Are you wacky for modernism? And you’re in New York, or will be coming during the holiday season? If so, you must plan a visit to MOMA to see their new exhibit, Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity. Until it was shut down by the Nazis, Bauhaus was a hotbed of creative thinking, re-examining all the ways of modern life, and influencing everything from architecture to fashion, from painting to furniture-making. This ambitious survey tries to get at what Bauhaus was through exhibits, a “lounge,” and hands-on art-making workshops.

The image above, from the show, is Oskar Schlemmer’s “Bauhaus Stairway.”

See more at www.moma.org

One of the companies to fall under the wheels of the economic collapse last year was Shabby Chic, the company that pioneered the look of homey femininity with an elegant touch that reached its popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

But the company has sprung back to life, thanks to a new investor, and possibly thanks to the very economic blow-out that forced it to shut down. The look—infinitely comforting without sacrificing sophistication—was most popular when the economy of the 1980s was in serious trouble. So it may be perfect timing to bring out those distressed white dressers and faux-crystal chandeliers.

As it happens, the Room of the Month on Designer Monthly takes a look at a room done in this style; you can see photos and read about it here:
http://www.sheffield.edu/designermonthly/rooms/room-of-the-month1009.html

We found the article on the New York Times today—the photo below is from the article, and is taken by Art Streiber of Shabby Chic. You can read the article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/garden/15shabby.html

The premier design center in New York, the D&D, has just started today their own blog called Go Design Go. The D&D building is 18 floors full of furniture, lighting, and accessories showrooms.

Their blog will reflect the latest product offerings as well as trends, events, and designer information.  Take a peek at Go Design Go.

We like wood furniture. And we like being good to the environment. And we really like the furniture from Environment Furniture.

They use reclaimed wood from southern Brazil, then fashion it into furniture with plank inlays and mosaic effects, using, as they say in a press release, “the wood’s natural character to create a collection that’s minimal, rustic, and, of course, environmentally responsible.”

Not to mention really cool.

They have a store just off Union Square in New York City, and you can see more of their stuff here: www.environmentfurniture.com

One of the students at the Sheffield School of Interior Design found this very cool, very useful-looking organizer for design projects, in which you can keep paint chips, fabric samples, and work your way through a design project. Could be a really useful assistant to the Sheffield Complete Course in Interior Design!

Wow, thanks for all the votes on the pretty glass drawer pulls. It appears red is the winner, with green coming in a close second. I’m going to order the reds and then I’ll re-photograph and let you know how it looks.

I finally buckled down and cleared off the bookcase and did some organizing. Wow. This took me about an hour, to take the books off the shelves and find another place for them, clean out two of the drawers in the cabinet, and find the two dark wicker baskets which were not serving much of a purpose elsewhere in the apartment.

One of these baskets will be designated for “general small stuff” like the bag of coins I’m meaning to take to the bank and get magically made into money or the disappointing book that has to go back to the library. The other basket is for mail—both outgoing and incoming.

Here’s the bookshelf, before and after:

I’m intentionally NOT completely tidying this up, as I want to be realistic here. I’m not a person who will have everything absolutely just so; but I do want to illustrate that by making some changes, at least I can stop feeling like I’m living in a heap.

What I still need: two small trash baskets, one for trash (the used tissues, paper napkins, empty bottles of Odwalla, etc. from the knapsack or bag) and one for recycle-able paper, which is bound to collect if I’m trying to stop the mail in the front hall.

I found some nice trash baskets on sale at the Container Store. I think I may get a small one of these for $14.99, and get the bigger one for paper recycling for $19.99.

So, at this point, what I really want for the front hall is:

Stroheim & Romann wallpaper: $264

Drawer pulls: $3.09 each, I need 5 = $15.45

Paper lampshade: $10

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=71225&PRODID=65022

I found the drawer pulls! Online, at a place called House of Antique Hardware, which, by the way, also has all kinds of old-fashioned door knobs and door hardware, those little things that people used to make so they’d be pretty as well as practical.

So, I may be able to Save the Cabinet after all. (And save, really, 1500 bucks by not buying the gorgeous thing from Urban Oasis.)

They’re lovely, old-fashioned glass, and come in pretty colors, and they’re like $3 or $4 bucks a piece. I think one of the blues, the green or maybe the red. I think any of these would look great with the wall paper from Stroheim & Romann.

I would love to hear readers’ opinions. Here’s the cabinet again, and here are the pulls I’m thinking of.

What do you think, readers? A pretty, pale green? A brilliant, shiny blue? An eye-catching red? Let me know your vote in the Comments.

http://houseofantiquehardware.com/

I found my wallpaper. Well, I found several versions of it, but some of the wallpaper I like is hand-painted silk wallpaper, notably at Griffin and Wong.

Unfortunately, it’s about 400 USD for a panel that’s the standard 3-foot wide and 10-foot high.

I found Griffin and Wong, by the way, by doing a search for “cheap Chinoiserie, through which I found this forum forum on less expensive Chinoiserie wall paper: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0523344324974.html

The forum has some interesting tips, notably the idea of buying one panel and splitting it up and framing it.

But me, I want wall paper.

And I found it! At Stroheim & Romann. I went down to their showroom and fell in love with this pattern—whimsical, cheerful, and it comes with a pale blue background color which is almost identical to my paint in the hall. It’s $88 a single roll, but, in one of those infuriating things about wallpaper, you have to buy a triple roll, which makes it like $264.

And then, do I dare to try hanging it myself? Or do I hire someone?

Anyway, compared with Griffin & Wong, it seems very inexpensive. Sort of. And it’s more light-hearted, in a way. The version I really love has that great pale blue background color which unfortunately I cannot reproduce here.

http://www.griffinandwong.com/

http://www.stroheim.com/

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/decor/msg0523344324974.html

“Good Design” was a concept that first appeared in the 1930s and then ushered design through the mid-century. It’s essentially what you think of when you think of mid-century  design: Charles and Ray Eames, Hans Wegner, clean lines, interesting new uses of materials.

You can see a great selection at MoMA’s exhibit titled “What Was Good Design? MoMA’s Message 1944-1956.” The exhibit includes some odd, surprising household items as well as the iconic pieces you’d expect. It’s on until November 30.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/958