apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Bullet Light and the Dune installation....I'm speechless at how cool, awesome and beautiful they both are. Thanks for making my day just a little bit more interesting!

Wow, Target is really stepping up their game.

Re: The Bullet Light project.

I am sure that is jsut what Beruit wants.... some artist to use their war torn country as a canvas.

I knew someone would have issues with the bullet lights in that self-righteous internet way. It's hard to know how people would react to it unless you asked them. An foreign artist proposing something out of concern for a local problem might be disrespectful but I think that is the rare case. Proposing art to people that interacts with their struggles and pain at least doesn't treat people as poor, sad victims who have no thoughts of their own but are simply to be pitied. Simply offering ideas to people is rarely wrong if you are attentive to their responses.

It is very unlikely it would actually go forward unless someone in Beirut thought it was worth doing. I can see a problem in that perhaps the people of Beirut wouldn't want to romanticize bullet holes or preserve them--they worked so hard to rebuild after the last war maybe this engagement with something so tragic wouldn't appeal. However, since it takes time to rebuild and they are there anyway perhaps they would think it better if they also bring some beauty.

The Bullet Light project looks beautiful, I got chills all over. Thanks for sharing.

I love the Thomas O'Brien collection from Target, but I would seriously check out the furniture in the store before buying it. Some of the pieces are just one step away from trailer trash. On the other hand some of the pieces are probably the best things Target has ever come out with.

I personally like his office accessories, most of which you can't find on the website.

Eric, I agree with you. All the designers pieces photograph beautifully but in person they are pretty shabby. I like the lines and design of O'Brien's pieces but they're made with substandard materials and the finishes are pretty bad. Victoria Hagan has some nice pieces but up close, the shagreen collection is poorly made. Althought I love her huge mirror. It's expensive, though.

I agree with Eric - the Target pieces look good but they are very cheaply made when you see them in the store you can tell that they are very cheaply made.

Thank you Eric, anne and c! Now I don't feel bad about lacking Target in Canada. :)

Agreed about the O'Brien stuff. Some of it looks sort of shoddy-in particular the case pieces- but the freestanding shelf with the planks is great- and on my to buy list. It's solid wood- and really pretty nicely put together.

Where online can I buy Thomas O'Brien's non-ghetto (i.e. non-Target) furniture? Secondly, why the hell don't they just double the quality and double the price on the Target stuff... it would still be half as much as comparable items from blu dot or a similar retailer?

But it would be totally out of Target's price point.

Some of O'Brien's lighting is sold via eboniste.com, and he used to sell through Marshall Fields.

I don't think he has a consolidated online collection of his own.

Target needs to listen to the constant criticism of the quality of the Thomas O'Brien Vintage Modern pieces. Y'all are right -- you look at the store displays, and handles are falling off, edges are chipped, and pieces are held together with extra angle irons or just plain coming apart. I've never yet seen a TOVM furniture piece in good condition.

IKEA can keep store displays in one piece in that price range; Target can often do it with other lines. Why the sloppiness on this one?

Thomas O'Brian's non ghetto collection is sold by Hickory Chair. You can look at it on line, but to buy it you need to go through a decorator.