Tchochkes

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.

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.

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!

Doesn’t mean you can set up your own interior design firm.

SpiceIT are an interior design team based somewhere in Israel. My husband sent me their link and asked me what I  thought of them while he was researching topics for tchochkes.co.il.

I find their work provoking. I say this because I looked at page after page of ’straight out of IKEA’ boredom and dullness and wanted to scream. Where is the style? Where is the individuality? Where is the creativity? Where is the design?

I think their work sucks. The room above, for example, has no actual bedding on the bed. The silver lamme drapes should go down to the floor. The padded walls make it look like an asylum. The white on white everywhere is done the wrong way and the IKEA table is just stuck there, too far to be a bedside table, too small to be a coffee table for the sitting area. The silver cushions are tacky, the silver on the door is worse.

I like the color of the base of the bed. That’s it. The room above looks like it was decorated by kids in high school who are simply copying IKEA. If that were the case - I would love the room. However, one has higher expectations from someone stating to be an interior designer expecting to be hired.

Anyone who would pay to have a room look like that should have their head examined.

The room above would be fine if it was, again, just someones room. Actually it looks like a room in a zimmer (Israeli version of bread and breakfast). Still, my old complaints are there - where’s the bedding? What is the purpose of the netting at the foot of the bed? It’s obviously not against mosquitoes. Only one bedside table has a light on it. The bed needs a box spring - the mattress is way too low. And then of course, my favorite - twigs in a vase.

My G-d, do I HATE TWIGS IN A VASE.

Also, what are those blue things on the bed? They obviously aren’t rose petals. Rose petals don’t come in that color. I can’t imagine why someone would decorate a bed with marbles…

Apparently someones poodle died in the center of the bed.

Hate it.

I do like the drapes. Their tonal shading is quite nice. I also like the wall bedside lamps.

Lucky for me, SpiceIT also has kitchens on their site - which I will give my comments on later this week.

I came across these sofas from Milano bedding that are quite expensive and I think pretty darn ugly.  This company not only boasts style but also ultimate comfort.  I searched and searched for the comfort aspect on their website and I could not come up with anything to show.  The price tags starting at 9,000 and up to 40,000 NIS are not in the bargain shopper range to say the least.  I even think that IKEA has some comprable sofas for half the price.

Ouch, this sofa looks sooo uncomfortable.  I would not last long sitting here.

It looks like they left the down comforter on the sofa… Where is the style here?

Oh, that’s where I left my yellow sleeping bag!

This sofa had possibilities but I think you can find a similar one at IKEA.

I almost thought this one was nice but then I noticed that they forgot to iron the skirt.  The crinkle thing just does not work for me.

Not only is the couch boring and uncomfortable looking, the room setting is horrible.  Are those square covered in the same fabric as the couch, yikes!

I love this “cafe chair” by Haldane Martin, a South African based design company . It also comes in a few tropical brights and a nice ivory as pictured in the room setting below.  If you want to see it for yourself, Tollman’s in the Gan Hair in Tel Aviv has floor samples in all of the colors. 

All of their products have a distinct tie to their South African roots.  The cafe chair is crafted in a ”zulu basket weaving” technique, the materials used are recycled plastic.  Their entire line is designed and produced in South Africa,  It’s great that this company supports its local artisans.

There are two sides to every story and the same is true for Moroccan style .  The use of bright bold colors as we see in this photo of Majorelle Gardens in Marrakesh, Morocco and the all white walls with colorful accents as used in the room below.  Each city in Morocco has its own color story, a great book that covers each region is “Moroccan Modern” by Herbert Ypma.

Living here in Israel we have the pleasure of being influenced by Moroccan style on a daily basis.  If you walk the streets of Tel Aviv like I do, you can still find buildings with this architectural influence.

This one is on the corner of Rothchild and Allenby streets.  The arched window openings and the dome on top of the tower are definitely Moorish features. 

Here is my contribution to Moroccan style.  I used a futon as a base and added a bright orange fitted sheet and some colorful pillows and change-o-presto, rock the casaba!

There are so many interior design accents that highlight Moroccan style.  A good shopping resource here in Israel is Turkiz, they carry all sorts of Moroccan items including large furniture and home accessories.  Of course I have mention Old Yafo in Tel Aviv as an additional shopping resource.

Carved wood hand painted table

 Tile fountain done in traditional ”zillij” tecqunique

 Cut out metal lamp

Traditional moroccan textile

Vibrant glazed ceramic bowls

Dyed leather pouf

Moorish chest with inlaid shell

These are just a few of the beautiful items that you can add to your home for a touch of Moroccan style.

Decorating tips:

* Colors: Royal blue, fuchsia, deep purple and bright red combined with neutral accents and white.

* Mixing textures and patterns: Rough walls with silk curtains and carved wood furniture.

* Key hole shaped doorways and windows, arched  display niches.

* Wall paintings and ethnic stencils like the faux head boards shown here.