Paint me Beautiful!

Happy Monday! For your viewing pleasure I bring you the divine new haute couture collection by John Galliano for Christian Dior. Inspired by the illustrations of my favorite French fashion illustrator, René Gruau, the elaborate creations have a distinctly painterly feel.  Indeed some even have almost feather-like brushstrokes and pencil lines picked out in sequins. Even the hats are trompe l'oeil strokes of paint, soaring heavenward.  I think I'd feel like the most beautiful woman on earth in one of these ravishing frocks!

(Images via Style.com)

Want of the Day

I'm completely enamored with this cross-leg stool from the Nate Berkus HSN line.  I honestly can't believe it's only $120!  Although I don't  have room for one in my current apartment I'm seriously tempted to purchase two and keep them in storage.  Oh, Nate, you are too much sometimes.

J. Crew Goes Hollywood

The polished, Old Hollywood styling of the J. Crew Spring 2011 catalog has me yearning for a little more glamour in my life.  I mean, how great is this black + white image?  It makes me want to slip into a crisp, white shirt, tie a sweater around my neck and let the wind muck up my hair as I drive down the palm tree-lined streets of Beverly Hills.  I imagine it something like this...

I'd ride shot-gun in this...

then frolic like this...

...on my way to grab a few beverages at a patio like this...

and after all that fun I'd recover pool-side with a fabulous pair of cat-eye shades...

Just Peachy

My sister and I were recently discussing what colors best represent us.  If I had to choose a picture that pretty much summed up my colors this would me it - golds and orangy-pink tones (like the Agnona jacket Olivia is sporting).  This outfit is perfection.  I love how Miss Palermo incorporated a chic peachy blazer into her otherwise neutral, winter ensemble.  It's like adding a touch of spring!  This beautiful mix was perfected with an added pop of color via her mustard Kurt Geiger heels and her favorite Vintage Hermes clutch. Ah-mazing!  This would make for a lovely interior color scheme - don't you think?  Peach can be very, very chic especially when paired with neutrals.  The items below conjure up feelings of pure joy, no?

Wrap a decorative box with this beautiful Poppy paper from Paper Source

The Tangier Center Table by Baker Studio - I adore its coral-lacquer underside and it Middle Eastern look.  I envision this perched beneath an antique lantern in a stylish front hall or a small apartment dining area. 

Perfect for a vanity or coffee table, I love the lightness of papier-mâché in this peachy point vessel. A white exterior keeps things calm in this fun little object.

This Josef Albers Homage to the Square print has been in my inspiration folder for as long as I can remember.  The colors are almost identical to the ones in Olivia's outfit!  How's that for weird.  My dream is to own this limited-edition Josef Albers Hermes scarf but since that is very unlikely I will settle with a print - in a gold frame perhaps...

Winter Blues

It seems like everyone around me has a bad case of the Winter blues. I'm home sick, my boyfriend is devastated by the Bears lose and Pinkie, my pooch, refuses to go outside. With Christmas and New Year's both behind us, there isn't much left to look forward to this winter except for my dreaded 26th Birthday and the coming of spring. Technically, spring is a mere fifty-five days away, yet looking out my window I find that very hard to believe - there is not a glistening of energizing sunlight to be had.  But behold the power of paint... a bold, blue color palette gives designer Todd Romano’s pocket-size Manhattan studio big presence. Blue is contemplative, meditative and depending on the shade can be energizing (deep blues) or relaxing (pale blues). I hope these beautiful blue images make your week a little brighter.

Table for two: A 1960's French game table offers a modest dining surface.

A Jean Cocteau watercolor leans against the window.

Works by Josef Albers pop against the midnight-blue walls.

A Victor Vasarely print and a gilt hand sculpture by Pedro Friedeberg greet visitors in the entrance hall.

(images via Architectural Digest)

Smitten | The Coveted

The Coveted, a new website that launched today, is absolutely stunning!  The site gives readers a behind the scenes look at some of the most influential and recognized global tastemakers of our time.  First on the list? Harper's Bazaar Senior Fashion Market Editor Joanna Hillman.  The long blonde hair and perfect red pout are her signature but it's fun to see how she lives and the creative process behind her iconic look!

(photos by Jake Rosenberg)

California Citrus

 

As I mentioned before, my sister is engaged and has "hired" moi to plan her wedding.  While diligently doing my job and searching for inspiration I read about a florist shop in Brooklyn named Saipua. After reading about their inventive arrangements I swung by their site and was immediate taken back by this beauty!  The colors, the unexpected combination of fruit and flowers - this is honestly the loveliest arrangement I ever did see.   If Lauren has a Napa wedding this will be used...along with the burlap tablecloth.

Summer's Flowers...

I'm having a floral moment right now, and no bashful blooms, but strong, bold patterns. So imagine my delight when I saw this picture of Summer Thornton's super chic Lincoln Park office in the latest issue of CS Interiors.  The office features exposed brick walls with Designers Guild's bright, feminine Orangerie wallpaper.  Add in a stylish wicker chair and a chrome lamp and you have the perfect mix of pattern and texture.  I dream of one day decking out the walls, curtains and bedding in my guest room with an all-over floral print - it's granny chic, but I don't mind one bit.  Until then, I'm seriously tempted to bid on one of these floral still life paintings in today's Leslie Hindman Market Place auction....

 Here

Here

Design Hunter: Beehive Lamp

When I attended Thomas O'Brien's book signing at the Merchandise Mart last spring I made sure to ask him where he purchased the stunning lamp pictured above.  I kid you not, I have dreams about this lamp.  Knowing that Thomas loves antiques, I was hoping that it was made by a well known designer and that if I looked long and hard I would find it at an auction or better yet, on ebay.  No such luck.  It turns out this beautiful beehive was made from an old vase that he had gilded then wired to make a lamp.  Brilliant! 

My apartment lacks natural light so I'd love to have one of these perched next to my sofa by the end of the month.  In order to accomplish this goal I need to 1. Put my ebay search skills to good use and find a vase 2. Find a Chicago store that will gild the vase (any suggestions?!?) 3. Take the vase to A Lamp and Fixture Shoppe and have it retrofit 4.  Find the perfect shade... I've heard good things about The Lamp Shader.  So much to do, so little time.  Sigh.

Here's what I've found so far:

This white vase has a nice shape but is too small.

The ridges on this black vase look similar to Thomas' but I don't love the shape - a little too 90's modern.

I'll be incessantly on the hunt until I find the perfect match...cross your fingers for me!

A Pop of Color

If there was ever a collection of dresses that I wanted immediately, this would be the one. The Max Mara Elegante Spring 2011 ad campaign features the gorgeous Siri Tollerø donning the label’s soft, feminine and airy ensembles done in the perfect shades of pink, green and yellow.  Adding any one of these lovely hues to your home would surely rid it of the winter blues. I can only image how happy I would be if I woke every morning in the bedroom pictured above.  I'm loving the pop of the yellow headboard in this otherwise restrained room.  One of my current obsessions includes dark, cozy dens - the perfect winter escape.  So I'm loving this David Hicks designed room...the mood, the art, the color....pure perfection...

There is something about this femine frock (I love the bow!) that reminds me of this gorgeous bedroom by Artist Julian Schnabel.  How pretty are those curtains?  I love how the fuschia walls make the intense greens of Picasso's Femme au Chapeau look even more vibrant.

Grey Gardens

Truth be told, I had not heard of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, also named Edie until recently. However, I have been completely fascinated with their story ever since watching the HBO film Grey Gardens. If you are unfamiliar with the original documentary, it captures the isolated lives of two reclusive former socialites and relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who lived in Grey Gardens, a decaying mansion in East Hampton, New York.

In the HBO film, Grey Gardens was depicted as an interior dream layered with antiques, chinoiserie and color...in its heyday, of course.  Since there was no photographic evidence of what the house had looked like in the 1930s, set designer Kalina Ivanov's main goal was to create an environment that captured the Edies' bohemian spirit.  Having no pictures to work off, Kalina arrived at European Art Deco as the inspiration for Grey Gardens.  The whole house looked beautiful but my absolute favorite room was Big Edie's bedroom (pictured below).  From the blue buttoned headboard to the citron yellow chinoiserie wallpaper and the coordinating curtains...I love it all!  If you haven't seen the movie I suggest you rent it, watch it and love it!

The HBO dining room in 1936. I love the curtains, wallpaper and the fabulous red bamboo chairs.

The purple French Art Deco living room.

The master bedroom as imagined for Big Edie - my favorite room in the movie.  Notice the wonderful hand painted wallpaper and the painted French furniture.  So lovely!

The master dressing room.