Friday Favorites 9/14/2012

Karin Lidbeck Brent, Contributing Editor
Styling the incredible homes that you see featured each month in New England Home magazine is a favorite part of my job.

This summer I had the great fortune to work on the magnificent project designed by architect Doreve Nicholaeff that is in our current issue. The interiors of this home are finished with exquisite details and were close to camera-ready the day of our shoot. We knew however, that we  had one major problem to solve: finding a painting for the living room wall.

The solution arrived the morning of our shoot packed in the car of our photographer, Michael J. Lee. A selection of paintings by Frank Hodge made the trek from Boston…and they were perfect.

Doreve and Michael got to work right away.

All of us, including the homeowner, loved the way Frank’s paintings felt at home in this space

We were thrilled to discover Frank Hodge, who is an interior designer. He began to create his own paintings when, time after time, he could not find the right pieces for his clients. Often it became easier for Frank create the art himself. Since his clients were wild for his art, he took the next step and approached Studio 534, a gallery in the Boston Design Center, a move that has since evolved into a successful partnership.

Inspired by the worn surfaces on antique furniture, where the paint had been scraped away over time, his painting techniques imitate that feeling, creating layers of colors textures and patterns. His art is diverse and ever-changing; his latest work includes the use of gauze soaked in gesso and applied to boards.

To see more of Frank Hodge’s paintings visit Studio 534 at The Boston Design Center and ask for Josh Steinwand.

Paula M. Bodah, Senior Editor
On the home page of Oliveira Textiles‘ web site, the tag line says, “Inspired by the Natural Surroundings, Passionate about Textiles, Determined to make a Difference.â€

If you doubt any of those statements, just take a look at the fabrics the company designs in its Bristol, Rhode Island, studios. Partners Dawn Oliveira and Deborah Olson begin with sustainable hemp and organic cotton and use only water-based organic dyes. The hand-screened printing is done at a fabric mill close to home. Their fabrics, and the pillows and other products they make with them, are free of anything chemical or toxic. And the designs–lovely abstractions of images from the sea–are inspired by the Ocean State itself.

The whimsically named Kelp Me, shown here in tangerine, also comes in moss green and navy blue

I love this fabric with its retro 1970s look. Wavelength comes in verde, shown here, as well as ultramarine and red tide.

Spiral Tide comes in Green Ice and Blue Ice

Kyle Hoepner, Editor-in-Chief
Our design-trade readers in particular will be delighted to know that the showrooms in William Elinoff’s empire on the first floor of the Boston Design Center–Kravet, Lee Jofa, Brunschwig & Fils and FDO Group–have reopened following what seemed like an extremely lengthy summer of reconstruction and renovations.

I was privileged to poke around in the renovated premises at length during a reception on Wednesday afternoon for Australian designer Thomas Hamel (whose recent book, Residence, you should definitely check out if you haven’t seen it already). The renewed spaces are lovely and comfortable environments in which to contemplate beautiful things, and I’m sure the New England design community will salute Elinoff and his crew with a hearty “Welcome back!â€