April 17th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
John browses the "antiques" at Shanghai's colorful and busy Dong Tai Road market. The Madcap Cottage boys love nothing more than a good flea market... And the prices usually cannot be beat. John is a master at bargaining!
Gang:
John and I love nothing more than visiting a good flea market and spending a morning digging through the dross to perhaps unearth a treasure. We have visited flea markets everywhere from California and Maine to Turkey, England, and France.
So when we heard about Shanghai’s Dong Tai Road antiques market, John and I got up early, sucked down some coffee, and got ready to rummage.
Oh, and what fun! A short walk from our hotel along Shanghai’s historic Bund district brought us to bustling Dong Tai Road, and, honey, the Madcap Cottage boys browsed and browsed and then bought and bought some more. But, how you might ask, does one bargain and haggle in China? No, John and I do not speak Mandarin although I am planning to take some intensive classes: I want a big-money client in China. Hello, $hanghai, baby! But back to my point: Vendors bust out their calculators or cell phones and give prices with their gadgets. If you want to offer a lower price, you type a new number into the calculator or phone. It’s super easy and fun. And you can really get the vendors down in price…
Here’s a little tour of the Dong Tai Road scene. Granted, there were gobs of “vintage” Chairman Mao statuettes and other items that can be found in any Chinese gift shop, but we did encounter a few gems that we scooped up like Whitney Houston run amok in a free-for-all pharmacy before her untimely passing.
Enjoy!
John and I learned how to play mahjong in China, so we bought a mahjong set to bring home and play on languid Sunday afternoons. Frankly, I want to glue-gun a whole room in colorful mahjong tiles. Fabulous!
Raise the red lantern! The Madcap Cottage gents are passionate about lanterns, so we purchased a few of these scarlet-red lanterns to add some pizzazz to our dining room. We plan to hang these from the ceiling with fishing wire.
I purchased this cool and oversized Chinese door knocker and plan to use it on a door at Madcap Cottage in upstate New York. Most door knockers are so dull. Transform an entry by unearthing a fabulous door knocker that really speaks volumes. I have named this frisky little demonic lion fellow, "Henry."
I fell hard for these fabulous drawer pulls and other assorted hardware at Dong Tai. I snapped up several Chinoiserie-style pulls and plan to add them to furniture where the current hardware is sort of dull and lacking.
John is a master at finding a good bargain. Here, he uses a calculator to bargain with a vendor at Dong Tai. Needless to say, John got the price that he wanted.
Tags: Bargain shopping, China, Dong Tai Road, Door knockers, Flea Markets, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Shanghai
Posted in Antiques, China, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, DIY, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Renovations, Tastemaker, Weekend warrior | No Comments »
April 16th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
Here's a nighttime view of Shanghai's Pudong district from our room at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund. Stunning, n'est-ce pas? Ten years ago there were hardly any tall buildings in the Pudong neighborhood. The bottle opener-like building on the far right houses the Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel: The views from the Park Hyatt's 91st-floor restaurant left John and me reeling. Sublime!
Gang:
I am intrigued by Shanghai. The city is fabulous… Crazy, sleek, chic, dirty, glorious, modern, and throwback, all rolled into one. And absolutely exciting.
The juxtapositions in Shanghai are especially striking: You’ll find glass-skinned skyscrapers surrounded by 50s-era Communist apartments with laundry spilling out the windows. The mix is fascinating.
Here’s a little tour of Shanghai, and it’s amazing architecture.
Shanghai's buzzy Xintiandi district, a charming historic neighborhood that has been transformed into a pedestrian-only al fresco shopping and dining experience. In typical Chinese fashion, some 3,500 Chinese families were moved to accommodate the building of this very chic shopping mall. In China the government moves people all the time to further progress. And, yes, even to build a mall.
The historic French Concession neighborhood in Shanghai houses fabulous 1920s-era homes. But turn a corner, and you might come across more tumbledown structures with laundry hanging overhead and air conditioners climbing up the walls. And lest you think that the Chinese still ride bikes in droves, they don't. The Chinese now prefer name-brand cars, like BMW and Mercedes.
Here's another view of the Pudong district by day. The crazy purple-hued edifice is a television tower.
Tags: China, Madcap Cottage, Park Hyatt Shanghai, Shanghai, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Xintiandi
Posted in China, Color, Curb appeal, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Hotel design, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Tastemaker | No Comments »
April 15th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
En route to Shanghai, I stumbled onto this page in British Vogue magazine that looks at what Queen Elizabeth II wore in the past year. And guess what, she hardly ever wore beige. Her Majesty prefers color--from blue and green to florals. So follow QEII's and the Madcap Cottage boys' advice, and banish the beige. Beige is just so damn boring! Click on the image, above, to see the Queen in all her color-packed glory.
Gang:
As you probably know from reading our blog, our favorite expression is “Banish the beige!” And kudos to fabled American designer Dorothy Draper from whom we borrowed these very sage words. As John and I go through life we try to make it fun and whimsical, and we never take anything too seriously.
Color plays a big, big, big part in our lives. Yellow is yummy. Green is gorgeous. Blue is brilliant. Purple is posh. And always think pink!
But beige is boring. Beige is dull. Beige is predictable.
Hence, banish the beige!
Speaking of beige banishment…
While I was flying en route to Shanghai a few weeks back, I was reading the latest issue of British Vogue (a fabulous and very inspirational magazine) and came across the back page in which the magazine tracks what Queen Elizabeth II wore over the past year. And guess what: The fabulous QEII–who will be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee this summer–never wears beige. She wears loads of blues, greens, and florals, but Her Majesty was only spotted in beige 1 percent of the time.
You have to love the Queen. She gets it, and how!
So channel the Queen, and live your life in color. Go paint a wall a bright color, paint your front door purple, put on bright orange undies, dye your hair. Why not?
Here's QEII in her very limited beige wardrobe. See how great Her Majesty looks in red and florals. In beige, QEII fades into the woodwork, and who wants to fade when you can be totally fabulous!
Tags: British Vogue, China, Color, England, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Paint, Queen Elizabeth II, Shanghai
Posted in China, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, DIY, Fabrics, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Paint a front door, Paint the ceiling, Paint the floor, Painted Furniture, Tastemaker, Tips for Design Small Spaces, Wallpaper, Weekend warrior | No Comments »
April 13th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
Shanghai is a study in contrasts: Here, the bottle opener-like Shanghai World Financial Center skyscraper--home to the Park Hyatt Hotel--soars high above the historic and gorgeous Yuyuan Garden.
Gang:
Did you miss us? We certainly missed you, and how, and how!
John and I were in China for almost three weeks, and, as you probably know, there is no access to Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube in that country… So there was no point in blogging, I figured, if I couldn’t send my posts out through the various social media portals. Frankly, I was chomping at the bit to send some posts, but those pesky Chinese government officials who like to censor the news (um, the Bo Xilai scandal was just kicking into gear as John and I toured China, but more on that anon) foiled my plans.
So now John and I are in London for a week, and it’s a delight being in a country that doesn’t censor the media.
But does that mean I didn’t like China? No, John and I loved it, and yet we also found the country repressive, clunky, fascinating, gorgeous, over-built, sprawling, delicious, charming, backwards, clunky (yes, again), historic, and yet lacking history.
Whew! How’s that for a mix?
But let’s start our journey back in Shanghai, where our Grand Tour originated.
Shanghai is an incredible city on the Huangpu River that mixes the historic and the modern brilliantly. On one side of the river, the 1920s-era buildings of The Bund district offer period-era charm thanks to their Art Deco lines and flourishes; across the Huangpu, the Pudong district boasts mile-high skyscrapers that light up at night like candy and flash advertisements upon their silver and glass skin that offer up everything from Volkswagens to jewels from Bulgari.
Bulgari? Volkswagen? But I thought this was a Communist country… Frankly, I have never seen so many Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton stores anywhere more than in China.
But I digress…
Step away from The Bund and the Pudong, and there are districts in Shanghai that really step back in time, but there isn’t as much pre-1900 architecture as you might expect. John and I especially enjoyed our early-morning tour of the Yuyuan Garden, a verdant oasis in the heart of Shanghai that dates to the 16th century. Step inside the garden’s walls, and you enter a cooling, soothing sanctuary that pairs dramatic garden pavilions awash in fanciful fretwork and red lacquer with koi-filled ponds, sculptural rock formations, and dragon-bedecked gates.
Here’s a little tour of our visit to Yuyuan…
A charming "moment" just outside the Yuyuan Garden. Look at the boatman who tends to the pond--how picturesque! And John and I went bananas for the fabulous lacquer-red fretwork that wraps around the tea house that stands above the pond. God is truly in the details, n'est-ce pas?
A wonderful covered arcade leads across a koi-filled pond in the Yuyuan Garden. The architecture of the gardens was especially inspiring: Just look at the lovely rooflines and the glorious fretwork that punctuates the various pavilions and follies... We plan to add decorative whimsy to our side porch up at Madcap Cottage that channels all things Chinese.
John and I simply fell in love with the Yuyuan Garden's divine arches and doorways that frame vistas of the landscape. Here, a gate shaped like a vase looks onto a quiet and verdant patio. Why not add some whimsy to a garden gate and make it anything but square...
John and I lapped up the gorgeous lacquer we spotted throughout China. Here, a pair of lacquer-red doors leads into a pavilion at Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden. Expect to see lots of lacquer-inspired looks coming from the Madcap Cottage boys in the upcoming months...
Jason ponders an ancient stone within the Yuyuan Garden and wonders how he will ever survive for 3 weeks in China without access to Facebook and Twitter. Sadly, the carving upon the rock offered no solution to Jason's woes...
Tags: Bo Xilai, China, Facebook, Lacquer, Madcap Cottage, Park Hyatt Hotel, Scandal, Shanghai, Twitter, Yuyuan Garden
Posted in China, Color, Design, Design Guru, Gardens, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Paint a front door, Tastemaker | No Comments »
March 26th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
Here I am standing upon the famous Bund that runs along the Huangpu River in the heart of Shanghai. The Shanghai skyline is incredible--especially at night when the buildings are lit up Blade Runner-style.
Gang:
Hello!
John and I are lapping up Shanghai like it’s a tea-infused cocktail. We love this city!
But, sadly, in China you cannot access Facebook or Twitter, so I can’t push my blog posts out through the social media portals…
Hence, I am taking a break for a few days to get out and about and experience this crazy, but wonderful country.
So, more anon.
Tags: China, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Shanghai
Posted in Color, Design, Design Guru, Hotel design, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Tastemaker | No Comments »
March 23rd, 2012 by Demystifying Design
John lolls about in the decadent soaking tub in our room at The Grove, a country-estate hotel not far from London. I love how the tub sits upon rustic wood struts that add an organic quality to the bath.
Gang:
Happy Friday!
John and I are en route to Shanghai… But more on that later!
En route to China, we decided to spend a night near London’s Heathrow Airport to catch our breath and decompress a tad. Hence, we booked a stay at The Grove, the charming former country home of the Earls of Clarendon and now a wonderful hotel with sculpture-dotted gardens, a golf course, and a fabulous restaurant, Colette’s.
After flying into Heathrow yesterday and hightailing it to The Grove, John and I slept and read and slept some more, and then I sampled an amazing massage at The Grove’s modern-chic Sequoia Spa. Sublime
This morning we wandered around The Grove’s verdant grounds… The English countryside is just pushing forth with spring blossoms…
And now we are back at the airport and ready for our jaunt to Shanghai.
China, here we come! The Madcap Cottage boys are ready to paint the country, er, red.
Here's the brick-clad mansion at The Grove, the ancestral estate of the Earls of Clarendon. This is a terrific escape from London should you seek a sublime spa and a glorious golf course. And the gardens are lovely!
A stone urn filled with tulips anchors a path at The Grove that leads from the main house to the stables and spa. I especially love the beautifully trimmed bushes upon the property.
A glorious and sculptural tree stands tall on the 300-acre grounds of The Grove.
My favorite sculpture upon the grounds at The Grove is Stephen Charlton's "Boxing Hare," tucked into a quiet copse. These boxing hares remind me of Jasper and Weenie.
Tags: Heathrow, Jason Oliver Nixon, Jasper, John Loecke, London, Madcap Cottage, Shanghai, The Grove, Weenie
Posted in Antiques, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Interior Design, Landscaping, New York Interior Designer, Pets, Tastemaker, Weekend warrior | 3 Comments »
March 20th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
Weenie strikes a winsome pose in our guest bedroom "after" with its patterns-upon-patterns and gobs of wallpaper. The room is always evolving, so much of this furniture has already moved on to other spaces and places. The coral-hued table to the left of the bed, for example, will be available for purchased at our May 8 One Kings Lane sale.
Gang:
I hope your week is going along swimmingly… We have Lykke Li on the sound system at our Chester Court offices, and Jasper and Weenie are rocking out.
I was digging through some “before” and “after” photographs of Chester Court this morning, and I thought it would be fun to revisit what our guest bedroom looked like “before” and “after” the Madcap Cottage boys had their way with the space.
The “before”s and “after”s are quite dramatic! Let us know what you think!
Here's the very boring guest bedroom before we tackled the space. This room was calling out for color and verve, and we answered the clarion call. And how!
Another angle of the guest bedroom "before." Snooze, n'est-ce pas?
Guests love to check into Chester Court... Our guest bedroom is super-inviting and comfortable. And, yes, there's lots to look at it! I am especially partial to the necklaces that we picked up in India and draped over the lampshade next to the bed.
Tags: Before and After, Chester Court, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Wallpaper
Posted in Antiques, Before and After, Carpets, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, DIY, Fabrics, Flooring, Hanging artwork, india, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Painted Furniture, Renovations, Sustainable, Tips for Design Small Spaces, upholstery, Wallpaper | 8 Comments »
March 19th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
Here's a very cool and elegant living room that John and I designed in New Orleans. The space isn't as bonkers as you might presume from the Madcap boys... Lonny magazine photographed this last year, and the folks at Asmara carpets have written a blog installment about their favorite living room rugs featured in Lonny. And the Asmara folks chose our rug as a fave... Click on the image, above, to read the entire Asmara installment.
Gang:
I hope you had a divine weekend…
And the week is full-steam ahead!
We love being mentioned amongst our terrific peers in far-flung articles, so John and I were delighted to awaken to a Google Alert (we love a good Google Alert!) this weekend…
The folks at Asmara carpets featured a living room that the Madcap Cottage boys designed in New Orleans that was photographed by the crew at Lonny. Apparently, the Asmara crew especially loved the wool-and-silk rug that we selected for the space in Nola, so voila!
John and I are amongst such terrific company in the blog installment–from Celerie Kemble to Carolina Irving.
Take a look at the Asmara blog post: They feature a delicious assortment of rugs culled from the pages of Lonny that might inspire you to cut a good rug this week.
Tags: Asmara, Carolina Irving, Carpets, Celerie Kemble, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, New Orleans
Posted in Antiques, Carpets, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Fabrics, Flooring, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer | 1 Comment »
March 17th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
John and Ellen Warfield, the fabulous One Kings Lane photographer, arrange a glorious custom-upholstered armchair on the white seamless "set" at our storage unit in Brooklyn. This super-comfortable chair is upholstered in a terrific fabric from Cowtan & Tout. Mark your calendars for our May 8 One Kings Lane sale.
Gang:
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I am wearing green underwear and contemplating a Midori-splashed cocktail. Is it noon somewhere in the world?
John and I have spent the past few days photographing items for our MAY 8 One Kings Lane Tastemaker Tag Sale. Have you marked your calendars? MAY 8!
Anyhow, I thought it might be fun to show you some of the work that goes into photographing the Madcap Cottage duo’s items for our upcoming sale. It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun.
We spent about 20 hours this past Thursday and Friday photographing our One Kings Lane merchandise with the fantastic Ellen Warfield, one of OKL’s many talented photographers. From small items–including cocktail sets and whimsical bric-a-brac–to our fabulous furniture, we plowed through some 273 items that needed to be photographed.
Did I say 273 items? Yes, 273 items.
So get ready to shop our Tastemaker Tag Sale.
It’s going to be glorious. And so much fun!
John preps the "Green Goddess," a vintage chest of drawers with amazing hardware and an emerald hue. We love the Chinese-inspired lines of this functional piece.
A vaguely 70s-ish chair that John and I custom-upholstered in a vintage ikat fabric with a rainbow-hued welting. This chair is a stunner! And there will be a pair of these chairs in our sale, perfect for situating in a library or in front of a fireplace.
A gaggle of chairs and tables awaits their turn in front of Ellen's camera. When John and I produce our One Kings Lane photo shoots, we basically take over the entire floor at our storage unit near JFK Airport in Brooklyn. It's quite a production!
John and I custom-upholstered a pair of arm chairs in a fab fabric from Rose Cumming with bright orange buttons and acid-pink welting. Um, these ladies are just lovely.
Ellen arranges a pale-blue secretary--let's call it an "assistant," that's so much more PC--that John and I custom-colored with coral-hued shelves and insets. This piece is super functional and totally a looker.
A faux bamboo game table topped with glass accompanied by four fabulous arm chairs done up in a fabulous, frondy fabric that reminds us of the coffee shop at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
John fluffs a fabulous Monet-inspired sofa in polished chintz that we found at an estate in Palm Springs, California. There will be a pair of these glorious Giverny-like couches at our May 8 One Kings Lane sale.
Tags: Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, One Kings Lane, Tastemaker Tag Sale
Posted in Antiques, Bar Cart, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, Entertaining, Fabrics, Framing, Furniture Recovering, Interior Design, Lighting, Morocco, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Painted Furniture, Party Planning, Portraits, Powder coating, Sustainable, Tastemaker, Tips for Design Small Spaces, Turkey, upholstery, Welting | 1 Comment »
March 15th, 2012 by Demystifying Design
The folks at Kohler asked us to write about how to bring color into the bathroom. Read our installment, "A Taste for the Exotic," by clicking on our inspiration board, above.
Gang:
How the hell are we doing this week? Any good stories, any design travails? Do tell.
Let’s talk design. Actually, let’s talk a little about loos… Some good potty talk is definitely in order.
There isn’t a day when John and I don’t see an exceptionally boring bathroom. Yes, boring. B-O-R-I-N-G!
The Madcap Cottage boys think that your loo should be a real looker, that it should be packed with panache and verve, wit and style. And that doesn’t mean that we don’t love a good white sink and white toilet, but, come on! Add some further oomph.
Paint your walls… Better yet, wallpaper your walls.
Add interesting lighting.
Think about using a piece of furniture in your bathroom if you have the space.
Recently, the fab folks at Kohler asked us to do a blog installment for them on how to bring color into you bathroom. Our response?
A Taste for the Exotic.
Click on the link, above, to read how we suggest bringing some ethnic elan into your own home. And, granted, we selected several pieces from the high-end Baker line, but don’t overlook Target, Z Gallerie, and Home Goods for fabulous, well-priced ethnic inspiration.
So, go ahead, and take your bathroom to the next level. Then send us photos!
Tags: Ann Sacks, Baker Furniture, Bathroom renovation, Hatbox toilet, india, Kohler, La Mamounia, Madcap Cottage, Morocco, Thibaut, Tony Duquette, Turkey, Vie Luxe candles, Z Gallerie
Posted in Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, DIY, Fabrics, Flooring, Hotel design, india, Interior Design, Morocco, New York Interior Designer, News Flash, Paint, Painted Furniture, Tastemaker, Tips for Design Small Spaces, Turkey | 1 Comment »
