Posts Tagged ‘Interior Design’
Thursday, March 7th, 2013
Performer extraordinaire Liberace pushed the boundaries, both in life and in interior design. How about this crazy-ass bathtub?! I want one.
Gang:
As you know, sometimes John and I live by the “more of more is more” sentiment… Not that we are always over-the-top, but it can be fun to push the envelope.
Someone who certainly lived life over-the-top was renowned performer Liberace… Watch for his biopic, Behind the Candelabra, to air on May 26, starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Yesterday, the New York Post asked me my thoughts on Liberace’s interior design aesthetic and whether we will see mirrored pianos and gobs of chandeliers hitting interiors anytime soon.
And here is what I said…
Click on the image, above, to read my comments about Liberace style in today's New York Post.
Tags: Interior Design, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Las Vegas, Liberace, Madcap Cottage, Mirror, New York Post
Posted in Antiques, Color, Demystifying Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, Interior Design, Mirror, News Flash | No Comments »
Sunday, October 21st, 2012
A pair of stunning and custom ikat-upholstered chairs that we are offering at our next One Kings Lane Tastemaker Tag Sale on November 13th. Think pink, folks! This sale is going to kick some major ass.
Gang:
Have you marked your calendars for our next One Kings Lane Tastemaker Tag Sale on November 13? It’s going to be an extravagant extravaganza, and how, and how!
NOVEMBER 13.
NOVEMBER 13.
Crank up the Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Dear Prudence,” and get ready to shop. Think gorgeous. And there will be LOTS of small and affordable holiday gifts, too!!!
Cocktail sets. Mirrors. Chairs. Lamps. Out-of-this-world objects. Sofas. Tables. Whimsical wonders.
Here’s a taste of our stash… We have 300 items going into the sale.
Vintage brass seashells and a shell box to add some briny brilliance to a table in your home.
A vintage floral-embellished coffee set with a matching tray. Total fetch!
Our One Kings Lane sale will offer gobs of gorgeous lamps, like this pair of beautifully detailed Chinoiserie table lamps.
John and I crafted this wingback chair in marvelous Indian-inspired fabrics. Anchor a room that lacks pizzazz with this perch. Who needs pie when there's India?
A pair of armchairs upholstered in multiple Indian-influenced fabrics... Comfort. Check! Clever. Check! Totally unique! Naturally.
A Chinoiserie-styled bench with a fetching floral pillow that the Madcap Cottage gents crafted from a fabulous retro fabric. Jason's mom had this fabric in her bedroom circa-1975.
A wonderful burled wood card table with Chinoiserie chairs done up in a pink upholstery that are totally bananas.
A gorgeous armchair with all sorts of floral patterns as only the Madcap Cottage boys can do. Push some petals, blossom dearies.
Tags: chairs, Chic, fabric, Gorgeous, Interior Design, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Kick-ass clever, Lighting, Madcap Cottage, Mirrors, November 13th, One Kings Lane, Stunning
Posted in Antiques, China, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Entertaining, Fabrics, india, Interior Design, Lighting, Mirror, One Kings Lane, Powder coating, Tastemaker, Turkey, upholstery | No Comments »
Sunday, July 22nd, 2012
Be sure to read our guest installment on the lovely interior designer Tobi Fairley's blog. John and I were asked our Expert Advice, and so we gave it, and gave it good. Click on the image, above, to read our wry martini of a linguistic cocktail.
Gang:
I hope you have had a fabulous, relaxing weekend! John and I are upstate and have been getting Madcap Cottage into order: The recent heatwave has our plants needing some major TLC, so we have been watering wildly and drinking wine all weekend. Happily, my dance card is nearly empty this week, so I plan to spend much of the upcoming few days happily ensconced in tiny Hobart, New York.
Today, John and I woke up to a lovely and generous blog installment from our pal Tobi Fairley, the Little Rock, Arkansas-based interior designer who also has her well-manicured hands in all sorts of other businesses. Tobi has been running a series on “Expert Advice” on her blog, so she graciously asked me and John to offer up the goods on what we have learned along the way.
And, as you know, we are no shrinking violets when it comes to offering advice. We are tempestuous tulips and reckless roses to paraphrase E.M. Forster. Give us a microphone, and we will probably pole dance whilst reciting William Carlos Williams poetry as we shake our moneymakers hither and yon and yon again.
So little did Tobi Fairley know what she was getting into when she gave us her platform.
Let’s get down and dirty, designerati.
Read it and weep. Hopefully, as you chuckle.
Enjoy… And thank you, Tobi!
Tags: Auntie Mame, Charlene, Cocktails, Expert Advice, Google, Interior Design, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Liquor, Madcap Cottage, Paradise, Scandal, Sex, Tobi Fairley
Posted in Color, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, Furniture Recovering, Hotel design, Interior Design, Lighting, New York Interior Designer, News Flash, Tastemaker, Tips for Design Small Spaces, Weekend warrior | No Comments »
Monday, July 2nd, 2012
My parents' den circa 1982 in our former house--a massive Mediterranean number built in the 1920s--on Davis Islands in Tampa, Florida. The fabulous basket weave wallpaper and upholstery covered everything in the room, including the ceiling and doors. Brilliant! And look at the actual baskets scattered about, fabulous.
Gang:
John and I wish all of you a fabulous July 4th holiday… I plan to craft Betsy Ross-inspired blueberry and strawberry daiquiris at my parents’ beach house on Siesta Key, Florida and wave a few flags and stumble down to the beach for the fireworks display.
Meanwhile, I am still in Tampa and going through old photos. I came upon this slightly out-of-focus-but-still-wonderful snapshot of our den circa 1982. In a fabulous fit of whimsy, my parents covered their entire TV room in a jaunty basket weave-patterned wallpaper–including the ceiling and closet doors–and then painted the room’s molding banana leaf green. And then they stenciled giant banana leaves upon the floor. Amazing, huh? Can you see where much of my inspiration comes from? In this photo, my grandmother Gayle is holding court to the left while my aunt Phyllis holds my baby sister Jennifer Alice. The only thing missing are a few cocktails on a tray.
I am totally inspired by this vintage room, so watch for basket weave patterns to soon show up in the designs at Madcap Cottage.
Have a fabulous 4th!
Tags: Basket weave, Den, Interior Design, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Vintage design, Wallpaper a ceiling
Posted in Bar Cart, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design book, Design Guru, Design Lessons, Fabrics, Flooring, Furniture Recovering, How to Slipcover Furniture, Interior Design, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Paint the ceiling, Painted Furniture, Television, upholstery | 1 Comment »
Sunday, May 20th, 2012
Please come tour our Brooklyn home on Sunday, June 3, courtesy of the Lefferts Manor Association. There will be nine homes and gardens on the tour. Mark your calendars!
Gang:
I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend… The weather has been glorious in New York, so we have been lapping up the sun!
Next weekend John and I will host our World-Famous Annual Memorial Day Weekend and Vintage Finds Bonanza Yard Sale at Madcap Cottage in Hobart, New York, so DO swing by if you plan to be in the Catskills.
Our yard sale, as usual, is going to be totally killer. Bang-bang, babycakes.
And then on Sunday, June 3, John and I are opening our home in Brooklyn for the annual Lefferts Manor Association. You’ve seen our home published in Domino, New York magazine, and British House & Garden, and now you can come over, too. The tour is $20 (or $25 on the day of the tour) and includes several wonderful homes and gardens in our neighborhood as well as refreshments.
So come see where the madness and the magic takes place.
Tags: Brooklyn, Chester Court, Interior Design, Jason Oliver Nixon, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Open house
Posted in Antiques, Before and After, Color, Curb appeal, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, DIY, Entertaining, Fabrics, Gardens, Hanging artwork, india, Interior Design, Landscaping, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Paint a front door, Paint the ceiling, Paint the floor, Painted Furniture, Portraits, Tastemaker, upholstery, Wallpaper, Weekend warrior, Welting | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Check out the holding page for our new-and-improved interior design company, Madcap Cottage, that will launch on February 25th. Goodbye, John Loecke, Inc., and hello, Madcap Cottage! Click on the image, above, to visit our teaser.
Gang:
As you may or may not know, we are re-branding John Loecke, Inc. as Madcap Cottage, so get ready…
And part of our re-branding program is the launch of our new website, www.madcapcottage.com. It’s been great fun going through past interior design projects and reviewing which images will go up on the new website. Think of it as a walk down memory lane, from Manhattan apartments to New Orleans shotgun-style homes and a Des Moines, Iowa bungalow.
Take a look at some of our far-flung projects that will soon appear on MadcapCottage.com.
And get ready for our re-launch on February 25th…
Meet me at Madcap Cottage... A look back at some of our favorite interior design projects that will soon appear in the Portfolio section of MadcapCottage.com.
More madcap and marvelous designs from the boys at Madcap Cottage...
Another eclectic mix...
Tags: Color, Inc., Interior Design, John Loecke, Madcap Cottage, Marvelous, Portfolio, Wallpaper
Posted in Antiques, Before and After, Color, Decorating With Ribbon, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, Fabrics, Flooring, Framing, Hanging artwork, Interior Design, Kid-friendly design, Lighting, New York Interior Designer, Paint the ceiling, Paint the floor, Painted Furniture, Tastemaker, upholstery, Wallpaper, Welting | 2 Comments »
Monday, November 21st, 2011
Check out the "pages" of Australian design blog/magazine Ivy & Piper to view a color-packed project that John and I designed on Long Island, New York.
Gang:
We are crazy for the gals at Ivy & Piper, the Australian design blog-cum-magazine out of Brisbane, Australia. And they, like us, embrace color and pattern, so, of course, we are all fast friends.
We were thrilled when Ivy & Piper’s luscious Elizabeth and Melanie decided to run one of John Loecke, Inc.’s design projects in their first-anniversary edition. Situated on New York’s Long Island, this cottage sits upon a former farm estate, and the goal was to capture some city-styled glamour in a remarkably rural setting (and yet only one hour from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan!).
So here are a few pages from the latest edition of Ivy & Piper that feature little old us. Click on the image at the top of this installment then jump to page 82 to see the entire John Loecke, Inc. project.
Thank you, Ivy & Piper! You. Rock.
Here we are striking a pose on the pages of Ivy & Piper. "Colourful Comfort," I love that!
I've run this image on the blog before... The home's bar, a former closet that we stripped of its doors and added curtains. Why not try this at your own home? So chic, so easy!
The living room of the home. We added loads of patterns and colors into this space, but the room is decidedly cool and soothing and sophisticated. We striped the floor to mask the beat-up wood.
Tags: Interior Design, Ivy & Piper, Weekend getaway
Posted in Color, Curb appeal, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, DIY, Fabrics, Flooring, Framing, Furniture Recovering, Gardens, Interior Design, Kid-friendly design, Landscaping, Lighting, New York Interior Designer, Paint, Paint the floor, Painted Furniture, Renovations, Tastemaker, Tips for Design Small Spaces, Uncategorized, Wallpaper, Weekend warrior, Welting | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Here's one of the Venetian-styled dining chairs that we need to have recovered.
We are putting you all to work.
So we need to “crowd source” our blogerati followers. We bought a set of fabulous Venetian-styled dining chairs on eBay, and we want to recover them in fabulous floral-patterned fabrics (ooh, I love alliteration!). We want to make a big impact. Of course, we will be using welts in contrasting hues to really make the fabrics “pop.”
Tell us which fabric is your favorite and why. You might just get a blog installment if you “sell” us on your selection.
So get to writing and tell us which fabric gets you hot and bothered. Send us a comment to let us know your selection!
OPTION #1: Here's a cabbage blossom print from a remnant pile at Hancock Fabrics.
OPTION #2: A dark-and-lovely selection from Cowtan & Tout.
OPTION #3: We love this rose-a-licious pattern from Bassett McNab.
OPTION #4: Pink perfection from Josef Frank.
OPTION #5: Osborne & Little kicks it out of the field.
Tags: cabbage blossoms, dining chair, fabric, Interior Design, recovering furniture, roses, win
Posted in Before and After, Color, Demystifying Design, Design, Design Guru, Design Lessons, DIY, Entertaining, Fabrics, Furniture Recovering, How to Slipcover Furniture, New York Interior Designer, Renovations | 7 Comments »
