All Grown Up

There comes a time when a girl must graduate from her Ikea meets West Elm apartment to something a little more grown-up, a little more refined, a little more well, real. I for one have lived in about 4 rentals in Manhattan, the longest time spanning one year. Yes, I am the leasing equivalent of a bag lady, schlepping my goods around like a wandering nomad, spending loads on Target furniture every season only to have my drawers fall apart after month 2. Sadly, I’ve graduated college over 2 years ago. It’s time to grow up.

Although I haven’t matured enough to spend some real cash on real furniture that isn’t made of cardboard, I have found the perfect antidote for chic, elegant interior décor that will do until I make it to Green Street’s furniture row. Decoupage darling.

Decou-what? Decoupage, not to be confused with a woman’s décolleté, this is the art of decorating a surface with cutouts and finishing it with an enamel surface. Fashioned into decorative pieces like plates and paperweights, it’s the hottest thing in interior design right now, or so I hear. A mix between the old and new, your home is instantly fashionable and current with a decoupage piece subtly emanating elegance on your coffee table.

John Derian, the master of decoupage has been selling his wares at his lower east side store since last spring. When you first walk in, it feels as if you’ve found an indoor Secret Garden, chockfull of tiny candle lanterns “Handmade in Paris,” huge weirdly shaped hunks of raw sponge, pots with sprawling ivy oozing out and of course, lots and lots of decoupage. From ashtrays to paperweights and plates to huge framed centerpieces with cats, dogs, initials, street maps of Paris, cacti, insects, butterflies, skulls and of course the ever-popular coral, there is something for everyone’s taste. You just can’t leave empty-handed.

The ideal gift for a loved one or for even better, for yourself, I look at it as baby steps to becoming a real grown-up with real things.

Final Word: Now plates aren’t just meant for eating on, John Derian, 2nd Avenue and 2nd Street. www.johnderian.com