A lot to thank William Hogarth: Serpentine Line

William Hogarth 1697-1764 England, was a painter satirist and social critic during the 18th ct.  His satiric paintings and engravings mostly covered and criticized social and political situations by ridiculing conventional and social standards of his times.  One of my favorite work of his is Marriage à-la-mode, a series of six paintings which were later engraved and published, ridiculing arranged marriages where of course the unhappiness of the entire family ends with the tragedy that covers everything from murder to suicide.  Go figure!   "Moral: don’t listen to evil silver-tongued counselors; don’t marry a man for his rank, or a woman for her money; don’t frequent foolish auctions and masquerade balls unknown to your husband; don’t have wicked companions abroad and neglect your wife, otherwise you will be run through the body, and ruin will ensue, and disgrace, and Tyburn"
And you may be wondering why am I reading all this and you're right! but William is entirely responsible for what's called Serpentine Line or Line of Beauty which is the S-shaped curved elongated line that frames an object.  He thought that curves, not Sophia Vergara's in this case, were more dynamic, more interesting to see, more lively and not as dead and static as straight lines.  And I so much agree.  When my professor said these things in class last year I thought "that's my man right there!"  He probably had no idea that his theory would transcend to furniture, hence the Serpentine sideboard and many more wonderful good looking furniture and sculpture that we enjoy today.  Below, a few images that show gracious and beautiful curves.  Enjoy!

images via Nuevo Estilo, Vogue, Elle Decor, Vogue Living Australia, AD and Lace and Tea.

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Designer I look up to: Stven Volpe

When I received my Architectural Digest this month and saw that one of Steven Volpe's creations was featured I trembled at just the thought of what my eyes were going to see.  If there is a man who has perfected the art of mixing with elements of surprise that result in pure Avant-garde and sophisticated spaces that's him.  Volpe composes rooms that seamlessly combine exquisite designer furniture of different styles with top-notch art in a way that nothing clashes, instead the result is perfect harmony.  His work seems to never get outdated and its always exiting to look at and learn from it.  Ever since I posted about the home he designed for Bita Daryabari I was hooked, do I need to say why?  About this home in AD that he designed for a tech-sector titan he says  "I was trying to create something that makes an impact, something that people haven't seen before".  I was particularly impressed in the tall size of the house but yet, how livable and personal it looks.  The dinning room is nothing like you have seen before so I guess Steven Volpe knows how to deliver exactly what he intends!  Enjoy!

photos from Steven Volpe's website.

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Bita Daryabari Home by Steven Volpe

In the most recent issue of Elle Decor we saw the London renovation that Steven Volpe and Bita Daryabari collaborated on. I loved the elegance of the house and because the article said they had worked together before, I was intrigued to see what would a 17,000 square foot residence designed by the more than talented Steven Volpe would look like. My search was fruitful and I found the images at A Thoughtful eye. The place is perfection at its best especially today that it's snowing here again and the open fires in the coziness of this home make me want to stay in and light a fire as well.

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