Pet Peeves, Matchy, Matchy......

Eclectic now that's a term that I really like. I guess you could say that before I knew any thing about design, I did not like to have things that all matched. This was more than likely because I inherited pieces from different family members when I started house keeping. So I made do. Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. I grew to understand that when everything matched it looked like a furniture store. Individual pieces reflect individual taste. The items that you choose tell a story about you. Working with these harmoniously shows your own personal style. Everyone is different. No one style is correct or wrong. What is right for one person is not always right for another.

I paint and by painting I developed an understanding of color and color relationships. Complimentary colors bring a vibrancy to a painting making it sing. So playing reds against greens works as would blues and yellows. One must tread carefully they should not be equal but played artfully against each other with neutrals. Textures can also be played against each other.

I like using clean lines in my furnishings good woods, leather, stone and interesting objects. One look at our shop and you will see a wide variety of items. We specialize in Art Deco , preferring early pieces from the 1930's through the 1960's. Some of these pieces are so classic that they could easily be used with 18th century pieces. Good clean lines and classic shapes are always in style. If you want to use something that's really over the top pair it with very plain lines. OK now you've heard my ideas about decorating.

New Flickr account!

If you can't make it to the shop I'm updating constantly and getting new and interesting items all the time! 
Click Here to goto the Flickr Account
Sorry I've been a little relaxed recently on the posts!  I've been hitting the road or reorganizing the shop.  In search of the spectacular!

connect the dots

There definitely is a connection between the emergence of modern architecture and the concept of modern furniture. If you designed a building using new concepts and simple lines, what kind of furniture would go in a building like this? The answer would be either to consult with furniture designers or more simply design pieces to fit into your own buildings. This is what Gio Ponti did. Frank Lloyd Wright designed furniture to go into his homes he designed.
Frankl trained as an architect and was so influenced by the emergence of the sky scrapers that he designed furniture inspired by them. As a result designers began designing furniture with the new architecture in mind.

Who was Gio Ponti?

Pirelli Tower designed by Gio Ponti.



It's about time that I get back on track. We started this Blog to talk about and to learn about great designers of furniture, of the 20th century. I've been skipping about and side tracked about antiquing which is always a great distraction. What is more fun than going on the hunt, and spending money.
Gio Ponti, 1891-1979, a Italian Architect and Designer was a singular driving force in the development of modern design. Gio Ponti was the renaissance man of the 20th century. He designed skyscrapers and he painted frescoes, design china for Richard Ginori.

He published and edited "Domus" an Italian home magazine, where he show cased works by Fornasetti. He designed glass for Venini.
He designed The Billia lamp that looks modern, but was designed in 1932.

The Chairs were designed for an Italian Hotel by Gio Ponti.

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=188652http://1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=375759

Pieces of furniture that he designed influence most of the modern 20th century furniture designers

Manhattan in Mayberry

Many people are surprised when they come to the Northern Neck of Virginia. Kilmarnock and our two neighboring towns of Irvington and White Stone are very small communities located within a few miles of each other almost like neighborhoods in a larger city. We have antique shops that rival those of big cities. I've already written about Lewis Trimble Decorative Arts & Antiques and our neighbor Comer & Co.. There is also a very large and well run Antique Mall, Kilmarnock Antique Gallery. To the south of Kilmarnock about four miles you will come to a great little town, White Stone. Here you will also find wonderful places to visit. There is Trimble's Tavern Antiques, yes we are related. Chris Trimble is my oldest son. Mothers do brag, but truthfully Chris has an amazing shop. We moved to the Williamsburg area when he was a young boy. Introduced to American History, he loved being able to ride his bike into the colonial area and feel a part of the history. His shop is like walking into a colonial Virginia home. It is full of 18th and 19th century artifacts, furniture, paintings, pewter, and anything else that might apply. Behind his shop he has a wood working shop where he restores and makes his own furniture.

Another shop is called Farm it is a charming shop full of unique items that bring the feel of a comfortable and stylish home. They mix the antique with the unusual and great youthful clothes and accessories. http://www.farmintown.com/ Check out their blog too http://www.farmintown.blogspot.com/

There are many great places to eat or to buy take out foods Like the River Market, White Stone and Carried Away Cuisine, Kilmarnock. Great dining places such as The Seven Martini Bar,White stone, Nate's Trick Dog, and The Tides Inn, Irvington, just to mention a few. There are other great shops too many to mention and Interior decorators too.

Spring has come to the Northern Neck

Spring is here and time for spring cleaning! All winter long we have been buying trying to fill our shop with really nice pieces. We looked around and we were beginning to look like a ware house. Oops, that's not what we're about. Reorganizing 8,400 sq feet is not a little feat. We called in extra help. Lewis and our good friend Sara Grace are attempting the impossible. Already within hours there has been vast changes. Spaces have opened up and items rediscovered. They are redefining space and perhaps even time. Our Art Gallery section has been disbursed through out the building. You saw photos of the before in a previous blog. Here is a new photo of the cleaned up shop. Check out the difference! We still ave a few days work to do.

Here is a photo of our favorite greeter my Mom and Lewis' grandmother.

The Famous Mr. Beane -The Hair of the Camel

He might not be famous any place else, but in Virginia and the eastern seaboard, Maurice Beane, has become some one to know. He is an artist having his training at V.C.U. a designer working with metal. He has designed furniture, elaborate railings. But as a persona, he is extremely well known. If you go into any shop in Virginia, or for that matter up and down the east coast, and mention his name more than likely the person you are talking to will say, "oh yes I know Maurice." He knows 20th century furniture and decorative pieces better than just about anybody. If we need something and can not find it, you betcha Maurice can.

Francois-Xavier Lalanne Camel Sofa

Now we have the tale of a man and his camel. Maurice purchased this camel which turns out is a sofa in Richmond, Virginia. It was then sold to a New York dealer. The camel was designed and fabricated by the French husband and wife artists, Claude & Francois-Xavier Lalanne.If you want more of this tale click here.

Bad Brad Stephens All Folked Up

I have been blogging about the shops in Kilmarnock, VA. One very prominent persona in town is the fabulous Brad Stephens. Brad is a man of many talents. He is a published playwright. He is a talented artist and folk art collector. He can take all sorts of odd and unusual items and put them together to make something out of this world.
So it is of no surprise to us that when we brought in a doctor's examination table from the thirties that Brad went absolutely crazy over it. You will have to visit his Blog http://bradstephensfoundobjects.blogspot.com/. Brad works for Comer and Co. if you'd like to meet him in person.