A New Bohemian Vignette

Earlier this summer, I was asked by Lauren Ralph Lauren and Bloomingdale's to participate in a marketing campaign to celebrate the new Fall 2011 Lauren Home bedding collections. Michelle Adams, Marisa Marcantonio, Eddie Ross, and I were each assigned one of the new bedding ensembles and given the task of styling a room using the selected bedding along with furniture and accessories by both Ralph Lauren and Lauren Home. The results were photographed for a feature article that will be published in the upcoming Bloomingdale's September Home Book.

The bedding that Lauren Home chose for me was "New Bohemian", a collection that includes leopard print sheets, paisley duvet and pillow shams, and black and purple accent pieces. I was also assigned a Queen-size Brook Street Bed as well as the Brook Street Chest, a black piece with faux-croc drawer fronts and very cool antiqued silver pulls. (It looks terrific in person.) I also selected a few accessories from their line, including a lamp, crystal barware, and a jewelry box.

After I was told that I was to style the "New Bohemian" collection, I really debated about how far to take the eclectic look. As you have probably figured out by now, the words "bohemian" and "eclectic" have never been used to describe me. Ultimately, I decided to create a space that reflected my personal style. Of course, I also wanted the vignette to tell a story, so I decorated the room to look as though I was preparing for a formal night out on the town, hence my use of an evening dress, jacket, opera glasses, and a flute of champagne. I pulled in accent furniture from my home, artwork that hangs on my walls, and accessories that are usually scattered throughout my apartment. I think (or at least I hope) that the result is a refined sense of eclecticism.

The shoot took place in a private home here in Atlanta, and I had such fun decorating and styling my space. The people at Ralph Lauren even styled me with an outfit as well as a pair of amazing shoes from their Fall collection. I often wear heels as high as this pair, though I will admit that ballet flats were worn while styling the space.




The vintage toffee leather screen, the corkscrew drinks table, the ballroom chair, and the brass bench at the foot of the bed were all pieces that I brought to the shoot. The black velvet and red plaid evening gown hanging from the screen is an early 1990s Ralph Lauren gown that I wore to a Christmas formal. I also hung a vintage Chinese table screen above the bed for interest. Of course, I couldn't resist bringing in books from my library to display on the small bench.





I peppered the space with paintings done by my sister. In this shot, we switched out my lucite lamp that was featured in the previous photo for this crystal Ralph Lauren lamp. The cream ceramic compote was a wedding gift given to my parents, and Lush Life created a stunning arrangement of succulents for it.




What I would give for that gorgeous Ralph Lauren shagreen jewelry box! I added a few of my necklaces to it. The small silver plated pail was once a Ralph Lauren candle votive that I bought from Owen Lawrence. I usually keep it on my bar to hold swizzle sticks, but here I added dark purple Lilies and green Hydrangea to it.





The Broughton champagne flute and Niles nut bowl are both by Ralph Lauren Home and were borrowed for the shoot.






My Chinese Bird book about which I've written before was placed on the floor. A Ralph Lauren Home Warren standing magnifier rests on top.