Obama for change

: : hello friends : :
I don't usually like to share my politically viewpoints on the blog. but it is election season, and a very important, historical election. since I can't vote, sharing my opinion is the only way that I can participate in this election. .Obama. is the natural choice for me. NOTHING else makes sense to me. maybe it's cause I'm European.....like the cab driver in Geneva told me two weeks ago;"if the election was going to be held in Europe today, there would be no question about who would win". OBAMA. The fact that it is not a clear cut choice in this country amazes and scares me. Most of all, Sarah Palin scares me. I want to share a brief quote from an email I received this morning.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms.
Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.


You can view women's responses to this email on the blog womenagainstsarahpalin

The Obama buttons above are by New York Visual design shop Trollbäck. Email them and you might receive your set of free buttons. [via notcot]

Obama for change!

baggu


: : I went to .trader joe's. [my favorite neighborhood grocery store] today on my way home and didn't have a backpack or a bag with me. I felt guilty about using yet another doubled-up-paper-bag. it will never happen again because I just bought a .baggu bag. [in hot pink]. and it will live in my purse for all those unexpected trips to the grocery store.

if you haven't already boycotted plastic bags....do it now!!

sweden summer pics


: : these will be the last Sweden summer pics for now.
.iz. and .farmor. [grandma] relaxing by the sauna.
the sunset from our bedroom.
successful mushroom picking and...
a spontaneous crayfish party

Swedish weddings

: : two of my best Swedish girlfriends are getting married, a week apart from each other, at the end of this month. I am so thrilled and happy that I will be able to be home for their weddings! In fact, .louise. did try to make it easy for me and planned her wedding close to .tina's. I've been helping them both with design inspiration here and there, and for .louise & erik. I made their invitations. they'll be getting married outside in a beautiful garden. .tina & hans. will be getting married on cliffs by the ocean, on an island in the Swedish westcoast archipelago.


Hot or Not? Sarah Palin’s Alaskan Office Décor

Are Grizzly Bears and King Crabs going to be the new trend? I certainly hope not!!

Take the reader survey in the right hand column. Poll closed see results below.

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This image appeared in The New York Times, accompanying the story Sarah Heath Palin, an Outsider Who Charms.

November 5, 2008
Here are the statistics of the Poll

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Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design.
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finally home

: : Sweden and back. then Switzerland and back. and now finally home in Boston again. I'm sorry that it's been so quiet here.

I haven't had much time to find inspiration to share, apart from the photos from my vacation, which I still look through every other day or so. from top left. my parent's own little red.house [it is adorable], two typical fishing villages on the Swedish westcoast and a delicious Swedish meal, strömming [a type of fish] with potatoes and raw lingonberries. yum!

New and Hot Interior Design Books

"You are the same today that you are going to be five years from now except for two things:
the people with whom you associate and the books you read."  -- Charles Jones

Check out some of the new books on Interior Design below in the new Amazon Widget at the bottom of this post. I am a lover of books and images and I can hardly wait to receive a new batch of books hot off the press. I am most excited about Michael Taylor Interior Design which hasn't been released yet but is available for pre-order on Amazon. I have done a post on Michael Taylor's work, which you can read here: Michael Taylor - Good Design is Timeless.

The James Dean of decorators is how Diana Vreeland described West Coast designer Michael Taylor.

Michael Taylor: Interior Design

I was a student in Design School when the picture below of Michael Taylor's work was published in Architectural Digest . I was totally in awe of his work. Nothing had been done like this before. It was revolutionary and very fresh. I became totally mesmerized by all things "Michael Taylor".  He is still a big influence in my work.

Consistently denouncing the cluttered and pretentious, he had a simple ethos: "When you take things out, you must increase the size of what's left." This spawned the widely emulated California Look, which in the latter part of his career was characterized by oversize furniture and signature elements, including Yosemite slate and fossilized stone; plump geometric cushions; logs; wicker; and lots of mirrors, all against a muted backdrop of white on white or beige on beige.

This is a room Michael designed circa mid 1950's in Modesto, California

Syrie Maugham, the British decorator who helped create the all-white look popular in the 1920s, provided another source of inspiration to him which can be seen in the above picture of a living room Michael Taylor designed. "Schiaparelli sofa"

 

 

Taylor rivaled the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland in his use of maxims - "Red and green should never be seen!" was one of his favorites. "If in doubt, take it out!" was another. Taylor believed that white was the most efficient color for capturing natural light.

 

"I cannot live without books."
Thomas Jefferson

What books are you going to be reading??

 

 

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
While you're here, subscribe to this feed so you don't miss out.