Finding the Light

Oh, it was restful, my blog-free week.

(Griffith Park, Hollywood, 5/30/10)

1. I slept.

2. I ate consciously and healthily (thanks to superb cooking by the Divine Italian).

(I'm extending my "Clean" cleanse for another 14 days because I am finally starting to feel like myself again. It's not rough at all: two home-made fruit smoothies or vegetable soups a day and one midday meal laden with protein -- turkey, chicken or fish -- and lots of greens. Easy-peasy.)

3. I took spiritual guidance from a very wise teacher who has mastered living in the moment.

4. I saw "SATC2" with Ivarene Farmer and "Shrek 4 Ever After" with the goggle-headed kid below.

5. I read and lounged in the comfort of my new Nathan Turner "Flores" chair and John Robshaw pillow. In a perfectly timed stroke of serendipity, they both arrived last week when I needed them most.

FYI: The John Robshaw pillow was only $39.97 on HSN, down from $168.00 (a few other styles are available too.) One caveat: It arrives with a stiff polyester insert pillow which you will want to replace immediately with a down one, as I did here.

6. I hiked with my family in the hills behind our house. Boy, did we hike. Do you see Luca rounding the bend?

So many people think that life in Los Angeles is entirely urban. But as you can see, it's not.

Reaching the top of our neighborhood peak, we were rewarded with a glimpse of the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.

Turning back toward Hollywood, the famed Griffith Park Observatory pointed us in the right direction.

There were trompe l'oeil forests...

...and countless beautiful specimens of a life well lived.

Afterwards, gratitude predominated (although it may have been just because the hike was over.)

Beds, Block Prints and Cocktails

This is currently my favorite photo. What's to love? Let me count the ways: India, dapper gent in turban and natty red shirt, gorgeous block-printed textiles, lady in saffron shawl walking by and that divine dusty blue color on the train in the background.

I see this image quite frequently because it's on John Robshaw's website and more often than not, I can be found there trolling for textiles. In fact, it's become my "go-to" activity on these crazy hot days of summer after I've run my errands, done my sit-ups and eaten my daily allotment of sweets. (Confession: Today I fast-forwarded past the errands and the sit-ups.)

After that photo, I click over to this one and stare at all those heavenly pillows inside that classic old Hindustan Ambassador, the hands-down coolest car in India. Love that driver, too.

Then I click over to here and spend way too much time envisioning which quilt, sham, duvet, etc. I am going to purchase for my bedroom someday. I'm particularly besotted with the Etruscan Red print (right stack, second from top, not counting that strewn-open one).

So last week when I visited one of my favorite local shops, Living Room, I took my camera along because I've always felt the owner, Steve, does a great job of mixing that globetrotting chic vibe I'm partial to with uniquely traditional pieces and interesting fabrics. 

I'm a big fan of this couch. The fabric is an organic cotton damask print in a perfect faded indigo blue that can pretty much go with everything.

It reminds me of the ones in Chloe Sevigny's apartment from House and Garden magazine's January 2007 issue.

This Edwardian-style nightstand appealed to me, too. It's elegant and slightly playful, especially in that great Vreeland red.

If I owned this couch, I'd never leave it. It would be a serious problem. You would find me here holding audiences during the day and at night I would change into some fabulous dressing gown, surround myself with stacks of books and sip St. Germain elderflower cordial from a teeny crystal glass. 

The broad confident brushstrokes of this mini-painting of the Griffith Park Observatory grabbed me, especially since I live just beneath it and look up at it every day.

My tour concluded, I was turning to go...WHEN. I. SAW. IT. What's more, my son...WAS. LEANING. ON. IT.  A glorious homage to John Robshaw with Etruscan Red in a starring role. 

People, I bit the bullet.

Here it is at its new resting place, The Kenmore Arms. Yes, I am aware that the photo is tightly cropped. That's because the rest of the room is unfit to be seen (to put it kindly). Everything is John Robshaw except the two pillows which are from Dwell. I love them because they provide a visual link to the headboard, which I just had reupholstered in $4/yard hessian burlap.  

And those two heraldic crests are my babies. I found them at Wurtz Brothers Antique Mart. They're super old (as evidenced by the state of the wood on the back), although whether they were rescued from some crumbling manor or are merely props from an old Hollywood film, I have no idea. (Update: They're Spanish. See comment from "Rocio.")

Placing those gilded sculptures near the humble, peasant-like qualities of the burlap creates a strong visual tension that totally does it for me. I am very, very into the high/low mix. To me, a great room is like a great cocktail party: the ones you remember are always a collection of all different kinds of personalities. 

No sooner had I finished arranging everything than someone came home tired from camp and took it for a test-drive. 

Home Alone

This Saturday, something momentous occurred. The Divine Italian left for a week in Europe and The Little Prince had a 24 hour sleepover, which meant: empty house! Don't get me wrong, of course I pined for them horribly, but I haven't had a night to myself in I can't remember how long.

Darlings, it was heavenly.

Lest you think there was any "Risky Business" sliding around in socks and underwear, let me emphatically assure you there was not. 

But it did get quite wild.

1. I put in my favorite Noel Coward CD and brazenly turned up the volume.

2. I resolutely attacked the dreaded kitchen junk drawer. And won.

3. I willfully threw away a stack of old magazines that I had sworn I would read.

4. I rearranged my scarves.

5. I sauntered from room to room, dithered, vacillated and stared at nothing in particular. 

(I know, I know, you've gone positively weak in the knees, haven't you?)

But the undisputed highlight of the evening was watching "Women in Love", Ken Russell's 1969 adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's 1920 classic novel. I've been waiting to unleash it from its little Netflix envelope for practically ever, but it's not The Divine Italian's oeuvre. (He still hasn't forgiven me for making him sit through "Howard's End.")

Have you seen it? If not, I highly recommend that you do. Not only does Russell visually capture the lush lyricism of Lawrence's prose, the film is gorgeous and sexy and bohemian and a must for anyone who appreciates color and design. 

Some personal highlights follow.

Jennie Linden's outfit reminded me of Sonia Delaunay's paintings in the 1920's, which were noted for their geometric abstractions.

("Electric Prisms", 1914)

Delaunay also designed clothes, a few sketches of which can be seen here.

I've always been fascinated by Sonia. When I pulled up this photo of her on the Internet, I was struck by the realization that her outfit......is almost identical to the one which Glenda Jackson wears in the film's opening.

In terms of production design, the ramshackle cottage that Alan Bates lives in struck me as very John Derian-like (in the best possible way).

Here's Derian's apartment as featured in Elle Decor in March 2006.

(via Habitually Chic)

The reds and blues of the set design also brought to mind John Robshaw's Kalil bedding which I seriously am coveting. I may have to stop by Living Room, one of my favorite local haunts, because they carry his line.

The homespun furnishings also reminded me of a display I saw recently at Dan Marty's showroom.

When this outfit popped up onscreen (the one in the middle, worn by Eleanor Bron), three words popped into my head: Dries. Van. Noten.

Here are three photos from Van Noten's past runway shows (not sure which season.) The feeling is the same, don't you think?  Lots of vibrant prints, colors, unusual fabrics and layering.

Here, his coat exactly picks up the peacocky hue of the cape in the movie.

Another example of Dries' multilayered, non-matching approach. Not for everyone, I know, but definitely for me. 

In this scene, I was floored by the jolt of color coming from Glenda's mango-colored dress when set against the mauve bricks and green gate. I think the colors are so striking together, another example of the brilliant art direction of the movie.

The palette reminded me of Farrow and Ball's "Rosslyn Papers" wallpaper in the following two colorways.

I must say, I finally understood the appeal of Oliver Reed in this movie. It's those naughty eyes. But in this luncheon scene, it was his jacket which held my gaze.

Isn't it the spitting image of this 19th century French chair upholstered in Peter Dunham's velvet Almont Stripe? Available at 1st Dibs.
Last but not least, there was the legendary naked wrestling scene between Oliver and Alan Bates. When they finally collapsed onto the floor, I gasped, not because of the scene's undeniable homoeroticism, but because...
...that rug was almost the spitting image of the one I snapped on Friday from Fort Street Studios! 

Oh, what a movie. Oh, what a night.