Rabu, 17 Agustus 2011

Chesterfield Sofas




Hayden sofa by RL Home
Chesterfield sofa is a beautiful piece of furniture. It is a deep, low rolled back, tufted/buttoned sofa with arms and back of the same height. All these characteristics give it a very masculine look.

Named after 4th Earl of Chesterfield, Philip D. Stanhope. It is said the Earl asked his furniture maker to make a sofa for him in which a gentleman could sit upright but comfortably. The result was Chesterfield sofa. 

These sofas and chairs feel equally elegant in any room, and give a formality to the space they are in. 






Phillip Stanhope 4th Earl of Chesterfield



Chesterfield Sofa c. 1920




Brown leather antique Chesterfield



Antique English Chesterfield Sofa c. 1890



Pottery Barn Chesterfield Sofa



William Blake Chesterfield Sofa




Antique Chesterfield Settee 



Ralph Lauren Safari Sofa




Vintage Chesterfield Sofa in green velvet



Chesterfield Club Chair c. 1920



English Chesterfield Club Chair




Chesterfield Club Chair 



Chesterfield chair by Pottery Barn
Picture credits: 1stdibs, google etc.

Jumat, 12 Agustus 2011

Katharine Hepburn's House


Katharine Hepburn’s beloved Connecticut home is on the market for $28 Million. She lived there till her passing away in 2003.

The property (on 3.4 acres) sits on the mouth of Connecticut River, in the borough of Fenwick, in old Saybrook. The Long Island Sound on the south and a pond on the north surround it.




Katharine had three musts for the interiors, Persian rugs, flowers and fire in the fireplace.

She was very fond of Persian rugs and would lay multiple rugs on top of each other on the floors.

Every room had to have flowers; she would keep them for as long as she could. If some one would remove the flowers she would say, “ you never gave them a chance”.

When she would sit in a room, there had to be fire in the fireplace, whatever the season, even if air conditioner had to be cranked up. The wood in the fireplace always had to be driftwood, no exception what so ever. 
Since it was sold in 2004 for $6 Million, the house has gone through remodeling. The current owner (who is in construction business) has changed the inside quite a bit, by knocking down walls and reducing the number of rooms. It is still 8300 sq. feet, but now has 7 bedrooms with 7 full and one half bathrooms.

It is ironic; we build houses then turn them into homes. We decorate them; we collect things and build collections all our lives. When we pass on, there is a big estate sale; people sell all that we once held dear to our hearts. Done with the estate sale, then they change the spaces we always thought were so perfect.

This is life.





Lawn




Busy in her kitchen



Remodeled kitchen
The whole house looks very generic after the renovations. No trace of katharine's Persian rugs, no fresh cut flowers and no fire in the fireplace.



Final shot of "The Philadelphia Story"



with Dick Cavett



After the hurricane 


Picture credits: google, etc. 

Selasa, 09 Agustus 2011

Color of shoes


My first suede shoes that I have memory of were tan and I got them when I was six. My dad got identical suede brogues made for both of us from his shoemaker. I loved those shoes and wore them till I could fit in those. May be that is the reason I have a special fondness for suede shoes. Last night while browsing though blogosphere I saw variety of shoes, mostly suede. Here are a few that I thought were interesting.



love the bright color



very yellow and very bold but real good



like the fluorescent soles



Never seen these ones before


Picture credits: guy style guide, random in my head and other style blogs/tumblr

Selasa, 02 Agustus 2011

Kuchi Jewelry

Kuchi is a Persian word that means Migratory, it is derived from "Koch"again a Persian word meaning migration. Kuchi is a nomadic tribe of Afghanistan. Kuchi women are very independent and do not clad in "burqa" rather they wear very colorful hand embroidered clothes and hand-made jewelry. This jewelry is called "Kuchi jewelry".

Interestingly in USA, Rachel Brice of Indigo, has promoted Kuchi jewelry. She wears a lot of it during her belly dance performances. (Though Kuchi people, Kuchi jewelry and Afghanistan has nothing to do with belly dance. Belly dance is a Middle Eastern dance, and Afghanistan is in South Asia, but for Rachel it works. Watch Rachel's dance in the video bar on the right side of the page).

On a different note, a warm welcome to Aodhgan Satryiander Merrimac to pasiley curtain.

Kuchi caravan
Kuchi woman 
Kuchi woman carrying water
A Kuchi boy
Young Kuchi girl
Kuchi bracelets
Kuchi anklets
Kuchi choker
Kuchi lapis bracelets
Lapis bracelets
Kuchi turquoise bracelet
Kuchi earrings 
various Kuchi jewelry items
Kuchi dress
Rachel Brice performing
Rachel Brice in Kuchi jewelry


Picture credits: Google etc.