Tchochkes

‘Man it’s hot. It’s like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.‘ — Biloxi Blues

I know, it’s hot outside. It’s miserably hot, and the last thing you feel like doing is making your bed in the morning with the whole kit-and-caboodle just to have to take the whole thing off again at night. So what does one do in the summer? Live without bedding? G-d no! Parish the thought!

A bed can be interesting even if it doesn’t have all of the glorious layers that we enjoy in the winter-time. Above is a great example from Martha Stewart. I know, she’s a scary uber-wasp, but she has the most amazing aesthetic sense. I love the striped sheet dust ruffle (covering the box spring) adding interest, color, and pattern to a room. The red blanket on the top of the bed is lightweight and accents the dust ruffle.

Above is a sheet set by Unison Larch (no, Design Public does not ship to Israel - I’m just using this as an example). Notice the flat sheet edged off the bed and the coverlet placed decoratively across? The room is simple (and yes, I’m ignoring the twigs in a vase **shudder**) but the bed is still fabulous. This shows that it can be done.

Another option is to go the simple cover route. The printed cotton bedcover above is from Hafatzim. Yes, I know, their customer service is some of the worst in Israel, but their designs are fab, and this is something you can grab off the shelf without having to talk to the smarmy cows that work there. Or you can go to the souk in Yaffa or Daliat Ha Carmel and get something extremely similar for significantly less money.

The quilt below is also from Hafaztim. I would place this on the bed in the day and take it off at night. This style is really popular right now, so you can find it in more places than just Hafatzim.

Israel doesn’t sell flat sheets typically, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your duvet cover on the bed instead - without the comforter inside.

And sheets don’t have to be just white. The set above is by Sleeping Buddha (no, they don’t ship to Israel either, but I think Golf and Co has something extremely similar.)

So as you can see, there are loads of options out there. Not every bed has to be made like this… (although that wouldn’t be a bad thing.)

Now I get it. They stage homes. For an absolutely ludicrous price SpiceIT will come and stage your home for sale. It doesn’t explain why none of their beds were properly made. One would assume that if you are trying to sell your house it would help if you have an inviting bedroom.

Even with the idea that they stage homes instead of doing interior design - they still suck.

Look at the kitchen above. It’s pretty obvious what is wrong. There’s an oven missing, it’s cluttered, the towels hanging from the cabinets do it no favors and the rug on the floor looks like a rag. Then SpiceIT comes in and it turns into this:

The layout hasn’t changed. There is NOTHING original about the layout - it’s identical to what it was before. Even worse, now it is so individual you are alienating potential buyers. People who hate red will not buy your flat with this kitchen in it.

If you are staging a home for selling you try to NOT place too much personality on it. I’m not even going to start with the fact that they put in an IKEA kitchen in place of something which looked like it was done by a proper firm and was better made. They didn’t fix the oven issue. The upper cabinets are simply ugly. The wallpaper is great, but not appropriate for staging a home. Worse off, someone paid for this - when they could have gone to IKEA and had the whole thing designed for them FOR FREE. OH - and it looks like they put a linoleum floor in - who puts in linoleum when they already have tile????!!!! Linoleum was created for people who can’t afford tile.

[post edit: It turns out that the red cabinets don't come from IKEA, they are wallpapered - which means they ruined the original wood veneer fronts instead. This would explain why nothing moved in the space.]

Instead of ruining the original space they should have simply cleaned up what was already there, put in a proper oven, and bought an amazing light. Honestly, the financial irresponsability leaves me shocked. The fact that they made it worse - I’m gobsmacked.

They couldn’t even bother to put in nice accessories. They all come from IKEA as well. If a designer doesn’t know about the importance of good handles and bars - they aren’t good designers. Goldstein people, it’s in Florentine in Tel Aviv  - get a clue and go there. NOW.

I have to admit, I’ve never liked the rounded door kitchen cabinets. But these cabinets aren’t so bad.

Again, what did SpiceIT do? Take out a perfectly fine kitchen and put in the cheapest crap IKEA had to offer - with rounded doors. They didn’t change the side bar. They didn’t even change the size of the tile in the kitchen, they simply picked a different color.

The window dressing is great, but it would have worked equally well in the original kitchen. Again, since nothing essential in the space was moved - the person who paid for this WAS A FRIAR (fool in Hebrew). You can go to IKEA and they will design this space for you for free.

What I really like is now the middle cabinet door on the bottom isn’t even installed flush with the doors on either side. Great staging guys. And someone paid close to 2000 NIS for this? This is just for them to ‘design’ it, it’s not even for the materials or work. Hire me instead - I promise you I will do a significantly better job with nicer materials and better results.

Remember the painfully boring living rooms? Someone paid 3,500 NIS to have that done to their flat. The mind boggles.

I love the red counter. I have no idea what it looked like before, because the site isn’t offering that, but I do like the red and the green. It’s like Christmas on acid.

I HATE the ‘texture’ beneath the red counter. It looks cheap and unfinished. They took the kettle from an old house above and put it in this room. The cabinets look original. My guess is that they simply tidied up and painted. All of the accessories look like IKEA (shocker). It’s fine. But it isn’t worth almost 2000 NIS.

Chutzpa, thy name is SpiceIT.

Don’t throw your junk in my back yard, my back yard, my back yard…

When I hear the name Back Yard  it takes me back to so many yard sales, flea markets and places to rummage.  I grew up scavenging in places like these and today I still have the treasures acquired on these outings.  This store has all sorts of interesting finds, from old watering cans to colored glass bottles and even lawn art.

A bottle collection is a great way to add color to a light filled windowsill or shelf.  Finding them one at a time or in groups is a good start.

I have been searching for a source that carries side boards, this longer then wide table has so many uses and is a great accent piece in hallways and behind sofas.

Here’s the lawn art, what a cute little squirrel; but the blue painted ladder in the background really captures my collectors heart! If you are not one for the nitty gritty of the find, Back Yard in Kefar Vitkin has already done the dirty work; all you have to do is get there.

Lucky cats are kind of cute.  Here they all are waving their luck your away…

These cats are considered to bring luck into homes and businesses in Chinese and Japanese cultures.  If the paw is mechanical and can move, this is even more auspicious.  The waving motion is said to bring a homes inhabitants wealth and prosperity.

Symbols:

Left paw up: Invites friends into home

Right paw up: Invites money and fortune

Both paws up: (Stick um up!) Protects the home

The bib and bell: Material abundance

I like these cats for their positive expression.  You don’t have to be Chinese or Japanese to enjoy their positive energy… why not invite one or two in to enhance your home, they don’t eat much!

Amazon.com ships this cat internationally.

Dutch designer Inke Heiland’s recycled wallpaper kit is both resourceful and uber creative.  I love her hand cut designs made from vintage and new wallpapers. The kit comes with a brush, glue and hanging instructions, how much easier can it be… Unfortunately, she does not ship to Israel but she does have representatives in other countries including the U.S.

This is one of Inke’s designs, a giant wallpaper giraffe.  This pattern ships in three pieces and costs about $100.00.   

These birds come in packs of 2 for $24.00, I can see placing these birds in a row to create a decorative wall boarder.

Wallpaper tree by Inke

DIY:

What a great way to decorate a room.  If you can’t find a way to get these here but love the idea, why not adopt the concept using your own patterns and local wallpaper resources.

 The Pagoda House, situated on Nahmani & Montefiore streets was built in 1924 and designed by architect Alexander Levy. He came to “Palestine” from Germany during the Bauhaus boom of the 1920’s, lived and worked here for several years but “never felt at home” and later returned to  Germany where he was killed at Auschwitz.  

This noble structure, originally built as a private home; is a combination of Western and Oriental styles.  It is not open to visitors, but the outside is unlike most buildings here in Tel Aviv and worth a visit.    

The pagoda House in 1988 before restoration

Here it is as it stands today

Not only is the house amazing, this area just off of Allenby street is full of cafes and shops and is  fun to explore.  Around the corner at 39 Ahad Ha’am Street there is  Yaniv Glass Gallery, a small but beautifully curated gallery that also showcases fine works of art in their shop.  Keep walking to 68 Ahad Ha’am and you will reach Elemento, a shop that carries contemporary items big and small. 

View, no view…

I am not big on window treatments and as a matter of fact I don’t have a single curtain or window covering in my home.  If it were not for the permanent blinds that are on every building here in Tel Aviv, my apartment would be an open fish tank for all to see!  I came across a window treatment that I think has potential, but I can’t figure out if they slide side to side or are stationary.

Orgad a company based here in Israel, is a supplier of window treatments.  I found these on their website and thought they were worth a share.

The panels here are semi-sheer and let in some light, I like this quality in a window treatment but if they don’t slide away from the window or roll up like a shade does then I think these are limited.  I know that some views are not ideal, but there is something to be said for having access to a natural light source.    

I like the way these add color to the room.  Most window treatments are beige or white and blend into the decor unnoticed.  You have to have guts to add colored window treatments to a room, if you ask me not enough people do.

Here are some white panels that double as room dividers, not a bad way to create another space but I feel sorry for the room in front that is loosing it’s light source.  I hate the fabric here and find the “all white” interior disturbing, I guess that blue chair in the background is holding up the color end of the deal here… 

On a positive note, I can see using this type of treatment in an open doorway or an exposed pantry as an economical solution to an unsightly situation.

Last week I wrote a post which some people thought was rather harsh (and extremely funny) about the design firm, SpiceIT. I’m not going to apologize for that post. I still think that it takes a lot of chuztpa to put twigs in a vase in a room with only a bedroom set and call it interior design. What design? You picked out the bedroom set? You hung a net shmata from the ceiling? Not interesting, and certainly not design.

However, This week I’m going to show their living room designs, and some of these I do like.

I love color, and you don’t get much happier colors than those used in the salon above. The space is young, exuberant and inviting. I would have loved living in a place like that back in the day as a singleton in Tel Aviv.

With that said, it doesn’t say designer space to me. One hires a designer to create a look that they could not do on their own. Something divine, transcendental, incredibly different. While the space above is sweet and funky, it also wreaks of student - which is not the target market for interior designers.

The living room, above, looks almost like the pages of IKEA, only not quite as interesting. I have to admit, they lost me here. There isn’t enough color to warm the space, and the overload of IKEA furniture makes it dull. Where is the creativity?

This is what bothers me about their work. You can’t just go, pick out pieces that are already shown together in a showroom, and call it design. Design is about pulling in the unexpected, about subtlety, nuance, ambiance, and interest. Buying everything from the same shop, and slapping it together so that it looks like the showroom, is none of those things. Yes, I love IKEA and I think they do great work. I have friends with fabulous spaces where most of the stuff comes from IKEA - but not everything does. They pull things in from souk ha pish pishim in Yaffa, or tchochkes from their travels, and they create an interesting space. The space above is fine for what it is, but it is also quite dull.

My favorite part of the space above is the breakfast bar on the back wall. Otherwise, the bricks add some interest, which is good. The colors are subtle and interesting. The carpet has a nice texture. It’s ok.

Overall, the salons are better than the bedrooms. Of course, considering what I thought of the bedrooms, it really isn’t saying much.

Dinner plate

Dishes are really something special, especially this unique product line designed by Finnish designer Klaus Haapaniemi for iittala.  The patterns seen here are inspired by traditional Finnish folk tales, what a strange little owl. 

Espresso cup

If you are interested in adding these to your dinnerware collection, the dinner plates go for $40.00 each, the espresso cup can be had for $11.00 each and mugs for $22.00 each.   Unicahome ships internationally with a minimum oredr of $100.00.

Mug

Plate

I can see using these decorative dishes along with a set of whites.  These would be a welcomed gift in my home. 

I had never heard of a ”furniture arranging kit” before I wrote this article.  I found this product to be interesting, especially for my profession in Feng Shui which focuses on furniture placement in the home.  I may even purchase one and try it on for size!

* I don’t think they ship to Israel

The kit includes a series of templates like the ones shown here.  You can select which rooms you are interested in planning and the buy the templates based on that.  You are a candidate for this product if you are : an interior designer or interested in design, moving into a new home, involved in Feng Shui like I am or anything in the area of floor planning.

Paper dolls for grown ups… what fun!