Chic Inspiration

As I mentioned in my first Chateau de Groussay post, its decoration has inspired many interior designers.  Miles Redd based the design of the painted wood floor in an entry, above left, on the inlaid stone floor at Chateau de Groussay.  The entry is much smaller than the room at the chateau so the scale has been reduced.  I think they both look great!

Miles Blue, I Mean Redd

August marks the first full issue of Town & Country with Stephen Drucker at the helm and it looks like he's already off to a great start. Included in the issue is a fabulous, I mean ridiculously fabulous home that New York interior designer Miles Redd designed in Atlanta. These are just three of my favorite photos from the spread. I am dying over all the gorgeous shades of blue. If he keeps this up, he might have to change his name to Miles Blue instead of Redd! Definitely pick up a copy today!

Photos by Francesco Lagnese

A Fashionable Townhouse

The mood board that I posted yesterday with the Rothko painting reminded me of Allison Sarofim's amazing West Village townhouse. I just came across the article about it that I ripped out of the February 2004 issue of Vogue so it was perfect timing.

I was under the impression that David Netto had designed the entire townhouse but turns out that he just helped design the modern white basement room for watching movies and hanging out. Allison actually worked with her friend Miles Redd to design the other four floors of her townhouse. I also found out that the previous owner was model Linda Evangelista. So it really does seem like a great space to post on the first day of fashion week.

This photo of Allison gives you a better sense of the color of the living room. The entire home was inspired by many sources including by the de Menil house in her native Houston which was designed by Phillip Johnson in 1950. Another inspiration was the film Bell, Book and Candle which I have never seen but is going at the top of my queue now!

In the Vogue article by Hamish Bowles, Allison says, "my main objective was to create a subtle, clean-lined backdrop so that the artwork and interesting pieces of furniture would really pop." The living room color also matches the paint color of the walls of Marc Jacob's Paris apartment.

Allison originally trained as a chef so a lot of thought was put into the design of the kitchen and dining room. She also contributed to Domino magazine and acts on occasion. I couldn't find any good photos of the garden which was modeled after the garden courtyard at the Museum of Modern Art, right down to the Bertoia chairs.

I don't know why I was surprised that the interiors are so traditional but they way they are designed with less furniture and "stuff" make them very modern.

This room is one of the most simple but it's definitely my favorite. But then again, how can you go wrong with a room that contains a Twombly, a Vuillard, an antique daybed and a vellum table. I also love how the soft silk rug looks layered over the sisal carpet. It probably also feels great under your feet when you get up from a nap on the daybed!

Less is more in the office area as well.

The master bedroom was upholstered in soothing blue silk just like Allison's mother's bedroom.

I'm surprised I didn't realize Miles Redd had a hand in this home after I saw the mirror and marble bathroom!

I know furniture and art can be tricky in the bathroom because of the steam but I love treating them like the other rooms in the house by adding them in. You just might want to make sure they aren't priceless antiques and artwork!

The basement is where designer David Netto lent a hand. All the areas, including an extra bedroom are clean and white.

I just had to research screens and projectors for a project and I can tell you that they aren't cheap! But it would be fun to have a basement screening room to watch movies.

Even though the room is white, it's not boring since all the pieces are varying shades of white.

I like that the back walls looks like it's the original brick. The Chuck Close work isn't too shabby either.

The zebra rug and fur throw also help to warm up a white space that could end up looking very cold.

I wish I had the information about the artwork. If anyone knows who it's by, please let me know! Funny how the coffee table looks blue in this shot and clear in others too.

I don't usually like such modern looking rooms but I actually think it would be fun to hang out in this one, especially since the rest of the home is more traditional. I think it's also fun that they styled the room as an homage to Eileen Gray, below, for Domino. Since they are no longer around, I hope Vogue will continue to feature fabulous and fashionable homes like this one each month! Happy Fashion Week!

Design Inspiration

I had no idea that my Blue Christmas post would lead to a little chat with Dick Bories and James Shearron of Bories and Shearron, the architecture firm behind the renovation of the Fifth Avenue apartment that Miles Redd decorated. The entire apartment is featured in the December 2009 issue of Elle Decor but it was the library dining room that intrigued me most since the paneling was copied from Marie Antoinette's private mirrored Boudoir at the Petit Trianon since I had just visited this very place and room in September! (I took over 900 photos so I am still working on posting some of them.)

The couple who owns this apartment both have European connections and the wife specifically asked "that there be books in the dining room since it reminded her of the manor houses in France where she spent a lot of her childhood," according to Dick Bories. "We were thrilled to combine the two because there is no better wallpaper than books. I also lived in France for a time and found that they do, in fact, often eat in their libraries which create an amazing sound quality as the books absorb much of the sound." I wish this would become the new American tradition since many families don't even use their dining rooms and maybe if they served a dual purpose more would actually use them!

Bories mentioned that he was given a first edition of the book "The Petit Trianon Versailles" by James A. Arnott and John Wilson from 1929 by his firm partner James Shearron. "The two architects completely documented the inside, outside and gardens of this amazing pavilion. While flipping through, I noticed that the proportions of the Fifth Avenue dining room and the Boudoir were almost exactly the same! The room heights are within an inch of each other."

You can in my photo from the Boudoir or "cabinet des glaces mouvantes" that the mirrors can be lowered into the basement to completely block out the light and create a private area for Marie Antoinette to "nap" or have complete privacy. If you travel to Paris, I highly recommend a visit to Versailles! It was an amazing place and I can see how the architects could be very inspired by it's design!

Bories goes on to say, "I literally copied the scaled details of the mouldings and applied them to our room, without all the carving and gesso appliques of course. The mill worker simply imported my CAD drawings into their computer and had the knives cut from my details! Amazing technology today!" I love that the advanced technology can help to create architectural details that match those of the past since there aren't many artisans and craftsmen left to do it by hand!

"We copied the finish from original rooms that James saw as a child growing up in Lake Forest, Illinois in a couple of the beautiful David Adler houses from the 1930's. The finisher used bleach, a wire brush, light stain, and hand rubbed wax to get that dry 'thirsty' finish on the quarter sawn white oak. It's truly gorgeous in person." I can imagine! Especially since Dick says that the clients decided to forgo a chandelier instead opting for dinner by candlelight! It must be even more spectacular at Christmas too! Above is a detail of the door in the library and below is one of my photos from the Petit Trianon and you can see the detail.s are very similar, although the hardware is less opulent now!

I want to thank Dick Bories and James Shearron for this glimpse into this amazing project. I told James earlier that sometimes readers have no idea how much work goes into those pretty photos that they see in a magazine and this project took about a year from start to finish. It was such a pleasure to speak with them both since their passion for architecture and design is as inspiring to me as the Petit Trianon was to their design!

Photos: Miguel Flores-Viana for Elle Decor, Randall Bachner for Bories and Shearron, and Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Blue Christmas: Part Deux

It was the photos of the blue entry decorated for Christmas in the December 2009 issue of Elle Decor that had me thinking back to Aerin Lauder's blue Christmas. I love blue and white porcelain any time of year but I think it looks especially festive at the holidays.

Miles Redd, who can do not wrong in my opinion, designed the apartment and lacquered the walls in the entry Yves Klein blue. I couldn't help but also post a photo of the bar below. Cheers!

Photos by Miguel Flores-Vianna

Perfectly Pumpkin

Architect Gil Schafer's apartment in the West Village mixes orange and black but there is nothing scary about it! In fact, the burnt orange pumpkin color of the living room walls mixed with the espresso wool felt upholstered gallery walls and black scagliola mantle is positively divine! And then there are the Ionic columns and classical details that add to it's appeal and has me swooning. After he renovated the space, Mr. Schafer had a little help decorating it from his friend Miles Redd. Neither of them can do any wrong in my book and when I need an architect for my own home someday, I definitely know the first person I am going to call! Until then, these images are going into my orange wall color file! It's perfect!

Images from Gil Schafer

Let's Revisit Miles Redd

I'm heading out early today to the D&D Building to participate in the panel discussion, The Evolution of Design, at 9:00am so I thought I should you something to look at while I am away. I've been thinking about this apartment that Miles Redd decorated and thought it would be fun to revisit it. House Beautiful published it in the July 2009 issue but as I've mentioned before, I love to see the photos outside of the magazine and laid out as they would be in the apartment. Then you can get a sense of the flow and how the colors move throughout the space. The colors are fantastic and the lacquered walls in the living room are to die for.

Elle Decor asked a few women designers in the November 2009 issue questions including how they would advise someone starting out in the business. Charlotte Moss and Kelly Wearstler had similar responses while included among other things, train your eye by reading magazines, looking at books, going to museums, and traveling. I would like to suggest studying the work of designers you admire as well. Then ask yourself why do you like their work? What did they do that you would never have thought of? What colors did they mix the room or house? How did they arrange the furniture? As I've heard from my readers, a lot of them want to work in design but might not have the funds to go to school right now but there is a lot you can learn on your own for free from top designers!

So I leave you with this gorgeous apartment to ponder and peruse while I away all day. Please behave yourself and don't break anything. I don't want to have to come back and ground you! See you later!

Photos by Thomas Loof