I am not a designer.  But I’ve learned a lot about design, and I’ve grown to love it.

I’m probably your poster child left-brainer.  I went to Wharton and worked as a fund manager, managing investments for pension funds, central banks, foundations, and hedge funds.  I’ve also been writing software since I was eleven, and today, I’m responsible for the technology that runs Gracious Style.

“Designer” was simply never something I imagined myself to be.  Yet, over the last twelve years of working at Gracious Style, I’ve learned a lot about design.  This knowledge of design has opened up my eyes, and  I have a better appreciation of people and culture because of it.  It has also helped me in my other professional endeavors.  From software to real estate development, I can now see that success often hinges on better design.

I think — I know — that there are a lot more people like me out there.  We’re not professional designers, but we innately appreciate good design, even if it’s in the form of a well-crafted deal or a well-designed app.  We’d like to know more about design, but in that structured, top-down, ask-all-the-questions way of ours.

So today I’m starting a new series, “Design for the Analytically Minded,” to share with you how one finance/technology person learned design, what it’s taught him, and why it’s opened his eyes to the world.

– Si Chen

We’ve just spotted one of our favorite brands, Graphic Image, on LuckyMag.com. The Orange Crocodile Leather Dictionary was featured on their list of luxurious school supplies. Take a look!

Mottahedeh just introduced two lovely new patterns for summer. Both collections include dessert plates and cups & saucers in sets of four. Perfect for afternoon tea and cake!

Everybody has been going “nuts” over the first pattern – Nut Leaf. Beautiful, rich green foliage is dotted with different nuts and decorated with 22 karat gold. The set of four dessert plates illustrate the hazel nut, pecan, chestnut and acorn nuts and leaves. The set of four teacups and saucers have the nuts cleverly hidden on the saucer, seen only when the cup is lifted.

The Nut Leaf pattern is getting rave reviews. It was even featured in the spring issue of Martha Stewart Weddings.

The other new pattern is a floral called Lowestoft Garden. The dessert plates, cups and saucers are adapted from a European plate c. 1775 painted in ‘famille rose’ enamels. Highlighted with gold, they look especially lovely when mixed with Mottahedeh’s Apple Lace dinnerware.

There’s never been a better excuse to have some dessert! You can purchase or register for these and more Mottahedeh dinnerware patterns here.

We love learning about what inspires our artists to create the pieces they do.  Here is what L’Objet’s Elad Yifrach said recently about blue and white, and his inspiration for the Perlee Blue dinnerware collection:

Last year I was fortunate enough to sail from Turkey to Greece with a group of dear friends. We called it our own “Blue Voyage”, a time-honored journey across the Aegean originated by the Turkish painter and author Cevat Şakir Kabaağaç, who explored the same waters in the early 1900’s.

The journey on a Turkish gulet (those lovely, double-mast wooden schooners) was an experience I will never forget. The images are indelible: azure waters juxtaposed against the pastoral Mediterranean coastline… The warm nights, with stars scattered across the sky like diamonds on indigo velvet… Gentle, hazy mornings, waking to the sound of the waves… And, of course, the fresh, vibrant Mediterranean food!

To read more, read Elad’s post here.

Although Perlee Blue was inspired by Elad’s trip to the Mediterranean, we love that it feels so right for us to use it in California.   We love blue and white, and the strong colors in this collection make it perfect for dining outdoors.

Perlee Blue Dinnerware

To see more of Elad’s dinnerware and home accessories, click here.

CASKATA from rikkiericaportner@me.com on Vimeo.

We love the Houzz.com website for all things interior design. You can browse beautiful rooms and make virtual inspiration boards for your decorating projects. We just heard they are looking for more photographers and writers to contribute to the site.

Click on the link below for more details and to apply:

 
These are part-time, paid, freelance positions. They’re interested in contributors from all over the world. Forward this to a friend if you think they would be interested as well. Good luck!
 

We just received notice that many Alberto Pinto and Anna Weatherley prices will be going up on July 1st.  So if you’ve been pining for the exquisitely hand-painted dinnerware from these two world famous designers, now’s the time! Read more

The new Peter Som bedding and pillow collections from SFERRA bring the high fashion of the runway into your home, for a stylishly modern look.  It’s haute couture for the bedroom. Read more

My “Theory of Design”

One of the tricks to successful designs – whether you are thinking about stationery, a restaurant, or a home – is the presence of a common thread in the realization of an idea.  Think about your favorite stores – two of ours are Restoration Hardware and Williams-Sonoma Home – or your favorite movies (“Something’s Gotta Give”).  Within each one, isn’t there always a common theme that carries the message from beginning to end?

At Restoration, for example, the paint colors work with the linens and the bath towels, and the look of the products is consistent within each collection.  The same thing is true with movies.  In “Something’s Gotta Give,” it’s obvious that set decorator Beth Rubino (by the way, The Skirted Roundtable did a great interview with her) had very specific ideas for how the character of the house would be presented on film: a shingled house, simple rugs, white slipcovers, a slightly dented refrigerator door … in short, a metaphor for the busy, successful (yet human) character played by Diane Keaton.  This is how the pros do it, and it’s because it’s the most comforting and practical way to design for the long term.  So as you design your spaces, take some time to think about the big ideas: this way, everything you gather will end up going with everything else, rather than “Well, this looked great at the store but somehow I can’t make it work here.”

But here’s one caveat: the idea is to have things work with each other, rather than to match completely. The best designs are those that work individually, and then as a whole.  Certain designs, for example, work better in large expanses (like wallpaper or curtains) than they do on small pieces (like napkins).  Case in point: utilitarian items are most soothing when they are easily recognizable.  This is why most tubs are a creamy white rather than designed to match our toile shades.

Trina Turk’s Table Linens: An Example

As an example, take a look at the new collections of table linens designed by Trina Turk.  Although she is known for her bold, graphic designs (which we think work well on pillows and rugs), we really appreciated that she took the time to scale them back for the table.  The fact is that the best designs for the table are simple.  There is something soothing and very clean about a white napkin that just doesn’t come across with a busy pattern.  So kudos to Trina for coming up with a collection that complements – rather than copies – her other items for the home, and that is just right for the table.

Here are the collections;  all embroidered on 100% cotton and completely machine washable.  Every piece is under $30 each.

The Palm Springs is a new classic; available in yellow or black:

Oval Sun is a retro motif in orange or turquoise:

And Tiki is great in green or turquoise.

Have fun in the sun!

Gracious Style is an online retailer of sophisticated, high-quality products for every room in the house.  We love helping others create warm and welcoming rooms for themselves.  To read more, visit our blog.