Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Smitten | Jil Sander Fall 2012

Raf Simons' final show for the house of Jil Sanders proved that he is, quite simply, one of the world's very best designers.  This collection is minimalism at its finest.  There are no patterns just solid textiles in subtle hues that emphasize intricately constructed separates that have an unmistakable air of midcentury couture—a stark contrast to the romantic bouquets that filled the runway.  My favorite piece?  It's hard to choose just one...I love those luxurious double-face coats, the structured navy dress and the elegant strappy high heels that add a dash of fluo to an otherwise neutral palette.
Do you have a favorite fall collection?
 
(Images via Style.com)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Art | Massimo Listri

While searching for black and white floor inspiration I came across this image by Italian photographer Massimo Listri and something about really seemed to suck me in.  A horse hanging from the ceiling of the Castello di Rivilo museum in Torino, Italy?  I needed to find out more.  Upon further investigation I found that the horse was not hung by Listri but was in fact an art installation by New York artist Maurizio Cattelan

"Novecento, one of his most renowned works, is an unusual still life – a taxidermic horse suspended from the ceiling by leather slings. The horse’s legs are strangely elongated, as if gravity had stretched them downwards. This work makes reference to the 1976 film 1900 (pronounced Novecento in Italian) in which director Bernardo Bertolucci explores Italy’s painful passage to modernity."

I feel like taxidermy has been popping up in a lot of interiors lately (ie Ryan Korban's apartment blogged about here), so I have to ask, would you buy this piece?

Monday, February 27, 2012

My Weekend in Pictures

 Since posting about this bull a few weeks ago I just couldn't stop thinking about it.  Strange, I know but I needed it and
now it's mine, all mine!
While at the bull store I spotted this beautiful collection of vintage mercury glass candlesticks and vases.
I'm thinking about buying this bottle and having it made into a lamp.

 I added this piece I bought at the Broadway Antique Market to the gallery wall above my sofa
and rearranged the bookcase my parents bought me for my Birthday.
Speaking of camel back sofas...I found this one at the Brown Elephant for $50!  Any takers?
On Sunday I went to the bookstore to buy the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy (I'm hooked!) and this chic room on the cover of Elle Decoration caught my attention.  Beni Ouarain rugs (blogged about here) seem to be popping up all over the place.
While there I picked up Jeffrey Bilhuber's new book, The Way Home.  The orange chairs on the cover  drew me in – they look almost identical to this pair I saw at an auction last week...
And, of course, it wouldn't be a complete weekend without snapping a picture of this cutie!  How was your weekend?

SIDE NOTE:  Sending lots of love to Erin of Apartment 34 – thank you for including me in your Noteworthy Newbies list this week!!

Friday, February 24, 2012

L.A. Getaway

On a bit of a home tour kick this week, but can you blame me?  Print magazines have been off to a great start this year and have been publishing some of the most beautiful homes I've seen in a long time; Brooke Shields, Windsor Smith and Tory Burch to name a few. And speaking of Tory Burch, today I bring you her architect and designer Daniel Romualdez's winter getaway. 
Since 1993 Daniel has been creating chic and sophisticated residences for dream clients like Tory Burch and Aerin Lauder.  Can you even imagine?  What I love most about Romualdez's work is that every interior is one-of-a-kind, he is not someone with a signature style.  I mean, could his 1950s Beverly Hills home, pictured above, be any more different than Tory's sprawling East Coast estate?  The only similarity that I can find between the two is the pair of John Dickinson lamps and that's exactly what piques my curiosity!  Daniel's home, like his other designs, is unique and steers clear of cliché.  There are no Mies van der Rohe chairs or other expected choices to be had in this modern abode–he counters the hard edges of the architecture with soft upholstery and whimsical accessories like the killer Lalanne sheep (one day I will own one!).  It's definitely the kind of home that I would love to call my winter getaway.  How about you?

(Images Roger Davies for Architectural Digest January 2012)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Tory Burch's Southampton Home

I'd been itching to see Tory Burch's southampton home ever since I read about it on Page Six so you can imagine my delight when I picked up the March issue of Vogue and saw this Gatsby-like estate staring at me. Burch worked with two friends, her longtime collaborator, architect and designer Daniel Romualdez, and decorator Eve Hood to create an interior that is filled with an eclectic mix of seventies Karl Springer and John Dickinson, contemporary Garrison Rousseau, hand-blocked Fortuny cottons, and Pottery Barn sisal rugs.  The home is everything you’d expect - grand, refined, sophisticated and chic!
Black-and-white marble-tiled floors always makes for a grand entrance.
The living room/former ballroom is not quite my style but oh the things I would do for that pair of John Dickinson lamps!
The solarium is my favorite room.  The woven chairs, hand-blocked linens and blue and white porcelain scream Oscar de la Renta.  Actually, the entire home has a very Oscar feel to it, don't you think? 
The dinning room walls were transformed by Paris-based wallpaper designers Iksel -- they created custom panels based on Persian Iznik tiles that complement Burch’s collection of Imari porcelain.
This bedroom, upholstered in floral Colefax and Fowler Alicia linen, looks very similar to this dressing room in Oscar's Connecticut home.
A table in the poolhouse dining rotunda is set with D. Porthault linens and Mottahedeh Tobacco Leaf china.  According to the article (read it here) the house has it's own flower-arranging room and an embarrassment of original linen closets filled with overabundance of D. Porthault linens...can you even imagine?  le sigh!
(Images by Norman Jean Roy for Vogue)

The Camel is Back

I just can't stop thinking about this gorgeous room by Windsor Smith. The grasscloth wallpaper, black framed windows, ornately carved octagonal cocktail tablePierre Frey Malawi pillows, polished silver and plethora of blue and white porcelain all work together to create a room that is cozy yet sophisticated BUT it's the camel back sofa that has has me seriously smitten!  The words camel back sofa usually stir up visions of nursing home lobbies but this, this camel back is different.  I'm a true believer that the right fabric can completely transform a piece and the vibrant turquoise embroidery has done just that.
I usually stick to sold fabrics for large pieces of upholstery but I think the image above confirms my belief that great, timeless furniture (even a patterned piece) can be versatile and can move around your home depending on your needs or vision at the time.  Windsor Smith's home has been published several times and despite using many of the same pieces from her diverse collection of furniture the outcome never looks the same.  I much prefer the sofa in the grasscloth-covered room where it's the star of the show but what do you think?  Doesn't this make you want to go buy that camel back sofa you've been passing up at your local thrift store or on ebay and reinvent it with a vibrant vintage fabric à la Windsor Smith?

Monday, February 20, 2012

My Weekend in Pictures

It was a lovely weekend filled with family, friends, celebrations and a little shopping. 
 On Saturday afternoon I walked over to the new BHLDN store on Walton street...clearly I was more interested in the décor
than the merchandise!
The shop resembles a 19th-century European townhouse with tall ceilings, a spiral staircase, beautiful walnut floors, vintage rugs, and tons unlacquered brass...I mean, I'm moving in!
On my way home I stopped in Chicago interior designer Alessandra Branca's recently remodeled store.  It's a beautifully curated collection of antiques and smaller accessories. 
I found this cute little tortoise mirror at the Leslie Hindman Market Place auction open house.
I kind of fell in love with all the floral prints for Spring -- these shorts take me back to my floral Dr. Marten days (please tell me someone else had these?!?)
On Sunday I went out to brunch with my girlfriends (Happy Birthday Marion, Caitlin and Liz!!) then spent the rest of the day curled up on my sofa reading The Hunger Games.  How was your weekend?

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Runway to Room | J.Crew + Steven Gambrel

Offbeat, mix-and-match layering, loads of saturated hues, classic prints and scrumptious textures – I can’t help but notice the similarities between the looks in J. Crew’s Fall presentation and designer Steven Gambrel’s interiors.  J.Crew's head designer Tom Mora, who was inspired by photographer Irving Penn, perfected the brand's classic eclectic-preppy aesthetic and created a plethora of perfectly tailored pants that rival Gambrel's line of custom upholstery.  These looks have me praying that Jenna Lyons' interior obsessions and dreams of a J.Crew home line come true!