Nothing wrong with a little “fake it ’til ya make it!”… I wrote about 10 ideas for realistic wallpapers last June but now I have another great wallpaper called Brooklyn Tins to share since Piet Hein Eek and NLXL have teamed up with Parisian design store Merci (store tour here), to create a gorgeous line of faux wallpapers (or fauxpaper as I like to call them) that are now available to purchase. These photo-realistic papers are based on Victorian press-tin ceilings that were so popular in Victorian New York and are digitally printed onto non-woven paper and look astoundingly realistic. You can find them over at the Wallpaper Collective in the US and Rockett St George in the UK.
I was especially intrigued to learn more about pressed tin and so after a little digging, I learned that it was first introduced to North America as a lower priced option to the plasterwork used in Europe and became quite the ‘trend’ to have pressed tin ceilings during the Victorian era since Americans craved more extravagant, detail-rich interiors. In fact, when you go into a NYC apartment (or property anywhere in the states) and see original pressed tin ceilings, it’s only natural that you’d go a little weak in the knees as it’s highly sought after among those who love vintage, original decorative details. If you’d like to deepen your design education concerning tin ceilings, try reading this.
I first started thinking about vintage tins as being a bit more special than usual when I was in Soho this past March working with photographer Debi Treloar because she had said that she loved the tin ceilings in the apartment where we were working and that it was very, “American”. I hadn’t thought of tin ceilings as being very American until now – I had assumed they were once all the rage in Europe too – but apparently not.
These wallpapers are so creative and fun – would love to see them applied to ceilings but also to walls – just lovely!
What do you think? Would you decorate with them? Where do you think they’d work?
(images: wallpaper collection and rockett st george)
Hello friends! How are you today? It’s Monday, a new week and new possibilities. I’ve been thinking a lot about the post that I wrote, Thoughts on Being Honestly Happy, where nearly 250 of you left beautiful, uplifting and often very personal comments and so later today I plan to write another post as a follow up. It’s so important to me to not leave anyone hanging – when I read some of my favorite blogs and the blogger pours out their heart and then, never returns to let readers know what’s what, I often feel a bit concerned and wonder what is going on. Blogs make us responsible, accountable, we can’t just say stuff and assume it’s not important to others because, well, it is. We cannot assume no one cares. We’re all in this together.
After I wrote that post, I was actually quite overwhelmed and even moved to tears at times by your reaction – not just the comments but also the very personal emails, Facebook emails, tweets and even text messages and phone calls that rolled in and are still coming in even though it’s been nearly 3 weeks since I wrote it. I must admit that I assumed only a few of you would really “get” me or relate (boy, was I wrong!) and the rest of you may simply skim through it and move on to the more fluffy and pretty design posts, but you didn’t… You stopped, read, and tried to relate and it felt amazingly validating and beyond encouraging. You really blew me away. THANK YOU. So yes, later today I’ll post about a few of the plans of action that I’ve taken since and how so far, I’m beating “this” – though I’m still not exactly certain what “this” really is yet. I’ll also tell you about a few aha! moments I’ve had, epiphanies if you will…
Back in a moment with beauty to inspire… Then I’ll begin writing Thoughts on Being Honestly Happy: Part Two.
xo,
Holly
(photos: holly becker/instagram)
I’m so pleased to share some of my favorite images with you from Heart Home magazine, which will go live online for all to see very soon today. This is their Autumn 2012 issue and I’m particularly excited because there is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Decorate Workshop, that releases later this Fall. Before Heart Home hits computer screens everywhere, I thought to share a special sneak peek because this issue is packed with stunning homes and stories that you deserve a special glimpse of because they will inspire you today. Don’t forget to hover over the images with your mouse below, look for the PIN button, and pin them to your Pinterest boards!
I am so happy to see Decorate Workshop in this issue so thank Carole, Daniel and Arianna from Heart Home because it means a lot to have your support and that I am able to share some of my decorating tips for creative spaces with your fans around the world. I haven’t included it in any of the images above but you’ll come across it later today the moment THIS ISSUE goes live. :)
(Photography: Simon Eldon, Jon Day and Malcolm Menzies)
Just when you think you are the culture expert in your city you realize just how overblown your ego is and that you really need to stay on your game! I thought I knew everything that was going on in my city (typical city pride) until my friends at Anthology magazine in the faraway land of San Francisco sent me a tweet yesterday asking if I knew about Ladenlokal in Hannover, Germany (where I live) because they had put up a post about it. Ummm well… Instead of smugly replying, “But of course”, I slithered beneath my office chair because I had never heard of it in my life.
How did I miss this super cool looking fine foods shop that doubles as a cafe which is only a bike ride away? Am I working THAT hard in my office? This place is so extremely fresh looking, you simply mist check out these chalk illos from Pamela Rama too – how nice does this look?
I’m definitely hitting this place soon. And I love the idea of beautiful chalk illustrations on walls vs. the usual scribbling of grocery lists or kids marking them up in rainbow pastel colors. Very pretty and a great find Anthology!
(images: ladenlokal)
It’s so interesting to see what people are doing in the world of food photography, cooking events and food packaging. This whole world of food is something that I love to follow because it ties in closely to what I do and I find a ton of crossover between styling interiors and styling food. So many things that work for interiors also work for food and vice versa. Do you find this too?
I learned this first hand when I was lecturing at a Food Styling & Photography class this past summer in Weimar, Germany. I was able to apply my knowledge of interiors to food styling and the students definitely enjoyed my take as my personal experiences and overall perspective felt very fresh to them. Like anything, if you are only getting advice from peers, you can quickly dry up or become bored. You may begin to notice too much repetition or “inspired” work and after awhile this can be very draining and frustrating. Everyone tries to be different in the exact same way! This is precisely why I like to learn from those in other creative professions in addition to my own because then your mind stays open and your ideas are always being challenged and therefore, freshened. Do you feel the same way?
I would like to share something with you today that I fell upon while doing some random Googling and was surprised to learn that this fascinating company called Mit Essen spielt man (this is German and means Play With Food) belongs to a creative lady from Hannover, Germany who lives in a nearby district called Linden. I also live in Hannover (in the List) and love finding other creatives who live here and share my passions – it is very exciting! The talented lady behind Mit Essen spielt man is Lina Meyer who runs a small design and cooking studio out of a small building behind her apartment and enjoys, through her concepts and workshops, teaching others to really taste food when they are eating – to pull it apart and have fun, to be in the moment and to savor it.
Lina says, “Food is a very exciting process, it is a very sensual and intimate experience. What we eat has a cultural value for us, supporting us in our identity and our way of life, tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” Wonderful!
I love her recent Playing With Food dinner party that she had out of her studio space in Hannover – I hope she’ll have another because I would love to attend!
This is such an inspiration to see. Wow!
(images: Mit Essen spielt man and Nona Schmidt – the illustrations were done by Hannover-based artist, Pamela Rama.)
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