SPOOKTASTIC!

Halloween is the time of year where everyone embraces the the darker side of life and set out to create their own macabre manors. I say, why hang a witch on the door once a year when you can add a little bit of witch to your decor? You don't have to be a Goth or a Vampire to frolic with the musty chic of unsettling decor. Add some taxidermy, a gilded skull, a Victorian portrait, a medical print, or a vase of white Calla Lilies and Voila! You are on your way to adding a little unrest to your nest. There are many wonderful examples that range from subtle to downright kitsch. In celebration of this wicked season, let's remember to inject a little bit of subversive humor into our surroundings and have a little fun.

This Haunted Mansion themed office was created by super talented animator,James Lopez. Check out his amazing blog called Haunted Mansion Northside.

This creepy library where dead animals roam free is at Challain-la-Potherie in France.


These two photos are of our spooky ookey entry. The brown and gold faux crocodile vinyl creates a stunning backdrop for all of our macabjects.

HOT TOMATO!

What gives a room an instant sense of vibrancy and luxury? The regal and exotic red-orange color family, from ruby red to pumpkin orange and everything in between. I have read in design psychology reports that the color red makes a person angry. Orange is said to be stimulating and hunger promoting. Many designers say this is a great color for a dining room, unless you are trying to watch your weight. I believe that color perception is very personal and that relationship must be continually explored and expanded upon. Many people are afraid of bright or rich colors and don't think they can live in a solid orange space. You can infuse a color using it on one or two walls. You can also punch it up with flowers, art, and accessories. Red and Orange give a room a sensual and grand appearance and also provides a regal backdrop for art and sculpture. You can always balance hot colors with pale cool shades. I often balance orange and red with smoky shades of blue. This combination creates a balancing act that is pleasing to the eye as well as the mind. They are also complimentary to each other on the color wheel. I have posted pictures of public and private spaces where the use of red and orange and their compliments create a striking combination!

The Cast Room at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Orange and a greenish-blue are accented with a yellow cream color.

The Library of the Soane Museum. This house was the residence of Architect and antiquities collector, John Soane. He used Pompeiian red with accents of dark green.

This was our client Robert Rubio's den. It is now our bedroom. I will be posting a before&after&after of this room soon. We used a red feature wall and accessories.

This is the bar area of our dining room. Notice how the orange pops against the blue. The adjacent room is orange.

Before & After & After

As some of you already know, we now live in the apartment that used to belong to our client, Robert Rubio. Robert left this rental apartment to move back into the gorgeous home he owns down the street. He was sad to leave, but we all have to scale down in this tough economy. Senor and I were fortunate enough to be able to take over the apartment as tenants. It was also fortunate that Robert has very similar taste to ours, so the transition was seamless. I will be posting some fun before&after&after photos to show how we re-transformed a space we designed for someone else into our own home. Senor and I love this apartment so much and enjoy sharing it with you.

BEFORE

AFTER-ROBERT RUBIO

AFTER- SENOR AND JONONA AMOR

A bold mantle design does not have to limit your accessorizing possibilities. Robert's mantle (pictured top below) used taller and larger pieces to anchor each end of the mantle. Smaller pieces were used in the middle and overlap with the mirror above in order to reflect them. Our mantle is anchored in the center by the imposing bust. The ends are also anchored with larger pieces that sweep outward from the mantle. smaller candles and figurines balance the composition. I love designing and decorating mantles and fireplace surrounds. Focal points relax the viewer and keep the eyes from swimming in a visually stimulating environment.

We would like to thank everyone who attended our Yard Sale on Saturday. Senor and I would also like to thank Ruth, Lloyd, and Jobim Handel-Scott for hosting us on their lawn. It was a beautiful and sunny and people kept streaming in and picking up fabulous bargains all day. We met store owners, set decorators, architects, landscape and interior designers. We sure hope there weren't tumbleweeds blowing through the Pacific Design Center. The kids had a great time as well decorating a tree with leis and leftover silk flowers from our wedding. By the end of the day, we had been wiped out of most of our merchandise. Fear not, we will be having one more blowout sale in Echo Park in a couple of weeks. This will be your last chance to pick up terrific vintage items at RIDICULOUS prices. We will keep you posted on the exact date and time. See you soon!

Jonamor Decor Yard Sale This Weekend!

As apartment dwellers, we are so fortunate that our friends, Ruth and Lloyd gave us use of the front yard of their lovely Mid-Century home in the historic Mar Vista section of Los Angeles for our sale. Take a lovely driving tour of this incredible post-war, ultra-modern neighborhood and stop on by to check out our groovy wares.
Senor Amor and I are liquidating some of their own personal items as well as their excess inventory from Retropia! Do not miss the chance to score amazing vintage items at bargain basement prices. This is a great time to stock up on CHRISTMAS GIFTS. Items for sale include chairs, tables, lamps, pillows, figurines, telephones, art, sculpture, kitchen items, electronics, ephemera, clothing, bar ware, china sets, linens, books, magazines and much more.

So please, come by, say Hi, and find yourself a TREASURE.

WHEN: Saturday Oct. 17
TIME: 9am- 3pm (No early birds. Do not disturb tenants.)
WHERE:
3553 Moore Street, Los Angeles, CA 90066

Moore street between Marco and Palms.

One block East of Beethoven
Three blocks North of Venice
About 8 blocks West of Centinela


These are some pics from our last fabulous garage sale. Our friend Sugarpie (pictured) was so thrilled with wonderful finds that he could could not contain his glee.

Dinner Party Preparations

Senor and I vowed that after we got married, we would do a lot more entertaining. We wished to create a stimulating atmosphere in which different sets of friends could meet and get to know each other. The wedding festivities started the ball rolling in this direction. It is now our job to keep that ball rolling by setting up little dinner parties. Last Friday night, We threw a dinner party for for six (including Senor and I). Six to Eight people are the best if you want everyone to feel included. As I learned from my new Mother-in-Law, a relaxed hostess puts everyone at ease. It took me a long time to realize that guests usually do not require elaborate hors d' oeuvres and exotic dishes with 20 ingredients no one can pronounce. I always prepare as much as I can in advance and choose dishes that need the least amount of tending, so that I can tend to my guests. Grilled meats, roasted vegetables, and stews are always Autumn crowd pleasers. I always plan to serve dinner about 45 minutes after guests have been received. I set out a crudite, cracker, and dip platter and fill the ice bucket right before guests arrive. You can easily add cheese,olives,and nuts to this as well. Always make drinks for your guests as they show up, so that everyone feels individually pampered. You can relax and have cocktails with your friends while the dinner is cooking itself. Always put out your serving ware and set your table in advance so that guests do not feel obligated to help. Once your beautiful dinner is served, you can enjoy the stimulating conversation and delicious morsels without feeling exhausted. Just remember, Keep it simple and it will be sublime!

The serving platters are ready to go.

Senor Amor and the crudite platter awaits the arrival of our guests.

Blast Off Into Orbit

The beautiful thing about living in Los Angeles is that you can have an indoor/outdoor lifestyle basically all year round. The other day Senor asked me, "Are we going to cover our patio furiture for the winter?" I was puzzled. Do we live in Michigan? I am determined to take advantage of every warm spell this autumn to enjoy my terrace. (pictured above and below). One of my favorite patio pieces I have found in years is our round Orbit Lounger. I found it on Target.com and instantly became obsessed with it. I thought it was so perfect that I must have made it up. I had been researching upholstered loungers online and found most of them to be uninteresting and overpriced. The Orbit Lounger, especially in the green and red stripe, looked as if it had escaped from a 1960's Palm Springs movie. It's like finding a fabulous round bed that is actually comfortable. The built in table and umbrella doesn't hurt the package either. All this for only $399! I know I sound like an infomercial, but I don't care. I always want to share a wonderful find, especially one that's available to all. So go ahead and mix up a few Pina Coladas and stretch the summer into the fall. Bottoms up!

We are liquidating our inventory on Craigslist and also are planning a fantastic garage sale here in Los Angeles. We haven't set the date yet, but it will be in the next few weeks. We will have furniture, lighting, art, vintage wallpaper, pillows,china sets,and many other fabulous objects and accessories. This is also a good time to load up on your Christmas gifts. Who wouldn't want an art glass vase or some groovy linens? This is also a good time to buy some great table top items, just in time for Thanksgiving. I posted some photos below to give everyone a sneak peak of some of the items we will be selling for ridiculous prices.

The FUTURUSTIC is here

The coffee table pictured above may look like a design collaboration between Pierre Cardin and The Swiss Family Robinson, but it is actually a modern, eco-friendly piece designed and manufactured by Iannone Designs. This table is an excellent example of an object that is FUTURISTIC. The Urban Dictionary states the definition as, "A building, product or object that appears both 'futuristic', yet also 'rustic', by combining new technologies and traditional materials, building methods/production techniques." I had been using this term long before I ran across it in the Urban Dictionary. I like to go even further to include the "future" in FUTURUSTIC. This would be combining spage age, atomic and mod elements with rustic. This combination became very popular in the 1950's and reached its peak in the 1970's. When we were designing Jane Weidlin's fireplace wall and mantle, we were inspired by the rock and stone fireplace surrounds that were used a lot in mid-century modern decor. We chose to use black, polished river rock to cover part of the fireplace and to use a slab of pine for the mantl. Since we wanted to see the grain and also create a glossy, modern finish, we brushed varathane over the black stained wood. Once the silver glitter grout was added to the river rock by the talented gals at Skellramics, we had created that delicate balance between futuristic and rustic. Opposites can definitely attract and look fabulous in your home. Don't be afraid to come up with a style combination that is all your own.

Wedding prop becomes home decor

All of our beautiful leftover wedding decor left us with the duty of figuring out who would want to take it and what we would like to keep. One of our groomsmen, Andrew Kromelow, is a professional installation artist from N.Y.C. He represented the nation of Israel in our parade of nations processional at our wedding. To fill you in on the details, our wedding processional music consisted of 6 different language versions of the song "Age of Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In" from the musical "Hair". Our countries were United States, Germany, Spain, France, Japan, and Israel. Andrew had made this gilded 10 commandments tablet that instead said " Good Luck". After the wedding, I placed it on a side table in my living room until I could figure out what to do with it. I soon figured out that I loved the punch of metallic gold in that area and chose to keep it there. Have fun with your accessorizing and make sure that it tells a little bit about who you are and where you have been.

Owls in Decor

I received/ won the Victorian owl tray pictured above at our good friends' White Elephant Christmas party. You ask yourself, " At what kind of white elephant party would you end up with this stunning hand-painted brass and glass tray?" Generally, at these kinds of parties, people re-gift ugly or humorous items which they had mistakenly purchased or had been gifted by a friend. People pick, steal, and trade items until everyone ends up with their final gift. As we all know, every person's trash is somebody else's treasure, and vice-versa. Our friends, Oscar and David, threw a very different kind of White Elephant party, because they donated all the gifts themselves and the items were all very cool and collectible. For the sake of extra space and a little variety in the decor, they wanted to purge some items that they no longer couldn't live without. They donated these beautifully wrapped gifts to the party for their guests to open, covet and eventually fight over. Since Oscar and David are some of the most fabulous, mod taste makers in town, the tug of war was fierce. I took the owl tray from the person who had opened it. My dear friend, Annie Sperling, took it from me AFTER I had told her how much I wanted the tray. Now it was war. Luckily the 3-strike rule can work in your favor at a White Elephant party. This is the rule that the item can only be taken 3 times. My dear husband, Senor Amor, triumphantly stole the tray back from her when it was his turn to play. That's teamwork for you!
As I was gazing at the tray the other day, I started thinking about the history of owls in decor. Most people these days associate owl motifs with Kitsch. I understand how, during the post-war era, the mass market was flooded with Owl cannisters, cookie jars, clocks, and any other household object you can imagine. They were no longer the dark and mysterious owls of the Victorian era. They were now happy creatures, who sometimes bordered on insane. Does the wise old Victorian owl shake his head in disgust at the exploitation of his own kind? I do not know the answer to this because I appreciate and love interesting owl motifs from the Pre and Post-Kitsch era. Owls are coming back to design in a big way.Just look around you and you just might give a hoot!