As I write this, Kate Bush is on the record player, her Lionheart album to be exact. While I collect bits and bobs - more on that later - my husband David collects records. Currently his collection stands at more than 600, housed alphabetically in glossy white Besta cabinets from Ikea.
Music is always so perfect in setting a mood. In fact, I think a touch of Kate Bush would fit perfectly in the Venice Beach home included today.
Cheers, Arren
Call me a heathen, but I don’t usually think of Northern Ireland as a hotbed of modern design. Well, Orior has definitely changed that, especially when AD has proclaimed them ‘The chicest furniture company you’ve never heard of’.
Based in Newry, 40 miles outside of Belfast, the company was founded with a Scandi point of view in the late 70’s by Brian and Rose McGuigan . Now with their son Ciaran as Creative Director that mod tradition continues, with a seriously sizzling collection of upholstery and more.
The Bianca chair is a hot pick. Built for lounging, the seat is a total sensual delight in leather and velvet (just say yes to the Brick colour). Supported by a frame in either oak or walnut, the chair’s wingspan hits wide at 46” - This baby needs room to breathe.
Photo: Bianca in Brick (left) and Flamingo (right)
Try as I might to curtail my habits, I am an inveterate collector of, well, stuff. Early days was Art Deco objects, that gave way to an obsession with scientific glassware, which waned when I slid into white midcentury vases.
So, there is always something that needs a home, a moment to shine as it were, which is why I’m taken by Amsterdam-based designer Mickey Philips ceramic wall-mounted Shelf. Each is handmade, meaning each is slightly different - ‘wobbly’ explains Philips. But, to my mind at least, that makes them even more perfect.
Currently, I’m veering between that sunny yellow or the murky green to display a favourite Rosenthal vase. What colour would you pick?
Photo: Shelf in yellow
Photo: Shelf in yellow, mint green and dark green
A good designer feels the soul of a space, and that’s what I love about this Venice Beach project by Electric Bowery, where they preserved the charm of a 1927 Spanish Revival, while layering in special moments that makes it feel very now.
That custom channelled leather sofa, designed for the project by Tess Bethune, is the total cat’s pyjamas. And, I love seeing something that feels so contemporary played against the trad wood millwork and funky vintage finds. Boho, but in the best sense of the word. Scope out the rest of the interior here.
Photo: Douglas Friedman
Photo: Douglas Friedman