Sumner Design Studio

So this post is a little late, but there’s still time to round up a few creepy home accessories…

Like this white ceramic owl from Z Galerie.  I love owls, but I have to admit that barn owls (which this guy appears to be) freak me out just a little bit.

I love these claw candlesticks, from perennial favorite source Jayson Home & Garden.  I would use these year round.  Jayson also offers this luxe bronze skulls:

But my favorite is Donghia Bell’Insetto fabric.  It’s not cheap, but it’s amazing:

Check out the black colorway:

I’d love to see this on a gilded Louis XV chair – creepy and beautiful!

I have a new furniture crush.  Bradley Hughes is a manufacturer that’s new to me, and I’m loving what I’ve seen so far:

I love the dark glamor of these pieces, and the juxtaposition of contemporary and traditional elements.  Like the skull fabric upholstered Mick chair above.  It looks like they are to-the-trade only, and I’m sure they’re not cheap, but get a look at these pieces:

Beth Console

Alice Chair

Giselle Chair

I love the detail on the Beth console.  The Alice chair would make an amazing desk chair.  And the Giselle chair looks like something out of a Gothic novel, or maybe the Mad Hatter’s tea party – love it!

I was flipping through the latest Ballard Designs catalogue, and I spotted this new fabric that I thought was interesting.  Their fabrics generally seem a bit stodgy to me, but I’m really liking this one:

They’ve taken vintage documents and combined them into this fabric.  I’m a sucker for anything with vintage script (why don’t we learn to write like this anymore?), so I find this very appealing.  It can be purchased by the yard or on any of their upholstered items:

I think it adds a little interest and a slightly contemporary twist to these traditional pieces.

I saw this chair on Metaphores fabrics’ website:

The fabric is Metaphores’ Boa – it’s a snakeskin printed on a cotton velvet.  I’m a sucker for snakeskin, I’m a sucker for velvet, I’m a sucker for unusually upholstered wing chairs.  Enough said.

No, Upper East Siders, I’m not talking about the scheming, or about the glory that is Blair Waldorf, I’m talking about the set design.  There’s been a lot of discussion online about the show’s sets, and with good reason.  Designer Christina K. Tonkin really hit this one out of the park.

My personal favorite is the Waldorf duplex.  It’s traditional, but with some contemporary touches thrown in.  Like here – the stately living room is very traditional, but then there are two leather upholstered egg chairs thrown in, and they look fantastic:

I don’t know if you can make out those sconces in the background, but they’re seriously good.  Here’s a (somewhat) better image:

Sadly, they were custom designed for the show and aren’t comercially available.  Then there’s the Waldorf dining room, featuring the ubiquitous Louis Ghost Chair.  These have been dressed up with cushions (which I’ve never seen on a ghost chair before), and it really changes the look:

I love that single button tuft that you can see through the back of the clear acrylic chair.  Until next time, XOXO.

Recently, a friend of mine asked for some advice on reupholstering a couple of wing back chairs.  I immediately thought of this picture that I’d seen on one of the design blogs (sorry to whoever originally posted this, I don’t remember where it came from):

They used old burlap coffee bags to reupholster this chair, and it looks incredible.  Not to mention, this same friend (who works in the recycling industry) was looking for ways to re-purpose old burlap sacks that are donated to her facility.  It was very nearly a perfect storm of interior design.  Unfortunately, this won’t work for her – the whole reason she needs to reupholster her chairs is because her cats have used them as a scratching post.  I think few things in this world would call out to be scratched quite as strongly as a burlap chair.  I still think it’s a great idea, and I’m definitely filing it away in my “maybe someday” file.  Also, I have to mention the gigantic portrait in this photo – I’m a total sucker for old portraits, and I think I would kill (or at least maim) for one this size.