Finding a Chair for the Nursery - Part 1: Shopping and Testing

Three Bears Revisited print available at SarahJanestudios on ETSY

I recently accompanied my friend Sunshine on the hunt for a the perfect chair for the nursery for her soon to be arriving little boy.  Notebook in hand and photographer by my side (thanks Devin), I still was not quite prepared for the onslaught of information that we were to be bombarded with during our outing.
There are chairs that rock, chairs that glide, ones that swivel and ones that recline.  Some do all of those things some can only perform one of those functions at a time.  Then there are ottomans that match, some also glide, some do not.  There are big chairs, little chairs, high chairs low chairs.  Expensive chairs and cheap chairs ... well, actually most of the chairs we looked at were pretty expensive. 

So You need a Glider for the Nursery, Where do you Start?

Any blog will tell you (and I will not dispute this advice) Step one: Go out and try some chairs yourself.  This is one item you do not want to order online.

Our first stop was at The Rocking Chair Store on LaBrea.  They had a little bit of everything  and we got a crash course on what to look for in a good chair for the nursery. They were super helpful and nice, and we learned the importance of a high back for neck support, solid arms for elbow support, and I how if the chair has too much glide it can make you really feel motion sick (blech). The big problem was that none of their chairs really matched the decor style of Sunshine's nursery.  And lets be real.  These chairs are not cheap and ideally you want something that looks good enough that can last to have a life outside of the nursery. 

On we went to high end stores, low end stores and everything in between.  By the end of the day Sunshine had a pretty good idea of what she wanted (and didn't want/or need) in a chair.

The problem now is deciding which one to get which really comes down to how much to spend.  How important is it in your nursery decor? Is it worth spending a little (or a LOT) more money for something you like the look of? Which features are most important? Do you really need to recline and swivel? How did YOU choose your Nursery Chair?

Rubber Ducks Redux: Another Note from the Recent Paterfamilias

I have to admit, it’s a little frustrating.

Alright, let’s be perfectly honest: it’s downright infuriating.

But please, allow me to explain.

My loyal readers will recall the previously related tale of the Recent Paterfamilias’ Great Rubber Duckie Hunt. For weeks on end, the tireless hunt endured, culminating in mostly naught for much of that time, forcing this intrepid sportsman through the most difficult of urban terrain, including toy stores, convenience stores, and most harrowingly, one place that was at least loosely akin to a sex shop. And almost nowhere were those dastardly reclusive rubber ducks to be found. All in all, it proved a rather trying adventure.

Well, apparently, hunts of this sort are no longer the status quo. I have been stumbling on rubber ducks of all sorts and all sizes almost everywhere. Hanging above the soda section in my neighborhood supermarket. Next to the Phillips head screwdrivers in my local hardware store. Between the Cole Haan driving loafers and the Fit Flop Flip Flops in the shoe store. In the dentist’s office. In Pottery Barn. One might start to suppose that those ducks are beginning to multiply like rubber rabbits.

Naturally, it causes a person (namely, the Recent Paterfamilias) to ask himself certain questions, such as: What the hell? Why couldn’t I find these ridiculous floating things three months ago, and now, seemingly, they’re everywhere? Why is this? Is Spring really “that time of the year”? And is Summer “that other time of the year” when all the fruits of Spring’s “plantings” are due to spring forth, so to speak? Perhaps it’s an enormous conspiracy to keep any and all rubber ducks out of the evil hands of the prodigal Recent Paterfamilias. Perhaps I am not worthy to handle such floating fowl of an ersatz nature. Perhaps rubber duckies simply do not like me. Or maybe they are purely the most cloistered beings on the planet, and thusly tend to avoid all paterfamilial contact unless absolutely necessary. Who can say?

And why are they everywhere now? Was I that blind? Was I already suffering from sleep deprivation even before the infant’s arrival? Was I not looking in the right place? Or places? Or were they hiding? And are they now following me? Waiting around corners in locations where the normal and the otherwise sane might least expect to find rubber duckies? Like my local Barnes and Noble? Or the barber shop? Are they, indeed, stalking me, these silent, smiling, little yellow freaks?

Who can say? And will I ever know?

At any rate, these aforementioned silent yellow freaks are now everywhere. And when I see them hanging there, with those smug looks on their puckered orange beaks, they make me mad. They avoided me when I was looking for them, and now they’re all over the place. And when I did manage to find them before, during my hunt, I collected all I could, but now, due to my previous compulsion, I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep from acquiring them and adding them to my already unwieldy twenty-member flock. At a certain point, should this continue, I will have too many ducks, I will run out of room, I’ll have to get rid of furniture, I’ll have to forgo closet space, I’ll have to climb over miniature yellow mountains just to make it into the bathroom, I’ll be nothing but that crazy rubber duck man who lives on Rubber Duck Lane in an oversized rubber duck house that’s filled to the rafters with little rubber ducks. I’ll be forced to change my nom de plume from the Recent Paterfamilias to the Mad Duck Enthusiast (actually, has kind of a nice ring to it).

Photo found on womansday.com (an article featuring crazy collections)

I'm a Wannabe Street Artist

Well... except for that part about  painting on other people's property without their permission and sometimes getting arrested.  I've always been slightly enamored by spray can art.  Every now and then I get to work with Graffiti artists for sets I design.  Like this piece I designed as an underground Vodoo lounge for the film New World Order.

 But enough about me and my secret art obsessions.  Last week I went to check out the "Art in the Streets" Exhibit and the Moca.  If you are in LA I highly recommend checking it out (I think it closes at the end of this week). 

What is so amazing about it is not just the sheer volume of art, contributors and photographs they have representing all sorts of styles past and present but the amazing retrospect and historical time line documenting the history and evolution of street art. 

One exhibit that blew me away was two walls covered floor to ceiling in photographs of tagged New York City Subway Cars from the 80's.  I was awestruck and amazed by the volume of cars that had been decorated (or defiled - depending on your perspective on the matter).  Sharon Mitzota, from the LA times  says it perfecty, "In the end, the show is not just about showcasing street art but about recovering in some way what has already been lost. Henry Chalfant’s installation of hundreds of photos of graffiti-laden New York subway cars is oddly touching, not just for its nostalgic look at the past but because it’s a testament to the sheer volume of work that has been erased."

And of course I ♥ Banksy's work.  His backdrop and canvas is the streets but he is clearly in his own category and will perhaps one day be remembered as a one of the great artists of the new millennium.  His artistic parodies on culture and politics astound me.  To see them in person brought a smile and sense of awe to my face.

I stared at his painting for a long time.  A comment on the brutal Rodney King beating, painted in a pointillism style to look like a fuzzy video frame.  But he has replaced King with a pinata. The humor and irony struck me first, then the artistry amazed me.  Akin to standing in front of an original Van Gogh, I felt blessed to be able to experience this work of art in person. 

After a humbling day at the museum I went back to my little studio feeling part inspired and part drained.  Next stop -- The Lacma to see the Tim Burton exhibit.

New Skårt: Sunshine!

This piece was designed for a friend who is decorating her nursery with a Mid Century flair.  The inspiration for this piece came from a the Small World Ride at Disney (see work of Mary Blair) and the George Nelson clocks.

 

To keep with the Mid century feel, it's printed in a Sunglow yellow on a walnut stained wood panel.  There is currently one available - ready to ship in my Etsy shop.  Soon to be released in a paper version with customizable colors.  

Four on Friday: Under the Big Top

Found on:
1. Posh Tots
2. Porter Paints
3. Unique Baby Gear
4. She Knows.com

It came to me

The other day

When I was walking

Around the way

That as of late

Up to this date

I might have given

Too close a look

At one too many

Kinds of book

That have been written

For little chittlin’.

The words, the meter,

And the rhyme

Will soak your brain

If you spend some time

In a tiny chair

With graying hair

Watching silly pictures

On the page

Play like fools

And not act their age,

All the while,

As they danced and pranced,

You’re certain this book

Is far too advanced

For the baby

That maybe

Is listening to you,

But who might rather have

Something better to do

In a seat that bounces

Or with a dog that pounces,

But still there you sit

At the side of her bed

Attempting to augment

That brain in her head.

But maybe

This baby

Might someday soon

At a time that’s probably

Right after noon

Take a look

At a book,

And this just might be

The fault of me

For reading a lot

To a wee little tot

To help to aid

This child I made.

But maybe, oh baby,

As of late

My reading of Suess

Up to this date,

Coupled with

A lack of sleep,

Has made me keep

Too tight a grip

And made me slip

Way down a hole

Outside my soul,

And now my mind

Works like the kind

That one might find

In Roald Dahl.

You know what I’m talking ‘bout,

Don’t you, y’all?

Too many rhymes

Too many times

Can put the mind

In quite a bind,

And with a sigh

I’ll try to lie

And say that I

Will keep an eye

On this little baby

Who might just maybe

Take a look

At a book

While I cook

In the nook

That serves

As my kitchen.

But I doubt that she’s itchin’,

This baby of mine,

To turn a page

At her young age,

But all the same

Am I to blame

For hoping she knows

More than her own name?

These books will find

A place in your mind,

They’ll sit in there

Down under your hair

And ultimately they’ll come out in the words that you drool and cause you to sound just like a rhyming fool. Personally, the Recent Paterfamilias is proud to state that, to this date, this unlikely fate has yet to happen to him. He thinks not on a whim. His vocab’s not slim. And he is glad to say that the mad Dr. Suess has not made his brain loose, nor have the words of Shel Silverstein caused his wits to grow lean.

His thoughts are his own,

They are his own alone,

And he doesn’t believe that any of those books have affected him in the least.

But oh my…(yawn)…this writing…(sigh)…it has become such a beast.

Oh No We Didn't

As you may know (if you read this blog often enough) aside from being an artist, my other job is a Production Designer for film, television and ads. This weekend I was helping some friends out by getting some of the set and props together for a short film they were shooting.  And for some reason I let them shoot part of this film at MY HOUSE.

First rule of film making. Never* shoot at your own house.
*unless you are getting a hefty location fee that can pay for any damages.

Although the husband was more reluctant than I was, we shot mostly outside, it was a small crew, and everyone was very respectful ie: no damages to report.  However, I have been reading this great blog Designwali and while the author has been away she has been featuring a brilliant series of guest posts with the theme "Oh No We Didn't".  The series involves a variety of professional designers writing in and revealing there home FAILS.  ie projects they started and didn't complete, furniture they purchased and immediately regretted or poor color choices that they just haven't bothered to fix.  It's a great reminder that I bet even Martha Stewart's home isn't perfect. 

So with this blog series on the brain, as I shuffled a bunch of people through my home my own "Oh No We Didn't" projects jumped out at me and I wondered if anyone else noticed them.  But instead of fixing the things that need fixing or trying to hide them I decided to share them with YOU.  

FAIL #1: The Last Hacked Curtain
When we moved in I found these great tone on tone striped curtains to match the paint color in the dining room.  The only problem is that I could only find 3 panels that were 84" long (the right length). So I bought one 96" panel to complete the wall with the full intent of cutting and hemming the last curtain to match.  Well.... life happened and I cut the curtain but never hemmed it.  So the last curatin remains with a poor hack job, strings fraying hanging in my dinging room.

FAIL #2: Those Stickers just won't come off!
We have these two arched nooks that are the perfect size for displaying  family photographs.  It took a visit from the parents to actually make me run out to the store and hastily buy frames in order to display said pictures.  I bought a bunch of cute frames at Ross (the best discount store on the planet).  But the best discount store on the planet also has the worlds stickiest price tags.   And for some reason they stick these tags right on the glass.  I got most of the stickers off but at some point I just gave up.  And now I still have a few frames with white sticker residue that needs goo gone and heavy arm scrubbing to get off.  It's been 4 years.  Maybe one day I will get around to it.  Or maybe I will just buy some new frames!

For more design "Oh No We Didn't" stories  check out Designwali's Blog.  Now it's your turn! What are your "oh no we didn't" secrets?