Shopping at Ainsworth-Noah

A few weeks ago, I spent a blissful hour wandering through the Ainsworth-Noah showroom at ADAC while pining over most of what I saw. (In case you're not familiar with them, Hal Ainsworth and Winton Noah founded their ADAC showroom years ago.) You see, I have never visited their showroom without finding something that I couldn't live without. I believe that what I'm most drawn to is the way in which they mix the new "stuff" with the old. They carry lines like Nancy Corzine, Jasper/Michael S. Smith, Ironies, Cameron Collection, and Vaughan, as well as fabric and wallpaper collections including Bennison, de Gournay, Victoria Hagan, Rose Tarlow, and Robert Kime, just to name a few. But amongst these collections you'll find a great antique lamp, old porcelain, or some other interesting piece that Hal and Winton have purchased during their travels abroad.

What's funny is that as I started writing this post, I realized that all of my photos summarize everything that I love in design: Chinoiserie; Greek Key; tortoise; painted furniture; blue and white porcelain; and the arrow motif. It seems that Hal and Winton are just as enthusiastic about these things as I!


I did not take photos of all of the amazing fabrics and wallcoverings that Ainsworth-Noah carry because that is a post in and of itself. Visit their showroom or website to see the full range of lines that they represent. Or, you can telephone them at (800) 669-3512.




A Chinese figure by John Rosselli. His female companion sits on the opposite side of the doorway.




These antique doors have graced the entryway of the showroom for years. The faux deer head is a nice touch.




Not just any obelisk, but one with decorative painting. This one is part of a pair.




This Ironies fixture is quite stunning.





An unusual quatrefoil mirror by Mclain Wiesand.






I have been visiting these Bagues sconces at Ainsworth-Noah for a few years now. I think they are some of the most beautiful sconces that I have ever seen.





I never met a faux tortoise that I didn't like. I'm crazy for this faux tortoise drinks table by Mclain Wiesand as well as their tortoise mirror.




Yet another crystal lamp that I want! I need! for my home.




What a charming antique painted bench. I think that more people should use painted furniture in their homes.






This stool caught my eye, perhaps because of those brass paw feet.




I couldn't resist taking a photo of this vintage table with arrow legs.




We all recognize this lemon basin set by P.E. Guerin. Inspired by a set once owned by Pauline de Rothschild, Charlotte Moss had Guerin reproduce the lemon set for use in the powder room at the late, great Townhouse.




You know I love a Greek Key, especially this Greek Key basin by P.E. Guerin.




An antique faux-marbre painted column cabinet. The door handle is a small metal hand holding a bar.





One of my very favorite things at Ainsworth-Noah: this de Gournay wallpaper. Is this stunning or is this stunning?!



Blue and white is always right.

All photos copyright The Peak of Chic/Jennifer Boles

A Professorial Dream Team

A few weeks ago, I attended Alexa Hampton's presentation on her new book, Alexa Hampton: The Language of Interior Design, at ADAC. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Alexa speak, you MUST go! She has to be one of the best speakers in the design business. Not only did I learn a great deal about both the language and the process of design, but I was thoroughly entertained as well.

In fact, I was thinking about Alexa's talk over the weekend, and it occurred to me that Alexa would make a very good design teacher. Her lectures are the kind that hold your attention. You won't find yourself doing the drifting off/head snapping thing. If Alexa taught design classes, then I just might consider going back to school. Maybe I should even start my own college- The Peak of Chic University.

Who else would I like to see teach class at PoC U?




Adam Lewis, most definitely. I attended his lecture on Billy Baldwin last Fall, and he too is a terrific speaker. I would want Adam to teach a class on 20th century American design. After all, the man has written the definitive books on Van Day Truex, Albert Hadley, and Billy Baldwin, and we can't forget The Great Lady Decorators. I have a feeling that Adam would end up as my advisor as well.






Of course Charlotte Moss is absolutely qualified to lead a course on anything design related, but I would want to see her teaching a semester long seminar on "Women in Design History". This would be right up her alley- and mine, too. And seeing that she owns antiques once belonging to the greats like Madeleine Castaing and Nancy Lancaster, perhaps she might be convinced to lead the class on a field trip to her home to see the pieces firsthand.






Mitchell Owens would be allowed and encouraged to teach about anything that he wanted to because what doesn't he know about design history, 20th c. culture, and the arts? What about something like "Great Aesthetes of the Past"?






In my opinion, no study of interior design would be complete without a survey of the decorative arts. Who better to teach this than Florence de Dampierre? Course study might include such topics as Chairs, Painted Furniture, and of course, Walls.






Emily Evans Eerdmans would just have to be on staff! Emily has range, and, like me, she has an appreciation of the not quite so high-brow side to design history. With her knowledge and expertise, she should lecture on proper subjects like English Antiques, Country Piles, or maybe the Empire Style. But then she would have to teach an elective that was rather salacious like "John Woolf and his Woolf Pack". (Google it if you're not quite sure what that class would be about.)







And last but certainly not least, David Netto. Of course, his looks help (weren't those 8am college classes made just a bit easier when the professor was handsome?), but in case you're not reading the terrific new WSJ magazine, then you don't know just how much design history and knowledge is packed into that brain of his. He really knows his stuff. I also recently read somewhere that he is inspired by the 1930s (me too! me too!), so he would have to get first crack at teaching a class on that era. I also see him leading tutorials on hip Euro designers of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Do you think that might be too cool for school?

A Conversation with Charlotte Moss

While Charlotte Moss was in Atlanta last month, I had the chance to spend an afternoon with her touring the Atlanta Decorators Show House and chatting about design, show houses, inspiration, the design process, and her latest book. In fact, I had so much to ask Charlotte and she had so much to share that our conversation was taped for a podcast. Charlotte's show house rooms are some of my very favorites, so it was a real treat for me to be able to sit down and learn more about how Charlotte works her magic to create such inspiring rooms.

I do hope that you'll listen to the podcast below as I think the conversation expands upon many of the themes in her latest book, Charlotte Moss Decorates: The Art of Creating Elegant and Inspired Rooms. And if you're in Atlanta this Wednesday, May 18, be sure to stop by Mrs. Howard for Charlotte's book signing event. Charlotte will be signing books from 5 to 7pm. Hope to see you there!

For more information on the book signing or to RSVP, please email lkennelly@jmhoward.net.

Color Inspiration

Last week, I attended a luncheon at which Charlotte Moss was the guest speaker. If you've read any of her books, you know that Charlotte finds inspiration in almost everything: travel, architecture, books, flowers, fashion. It was interesting to learn what sparks her imagination and how that spark might manifest itself in a later design project. Take, for example, Madeleine Castaing's pink and black bathroom (at top). Charlotte has long been a devotee of Castaing, and the particular color combination used by Castaing intrigued Charlotte- so much so that Charlotte later used a pink and black color scheme for her table setting that was photographed for At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table. You can see that Charlotte chose a pink cloth and napkins as a backdrop for her black basaltware. Very striking just as Castaing's bathroom was.

Inspiration can be a funny thing. There are times when we see a photo or a color combination, for example, and might actively find a way to incorporate it into whatever it is we're working on. But then there are times when inspiration can be more passive. You might be struck by the mood or feel of something, and only much later do you realize that that "thing" has found its way into one of your creations- maybe a piece of art if you're an artist, or perhaps a dress if you're a fashion designer, or even a table setting if you like to entertain. This not so "deep thought" occurred to me after Charlotte's lecture. When thinking about the Castaing influence on her Wedgwood table setting, I remembered this photo of the Maharaja of Jaipur, featured in The World in Vogue, that I first saw well over a year ago.




This image is all about dazzling color- vibrant pinks, oranges, blues, and golds. It's really quite magical. Every so often, I would pull the book from the shelf just to take a good look at the Maharaja and soak in the gorgeous setting. But you know, I never really thought too long and hard about the photo. I never made a concerted effort to strike up a room in a bevy of pinks and blues because that's not my style, nor did I ever think to write a blog post about this photo. I made no plans to do anything with what I saw. And then it dawned on me a few days ago- this photo has indeed had an effect on me, though I never realized it. I now believe that it inspired me to:



1) Buy these Rajasthan table linens by Le Jacquard Francais. My linen closet is filled with solid-colored hemstitch napkins and some Porthault here and there, but when I saw Rajasthan last Fall, I was so taken with the pinks and the oranges that I had to have them. The Maharaja never once crossed my mind while making this purchase, though. Or did he?





2) Arrange my books by color. Well, at least on one shelf. Now you know that I'm one of those people who will not arrange books by color. I have a system that works for me and organizing by color would mess that up. But on one shelf of books on fashion, I found myself stacking rows of pinks mixed with some reds. How did that happen? Maybe the photo had something to do with it?




3) Pull fabric samples that seem to fall in the pink, coral, orange, or peacock blue range. They tend to all be velvet, which isn't very Indian-like, but the colors certainly are. Now, where should I use this fabric???

Of course, there very well may have been other factors, and obviously I'm not the only person currently influenced by these particular colors. But, perhaps that photo of the Maharaja was the spark that I needed to branch out and experiment with a new color palette.


(Castaing image from The World of Madeleine Castaing; Wedgwood photo from At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table; Maharaja from The World in Vogue)

Charlotte Moss Decorates

Years ago, I read Charlotte Moss' Design Inspirations, Vol. 1, a terrific book which detailed four show house rooms created by the illustrious designer. The only problem was that after reading it, I wanted more. After all, Charlotte Moss' show house rooms are some of my very favorites. Her rooms at past Kips Bay show houses are legendary. Fortunately, Charlotte has a new book out, Charlotte Moss Decorates: The Art of Creating Elegant and Inspired Rooms, which features more of her show house designs as well as a few other projects. As I had hoped, this book is chock full of inspiration.

One of the things that I so enjoy about Charlotte's work is her attention to detail as well as her skill at layering, both of which are very much evident in this book. Each chapter focuses on a different room and the story behind that room. These stories are told through the book's engaging text (Mitchell Owens worked with Charlotte on the text; talk about the dynamic duo!), photographs, and scrapbook collages that Charlotte created for each project. Charlotte's collages include all kinds of inspirational material such as photos, drawings, quotations, even snippets of textiles. They give the reader such insight into Charlotte's creative and educated way of approaching design. And finally, each chapter ends with a recap of lessons learned from each room, but they're presented to the reader like a Diana Vreeland "Why Don't You" column. How fun is that?!

So, Why Don't You...check out this new book. I think you'll be as charmed with it as I was.

A scrapbook collage that tells the story of a sitting room that Charlotte designed for the 2009 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. This space was imagined for a husband and wife who were well-read and well-traveled.

The vestibule off of the sitting room at the 2009 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Charlotte curtained this space in a magenta Michael Devine fabric. Note too the Van Day Truex drawings.

A room at the 2005 Southampton Designer Show House. The color scheme here consisted of Creamsicle colors. I think that I may have also been drawn to this room because of the dog bed in the corner. Adorable.

Two detail photos of Charlotte's 2006 Kips Bay Show House bedroom. The second photo is a perfect example of Charlotte's eye for gracious details.

All images © CHARLOTTE MOSS DECORATES, Rizzoli New York, 2011. Cover image and photographs #3, #5, and #6 by Pieter Estersohn; collage photo by Charlotte Moss; image #4 by photographer Eric Striffler.