scientific evidence of men being warmer in bed than women.
No scientific evidence yet we have the whole air conditioning thing
Michael Zippelli, Dormia's CEO, acknowledges he has no scientific proof that men tend to feel warmer, but he says anecdotal evidence from his customers is persuasive. "Ask 10 girls in an office if it's cold or not and see what happens," he says. "It's a war of air conditioning."
Cooling mattress technology...awesome
And, I get the whole gadget thing because men really like gadgets
Except for the safe thing
Who needs a safe in their bed?
Maybe a hidden compartment in a side table for a gun, as someone I used to know had,
but full on safe...really?
And I have to ask myself, what does a man's bed design tell about him?
Take this bed for example




Hollandia International’s ‘Executive’ bed includes a 32-inch TV in the footboard. Storage in headboard and footboard lets men pare down furnishings to the essentials.




Well it's a minimalist design in an "American Gigolo" gray
OK...not bad...elegant, functional, masculine
But what about this bed?

Hollandia International’s ‘Glow’ bed contains discreet storage units and dresser drawers

Sleek yes, in a "2001" way, but the shiny neon orchid color is just so, not good.

And finally we come to this, the non plus ultra if you will of male beds.

Hollandia International’s ‘Sphere’ bed, includes a champagne cooler just in case. The cave-like structure comes in fabrics including suede and microfiber. The flat screen TV is embedded in frame, and includes a remote control.

Well, when it comes to this bed I could get into a whole discourse on Mod Design meets Freudian need to return to the womb, but I will spare you.
Seriously, I can't look at this bed with out thinking
who could possibly want to get shagged by "Austin Powers"

Savvy Shopping - Something's Fishy With Frank Gehry

Frank Gehry Fishdance Restaurant in Kyoto Japan

Frank Geary Fish Lamps

Frank Gehry Fish Pendant for Tiffany & Co.

Shell Pendant with Turquoise and Gold from Beladora 2

One of the reasons that I love living in Los Angeles is that there is so much great architecture. From the classic Art Deco buildings to the Disney Concert Hall at the Los Angeles Music Center by our our local genius Frank Gehry.


Since the time that Frank Gehry first astonished us with his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, we've been observing his continual creativity with awe from his architecture to his furniture.

That is until he went into the jewelry design business for Tiffany & Co.

It's one thing to use a favorite motif like a fish for a restaurant or for decorative accessories...or even for an actual brooch that might... you know... actually look something like a fish. It's another thing to create an abstract piece of jewelry that is under-carated, overpriced, and all around banal.

Who...I ask who... is buying this pendant with a mere 0.08 carats in diamonds for a whopping $1300! In fact who is buying any of the Frank Gehry jewelry collection?


I'd rather invest in this pretty shell brooch in 18k with an interesting texture and pretty turquoise and coral detail for $495.

Dubious Dubai Development

Can anyone tell me why an Emirate as wealthy as Dubai needs to lure the rich with celebrity endorsed real estate? Don't they have enough wealth there already?

From the Wall Street Journal, Celebrity Endorsers Help to Lure the Rich to Dubai.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Property developers in this Persian Gulf sheikdom, famous for its grandiose projects, are increasingly turning to American and European celebrities to help sell the properties to wealthy consumers.

Mr. Pitt joins Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, fashion designer Giorgio Armani and golfers Greg Norman and Tiger Woods, among others, who have staked their reputations on helping Dubai property agents lure wealthy foreigners.

Mr. Armani's development, which includes condos and a hotel being built by Emaar Properties, will compete with Palazzo Versace, a hotel that will feature furniture and fittings selected by rival designer Donatella Versace.

Would I go out of my way to stay in a Brad Pitt designed hotel....probably not. I'm not sure how anyone is going to cash in on his environmentally friendly design skills.

But, I can see how the over the top design by Donatella Versace would be perfect for over the top Dubai.