Blog Home

Black and White in Design

Color is very often considered the most important aspect of interior design; standing head and shoulders above design, scale, use, materials etc. 

But just like a black and white film, the absence of color can create a dream like quality.  This allows the voyeur to fill in colors from one's own mind.  I once took a few still life painting classes.  The most difficult class was an "extra credit" exercise in which the teacher put on a table a draping of white sheets and white vases and cups.  We were to paint what we saw using NO white.  It is amazing what comes of that - in fact, very vivid colors.

Note the many film noir greats through the decades - right up to the present period:  The Maltese Falcon (1944), Casablanca (1942) and China Town (Roman Polanski, 1974).

Thus for us, these black/white rugs and kitchen towels can achieve the "architectural" look that is very forward.

Exciting news FOR 2018 from MICHAELIAN HOME

We are pleased to announce MICHAELIAN HOME has purchased India Overseas Traders, Inc.  For those of you unfamiliar with IOT, it is a well-established company that is over 80 years old.

Fun and sophisticated natural fibered rag and flat weave rugs, lively dish towels and some beautiful tabletop items will now be a part of MICHAELIAN HOME's product line. We offer the same great quality, pricing and service.  The only difference is we ship from North Carolina.

Contact us to get access to our India Overseas Trading Catalog [email protected]

Please be patient with us as we integrate IOTs website with MICHAELIAN HOMEs. Until then, please call, e-mail or fax IOT orders.

Adding to their existing collections and expanding with new lines of accessories, Michaelian Home always has something extraordinary to add to your home.

Michaelian Home has a rich history in the textile business dating back to the 1920s when Frank Michaelian, grandfather of current owner Jason Sumner, was one of the first Americans to import from the Middle East and India. During this time, Frank Michaelian also set up a weaving center in China and he started a rug hooking mill in North Carolina. In doing so, he created a line of the finest hand knotted rugs, needlepoint pillows, and hooked rugs;  a legacy that continues today.

Michaelian Home, along with its existing line of hand hooked wool and cotton rugs, needlepoint pillows, hooked wool and cotton pillows, also now offers benches, stools, travel bags, and coverlets.  In 2016 Michaelian Home added a variety of new items including a line of handspun and hand-loomed shawls and throws, a line of creatively printed and embroidery-embellished pillows, and a line of chain stitched pillows. New designs include many seasonal and animal accents, mountain lifestyle themes, nautical offerings, golf designs and also a revival of many historical Michaelian Home designs. These new designs, featuring artistry of designers Betsy Whatley,  Robin Sanson, and WILLIAMSBURG prove that while Michaelian Home continues to offer traditional and classic designs while staying  abreast of the latest fashion trends. Michaelian Home  often creates the unique new products that drive those trends. Always striving  to keep a fresh perspective, they travel the world for inspiration and to source the highest quality materials.

Michaelian Home’s entire line can be seen in Building 1 at Americas Mart, Floor 9, E-23 from Tuesday July 12 through Tuesday July 19.  Michaelian Home is participating in several floor events during the market. Daily Show Specials,  a floor-wide Wine and Dine on Nine event featuring food and beverages will be held on Friday July 16 from 4-7pm. A Sunday Funday floor event showcasing a variety of show specials  along with donuts will be on Sunday the 17th from 10am-1pm.  For more information, call Carol Lyne Sumner at 800-258-3977 or visit michaelianhome.com  

The Carl Sandburg Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC is a local treasure.  Its history is steeped with poetry and surprisingly, goat herding.  In its honor, Michaelian Home has designed several new printed, embellished, Sandburg-inspired, goat pillows, they will surely delight the ‘kid’ in everyone. You can see the new detailed pillows pictured above with actual Sandburg Goats. We also have some existing handmade needlepoint  goat inspired pillows that are sure to get your goat.  You can find those here: https://www.michaelianhome.com/NCU-798-Billy-Goat-16x20-Needlepoint-Pillow_p_1418.html  

Carl Sandburg was known as the Poet of the People. He was a writer, poet and songwriter.   He won two Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry.  He also won another Pulitzer for his biography of Abraham Lincoln, a prolific body of work which is astounding in magnitude.  His poetry captured the struggles of the working class in the early 1900s and thus captured the hearts of the nation.  Active politically, he wrote on the issues of freedom and humanity.  He enjoyed "unrivaled appeal as a poet in his day” and is considered to be a major figure in contemporary literature.  "Trying to write briefly about Carl Sandburg," said a friend of the poet, "is like trying to picture the Grand Canyon in one black and white snapshot."

Though he was born and raised in Illinois, he moved to Flat Rock, North Carolina in 1945.  The name of the 246 acre estate was Connemara and here he and his wife raised their daughters while he continued to write.  It is said that he would stay up all night writing in his ‘crazy corner’, then he would eat breakfast with his family and then retire to bed about 10 o’clock in the morning.  He liked to hike and created many trails on the estate and would often disappear on a trail to write.    

Carl’s wife Lillian or ‘Paula’ as Carl liked to call her, started raising goats when he was still a struggling poet in the midwest.  She became interested in genetics and how to increase milk production.  By the time they moved to Flat Rock, she was already famous for her breeding and had established national prominence in the field.  The name Paula Sandburg became a household name in goat breeding,  She continued  to breed goats, mostly Nubians, Saanens and Toggenburgs in North Carolina.  She ran a commercial dairy on the farm and at one time had a herd of about 200 goats. Locals say that they used to see Carl driving around town doing errands with goats in his car! Supposedly this is not surprising to anyone that knew Carl. One reporter stated that when he visited Carl to interview him in his Michigan home, it was so cold outside that Carl led fifteen goats into his living room to get warm during the interview. 

Try being a goat: put on a face of calm contemplations.

Look people in the eye as though unaware they gaze at you.

Read their innermost hidden secrets.

Then turn away toward other horizons chewing your cud.

- Excerpt from From Daybreak to Good Night: Poems for Children by Carl Sandburg

Carl died in 1967 of natural causes and his wife died ten years later.  Today the Connemara estate is a National Historic Site and you can tour the home, hike the trails that Carl frequented, and visit with goats that still carry Mrs. Sandburg’s goat's bloodlines.  The current herd is kept to about 15 goats and they don’t milk them but every spring you can see new kids (goat kids!) toddling about the barn.  The site is indeed a national treasure where history comes to life for ‘kids’ of all ages.  Find out more or plan your visit here: https://www.nps.gov/carl/index.htm

Some new Nautical items from Michaelian Home perfect for spring!!

NCU-829 NAUTICAL Love 18" x18" Hooked Pillow

NCU-830 Nautical Happy 16"x20" Hooked Pillow

NCU-831 Nautical Shore Thing 16"x20" Hooked Pillow

Our Signal Flags Collection uses traditional maritime code flags to spell "LOVE", "SHORE THING" OR "HAPPY". Classical nautical colors will never go out of style. Choose your favorite or goup them together for a coastal nod with a positive vibe. These are handmade hooked pillows with a zippered backing.

Every year Pantone announces a new color for the year. This year's choice was Marsala, an inspired color that Pantone described as follows: “Much like the fortified wine that gives Marsala its name, this tasteful hue embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal, while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness. This hearty, yet stylish tone is universally appealing and translates easily to fashion, beauty, industrial design, home furnishings and interiors,” Here at Michaelian Home we have used this color for decades upon decades. From our Porgy Fish pillow to our Flame rug, you can see this dark, rich, luscious color pop! Check them out at michaelianhome.com today!

20% off all Williamsburg pillows until Jan 31st 2015

http://www.michaelianhome.com/Williamsburg--Colonial-Williamsburg_c_120-7.html

Some new additions to collections just in this week! Bloomer rugs and pillows, Nautical Rugs and Stools.  And some new field and stream fishing rugs and stools!  We couldn't be more excited about them.

Some fun photos displaying some new products and some classics at the High Point Trade Show. For more information on these items or other decorating ideas, please feel free to call us at 1-800-258-3977. Or visit our website at www.michaelianhome.com