2012

happy new year everyone!  we are winding down by looking at all of the year's featured articles on 1st dibs.  especially loved the one on Deborah Needleman's new book.  oh how we miss Domino magazine!  but we are definitely putting her book on our wish list.

http://www.1stdibs.com/

and we have to mention that this living room by Robert Couturier has to be our favorite of 2011.  the modern gold ribbon is so funky and perfect against the traditional architecture.  we want to hang out in that room!  it must look really fancy at night too.  lighting is everything!  do you like it as much as us?

subway map of NYC's design scene

the beauty of design is that it can take the simplest ideas and make them into something very impressive, and seemingly obvious in hindsight.  inevitably, we think "why didn't we think of that" every time we see something truly ingenious.  here is an example of this.  so simple, but so clever.
if only LA had a bigger subway!  maybe one day we could be a station on their design map!

fast company design info graphic of the day

top tables

we thought this photo project was interesting, especially in the context it's taken in.  with the world economy doing so poorly, and europe's finances on the brink of collapse, this photo journal by Jacqueline Hassink demonstrates the evolution of the conference room within all of this.  enjoy!

Top Tables

doors

Not just a portal to the interior of the house, we think front doors are like a handshake- a first impression for anyone coming into the home/church/store/establishment.  They communicate a lot with just their presence; strength, style, personality; and they foreshadow what's to come on the interior.  Too often in America front doors are overlooked as a utilitarian item, and rather than being hand carved or custom made to fit the space and offer a grand welcome to visiters, the cookie cutter model on sale at home depot is purchased, and the charm of the entry is lost forever!  This is why we decided to make our first entry about our most recent trip to europe about the doors we encountered.  The doors, surrounds, hardware.  No detail is too small to take into account, they are what give these doors so much character and what draws a visitor in.

surf & sand

I know I promised some photos of Croatia and Italy, but I am still working away on editing them!  Next post, no excuses!  This time I wanted to share with you this hotel I came upon today, from a link in the ASID email newsletter.  As annoying as Paris Hilton and her mini dogs are, it looks like her family is actually doing some good for the world.  Their fourth hotel in Thailand has just opened and it is stunning, in a completely unexpected way.  The simplicity of materials and color really give focus to the concept: ocean currents.  This is such a refreshing take on the overdone "beachy" look.  For some reason creativity is starved in this area of design- sand, seashells, linen, cute nautical touches, the whole thing just makes me sick!  I do love the beach and live near it, but I have never understood the need to bring it so literally into the interior environment (unless you're throwing a kick ass luau with flaming mai tais or something).  The irregular and soft waves of the fabric ceiling treatment are beautiful, as well as the carpet which mirrors it.  The furniture is luxurious, the entry is grand and intimate at the same time, and the pool area is divine.  The lighting design is very impressive- some fixtures are almost evocative of jellyfish.  All of this without being so gaudy and obvious.  No aquariums or dried starfish in sight!  I want to be there now..  Click here to be transported to the oasis yourself.  (man, Hilton should pay me to give this good review! I would take a free stay instead!)

new Thailand Hilton Hotel

and did I mention it is sustainably designed?!

graphics

We've just returned from a long holiday in Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro!  Needless to say, we are overflowing with ideas and photos and ancient inspiration.  But before we dive into that we want to share this new artist discovery with you.  Recently we've expanded the business and begun doing some graphic design work (totally unexpected and unplanned but when a dear friend asks for help, we answer!) and it has reawakened our graphic art senses.  That is why Dave Murray really stood out when we scrolled through the most recent installment of Decurate (a really good online weekly magazine- decurate.com ).  Seeing his path of work demonstrates the depth and detail of the pieces.  The pieces would be a perfect addition to a bachelor pad with a neutral palette to add some funky color.  Polyguy 2 is our favorite... the anonymity makes it mysterious and that much more interesting

fancy

We just had these new (but vintage inspired) pewter pulls installed on a french oak cabinet in the guest house of a client's home.  How fantastic!  They really dress up the piece.  We should have professional photographs in the next few weeks, can't wait to share the entire project with you!'

LArchitecture Month!

AIA and the city of Los Angeles has just named October Architecture month!  Very exciting.  For details:

http://aialosangeles.org/event/aia-los-angeles-and-the-city-of-los-angeles-declare-october-architecture-month

trade tech college

We have discovered numerous new vendors for fabric, antiques, decoration, and so much more in downtown LA recently (our boyfriend moved there in January, how convenient)!  Each time we dodge traffic by getting of on Adams and taking surface streets north into downtown, we always marvel at the LA Trade Tech College buildings, they are absolutely spectacular.  The southern one is still under construction and already looks great.  It has modern, relaxed organic curves reminiscent of Gehry's, but they show much more restraint.  It is composed of what seems to me (as an faux amateur architect) to be making use of well priced materials for the exterior and using creative design choices to make the exterior much more interesting than the "usual" exterior of buildings.  It's not too square, not too round, and maybe it is even aiming for LEED certification...  I will have to do more research to find out!  But the point is, humble materials mixed with creative designers makes for a very impressive project.  It's not always about the price point!

Have a wonderful weekend, and if you are in downtown go south on Grand to see LA TTC!

empire state goes green!

I should start by saying that greenwashing has gotten to be really bad lately!  It seems like anyone and anything can be "green" by doing basically nothing.  This is not true, however, for the Empire State Building!  They announced yesterday that they had achieved a LEED Gold rating!  This is no small feat, and should serve as a reminder that no matter how old a building is there is still hope for it to function better.  Here is the link to the article so you can read for yourself (I will restrain from preaching about sustainability and regenerative practices any more!):

http://www.contractdesign.com/contract/news/USGBC-Awards-LEED-Go-5951.shtml

antiquing

We love shopping for antiques, but it's less enjoyable in the heat!  Luckily today was a little cooler than it has been for the past few days, but it still left us wondering why no antique stores have A.C.!  Does it degrade the quality of the old woods or finishes?  Is there too much dust?  Whatever it is, we would like to figure it out  :)

One of our favorite finds today were these little cocktail tables with antique tin ceiling tiles for tops.  They are interchangeable so you can use any 12" x 12" tile you like.  We think they would be perfect clustered 2x2 to use as a coffee table.  For a party, you can break them up to make them work for more people.  So simple but so great.

Another favorite was this  gorgeous brass chandelier.  we love the hard edges and angular corners mixed with the curves.  Very fab french 40's!  It's just too bad two of the arms have detached... surely an easy fix by the antique lighting specialists!

clever cubicles

This photo was taken at the AIA Spring Tour given by the interiors committee.  The tour highlighted some LEED rated offices around the Santa Monica area, and this one was our favorite.  Given the tight budget they were on, they did very well making a stylish and effective work space for the production company that inhabits it.  These workspaces are all custom designed with corian countertops (it's not just for kitchens!) and floating shelves.  This helps brighten and divide the space visually, but it does not close it off too much, as a traditional cubicle might.  The floors are another high point- polished concrete gives it more of an industrial feeling than tired old office space.
The CEO's office, which sadly I did not get a photo of, features a hidden gym and bathroom behind one of the bookshelves.  Sneaky!

pink chic

the one (and only) fear we have about pink is of it being too cutesy, and not serious enough.  this image taken from elle decor a few months ago displays just how warm, inviting, sophisticated, and chic pink can be.  we are in love.

inspiration

it comes in all forms, at all times of the day and night.  this one is whimsical and modern at the same time... i am smitten by this little cabin.  and especially the trees surrounding it.

hammock + seagrass + vietnam + sweden =

an amazing collection of stools!  we were in mexico earlier this year for holiday and absolutely loved the bright hammocks woven by the indigenous mayan people.  they were gorgeous and SO comfortable!  it was too bad we had absolutely no room left in our bags to bring them back.  today though we are so tempted to order one of these gorgeous stools.  they look so ethnic and modern at the same time we can't get enough!

http://www.dezeen.com/2011/08/29/superheroes-by-glimpt/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dezeen+%28Dezeenfeed%29

work it!

loving our digital media classes so much!  sketchup is great but illustrator is too!  check out the little coffee shop we did for homework this week

can't wait to get more technical about things and start designing furniture and doing awesome renderings for my beloved clients!

have a good weekend.  we are off to colorado to stay in the family's log cabin for a bit and gather inspiration from nature... ooh la la !

the parker palm springs

just got back from a lovely weekend in palm springs at the parker hotel designed by the fabulous jonathan adler.  the whole thing was so inspiring to me- the meandering paths, the private lawns with croquet and hammocks.  it was like a time warp back to the 60s/70s over most of the hotel.  the spa, however, was totally new and different, almost morroccan feeling.  i took these pics inside the spa's co-ed indoor pool and hot tub area.  the room is so big they added a lounge area under the indoor cabanas.  SO relaxing!  the cabanas are executed well- the tassles, the lining on inside and outside make a seamless connection and the drapes frame everything very well.  i just loved it.  hope you do too

glow

just found this article on LED glowing wallpaper... this is the stuff of the future!  very cool.   one of my favorite parts of design is getting to read about and experience great new products like this.  design is the new wild west frontier- but instead of covered wagons these pioneers have imacs and light emitting diodes

http://inhabitat.com/luminous-led-wallpaper-lends-a-low-energy-glow-to-any-room/

philly

on a trip to philadelphia with some friends last month i managed to fit in some philly cheesesteaks and speakeasys, but my favorite was walking around the city at night.  i got the most spectacular photographs!  my favorite of which is this one, a profile of so many different decorative motifs all right next to each other giving the entrance to the masonic temple a very grandiose feeling.  the monochromatic look really makes them work together.  love the detail!  to me, architectural details are a must.  i appreciate modern architecture, but feel like the finishing details are always missing.  not here!

beijing tile

watching the women's world cup as we write this entry.  these women are so inspiring!  we were lucky enough to watch their last win in 1999 from the 5th row!  it will be lovely to see them win again today (fingers crossed).
sports might be the theme of the day, as we just came across this new tile in architectural digest.  it immediately reminded us of the aquatic center where michael phelps won all of his medals in the beijing olympics a few years ago.  between the aquatic building and the "bird's nest" we were captivated by those olympics.  not only did it show brightly on the chinese culture (do you remember the opening ceremony?!) but it also proved how promising their architectural future would be.

these tiles demonstrate the continual impact that it has had, and  they are an interesting testament to the relationship between interior finishes and architecture.  all too often, i find that interiors and architecture are fighting for attention in the same project.  or when interior designers take inspiration from a project it becomes so convoluted that it's barely recognizable.  but this tile is so directly drawn from the building it's easily recognized.  and the scale is so drastically changed it gives the tile a real charm and sophistication.

i think they would be perfect for a cute little laundry room or bathroom!

sketchup!

i am in the process of learning sketchup and i cannot believe i went so long without learning it!  the very intuitive interface is great, very similar to illustrator.  here is my second little model.  hot staircase huh?  i see many more in my future...

the elusive chandelier

i've spent the last three years working at a design firm that specialized in antiques, so i didn't flinch when my own client requested a french bronze antique chandelier for her dining room (we just glamorized it with a fabulous Wolf Gordon wallpaper and gorgeous valance with shimmery gold drapes- it needs a great light).  this chandelier is going to be the icing on the cake, the cherry on top of the sundae, etc etc.  the success of the whole project rests on this chandelier.  what's cake without icing anyways?!  it seemed so easy at the time, yet 10 months later i am still agonizing over it!  the perfect chandelier eludes me.  i thought i had found it last month at a great shop on la brea.  it turned out to be too big.  i found another one on la cienega, the finish just wasn't right.  what have the last few years taught me?  determination and perseverance are key.  so i will keep looking... maybe martyn lawrence bullard will take me on a shopping trip to paris with him??  in my dreams!

alexander mcqueen

so much inspiration to be had from visiting the alexander mcqueen retrospective at the met last week!  it was truly incredible, and quite creepy in the signature mcqueen way.  what we would have given to be able to design the set that housed all of his fabulous creations!  if you have a chance to visit, please do.  it is worth fighting the crowds to get in.  first room filled with his black leather creations that evoke the sense of, well, nothing but s&m really set the scene!  from there, the magic evolved into wood veneer dresses, mannequins with headdresses more fabulous than anything even gaga has worn, and wigs that made all the girls in dresses look like cousin 'it'.  even a whole dress made out of hair- the real fur-belle of the ball!  the scenes really stole the show for me, though, because the dresses wouldn't have had such an impact had they not been curated and framed in the ways they were.  wish i could have snuck some pictures but the guards were fierce! my favorite room featured these dresses and the walls were paneled with grey stained oak and antique mirror with some black accents. so glam, i loved it!  

opening our doors!

This first post has been a long time coming... but we are now very happy to announce that Maroney Design is officially open for business.  With years of experience in residential design all over southern California, we have learned how our interior surroundings profoundly effect us as humans, and the importance of making them beautiful and efficient, and as sustainable as possible.

We are a full-service design firm; we can organize an entire remodel, select finishes, furniture, window treatments, flooring, do space planning, color consultations, and more.

But that's enough about business... the purpose of this blog is all fun!  And nothing is more fun than good design.  We will be bringing our freshest ideas and finds to you as often as possible, and share with you our recent accomplishments.  Can't wait!