Design Public

Every so often I receive these big tempting catalogs called “Neiman Marcus: The Book.” As an added bonus, there is often a copy of INCIRCLE entree*. The only times I ever yearn to be rich are when the Hartsfield-Jackson security line for serfs like me is endless and I long for my own jet, and when I flip through entree.

This photo was taken by Kevin Garrett, who scouted out the best places to stay in South Africa for the magazine. It is the lobby of The Saxon Boutique Hotel in South Africa. I love the way the baskets are composed, and the color and texture they give to the wall; texture tells the whole story in this room.  It seems very Vicente Wolf, whether it be something that would inspire him or something he would design. 17-hour flight in coach or not, I have been dreaming of going to this place ever since I read his article.

In fact, I couldn’t help but thing of  the Kelly Wearstler Santa Monica Viceroy Hollywood Regency version of adding texture to a wall with “native” round objects.  She keeps her color palette neutral (albeit what I call “Wearstler-crisp”) as well:

photo one by Kevin Garrett for Neiman Marcus INCIRCLE entree

photo two from KWID.com

*I can’t for the life of me figure out how to put the little thingee over the second “e” in entree. I can’t for the life of me remember what the thingee is called. Is it a tilde? I took Latin and Spanish, not French!  And “Intro to BASIC” instead of “Intro to HTML” or “Typing for Dummies”.

For a lot of designers, writing is a lost art. People have become lost in archispeak and are unable to describe a room or tell a story. This week I’ve been thoroughly enjoying a delicious memoir written by one of the best known decorators of this century: Billy Baldwin Remembers. I’m kind of kicking myself right now because it starts on amazon for about $10, and I paid $45 at that unfriendly Savannah book store, but it was worth it. You are a fool if you don’t hop over there (the title’s the link) and scoop this one up right now.

The book starts with some of Baldwin’s early inspirations and experiences. He describes the “stars in his crown;” iconic ladies of style like Nan Kempner, Babe Paley, Diana Vreeland, Jackie O. and even Garbo. Even better, he dishes the dirt about clients from hell, their peculiar habits, bad taste, lack of manners, bizarre requests and overinflated self importance. (more…)

Just checking in with a little vintage inspiration. I’ve had this issue of H&G sitting out in my guestroom for awhile. The cover is so fantastic. It reminds me so much of Dorothy Draper and Kate Spade style. This issue is from May 1965. I am having deja-blog because I feel sure I must have shared this one with you before, but I just did a search and don’t see it in the archives.

There is another great article in here called “Same Space: Two Kitchens.” I should totally cut it out and send it to Susan Serra, I know she’d get a kick out of the kitchen organization and spatial issues and how they were addressed in 1965. My favorite part are the following two images. I will always be a sucker for a black and white checkerboard floor; it will NEVER go out of style with me. Neither will pop floral prints. Also, these colored square-ish cabinets are so fantastic. With a few tweaks, the blue kitchen could be a wonderful IKEA display room today.

Last Thursday I was out at one of my favorite shops, Armour and Co., and my parents very generously bought me Albert Hadley: The Story of America’s Preeminent Designer by Adam Lewis.  This book is pricey (though you can pick it up at amazon for about $40 right now), but it is one every interior design book collection must have.  The sketches, prints, and photographs are absolutely amazing, and the stories told by Hadley to Lewis are charming.  One of the most amazing things about Hadley’s work is that it is so classic and timeless.  The only giveaways that date the photos of the older rooms are a grainy quality of print or an outdated television set.   The man does love to throw in a zebra rug wherever possible, but he makes it work!

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I rarely venture over to Buckhead. The traffic sucks. Usually Jeffrey (formerly Bob Ellis, by FAR the best shoe and accessory boutique in the country) and the Neiman Marcus Last Call sale (starts today! 65% off) are the only reason I will sit in the horrible traffic of Piedmont, Lenox, and or Peachtree. However, a quest for a nickel lamp from Circa Lighting (that store rocks!) sent me sailing right past Pieces, the store I’ve been hearing so much about for years. The first time was in Cottage Living (green bungalow bedroom below). It was everything I thought it would be and more.

The owner, Lee Kleinhelter, has exquisite taste - everything in the store was perfection, from Hollywood Regency light fixtures to vintage bamboo sofas painted bright yellow, from fabulous custom driftwood mirrors to Hable Construction fabrics showcased in the best way possible. Do you pay for Lee’s amazing eye? Big time! But if you are not a thrifter or a do-it-yourselfer-fixer-of-furniture-upper, Lee has it all figured out for you. I saw dashes of Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Dorothy Draper, Billy Baldwin and David Hicks all rolled into Lee’s unique style. There are also great affordable gifts, including preppy dog collars, Adler and Hable Construction accessories and a nicely edited selection of design books. If you are ever in Atlanta, Pieces is worth braving the Buckhead traffic. Plus it’s in very close proximity to Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, ShopSCAD, DWR, Circa Lighting, and a slew of other great design shopping.

Most recent glossy spotting of Lee’s work, as seen in Cottage Living Nov. 2007:

horse lamp available at Piecesinc.com (click on photo for purchasing information)

second photo by Timothy Street-Porter for Cottage Living

third photo by Robbie Caponetto for Cottage Living

Briefly, I just wanted to go over just a few of the design styles and designers who had a great influence the past year. We love to track trends and trendsetters, and this group of both kept coming up over and over again whenever I was trying to post. Yes, we are leaving out a ridiculous number of hits and hitmakers, but hey, I want to get this out before 2008, so this is it. As I started to try and name trends and think of style names, I realized that it seems like we are almost running out of catchy combinations to characterize design. As a matter of fact…I’m back in love with The New York Times again, just a week after they annoyed me. Julie Scelfo’s article last week called “Marketing Decor for a Conflicted Era” really nails everything that’s going on in design, by simply discussing the problem of trying to find nomenclature for styles that are designed to defy tradition. Scelfo asks the question of “how to stand out when rebellion has become the rule?”

How indeed. This year was ruled by eclecticism. When everyone is eclectic, is it still eclectic? Or does that make the thing that used to be banal and traditional the new eclectic, since it stands out in a quirky way from all of the formerly quirky eclectic stuff. It’s kind of like going to the bike messenger bar 97 Estoria, where every girl there has the same shade of fakey maroonish-auburn hair I have personally dubbed “alternachick red.” Is it alternative if everyone you know has the same color? Have we overused different adjectives put together with “classicism” or “traditional” or “modern” so much that it’s been done to death? (more…)

I like to pick up a different design book every few days to get inspiration. This week I’ve been re-reading David Hicks: Designer by Ashley Hicks. I thought I’d share a few favorite images from this book:

When I saw the bathroom pictured above, I immediately thought of this Jonathan Adler bathroom:

One can see the influence of David Hicks precedents in these other Adler designs, in my opinion:

*All Hicks photos (the top three), from David Hicks: Designer, by Ashley Hicks

*All Adler photos from Jonathanadler.com

Even if you are not one of the few couture mavens lucky enough to get a private tour of Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment, you can tour it on the web. As part of their new Mademoiselle launch, Chanel has released a film called “The Apartment,” starring Kiera Knightly. Check it out here. You can scroll around and find out more about the details in the apartment tour portion. I took a sneak peak earlier this week and it’s definitely worth the online trip!

screenshots from Chanel’s film, “The Apartment.”

Have you checked out Vanessa De Vargas’s post at Turquoise about the showhouse she and her pal Jordan Cappella re-decorated? It is absolutely sumptuous! The house is Jennifer Siegel’s OMD Showhouse, a 12′x 60′ pre-fab, portable house the currently sits on Abbot Kinney in Venice California. Thanks to Vanessa and Jordan, it is full of genius interior design moves.

Here is the house heading over to its temporary foundation:

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