Friday, October 25, 2013

Love: Trendspotting at Highpoint Market

No, I'm not there - wah...But I've culled the recurring trends posted by official style spotters and what follows seems to be the consensus of the taste-makers: lots of Chinoiserie, organic accents, bits of acrylic, white painted wood, geometrics, saturated colors and mineral inspired finishes...feast below..
























Images: Pinterest

Friday, October 18, 2013

Need: A Little Wallpaper...

...because paint can't do it all; sometimes you need a little dimension or pattern. Materials science didn't ignore the wallpaper industry and the offerings now can simply amaze...from metallic grasscloths, mica crusted, studded geometrics and stripes, embossed or thermoplated, it's worth a trip in to see what's new. Think about using on a ceiling (gilded in a dining room?), a bold print in the powder room or inside a closet - a sampling from vendors websites below...



These three from British company Hackney

love the raccoon with a book!

Moroccan inspired - sigh



Inset mirrors come alive at night

Classic mural for dining room




Beachy stripe does what paint couldn't...

Old school silk on paper is fabulous in a bedroom

Raised ink gives the appearance of nailheads

Instant cheer

Animal print or waves; perfect choice


Images:Hackney,York,Phillip Jeffries, Anna French, Thibaut

Friday, October 11, 2013

Love: (Mostly Past) Masters of Timeless Design

I love rooms that defy a time-stamp; that look lovingly collected with a discerning eye and reflect a unique personality... here are some of my favorites from design icons...



Note pillows with writing and banquette by fireplace (a treatment which Billy Baldwin used freely)

From Dorothy Draper: a design doyenne from the 1940's on

Recognize this?

Minimalist studio for the single girl - and pink on the ceiling, too!

Billy Baldwin - 30's through 70's - love, love, love

Baldwin's studio apartment with signature brass shelving, chocolate walls and slipcovers
Love his mix of formal and comfy; slipper chair another Baldwin hallmark

Albert Hadley - late 50's on

Hadley library in the 90's


His NYC home

A 1983 room by Hadley

Hadley in this century


Moroccan inspired room by Hadley in the 70's; still fresh


Sister Parish (nickname, not the nunnery) had a 60 year career; thirty of them partnered with Albert Hadley

Yellow Oval Room done for JFK 

Layers of undertones a hallmark of Parish

Carlton Varney - the 70's; still active as Owner/Pres. of Dorothy Draper & Co.

An 80's room; note the antler cocktail table

Bill Blass: a style icon from the Fifties on; while his trade was wearable fashions, he loved interior decorating - his mantra was "only use what you love"

His neo-classic NYC pied d'terre

His Connecticut home

Detail of living room
Images:ElleDecor,housebeautiful,architecturaldigest,habituallychic,markdikes,nottinghillinteriors,kravetnews,interiorcanvas,jhu.edu,tobifairley