12.30.24
One home. Two albums. Some Pinterest saves. And finally making my way to a classic.
Hello Everyone,
After a nearly two month hiatus I am very excited to be back. And as you may notice, things are a little bit different around here. Fall/Winter has been a busy work season (for my real job), and despite my consistent desire to post regularly, I’ve had to prioritize other work. But I’m happy to be back and to be committing more firmly to the Let’s Chirp moniker for good. Aside from working I’ve been busy decorating the house for Christmas, baking endless numbers of cookies, and relishing my new role as a cat dad. Watching kittens grow day-by-day has been incredibly entertaining but even more rewarding. Getting to know their personalities and getting an opportunity to connect with them with each chance has been so much more than I could’ve imagined it being.
From here on out, I’ll be titling posts by their date rather than the specific week. It helps take a little pressure off of myself to have a strict schedule and frees me up to post whenever I feel like it, even if it’s more than once a week (one can dream). Whenever I decide to post a longer, more heartfelt, life-centered piece it will be titled a “Birdsong” to stay on theme with my bird-obsessed brain. Anyway, I’m happy to be here! Let’s chirp.
A coastal home in Maine packed with color: Northport by Reath Design
Built in 1910, the home inherently boasts an abundance of old charm, but after the redesign by LA-based Reath Design, there has been a splendid mixture of new and old. Things like this orange Nesso table lamp (designed in the 1960s by Italian designer Giancarlo Mattioli) stand out boldly in house that’s not shy about it’s century-old, coastal bones. I especially love it when things aren’t overly corrected, like this shiplap wall in the living room that hasn’t been painted over to be uniform and still retains it’s perfectly varied splotches.
Throughout the house there are trim and doors painted in Benjamin Moore’s Webster Green, and not only is it a great color to begin with, but I think it’s the perfect color to tie the house together. For people who aren’t afraid of color (I’ll exclude myself here because I still love living in my mostly white box), spreading a common green throughout a house can be a very digestible splash. In nature, we are very accustomed to green tying just about every landscape together. As I’m writing this I am looking out of my window and can see flashes of green in every direction, but the blue sky, the brown leaves and trees, and the colors of my neighbor’s house all fit and make sense among it all. And this is also the case if you’re sitting on a beach with Sea Grape trees in front of the sand or if you’re driving down the interstate surrounded by trees aside the asphalt. Even when we think of the chaos of color in a wildflower meadow, there’s one common thing that ties it all together: green.
The dining room features stunning panoramic views of the ocean which you can see while seated in these equally stunning Oak “Razorblade” dining chairs (designed in the 1960s by Danish furniture designer Henning Kjærnulf).
I love the balance that is achieved in this home, where a room like the kitchen above is so simple but not lacking in color at all. While the bedroom below has this incredible splatter of color with the star being this gorgeous hydrangea wallpaper by House of Hackney. Just take a peek through their wallpaper catalogue and see if you don’t fall in love 10 times over.
Then meanwhile, there are plenty of corners that were left perfect as they were, like this teal-tiled bathroom.
You can read an AD article about the home here.
A film I’ve had on my list for quite some time: Paris, Texas directed by Wim Wenders, released in 1984
The first words that came out of my mouth when I finished watching this film were: “Now that was a journey”. For any cinemaphile, the 1984 Palme d’Or winner at Cannes is likely high on the list as it has spent four decades garnering praise. The film opens with a clearly disheveled, clearly desperate, and clearly deserted Harry Dean Stanton who stars as the main character, Travis. With virtually no dialogue from the film’s star for the first half hour, the audience, and the film’s costar Dean Stockwell, who plays Walt, are practically begging for answers.
As the film unwinds itself, German filmmaker Wim Wenders (and the rest of his production crew) flashes some of the most direct displays of cinematic brilliance that I’ve ever seen. This is one of those films that I will talk to people about from a place of “I wish I could watch it for the first time again.” The film is beautifully designed from start to finish, whether it’s the set design, the colors, the story, the writing, or the cinematography itself. DP Robby Müller certainly is a master of his craft because some of the shots during this film genuinely made me pause and appreciate what was happening in front of me.
In one of the film’s final scenes there is a conversation between Travis and Jane that contains one of the most incredible monologues I have ever seen. It’s not only a wonderful performance by both actors, but also an incredibly well-executed piece of art where each component shines. Scenes like this, and overall, films like this, are what make me love cinema. This isn’t a film I can explain well with words and not one that I’d want to cheat an audience of experiencing for themselves. So all I can say is please watch it.
The film was restored to 4K this year for the 40th Anniversary. You can watch it on Max, Criterion, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video.
Some Pinterest saves: Follow me on Pinterest here if you’d like! It’s arguably my most active form of social media (Trying to spend a lot less time on Instagram).
This brown suede daybed that is inspiring me to get a little more chaotic with my brown suede sofa. Also love the way that the shimmer of the gold in the lamp and the frame plays off of the velvet.
This dining room featured in über talented
’s Buffy’s book club. This room has definitely given me some inspiration for my own dining room. I especially love the warmth of the pine in the table mixed with the light texture of the pendant above. The home itself could (and likely will) be in it’s own post, I found a tour here.
This outfit by @isabelzanderzeidam that I would love to recreate. I recently bought this red sweater from Fera that is a good start. Certainly an outfit that is Florida Winter appropriate.
The blue walls in this bedroom (original source unknown). Things like this really make me think I should break out of my white box habits and add some colorful glossy walls to my house. This is a bed I can imagine sitting in all day while reading or listening to the entire discography of Mazzy Star. Point being, I wouldn’t want to leave.
Two albums I’ve been revisiting:
Childqueen, Kadhja Bonet (2018)
Listening to and comprehending Kadhja Bonet’s music can be a dizzying experience for any new audience. It’s a genre-less concoction of jazz, folk, R&B, and soul that is also very forward in its orchestral and choral influence. Born as the middle child of seven, Bonet picked up music at an early age. Her father, Allen, was an opera singer and her mother was also a musician. (She is also the half-sister of actress Lisa Bonet.) I first listened to this album after the song “Joy” popped up in my Spotify Discover Weekly years ago, and I was hooked after the first listen. From beginning to end, the album is an undeniably beautiful, psychedelic, and intoxicating experience. And amidst the varied instrumentation throughout this album, Bonet’s voice remains front and center. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but while making coffee one morning this week this album popped back into my mind and I’ve been happily revisiting it all week.
My favorite tracks: “Delphine”, “Thoughts Around Tea”, “Joy”, and “Wings”
A Seat at the Table, Solange Knowles (2016)
I’m not sure that there’s anyone in the world who has grown up with an older sibling that cast a larger shadow than Solange Knowles. The younger sister of Beyoncé has been releasing solo music since 2002, but in 2016, with the release of her third studio album, A Seat at the Table, she quickly gained a well-deserved spotlight of her own. With Beyoncé also releasing Lemonade the same year, the two became the first sisters to have their own respective number one albums in a calendar year.
When I first heard this album I felt like I was discovering an entirely new genre of music that felt necessary to my soul. Like I had almost found what had been missing. It’s dramatic, I know. But I am using no exaggeration when I tell you this is one of my favorite albums of all time. And this is coming from someone who spent a pretty penny to see Jay-Z and Beyoncé during their On The Run tour in 2014. If we’re going to have a conversation about which Knowles sister has had a larger impact on music and American culture in general, there isn’t much debate. Beyoncé is one of the best selling music artists of all time, but for me, when it strictly comes down to music, my preference (biased as it may be) is incredibly clear.
The album features a range of dreamy, lullaby-esque tracks followed by incredibly sentimental interludes, followed by some fuuuunky jams, ultimately all tying together an album that is full of what I consider some modern black anthems. Solange certainly shines as the center piece of the album but her collaborative tracks featuring artists like Sampha, Lil Wayne, The-Dream, and BJ The Chicago Kid also deserve a high amount of praise. I haven’t heard a better verse from Lil Wayne since he released The Carter IV in 2010 (My one exception might be his verse on Tyler, The Creator’s “Droppin’ Seeds” on Flower Boy in 2017).
My favorite tracks: “Weary”, “Cranes in the Sky”, “Mad”, “Don’t Touch My Hair”, “F.U.B.U.”
Knowles released another album in 2019, When I Get Home, that is also absolutely worth the listen. I especially cherish the Gucci Mane verse on the track “My Skin My Logo”, which was produced by Tyler, The Creator. I’d recommending giving that album a listen as well.
Thanks as always for getting to this point! I’m happy to be back and not going anywhere any time soon. If you have thoughts, share them! I’d love to hear.
Til then we’ll talk soon. Hope you all have a very happy New Year.
Here’s to more chirping in 2025!
Cheers,
-Zach
