MY EDIT: The current crop at Ikea...

Following on from my last post about the new Ikea catalogue, here's a personal edit of great things currently available at Ikea... Lots of neutral, timeless pieces, simple lines, trend-transcending colours and artisan influences. 
(sorry, I had a few technical problems with the pic below and was left with two choices, massive or miniscule.)

Captions, left to right, top to bottom:

Asunden basket with lid, £5.29

Ikea 365+ Risp double quilt cover set, £35.99

Alvine Ruta rug, £139

Boja pendant lamp, £51.99

Karlstad, 2-seat sofa combination, £1048

Tranetorp dining table, £229

Soare place mat, £3

Nordmyra chair, £29

Sockerart  vase, £12.99

Karlstad, 3-seat sofa, £504

Alseda stool, £20.42

Melltorp dining table, £27

(and below:) Varmiuft lamp, £4.49

* Ikea

Inspiration from the new Ikea catalogue...

I really like the new 2012 Ikea catalogue. Firstly the photography is great  - lots of beautiful natural light, and the styling - all that greenery and the very grounded, realistic look (by the standards of interiors brochures generally, if not our actual homes). The products are totally in tune with the mood of the times: there's an absence of frivolity and gimmicks and a whole lot of utilitarian, functional looks and simple, humble materials. Things with a more enduring, neutral style, rather than of-the-moment fashions. I get the feeling that they're trying to tap into their customers' need for practical stuff to make their lives easier and more comfortable. It's achievable rather than aspirational.

Ikea's two big pushes this year are bedrooms and small space living. Small space living is self-explanatory: people can't afford to move into a bigger place so they need to manage their burgeoning possessions better, hence there's a lot of emphasis on clever storage throughout the home. Regarding bedrooms, my best guess for the reasons behind Ikea's  focus on this is that it's a valid way to indulge ourselves in a recession. We're not going out as much, plus the world is a scarier place, so our homes gain more significance in our lives. And the bedroom is the home-within-a-home, with the bed itself as the ultimate inner sanctum. It's always been my favourite place. So perhaps it's about encouraging us to make more of this room, as a place where we can unwind and be ourselves. 

Here are some of my favourite shots from the new catalogue, I'll do an edit of my favourite products very soon...

* Ikea

Off-the-peg Surrealist brass sculpture at Jonathan Adler...

Brass Dora Maar, picture courtesy of Jonathan Adler

Regular readers of this blog will have noticed I’ve got a bit of a brass obsession (see posts including the brass kitchen, Brancusi's studio and Milan 2011) . There’s something so solid about brass. You have to be serious to make something in it and it's not a material that's readily faked - which gives it a certain integrity in an era of quick-fixes. I’ve always wanted lots of brass Modernist sculpture littered about the place and now, with a new collection of a dozen brass ‘objet’ from astute artisan Jonathan Adler, it looks like it might just be feasible. These pieces are an extension of his Surrealist-inspired 'Muse' collection (see my blog post), ranging from marble plinth-mounted sculptures to more functional pieces like shoehorns and bottle openers, all with a Dali-inspired, Surrealist feel. Here are my personal favourites:

Brass Salvador Orb, picture courtesy of Jonathan Adler

Brass Misia Orb, picture courtesy of Jonathan Adler

Brass Muse bottle opener, picture courtesy of Jonathan Adler

The Great Gatsby's Pool House: Inspiration for a blue and white summer story ...

The starting point: 

I've always loved Jay Gatsby's pool house in the 1974 film, The Great Gatsby. The gorgeous cobalt blue on crisp white palette, the wafting drapes, the Moorish patterned cushions lining the banquettes. It looks like a wonderfully cool place to be on a hot summer day. Although admittedly, not for poor Gatsby, who's about to be shot dead. 

My fairly terrible screen grab of The Great Gatsby (1974) Paramount

My fairly terrible screen grab of The Great Gatsby (1974) Paramount

My fairly terrible screen grab of The Great Gatsby (1974) Paramount

Some more inspiration: 

I've recently been working on a summer blue story of which the cornflower and cobalt blues were my favourites - such great shades for the heat of high summer. Here are some more inspirational room shots in a similar vein to Gatsby's place, that I came across during my research:

Fabric from Trina Turk at Schumacher

Fabric and wallpaper from Harlequin

All fabrics from Baker Lifestyle at GP&J Baker

Getting the look: 

If you want a slice of Gatsby-inspired, Palm Springs Modern-Moorish style in your life then here are ten fabrics and accessories that share that cool and airy summer vibe...

Positano Asterisk pillow by Jonathan Adler

Harvest fabric in Indigo, Marvic Textiles

Positano Bolster pillow by Jonathan Adler

Blue floral bone inlay mirrors from Graham & Green

Trellis print fabric in Marine from Trina Turk at Schumacher

Positano Diamonds pillow by Jonathan Adler

Moorish Tile cushion in cobalt, John Lewis

Zig Zag throw by Jonathan Adler 

Santorini print fabric in Marine from Trina Turk at Schumacher

Positano Helix pillow by Jonathan Adler

Sharp dressed room: The Northall restaurant at The Corinthia Hotel

Picture courtesy of The Corinthia Hotel, London

I'm very taken with this room. It's the Northall restaurant at the new Corinthia Hotel, which is set within London's Whitehall Palace. This seat-of-power location sets the tone for the design throughout the hotel (by GA Design) which is restrained and masculine - something I like very much in this instance. It mixes thirties and contemporary styles, with lots of subtle nods to Modernism.


In the Northall itself, I love the glittering mix of glass and mirrors and the lofty proportions. But this grandiosity is tempered by the subtle palette of crisp greys and whites and the tan leather armchairs and banquettes that (rightly) dominate the room.  These seats are Mid-Century Modern-style re-workings of leather club chairs and chesterfield sofas - both perennial favourites with the chaps. My favourite details are the wheel-like brass pendant lights. The overall effect is classic and smart but, crucially, comfortable and comforting - perhaps designed to re-assure its well-heeled clientele that life goes on, despite evidence to the contrary elsewhere in Whitehall.

Alfred Pisani, chairman of the nine-strong Corinthia hotels group calls the hotel a 'contemporary interpretation of the scale and style of a Grand Hotel...  It means surrounding [the guests] with materials, chosen for their quiet quality and avoiding purposeless display.' It reminds me of a man in a superbly  cut grey suit, impeccable white shirt and classic tan brogues. It's the Cary Grant of rooms. 

Cary Grant, suit by Kilgour, in the very stylish Hitchcock thriller, North by Northwest

My Still Life Obsession, Part II

Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Fish

I don't really see how you can be into interiors and not be a fan of the still life genre. After all, beautiful things, grouped in an interesting way with a wonderful light pouring onto them, what's not to like? I like them as things to hang on the wall - they are a great way to subtly squeeze more interiors into an interior! And I get a lot of inspiration from them, in terms of materials, styles, mood etc. and, of course, composition. All things that come into play when I put together a room or re-arrange my ornaments for the umpteenth time. Here are a few of my favourite inspirational still life artworks, old and new.

Jack Cole, Brick Lane E1

Willem Claeszoon Heda, Still Life with Gilt Cup

Jack Cole Centrepoint, W1, 

Georges Braque, Still Life with Chair Cane

Pablo Picasso, Still Life of a Pigeon

Pablo Picasso, Still Life painted wood with upholstery fringe

Giorgio Morandi, Natura Morta, 1953

Giorgio Morandi, Natura Morta 73192

Picture copyright Kate Jacobs
a collage of tear-sheets from one of my scrapbooks, 2007-8

A detail from the above image, notice the photograph behind
the pestles  is of the same ensemble - a nice idea that I
have seen a few times and keep meaning to try for myself...

Carolina Wilcke, Still Life
seen in the home of Rolf Sachs, picture courtesy of Sophie Ebrard / Luxx magazine / The Times
(clumsy cropping of the image is my own!)

Marian Padina, Dellview

MY HOUSE: Still Life Obsession Part I

I've been putting together a post on why I love the still life genre in painting and photography. I'm not quite finished but it prompted me to pop to the fridge, then the lounge and have a bash at doing my own. I already think of this as my Memento Mori table because of the (pre-Hirst!) skull  and Nixie clock so my work was already half done. More still life stuff coming soon...

Picture copyright Kate Jacobs

INSPIRING SPACES: sculpture and setting...

Picture courtesy of the Grand Palais

I love to see sculpture in a 'proper' building, by which I mean something other than a white box of a gallery. It brings something to the room and something to the sculpture. If I had big money, I'd plonk huge sculptures all over my house and squeeze my life around them. 

Two striking examples of sculpture and setting have caught my eye in the last couple of days. Firstly, the purple-looking (actually red) PVC Leviathan by the ubiquitous Anish Kapoor at the Grand Palais in Paris. I like the way it fills the space and then some, looking like it's about to pop, Hulk-like, out of what is normally an imposing structure. It has a presence that reminds me of the 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith, as though it is humming with some incomprehensible power. Secondly, Jeff Koons' brightly coloured steel Tulips at the Fondazione Prada. It goes without saying that here it's all about the contrast between this shiny Pop piece and the decaying splendour of a Venetian palazzo. 

Picture courtesy of Christian Jungeblodt for The Guardian
Sorry about the quality, I had to resort to photographing
my newspaper when I failed to find this image online

You can find interiors inspiration in anything, even Seinfeld

In honour of comedian Jerry Seinfeld playing London for the first time in many years tonight, I thought I'd share this picture. I re-watched all the Seinfelds this year and found that it remains my favourite TV comedy. Perhaps unsurprisingly though, interiors inspiration was thin on the ground. All of the main characters' apartments are terrible, although Kramer has some interesting ideas (levels, wood panelling, indoor porches, talk show sets etc). However I spotted this gem along the way. It's one of (my favourite character) George's offices, although I can't remember which - possibly a short-lived job he had in 'The Barber'. It feels like someone else's set that the production team borrowed. 
Anyway, I love the furniture with its clean lines and metal trim and the pictures, in their flat frames - something I'm very into after years of OTT frames and mounts. It's slick but also unassuming and pared-down, which I like. But what makes it really remarkable as a workaday businessman's office is the unusual autumnal colour palette: brown walls, pale yellow furniture, the orange shades within the artworks. It's as stylish as a 'proper' office (and Seinfeld episode) can get.

' I show up. I pretend I have the job, the guy's on vacation. 
If I have the job, it's fine. If I don't have the job, by the time he comes back, I'm ensconced. 
What's the worst thing that could happen?' George Costanza