Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Mr. Peacock's Habitat

Mr. Peacock would like to thank Grace at Design Sponge for the "Sneak Peek" yesterday. Here's some shot's from my habitat, and you can also see more at Design Sponge.

I've moved and lived in so many different places and apartments in my life and was always afraid of accumulating stuff. I never wanted to be weighted down with "stuff" and look what happened in a few short years! An apartment filled to the rafters with books, records, magazines, dishes, journals, et all...


The apartment is a mix of old & new, cheap & expensive, tacky & chic, with lots of sentimental hand-me-downs and gifts from family and friends. Most of the artwork is my own work (paintings and collages), with the exception of a floral painting by my friend Robert (thanks!), in the kitchen. The walls are painted in a Martha Stewart brown tone called mushroom and all of the doors are painted a glossy black. My grandmother's coffee table and white leather chair (in the left mirror reflection) take center stage in the living room (see above). As a child, I made endless little arrangements with my grandmother's nic-nacs on that coffee table (of course she had a larger and thicker piece of glass on top). I would get scolded for spinning in that white chair—now I scold my friends for spinning in it. Not really, there's nothing too fragile or precious anywhere in this apartment I share with my partner, Jason, and we use everything.

The entire space is an "evening apartment" and comes to life at night. The apartment becomes warm, comfortable, and cozy—and everything twinkles from the soft lighting throughout the apartment. I love the Gio Ponti chairs. The scale of these chairs (see above) is perfect for an apartment.

My grandmother's embroidered pillow rests on the Philippe Starck chair, with the George Nelson Eye Clock looking down.

My DIY Decoupage Ceiling in the entry way looking into the sunny living room, with the surreal hand key holder.

The kitchen is stuffed to the rafters with books and dishes. I'm an avid cook and foodie and the kitchen gets a thorough workout. I decoupaged the table ala Piero Fornasetti. You can buy the original table by Piero and Barnaba Fornasetti here.

I converted the old fashioned built-in ironing board into the ultimate spice rack—I've already run out of room. My mother found an old roll of contact paper at my grandmother's house and saved it for me, because she knew I would like it. The pattern is black & white line drawings of buildings in some imaginary city—it reminds me of a hybrid of Brooklyn and London. I xeroxed it and lined all of the cabinets in the kitchen and the bathroom with it.

My friend, who lived in the apartment before me—who's not a cook, covered the small amount of counter top with black latex rubber. I love the deep glossy blackness, but it's not very practical as a frequently used surface. I installed the mirrors above and under the cabinets. The cabinets are painted in a gray that was called "elephant." All of the cabinet drawer pulls are vintage milk glass.


I love the horizontal and crisscrossing stripes in this Ladytron video (I love Ladytron too!) for the song Runaway. The bathroom currently has black & white toile wallpaper, but this video has inspired me to go with stripes. I'll show you the results down the road. I hope my peacock habitat inspires and gives you ideas for your own home.

15 comments:

Rene Schaller said...

you have a great taste in furniture! a good friend of mine would love the dinner plates on your kitchen wall. she collects pieces and plans to do the same....

Anonymous said...

My mother had that same milk glass covered candy dish you have on your coffee table.....was that your mother's or grandmother's? I will have to dig mine out of the attic!

Love you home.
Dana in VA

liasynthis said...

Where did you get those kitchen cabinets from, the white ones? They're vintage aren't they?!

liasynthis said...

ok I see Journalist shelving, why oh why is it discontinued? So sad.

Bart Boehlert said...

Mr. Peacock, that is a cool habitat!
BB

So Lovely said...

Your apartment is stunning and I love your style. Am so glad I ran into your blog. I have the same Phillipe Starck chair!

tula said...

OMG. this is fantastic, mr. peacock! congratulations on your feature on d*s. your pad is FAB!!!!!

tula said...

and your nelson eye clock is to die for. sigh!

SkitzoLeezra said...

Thanks for sharing your abode! So fab!

Doodle Whore said...

Dear Mr. Peacock,

Your home is beautiful and surprising at every turn. You've inspired me to try some decoupaging myself!

Your's truly,
The Rural Modernist
theruralmodernist.com

Laura said...

That's a fantastic habitat you have there Mr Peacock!

Skitzo Leezra said...

Isuwannee called you a Homeboy!

http://isuwannee.blogspot.com/2009/02/bookcase-of-day.html

ayeM8y said...

Fabulous simply fabulous! It definitely reflects the personality of a collector and a space filled with objects that tell stories. I can imagine having tea and listening intently to each and every one them.

Mr. Peacock said...

Thank you everyone for
the really lovely comments!

If the apartment was larger...
everyone would be
welcome to stop by for tea!

Scot Meacham Wood said...

good grief,

what an amazing home you have. Chic and inventive are always a great combination.

I especially love the work you've done on the kitchen. I'm trapped in a tiny, troublesome kitchen that gonna require more work than I'm willing to put into it at this point . . . lol.

thanks for the inspiration!