Home Room: Bouroullec Textile Field, PETA and porn, 2012 colors

By Craig Nakano

Sept. 20, 2011 1:30 PM PT

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, PETA, Pergo and other notes from a lunchtime desk clearing:

Bouroullecs’ Textile Field: French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec teamed with the company Kvadrat to create the 100-foot-long Textile Field, above, inside the Raphael Cartoons Gallery of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The designers’ statement: ‘We conceived an expansive, colored foam and textile piece with gentle inclinations to produce a sensual field on which to comfortably lounge while meditating on the surrounding Raphael Cartoons. ... No efforts, no apprehension just contemplation.’ The installation will remain in place until Sunday. Nice time-lapse video on the Kvadrat Textile Field website. More photos toward the end of this post.

PETA goes porno: ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), whose controversial campaigns draw criticism from women’s rights groups, said it hopes to publicize veganism through a mix of pornography and graphic footage of animal suffering,’ according to a Reuters story by Ray Sanchez. The piece adds: ‘PETA has filed paperwork to launch its pornography site when the controversial new .xxx domain becomes active in early December. While many nonprofits and corporations are scrambling to protect their website names from being hijacked by a pornographer slapping on a .xxx domain, PETA is embracing the new domain as just another way to conduct business.’ Full story.

Don’t tell PETA, but: Pergo staged a demonstration that included an elephant, right, and male wrestlers in women’s shoes to prove that the company’s XP flooring ‘can stand up to just about everything.’ In a fashion contest of bow tie versus high heels, we give the sartorial edge to the elephant. (Another photo toward the end of the post.)

A little less wild: Behr, paint of choice at the Home Depot, released four 2012 ‘design themes,’ color palettes that purport to provide inspiration in the coming year. The description for Safari Escape: ‘Exotic and posh accents include copper, iridescent tile, mirrored surfaces, shells, African artifacts and animal prints.’

Animals, part 4: Gessato offered its reminder than the Gaia & Gino Fishscape fishbowl, right, is scheduled to begin shipping Oct. 5. Gessato’s price: $139.

Baronial Bloomberg: The New York Times has a piece Tuesday about the homes of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Apparently, the mayor may guard his private life,’swearing reporters secrecy before granting access to his homes,’ but photos of two ‘Old World and lavish’ residences still popped up for public consumption on the website of his decorator, Jamie Drake. (Sorry, pictures have since been taken down.)

Bath covers: Duravit has introduced new covers for the bath. Lay out four of them side by side and the tub becomes a padded seat. Stack two and you’ve got a stool for a foot bath. Or deploy just one when you are in the tub, and you’ve got a table for your book or wine.

More photos ...

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s Textile Field at the V&A Museum. Credit: Studio Bouroullec & V&A Images

More views on the Textile Field website. Credit: Studio Bouroullec & V&A Images

It’s a paycheck, I suppose. Wrestling for Pergo at Venice Beach. Credit: Pergo

Safari Escape, one of four 2012 color stories from Behr. Credit: Behr

Five colors in the Safari Escape palette: Compass, left Jackal, Livingston, Serengeti Dust, Tribal Drum. Credit: Behr

Duravit’s new bath covers. Credit: Duravit

ALSO:

Reporting from the Milan furniture fair

Landmark Houses: The Times series

Homes of the Times: California design in pictures

-- Craig Nakano

Credits for photos at top of post: Textile Field from Studio Bouroullec & V&A Images; elephant from Pergo; Fishscape from Gessato.

BEHR Paints’ 2012 color trends are now at The Home Depot stores nationwide.

20 brand new colors grouped into 4 design themes are available for your readers to browse and be inspired by! They can grab a brochure and let their imagination run ‘wild’ through Safari Escape or call some friends over for a Tea Party.

As always, we’re happy to offer the following:
• A phone or email interview with Erika Woelfel, Director of Color at BEHR, who developed these palettes and trends colors
• Hi-res room images and paint spills/drops: http://newsroom.behr.com/pr/behr/photo.aspx?id=38510&ncid=
• Product samples

More info here: http://newsroom.behr.com/pr/behr/behr-paints-introduces-2012-color-215115.aspx

Let me know if you need anything else and if you might be able to cover this.

Thanks!

Craig Nakano is the assistant managing editor for Entertainment and Arts. He joined The Times as an assistant travel editor, later served as home editor and most recently was the fine arts editor, leading a team whose accolades included a Pulitzer Prize and an Online Journalism Award. A California native, he worked at the Desert Sun of Palm Springs and at the San Francisco Chronicle after graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He lives in Long Beach with his husband and son.