Heavy Metal Accessories

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/garden/heavy-metal-accessories.html

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Kara Mann first became known for interiors with a subversive side when her former home in Chicago appeared in Metropolitan Home six years ago. “It was all dark, and it had a lot of Chrome Hearts pieces and Blackman Cruz skull lamps,” she said. “It was truly an expression of me. I don’t want things too pretty or too decorated — I like a twist.”

But as her profile rose, the interior designer felt she was being pigeonholed. “I got tagged as a Goth designer,” she said. Now, she insists, “Skulls are off-limits.”

Still, she maintains her affinity for dark colors, leather and heavy metal, all of which are easy to find on a shopping trip in Manhattan.

Ms. Mann’s first stop was Cristina Grajales Gallery in SoHo, where she was smitten with the Lampara de Lagrimas by Sebastian Errazuriz, a crystal chandelier populated with taxidermy birds. “I love the tension,” she said. “It’s this fancy fixture with something tongue-in-cheek. It makes me think of the Rolling Stones in France.”

She also liked a Loukoum table lamp by Christophe Côme, which was topped with a block of crystal that appeared to be melting. “It’s so strong and heavy,” she said. “But it also has a little bit of glam.”

An antique model of Monte Bianco quartz at De Vera had a similar appeal. Made from taped-together glass pieces, it was “bling in its crudest form,” Ms. Mann said.

At Ralph Pucci International in the Flatiron district, she admired a steel-and-leather hammock with a suede mattress by Jim Zivic. She envisioned it in “some big loft space, with a drum kit in the corner and a motorcycle you can ride around inside.”

A few blocks away, at Mantiques Modern, she discovered a muscular engine of a different sort: a polished 1930s Jacobs aircraft engine that formed the base of a table, with a glass top. “It could be a great center table,” she said, “with a crystal chandelier hanging over it for a twist.”

And from Chrome Hearts, she picked out a black leather beanbag chair with a pattern of stylized crosses. “I’ve been obsessed with this brand forever,” Ms. Mann said. As a high-end take on a piece of furniture commonly found in dorm rooms, she said, the beanbag acquired an entirely new attitude.

It was also the perfect color. “Every space,” she noted, “needs a little bit of black.”