Datebook
Leah Garchik: Chasing whitebeards through the streets E8
San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Wednesday, December 14, 2011 | Section E GEB/NB/WB
Erik Tomasson / S.F. Ballet
The fine dancing and choreography in San Francisco Ballet’s production of “The Little Mermaid” is undercut by plodding camerawork.
DAVID WIEGAND Television
Dark ‘Mermaid’ gasps for air on small screen Just in time for the holidays: “Great Performances” cooks up a special feast from the San Francisco Ballet of an evening-length work by visionary Hamburg Ballet Director John Neumeier based on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved “The Little Mermaid.” The All well and good, Little but only if you’re Merlooking for a dark, maid: A “Great postmodern alternaPerformances” tive to sugarplum presentation. 9 fairies and the Land of p.m. Fri. on PBS. Sweets: Neumeier’s “Mermaid,” airing Friday, is about as far from the Disney animated film as Santa Claus is from Rasputin. Yes, there is a little mermaid who saves a drowning prince, falls in love with him, and makes a deal with the Sea Witch to gain a pair of legs so she can pursue him on land. But there is also a complete parallel plot involving Andersen himself, known as the Poet, who pines for the prince as much as the little mermaid does. In addition to obsessive, stalker love, the ballet drips with the themes of revenge, murder, sexual repression and tragedy. Ho, ho, ho. The timing may seem a bit off, but the ballet is worth a look, even if its many
L
Cico Books
Rachel Ashwell’s seventh book, “Shabby Chic: Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces,” goes beyond the imperfect basics.
HOME & GARDEN
Wiegand continues on E2
Getting a read on inspiring designs
JOHN KING Place
Acclaimed architect Holl has S.F. roots
By Chantal Lamers SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Author and DwellStudio founder Christiane Lemieux might have declared 2011 the year to “Undecorate,” but the latest crop of home decor books suggests that not everyone is ready to throw out design advice. Ripe for plucking off bookshelves are library-worthy releases that convey decor proclivities from quirky illustrated pages to blackand-white splendor and some colorful riffs on shabby chic. These generous guides also offer cues for stocking the pantry, setting the table and selecting dining-room chairs. (Just in time for the peak of the entertaining season.) Here are some favorites:
Clarkson Potter
“Black & White (and a Bit in Between)” challenges the notion that a black-and-white palette is limiting.
Black & White (and a Bit in Between): By Celerie Kemble (Clarkson Potter, $50). Trends of late have dictated retreating to interiors chock-full of color; consequently, the black-andwhite palette has faded into the background. In visits to more than 75 homes, Kemble reveals that this classic, Books continues on E5
There’s a local angle to the career of Steven Holl, the newly named recipient of the 2012 gold medal from the American Institute of Architects. Long before such attention-getting work as his translucent addition to the Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Holl was a young architect in San Francisco. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, he Steven toiled here on his own Holl and for such firms as Lawrence Halprin’s before heading to London’s vaunted Architectural Association and then a still-unfolding career in New York. “He was doing private projects, trying to be an architect, looking for work,” recalls bookseller-publisher William Stout, who shared an apartment with Holl on Telegraph Hill. Holl also was the first (very part-time) employee at Stout’s architectural bookKing continues on E2
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E4 | Wednesday, December 14, 2011 | San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com GPN
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timeless pairing is anything but limiting. Rather, she divulges the complex side of black and white, with advice on selecting finishes, techniques for succumbing to white walls, incorporating texture, collecting complementary accessories and blending in accent colors. Though black and white is the starting point, Kemble establishes that it can create abundant possibilities for showcasing natural wood elements, colorful trims, metallic accents or perhaps the cool silhouette of a bold blue headboard. The Perfectly Imperfect Home: By Deborah Needleman (Clarkson Potter, $30). The founder of Domino and editor of WSJ magazine, Needleman believes that the most stylish homes are equal parts comfortable and beautiful. In this whimsically illustrated guide, she takes a refreshing approach to demonstrating her point by offering up 80 essentials that design acolytes ought to consider. The book’s unusual take consists of well-layered chapters such as “A Bit of Quirk.”
The section covers “irreverent accents,” which Needleman says are necessary to impart a not-soserious flavor, and what she refers to as “jolifiers,” or sentimental objects whose function is to convey joy. Throughout, you’ll find style tips, history lessons, cheat sheets and guides to folding bathroom towels, creating salon-style hangings and (finally) resolving once and for all the question of the acceptable size and number of pillows for your boudoir.
against a palette of her favored brilliant hues, such as peacock blue, emerald, orange, saffron and lemon. Even the chicest of rooms embrace a lived-in, easygoing opulence, something she attributes to her California upbringing. Engaging tips boxes in each chapter — divided by room — offer useful bits of guidance. Readers can take in the anatomy of full-length curtains or get a meticulous description of the ideal dining chair (it’s 20 inches wide).
Katie Ridder Rooms: By Heather Smith MacIsaac (The Vendome Press, $57.50). The days of conforming to a single decor genre are officially gone. Though purging that rule of thumb can be wonderfully liberating, mix-andmatch methodology isn’t necessarily straightforward. In this volume by acclaimed decorator Katie Ridder, readers get a visual breakdown — room by sublime room — of mastering the modern-meetsantiques remix. Ridder goes beyond the old-andnew mashup. She demonstrates how to edge out tradition further by coupling furnishings with bright decorative nuggets
Shabby Chic: Inspirations and Beautiful Spaces: By Rachel Ashwell (Cico Books, $35). In her seventh book, the decorator who taught us to embrace the appeal of imperfect tattered furnishings alongside the likes of bright and flouncy white linens takes readers beyond the narrative that has come to define the shabby chic genre. Though Ashwell pays visits to her new Notting Hill Boutique and Bed and Breakfast in Big Top, Texas, she also showcases homes with distinctly darker palettes. From the homes of a childhood pal to a London houseboat dweller, and even Sharon
and Ozzy Osbourne, each trifles with the shabby chic principles yet thoughtfully douses spaces with recycled, vintage, handmade or allglammed-up materials. Big, Easy, Style: By Bryan Batt (Clarkson Potter, $35). If you’ve missed Bryan Batt since he left the set of “Mad Men” in 2009 (he played Salvatore Romano), catch up with him in a decor ode to his hometown: New Orleans. Batt begins with the basics that help define iconic style in the Big Easy: radical color and audacious pattern. He endorses toying with saturated color, like juxtaposing a sassy hotpink sofa against a chocolate wall, or swathing a whole room in a shiny coat of turquoise lacquer. Batt’s lighthearted style means that the decorating process doesn’t always result in a finished product; he prefers to build collections over a lifetime (his go-tos include throwback barware and old portraits). Batt touches on the fundamental aspects of decor by revisiting nooks and rooms he has decorated and others from which he has gotten inspiration . All the while, we’re treated to his vision of making rooms inviting, festive and ultimately setting the foundation for entertaining, which is what this get-down town is all about. E-mail comments to home@sfchronicle.com.
ASK THE VET
Dog seems to be saying: ‘I want to be alone’ Q: Normally, my dog prefers to be in the same room as me, but recently he’s been going downstairs and lying down in the dark, even though I’m upstairs. I find this new behavior confusing. Recently, he also became terrified of the pet gate that blocks off the living room. It fell on him one day, and he managed to get out from under it, but now he won’t go into the living room. Could it be that he goes downstairs to get away from the pet gate?
A: This type of situation raises questions in regards to overall history of fears: What are his normal responses to fearful situations, his reactions to scary things, etc.? Was he adopted? A stray? In many cases, early life history makes a huge impact on the way dogs handle life. Did this behavior start after the gate fell on him? If yes, then that might be your issue. Knowing the reason will allow you to motivate him to stay upstairs. With that said, dogs are
like people in that sometimes they like to be alone. Is he older? Does he seem uncomfortable? Is it cooler downstairs? When he goes downstairs, can you encourage him back upstairs with a special, delicious treat? I would start keeping a log when he does this. Who else is home? Did he get challenged over a toy or food for attention? Was someone cooking? (Sometimes smells can cause dogs to leave.) Did someone run a loud appliance, such as a vacuum, hair dryer or blender?
Try to figure out what environmental situations tend to be common when he goes downstairs. If you think he is emotionally distraught, a trainer can visit and help set up a training plan. If no environmental reason comes to mind, then it could be medical. Check with your vet. Holly Brand, personal, certified dog trainer, West Coast K-9 Training Does your pet have a health or behavior problem? E-mail Ask the Vet at home@sfchronicle.com.
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