Thoughts on Stripes

As my week has turned out to be a bit crazy, I decided to dispense with a lot of the chit chat and simply show some photos of big and bold striped walls. I think I first fell in love with stripes after seeing some old photos of Dorothy Draper's work (that woman certainly influenced me and legions of others!). I like stripes of all kinds, but particularly a wide stripe in a graphic color combination- think green and white, red and white, and of course black and white. Of course, with striped walls it's advisable to keep the rest of the room a bit simple. Too many prints fighting each other is guaranteed to give you a headache. That said, you can introduce some pattern into a striped room. Just look at Draper's florals and Redd's animal print below.



I have always adored Dorothy Draper's living room. Those bottle green stripes are beyond snappy! (Image courtesy of Condé Nast Archives)


A striped room by Anne Coyle. I love how the stripes are reflected in the mirrored cocktail table.


Miles Redd used one of his favorite striped fabrics for the walls of this living room. (I know, you've seen this room a million times before, but it's still gorgeous!)


How smashing is this bar in the home of designer Sam Blount? The black and white stripes mixed with red curtains and flowers is bold and snazzy.


My, oh my! Are these some stripes or what? Here, the stripes are railroaded rather than vertical. Although a bit too gutsy for my tastes, I just had to show you this photo. (Design by Melvin Dwork, whose work I do like!)

Photo at top: A Dorothy Draper designed room at the Arrowhead Springs resort. Unfortunately, I don't know if the stripes are pink and white or blue and white.

Pea Green with Envy

Lately, I've really been drawn to weird and unusual shades of green. Yes, it may not sound particularly appetizing, but shades like moss, loden, and pea green can be quite beautiful. Still need convincing? Well, for me, it was the room at top, designed by Mario Buatta, that made me reconsider green (usually not a favorite color of mine). Of course, the fact that Buatta covered the walls in mossy green velvet makes it a rather easy sell. I don't think I'm alone, because others were won over by Nick Olsen's room below (I'm crazy for Nick's room too, but I saw the Buatta one first).



What I've noticed, though, is that the designers who have used these odd shades tend to be quite creative in their use of it. Buatta and Carolina Irving have both chosen mossy and murky shades of green fabric to upholster walls. Miles Redd chose a lacquer finish for the olive colored walls in one of his projects. And designer Richard Adams did not hold back with his use of green- he painted the walls, upholstered the banquettes, and covered the lampshades in the same shade of green.

Bottom line- after years of bright, happy colors, maybe it's time to inject a little moodiness into our homes.

(Nick Olsen used Benjamin Moore's "Oregano" for his apartment. My friend Clinton Smith used "Kyoto Green" from Valspar in his guest room to great effect.)


A room by Miles Redd (photo from Southern Accents)


A sliver of a shot of Carolina Irving's entrance hall.


Living room of London designer Richard Adams

Covetable Pieces

How many times do you see something in a designer's home and think "That's perfect! Just what I've been looking for." As I wrote in a previous post, I say this often when I look at photos of Albert Hadley's homes. I want everything he has! But Hadley is not the only designer with a good eye. Here are some other pieces that I covet:


Markham Roberts designed these faux-horn etageres (which technically are not in his home, but you get the idea). They look like something Billy Baldwin might have used. I'll take two please!


I've admired this table, designed by Alexa Hampton, for years. It has a marble top; it's painted with a Greek Key- what's not to love?

This little shell encrusted turtle candlestick has been seen in many fashionable homes. Made in France and sold at one time through Hollyhock (sadly, I don't believe anymore), these turtles are examples of whimsy done right:


In the home of Joe Nye


And at Todd Romano's home


Don't forget about Christopher Spitzmiller's coffee table

And can anybody tell me where I can find one of these glazed urns? Miles Redd seems to use them in many of his projects, and all I know is that I want one!


In orange on Redd's bar


And in blue in Redd's old apartment

Miles Redd's Solution for Cramped Quarters

I recently came across "House Beautiful- Decorating Solutions for Small Spaces" at the bookstore, and what did I find inside? None other than the former apartment of Miles Redd. The 550 square foot apartment, located in the East Village, was absolutely tiny, and Miles was forced to create spaces that performed double duty. The bedroom, with its suspended bed, also served as a den; the living room acted as a dining room and office; and the bathtub was in the kitchen (covered with a slab of wood, it served as a cutting board). As you can see, the apartment is chocked full of objects, something which Miles said made his small space seem larger. And of course, his use of mirrors everywhere also helped the illusion that his home was more spacious than it really was. What I find most interesting, though, is how Miles' style has changed and matured over the years. Many of his treasures seen in this apartment now reside in Miles' more spacious, and more formal, townhouse. The seeds of his glamorous style are visible here, but what I think you see in his current home is a more mature and tightly edited version of it.

Half of the living room, with the other half below




The bedroom/den/library


The bathtub in the kitchen, and a view of the bedroom dresser

(All photos courtesy of House Beautiful Decorating Solutions for Small Spaces)

Captivating Color

Continuing with the color theme.... Today's post is all about riotous red, pulsating pink, and outrageous orange. If you really want to make a statement in your rooms, these are your go-to colors. You can go as bold or as subtle as you want- if you're afraid of fuschia, then why not go for a ballet slipper pink? Does bright orange give you hives? Then perhaps you should steer toward a terra-cotta shade. Whatever your preference, these three colors are beautiful ways in which to bring some sizzle to your home.

The photo at top is of the New York apartment of legendary decorator Mark Hampton and his wife Duane. While the room is quite evocative of that time, I do think the vivid red outlined in bright pink is quite striking. (Note: in my original version of this post I incorrectly stated that David Hicks had decorated this apartment, but an eagle-eyed reader told me that Hampton had in fact decorated this apartment in 1968. Thank you poster for correcting me!).




This entryway in Sheila Bridges' apartment is a bold statement in clear, bright orange (photo courtesy of New York Social Diary)


This living room, decorated by Miles Redd, is a "subtler" shade of orange, which is perfect for this traditional apartment.


Miles Redd's living room in a deeper shade of pink- very cosmopolitan.


OK- so this is not someone's home. It's a shot of Chapman Radcliff, the shop owned by Ruthie Sommers. This is a very feminine shade of pink.


Shiny, bright lacquered red! I love this room by Barbara Uzielli. Yes, it's very traditional, but the shiny red makes everything seem slicker, so to speak! (photo courtesy of New York Social Diary)

A Well-Stocked Bar

I love glamorous bars in a home, and I'm not talking about a small tray with a few bottles of liquor laid out on it. I like a bar that is both well-thought out and well-laid out. There are so many fun things you can add to your bar: a nice variety of liquor, a great array of mixers (Canada Dry or Schweppes anyone?), beautiful glassware, and chic bar tools. Of course a bar should first be utilitarian, but the "look" of it is important too. Perhaps that is why so many designers choose to put out glass bottles of Coke on the bar rather than plastic ones! While it may not always be practical to give up precious real estate in a house to a bar, they can be a sign to your guests that they're in store for a fun evening! (For ideas on bar tools and accessories, see my post "Glamorous Imbibing" from last year.)


Miles Redd's stylish bar in his Manhattan home (image courtesy of House and Garden, Sept. 04)


Eugenie Niven designed this apartment for her father, who is the son of actor David Niven. The photo of David Niven on the bar is quite apropos (image courtesy of House Beautiful).


Dining room with bar in the Paris home of Mathilde Agostinelli, designed by Jacques Grange (image courtesy of House Beautiful, Sept. 02)

Image at top of the "ultimate" home bar by David Hicks

Striking Tablescapes

Creating the perfect tablescape can be a difficult task. It takes a certain amount of skill to create the "right mix" of objects. There are many things you need to take into consideration when creating a tablescape: Do you have objects of varying height? Do you have a mix of colors that is pleasing to the eye? Is there visual interest in your combination of accessories?

The godfather of tablescapes was of course David Hicks. In fact, it was Hicks who coined the term "tablescape". Hicks was a master of the art of arranging. His tableaux usually included interesting flowers, artifacts, and bits of his collections. Below are a few photos of tablescapes that I find to be pretty close to perfection!


Tablescape by David Hicks

Design by Anne Coyle Interiors

Design by David Netto

Design by Miles Redd

(Tablescape at top by David Hicks)

Spectacular Beds

I adore glamorous beds. I'm not just talking about the linens but the bed itself. It seems like the ultimate luxury. While I do agree that one's bedroom should be an escape from the world, a "cocoon" so to speak, most of us tend to be quite practical and focus our energy (and funds) on the "public" rooms of one's house. This certainly makes sense as guests rarely make it past the kitchen, dining room, or living room. I thought I would share some fantasy beds that would truly be the showstopper of any bedroom.

Who does a bedroom better than Miles Redd? This iron bed has been seen in a few of his clients' bedrooms. I like the sculptural aspect of it.

This has to be my all-time favorite bed. Doris Duke bought this bed from Gimbel's, and it was part of the Doris Duke Collection auction at Christie's a few years ago. The Chinoiserie top is simply perfection!



This bed was in a McMillen room from many years ago. Although the bed is quite ornate, it is the canopy that once again makes this bed stunning.

"My Favorite Things" with Miles Redd

For those of us who are passionate about design (and I think that's most of us who read design-oriented blogs), it seems that we can't consume enough information about interior decoration, decorative arts, and most especially interior designers. That said, I am introducing a new feature today that I hope to bring to you from time to time. I've chosen to call it "My Favorite Things", and the idea is to have an interior designer list his or her ten favorite things. The "favorite things" can range from something decorative to one of life's little pleasures.

For the first featured designer, I chose Miles Redd, a decorator (and fellow native Atlantan!) who is taking the design world by storm. Miles' interiors are always chic and glamorous, yet they are also very comfortable. Miles (with the assistance of Nick Olsen) was kind enough to provide us with his ten favorite things, and as you can imagine, it's a stylish and inspiring list! Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it!


Miles Redd: My Favorite Things


1) Ice tinkling in a heavy crystal glass

2) Odd colored lacquered lamp shades, like Yves Klein blue and emerald green

3) Beginning a day with a BATH

4) TiVo

5) Sleeping in on a snowy Sunday

6) The documentary "Signe Chanel"

7) Low upholstery and beds for sexy slink

8) The photographs of Bruce Weber and Richard Avedon

9) Furniture covered in sheets of mother of pearl

10) Painted patterned floors

(Photo above courtesy of New York Social Diary)

That Touch of Red

Albert Hadley once said that there should be at least one red accent in every room. I couldn't agree with him more. Red is such a powerful color and can add such energy and drama to a room. Red walls add sizzle, while red furniture catches your eye. Red can be used sparingly, if you choose, through displays of books with red dustjackets or bunches of red roses, for example. Below are some photos of rooms designed by various decorators. Some use the color proudly, such as Miles Redd, while others use it in a more subtle way. However you choose to use it, perhaps you might find some inspiration.

Miles Redd


Steven Sclaroff & Kate Spade

Sam Blount

Woodson and Rummerfield



John Loecke

In Tents

Interior tents- current design trend?

In two recent magazine articles on two different New York apartments, tents have made prominent appearances. Jeff Pfeifle, president of J. Crew, tented the entrance hall in his formal apartment. Instead of concealing the ceiling with its beautiful molding, Pfeifle tented the walls only using a Greek Key motif with tassel trim. He covered the walls with tent like curtains, but thankfully chose to leave much of the antiqued mirrored walls unobscured. I think the tent is a nice contrast against the geometric design of the terrazzo floor, and the red gourd lamps with red lamp shades really pop against the cream colored fabric of the tent.

Another tent, albeit one much smaller in scale, was created by Nick Olsen, assistant to decorator Miles Redd. In order to create some visual interest, Olsen designed one which is attached to one of his walls. The exterior fabric is white, and the lining looks like a robin's egg blue. At the top of the tent, Olsen created a small tent-like awning that protudes from the wall. This was a very clever way to delineate his work/dining area within the confines of a small apartment.

Perhaps these designs will inspire you to create your own oasis within your home.