CasaSugar

Get the Look: A Bright, White Dining and Living Space

CasaSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

I love the stark, white look of this open plan dining and living space. From the sleek white walls to the whitewashed floors and furniture, the whole look is calm, soothing, and pristine. And while it may be white, it's certainly not dull. I love the charming sheep statue in the dining area, as well as the minimalist canvas on the wall.

For similar artwork, check galleries in your hometown for artists working in pen and ink. I also like Seneca Cotton Warehouse ($45), which has a similar look to the artwork in the photo. Craft your own DIY photo display, similar to the one shown here, with pushpins and a piece of driftwood leaned against the wall. The driftwood plank adds a necessary natural element to a room that might otherwise seem too sterile.

Of course, this room wouldn't be complete without a sheep sculpture. Add a little bit of gold bling to your dining space with this LaLanne-Style Sheep in Gesso and Brass ($1,750). You know it will be a conversation piece!

To get the rest of the look, read more.

Artecnica Midsummer Light - White - $95.00	Felix Side Chair - $89.95
Vitra easy edges table - desk - $3,360.00	White Dip Bowls (3.9-in.) by Arzberg - $9.95
Wool Shag Rug in Select Sizes - $595.00	Klubbo Coffee Table - $79.99
Cable Throw - $49.95	PB Square Upholstered Sleeper Sofa - $1,699.00

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Ask Casa: Claude Lalanne Sheep Sculptures

CasaSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:15:03 -0700

Hi Casa,
You featured some imitation Claude Lalanne sheep sculptures in June. I have been looking for these for 10 years, since they were featured in an issue of House & Garden in September 1998! Can you let me know where I can purchase them?Thanks!
Stily

To hear my response to Stily, read more.

Hi Stily,
I don't blame you for seeking out Lalanne's sheep; they're highly coveted objets d'art, and Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne have recently become hotter than ever in the States. Even Marc Jacobs has one! Although the sheep sculptures that I featured in June have since been sold, I've actually found a few other options for you.

The Sheep by After Francois-Xavier Lalanne ($4,800) is from 1975 France. Overall it is in fine vintage condition, but it does have a small loss to one foot and its casters do not roll smoothly.

The Claude Lalanne Attribution Sheep ($5,000) is made of lacquered wood and wool, has slightly matted fur, and its casters do not roll smoothly. On second thought, it may be the same sheep as above, as they're both from the dealer Wright Now.

The French Sheep In the Style of Francois-Xavier Lalanne (inquire for price) is from 1970 France. It is in great condition with only minor scratches on the brass due to age. It has a solid wood body.

My other suggestion to you is to contact 1stdibs, which specializes in antiques and art pieces, and ask them to keep an eye out for you. Until then, perhaps try counting sheep!

Hope that helps,
Casa

How Would You . . .

CasaSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:00:43 -0700

For the next round of this challenge, I'd like you to take a look at this Pair of Sheep Sculptures (sold). These 1960s Dollys were made with real angora in the manner of one of the art world's most original designer-sculptors, Claude Lalanne. LaLanne and his wife Francois-Xavier are a sculpting and industrial designing pair known for their Surrealist and Realist objets d'art, like these life-size furry creatures that Coco Chanel kept in her living room. The French couple have been collaborating for 50 years, but have recently become hotter than ever in the States, with their pieces selling for big bucks at auction houses like Sotheby's, an English language book on their work published and a major New York exhibition of their work last year. So, my question for you is how would you use these LaLanne imitation sculptures in your home? Would you leave them as is as art pieces? Would you put hats on them in your front window to give passersby a smirk? Would you even buy them if you could afford to? Would you use them as a coat rack at parties? Hang your beret on their muzzles? Use one as a doorstop? Keep the in a kids' room? Tell me how you envision these sheep in your home by commenting below!
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Casa Verde: Poo-Pourri and Sheep Poo Paper

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:00:32 -0700

Spotted on Re-Nest, Creative Paper Wales is a Wales-based craft paper mill that makes paper and air fresheners from sheep poo! No, you didn't misread that, from poo! Sheep Poo Paper is made by collecting the finest, freshest sheep poo in Snowdonia and "just about anything else [they] can think of that has good-length cellulose fibers in it," sterilizing it in a pressure cooker, washing it repeatedly, reducing it to a pulp, and then using traditional papermaking techniques to turn it into paper — without the use of any trees. Poo-Pourri ($2.93), made with this paper, is the world's first air freshener made with, um, poop, and uses an innovative Wave 'n' Waft folded fragrance technology that infuses the air with a scent (daffodil, fresh-cut grass) the more you wave it around. How about that? I'm truly impressed. What could be next? Recycled paper from trees is sooo last season, isn't it?

Weird Furniture: Things That Make You Go Ew(e)

CasaSugar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:33:14 -0800

Okay, I thought the meat chair was odd, but this thing goes way beyond that (thanks for finding it, GiggleSugar). At least it looks a little comfier.

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Rethinking Pink: Counting Sheep for the Cure

CasaSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 09:04:07 -0700

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Serta is holding the Counting Sheep for the Cure Bedroom Makeover. Those who have been touched by breast cancer can share their stories and be entered to win a $10,000 bedroom makeover designed by Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’s Thom Filicia. A $5,000 donation to Komen for the Cure will also be made in each of the two winners’ names.

Submit your essay online or drop it off at an America’s Mattress store, where entrants will receive a special Serta Counting Sheep for the Cure gift.

Cool Idea: Invest in Art and Save Desert Habitat

CasaSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:23 -0700

Artist, sculptor, and furniture maker Alma Allen, who I've featured in a designer spotlight post, has partnered with the Mojave Desert Land Trust to celebrate art and conservation. Allen has created two bronze sculptures in editions of 50, each exclusively for the Mojave Desert Land Trust. The sculptures, a tortoise and a rabbit, are two of the animals that depend on this land for their survival. Seventy percent of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Land Trust's campaign to support The Quail Mountain Project.

To find out about how you can help, and to see more photos, read more.

The Quail Mountain Project encompasses 955 acres of pristine wildlife habitat in Joshua Tree, CA, just adjacent to the northern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. Saving this land would help support its diverse population of bighorn sheep, bobcat, desert tortoise, coyote, and dozens of bird species, to name just a few of the creatures that depend on this land for habitat.

This project is immensely personal to Allen, as he and his partner live on the edge of the park in a green home they built themselves. Order one of Allen's charming sculptures (priced at $150 each) to help support this project. Allen also has a show at Heath Ceramics in LA on Nov. 5, and you can check out more of his work here.

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Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne's Sculptures to Graze on Park Avenue

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:30:19 -0700

In conjunction with the Paul Kasmin Gallery, the New York City Parks Public Art Program will debut the first ever, large-scale outdoor exhibition in the US of Claude & François-Xavier
Lalanne’s sculptures along Park Avenue from Sept. 13 to Nov. 20.

The exhibit, on multiple sites along Park, will include more than eight monumental works by the influential couple, including François-Xavier’s famed "Moutons," which I've featured on CasaSugar before. The epoxy and bronze woolly animals will be featured in a life-size flock of 12 sheep and lambs.

Hear about other works in the exhibit when you read more.

Some of the exhibit's other best-known works will be featured, including Claude's "Pomme de New York," a large-scale bronze sculpture of an apple, epitomizing the city’s iconic image; François-Xavier’s "Singe Avisé," a pensive, cross-legged monkey; and Claude's "Choupatte," an anthropomorphized cabbage with bird’s feet.

If you happen to be in Manhattan during the exhibition, you simply must stop by. Not only is it the first major outdoor show of the Lalannes’ work, but it's also a very rare treat to see the pieces in person. That is, unless you are Marc Jacobs, who owns his very own Lalanne sheep.

Photo courtesy of Paul Kasmin Gallery

Casa Verde: New Soap, Old Bottle

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:32 -0700

We've seen some pretty innovative repurposing of plastic bottles lately, like that self-watering vase and Michelle Brand's ethereal lights, room dividers, and light shades made from the bottoms of soda bottles. But, what's so wrong with reusing them for their original purpose - storing liquids? Absolutely nothing. New Soap, Old Bottle, which sells new liquid soap packaged in old plastic soda bottles, plastic water bottles and glass beer bottles, is onto this. They buy name-brand liquid soaps and cleaners by the barrel, too, like 409 and Windex, so not only do they cut costs, but you know what to expect from the product (though it would be even cooler if they used eco soaps and products in the bottles). This business strategy helps clean up the environment in more ways than one - if only they would wash my dishes for me. Oh, and don't worry, each bottle is cleaned, sanitized, and processed before reuse. I also like that each bottle isn't slapped with a company's logo; it makes me feel like less of a sheep being herded by commerce.
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Best of 2007: Weird Furniture

CasaSugar — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:30:08 -0800

This year I often amazed (and more often disgusted) you with my weird-furniture posts. Whether it was a bench made of pencils or a chair made of a sheep's head, you always had something to say about it, and for that I say thanks! Reading your comments was at least as fun as seeking out all of those odd pieces of furniture.

Here are some of my favorite weird-furniture posts this year:

The sheep's head chair was one of those things that made you go ew(e).
Looking like something out of a horror movie, the meat chair gave us both the chills.
Luckily, the pencil bench made everything cute and pleasant again.
Are you friends with any bike messengers? Direct them to this cool bike-seat sofa.
The Shiva vase from Unica Home was, um, shall we say, a bit phallocentric?

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