LA Scene - Pacific Standard Time

My last few days in California, and I totally lucked out - amazing weather (seriously, 80 degrees in January?!) and a trip up to Los Angeles to check out some new furniture stores and take in Pacific Standard Time. Hands down my favorite exhibits were at LACMA and the Getty.  We hit up LACMA first, and I could not believe I actually had not been there since I lived in the area about 6 years ago - the renovations/new buildings have entirely changed LACMA.  

Urban Light installation at LACMA

The exhibit at LACMA - California Design: 1930 - 1965 - had some great furniture, including this groovy coffee table (I'm still searching for inspiration for my own) from Milo Baughman that includes a planter (so Cali ;-)).  I forgot the maker, but I also really liked the rope lounge chairs - perfect for an 80 degree lounging-by-the-pool type day.

But my favorite had to be the Eames installation.  Of course, you weren't allowed to take pictures, so this was my best "sneak" of their exhibit.  The Case Study House No. 8 was recreated at LACMA, and they had meticulously arranged everything inside the same way Charles and Ray had it (furniture, books, plants).  Pretty amazing.

Then yesterday we hit up the West Side, and headed over to the Getty.  Again, the Pacific Standard Time exhibits were great (some really cool resin sculpture that originated in California - I think around the time surf boards were just starting to be made that way).  But with such a perfect day, I think the best views were from outside the Getty.  

Alright, I better go enjoy my last day of nice weather before hopping on a plane headed back to DC tomorrow!

LA Bound

And what better way to end my trip to California than by spending the last few days of it up in Los Angeles? I am so excited to head up there in a little bit.  Today is going to be a marathon-girl-fest with Sara.  We have about 6 months of catching up to do! And tomorrow and Friday my parents and I are going to immerse ourselves in furniture, art + design: LACMA, MOMA, the Geffen, Getty, and some new (to us) furniture stores on La Brea and Beverly Blvd.  I have a feeling it is going to be exhausting squeezing in all of this culture, but I'm excited I get to see as much as I can - definitely inspiration for my future move back to the West Coast.  And I'm going to bring my Hasselblad, so hopefully will snap some cool pics as well!

Image from Steven Monteau's photostream

Rewind to 504

I was browsing A+R this morning and had to post this gift. It makes me want to retake 504 (summer bootcamp that kicked off architecture school). We had to make a cube with various stipulations, and for most of us it turned into this weekend-long assignment as our first rounds weren't perfect enough. Would have loved to take the weekend off and shown up with this Monday morning instead...

Where East Meets West [Elm]

I think so much of my design aesthetic has been influenced by my various travel opportunities. While Italy and now Finland hold a special place in my heart, I have to admit that the bright colors, patterns, and textiles of the East really bring a smile to my face. So I was really excited to see the new West Elm catalogue - you know the "global trend" has really trickled down to the masses when a company like West Elm is carrying this stuff. And since another trip is not in the cards for me right now, I guess I'll just have to keep perusing the catalogue to feel inspired.

I put these two collages together for fun - the first are all photographs I've taken traveling in Morocco and Nepal. Below is my compilation of all my favorites from the new catalogue.

In the Pink

My good friends know I spend, well, an excessive amount of time reading design blogs. I like to think it's just part of my morning ritual and inspiration for the day. One of my favorites, Coco+Kelley, had a Valentine's day post for single girls, invoking them to embrace their singlehood and decorate with pink while they still could. While I always tend to hover toward my favorite palette of "any shade of blue", I realized going through my saved images, that I have a lot of love for pink as well. Hmm, inspiration for my next apartment?

Oh, how I would love this front door (and house, too).

Work of Moises Esquenazi, via Desire to Inspire

Betsey Johnson's old New York apartment dining room. Can I have that chandelier, too?

My dream closet! - can't remember where I pulled this from.

Photographer Brandon Barre via Desire to Inspire

Vignette from Kelly Wearstler