ticking

Mid-Summer at the Shore

Sometimes you just need a full on vacation. For the first time in four years I took one – from the blog, from social media (well, there was a bit of instagramming), from the kitchen renovation that’s just not quite getting off the ground, from everything. I took a physical one as well, traveling out to Flathead Lake in Montana with 27 other members of our family for a week of kicking back, riding horses and extraordinary sunsets. But the net result of the relaxing is that here we are at mid-summer and there is much to do and much to fill you in on.

An absolutely brutal winter here on the East Coast left gardens decimated. Mine fared better than most, but everything still suffered, most importantly the hydrangeas which bloom on the previous years’ wood. Unlike some neighbors, mine survived, but had very few flowers – no comparison with last year or even the year before!

The new Aleppo (Leila) inlaid tables from Serena & Lily (which arrived after we had left last summer) look amazing in the master bedroom.

A few local finds and a change of vintage duvet have been keeping things fresh.

I tried out a beautiful silk lampshade made from a vintage sari – Robert Kime style – from Xenomania in the East Village, but it was too big and matchy-matchy. By luck, I stopped into Just Shades on Spring Street on the day I was bringing it back and walked out with the perfect simple green shade instead, for about a tenth of the cost.

With my mind on the move to Doha, I never shared a few of the things that got accomplished right at summer’s end last year. The Bennison ticking trimmed valances in my elder daughter’s room, for example, which came out more beautifully than I could have imagined…

…or the sweet art wall developing in the blue hall bathroom.

It’s more than a year later and I am still kicking myself for passing up a $15 wicker headboard at a garage sale for my younger daughter’s bedroom. That’s all she needs, along with something like this Maine style pine painted cottage dresser. If you see either on Craig’s list or at your favorite shop, be sure to let me know!

Local antique stores here haven’t been as rich with goodies as normal and many have gone under, their land being redeveloped into condos or strip malls. I find it depressing but the truth is that the house needs very little outside of these few specific pieces so it hasn’t been a personal tragedy. I have stumbled into a new shop I quite liked, finding a great pair of 1855 Morris Gull prints (which will probably be added to the blue bathroom art wall)…

…as well as an amazing antique lidded Seto porcelain dish (because of course, as one Instagram friend put it, I need MORE blue and white porcelain)…

…and a salvaged mantel shelf that might be perfect for over the stove in the upcoming kitchen renovation (which hopefully will get started).

At the end of the day, the house here is so tiny that even an extra chair can’t fit. Found this diminutive charmer at my Brooklyn favorite Fork & Pencil, but it is going to have to make its way to a client’s house. There is simply nowhere to put it!

And speaking of chairs, I’ve seen a pair of bergères her in New Jersey that look like they might be worth shipping back to Doha to replace the ones so unceremoniously taken from me.

On a negative note, my vintage sink in the downstairs bath developed a rust bubble over the winter. I am in desperate need of advice on how I might repair/reglaze it. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

I’ll be looking for more input on upcoming posts, including major decisions needed on new exterior paint colors. I’ll also be having a giveaway for a beautiful book on ukiyo-e by Fred Harris. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Jul 29, 2014 By tokyojinja in Furniture, Gardens, Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report Tags: art wall, Bennison, Bennison Lilac, blue and white porcelain, hydrangea, inlaid, inlaid furniture, inlay, Japanese porcelain, lampshade, Seto, ticking, wicker

Sleeping in a Cloud…Dreamy Gray Bedrooms

Funnily enough, as I was packing paperwork for our trip back to the US this summer, I stumbled across an old folder with some of my long-term gray bedroom inspiration images. In light of my last post, I can’t resist sharing them, although they are actually the old-fashioned version of actual tear sheets and in most cases I have no information on designer or publication. If you know any of the details, please drop me a comment and I will be sure to credit it.

Familiar players appear in this tight shot reflected back in a gorgeous Venetian mirror, including it, lovely white linens, stripey gray silk taffeta and European style bed. I’m not sure I would ever get up if this was my bed.

This is one of the earliest images, torn from The Washington Post Magazine and dated Oct. 4, 1992. It is on very faded paper, but I promise you it is gray, as is that standout Belgian cabinet. Just noticed now that there is even a blanc de Chine figure on the ledge.

I always had a hankering for a bit of architectural wall detail, which has been created here with the simple use of different color gray paints. There is some ticking stripe here too – in the bed hangings for instance – although it is hard to tell in the beautiful bright light of the photo.

In this very well-known bedroom by Mary McDonald from the November 2001 issue of House & Garden, photographed by Melanie Acevedo, simple molding has been painted out in white to create architectural interest. In the end, I have never had a space that would have been suited by this kind of detail, but I always love it. Note the Bagues sconces over the fireplace and the bits of ticking stripe amid all the stark gray and white. The natural floor covering warms things up, which is something I should consider.

Other images, saved the more modern way on my computer include this divine one by Alex Papachristidi in a 2006 Elle Decor. Yards and yards of gray silk taffeta tempered by the contrasting glow of the gleaming antique commode and gilt-wood mirrors.

Another influential Papachristidis image is from the living room of the same apartment (and the one the cover of his book The Age of Elegance), in particular the grid of black and white images above the daybed.

A corner in Suzanne Rheinstein’s NYC apartment is another favorite, with its Bagues sconces and Gustavian settee covered in what looks to be a very fine stripe. The whole apartment is subtle and full of gray and can be seen in Elle Decor.

Do you keep tear sheets? I still like them better than Pinterest somehow – more tactile, more real.

Jun 16, 2014 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Color, Interior Design Tags: Alex Papachristidi, color, gray, gray and white, gray interiors, gray rooms, grey, grey interiors, grey rooms, Mary McDonald, mirrors, stripes, Suzanne Rheinstein, ticking

A Match Made in Heaven…Bennison and Ticking

All this writing and talk of ticking has helped me to my own small personal epiphany. I have been stalling on making the window valances in my elder daughter’s room at the shore for a while now, but have finally found the right person to construct them.

I have quite a few yards of Bennison‘s gorgeous Lilac linen earmarked for the project as the room has six windows – two sets of bays. The windows and the incredible light are really the focal points of the space and I only want something simple to frame them. In general, I don’t use curtains in the bedrooms at the beach, preferring plain roller shades for light control hidden behind the valances during the day. The rooms are all so petite that curtains just take up space and seem heavy for the lightness of the environment. I never understand beach projects with yards and yards of heavy curtains! It is also a great way to use less yardage of beautiful and thus expensive fabrics. I have been searching for the right person to make these as sometimes the fabric is so dear – both emotionally and/or financially – that the expense of the fabricating is less important than the fabric itself. The thought of them coming out wrong is unbearable because I simply couldn’t buy the fabric again, either because it was one of a kind vintage or just plain old costly.

The ceiling in the front bay behind the headboards is quite easy to deal with because it is just straight, but the side bay has a complicated ceiling and the corners of the window molding are cut off. I can’t tell you how many people came through my door and couldn’t or weren’t willing to work with me on solving the problem of those cut corners, suggesting ridiculous things like having the molding show above the valence.

My plan for the valances has been simple scallops which mimic the curvature of the headboards and the clover shaped night table in between the twin beds. The valence below is in Cath Kidson‘s bedroom in another wonderful Bennison roses pattern called Daisy Chain (you already know how much I love their Faded Floral and I’ll be showing how I used their monochrome blue Roses on beige linen soon). Kidson’s window is flat, so she is able to run a single piece valence with small scallops. My bays require a bit of a different treatment, with each window having one single large scallop.

Luckily my lovely new curtain lady understood exactly what I want, where I want them to start from and how I want them to hang. She took some iPhone photos and created this rendering. While lovely, it is a bit too fancy for me (and my daughter) with the green ruffle in between the scallops – too “decorator-y” if you know what I mean. That said, without some kind of border or contrast the Lilac fabric might look diffused, without punctuation, and I think that issue was what she was trying to solve by adding the secondary fabric. If you look back at the Cath Kidson photo, you’ll see there is a contrasting edging.

So in all these recent posts on ticking fabric I keep coming up with examples that mix well with Bennison florals and scallops. And it got me thinking…

Don’t I have some great lilac ticking put away in my magic fabric closet? And ridiculous me, don’t I have a photograph of it stored somewhere in my files?

Yes!

I don’t remember how much I have but this is real vintage ticking. What if the scalloped Lilac fabric was piped or bordered in it? I think that might be just the bit of sporty casualness it needs while also defining the edge of the large print. What say you all? For a little visual assistance, here is a mock-up, but keep in mind the scale and color is off.

I really enjoy these great monthly newsletters from Bennison – its easy to sign up for them if you are interested. There are always prettily styled photographs, like this one featuring the Lilac in this post as well as the newest Bennison design information. The most recent newsletter features the same photo of a room with ticking plus a Bennison floral pattern that I just used in my ticking post!

Oct 8, 2012 By tokyojinja in Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, Textiles Tags: beach house, bedroom, Bennison, Bennison Lilac, ticking, valence, window treatments

The Mail is Always Late Part II…More Ticking From Carolina Herrera Baez

I don’t buy things because they’re fashionable, I buy only what I love. And I don’t get tired of the things I have, because they are not gimmicky.
-Carolina Herrera Baez

As always, my magazines are so late! Imagine my distress at finally seeing the October Elle Decor featuring the spectacular apartment of Carolina Herrera Baez in Madrid and it is full of ticking stripe fabrics! International mail is my Achilles Heel!

So I don’t normally start posts in the bedroom, but couldn’t help myself here. Her bedroom had me at hello! The gorgeous flat canopy bed made from Ian Mankin ticking, played off against the starburst mirror, the Matouk linens, and for good measure, a fur coverlet. See – ticking takes the stuffiness out! There is even a secondary ticking stripe on the curtains.

Fairly formal ebonized and gilt dining room chairs are also covered in a simple ticking, keeping them fresh and casual. The house is full of fine furniture and art, all animated by color and personality. And the pink linen trimmed in jute in the study just knocks my socks off.

You can see one of the chairs closer here – the dining room also double as a library. I like that the bookshelves are crammed and not fake and stagey.

Even the entryway is lined in ticking stripes, trimmed out in jute and nailheads again. And the suzani-upholstered settee is another great example of contrast – fancy, but mixed with ethnic.

I could show you more, but I’ll let you click over to Elle Decor for the full article with the very unpretentious Herrera Baez and the rest of William Waldron’s wonderful photos.

Oct 2, 2012 By tokyojinja in Interior Design, Textiles Tags: Carolina Herrera Baez, Madrid, suzani, ticking

Ticking Takes The Stuffiness Out

Ticking stripes have been on my mind for a while – actually for at least 15 years if not more – but it was only with the unearthing of this great back issue of Elle Decor that I could finally complete a post on it. It contains photos of Marjorie Wollan’s apartment that had lived in my mind as one of the first great “undecorated” spaces I had seen at the time. I am happy to report that the entire apartment lives up to my memories, but more than anything else, it was always this ticking stripe Chesterfield sofa on the cover that blew me away.

Humble ticking, traditionally used to cover mattresses, is tightly woven to keep feathers and straw inside where it belongs. As a result, it is also great for upholstery projects. My favorite use is on formal furniture like that Chesterfield, and more particularly on those pieces with a wood or gilt frame, such as Louis XV and XVI or Sheraton style pieces. The ticking makes “important” furniture look more casual and approachable and thus more modern. Designer Jan Roden does it here with another of my influential old tear sheets, using ticking on the French chairs, lending a relaxed feel to the room. You can see another favorite of mine – a Bennison roses print – on the chair in the corner.

Imagine this ornate piece without the casual stripes…

One of ticking’s biggest successes was in this hugely popular photo of the Odette Sofette from Mitchell Gold that Good Bones, Great Pieces author Suzanne McGrath used in her daughter Lauren’s first apartment. I think every blogger out there has it saved in their files. I think I was extra partial to it because I already have two Odette chairs in my living room!

I have an entire Pinterest board devoted to moody blue libraries, but I think this one designed by Nate Berkus is by far my favorite! The gallery wall yes, and also the white frame sofa upholstered in blue and white ticking!

And to quote House Beautiful directly: “Natural linen on the tufted sofa and ticking stripe on the settee keep the living room of this New York apartment from being ‘too stuffy or precious,’ says designer Ashley Whittaker.” You can just see the ticking stripe peeking out on the framed sofa on the right. This is one of those spaces you just know would be comfy to live in.

Another incredibly relaxed space from the late Chessy Rayner’s Southampton home has a stripe covered settee among an eclectic variety of furnishings. More photos from this lovely home can be found here.

Ticking is also great at balancing ethereal whites and florals in the bedroom. Here it anchors a Louis XVI style settee in this dreamy bedroom.

And it looks fabulous scalloped with the stripes playing off the curved edge – either directionally with the stripes or against them. In this Jane Moore designed space the scallops on the coverlet run in the same direction as the stripes – which by the way, play off a Bennison floral once again. I know I have another great image of a scallop edged coverlet that runs in the other direction, but no matter how much I have looked for it I can’t find it. Bummer!

In this bedroom by Lars Bolander the narrow ticking stripes trace the curves well – like giant scallops!

The closest piece to Marjorie Wollan’s sofa that I ever came across is this Ralph Lauren Mayfair tufted chair. But I think it would be relatively easy to find a vintage tufted piece and have it recovered in ticking.

See! Ticking really does take the stuffiness out!

I loved this regency chaise with its tiny ticking stripe – another one of those things I wanted to buy but had no room for!

Camille over at The Vintique Object just had great posts on the Odette Sofette and on ticking too – take a look!

Image credits: 1. Elle Decor Feb/Mar 1996, 2. House Beautiful December 2003, 3. House & Home October 2007, photo credit: Virginia Mcdonald, 4. Traditional Home, photo credit: Max Kim-Bee, 5. Elle Decor March 2010, photo credit: William Waldron, 6. House Beautiful February 2010, photo credit: Francesco Lagnese, 7. via One Kings Lane, photo credit: Thibault Jeanson, 8-9. via Cote de Texas, 10. Country Living, October 2012, 11. Elle Decor March 2008, photo credit: Kang Kim, 12. via Chiarabelle’s Flickr account, 13. credit unknown.

Sep 27, 2012 By tokyojinja in Furniture, Interior Design, Textiles Tags: furniture, Marjorie Wollan, Odette, sofa, stripes, ticking, upholstery