Eponymous:Blog

Blog Hiatus...

2010-02-14T04:43:00.001-08:00

For the moment, I'm blogging on my Rome experience at www.EmiliaPuccini.com

Enjoy!

Aestheticisms

2009-11-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

I have been (mentally) compiling a list of movies that can be viewed for purely aesthetic merits; Something's Gotta Give, Gosford Park, etc. This one looks like it will top the list. Not just on set, lights, and costumes, but also because of a bespectacled Colin Firth and Julianne Moore's hair. But what else might one expect from director Tom Ford? Yes, THAT Tom Ford...

Heaven help me...

2009-11-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

They've gone on sale....

How to have a friend

2009-10-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

1. Find a kindred soul,
2. The rest just happens.

Sometimes it is getting a stomach ache from eating every flavor of macaroon, sometimes it is spending all afternoon at the junk store, sometimes it is lingering over lunch so long that you end up ordering dinner as well. The circumstances may change, but you only need two people who think alike in order to have a wonderful friendship.

Happy Birthday, Whit!

La Vie de Emelie

2009-09-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have spent my first week in LA...here are my findings:

(in no particular order, except for particularly ordered lists)

I hope the academic part of UCLA is up to par with the scenery. It is such a lovely campus and very walkable from my charming neighborhood. I also hope the academic part masterfully succeeds the low standards of the administration. I have never before had to deal with such incompetence and difficulty (this includes the time that I had to deal with thousands upon thousands of dollars with my HMO). UCLA suddenly has no record of my full-tuition scholarship. Of course, the financial aid office does make appointments during the first few weeks of school so it has been difficult to get anyone who knows what they are talking about, to talk about it with me. Basically, I just had to take out a bunch of last minute student loans and but the rest on my credit card. I "believe" that they will sort it out later.

My studio is working out fine. It has freeway noise and is rather dark inside but I don't really expect company and it is something that I can deal with...with a bunch of lamps and my ipod.

I cannot find the cord that connects my camera to my laptop...so that's why I don't have any photos yet. But I promise to post some soon.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why I have brought so much stuff with me...I am sure that I have at least 100 books with me. I hope this is good practice for Rome...

I am doing a lot of scheming about how my life is going to work out when I come back from Italy. I will be doing a lot of research about some internship programs for next summer and see what kind of special treatment I can finagle...a little enthusiasm goes a long way!

They boys that I used to babysit, arrived at UCLA for their freshman and junior years...they are SUPER shy so I really doubt I will see much of them. But I sure will pester them by trying!

The two most hyped TV shows in LA right now are Dexter and Californication. I make this judgment based on the number of billboard, bus stop, and actual bus ads. Dexter is the hands-down winner. Farther down the line is Cougar Town with Courteney Cox and Melrose Place with such witticisms as "Tuesday is the new Humpday" or "Tuesdays are a bitch" as the MP subtitle...apparently, subtlety is not what the show is aiming for. But these ads are somewhat effective. While not inducing me to watch a show I don't already watch, I did think that it was time I caught up with Californication...and it made me wonder why Courteney Cox dropped Arquette from her name.

Okay, enough boring updates for now...next week expect COLOR! As in photos...and news about classes.

It's coming...

2009-09-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Slight destraction...

2009-08-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

So...I was cleaning out my closet and I was waiting for my little helper (Jessie) to come over and help me. I took all my clothes and put them on the bed. I thought it would be really funny to hide in the clothes and then jump out and scare her when she walked in the door. She texted me to let me know that she was leaving and I climbed into bed and covered myself with clothing. I woke up about an hour later...
Finally, when she showed up she took this photo.

Okay, so she isn't very punctual. But sometimes I need moral support when tackling a project like clothing. Because I am often destracted...like when I came across this skirt which I have never worn.
One reason I have never worn it is because it is almost as tall as I am. As you can see, I am standing on a stool just to try it on!
It is a handmade Sybil Connolly skirt in a shamrock green made of yards and yards of fine handkerchief linen pleated and pintucked to perfection. Sadly, not much is written about Connolly who revitalized the Irish handcraft industry by employing women to make lace, sweaters, and these amazing pleats for her designs. She is most famous for designing the linen dress that Jackie Kennedy wore in her White House portrait. Someday I'll have someplace to wear it. Until then, it remains unhemmed in my closet for me to try on with fiesta flowers as a slight destraction...

Post Script...

2009-08-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Alexander Wang...has it all!

His apt is viewable here...(courtesy of ThisIsGlamorous)

I Heart NY

2009-08-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I desperately wanted to be here...Bowling Green Park in NYC...Life has been rough the last few days but I'm going to keep on keepin' on and working toward what's next!

Westwood

2009-07-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

As of mid-September, Westwood will be my new place of residence until Dec/Jan. I will be renting a little studio in the back of the house. Unfortunately, it isn't nearly as nice as the main house but I am very glad to be living in a family home in a nice neighborhood within walking distance of campus.

Thurston Avenue affords a lovely view of the new Getty Museum. Hey Whit, remember when we went together? That seems like so long ago. We'll have to get over to the Getty Villa in Malibu at some point because that's where I plan to be interning next Summer!

I spent Saturday afternoon in Westwood, remembering and thinking about what it would be like to be there again. I had lunch at my favorite little eatery (think Fresco with a smaller, more adventurous menu and unfortunately/fortunately, no cupcakes) called Damon & Pythias. Then I popped over to this lovely little coffee shop. I sat in the courtyard with a cafe au lait and my summer read, Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits. I sat there, with the afternoon sun on my face, and thought, So this is my new life in Westwood...

My life as a dress!

2009-06-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

I am incredibly drawn to this dress. It is all the things that I hope I am. I LOVE white dresses. It has a gently curving shape, rides the line between casual and sophisticated, a sweet clean white, a tiny bit of irreverent edge. Classic, with a twist.

UCLA

2009-05-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Well, this is going to be my new hangout. Santa Barbara is beautiful but this new campus isn't bad. I am so lucky to be going from one pretty campus to another!

Country Houses

2009-05-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

In a country house, there are always lots of shoes...I love it when they just lay in rows without apology. It means that there are lots of family and friends around, running in and out of the house, casual enough to not have to hide them in the closet, kept well so that dirt isn't tracked everywhere :) I love TKR!

Photos: Domino, TKR...

TKR

2009-04-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Kelt Ranch has been steadily evolving and the time has come for furnishings. Marietta found inspiration from Desire to Inspire:

Marietta opted to have a table made rather than shelling out $6000 for this late 1800s Farmhouse table from Bountiful...

Now there is the question of the wicker chairs. Rooms and Gardens has these:

But I like the open legwork of this one from Ballard Designs:In addition to the table and chairs, other projects in the works are finding the right antique hanging shelf for the kitchen, a console for the loft, twin beds, rugs, etc. Here are some snippets:

Just a little snippet...

2009-04-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, my laptop is being slowly overtaken with Alzheimer's. It has forgotten how to do everyday things. It is very sad.

Today it seems well enough for me to post just a little snip of something. In response to Whit's burlap chairs, here's another just to show how old water-stained burlap can look so polished. I definitely feel like this is a project we should do. I'm not crazy about the cane seat and I really like the idea of the striped cushion like in Whit's photo. I smell a Spring Project!!

Finalmente!

2009-04-14T09:12:00.001-07:00

It has arrived!!!

For years, I have been guiltily smuggling my favorite hairspray into the US. It was my last major crime against the environment and I vowed that when my current stash (sent to me from Molly in the UAE - the writing on the bottle is in Arabic) runs out, I have to switch to Bumble & Bumble's Does It All hairspray. But after some changes with their aerosol emissions, L'Oreal has been granted permission to sell Elnett in the US for the first time. I am not one to "style" my hair and have many personal objections to hairspray in general, but I LOVE Elnett. I love the totally cheesy gold "glamour" bottle and am extatic that I can stop rationing my spritzes ;)

FreeGreen aka just another place I work for free!

2009-04-09T00:36:00.000-07:00

"People" have been wondering why I haven't posted anything for a little while. While I like to think that this blog is a place for me to release my design creativity into the world, sometimes I'm busy working on the design creativity to release!

Lately, I've been working on a new project. I consult for two of my brother's architectural firms through my own firm, EPONYMOUS:consultancy. And by consult, I mean work for free. As if to continue the joke, my brother's second firm is called FreeGreen because they give away "green" home plans for free. Okay people, the cat is out of the bag. They can afford to give them away because I'm not getting paid. Seriously though, I'm very happy to be doing anything that is remotely creative or design inspired and all of you know that I do most everything for free just for the fun and the experience of doing it.

The current project is writing design copy to accompany these renderings of a new house plan that is called the CUBE. I'm sure you can see why. These are my first drafts of copy. Unfortunately, my darling brother Ben has neglected to send me anything but the renderings so I have no true appreciation of the details, floor plan, or "selling" points of the house. Since I'm winging it and counting on time for rewrites, don't judge me too harshly!!

CUBE Exteriors 1 & 2

The aptly named CUBE, provides the ultimate in contemporary exteriors while its clean lines dictate a more efficient build as fewer cuts in the framing meaning less waste and fewer hours in labor. Cladding the CUBE in a sustainably forested wood infuses the house with fresh eco-chic, while using the corrugated metal siding gives it a more utilitarian edge. Boxing the entryway in a hardwood can give visual contrast and relief to both the shape and the color of the house, while using only a step embraces the forceful design.

The plan’s efficiency continues with the garage placed directly under the home, allowing for a smaller footprint and foundation. The high cost of glazing is minimized by the window placement: the fewer, more elongated higher-placed windows provide wide sky views and ample light without sacrificing privacy.

INT VIEW 2

By keeping the living room floor plan open to the dining room, one is visually connected to the deck and the view through the accordion-style glass doors. This implies a natural flow through the house and provides a family-friendly access to the kitchen. The wide plank floor boards are a fast growing pine that can be harvested sustainably allowing forests to be regrown quickly. The low open wall of shelving provides storage without blocking the line of vision into the dining room. The L-shaped sofa elongates the room and the view with an open end, providing seating on both sides for entertaining, but still providing the coziness of a corner for quiet evenings in.

INT VIEW 4

The subtlety of the pine floor plays off the stark white of the easily affordable IKEA cabinetry, softening and warming the palette. The placement of the sink in the kitchen island is a culinary favor that allows for ample room surrounding both the stovetop and the sink for cooking or serving family meals. The entire room is flooded with natural light from the folding doors of the dining room, while a view of the sky is provided by the windows of the far wall.

INT VIEW 3B

The continuing use of natural wood elements in both the island and the desk balance the clean white countertops and the ample storage of the glass pantry wall. [ACTUALLY, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS IN THAT WALL...IT LOOKS LIKE THE PANTRY IS NEXT TO THE FRIDGE] As the kitchen is invariably the center of the home, a small desk area provides easy access to email, phone charger, and a staging area for the day’s tasks. During the day, the kitchen is continually well lit thanks to the large accordion doors of the dining room. The recessed lights remain hidden until the evenings when the well-placed task lighting can be put to use. An energy-efficient refrigerator rounds out the kitchen’s environmentally conscious nature.

I gripe about Ben a lot because he's slow to respond to emails, wants to talk only when he needs to, and doesn't sweat details (such as telling me what materials he's using so I can describe them in text!). But the reality is that he is incredibly brilliant and built up two very sucessful firms before he was thirty. FreeGreen is now the most used source for stock building plans in the world and because he designs almost all of the homes, he could potentially be one of the most influential architects for semi-custom homes built in the US in the $400K-$600K range. Also, he's my favorite person on earth.

FreeGreen.com

Ben in Architectural Record

French Barn

2009-03-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy urban design, Paris apartments, NY lofts, etc. But since we're all thinking about ranches and "rurality," I thought I'd post this really sweet barn in rural France. I think I love exactly everything about it. I love the blues, the white walls, all the overhead bookshelves...

The navy ticking stripes...

It's all very haphazard and cozy...

I still don't have any dishes...perhaps I'll just start a collection like this. Just picking up a few mismatched vintage pieces, a few at a time!

Look at all the Cafe au Lait bowls...delightful!

Again with the books...they are the only ornamentation of the room.

I think the blue floors are divine.

Okay, I'm not going to say anything else about the books :)

The End...

My Grey Apartment

2009-03-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

My Grey Apartment

Remember back to my “Palette” blog when I said that I used color because I don’t have an architecturally significant apartment? I would love to do this sort of thing someday when I have a “real” apartment...I already have the sheepskin!

I love the way this stylist is able to take the monochromatic scheme and make it feminine, mix traditional and Lucite, and keep it all really clean. Love the floors, love the white sheets with a big coal blanket just to keep things balanced.

She even used one of these vintage typewriters that I keep wanting

everytime Whit and I go junking...

Granted, this shoot was to sell the furniture collection so that’s why it’s all matchy, but I think she did a terrific job. Of course, I might just like her because her name is

Emma D’inverno...Inverno is Italian for “Winter...”

Someday, my friends, someday...

Le Goyard

2009-03-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't made a handbag purchase in over two years. I don't plan on buying one until I can afford my dream bag...a white Goyard GM Saint Louis tote.

It may seem strange for someone who cuts out all the labels in her clothing to covet a bag with monograms. It may also seem strange to be willing to drop a significant amount of cash on a very plain bag.

But I want it.

Goyard is one of the most venerable French malleliers, older than Louis Vuitton, and has occupied the same address, 233 Rue de Honore, at the Place Vendome near the Ritz in Paris since forever. Even though the monogram pattern is original to the 1850s, it satisfies my strange sixties retro-glam obsession and the simple stlying of the Saint Louis tote, a revamp of the 1960s pattern, makes it both lightweight enough for everyday use and perfect for my wash-and-wear, scooter-friendly beach attire. I've always wanted a Goyard, but for years I couldn't decide on a color. The Saint Louis comes in ten powerful colors like burgundy, hunter, goldenrod, navy, and none of them ever made sense to me.

Goyard does not allow any of their bags to be sold online. And until recently, they weren't available on the West Coast. Now they have a boutique at Union Square in San Francisco and they are sold at Barney's and Neiman's in California. When they made the jump to California, they decided to add one color, exclusive to the state, to the palette...white. When I discovered the white bag with the light grey monogram, the final gear clicked into play and I fell in lust and have been on handbag hiatus until my 30th birthday when I can justify purchasing a luxury item.

The final thing to do when I finally can order my bag is to have Goyard paint a stripe and monogram on your bag. Whit's post about Jane Birkin's birkin reminded me so much of what I love about "my" Goyard. A classic bag, made casual with a bit of paint, filled for everyday use, slung over your arm...effortless style.

Mid-Week Musings...

2009-03-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to see if I had scooped Whit...she promised to invite me over to do a project and watch the 1975 film, Grey Gardens...

But apparently at the end of the month, we'll be able to watch the new Grey Gardens with Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKwKvgqRL4w

Here's a little peak!

But of course, Whit reads all the mags and blogs so I'm sure this is old news! Invite me over to watch the old one and then we can watch the new one together :)

Mrs. Emily Robinson?

2009-03-08T21:41:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure why, but Mrs. Robinson has come up a lot this week...Mrs. Robinson from the movie The Graduate.

I rarely wear leopard print, but I wore a leopard scarf this week...and someone called me Mrs. Robinson.

I was a dinner party on Sunday and my sister told the story of how our friend, Ukulele phenom Jake Shimabukuro came to a party at my house and annouced that he would play a special song that he had been working on just for me ..."Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkle. I was (well, flattered isn't exactly the right word), but I appreciated the thought. Unfortunately, he never recorded that song so I can't post it, but here is the special song he played for my sister, Jessie. She eventually inspired him to record it and it is the title track of his last album.

I was at UCSB yesterday as a participant in a survey on Virtual Reality conducted by graduate students in the Computer Science Department, my good friend Marcus being one of them. I guess that we were supposed to be anonymous because he listed me as "Mrs. Robinson."

Today while I was at Aqua having my toes done, I picked up the new Harper's Bazaar only to find an editorial on yep, you guessed it, Mrs. Robinson as played by Helena Christiansen. Note how the leopard motif emerges on the heel of her pump...

I just can't escape from Mrs. Robinson! Not that I really want to, Anne Bancroft was a fascinating woman.

The following photo I think I took from one of Whit's blog posts. I keep this photo in my inspiration file. It is both glamorous and poignant, which is an unusual and thought-provoking combination.

And I have been known to channel a little bit of Mrs. Robinson for Halloween every now and again!

...and I do have her hair!

Less than extrordinary...

2009-03-02T16:54:00.000-08:00

This week I have been a tad...exhausted. Monday came up awful fast. So I'm going to bypass my typical decor theme and blog a few randoms:

Want Versus Need:

I am currently trying to balance what I want vs. what I need...

The heels from Pour La Victoire (above)

and Pierre Hardy (below) perfectly illustrate my dilemma:

I am slightly excited and exasperated to see this Alexander Wang silk hoodie...I sewed my own in high school and always wished I still had it.

This last photo is my late Valentine for Whit. It is a heart-shaped vintage hatbox in the window of Geminola. Posing beside it is my glass travel frog (the frog story is a whole posting in itself!). NY is covered in snow right now but I know we both wish we were in West Village finding treasures in our favorite stores. Love you much, Whit! Magnolia cupcakes tomorrow, I PROMISE.

The Neutral Palettes

2009-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

There is a particular thing I find incredibly elusive when I flip through design books, magazines, and blogs. I am always on the look-out but find it quite hard to find. I really want to see the perfect neutral palette. The way I see it, neutrals can be the statement that we usually make the easy way: with color. I find that I use pops of color in my own apartment because I don’t have the architectural interior that I want highlighted. So using color can often be our way of cheating. But done well, the neutral palette is infinitely more intriguing. I don’t mean everything white or those hideous homes where everything is the color of oatmeal, including the decorator’s hair. Now, there are certainly lots of very modern neutrals (think whites, Lucite, and resin floors) but can neutrals be cozy? Warm? Sophisticated? Certainly, but like I said, it is hard to come across the right ones.
Feeding my design book addiction, I picked up a copy of Monochrome by Paula Rice Jackson. I loved the concept and felt like the book was done well, but it was really only half a book. The sleek, modern interiors with shiny floors were included, as was the monochromatic lime green living room. John Saladino’s home was there (he wrote the introduction) but his palette wasn’t the neutral for which I was looking. They left out the most important homes: the neutrals that are cozy, warm, and sophisticated. I’ve posted what I think the book lacks...

The first series of photos is of a home in Spain taken from Maire Claire Maison: Note the casual air to an almost white color scheme. This home is neither classic traditional nor strictly modern.

This second home is an apartment in Paris (but of course) from Elle Decoration, the British version of Elle Decor: I like it because I'm more inclined toward greige as a neutral rather than beige.

Whit's Office

2009-02-16T22:03:00.000-08:00

The time has come to officially start my blog. There have been several false starts but my blog mentor is getting ready for a new office so here is the perfect opportunity to start fresh. Whit is starting with a clean slate and her inspiration was the editor's desk, actual (Anna Wintour's at Vogue) and fictional (Meryl Streep's in The Devil Wears Prada):

A Desk by Ralph Lauren:

And a chair, also by Ralph Lauren:

I drew inspiration from a number of places. I thought of white with punches of strong color, a does of modernity/feminity, a few traditional pieces, a professional space but Whit is nothing without a strong streak of creativity (hence the notion of a inspiration board/gallery wall), and a smidge of Paris...

I was really intrigued by this shade of Navy called Symphony Blue by Benjamin Moore. I'd love to see it as a backdrop to an inspiration board/gallery wall behind Whit's desk:

And the desk would be this chrome sawhorse Architect's desk:

Since this really is an office, there will need to be some storage. I'm thinking of the small alcove space that is between the two windows. Behind the desk where the wall is painted Navy,

Option 1 would be a half wall of lateral cabinets and cubbies in white with an inspiration board/gallery wall above...

Option 2 woud be a traditional piece like this mahogany buffet that I had (and refinished myself for a song), also with the inspiration board/gallery wall above:

I chose this white leather Eames Soft Pad Management Chair, but honestly, any of the Eames desk chairs in white leather are incredibly iconic:

As for the office chairs for "guests" to sit in (Marietta, Chad, Clare, and myself), I haven't found any yet but I bet there are a few French chairs from Indigo Seas that might be convinced to change locations...

That's what I envisioned for Whit...tell me, how far off am I? You can see other inspirations and ideas for the office here and here.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Claire!