Patricia Gray Interior Design

I have been frantically trying to stay afloat.....that means I have been doing the proverbial juggling act of a circus acrobat.  When that happens in life some things have to give and that happened to be my daily Blog Postings.  Thanks to all of you who missed me and expressed your concern as to my whereabouts. I was in my office, and out and about town(s) - Vancouver and Seattle, creating and designing for 3 new clients.  The dynamics of the creative process is a very nebulous thing for me.  It happens in a vacuum of frenzied momentum and somewhat wondrous, and at times, inexplicable flashes.  So now that things are settling back to normal (not that I have that word in my vocabulary) I will be eagerly posting on my current inspirations.....Ready, Set, Go..........

This Concrete Pod by Architect Kazuya Morita is a piece of Sculptural beauty. Just think of all the different applications for this amazing piece.........

"Concrete-pod" is micro-space furniture for private and public use made of extremely thin concrete. In the dome, because of its minimal scale, it makes us more sensitive and relax perhaps like when we are in a traditional tea-house CHA-SITSU. It was exhibited in "Concrete Art Museum 2005" in Nagoya, Japan.

"Concrete-pod" is made from fiber reinforced concrete, which is the mixture of white cement and light-weight aggregate and glass fiber. By application of Japanese traditional plasterer's skill SAKAN, it was plastered on the dome-shaped mould by a trowel. After hardening, the mould of Styrofoam was dismantled and removed.

The diameter and the height of "Concrete-pod" is 1700mm each, thickness of shell is 15mm only. A minor axis of a hen's egg is about 40mm and thickness is 400 micron, so it means this concrete-shell is just like an expansion of a hen's eggshell. Though it's "hen's egg thin", "Concrete-pod" has the enough strength that a grown-up man can climb up. Even when you are in the "Concrete-pod" which is tenderly covered by the concrete-shell, you can feel the outside environment through the number of the holes, so it makes us feel indoor and outdoor at the same time, and takes us to the sensitive feeling and deep relaxation in the nature.

How cute is this wallpaper?  It is some of the nicest wallpaper I have seen for children's rooms.  It is from a British company called Fromental. Established in 2005,  Fromental produces a beautiful line of hand painted wallpapers.  The Company is headed by Tim Butcher, former seven years Creative Director of world-renowned hand-painted Chinoiserie house de Gournay.  Their latest line is called "Brainchild" (I love that name), and is a mini collection of 3 fun layouts for children's rooms.  The pictures show the colorways available in each series.  The schematic shows how the panels go together to create a mural on the wall.

Wow, am I ever surprised to see all the cute maternity clothes that are available.  Since my daughter is "growing" out of her present wardrobe she sent me a link to a Maternity store called <a href="http://www.apeainthepod.com/Shop_APeaInThePod/LOOKSyouwant012508.asp?MasterCategory_Id=0&website_Id=6"" target="_blank">A Pea in the Pod (cute name). They don't have this store in Vancouver, so we are planning a shopping trip to Seattle.  Things have come a long way since I was pregnant with my daughter.  They even have Designer Jeans!!

Farrow & Ball has just introduced 18 new paint colors in their line. I like the Farrow & Ball range because it is complete yet concise. The specification of the product is very clear without too many different finishes or too large a product range to make it confusing. To use, it is just superb, like brushing silk onto the walls. The depth of colour can only be compared to silk, a fibre with a great capacity for pigment.

The product is premixed ensuring good colour matching. Every colour is perfect. It is the exact shade or tint that works for a particular colour. The depth of colour and finish is way above all other paints. Every colour is a winner.

I also love the names of the colours; no other product allows you to specify ‘Drab’ and have the result be fabulous! I am especially happy to see the bottom 3 new colors: Pelt, Tanners Brown & Pitch Black and can hardly wait to try them. Wimborne White and Skimming Stone will definitely be on my list of new whites to try. I have paired some of these Farrow & Ball colors to pictures that I think might closely approximate the new paint colours in their line, so you can see how they might work in a room setting. Paint is a wonderful avenue for decorating. I always tell my clients that one colour doesn't cost anymore than another, but it can make all the difference in the world.

In rooms like the ones above I would use No. 239 Wimborne White to bring out the detail in an all white space.

No.254 Pelt - A rich plum-brown, would be an elegant and very current choice for this room.

No. 264 Cinder Rose for this room - "a fresh mauve colour" with perhaps just a little more pink in it than this picture.

No.244 London Clay - the name says it all.

No.242 Pavilion Gray - a pretty light gray

No.249 Lancaster Yellow - a fresh and clean pale yellow

No.247 Terre D'Egypte - a deliciously warm red-brown terracotta

No.253 Drawing Room Blue - A traditional ‘salon’ blue, this colour’s clean hue is reminiscent of the pigment Cobalt,
used by artists and discerning decorators ever since its discovery in the 19th century.

No.248 Incarnadine - A rich, crimson red, similar to the red gloss paint used by the late David Hicks
at Baron’s Court in the 1970s.

No.240 Cat's Paw - A stylish, yellow-based neutral colour which has an especially soft tone.

No.251 Curlish Green - A yellow-green colour has been used decoratively for centuries,
both on its own and as a ground beneath patterned wallpapers

No.245 Middleton Pink - A very delicate and near-translucent traditional
pale pink which is pretty without being too sugary.

No.255 Tanner's Brown - A dark, earthy brown, considered one of the most timeless of decorative tones.

Check out another post on the new Farrow & Ball paint colours at Windlost's Blog