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Home&Garden San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, October 3, 2010 | Section L
Photos by Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
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When the decor obsessed need an inspiration fix, traditionally it has come in the form of a magazine or photo-rich website. These days, add to the list one whimsical craft-centric decor and fashion emporium, some smartly styled catalogs and idea-packed blogs by interior designers.
Anthropologie’s Amber Van Weerden (left) and Rachel Robertson team up to create the S.F. store’s eye-catching displays, including a knotted portrait (background).
DIY DECOR
By Chantal Lamers SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICL E
Show and tell time for crafts Re-create Anthropologie’s playful displays at home
Well before the idea of crafting homespun art and objects from castoffs went mainstream, the artists at Anthropologie, a national chain that sells clothing, accessories and home decor, have been toying with ways to metamorphose bottle caps, plastic bags and empty water bottles. “This philosophy comes from the organic need to re-imagine and reinterpret what is already part of our environment,” says Karen Heilbronner, Anthropologie’s visual director, in Philadelphia. “We are always working with our presentations in a state of evolution, and that lends itself naturally to the reuse and redevelopment of existing material.” At the heart of each of the company’s projects — changed seasonally — is an air of playfulness, a bit of intrigue and a whole lot of surprise.
To make these yarn tassels and two other Anthropologie projects, see Page L4.
Decor continues on L4
DESIGNER BLOGS
CATALOG STYLE
Decor companies take a page from magazines By Anh-Minh Le
Sacramento interior designer Katie Denham chonicled her kitchen remodel on her blog.
Spilling their creativity on the ’net By Anh-Minh Le S P ECI AL TO THE CHRONICLE
Earlier this year, during a talk at the Williams-Sonoma Home store in Palo Alto, Grant K. Gibson discussed his recent selection to Elle Decor’s list of up-and-coming interior designers. He attributed the honor to one specific thing. It wasn’t a high-profile celebrity client or a well-con-
nected publicist (Gibson doesn’t work with one). It was his blog, he said, that caught the magazine editor’s eye and led to his inclusion on the coveted list. “I blog to show clients a behind-the-curtain kind of look at what I do,” said Gibson (grantkgibson.blogspot.com). In addition to design, he covers his travels, cooking adventures, shopping excursions
and general observations around San Francisco. In an age when companies are hiring people whose sole responsibility is to manage blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, it’s no surprise that social media has also infiltrated the interior design industry. Designers are using blogs as a tool to gain more exposure and connect with a Blogs continues on L5
Like many interior-design fanatics whose homes are continuously evolving, San Francisco’s Jeanine Hays maintains an inspiration board where she keeps track of beautiful rooms and objects that she comes across. “I’m a very visual person,” said the creative director and founder of Aphrochic (aphrochicshop.com). “Images on an inspiration board help me think through my design ideas.” Just a few years ago, that board might have been filled with tear sheets from magazines such as Domino and Metropolitan Home. But these days, with those publications shuttered, Hays has found a surprising new source for inspiration: product catalogs. A review of a recent batch that arrived in the mail reveals that they are no longer just pages and pages of products shot against a plain
DwellStudios
Rudy Calpo
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
DwellStudio goes moody with a modern Cubist wool blanket over a vintage chair.
white background. There are now vignettes and interior photos that rival those in the glossies. “I absolutely love this shift in catalogs,” Hays said. “Retailers are finding a way to engage the readers with their product — not only by showing how they would actually fit into a real home but by showing them in the home Catalogs continues on L5