-February-

Even with Leap Day February went by too fast, almost forgot monthly design update, so here it is. I've gathered up some pretty cool stuff.

I'd like start with something I've been holding onto for a while now, last months cover of Vanity Fair. The best issue of the year: The Hollywood Issue, 18th so far. The magazine is full of actor profiles, amazing pictures and stories. So if your local stores haven't replaced it with the newest magazine, with Julia Roberts on cover, go get your Hollywood Issues now! The amazing photo by Mario Testino includes such young starlets like Jennifer Lawrence, Lily Collins, Elizabeth Olsen, Jessica Chastain and Shailene Woodley. Also if you haven't heard of the Hollywood Issue before, see the earlier but equally beautiful covers here!

Click the photo for larger view.

Etsy has recently become my favourite site to search for inspiration. It is a great site to sell your home made decorations, cloths, furnitures, etc. Here are some few items I found. The first is a modern abstract painting by Susanna Shap. It is created with a pallet knife using impasto technique to create the texture, now this could be used to create a lot of fun paintings with different use of the knife. The second is just a simple letter print, but it is something that could easily be adapted to use yourself, just print out the letters you want, cut out the silhouette and use sponge to add the colour to the base. And with infinite fonts you can create whatever and where ever you want. The third is a fun piece of art, created simply by nails and string. Hammer the nails to create the form you want, in this case its the state of New Jersey, and string them together with the nails on the middle. Now again, I suggest a cut out of the shape you want, to help you.  With different string colors and shapes you can create lot of cool designs, like flowers for example.

Winston Wächter Fine Art Museum recently had a dual exhibition of Hiro Yokose and Christopher Boffoli. Now Hiro Yokose's paintings have a great misty way to create almost dream like landscapes, but Boffoli's fun art was the one that caught my eye. He combines small miniatures and adds them to his arrangements creating a feeling à la Gulliver's Travels.  Here are few of the results:

 

Ralph Pucci may have stared his career with creating mannequins, which he still continues, but his showrooms also hold great exhibitions. Now Mr. Pucci has released a book called Wall which features all the custom made art work has commissioned to his showroom in his NY penthouse. Most of them are very graphic and modern, which I like very much. This particular one I chose, since it has very similar furniture to the chair I featured in last months post. Click the Pucci link to visit the full site.

This beautiful room is a good transition to architecture. Another New York resident has created a fine living space for herself. I'm talking about fashion designer Diane Von Frustenberg, a woman know for his graphic and bold design has decorated her pent house in NY Meatpacking District accordingly. But what I was more interested was the cool architecture of the place built on the roof of her fashion HQ by WORKac, which itself is worth checking out. The lighting of the place has been taken great care of with the upper level created almost entirely of glass. If you want to see the pictures of interior design, filled with great art, go here.

Von Frustenber wasn't the only star who recently made AD, Julianne Moore's garden was also featured in one of my favourite magazines. I don't really know that much about gardening, but I thought hers had a great contrasts with dark wood, red brick walls of the 1905 built house, and the lush green forming almost cloud like formations of bushes and trees, note also the plants on the wall! See more photos at AD .

A famous hotel in LA preferred by the starlets of old Hollywood hoping to escape their busy lives, has reopened its doors, the Hotel Bel-Air. Many interior designers were included on the renovation, that tried at the same time reinvent the place, but also keep the feeling of old glamour. Both of the aspects are well presented on this picture of the Grand Deluxe guest room, decorated with classic furniture and color scheme of cream white and black. More photos at their site. Trivia: Wolfgang Puck is the head of their kitchen, he was also responsible for the food at Academy Awards last Sunday.

I also found this amazing looking building, which is currently under construction in China. It is a exhibition center with over 1.3 million square feet (120 000 square meters) making it one of the biggest projects currently on earth. It is designed by architecture company Coop Himmelb(l)au. They often design buildings with steel or other metal covers and some of them are really gravity defying.

And like I said in last design post, I like to dream, and AD's "Homes For Sale" is the best way to do so. Here is my favourite pick from last month. A very classic modernist house form 1930's designed by Ezra Winter. It has a very clean look, and still very interesting one. I always like a house with lots of light and huge windows. I also like the yard, that has a very clean cut look to it.

I've always admired Walt Disney, as a kid I loved his films, and now as a bit more grown up. I admire his enthusiasm and business smarts. Starting from scrap and creating one of the biggest and well know companies on the world. He always had a very specific view, especially his favourite project, Disneyland. Here is small clip about his private quarters in Disneyland, his escape place with very "Disney" feeling, decorated by Emile Kuri. See the full interview of Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt's, here.

Hopefully I remember to watch calendar this month, and maybe write  the March design post actually in March.

Weekly Update coming next week with few new trailers, and casting news about one miss Emma Watson.