i heart your art: kate long stevenson

A few weeks ago a friend of mine noted that all of the art I love shares a really similar aesthetic, and that he's never surprised by the pieces that catch my eye. Looking through my inspiration folders I can see what he means. A lot of abstracts, a lot of unconventional portraits, and a lot of pink. A LOT of pink.

What can I say, I like what I like.

Strangely enough, when I thought about it I realized I could pinpoint the moment that I figured out what kind of art was truly "me". A few years ago I was reading one of my favourite design magazines (I think it was House & Home) and came across a feature on Kate Long Stevenson. I literally had an "aha" moment. For the first time in my life I considered saving up every one of my pennies just to own an original piece of art (something I now consider all the time).

I was intensely drawn to everything about Kate's work - from the saturated colours, to the broad and unrestrained brush strokes, to the beautiful yet oddly off-kilter silhouettes. I still am.

Aren't they beautiful? The similarities to some of my current faves are uncanny.

P.S. I wish I could find that original article in my mag collection. My next organizational project should clearly be cataloging. 

P.P.S. That's never going to happen.

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homemint. wtf.

When I first heard that Justin Timberlake was launching a home goods site, I scoffed a good scoff. I like a little JT as much as the next girl/gay (ok, maybe a little more), but that doesn't mean I wanted him hawking me table lamps. Unless he was literally selling a dick in a box, I wasn't buying.

Yesterday, though, the Remodelista published photos of the apartment of his business partner (and designer), Estee Stanley. And the woman has chops. Her home is well-curated, time-worn, globally-inspired and all around awesome. So not what I was expecting . . .

So I caved and checked out HomeMint, and I'll take my crow medium rare please. 

While there are a couple of kitschy/cliche items, for the most part the aesthetic matches that of Stanley's home, and everything is really reasonably priced! The pillows are especially cute, and super mix-and-matchable. 

Here are just a few of my faves:

You should definitely check it out.

I will warn you in advance, though, that there appears to have been an unfortunate oversight in the "dick in box" department. Don't worry, I'm already writing a helpful letter to let them know.

You're welcome.

{photos via Remodilista, products via HomeMint}

pretty in pink kitchens

I'm just gonna go ahead a say it: I'm not really a fan of the Kitchen Cousins. Yes, they are so damn fine it's borderline ridiculous, and no, I wouldn't kick them out of bed for eating crackers. But 9 times out of 10 I don't like their kitchens. I find myself cringing while they do things like put up halloween-esque decals, or advise clients to install bright yellow, high gloss cabinets (that end a foot away from the ceiling) in a turn of the century home.

I mean . . . just . . . what?? It hurts how good that space could have been.

Well, the other day I caught an episode that may have won me back over just a teeny tiny bit. (Yes, I sometimes still watch. They are good looking and they are renovating something. Please.) In it they not only used Dwell tiles (kudos boys), but they also had the man balls to lay down pink countertops.

Yup, pink.

Check out these quartz beauties:

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Now if there's one thing that's hard to do, it's pull off a pink kitchen without it looking like the fifties and Strawberry Shortcake just threw up all over the place. Accents may be easy, but counters, cupboards, tiles and anything else permanent-ish? Not so much.

So I'm gonna' give props where props are due. One point for you Kitchen Cousins. One point for you.

The best part, though, is that it looks like they aren't the only ones giving it a shot, and there are some folks doin' it better. Pink may be making a cooking comeback, and in the chicest damn way!

I, for one, couldn't be happier. In a perfect world, no room would go un-pinked . . .

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