Category Archives: Things We Like
Things We Like: Country Living Magazine Chose Our Bed!
Post by Kyle St. Romain.
Earlier this year, Country Living Magazine took a different approach with its House of the Year Project. Instead of designing one single home, its designers set out to create three unique spaces: an outdoor kitchen, a guestroom, and an entrepreneur’s studio. The event sets out to show the world an “idealized version of country living”, and who wouldn’t want an escape from the city. It’s a great way to remind New Yorkers that there’s life outside the city, and that it’s available in high fashion too.
The rooms were on display earlier this year from May 17 to 23 at the base of the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan.
What we liked most about this event is the choice of bed. Country Living designer Thomas Paul chose our special single “X” Campaign Canopy bed to be the focal point for his vision of the ideal bedroom cottage, and we couldn’t be happier.
As a way to add to the room’s camp-like feel, Mr. Paul draped the bed’s iron frame with simple white curtains. His philosophy is that “A lot of fabric around a canopy bed can seem old fashioned,” but that using very plain curtains is a perfect way to bring the tent indoors without feeling too stuffy. Curtains also look great on canopy beds in more traditional bedrooms, as the flowing fabric makes the room more visually interesting and accentuates the canopy frame’s clean lines.
If you’d like to read more about the event, be sure to pick up a copy of the September issue of Country Living Magazine.
Things We Like: Veranda Magazine + Charles P Rogers Wing Bed
Post by Kyle St. Romain.
This October, Veranda Magazine is featuring a Charles P Rogers Ultra White Wing Bed in its upcoming spread on upholstered beds. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering our Wing Bed has also appeared in earlier editions of Architectural Digest and Country Living Magazine. They just can’t get enough of our beds!
Classic wing back chairs, characterized by subtle curves, inspire the Charles Rogers Wing Bed. It features individually applied nail heads that trace the contours of the bed, and add a hand-finished quality. The Charles P Rogers Wing Bed comes in two colors: Ultra White or Chestnut Brown to match any bedroom design.
If you haven’t considered an upholstered bed before, you should. Upholstered beds fit nicely with almost any décor, and make the perfect focal point for your bedroom; a true statement piece. Upholstered beds also come with the added bonus that they can be reupholstered, which allows you to change the look and feel of your bedroom without having the replace the entire bed. However, if you’ve taken the plunge to buy a high quality upholstered bed, chances are you’ll want to leave it just the way it came. The Charles P Rogers Wing Bed is one of those beds you probably won’t want to change: they come upholstered in top grain leather, which will be hard to improve upon.
Have you spotted any of our beds featured in magazines? We’d love to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below.
Things We Like: Art Deco Design
Post by Kyle St. Romain.
I love all things Art Deco, and you’d be crazy not to. For me, art deco elicits nostalgia from an era since gone. Art deco architecture is nothing short of grand, and it’s the style I imagine high rollers in the 1920s living in: well-traveled, well-built, and wanted.
Art Deco remains popular still today, and its influences can be seen in almost all types of design: architecture, interior design, fashion, and art. However, art deco is perhaps most easily associated with architecture. Indeed, many of the world’s most famous buildings are Art Deco inspired: The Empire State Building, The Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center.
If you’re lucky enough to live in an old Art Deco building, ideally constructed in the 1930s (when deco was used extensively throughout the United States), you’ve got it made. However, these architectural gems are becoming increasingly scarce which leaves most of us with the next best thing: art deco inspired interior design.
With a little creativity and patience to wait for the right vintage piece, an Art Deco-inspired bedroom design is very doable. The most permanent ways to bring deco into your bedroom would be with new, geometric crown molding painted in metallic silver or gold, marble wall panels, and elaborate ceilings. However, these more permanent changes would mean you really have to commit to the eclectic art deco theme.
If you’re looking for an easier way to bring art deco into your bedroom, furnishings are a great place to start. Armoires are very common in Art Deco bedroom, which also gives you more storage space. Mirrors are also typical in deco design. And while it’s perfectly fine to use wall mirrors, mirrored furniture and sunburst shaped mirrors are more clever ways to introduce the reflective element into your design. Mirrors also help smaller rooms feel open, which is a plus if you live in the city.
If you’re short on Art Deco inspiration, SampleBoard has an excellent blog post about getting into art deco design. You can also look for pictures of the interior of the Empire State building, or the Paramount Theatres in Oakland, CA. Both of these are prime examples of art deco at its finest. You can also search for photos of old train stations, which were primarily built in the art deco style.
Do you have any art deco design tips? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Things we like: Underwater Decor
Post by Kyle St. Romain.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about Things We Like: Sleeping With The Fishes. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s definitely worth your time. I must warn you though: reading the article will give you vacation envy. The upside is that it may be the motivation you need to get your vacation saving back on track. I know we opened up a vacation savings fund shortly after, and I can’t wait to fill it up and spend it! Until then, I may have to settle for some underwater inspired bedroom décor.
First of all, an underwater bedroom meets all of my bedroom requirements: it’s dark, cold, and relatively quiet. I’m sold. It also keeps electronics out of the bedroom, and offers an amazing view. What could be better? Unfortunately, building an underwater bedroom is about as out of reach for most of us as staying a week in an underwater hotel is. So the challenge becomes: How can you recreate an underwater experience at home?
For underwater inspiration, I’ve compiled a couple tips below:
- For a more formal underwater effect, paint the walls a dark blue. Accent with white furniture to bring some light back into the room and look for silver and sea life inspired accent pieces.
- For a shallow, tropical feel paint the walls with a faux cloud finish to give the effect of sunlight reflecting off the water.
- For a fun underwater effect, hire an artist to paint an underwater mural on your walls. You can include sea life and other elements into the mural to give your room an authentic underwater feel.
- Don’t neglect the importance of good lighting. Look for fixtures that project the light upwards to give the effect of shallower water overhead.
- Incorporate underwater inspired art and decorations throughout your bedroom. Sculptures and paintings of crabs, starfish, and other sea creatures will help complete the look.
- Play an audio track of underwater sounds before going to sleep. Dolphin and whale sounds can be as relaxing as waves crashing onto the shore; choose what you like the best.
Remember, the underwater bedroom doesn’t have to be for you; share the dream. If you prefer a more formal bedroom for yourself, an underwater themed bedroom may be perfect for your guestroom or children’s room. You may find yourself sneaking away for an underwater nap more often than you think.
Things We Like: Counting–er–Chasing Sheep!
Post by Kyle St. Romain.
A while back I wrote about one of the Things We Like: Puppies in Bed. At that time, my girlfriend and I had just brought home a 10-week-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. His name is Saké a.k.a. Mr. Bombs, and we’re pretty much obsessed. Today, our sweet little puppy has grown up into a big mutt. We still love him though, even if he is a bit of a bed hog.
About a week ago we had our first puppyversary, which happens to be a day before my birthday, and marks the day Saké became part of our little family. To celebrate, we figured we needed to do something extra fun: a nice bottle of Saké (the rice wine) for us, and a herding lesson for Saké (the dog).
We had been planning to bring Saké to test his herding instinct for some time. It all fell into place when we won free herding lesson in a raffle at the Southern California Pembroke Welsh Corgi Association’s annual Corgi Fun Day. Did I mention we were a bit obsessed? Anyways, fate had it in Saké’s cards to chase after sheep, and we weren’t about to stand in the way.
We got to the ranch a little before noon last weekend, which was a bit of a drive inland for us, and about 20 degrees warmer. As soon as we parked inside the gates, Saké knew something fun was about to happen. There were a half dozen or so other dogs running around, and the energy was high. Surprisingly, the first half of the day was spent training us how to behave in the ring with the dog and the sheep together. Once we got that out of the way, it was time to see what Saké had. We knew he liked to chase dogs at the beach, but sheep? That was something we didn’t know. The trainer told us it would be a hard road to train Saké properly. Corgis were bred to drive the sheep forward, and herding competitions require the dog to fetch the Sheep around to you. Thankfully, our retirement fund isn’t banking on Saké winning a herding championship.
At first, he didn’t know what to do with the Sheep, but after a little encouragement he chased after them like you wouldn’t believe. After about five minutes of crazed Sheep chasing, Mr. Bombs decided he had enough. A quick rest, however, and he was back for round two – this time with more confidence. He was starting to get the hang of it. Alas, he had no more energy and it was time to call it a day.
On the way home, we agreed that we had never seen Saké so exhausted before. He slept the entire way back. Actually, he was pretty sleepy for at least another 24 hours. The adventure and the heat had taken its toll on us too, and I think we were all ready for some well-deserved rest when we got home. Busy days indeed make for restful nights, and this was certainly an occasion.
