Right On Target

Liberty of London comes to Target (aka Tar-zhay) and it's great affordable design for the masses.  Morris would approve (of the design anyway, maybe not the factories in third world where the stuff is probably made).  I took Target's on-line personality test (here) to see what pattern matched me best and you wouldn't believe the answer (last design below).  I did not rig these results!  Even Target can tell I'm a William Morris fan.

 

 

 

  

 

"Theberton is sophisticated, cultured, full of complexities, a little designer flair, but at heart, down-to-earth good taste.  It's got a hint of flora and a color combination that someone with your taste level can appreciate."  Oh yeah.

Morris wallpaper in real life....

Here are the Morris & Co. wallpaper books from my local hole-in-the-wall paint and paper store, Waltham Wallpaper and Paint.  They currently have six volumes and a new one is published by Sanderson each year.  You can tell from the duct tape they get a lot of use.  A double roll of Morris paper costs about $140 dollars and the books also include lots of matching fabrics.

 Fruit

I used Fruit in a small first floor bathroom in my last house.  Trim and beadboard wainscotting on lower half of room was painted Benjamin Moore Corinthian White.

 

This is Acorn (picture is from the wallpaper book).  I have always wanted to do a room with this pattern -- I love its subtlety.

 Acorn (detail)

Two more book examples.....an accent wall approach.

  

Windrush

  

Golden Lily (remember the dumpster?!)

  

Chrysanthemum in my dining room

  

 

 

Trim Benjamin Moore 925 semigloss, wall below chair rail C2 Outback in eggshell.

The Morris Room, Victorian & Albert Museum

 

  

  

 

A collaboration between William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Philip Webb completed in the 1860's.

The beautiful rugs of C.F.A. Voysey

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  I was looking at these beautiful reproductions of the rugs of Charles Voysey (1857–1941) recently.  Voysey was an English architect and designer who was influenced by William Morris and the Arts and Craft movement.  The rugs, which retail for about $4000 for an 8'x10', are sold here among other places.

For those with less money to spend, here are some artsy-crafty rugs from Home Decorators Collection.  I have Orange Blossom in my kitchen and love how cheerful it is (this rug was also sold by Garnet Hill last year at a higher price).  I wish I had a spot for Marigold.

 

 

McIntosh

  

Summer Day

  

Orange Blossom

  

Marigold

 

Poppies

Here's an earlier rug post you might like:  Some Magic Carpets

Willow, willow, on the wall...

 

 The Willow Bedroom, Standen

 

 Bedroom at Kelmscott Manor

 Stairwell, Victorian row house

 

Staircase, Wrightwick Manor

  

Morris's bed at Kelmscott Manor

 

 Willow Bough (1887)

Willow Bough is William Morris's most well-known and popular pattern.  These pictures are from two beautiful books:  William Morris Decor and Design (Elizabeth Wilhide) and Essential William Morris (Iain Zaczek).

Getting down to brass tacks...

 

Between this and last week's post I'm getting a serious case of door envy.  These doors are from two houses built by the architects McKim, Mead, and White (the pictures are from the wonderful book by Samuel White "The Houses of McKim, Mead, and White").  The first door is in the Ross Revillon Winans House in Baltimore (1882-83) and the second is the front door of Ochre Point, in Newport, Rhode Island (1882-84).  This is the same house that inspired my porch shingling here.  The architects used upholstery tacks --- if I was going to do this I'd start by enlarging the pictures and making a template.

My, what nice drawers you have...

 

Bryonie Porter takes old beat-up pieces of furniture and transforms them into works of stunning beauty by application of wallpaper.  She applies the wallpaper with normal wallpaper paste and then applies numerous coats of lacquer to finish.  I'm sure this is way harder than it sounds.  Visit her website to see more of her intriguing work.  I imagine it is just a matter of time before we see a Morris piece!

A door that makes you never want to leave...

The inside of the entrance door to Red House

It is hard for me to describe how beautiful I find this door (you must click to enlarge).  It is in Red House, a house built and furnished for and by Morris in collaboration with his friend and architect Philip Webb (while they were in their twenties!).  The door captures everything I love about Morris and his art -- how he takes his "formal" wallpaper (in this case Apple) and pairs it with this wacky fun paint job.  Is it medieval? or modern hipster?  It's certainly very cool.  The picture is from a lovely book "William Morris and Red House" by Jan Marsh.

Beachcombing beauties

This beautiful beach cottage lamp and stone sculpture were both made from objects found while beachcombing.  My dad made the light out of driftwood and a woven lobster trap that had washed up with tide (he hollowed out the small log with a paddle bit and lined the shade with cotton duck).  The carved cobble was my birthday present, carved by a Dingle stonemason who looks for perfect cobbles to carve on the beaches of southwest Ireland.

1/6/10:  I've since found out the stone carver's name is Jindrich Stanek.

Everywhere the Glint of Gold

"strange animals, statues and gold—everywhere the glint of gold."   Archeologist Howard Carter, describing his discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922.

This past Sunday I visited the de Young Museum in San Francisco where I saw the King Tut exhibit.  It was fantastic!  The treasures found in his tomb included many pieces of his household furniture, made around 1350 B.C.  Check out the imitation leopard skin campaign stool with the swan legs---too cool.

 Tutankhamun's Throne

 Cabinet with Hieroglyphic Fretwork

Royal bed

Imitation Leopard Skin Stool

Hope Chest 

Cow Mehetweret Bed Couch

Another stool

The tomb