CasaSugar

Guess What Architect Is Designing the Grammy Awards Poster?

Elka Karl — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:13:54 PST

A legendary architect has been chosen to design the official artwork for the 54th annual Grammy Awards. This artwork will be displayed on the cover of the Grammy Awards program, promotional materials, and telecast tickets. Featured on the program is a golden gramophone that's framed by models of some of this famous architect's most notable buildings.

Can you guess who this architect is?

Go-To Online Art Shops For Last-Minute Gifts

CasaSugar — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:00:58 PST

Online art and print galleries allow you to browse hundreds of pieces of art in every imaginable medium, which is incredibly helpful for last-minute gift shopping. If you are looking to give the art lover or new home dweller in your life something special for their walls, check out these online shops that stock surprisingly affordable art. See something you like? Click on the layout below to shop these pieces!

Paperwork carries art starting as low as $20, and if you get the prints framed, they even throw in free shipping! Its sister website Ugallery also sells fairly priced pieces starting at $50. Choosing art for someone other than yourself can be tricky, but both websites offer tools like Art Assist and various themed collections to make it a little easier. If you’re still feeling indecisive, you can always purchase a gift card as well, which is redeemable at both sites and emailed to the recipient instantly.

20x200 is another website that merges limited edition art and budget-friendly prices. They introduce at least two new editions a week: one photo and one work on paper, so it's a good idea to check back frequently. Most pieces are available in three or four sizes, with the smallest size starting at $20.

To see more of our favorite online art shops

10 Art-Filled Coveted Cribs

Julia Walsh — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:35:00 PDT

I have said many times that artwork is what makes a home. Despite furnishings purchases at showrooms and big-box retailers, original artwork will make your interiors remarkably unique. Of course, large-scale, sought-after pieces will make the boldest statement, but artwork comes in all forms and styles, and there are countless ways you can choose to display it. Let's take a look back at some of my favorite art-filled, coveted cribs for a little inspiration. If you see something you fancy, click through to see more of each home!

A Designer Store-Inspired DIY Painting

Casa Community — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:00:17 PDT

Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member designingmainstreet from the Su Casa group:

I fell in love with this painting at Crate and Barrel last week. It would be perfect for our mantel but it's way too big. After dreaming of this painting all night I decided to take matters into my own hands. It was time to get creative and try out my painting skills. After a quick stop at the craft store I had my blank canvas. Keep reading to see the final result!

A Branch of Birch and Frames

OnSugar — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:00:34 PDT

Here's a post from OnSugar blog House of Anais:

I love this idea from Crate and Barrel to hang pictures with ribbons from a natural branch of birch. And the branch itself is hanging from curtain tiebacks. It's a stunning but casual idea and easy to do at home, too - no major tools required!

Like what you see? Start following House of Anais, or create your own OnSugar blog!

Artwork Trend: Fashionable Footwear

Elka Karl — Wed, 18 May 2011 11:37:18 PDT

Last week, when I was poring over some of the lovely design photos from California-based designer Tamara Kaye-Honey, I paused in adoration when I spotted this powder room. My favorite element? It would have to be the charming high-heeled framed paintings that flank the venetian mirror over the sink. This is a powder room with a definite feminine sensibility, communicated in part by those fab paintings.

I've been spotting fashionable rooms adorned with paintings, prints, and other framed artwork featuring fab shoes for a good while now, and it makes sense: fashionable women love to decorate with sartorial objects, but often the real deal doesn't quite work. It's one thing to add a gorgeous dress on a velvet hanger to a wall of your bedroom, but most of us aren't going to display our favorite heels on a shelf in our living room. That means that artwork is the next best way to communicate our appreciation of fashionable objects while leaving said objects in the closet.

And lest you think I'm overstating this trend, yesterday I saw it again at the lovely Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House. I like how this incarnation of the trend features a his and her pair of shoe paintings - perfect for the cohabiting, fashion-obsessed couple.

Have you added any shoe-adorned artwork to your home?

David Bromstad Debuts a Collection of Art Prints

Julia Walsh — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:10:00 PDT

Season one winner of HGTV Design Star and host of HGTV's Color Splash David Bromstad has made a name for himself with his energetic personality, out-of-the-box thinking, and extraordinary artistic talent. But as fun as it is to watch the man transform rooms on the small screen, I'm sure many of us would prefer to have the Bromstad touch in our own homes. Luckily, thanks to a new partnership with Penny Lane Publishing, we're all one step closer to that end.

The accomplished artist and muralist has debuted a collection of more than 50 canvas giclees, which are available to the public for purchase. The line, ranging from $170 to $486, includes a mix of pieces created for his Color Splash clients, as well new paintings from his personal collection. With unstretched and stretched canvas works in both vertical and horizontal orientations, the range has something to offer any empty wall you're looking to fill. My two favorites are magenta and black The Flower Within and Retro #1. Check out the collection and tell me . . . which one is your fave?

Guess Who Designed This Sheep?

Julia Walsh — Mon, 16 May 2011 04:00:00 PDT

I've talked about the artists who designed this sheep at length on CasaSugar before. (I spotted the sheep last week at the Kips Bay Show House in New York.) It was designed by a French sculptor couple, about whom there was a major exhibit last year at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. Can you guess who? Name either the husband, wife, or their last name.

Artist of the Day: Gidon Bing

Julia Walsh — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:50:00 PDT

I discovered Auckland, New Zealand-based sculptor and painter Gidon Bing through one of Todd Selby's ever-intriguing photo shoots, showcasing the artist's studio. Bing focuses mainly on modern, bent plywood sculpture and furniture. His minimal, free-form work is reminiscient of midcentury artists like Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi but feels decidedly contemporary - not "retro" - and distinctly his own. The grandson of Czech-architect Henry Kulka, son of an art historian and an architecture and Japonisme enthusiast, Bing was destined to be creative: at 16 years old spent, he spent six months in the artsy, Israeli village Ein Hod.

But let's skip the history, and take a look at Bing's work because a sculpture's worth a thousand words.

Photo by Todd Selby

House Tour: Artist Hayley Gaberlavage's New Orleans Studio and Apartment

Julia Walsh — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 06:00:36 PDT

In February, I took a trip to my old stomping grounds of New Orleans and visited artist Hayley Gaberlavage, whose work I featured on Casa in September. I met Hayley through another NOLA artist, Amanda Stone Talley, and both, with their sweet Southern hearts and innate, nonpareil style, were instant friend crushes.

Hayley lives on the coolest block of Magazine Street, one of the most vibrant, artistic stretches of the city. Hayley's home, a one-bedroom apartment with an expansive balcony, also doubles as her studio, so she keeps it looking sharp for art enthusiasts like me who hope to drop by. Hayley is admittedly a midcentury modern and Danish design enthusiast. So in addition to her outstanding landscapes, abstracts, and figurative paintings spattering the white, gallery-style walls, the interiors are also punctuated with crave-worthy furniture that's she has perfectly and minimally arranged. The result is a bright and cozy place to sit and chat about art over a key lime soda on a hot New Orleans day.

Let me take you on the full tour!