ariel gordon house tour

Click through to see the pretty bowls on her (knockoff!) Tulip table

Ariel Gordon designs beautiful jewelry. Turns out she got her start working for another great LA jeweler—and now they share office space. Gordon's house, as seen on Glitter Guide, is completely charming, filled with great art, beautiful colors, and Ikea mixed with high-end.

Wish I could see more of that big print behind the sofa

Notice the honesty of the computer wiring under the otherwise perfect desk

The admittedly tiny bedroom is girly, but not too girly

A wallpapered corner in the office she shares with Maya Brenner

wisteria oversized photography

Peony

The Wisteria catalog arrived in yesterday's mail. Amidst the usual layouts of faux antiques and other tchotchkes, I was struck by these giant photographs. I like the idea of taking a simple, fairly traditional image and magnifying it but super magnified. Wisteria's selections are very pretty, but you could easily do it yourself at sites like this.

Bird's egg

Fern
(not actually a photo, but the same idea)

design project: teenage boy's room

London underground map

My assignment: Find a bunch of prints for a 14-year-old who likes running—and his mom suggested an additional concept of travel and maps. To keep it cool and fun, I tried to stick to these themes without being cheesy, and I used a palette ofmostly grays and blues. I'm still waiting to hear what the kid himself thinks.

New York City marathon photo

Another photo (the NY Times is a great source for historical photography)

These Are Things map

Vintage California poster

Because Basquiat always looks good in a mix

DC metro map

monday thoughts: the january slump

Hugo Guinness (from Pinterest)

The weather veers from ice to high 60s. Thanks to a cautious school district, my kids don't seem to get a regular week of uninterrupted classes (I know—it's all about the buses). And a low-grade flu/cold/sore throat is cycling through our house. But somehow I don't mind the quiet of January. I've finally had a chance to organize my playroom (new art table coming soon), make things in the kitchen, visit museums, catch up on movies (this one in the theater; this one in the aforementioned organized playroom)—and maybe a TV show or two (is it lame that I like this one?). And today I give you some lovely winter flower images and one piece of advice: Buy some hyacinths (Trader Joe's has lots) and put them on your counter. They smell like spring.

Anna Emilia

Leanne Shapton from Pinterest

Jen Gotch

landon metz

Jessica first introduced me to the artist Landon Metz in her guest post a while back. His paintings have a beautifully washy look and deceptively simple, controlled compositions. They've got just the peaceful, oceanic vibe I look for. And if you like Cy Twombly or Robert Motherwell, you'll definitely get it.

jorey hurley on etsy

Lotus seed pods

Jorey Hurley makes graphic, bold-colored prints: just the thing to brighten a freezing January day. Seriously, these are all so cheerful and lovely—I'm having a hard time choosing which ones to show you. Plus she'll re-create anything from her blog, if her Etsy shop isn't enough.

Peas

Leaves

Seafoam

Arrows

Circle of blueberries

some painting ideas (and a break)

Richard Diebenkorn

A new client (and excellent neighbor) has asked for a little living-room refresh. Her father, an accomplished artist, wants to make her something big, bold, and preferably primary-colored for her mantle. To inspire him, I sent along some bright images by some of my favorite painters. After all, Picasso (and Steve Jobs) did say that good artists copy but great artists steal. 

PS: I'm taking a little break for the long weekend. Happy inauguration and MLK day—and see you later next week.

Mark Rothko

Joan Miro

Hadley Holliday

Ellsworth Kelly

Elliott Puckette

girls of a certain age

Read the blog to find out what this is all about.

These days I'm hooked on this blog. Like so many good blogs, it's an example of pure, confident voice and whim—the voice and whim in question belong to Kim France, the founding editor of Lucky. Finding herself jobless and directionless at, um, a certain age, she started blogging. Her mix of sharp-eyed fashion advice (she did edit a shopping magazine, after all), arch cultural commentary (she's not afraid to fly her feminist flag, and she loves junky TV and music), random-news roundups, and just plain goofiness has completely charmed me.

chloe aftel

From Tip Top Gallery

It's been raining for *days* and I needed to see something pretty and bright. So that's one justification for this shot by Chloe Aftel, a Northern California photographer (she does weddings!). Now I'm going to deal with a family sick day.

yao cheng on etsy

Blue Waves print

Yao Cheng works in watercolor, then reproduces the images and sells them for oh. so. little. on Etsy. Her Japanese-inspired, largely blue images are oh. so. blue. locket. (They remind me of some of my favorite, much pricier artists.) I'd love to see one of these in a mix with some photographs and pencil drawings.

Dots print

Hexagons print

monday thoughts: nature art

Andy Goldsworthy

I don't want to say too much about this artwork, except that it's such a creative, clever use of natural objects. These artists are like kids playing with leaves and twigs and pebbles in the backyard‚ but with incredible precision and perfect execution. Some of Andy Goldsworthy's work is ephemeral, made of leaves or twigs or beautifully sculpted ice that melts into nothing; some of it is as solid as, well, stone. Jim Denevan makes temporary pieces on a huge scale out of sand, ice, and earth. Mari Andrews and Susanna Bauer are less monumental but no less lovely or interesting.

Andy Goldsworthy

Mari Andrews

Mari Andrews

Susanna Bauer

Susanna Bauer

Jim Denevan

Jim Denevan

Spiral Jetty,
Robert Smithson's 1970 earthwork,
faded to white but still standing

sabine finkenauer

House

German-born Sabine Finkenauer has lived in Barcelona for nearly 20 years. Is it just me, or is there a sort of Gaudi-like intricacy to her cool, modern paintings? She works on both paper and canvas (and draws and makes collages); household objects and architecture seem to inspire her as much as the natural world.

House

Cupboard

Interior