This And That

Another hot trend trickles down to the masses. Nate Berkus moved his affordable design line to The Home Shopping Network. He had it at Linens 'n Things, which is closing its stores forever. Material Girls has a story about it. Nate brings the hot trend of Suzanis to HSN in the form of these pillows, priced at $59.99 for TWO! And you can split the payment in two, using something HSN calls Flexpay. So for $29.99 you get them in your house. Your credit card is charged twice with no interest. Nate's Suzani pillows are made in India, and are printed cotton with sequins. They come in three color ways. Though not a real Suzani, the gestalt is there.The other flavor of the month is still Ikat. I bought one of Nate's Ikat pillows from Linens 'n Things, on sale for $9.99. It's okay. Again it's kind of the gesture of the real thing. His is the dark brown square pillow. The custom Ikat pillow from Perch Home shown on the couch cost ten times that, and alongside Nate's pillow they look like they are in the same family. However the custom pillow is so much nicer in person.
Joni Webb of Cote de Texas loves Suzanis, and one that she has was recently featured in a nice little article about her called French Tex in the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens. I tried to find photos on the BHG web site to no avail. I believe Meg at Pigtown covered this, and of course Joni has tons of photos and information about Suzanis on her blog. I would also like for her to toot her own horn, and (pretty please) post the photos from the BHG article, and tell us her back story about the shoot.Pottery Barn is selling authentic vintage Suzanis from $650. - $800. Now you know the trend is totally main stream. With genuine Ikat and Suzanis being costly, do you think this a trend that will become a classic? Will we still use and love these beauties ten years from now? Twenty?
From the PB web site:
These stunning panels add magnificent color and incredible character. Rich in culture and history, the suzani was originally used as a wedding canopy in central Asia. Each of our exclusive limited-edition suzanis was carefully selected from a collector who buys the elaborately hand-embroidered textiles from artisans throughout the Middle East and Asia. Ranging in age from 50 to 80 years, each panel is handcrafted and completely unique, showcasing details and variations characteristic of an authentic vintage piece. Details include occasional timeworn holes, missing threads and artful patterns created by piecing together scraps of fabric. Each comes with a certificate stating the age of the piece and the region where it was originally created. I'm always rearranging the furniture in my house. Maybe you do this too. This antique French metal folding chair has a wide stance, and has always been difficult to fit in. I've moved it from the living room...
...to the bedroom...
...to my office...
It's a rather nice chair, with a lovely patina, though not very comfy to sit in.
So I folded it up, and was thinking of just stashing it in the magic closet that holds all the odds and ends: Pillows, lamp shades, vases, lamps, pictures - all the little things that get rotated when I start moving things around.
Then it came to me that folded up it was very beautiful and useful, and I turned it into a magazine rack that has been in my office for a couple of months, which is a long time with my nomadic furniture always roaming around the house.
Maybe you have such a chair, and I know you have the magazines! So give it a try.
After all the hoopla and emotion of the election, it's kind of hard for me to wrap my mind around interior design and the blog right now. So forgive me for a "this and that" kind of post.