Paule Marrot - Jumping Off of a Bridge

Do you remember your mother or father saying to you "If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?" Perhaps you have said that to your own children. It seems to be the standard parental retort to "but all my friends did it."

Design by Mark D. Sikes

I'm sure that many of you remember this photo. It was taken by Lonny for the feature that they did on Mark back in 2012. This was the black bedroom everyone loved, and the room that inspired me to paint my old bedroom black. During the redecoration of his house, he had this room swathed in Pierre Frey tree of life fabric.

Design by Mark D. Sikes 

The table and art was replaced by this large Chinoiserie Wedding Cabinet, but many people never forgot the graphic black and white art that was hanging there before the redo. The piece was a Paule Marrot print of original fabric designed by the artist, which you can still purchase through Natural Curiousities here for about $3,000. For those of you unfamiliar, Marrot was a Parisian textile designer whose fabrics gained wide popularity in the 1950s.  

Shortly after we learned that Mark was switching up things in his house, this photo showed up:

Paloma Contreras of La Dolce Vita Blog

Houston based designer and blogger Paloma Contreras, is very vocal about her friendship with Mark and how he has served as a mentor to her. She had a Marrot, the same as Mark's, over her sofa for her feature in Domino Magazine. 

Design by Jonathan Adler

Jonathan Adler sold the same collection through his shop for a while, and here it is styled with his brass pieces and fabrics. 

Design by Susana Chango

Brooklyn designer Susana Chango used the Marrot in this open floor plan apartment. I actually really like the piece here.

Design by Martin Raffone Design / William Mcintosh Design

From Brooklyn to Marrakesh, the Marrot pops up in this sitting room designed by Martin Raffone, and featured in Elle Decor.

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Here the Marrot is used for styling a photoshoot for Homes and Gardens magazine. 

Styling by Coco Republic 

And Australian design house and retail shop Coco Republic used it in the styling of an apartment they were commissioned to design in Australia.  

Design by Jahanna L Nichols Interior Design

Jahanna L. Nichols used it in her client's entry way, and below Nina Marie Nash uses it in her Atlanta shop.

Design by Nina Marie Nash

Design by Will Meyers

Looking a bit different, hung on it's side, Will Meyers hangs it in the kitchen of his Manhattan apartment.

Natural Curiosities Show Room

And here's what it looks like, hanging for sale in the Natural Curiosities showroom. But the Marrot in black and white isn't the only one that's being sold by Natural Curiosities and used by designers over and over and over again. 

Design by Barry Dixon

You might remember this House Beautiful cover room by Barry Dixon from way back in September of 2011. The art is Paule Marrot's "Feathers" and it's been used and photographed even more than the abstract. 

Design by Elizabeth Schmidt

Design by Jennifer Barron Interiors 

Design by Carrie Hatfield 

Design by Rob Stuart

Design by Tamara Eaton

Design by Suzanne Kasler 

Design by Mandy Rye of Waiting On Martha Blog 

Design by Maggie Cruz 

And the list honestly goes on, and on. I could take up pages of the blog with published images of these two pieces, but I won't. I think you get the point. My question to you is: would you do it? Just because everyone else has a Paule Marrot, do you need one, too? 

Cy Twombly

There are few iconic artists. You know, the ones that you see a painting or a photograph and whether you know anything about art or not, you know the name of the artist - or at the very least - have noted their work. Ansel Adams, and his photography of Yosemite National Park, for example; Andy Warhol, another. While you may not know his name, you've certainly see the work of Cy Twombly, too.

 

Familiar? Surely you've seen these before and wondered, who scribbled all over the paper and framed it? Well - Cy Twombly! Twombly was an incredible artist who dealt in paintings, drawings, etchings, and sculpture - all of which had a very organic sort of flow, and were very abstract. Some of his most beautiful pieces, in my opinion, were his blackboard paintings, a full series of work he completed between the 60's and 70's, which now sell upwards of $6,000,000 for large originals. Twombly used wax crayon on primarily gray backgrounds that were painted to look like aged, cloth eraser swiped blackboards.

 

 

This one, "Untitled" dated 1970, sold at a Christie's auction for a whopping $69.6 MILLION! Yes, MILLION! Which is well above the $35 - 55 Million dollar estimate it was given. Where does art like this go?

 

 

Well, it becomes part of a private collection, enjoyed by few until it either becomes part of a fund endowment or goes back up for auction to be sold to another very elite owner. But when you have work like Twombly's, what type of decorating might you have around it? Would it need to be as obscure, abstract? Could his paintings work in a room otherwise entirely traditional? Thomas Jayne thought so ...

This home, featured in Architectural Digest, is stunning and filled with wonderful, VERY EXPENSIVE pieces of art, by some of the most noted contemporary artists ever to live. I love this painting here, so much so - that I decided to do a little copycat of it in the new apartment. Here's a little peek:

Still SO much to do in the new place. I'm hoping that I can get an incredible amount of work done on it this long weekend, and get some good pictures to you all by middle of the week next week! Tonight I'm hoping that the chairs I have sell on CL, so I can build (YES BUILD) a new seating option for that space. Stay tuned!

Modern Art, Traditional Interiors

Ever since I welcomed the beautiful abstract art of my friend Dianne D. Ballard into my home, I've been more and more interested in the affect that modern and abstract art has in traditional interiors. You might remember that my gorgeous pieces once hung over the sofa, flanking a mirror. In the new apartment, I'm not sure if this vignette will resurface or not, BUT, it certainly was gorgeous, and my Dianne D. Ballard art will always have a very special place in my home ... no matter where I make it!

My first place - with my Dianne D. Ballard pieces (SO GORGEOUS!)

 

So, of course, if you're reading the blog, you know I am thinking about doing a wall of mirrors behind the sofa in the new place. It needs the architectural interest. But, I've also thought of asking Dianne to do another piece of work for me, this time larger! Oh, yeah! Dianne does commissions! Interested? Dianne can be reached at   diannedballard@gmail.com or phone 252-497-6246 to discuss the possibilities for your space.

 

Dianne has been a faithful reader of my blog for a long time, and I know she'll see this post and say "LET'S DO IT!" So while I figure out the space and the walls and where exactly more of Dianne's beautiful work would hang - we can ooh and ahh over these gorgeous spaces, where traditional interiors meet modern and abstract art! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 All images via pinterest.