My Wheat Sheaf Weakness

I have been a little obsessed. And when I am obsessed you know how I can be. In the past month I have purchased three items for my home with a wheat sheaf motif.

It may be time for rehab.

Shafts of wheat are symbols of abundance , prosperity and bounty and are used metaphorically as emblems of a good harvest, fertility and a closeness to mother earth .

I can't remember exactly when this table first made its appearance in abundance in my shelter design glossies and more importantly when my subconscious took notice, but I would have to say it must have been at least two to three years ago when I decided that I would indulge my Coco Chanel- like fetish for all things wheat !

Images above and below from Chanel's famed apartment

at 31 Rue Cambon.

The wheat sheaf became Coco's personal emblem that marked her incessant creativity . Her repeated use of the sheaf in both her own home and her designs is evidence to the fact of how personally significant the wheat sheaf was to her.

Below another photo from her Rue Cambon salon.

In his Spring /Summer Collection for 2010, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, paid homage to Coco's infatuation . The elaborate show at the Palais Royal was set in a magnificently fabricated barn . Models trampled over hay in their haute couture carrying sheaves of wheat.

Lily Allen, one of Lagerfeld's muses of the moment , with an exquisite wheat sheaf hair piece.

It was not only Coco Chanel, however, that had a penchant for sheaves of wheat, Yves Saint Laurent was also known to have embraced its charm .

Although Italian in origin, the golden classic wheat sheaf table was the epitome of Parisian chic. A similar table is seen at YSL's 55 Rue de Babylone duplex on the left bank.

His private rooms were said to have constantly been festooned with bouquets of wheat .

At his funeral, Catherine Deneuve carried a simple sheaf to honor her dear friend.

Sheaves were also used to decorate his casket as a symbol of the long and fruitful life that this 20th century fashion icon had led.

I have gathered a few more images so that you too may hopefully arrive at the same level of appreciation ( and preoccupation!) for this much used and celebrated article of nature.

Frequently seen as a side table, I enjoyed coming across this photo of one of Nate Berkus' right hand women with her glitzy sheaf dining table.

The golden sheaves also work incredibly well as lighting fixtures.

Sconces from Candace Bushnell's apartment seen at Elle Decor ,

or as lamp like this one from Assemblage at 1st Dibs .

How chic is that?

This chandelier from Downtown also shown at 1st Dibs has me swooning.

If I had a big tree in my yard I would hang this beauty from a low branch and serve dinner beneath it while substituting low lit candles for the bulbs!

But wait, there is more! Check out how Mexican designer Arturo Pani does wheat sheaf. No other word to describe his interpretation... its just fabulous!

Gilt Sheaf of Wheat Cocktail Table over at Downtown via 1stdibs
Simply gorgeous!

Have any wheat sheaves adorning your home? I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Life & Style : Cafe Society: Socialites, Patrons and Artists 1920-1960

I am completely rapt in my new not so coffee table, coffee table book.

Hmmm. How best to describe?

A glamourous and visual compendium of the lives of the vastly wealthy and avant garde during the heydey of the international jet set.

Do I have your attention now?

Thierry Coudert shares his own archival photos "from a time that was" in Cafe Society: Socialites, Patrons and Artists 1920-1960 from Flammarion . And what sumptuous photographs they are! Gracing the pages are images by the legendary Cecil Beaton, Horst and Richard Avedon.

Who made up this ultra chic vanguard you ask? Coudert explains that it "extended beyond matters of rank or birth". Here we have an eclectic mix of millionaires and socialites fused with the world of those they encouraged, intellectuals and creatives - artists, musicians, designers and dancers. Their position legitimized of course with members of aristocratic pedigree.

Modest and unassuming were not words they chose to live by. Their lavish living defined not only where, but how to spend one's money . As arbiters of taste, their behavior determined where it was vogue to dress, shop, live and travel.

Interesting to note was the domination of influential and fascinating women in this circle of " everyone who's anyone" such as Gertrude Stein, Elsie Wolf, Mona Bismark, Peggy Guggenheim Diana Vreeland and the undisputed queen of Cafe Society, Wallis Simpson.

For more, check Galleries on The Daily Beast .

Available at Power Books, 2nd level Greenbelt 4, Ayala Center

Happy New Year!

As we usher in a new decade full of possibility, I share this with all of you.

Make everyday count.