We Covet: Josef Frank for Svenkst Tenn

[David Netto's Long Island Cottage bedroom from House Beautiful's October 2011 issue]

We're head over heels for Svenskt Tenn's archive of textile and wallpaper patterns by Austrian designer Josef Frank. While architect first collaborations with the venerable Swedish furniture company were in 1935, his archive of swirling and almost psychedelic botanical prints has only recently been rediscovered in North America. 

[Lisa Grue's home from Design Sponge]

There is much to admire about Austrian designer Josef Frank. A founding father of Viennese Modernism, in the 1920s he came to think that the movements ideals had become standardized and  interior design was becoming too cold. So he developed a freer asthetic that embraced on comfort, nature and colour. Which is why his vibrant designs work just as well with a minimalist, Scandinavian-style interiors as well as more maximalist spaces.

[Windows Linen Fabric]

[Gröna Fåglar Linen Fabric]

An architect in Vienna, he emigrated to Sweden to escape Nazi Germany. Svenkst Tenn's Estrid Ericson hired him to create furniture and household objects as well as fabrics. At the height of all the WWII, he fled to New York. And despite the horrors of war, it was here that he developed his most famous patterns — figurative works that depicted flowers, trees and animals all bursting with life.

After the war, he returned to Sweden where Ericson and Frank continued their creative partnership until his death in 1967. But his legacy lives on, not only in the way he influenced generations of Scandinavian designers, but also because his playful take on textile design has been reinvented as wallpaper, placemats and many other household objects.

Jenn Hannotte on Local Talent Stefan Page

[Halina pillow for CB2]

Keeping things playful and irreverent is key to my design aesthetic. Introducing the unexpected always makes a room come alive, and one of the least anxiety-inducing methods is through surface design and art. Surface and pattern design is the passion of Toronto illustrator Stefan Page, who has designed for CB2, Umbra, Joe Fresh and many others. Through abstraction he creates playful, dream-like worlds that can add a tonne of fun and personality to any space. It's also cool to know that some of the amazing patterns we see in big retailers were crafted and inspired right here at home.

[Sasha rug for CB2]

[Wooden Horse illustration]

[sandals for Sandalista!]

This maple leaf pillow was created specifically for the opening of CB2 in Canada, and Stefan describes it as a blend of his personal love and understanding of Polish Folk Art with the iconic shape of the Maple Leaf that represents the home (Canada) that his family found during WW2. How truly Canadian is that!?

We're pleased to feature another intriguing post from interior stylist Jenn Hannotte of Russet and Empire Interiors back to the Covet Garden blog. Her work has been featured in Design Lines,  Remodelista, Apartment Therapy and the Marion House Book to name a few.

We Covet: Commune Design

[Ace Hotel and Swim Club Palm Springs designed by Commune Design]

We want to live in a commune. Specifically, we want to live at Commune Design, a collective of interior designers, architects and graphic designers based in Los Angeles.  Best known for their eco-friendly work on the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in Palm Springs (vintage furnishings, low VOC pains and sustainable building materials), Team Commune’s work looks as good as it makes you feel.

[Carnation Street Residence, Silverlake, California]

Founded in 2004, Commune is also the hive mind behind some pretty cool brand identity campaigns for companies such as Juicy Couture, HBO Films and Fashionology. We are particularly partial to their personal projects, such as the private residence pictured above. Southwestern motifs are a recurring theme in there interior design work, as are hand crafted housewares. And to spread their love of handmade around, they also run an online shop selling their favourite artisinal goods.

[Alma Allen Cylinder With Waist Stool, Alma Allen Tall Neck Stool, Commune Shop]

[Throw Pillow, Commune Shop]

While the four principals come from different disciplines, their work has distinctly Californian vibe. Their design is friendly, thoughtful and a little antiestablishmentarianist. In a way, they are the spiritual descendants of such Bohemian enclaves as writer Henry Miller’s Big Sur Colony. Everything about Commune Design has us California dreaming—what do you think?

Heart Felt

The other day I was visiting my friend Trish. While we chatted, her children played with the Christmas gift she made for them—a magical forest inhabited by these cute little gnomes.  Needless to say, I fell in love with it.

Trish bought her supplies from Etsy's BenzieBazzar. Benzie has a fantastic selection of felts as well as a great blog, A Fanfare of Felt, that's chock full of ideas. And, as if Trish's magical gnome forest wasn't enough, I recently met felt artisit, Marjorie Campbell. Marjorie creates some of the most enchanting, beautifully detailed, felt objects I've ever seen.

[Images, Little 'M' Inventions]

To see more of Marjorie's work, check out her website Little 'M' Inventions. While I'm coveting the cuties pictured above,  I'm also enamoured of the critters below. They aren't on her site but they're available  at the Leslieville Art's Market where Marjorie has a booth. And yes, that's  a chihuahua in a tea cup. ’Nuff said.

[Images by Lynda Felton]

Magazine Love: Visi

[The cover of issue 59 of South Africa's Visi magazine.]

We admit it. We're hopeless magazine junkies... and there is no fix better than discovering a new magazine while you are away from home. While in Cape Town this past February, I couldn't help myself when I came across Visi. It is chock-full of local design news, interesting home tours from the quirky to the over-the-top fabulous and it's all put together in a lovely, well-designed package!

Not only do the pages bring back fond memories of my trip, I'm totally inspired by the freshness of décor the homes featured in the magazine.

The good news is that you don't need to go to South Africa to find this magazine, as it is now available by subscription or single issue perusal on Zinio.

I'm swooning over the spreads from issue 56 (pictured above). Especially the beautiful blue rooms!

I was also won over by the stories that go along with the pictures. The article above (from issue 57) introduced me to the new wave of Cape Town designers centred in the Woodstock neighbourhood. Pretty pictures and fascinating stories. What's not to love?