Home Improvement

The Fold Unfold Tablecloth is made from digitally printed dyes along the crease lines of a folded tablecloth that makes for an eye-catching spread when opened and laid over a table. The design comes from Copenhagen-based textile and color designer Margrethe Odgaard, a Danish Design School and RISD alum. Commissioned by Hay in Copenhagen, the Fold Unfold Tablecloth is available from A+R in the US. Above: The Fold Unfold Tablecloth comes in two sizes. Both are 55 inches wide, the small is 98.4 inches long and costs $160 and the large is 118 inches long for $198 from A+R. Above: The Fold Unfold Tablecloth seen unfolded. When folded, it appears like a stack of multi-colors. Check out our Shopper's Diary on HAY in Copenhagen.

London decorator Adam Bray started life as an antiques dealer. Breaking away from the trend of specializing in one particular genre, his shop on Ledbury Road was a treasure trove of midcentury delights and rare textiles gathered on his travels. Bray’s humor and charm attracted a star-studded clientele including Donna Karan, Lucien Freud, and Anish Kapoor, and his eye for color earned him his first commission when a client asked him to color consult on an interiors project. Bray’s skill with color led to a collection with the London-based paint company Papers & Paints. “I got very jaded with the fashion for ‘period’ colors and wanted to explore colors that weren’t so rigid,” he explains, “I’m inspired by creating rooms with eclectic furnishings, so I wanted to make a collection of colors that aren’t so easily defined.” His home-cum-studio, the ground floor apartment of a Georgian villa in West London, is painted in his own colors and is bursting with textiles both old and new—the gems he couldn’t bear to part with along the way, and samples from his new collection of linens, ticking stripes, and patterned velvets for the fabric house Tissus d’Hélène. Unless otherwise noted, photography by Anthony Crolla. Above: “I’ve always bought paint from Papers & Paints and adapted them by altering the tones, which is how this color Greville came about," Bray says. "It’s a great canvas for all the disparate elements in the room.” Bray had the purple lacquer table top custom made to fit on two antique French trestles. Above: Bray mixes patterns and textiles with the cushions on his sofa. He had the floor cushion made using Indian block-printed indigo fabric bought in a flea market in Greece. The cushion was bought from Van der Hurd, the sofa is covered in an 18th-century style damask, and the antique Kente cloth is from Adam’s archive. Above: “I love these woven rush Touareg tent carpets for their bold graphic patterns, and I often change the fabric on the table to mix things up,” Bray enthuses. The curtains are made from a Bennison ticking and the dressing gown is 19th-century Syrian silk. Above L: “I love the painted Noguchi table lanterns, but since they don’t do ceiling lights I decided to do it myself with the help of my friend India Jane Birley,” Bray says. Photograph by Christine Chang Hanway. Above R: Bray used to have antique French linen bed sheets hand-dyed, but as they were becoming harder to come by, he sent his favorites to a specialist linen weaver in Scotland who faithfully translated them into what is now his Hand Dyed Linen Collection. Above: The tablecloth is a panel of provincial Italian embroidered linen circa 1810 and the lilacs are fresh from Bray’s garden. Above L: The vignette of objects on the kitchen shelves include a personalized Ikea clock by veteran art director Willie Landels, pictures of his two sons, and an Alessi coffee pot. Above R: A 1950s striped African cloth bought from an antique dealer in Paris inspired Bray’s Fela Ticking Stripe Fabric. “It looked like the craziest French ticking, so I adapted the colors and had it rewoven by a specialist," Bray says. Photography by Camilla Belton. Above: The Ikoku wood bath was custom made, and Bray used basic green mosaic tiles and a wall-to-wall mirror to maximize the tiny space. Above: The wall hanging is a Japanese Boro cloth from a collection Bray has put together over ten years. The Union Jack is Victorian and the collection of sea shells and coral was found inside a 19th-century chest of drawers bought at auction. Above: A sketch of New York on an envelope sits in front of a Venezuelan basket. Above: "My working day starts very early, before the phone starts ringing and emails start rolling in,” Bray says. The vintage industrial Dexion shelving holds part of his archive

This Minneapolis couple needed more living room: a space where they could hang out together, where they could entertain, something that could double as a guest suite. But their lot size and city restrictions would have made an addition difficult, if not impossible. The solution for their...

Living in a small space often means giving up a dining table in favor of extra floor space for other furniture. Thanks to a crop of height adjustable coffee and side tables, you're no longer forced to eat with your plate balanced precariously on your lap.  More

More sleep and more sex? Yes, please! A new study involving 2,000 Brits shows a strong correlation between the color of your bedroom walls and decor with how much sleep and sex you're having. The takeaway: People with blue rooms are getting the best night's sleep, while people with caramel-colored walls...

Like so many people in New Orleans, Jared Zeller and Jennifer Pearl had to start their lives over after Hurricane Katrina wrecked their home in 2005. But like many other resilient residents along the Gulf Coast, the couple turned the devastation into an opportunity to create something special. Pearl,...

From the dawn of time, humankind has built various forms of shelter in all types of landscapes. Our ancestors' primary concerns were shelter and protection. Modern design concepts and the notion of building sensitively were not part of their vocabulary. However, by building from local materials, their...

Like this Small Cool 2013 contest entry? Favorite it below! Name: Sean Location: El Cerrito, CA Square Feet: 997 Division: Small What I Love About My Small Home: I love the way the Northern California sunlight transforms each room from morning to afternoon as it shines through large glass windows of our 1949 mid-century modern house. I also love the way a Japanese Maple is framed by the large front window, and how the large Redwood panel wall and other natural wood welcomes our Danish Modern aesthetic. More

Okay, having a pond in your backyard is pretty cool, so even before its makeover, Nan's pond was enviable. (At least, I would have taken it.) But, in the 7 years since she and her husband built it, the pond had lanquished  a bit. Nan decided to get down to work and put in new edging, plantings and hauled in lots and lots of mulch. She also tackled the berm tucked in the rear of the pond that supports the waterfall. Yes...it has a waterfall too. To see more pictures of the project, visit Nan's blog.  Before & After: Nan's Striking Pond Makeover [ Studio G Blog]

Now that we're really trying to be grown-ups, last weekend I thought I'd try for a BBQ that was a little more sophisticated than burgers and hot-dogs. With BBQ season kicking off this weekend here are a few tips to help you easily elevate your BBQ:Skip the Burgers and Dogs. We did strip-steak and a whole roasted chicken, right on the grill. For ten people I purchased two strip steaks and a seven pound roasting chicken. I purchased the steak on sale weeks before and froze it in the marinade all I had to do was pull it out of the freezer a few days before. We have a grill roaster, but you can just as easily use a beer or soda can; just remove and discard the giblets, rinse, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss that baby on the grill over indirect heat. Once the chicken is done crank up the heat and toss on the steaks while the chicken rests, pull off the steaks and let them rest while you carve the chicken. Slice the steaks and you're ready to go.What Can I Bring? A side. It's that easy; if your friends don't ask get new friends, pick something up from the deli, make a pasta salad or make something else quick and easy. Depending on your crowd you might want to have some easy appetizer dips on hand to prevent anyone from getting hangry.*Use Your Dishwasher. I'm not telling you to pull out the fine china but for steak you'll need real knives. Use plastic plates that can be thrown away and your everyday silverware that can be tossed in the dishwasher.I Don't Drink Beer. Everyone has a few friends that are adverse to beer, throw together a pitcher of sangria or margaritas. Set out soda next to the pitcher as a gentle suggestion to mix them; this will do two things, it will stretch your liquor and it will prevent the non-beer drinkers from becoming too tipsy too fast.Keep it Simple. Don't try new recipes go with something that is tried and true, that you don't have to think about, that you can make while having a conversation, that you can make ahead. And have fun!*Hangry - verb. Hungry/Angry, grumpiness caused by hunger.