Positive Space

Last night I watched Independent Lens documentarty called Helvetica which focused on the extraordinary font designed in the late 1950's. It got me thinking about negative and positive space and the importance of its equality in composition.

In interiors, whether the experience is horror vacui or ultra minimal, it is the yin yan of positve and negative space which triggers our emotianal comfort level. My fascination is how each of us react so differently to what occupies space. Accumulation is as as comforting to some as object absence is to others. What is the personal trigger? Who knows? I must say that for the most part I would prefer a rather empty room with comfy chair and firelplace to one filled to the ceiling. I suppose its the same reason why some of us may eat snails and others oysters.

HIgh Drama in a low drama town

Last month I got a call from a man named Peter who was referred by a client named Jeff who said, "I think you two might get along," meaning he saw our collections of antiques and my design as being what he termed in conservative New England speak, "different".

Check out Beyond Gorgeosity. Peter arrived with an amazing collection of mid century furniture great accessories as well as a plethora of knowlege and affinity for the designs of the great artisans and designers of the Twentieth Century.

The Tree.

I lost it putting up the tree while listening to the Connie Francis Christmas Album.

There was tons of hesitancy for me in participating in this years Winter holiday given life's stress and uncertain world. I felt perhaps I might forgo the tree and opt for a few candles and maybe some flowers, but an important reason for my change of heart was my friend Charles who years ago inspired my search for the sparse "un-sheared" tree. I was eager to finally show off my secret farm where trees are left to their natural design. We drove an hour into the country to my special find. The day was cold and gorgeous and the ground was a little muddy but after a brisk search through a sunny field we each cut beautiful trees. I am glad because it brought hope.

Hope is much of what we have now and its powerful as I found great joy in the symbol of this ancient evergreen totem, serving generations through thousands of dark Winters.

So, after squeezing the trunk into the stand, unraveling lights and about the third bar of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas I lost it, my eyes teared and mind flooded with all the people and occasions represented by the gaudy ornaments dangling in defiance. It was a pretty nice moment. The Tree did its thing for me once again and I found myself firmly in life's saddle, acutely aimed toward the light.

A Joyful Solstice.

MV

DEAR DESIGNER

Dear Readers, we have our first Dear Designer question and it's a great one.

Dear Designer, My kitchen is command central for my home..... school papers, bills, mags, etc. end up on my LARGE kitchen island. I spent 15 minutes de-cluttering, resulting in a clean island with organized piles to deal with later. I created a notebook for each child's school papers and art.

I need a hidden solution for filing papers close to the source....I can allocate a cabinet or a space for a file system, but I don't want it to look yucky. Any thoughts?

I am not alone here, this is a challenge for all busy households to stay on top of the paper and decrease the clutter in our lives. Any ideas for stylish solutions for keeping control of all the household (and home based biz) stuff? Papers, mostly.

Sandra Lynnfield, MA


Well, Sandra, I have a few solutions practical and good-looking. You have already made some headway. It is the "deal with later" part that we all have to attend. Here are some tips:

• Think green and think color.
  
• Do not even open mail unless it is over the recyclers .
• Tell catalogue advertisers to direct ads to your email or stop them altogether.
  
• These next words have changed my desk forever: paperless billing. It makes that part of every one's lives far simpler.
• Home finance organizers like Quicken make it easy to run your home accounting like the pros. Call your bank to set you up with auto-pay.
  
• Still, certain papers need to be at our fingertips. Set up files in a portable tickler with sixteen folders, one for each week of the month and each month of the year. I keep things moving from week to week and month to month. They are always current and not in a tumbling pile.
  
• The kids stuff in notebooks sounds great. Try a colorful accordion folder for each school year.
  
• Ultimately, it is where you store it all which like most personal stuff I feel should be, "behind closed doors". If a desk with cabinets above or a closet you can outfit is not available, try painting a big old consignment-shop china cabinet or hutch in a bright color that compliments your kitchen.
  
• Make it bold and contemporary by giving it a glossy kitchen-color paint job in hot pink, super yellow or bright white? If it has glass, you can curtain it for a more traditional look, or frost glass using film or a home frosting kit for an updated feel.
  
• Light makes might. Brighten the area with natural or artificial light any way you can to keep things easy to read and on some level fun for you to stay organized,

I will always remember my friend Richard P and his adage taken from his old CEO boss, "Look good and keep moving"


Cheers,

MV

Spread it around.....

...we made it into one the country's hottest blogs:

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night December 12 th, 7-11 PM for the North End's Second Annual Buon Natale Shopping Stroll for Holiday cheer and fabulous savings. We are one of 18 participating businesses in the neighborhood.

• Liz Roessler, resident calligrapher at red M studio, will be personalizing chic glass ornaments from vintagesteph.com. $15. each. A truly unique & thoughtful gift!
• Enjoy yummy treats and seasonal cheer.
  
• 12% reductions on most objects.

We are getting ready for a new look here. We will keep you posted. and remember to submit your questions for Dear Designer.
Cheers!

MV

Chestnuts Roasting

The Neiman Marcus Natick Collection asked me to design a tablescape using items from their stylish collection. The theme was Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire which I made into a romantic proposal dinner in a snowy wood.

This mini landscape evolved into earthy amusement using warm natural textures punctuated by Georg Jensen's sensuous Acorn flatware with the lovely Lettering by Liz penning the exquisitely charming note card. How could the proposed refuse?



MV

Jill Malek's Aphrodite in red M studio Holiday WIndows using

The Jill Malek paper was on my shortlist of hot items the minute I saw it. Cannot wait to use it.
It is called "Aphrodite". The Angel is very famous. Does anyone recognize it?

Check out the birdcage with the mini disco balls from my collection with vintagesteph at vintageandmoderninc.com seen in the earlier post.

The focus this holiday at red M studio is Silver and Gold. We have lovely items for entertaining and gifts.

Remember, "Be Green, Buy Antiques".

MV