Books are one of my favorite things to give and receive throughout the year, so what better time to share some of my favorites than now? Most are design, interiors, or food related because when it comes down to it those are the subjects I like to share most with others. (You never would have guessed that, right?!)
Melbourne, Australia-based artist Justine Khamara is a master of digital manipulation. Khamara hand-cuts photographs, then reorganizes and pastes them into other configurations. Sometimes pasted, sometimes woven, always interesting.
I’m ready for layers, aren’t you? A few weeks ago I bought my first new winter coat in seven years (fair thee well, sturdy black peacoat!) and the coziest white knit hat. Now to add a new pair of gloves or mittens and a few sweaters to my winter wardrobe…
What at first glance looks like crumpled pages that have been ripped from fashion magazines are actually painstakingly painted pieces by Stefania Fersini. Each oil piece shows off the models as life-sized, inviting us to explore our own personal relationships with real life and the polished media.
My holiday decor game plan goes something like this:
Work around what you already have.
Stay true to your style.
Don’t do a lot of rearranging.
It’s a plan of action that’s served me well in the past, but when Pier 1 challenged me to do a mantle refresh I knew it was time to try something new. Their holiday collection revolves around several styles this season, a little something for everyone, and it was fun to pull from a few to create a look that was 100% me.
The starting point was this amazing Peacock Ombre Wreath. My tree is full of jewel-toned ornaments, mostly in different variations of pinks and reds, so this piece on the other side of the room just made sense. It’s colorful and saturated and a great focal point to build my mantel off of.
Christmas is all about sparkle, so anything I did wouldn’t be complete with some sort of lights. I fell for these Ornament String Lights in a heartbeat. The ten shimmery ornaments are handblown and have a mercury glass finish, something that’s always been one of my holiday staples. I stretched a strand along the mantle and tucked about half into the lower part of the wreath. It ended up feeling very abstract and modern, which I love! And they’re operated by a battery pack, a total bonus.
To add some extra height I pulled in the Glitter Ice Pine Tree Set. They’re such a great touch with those silvery bases, but manage not to compete with the brilliance of the wreath. Decorating with threes is something I always do – in this case the tallest of the three trees was offset on one side by the middle and smallest sized. My mid-century rocking bird is the only piece I left from the usual mantle setup because it just added something special.
The last touch was a pair of LED Birch Tree Pillars that tie in nicely with the all-encompassing tree theme I ended up with. They have two settings – one for a steady light and one that flickers like a real candle! I’ve been turning them on every evening and the yellow tone of the lights is just so warming.
This post is brought to you by Pier 1 Imports. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Design Crush creating fresh content!
I’ve followed and been a fan of Frank Chimero ever since first joining Twitter waaaaaaay back in 2009. It’s been a blast to watch his career as a designer/illustrator/writer evolve and I always look forward to what’s next. The latest is Frank’s Colorfield series, available as prints. And if you’re a designer I highly recommended picking up a copy of his book, The Shape of Design.
