Architectural Digest February 2014 Highlights

 

Julianna aka The Good Wife has her home featured this month.

That show is probably going to cause a lot of disappointment for all those kids wanting to be lawyers thinking they are going to overturn death penalties in a week or so.

Remember LA Law? 

That show was a huge factor I went to law school!

 

This book looks like a great gift for someone or self 

for a gardening or history enthusiast.

Isn't it funny that with the invention of the kindle the publishing industry is upping their game with coffee table books?  

Quite a good silver lining IMHO.

 

Good thing showrooms like this aren't commonplace or people would get so swept away they would just buy the whole room!

Brunschwig & Fils have also revamped their showroom.

It seems that companies are perhaps catering for men 

who can't always see the end product? ;)

Sometimes you just need to see a product finished.

We can't always rely on Pinterest for everything right?

These were some of the objects that AD put on their shopping list. 

For us that is.

Chartreuse is the marmite of colors no?

But I love a statement chair.

I adore these vases as I love glassware.  

I am thinking to take a glass blowing course soon.

January 2014 Instagramy Post

As January's go in the northern hemisphere, it hasn't been too bad.

The BBC usually features a program about Brits wanting to move 
to either Australia or New Zealand only making us question 
why we live here!

A dear friend of mine left London so we had a drink to say bid each other well until the next time we see each other. But before drinks we hit Selfridges and see all the people in front of Chanel?
That was the queue to get in and Chanel wasn't even on sale.
  Some recession eh?

Speaking of shopping, I nabbed a bargain at the auctions again.

I love a screen and got this one

 for the same amount you would buy one at Ikea.

The fabric on both sides is lovely but needs a good clean. 

I am not sure the fabric will survive as it looks about 80 years old so I shall see if I can rescue as is or get new fabric.

House Beautiful December /January 2014

There was a combined December / January issue of House Beautiful so I thought I would just share for you to browse over the weekend.

Hate the thought of it going to waste!

Huge fan of Kate Ridder here.

So I was happy to see she is a fan of 

Farrow and Ball's Pale Powder paint.

I am going to be using that on the walls of my kitchen.

Sam Allen was discovered partly with Martha Stewart's help.

He was featured in the NY Times as a wunderkind 

and seems to be flourishing.

Perhaps peaking too early is only dangerous for Disney stars.

Kermit Oliver - Painter and Hermes' only American scarf designer

Some of you may know that I like to collect Hermes Scarves.

I do have my favorites and I will do future posts on them.

But there is one designer that I admire and am intrigued about.

One of the few photographs of Kermit Oliver Via

His name is Kermit Oliver.
He is the only designer from the United States 
to have been hired by Hermes which is an accolade in itself.



Scarf collectors and Oliver fans are all awaiting the release of his latest design for the Spring Summer 2014 scarf collection.
This will be his 17th design for the French design house.

Some of his previoius designs.
Please click here to see his full past range.

He is known to design based on themes of "Americana."

London's East End Walkabout in Shoreditch

Like most cities, London is divided into sectors.

Oh don't you know North London / I ain't buvered.com Saaf London

Hooray darling West London / Innit do luv East End

But slowly these boundaries are being blurred.

I am not a born and bred Londoner.
But I do have loyalties like one does for football teams.  
Fierce but meaningless.
I came as a tourist so I still cling on by living near the the sights.
 I have been east of Holborn Station fewer times 
than I have been to Paris.

And yet now the East End has blossomed.

And yes even that word bandied about all over town - gentrified.

It has become the new "downtown".
Even looks the part.

Having never been stylish, 
I refused to partake of the scene in uber trendy Shoreditch.
In fact I must be one of the only people who couldn't be bothered to check out the Shoreditch branch of Soho House.
( I told you I wasn't cool.)

Elle Decor January 2014 Part 2

I always like browsing through the "Top 10" series in Elle Decor.

It goes through different styles and budgets and is a pretty good reference guide.

Ellie Cullman and Richard Shapiro also 

know what they are talking about.

I think if I ever did get this long double cocktail tray table 

( proper name for it ) someone would surely break it 

mistaking it for a bench.

This set of three tray tables is fair value.

Looks well made, simple lines, and decorative too.

I adore this bone and brass inlay tray table!

I have such a brass fetish at the moment.

I would love to get it but I am equally torn by this 

Bottega Veneta leather and steel tray table.

If it was brass and leather I would have gone even more bonkers.

The price point of this Fornasetti tray table confuses me because they are normally super expensive but for them this item is almost on the low side.  So if you are a fan of theirs, you should consider this which is almost the same price as one of their plates.

Elle Decor January 2014 Part 1

I do like an "international" issue.

Otherwise it ends up consisting mostly of Californian beach houses that most of us can't really relate to 

or poach any ideas to translate into our homes.

I love lucite.  

I never tire of it. But one does need to ration its use otherwise I have noticed it tends to look a bit gimmicky.

Who doesn't like Cartier?

They do have lasting workmanship and 

their objects get better with age and never date.

If you are in Paris, you should go to the exhibition at the 

Grand Palais that is until mid February.

I like the clean lines and neutral but defined palette of Tomas Maier.
Been a fan of his for a long time.
Bottega Veneta is for me the Italian Hermes.

It seems to be a great backdrop for all the objects.

This store is like the Four Seasons of boutiques with that central pool.

I love how Manuel Canovas let the objects speak for themselves.

On the other hand, Charles P Rogers has changed the angle of the bed. 3/4 profile is the most flattering for all objects right?

On to the editorials.

Here is the token house by the water.

It's in Denmark where it seems everyone has great taste.

Is it me or am I just so brainwashed with watching so much 

Nordic Noir that I feel like this is a crime scene?  

Apologies to any Scandinavian readers but 

this is why the media is so powerful!

But watch either the Killing or the Bridge and I am telling you that everyone has the most stylish homes!

This house is very streamlined.

No room to leave any evidence behind.

( I really gotta stop that.)

Can't tell if it would belong to the crime suspect or the police investigator who is typically anti-social and OCD.

Concrete is cool but also very cold.

I couldn't have it in my house.

To change the tone, they featured a lovely renovated 19th century farmhouse in Normandy, France decorated by Franz Potisek.

It has lovely comfortable tones and nothing looks too forced.

I really appreciate the simple way the red paint frames 

otherwise ordinary shelves.  

I could imagine a yummy Sunday lunch here so it is a success.

Sometimes I think people forget that decor is not about 

the actual style sometimes but if the room evokes 

the purpose it is meant to serve.

I love how wallpaper just lifts this room to something 

so sleek and interesting.

By the way, you have to check out the wallpaper 

Heidi chose for her Adelaide Villa here.

Ditto for this otherwise ignored loft room.

If there is a room that you neglect due to an odd shape - 

wallpaper it!

The power of paint is shown once again in the garden. 

Interesting that even in the exterior areas that the rich dark highly pigmented colors are being used.

If there is one place I would love to move to for a year or so is Marrakech.

I love pretty much everything about that place.

I would love to buy a riad and do it up. 

But with different builders of course...

I did a lot of riad hopping and loved the various way of refurbishing them.  One thing that really surprises me is how well riads suit sleek modern styles.

I would probably not include a kitchen because 

the food is fabulous and so cheap there.

I know I said I wouldn't have concrete in my home but for some reason I could handle it with this combo of riad structure, 

ornate traditional features like the doors, and a Venetian mirror.

But the star of the riad is always the central courtyard that 

is one of my favourite types of gardens and outdoor spaces.

Part two tomorrow!