Admiring the Luminous Artwork of Nina Maguire

Too Many Cooks ..., / Nina Maguire

Irwin Weiner ASID - We enjoyed attending the invitation-only opening night preview of the latest Antiques, Art & Design at the Armory show this past September 21 at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC, co-hosted by Ellie Cullman, Jamie Drake, and Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin. 

Over 60+ dealers specializing in high quality art and antiques including:

French, English, Italian, Swedish and Continental furniture from the 17th century through mid-century modern ∙ fine silver including Early American, French, English, 20th century decorative silver including Tiffany, Italian, Jensen ∙ Russian antiquities and art ∙ rugs and tapestries ∙ Tiffany lamps ∙ antique enamels ∙ French Art Nouveau and French Art Deco furniture and objects ∙ art glass ∙ English and Chinese export porcelain ∙ pottery ∙ objets de Vertu ∙ whimsical objet ∙ antique wicker ∙ fine antique, estate and contemporary jewelry ∙ fine, modern, and contemporary art ∙ fine art lithographs and works on paper ∙ sculpture ∙ rare books and manuscripts ∙ canine and sporting art and much more.

One of the standout exhibitors for us was Cavalier Galleries in Greenwich, CT and Nantucket, MA. We were drawn to a wall of beautiful "new masters" paintings by award-winning painter Nina Maguire. Her work is delicate and expressive, using dreamy acrylic on canvas, sometimes with an incredible texture for her media provided by sekishu rice paper as in her Too Many Cooks ..., (top) and Opera Panorama - Intermission - Lincoln Center (bottom). 

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Dumpster Diving Pays Off with Stolen Art Find

Irwin Weiner ASID - My partner Jay likes to take home old things he finds on the curbs of New York City. He's wise enough not to go for throw-out upholstered furniture or old mattresses. (Think: bedbugs!) But one day he brought home a painting I despised. It's an abstract of what looks like an Eastern European village and there's an old woman bent over walking with the help of a cane. Art is visceral, and I took an immediate disliking to the piece (it's now hanging up in a storage barn in the back of our lot in rural Pennsylvania).

But Jay loves his "major art find" and showed me the story of "Tres Personajes," the Rufino Tamayo masterpiece that was found by a woman who was dumpster diving in the very spot you see in the photo above ... on the streets of Manhattan, just like Jay's art discovery. The painting that she found, however, had been stolen 30 years before her 2007 discovery; she had the painting researched, returned to the owners, she collected $15,000 reward for the painting's return and Sotheby's gave her

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The Sweet, Artistic Life of Paula Sweet

 

Irwin Weiner ASID - Creativity in daily life? Wouldn't it be wonderful to be talented enough to hand-paint your house in a fine art style, decorate your furniture with bright colors, make your family's dinnerware, and fill your own ceramic vases with flowers from the garden? If you're Paula Sweet, you're all that and more.

We were recently guests of Paula and her husband Richard and daughter Kayla in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Their house rambles on a wooded hillside and is a mid-century modern delight, with beamed ceilings, painted concrete floors, a koi pond, swimming pool, and Paula's art studio. She's fascinated with small, curling tendrils on vines and collects them on her walks through the woods, marrying them with ceramic plaques and small studies that take up whole sections of her walls, along with bold portraits of people in her life.

Originally known for her break-out wearable art fashion - the luxurious, washable

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Abstract Art Blasts Color and Pattern into Accessories

Janet Ramin - Are you one of those who want to break the rules, color outside the box, and do the opposite of whatever everyone else does? Then abstract patterns might be up your alley.  

Abstract prints are the complete opposite of geometrics. Geometrics are based on basic shapes of circles, squares, and rectangles - whereas with abstracts anything goes. Abstract patterns play well with contemporary and modern style interiors. They’re usually fresh, wild, and won’t remind your friends of your grandmother’s taste. 

Pictured above is a smattering of abstract print pillows. Starting at the top right, clockwise, the orange pillow is from Bliss Living called Humanity for All – Freedom. The next is Ecco Blue Leaf from Koko Company, Bamboo Leaves by Josey Miller, Humanity for All – Dream from Bliss Living, and Metsan Kuningas by Marimekko, available at Crate and Barrel.

Abstract prints can be created in two ways: you can take something real, i.e. a leaf or a flower, and take out the details or “abstract it”. Above are examples of an abstraction of a flower, the Metallik pillow was a sunflower, the Aquamarine in Pool fabric from Duralee was a rose, and Orange Fusion pillow came from a daisy. There’s still some detail left to recognize what it once was, but now the emphasis is on lines and shape – the design – rather than the flower. 

Abstract prints can also come out purely from the imagination. Designer Amy Helfand who creates beautiful modern rugs from her studio in Red Hook, New York, credits her inspiration to the landscapes around her. She first captures her surroundings through photography and from there transforms it to abstract patterns for her colorful rugs. Below are Blue Ridge Voyage and Ragged Wandering.

(Blue Ridge Voyage, courtesy of Amy Helfand)

(Ragged Wandering, courtesy of Amy Helfand)

Once again, you'll use these abstracts to freshen up an interior and add shockingly fresh accents to any room. We'd love to see Clinton Stewart's exciting Holey-Poley conceptual daybed, a student design project from this Aussie studying in Copenhagen, in full production one day - and we'd put some abstract pillows as pops of pure pattern against the stark black of his playful, interchangeable modular design. Watch how the daybed works in this stop-action video from Designboom.

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This post was reprinted with permission from the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded their course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing their distance education courses.
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Update on September 20, 2011 by Design2Share

Super King Size Leather Beds: We just found a great collection of sleek leather bed designs. They add sophistication, whether your bedroom decor is traditional or modern. 

FEATURED PROJECT: DIY PAINTED HEADBOARD

Now is the perfect time to think about freshening up your interior space. With a splash of color here and a new piece of furniture there, it's easy to redecorate. Here's a quick, budget-conscious DIY design idea to help get you started.

Paint Your Own Headboard

Chances are if you if you purchased your bed frame as part of a bedroom set, the headboard is already included. If you don't want to put forth the extra cash, especially after paying for a pricey mattress, no problem! Painted headboards are a great way to add a pop of color to your bedroom.

Step 1: Measure the width of the head of your bed and mark it with blue painter's tape from floor to ceiling. Now, choose your color based on your desired color scheme. You obviously don't want it to be the same shade as your walls, but it should complement that color.

Step 2: Once you have your color, paint the wall, staying within the blue painters tape. Once the paint dries, if you choose to do so, you can detail with paint or with some removable wall decals from a company like Blik. For as little as $40, Blik makes easily removable wall decals in fun shapes like bookshelves, chandeliers, birds, etc. If this sounds like too much work, don't worry and leave your wall a solid color.

Step 3: Simply position your bed up against the painted wall, prop up some decorative Euro pillows in coordinating colors and patterns, and you have yourself a headboard. You might want to take this opportunity to invest in a new comforter or duvet in fun, light, spring colors. You'd be surprised at what a little bit of paint and some new bedding can do for your space!

Contemporary vanities and more at Decor Planet for your bathroom needs.