Thursday, March 6, 2008

"An Object is Like a Book--Objects Have Stories Too"

Photo: Ditte Isager for domino, March 2008

These are the clever words of Lili Diallo, a highly regarded prop stylist whose work appears regularly in domino, Town & Country and O, to name a few. In her Brooklyn loft above, Diallo sticks to a limited color palette and pays close attention to balance and scale. The result is a collection of objects that tell a story about her life. Check out some more of my favorite examples below. (Click on each image to really get a feel for them:)

India Hicks' Caribbean home, as seen in Island Life. Photo: David Loftus

Candace Bushnell's Manhattan apartment. Photo: William Waldron for So Chic

Photo: Helen Norman for Country Home, May 2007

Photo: Matthew Monteith for domino, February 2007

Image via Absolutely Beautiful Things

Photo: Annie Schlechter for domino, May 2006

Photo: James Merrell for domino, December 2005

Photo: Paul Costello for domino, April 2007

14 comments:

Style Court said...

I agree about the objects! BTW: you've used so many of my favorites here.

s. said...

Lovely. I'm currently trying to style my shelves and this is a wonderful reminder of what works... and what does not. Thank you.

MABELLE said...

You are so welcome! Glad you found it helpful! And Courtney- I always get excited to hear you say that because it means I've picked some good ones ;)

Style Saves the World said...

Great post! I love bookshelves with a nice mix of books and objects. I dream of the day when the walls of my home office have built-ins! Seriously, dream of it.

Jen of MadeByGirl said...

I WANT Candace's books...! so cute the way she put them together....Im actually looking to get more shelves in my office to place more of my BOOKS.


Jen Ramos
'100% Recycled DESIGNER Cards'
www.madebygirl.com

Anonymous said...

I especially love Candace's color coded shelves! How wonderful.

AshleyL. said...

oh what fun and inspiring ideas! i especially like the picture with the magenta theme! i love seeing how people organize and decorate there shelves...

Anna Spiro said...

I couldn't agree with you more and so many wonderful examples you have listed - gorgeous!
X
Anna

MABELLE said...

I'm so glad you all liked these photos! They're some of my favorites so it's fun to hear your feedback :) Thank you. And I agree- Candace's color-coded shelves are gorgeous!

samantha hahn said...

Hi! Anna from Ab.Beaut.Things said I should drop you a line (I love your blog too by the way). I just started making patterns and would love to talk with you about them or just get some feedback on the industry from you. You're Domino Mag. pillows are beautiful. Please drop me a line if you have time www.samanthahahn.com/blog

Best,
Sam

Ashley said...

What a fun post! Designing shelf spaces is always such a fun challenge, and these are all inspiring. Thank you!

thelovelist said...

I loved this post so much, I blogged it at The Love List's Weeekend Roundup! http://love-list.blogspot.com

SimplyGrove said...

I love this post! Inspiring!

Alkemie said...

I love libraries - Thanks for the great inspiration!