entertaining with the classics
Last Thursday there was a really great story in the New York Times that I almost missed (it being Thanksgiving and me being in Ohio): With the Grace of Liberace Go I by Jancee Dunn, who normally writes about rock-n-roll but here is touching on something that pulls at my kitschy, seventies-child heartstrings. Dunn collects “gracious living” books from decades gone by, like Liberace Cooks! and My Way of Life by Joan Crawford and muses romantically about a time when hosts entertained with gusto, injecting their personalities into every aspect of a party, rather than creating a manufactured Martha-Stewart-esque perfection. Click here to read the story, and browse eBay it start your own classic living book collection.
Photo above, of Jancee’s collection, by Lars Klove for The New York Times.
2Comments
a commode-shaped house?
When I was in college, my freshman year was spent living in a dorm that was commonally referred to as “the toilet bowl.” It was a curved min-highrise that cradled a round main floor and cafeteria. Of course, no one told me this when I was still in highschool, picking out my housing. If they had, I may have made another choice. But imagine building yourself a home that intentionally looks like a commode? That’s what this man in South Korean has done, and he’s getting a tone of attention for it. The building’s unveiling is a part of the World Toilet Association‘s World Toilet Summit next month, which is hoping to improve worldwide hygiene. Now that’s a conference I can definitely skip… though at least you’ll always know where the ladies room is! — Angela M.
before it's too late! check out house & garden's ebay guide
We were thoroughly saddened by the news that House & Garden magazine was closing down shop this week. The demise of smart magazines tug at our heart-strings like nobody’s business. But we’d like to take a moment to say how much we’ve been digging houseandgarden.com — from Design*Sponge’s blog posts to their designers directory to the over-the-top photo galleries of homes we love talking about (yes, that’s means yours, Gwyneth) — it’s a great resource that we will miss. We’re not sure how much longer the switch will be on at that URL so, don’t wait to go and check things out. Especially the new eBay User’s Guide that’s up now. By Molly Symmonds, it gives great step-by-step guidelines on how to decorate your whole house, or just find one treasure. She gives you bookmark and search term suggestions. Print and save this one!
before it’s too late! check out house & garden’s ebay guide
We were thoroughly saddened by the news that House & Garden magazine was closing down shop this week. The demise of smart magazines tug at our heart-strings like nobody’s business. But we’d like to take a moment to say how much we’ve been digging houseandgarden.com — from Design*Sponge’s blog posts to their designers directory to the over-the-top photo galleries of homes we love talking about (yes, that’s means yours, Gwyneth) — it’s a great resource that we will miss. We’re not sure how much longer the switch will be on at that URL so, don’t wait to go and check things out. Especially the new eBay User’s Guide that’s up now. By Molly Symmonds, it gives great step-by-step guidelines on how to decorate your whole house, or just find one treasure. She gives you bookmark and search term suggestions. Print and save this one!
magazine dreams: a peek in eva zeisel's studio
We’ve written about our admiration for living design icon, Eva Zeisel before, so you can imagine how tickled we were to see this feature in New York magazine’s design issue about her Rockland County studio. Though she has lived on the Upper West Side (near Columbia U., near Angela M!) for decades, her design studio is on an old, eclectically decorated farmhouse. We especially love this photo of her dining room, which features a collection of gorgeous yet well-worn rugs (Tibetan? Afghanistan?), sensuous wooden candleholders, and folksy blue-and-white plates. It’s a reminder to buy things you love, not trends. Click here to see more at New York Mag.
