A Little Something From Lorca

Lorca is a gorgeous line of fabrics. The motifs are often floral, the colors are luscious and the fabrics are usually silk. The fabrics shown here are from the Tanjore Collection. They are sumptuous silks inspired by the powerful beauty of India. 

 The pattern Tanjore features cherries and flowers on a silk ground embellished with appliqued velvet and embroidery.

Radjada is a silk floral designed in a 1930's style.
Gorgeous, luscious, sumptuous, I've already use these words to describe these amazing fabrics. Not much left to say. Get to a designer showroom so you can see them for yourself.

TFA The Future Antiques

TFA  The Future Antiques is a mecca for mid century furniture, lighting,  home accessories and clothing. It is, as they call it, A Retro Plex.. I've been visiting and purchasing from TFA for several years.

Recently TFA moved. They are now located in a bright space at 6514 Chippewa St here in St Louis.

I am a fan of buying and using vintage. I like the charm of it, the good lines, the character. I like the reasonable  

prices and I like that it is green.  Renew Reuse

 The space is bright and well lit. The vignettes are well designed and the accessories are fun.

 Vibrant color combinations...

 Such a great selection of pendant lighting. I love the giant hounds tooth lamp shade.

 Modern, colorful, delightful...

 The bright yellow seen and favored this summer is available on this retro chair and table.

 The tile pattern on the table top is a cool detail.

 I love the scale and design of this floor lamp.

 Another great wall art collage. Take one or take them all.

 Do you collect vintage radios? Would you like to?

 Then there is the vintage clothing, starting with this wonderful wall of ladies hats.

 Hats for men as well as other great accessories.

 And again for the ladies.

 TFA is a wonderland of vintage and retro.

 This is a vintage chair I purchased from TFA. It is now covered in a Designers Guild fabric and sits in a client's bedroom.

 I recovered and used this Milo Baughmanesque chair in a designer show house in 2007. The cut velvet fabric is from Designers Guild.

 This chair was a bit of a mess when I found it. After recovering it in another Designers Guild fabric I decided to keep it for myself.

 I used an Osborne & Little chenille to recover this low profile chair for a client's living room.

 Same living room different chair in a Groundworks fabric.

 

The bold stripe Schumacher fabric gives this chair a whole new personality.
If you appreciate vintage TFA is a great place to shop. It is filled with all kinds of trinkets and treasures.

Paris Couture Week At The Grand Trianon

As a finale to Paris Fall 2011 Couture Fashion Week  there was a cocktail party and another sort of fashion show in the Grand Trianon at Versailles. Museum curator Olivier Salliard created an exhibit exploring the influence of 18th century style on contemporary designers. The exquisite architecture and beautiful details of the Grand Trianon make a stunning setting for the gorgeous couture fashion

A Versailles cocktail party...a party like no other.The chandeliers, the flowers, the art work, the architecture, it could only be Versailles.

From Christian Dior, this sumptuous red dress could easily have been worn by Madame de Pompadour.

A Versailles-esque group from 1980s Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld.

From the 1998 collection of John Paul Gaultier, something Marie Antoinette could wear when she was feeling a bit Punk.

This group is from Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. The 18th century looks comfortable in the 21st.

What would Marie Antoinette wear? Maybe something from Vivienne Westwood. It works.

A little something  worn at Versailles circa 1785.

The promotional poster for the event. I want to go.

Inspiration Is Everywhere

I recently did some vintage shopping (hunting) at Junque, located in a building which was part of the International Shoe Company in St Louis. Junque is always filled with treasures from architectural elements to decorative items. It is fascinating. What is also fascinating is  the complex of buildings in the area, some are in use some are not. 

 The building, constructed in the 1860s, was originally part of the Lemp Brewery. International Shoe purchased it in 1922. The building is intact and houses a few small businesses.

 The combination of the colors on the bricks, the blue/green shade of paint on the window and door trim and the grey stone details is wonderful. You never know where you will find you next favorite color palette.

 I wasn't sure what was through this doorway but I had to go in.

 Just inside was this amazing metal spiral staircase.

 These metal cogs. wheels and whatever were on the ground outside of the shop.

 Color, texture, pattern is everywhere.

 A small portion of architectural elements to be found at Junque.

 This piece was once part of a conveyor belt. It has such a great sculptural look. Maybe next it will be a wall hanging.