Stacy sits down for a Q&A about lighting with April Pride Allison, founder of Seattle-based kaarskoker—a brand of chic candle covers that can be found at boutiques in the city, such as Great Jones Home, G.R. Hedges, Lit Shades and Revival Home & Garden. Before creating kaarskoker, Allison was devoted exclusively to her interior design business, having earned a B.A. in Architectural History at the University of Virginia and her Master’s in Decorative Arts and Design at Parson’s in New York. The designer dished about trends, lighting secrets and what’s new for kaarskoker—read on!
SK: What do people get wrong about lighting?
APA: They don’t realize that they are important showcase pieces, like your furniture—it took longer for me to pick the lighting in my house, than anything else. If you don’t understand scale, or how much light a room needs to be functional and beautiful, it’s overwhelming. You tend to pick out what you’ve seen in a magazine that’s basic, or whatever is at Lowes. People don’t realize how many options are out there.
SK: What is your best tip for lighting?
APA: The secret is put in as much lighting as you can, and then get a dimmer. Light changes throughout the day, and you want to have options. Also, about 5 years ago, I didn’t have a lot of art, but you can get a great sconce, throw a kaarskoker on it, and it’s something that increases the value of the house.
SK: How do you light your house when you entertain?
APA: In my living room, I have chandeliers and sconces with different switches that both have dimmers. I light the walls a little and dim down the chandeliers. I put two pillar candles on the coffee table and candlesticks on the side table—it’s about creating mood lighting, and the dimmers help with that. To dress up the table, rather than use votives, I put tons of candlesticks around where food is displayed.
SK: How about outdoor entertaining?
APA: I love small, potted plants. IKEA has these amazing clay pots—they stand 3 inches tall and 2 inches in diameter—that I fill with herbs and use to dress the table for a party. I love glass hurricanes. I guess that’s the East Coast in me, and I also love candles outside. I like to use the coral pattern kaarskoker because it’s such a fun color, with 6-inch-tall tapers because they’re done at the end of the night and you’re not stuck with that little bit left that you don’t know what to do with.
SK: What are you inspired by right now?
APA: Fashion right now is great. We’ve gone back to what’s really feminine—less structured but polished. Lilac is everywhere! I love all the floral patterns this spring, it seems like happy times. For instance, Maggie Gyllenhaal looked fantastic at the Oscars!
SK: What about lighting trends?
APA: I’m seeing repurposed lighting a lot lately. I wrote a blog post about Barn Light Electric—I love that vintage look. You see it locally, like at Red Ticking and Smith. There [Smith] is an example of taking lights that people left for dead, dusting them off and putting in filament bulbs. One of the points of using kaarskoker is that you don’t have to ditch your old lights, you can just update them instead.
SK: What’s coming up for kaarskoker?
APA: I designed a candlestick lamp—also called a buffet lamp, that is popular on the East Coast. It’s a petite lamp that you can put in tight spaces when you want task lighting—perfect for a desk. I’m also doing a sale with One Kings Lane that’s very exciting. It will happen sometime this spring, and I’ll send out an e-mail and post on our blog when that will be!
SK: What is the Collector’s Series?
APA: These are the designs that I won’t be running again after they’re sold out. They’re fashion inspired and very bold. The scale pattern has been popular—it comes back around about every four years—but it’s going to look good even when it’s not “in fashion.” It reminds me a lot of Tony Duquette, Hollywood interior designer and set designer. Ziggurat brings out my inner Lily Pulitzer—David Hicks actually made it popular, followed most recently by Jonathan Alder. These are for someone who wants something special that you won’t see again.
Candlestick lamp, $325 for kaarskoker, (877) 272-4042
Scale and Ziggurat patterns from the Collector’s Series
Maggie Gyllenhaal at the 2010 Oscars. Image via Huffington Post
Stacy’s favorite inspiration photos:
March 17th, 2010
Hearts are cute for Valentine’s Day, but frankly, we would rather not be loaded down with them all year long. However, we found one piece that we could live with long after V-Day is done with:
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The "Art Breaker," newly released by Areaware, but designed in 1974 by François Dallegret, is plated in 14 karat gold and chrome and spins on a pin axis.
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We think it’s très belle!
Now, here is some local Valentine inspiration, in the form of artful store windows:
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The window at Souvenir (5325 Ballard Ave., 206-297-7166), artist Curtis Steiner’s shop
A heart made from the Bouroullec Brother’s Algue, in the window at Inform Interiors (2032 Eighth Ave., 206-622-1608)
Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at SH&L!
February 12th, 2010
After two and a half days at the furniture market, we had to get out in the city and see some of the permanent design destinations. No, not the Forum Shops at Caesar’s, but The Arts District near Fremont Street and modern-design mecca Unica Home. More on that shortly.
Attending the Vegas market was an eye-opening experience. To the casual observer, the retail experience is just about one store and its product. However, there is so much more that goes on in order to make it possible. The buying process isn’t just about choosing product, it’s also about finding good value, determining trends but staying true to your concept, forging relationships with reps and exhibitors and taking the time to travel to places like the World Market Center. Diane and I covered what seemed like miles on foot every day—an exhausting process even to the most seasoned of market-goers. Though, we were happy to walk down every undiscovered corridor in hopes of stumbling onto great design. All that is even more reason to support your local business owners—they put in a lot of work for you!
One of the highlights of the trip, for me, was meeting Bobby Berk of Bobby Berk Home. We were in the same showroom when I glanced at his name tag, and so I had to introduce myself. Berk lives in New York, where his first store opened (he is now in four states), and his company doesn’t seem to be slowing down! He couldn’t be nicer, and I will continue to read his blog and search the new products on his site for inspiration!
On the local front, we ran into Amir Radwan, owner of Couch (1230 Western Ave., 206-633-6108). He was there looking for some accessories to go into his store. We will look forward to those, and meanwhile, go check him out!
Here are some photos from our trip to Unica Home—any modern-design lover would go crazy:
Alessi display
We also sought out the Arts District, and found a fabulous, funky vintage shop called Retro Vegas. Here are some photos:
Orange sofa from a neighborhood model home from the ’50s.
An entirely salvaged pink retro kitchen!
I love the chrome bamboo and lucite-base coffee tables.
Only in Vegas!
Other highlights from the Arts District were The Funk House, The Attic and Brett Wesley gallery.
Well, Vegas was fun, but I’m glad to be back in the Northwest. Although I saw some great places for design, I don’t think it compares to the fabulous talent we have here in the Emerald City. Stay tuned for photos of KOAP Home after Diane receives all the fabulous new pieces she found at the show!
February 5th, 2010
A wonderful rug makes a room feel complete, and lately we’ve been inspired by luxurious patterns.
While it’s not brand new, we’re loving the Florence Broadhurst collection for Cadry’s Handwoven Rugs. The late Australian textile designer had a flair for the glamorous, and we think that a room with one of her rugs would really be something special.
The line can be purchased through Stacy Logan, 409 1st. Ave. S., (206) 937-3333.
from top left: Circles & Square, Horses Stampede, Honeycomb, Japanese Floral, Kabuki, Siam
January 20th, 2010
Home of fashion designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka, from the September 2009 issue of Elle Decor via High Street Market.
Via Amy Howard’s blog (she also collects laurel wreaths).
Quentin Bacon for Southern Accents via Stylecourt.
We love collections. Any everyday object can look chic when you gather it in multiples, and right now we’re loving vintage trophies. They don’t have to be expensive heirlooms—in fact, it’s the quirky ones that catch our eye. Maybe you will look for a certain type like dogs or tennis, or a metal-like silver or bronze (we mix them). What a triumph it will be when you come across one in your genre at a flea market!
Whether polished or patinated, a trophy or two on the shelf will always be a winning addition:
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18th c. loving cup, collection of large silverplate antique trophies, 1stdibs
And a trophy for the modern age:
Ceramic trophy by Yellow Owl Workshop, available at Far4.
January 18th, 2010
It’s 2010, and doesn’t it just feel fabulous? It’s a new decade, year, month and day—we’re already scheming for this year’s projects, and we’d like to approach them with a fresh perspective. White is wonderfully clean looking, so be inspired to create your own new look!
Harriet Lamp, Jayson Home & Garden; Massive Photograph of a Sea Urchin, Seattle’s Galen & Lowe Antiques, via 1stdibs
Niche 3-Drawer Dresser, West Elm; Clyde Mirror, Oly Studio
Staub La Cocotte Set, Anthropologie; 3-Piece Lotus Candleholder, cb2
January 5th, 2010
On our way to the Scrap event last Friday, Angela and I stopped off at Rob Roy—formerly The Viceroy—for a cocktail. Whether you’re a fan of the new decor, or you preferred the design scheme of The Viceroy, we were still inspired by the fun mix of glam ’70s furniture and funky accessories:
—Stacy Kendall
Here, we challenged ourselves to find furnishings that would allow us to "get the look" of Rob Roy:
Vivid wallpaper by Graham & Brown, clear and smoke 1970’s crystal chandelier by Venini
1970’s walnut and leather sling sofa, 1974 Gary Gutterman chrome coffee table
1970’s Curtis Jere wall sculpture, black patent wing chairs
1874 Oryx mounted horns
Rob Roy, 2332 2nd Ave., (206) 956-8423
November 16th, 2009
In 1879, the first successful test of Edison’s filament bulb was carried out, and we couldn’t be more thankful for that event! Now, not only do we rely on lights to illuminate our spaces, we look to them for design inspiration. Here are some of my all-time favorites:
—Stacy Kendall
Atlantis Chandelier, We Are All Made of Stars Chandelier
Tolomeo Lamp, Random Light
Bocci Pendants, Potence Lamp
November 12th, 2009
On Thursday, before we attended a special event at Anthropologie (that post to come), we dropped in to Barolo (1940 Westlake Ave., (206) 770-9000) for happy hour. It’s not a particularly new restaurant, but it has quite a reputation for its wonderful happy hour (and not to mention its delicious regular dining fare). Our food was fabulous, but we were even more entranced by the modern glam atmosphere. Look!
October 12th, 2009
On a recent trip to Ikea to buy some shelving for our pantry, we wandered into the "as is" section near the checkout. Usually, we skip this because we’re so exhausted from walking the entirety of the gigantic warehouse that we practically crawl towards the cafe for re-hydration and, okay, maybe some meatballs. This time, we threw caution to the wind and decided to take a peek—and we’re glad we did!
They had a huge box of unidentified metal parts, priced at $1 each. What was labeled as "scrap metal," has now been given a new identity as a magazine rack in our home!
Before:
After:
Almost everything has alternative uses, and we encourage you to find them!
September 16th, 2009
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