Ebay Find

Pierced brass coffee table with an irresistably funky wood base.

Posting this is lieu of a Week Five progress report because there is no progress to report. I, too, have reached something of an impasse-- spiritually and fiscally. I've always had trouble with making do; the thought of almost executing my unreasonable, "perfect" vision is beginning to paralyze me. But I can't let it.

Aquapolitan

While everyone else has been poring over Gwyneth Paltrow in House & Garden, I have dedicated myself to studying the three-page spread on my favorite chef, Marcus Samuelsson. Favorite not because of the refinement of his craft (although my meal at Aquavit was unreal), but because of his story: an Ethiopian adopted by Swedes as a child, he began his love affair with food at a yound age, eventually honing his skils in Austria, France, and Switzerland. Even so, he has nourished his connection to the motherland (as an African, the term strikes me as humorous-- I'm using it for effect here), and will open Merkato 55, an African-inspired restuarant located in the Meatpacking District, any day now. To boot, he bumps Prince, Stevie, Nas, Sade, and Sly & the Family Stone when he's at work in his home kitchen-- the one in his West Harlem penthouse duplex. The one equipped with a Residential Nova Burner by Blue Star. Oh-- and when he's not busy getting his groove on, he acts as the official spokesperson for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Mr. Samuelsson, whose apartment contains such goodies as a Singaporean prayer chair and his own artwork, shops for paint brushes at Dick Blick on Bond Street, and has the ocassional meal at M&G on 125th Street. Not that I would, like, go to these places and, like, look for him. That would be absurd. Besides, if Alexander McQueen is my homeboy, and my boyfriend is The Sexiest Man Alive, what role would Marcus play?

Week Four/Five Flowers

McQueen Is My Homeboy

My favorite looks from Alexander McQueen's show:

To Paint, Or Not to Paint

That is the question. Picked up the chairs today, to find that they are in near pristine condition. Do I forgo the paint? What about the reupholstery? The blue velvet isn't really my thing, but I'd have no problem making it my thing in the interest of preservation. I'm also concerned that painting the cane back with result in a precarious brittleness. But then I think of how good these bad boys would look after a modernizing overhaul. I salivate at the mere thought.

Bottom two photos are close-ups of the dresser drawers (dresser itself is still outside, still waiting). My vision involved white or turquoise laquer, either of which would pop beautifully against chocolate walls. But the black inlay is throwing me for a loop. Further, the glove box (built-in compartment on top of the unit; not yet pictured) is in such great condition.

If I'm not mistaken, a girl in my Accessories Design class is a certified appraiser of decorative objects; I may have to pick her brain tomorrow. Any opinions out there?

Pad Ga Prow

My dresser is outside under tarp, awaiting some patient and strong arms to carry it up the winding stairs that lead to my attic apartment. Three years of living without proper clothing storage will soon come to an end. It's thrilling. (Really, it is. I've just never been a huge fan of the exclamation point.) Later today I'm picking up this pair of cane back chairs I-- er, the kind folks at AT-- found on Craigslist:



Lovely, no? Planning on bathing them in some white laquer and dressing them in this:



or this:



Perhaps I should do one of each?

Both fabrics are from Mekong River Textiles.

Can This Outfit be Turned into an Interior Vignette?

Yes, as a matter of fact, it can:


Any info on the top photo would be much appreciated. All I know of the ensemble is that it was designed for Jackie O. The second is Scott Salvator, via dti.