dining with jeff

As you all know, I've been working on getting my new and awesomely huge screen porch in working order, particularly in time for the lovely fall weather. I have visions of myself snuggled up on a day bed in the sun--perhaps in a snuggie--reading a good book, watering my ferns as they grow bigger and greener, and last but not least, serving friends delicious chili around my science-lab-desk-turned-dining-table. Designing with a budget that tends to get way-laid by irresistible items, such as sweater vests at J. Crew, I'm taking this a day at a time, but thanks to ikea, I'm well on my way to the chili dream. Enter Jeff. Best dining companion ever. He's sleek, cheap, and oh so practical. It was love at first sight when I spotted him online, but I was slightly dismayed when (in typical ikea fashion) he was only available for purchase in store. Bah! Luckily, my incredible sister was planning a trip to Atlanta, so I didn't have to wait long for this new man in my life (x4!)... I love Jeff for lots of reasons. He's $9.99, quite the acrobat (you can see how he folds), happy to stay outside, good to sit on, and of course, because not every chair needs to stand out (Jeff hangs with allora.signature.CANDIA and the ladies can be quite diva-like).

charles. ray. gustave.

Charles and Ray Eames made several significant contributions to design, but the Eiffel Plastic Side Chair (1950) is without a doubt one of my favorites. Aptly named, this chair has a distinct chrome-finished base that suggests the Eiffel Tower. The seat of the chair is made of molded plastic and comes in a variety of colors. This chair is versatile and modern and altogether lovely! Perhaps one day, I'll have these around my dining room table.

high on the high line

Like that marketing genius before me, I HEART NEW YORK. There are a million and one reasons to love the city to begin with and now my all time favorite architects have given us another. The first part of the High Line has officially opened up on the west side, right at the Meatpacking District, and I'm doing everything in my power to not blow my whole budget and get up there immediately to explore it. It looks absolutely incredible! My friends, Brian and Jennifer--lucky ducks, have already gotten to visit this wonderful urban intervention that hovers over traffic and reaches out to the Hudson, and I'm overwhelmed with jealousy (but very thankful for the pictures!)! I was looking at said photos, and just when I thought I knew every reason to love the High Line, BAM, another one. I firmly believe that good design is based in good details, so I'm not sure why I was surprised to discover that even the furniture in this raised park is wonderful! Now, wouldn't you feel special if you got to sit in the lovely green chair?

a special place to sit

"my father fed me on this when I was a baby

M.L. McArthur

(mother's arm was in a cast)"

I know that a stool isn't necessarily a "chair," persay, but I would venture that they are not so distant relatives. Nonetheless, a good seat is a good seat, and this stool happens to be one of my favorites. I distinctly remember where this stool sat in my grandparents' kitchen on Roslyn Drive, remember sitting on it and eating sundaes with cherries on top, remember pulling it up to the table crowded with family. It is a rather basic stool, painted white with four legs, sturdy and utilitarian. But it is also a special stool. In the rough times following my grandmother's passing, my whole family, my mother in particular, found comfort in small notes left by Ga-Ba in the most interesting of places. It was as if she knew the joy we would find in the memories she left for us, some of which we might never have known, such as the one we found on this stool. I use this stool in my home now to put dishes up on shelves that are out of my reach, to sit while I chat on the phone, for guests when there aren't enough chairs on the screen porch, and even, on occasion, as a plant stand. And every time, I think about my grandmother, as a toddler being fed by her father on the same stool. Its a type of physical memory that I love! It makes me want to record my thoughts with an indelible marker on my favorite items, so that somewhere down the road, someone will find them and remember.

mmm chairs!

So last week I was feeling a little nostalgic and somehow find myself looking at images from the time that I spent studying in Rome... and low and behold, I (re)discovered pictures from a trip that several of us took to Florence. One of the highlights of this little jaunt was most definitely Moyo's, an incredibly designed and incredibly delicious tapas bar tucked just between the Arno and the Piazza Vecchio. Cleverly, the chairs in the restaurant were all Ms, Os, or Ys and were occasionally arranged to spell Moyo, however, when I passed by this table of all Ms, I knew it was for me! Its not everyday you find your initials on chairs and can have a killer Caipirinha too!

one. two. three. four.

uno. dos. tres. cuatro.

YET ANOTHER INTERESTING CHAIR. Vastly different from the Gaudi chair I blogged about last week, this hyperbole of a wingback chair that I came across in Baltimore last weekend is wonderfully exaggerated and beautifully bold. We found it in a nook outside of the restrooms in a Fell's Point pub and immediately had to test it out. This oversized loveseat of a chair fit both my mother and me comfortably, while we took in its curves and bright red velvet. I love the playful nature of this chair and how it suspends your expectations of scale, particularly in the small spaces that it inhabits.

allora meets vale'

BLOG NO.2. Here we go. I was recently lucky enough to visit Spain--which is great for a lot of reasons, but particularly wonderful because I got to travel for two weeks with my sister, Lauren. I might add here that Lauren is fully fluent in Spanish and a master of the Spanish lifestyle, making her the perfect guide. She not only spent two weeks translating my terrible Spanish to shopkeepers and waiters, she also patiently indulged my need to visit everything of architectural significance in each city we went. Although I am slightly conflicted by the work of Antoni Gaudi, I couldn't imagine being in Barcelona and not paying homage to some of his most famous works. It turns out that I'm actually a much bigger fan of Gaudi's than I initially thought. I particularly enjoy his ergonomic details, from oddly but appropriately shaped door knobs to highly designed furniture, such as this great chair at the Casa Mila. Obviously made for a couple, the chair almost forces you to lean in, and every inch is made to accomodate your body. We had a great time testing it out!