Auction season has started

I don't know what this little metal stool with under-cabinet was used for, I just know that I'm in love with it.

Fat & Sassy

I haven't bought anything on eBay in ages, though I've been looking a lot.  We've picked up a few woodblock prints at auctions recently, so I've been looking to find a few more.  Wouldn't a whole wall of them be great?  

When I find them they always seem to have colored mats and that damn gold bamboo frame.  I'm going with crisp white double-matting and simple wood frames, although I haven't decided on a moulding yet. Brett worries that we've got a lot of Asian going on, but I think that a contemporary framing treatment should temper that.

Of course while I'm there searching for the thing-of-the-moment I have to search for the long-standing favorites too.  Vintage Henredon, industrial baskets, murano bowls, hotel silver and Blanc de Chine.

Searching through those Blanc de Chine listings last night what did I find but this super-sweet buddha.  He's unmarked, 12 inches tall, in excellent condition, and the owner estimates from the 70s.  She also described him as holding "a hard boiled egg cut in half, or a seed pod."  

Whatever that is in his hand, and wherever he's from, I think he's great.  And thanks to a bid I floated and guarded tonight (watching on my phone's eBay app) he's on his way here.

Yes, he's very Asian.  But he's also all white and small enough to tuck in most anywhere, so I'll be excited to get him.  Now if I can just score a few of those woodblocks.

Current crush

Alexa Hampton for Visual Comfort. 28 inches, also available in white marble. I like it way more in black. I also might prefer a drum shade rather than the flare. I love urns as much as lamps so you can imagine my brain when I saw it on Gilt. I googled to grab a picture and found it for slightly more than half of Gilt's price. Filing it away for the next time I feel like I deserve a present.

Fashion Friday

I'm still in the mood for a new coat, and I'm still enamored with LBM 1911. This is their pea coat. SO handsome.

Have a great weekend!

Fashion Break

With the little break in our hellish weather I started thinking about a new fall coat. Wouldn't this unconstructed beauty be great? It's Lubiam's more casual LBM 1911 line.

Today on Gilt

Amy Howard Cayman ottomans, 25 inch diameter by 20 tall. Industrial mesh, casters, and a little velvet on top. $1340 for a pair.

Meet Lloyd

Oddly enough, of everything we've done with this house I think I'm happiest about my new bathroom sink. (The Lloyd pedestal by Toto)

I've got to clean the floor, get switch plates and outlet covers on, and wash the new gray towels we got to replace our khaki colored ones. The last piece is having the glass guys out to measure for the shower enclosure. Oh, and I may need something new for our toothbrushes.

It's just so much more pleasant to brush my teeth or wash my hands here rather than a tattered blue or purple sink with wonky old faucets that spray in odd directions.

A warm weather public service

Summer has reached the midwest as the temperature has hit the mid 90's both yesterday and today. Here at Chez Malaise that means gin season!

I recently discovered the Simply line of juices and drinks. All natural and delicious I thought they'd make super summer cocktails, and they do.

Today's riff on the classic G-N-T is:
-1 part Bombay Sapphire (life is way too short to drink bad gin)
-1 part tonic (Brett buys diet and it seems just fine)
-3 parts Simply Limeade

Stir and garnish with a lime wedge. I forgot to buy a lime so my drink is naked, but still tasty.

I occasionally buy a Simply Lemonade at lunch and it too is delicious. I'm thinking next weekend we'll try that with plain old vodka or Absolut Citron and a splash of Sprite or some other bubbly mixer.

Bill is here tiling (photos later!) and I've got a pleasant buzz while I tidy up the kitchen. Yay weekends!

The MidMal Gift Guide

Its December, its cold, and I don't think I've ever done a gift guide. We cap Christmas pretty low at Chez Malaise, so think of it as a guide not only for the holiday, but for gifting (yourself or others) all year long. Spreading it out is much better than concentrated Christmas excess.

I somehow forgot to upload this when I first posted, it's C. Jere's Raindrops wall sculpture, available through Jonathan Adler. Love.


I saw these at Hall's and guessed that they were made by Global Views, and I was right.

They're the Geometry Covered Vases, and 19 and 25.5 inches tall respectively. Global Views' website has a handy dealer locater if Hall's isn't convenient. Note, the ones I saw were much brighter than these appear, which is good. The green was way more acid than grass.

It wouldn't be my gift guide if there wasn't a lamp, so how about two.
From Barbara Cosgrove's BCL line, the Glitz lamp. Eighteen inches tall, silver on porcelain, $356 for a pair, which is the only way they're sold. (Pairs are good, we like pairs.)

Imagine a tree full of silver balls and these.

Unglazed porcelain origami crane ornaments, $48 per pair at Gump's. At that price a full tree is going to require some severe markdowns, but still they're very cool.

I love mirrors, especially big, round ones.

From Global Views again, the Galt mirror. 36" of beveled mirror and pale wood goodness. I can think of a number of places this would be really great.

Good gifting always requires a little work, but please do not steal this Winifred Turner sculpture, Crouching Youth, from the Victoria & Albert in London.

Austin Productions made an authorized cast of the original. I've been watching one on eBay forever, but it seems to have disappeared. If you ever run across one I need to know.

Getting to those covered vases at Hall's took me right past the shelves of Votivo, where I remembered how much I like their Clean Crisp White scent.

I know, I don't really want to look at a reed diffuser either. The problem is, while Votivo's candles smell great, they also smoke a lot. Like enough to set the alarm off when you leave one burning in your condo bathroom on Christmas eve. Tuck this in a discreet spot and you're good to go.

This isn't just a list of things for the house though. Everyone wants a little something for themselves.

Like a black guccissima bifold wallet, $280 from Gucci. Just remember, men are often particular about wallets, don't give one unless you know what he likes.

Jewelry is much the same. He's likely either a jewelry guy or he isn't.

I wish David Yurman wouldn't plaster his initials all over things, but even with, I like the multiple pieces of the Special Petrvs Amulet Necklace, $1350 from Neiman Marcus. The 22" chain seems a little long, but that's an easy fix. I think it would be a lot more interesting up a bit closer to the throat.

Another good idea I must mention is a gift thats fun and does some good at the same time. What could be more fun than a puppy! The doing good part comes from getting one from your regional rescue.

This sweet little guy (and his brother - another pair!) is available from a shelter in St. Louis, but there are plenty of extra dogs everywhere. And if you're not up to housebreaking or dealing with all the mess (schnauzers are a handful until they're about two) there are plenty of adult and senior dogs who need a home as much, if not more than the babies. This is one gift you should ask about before hand. We're serious about dogs here, and 'forever home' means forever.

And finally, the big gun. Yes, every winter we're bombarded with the commercials. Often the family in the driveway presenting Mom with her new Lexus.

I say if you really want it make it a December to Remember, go vintage. This 76 Eldorado convertible is fab and way more reliable than something old and British or Italian. 19 feet long and not much more than that to the gallon. White is nice, and black is always good. (Red is a bit much in my mind.) Perfect, to me at least, is Innsbruck Blue, with the blue leather interior. Get the parade boot too. You probably won't end up behind a marching band, but you never know.

Thats quite a basket

Linking and looking around like I do, I found this. Its the Sullivan console from Jayson Home & Garden. 55 by 16 by 30, $995. Love it.

Things I love: Silver foliage

Isn't it great when a plant likes where you put it? Everything in the little side bed is looking healthy, we've had a lot of rain so I'm not surprised, but none of the plants are especially fast growers, save the two artemesia I surrounded Mr. Cement Frog with.

I'm a sucker for most any plant that leans to silvers and blues, this finely cut, bushy variety being my favorite. They like some sun and I was worried they wouldn't get enough on the east side of the house, but it appears to be working out just fine.

Now if the big varigated grasses I put by the garage and the porch would stop looking so dry and scraggly I'd be perfectly happy. The smaller dark green maiden grass seems to be doing well, but the big guys look like they're having a hard time of it. Buckets of water seem to help, as did all the rain, but a few dry days and they're looking iffy again. Fingers crossed.

Things I love: Boss outerwear

Brett had networking things after work, so after taking care of the boys I cleaned up and went out for a little shopping. I'd been tired and draggy and cold all day and thought a new sweater would perk (and warm) me up. My first stop was Hall's, as they're taking an extra 25% off markdowns through the 31st.

A sweater somewhere in the brown family was what I was looking for, so of course I came home with a black coat. This military-inspired wool jacket was just too good to pass up, especially for less than half price. Boss shirts don't always fit me well, but their pants and coats are great. I love my tan Boss topcoat (also bought on final sale at Hall's) and need to remember to pull it out more this spring. The fabrics are always interesting. I wish you could see the twill weave in this jacket, but it's too faint in black to photograph well.

I'm ready for spring to get here, but this should make the remainder of winter less awful.

Things I love: Industrial Chic

The latest Crate & Barrel catalog came in the mail, and there's tons of new goodness to be had. A couple of really good lamps, an armchair with nice lines covered in a peacock blue velvet, a really beautiful collection of drum tables sheathed in a gorgeous walnut veneer, and my favorite, the Turner barstoool.

I love a few industrial pieces in my mix, and I'm racking my brain trying to figure out where I could use this. Vintage-inspired (yay!), blackened iron finish, seat adjusts from 18 to 24 inches.

There's a home in my head

The new Pottery Barn catalog came in today's mail, and the headline was "Vintage Style." I was curious to find out what that meant exactly, and I have to say, I saw some things I liked.

I'm digging these shades, I could totally make these

This bar is designed to look like a vintage workbench. I have an actual workbench on sideboard duty in our dining room.

I've mentioned before, I'm not much of a wine drinker. I could however be a wine bottle chandelier hanger. I just think they're good looking.

If you walked in to Chez Malaise, "vintage" isn't the vibe you'd get. Upholstery here tends to be simple and tailored. Lamps are generally white or a silver metal, usually topped by simple black shades. You'd find a painted piece or two, some asian accents, and a few things you'd call contemporary. It's a mix of new and not new, but (I like to think) smart and comfortable and current. What you might notice though, is the handmade quality of a few furniture pieces, and handmade is what I tend to think of when I think "vintage."

Our home is furnished for us, taking into account both our tastes and preferences, and it's always been very easy for us to put together rooms we both enjoy. But I am at heart, a lover of age and wear and things that are not perfect. The inclusion of pieces I would describe as handmade is how I've incorporated that love into my home, mixing them into a look and feel we both like.

There's a house in my mind though, where everything shows both the hand of the maker and the hand of time, and where if it's not true "vintage" it's at least "vintage-inspired." Looking through this catalog PB's got a few things that would fit right in.

Things I love - Scenic wallpapers

Brett and I have always been lucky that our tastes in interiors, if not entirely similar, are easily compatible. We both prefer firm upholstery, for example, and rooms with a mix of styles. We think walls are better with color and both firmly subscribe to the "it's just paint" school when it comes time to freshen up a room. If it's not right, you can always paint it again.

The last frontier finding us far, far apart, is wallpaper.

The panel above is part of Tropical Views from Paul Montgomery Studios, which I recently discovered online. This is my favorite from a number of really great panoramic papers that are handpainted to mimic old woodblock printing, and can be customized in size and colorway to fit your application.

Picture it in grayscale, glossy white chair rail and panel moulding below, large crown above, and a black-stained wood floor. For a dining room we'll throw in an overscaled chrome chandelier. For a library we could swap the panel moulding for low bookshelves around the room. Black linen drapes on fat chrome rods work with either.

I'll get him there eventually!

Things I love #2

Mrs. Blandings mentioned The Curious Sofa recently, and as I was driving through Prairie Village on Saturday I decided to stop in. While slipcovered furniture isn't really my thing, a lesson I learned incidentally by buying a slipcovered sofa, the store is always full of interesting things, and this visit was no exception.

Halloween is a big deal there, and they've already had their Halloween open house, this year entitled Dark Carnival. The whole place is decorated, but by far my favorite display was the witch's dining table. I cannot resist a table set with white ironstone and tarnished silver and lots of stuffed rats. Seriously, a black rat poised on top of a tureen full of spanish moss may be the perfect halloween decoration.

Mostly here I look at the displays, and the always sizeable collection of vintage painted furniture. Like me, the owner likes a bit of wear on her painted tables and chests, and she had some very nice pieces, always in the lighter palette she's known for. Making my way back to the front of the store though, I saw this huge, dark steel armoire. It looks industrial, and I couldn't tell if it was old or new. I asked the manager, and it's a new line they're thinking about.

I hope they decide to represent, because I've already decided I need this piece. The darkened steel, the mesh, the vintage-looking handle, I love everything about it. I don't know where I'd use it, although I have a couple ideas. (I've started picking up old white ironstone myself, wouldn't it be great stacked in here!) Plus we won't live here forever and I can find somewhere to stow it if need be.

This photo is from the owner's blog as again, I didn't have my camera with me. I did not get to meet Pearl, the owner's dog. Hopefully she'll be around for my next visit.

Things I love #1

A grocery sack sat in the garage near my car for so long I can't remember when I put it there. It contained a number of things that I needed to get out of my car. I finally picked up the sack over the weekend and went through it. Everything went into the trash except for a pair of gloves and three CDs.

The soundtrack to Good Night, and Good Luck was one of the discs. If you're a fan of jazz in general, or Diane Reeves in particular you will not be disappointed.