Turn this room into an outfit

I was reading about Domino's column called "Turn this room into an outfit" on Design*Sponge and decided to try it myself. Here's the outfit I put together using The Stanton Social, a restaurant in the lower east side of Manhattan, as inspiration. Purse, belt, and dress are from Urban Outfitters. Boots, bracelet, and scarf from Anthropologie. Check out other examples of this idea here.

Changing luxury market

While doing some research for an informational meeting at Gensler tomorrow I came across several interesting articles. This one by John Parman gives insight into the way the economy is affecting the luxury market of hotels because of the changing mindset of travelers  into 'frugalists'. Suddenly people, even the incredibly wealthy, are turning away from high-end, luxury, exclusive hotels and opting for places that aren't as extravagant. People still want good quality, of course, but they are gravitating towards quality that is expressed in more subtle ways than glitzy, over-the-top glamour. 

Just as the SUV was traded in when gasoline prices went through the roof, leisure is (relatively speaking) getting back to basics. That doesn’t mean sophistication and service go out the window, but there’s a sense that less is more, the way flat screens have suddenly banished the two-ton armoire. 

Food packaging trends have also paralleled this idea in some ways. Many name brands have redesigned their packages to simplified versions, or even gone back a couple decades to a more retro design, giving the feeling of a better value. Some of these redesigns have been more successful than others.

Read the whole article from Gensler Dialogues here. It's a good one.

 

Window shopping

Who doesn't love Anthropologie displays? Although stores are beginning to put out their fall collections, I was lucky enough to snag some photos of Anthropologie's summer displays before they come down.  Love the blue paint used as water.  

library inspired

During my second week of my internship my boss took me out for dinner and drinks at a restaurant called Public in SoHo.  The restaurant was designed after an old public library.  All of the small details were amazing and really made the whole atmosphere come together such as the wall of keys behind the hostess kiosk, the card catalogs, menus on slender clipboards, dim lighting, and sectioned shelving.  

Today, while looking at one of my favorite design blogs, Design*Sponge, I saw that they posted a gift that someone had made which was inspired by library catalog cards.  

Grace Light was celebrating her two year anniversary and decided to replace the book numbers with important dates in their relationship, book titles with “chapters” of their life together, and publisher locations with places that are important to them. The best part? Each year they plan to add memories to their library card box.