Please join me for two different events this week that should help you spruce up your bedroom and learn the finer points of social networking.
On Wednesday, September 22, Gramercy Linen will be hosting a Peak of Chic "Between the Sheets" event from 5:00 to 7:00 in the evening. No, you won't see me in my sleeping attire, but I will be there to share my thoughts on how to create a chic bedroom- something that is not hard to do with all of the fabulous linens and accessories at Gramercy. A 15% discount will be offered on all purchases made during the evening, and there will also be a giveaway with custom monogramming. Oh, and because The Peak of Chic loves her vino, white wine will be served. I'd love to see you there!
Gramercy Linen, Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, 2351 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. (404) 846-9244
And who isn't tempted to blog, Facebook, or Tweet while lounging in bed? If that's you, then Tuesday's The Editor at Large's Power of New Media panel discussion at ADAC just might be your thing. The discussion will include useful tips on how best to use these various online platforms. Who knows? You just might become the next Ashton Kutcher of the Twitter world. The event will be held at 11am in the Presentation Room. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to info@adacatlanta.com
(Image at top from The Printery)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Won't You Join Me?
Weddings by Tara Guerard
So, I was reading Weddings by Tara Guerard
Mini 21 Club burgers. 21 Club burgers are the best, so I can only imagine that these Lilliputian versions are delicious and decadent. Tara even included the recipe for them.
And how about getting some skewers printed up with a Greek Key pattern for your next cocktail party? Could be kind of fun.
Speaking of having things printed, what about getting custom coasters made for casual entertaining? I like the bird and branch motif, especially for fall, and you could add your monogram underneath the image. A recipe on the flip-side would not be necessary if these are for everyday use.
I could easily see this comfy setting in one's home. Your guests might never leave.
Ballroom chairs are great, but sometimes they need a little something extra. (This is why I just ordered some fun cushions for mine from Philip Gorrivan's Tastemaker Tag Sale from One Kings Lane this weekend. I'm only mentioning this because I cannot wait for them to arrive!) Alternatively, you could monogram a linen slipcover for the back of your chairs like Tara did for this wedding.
Think about how pretty a vase would look filled with oranges, clementines, and kumquats during the holidays. I'd place a few on my sideboard, or one on a chest near my entryway.
And finally, what about doing kissing balls like these for the holidays? I'm thinking the red ones would look great against my powder blue walls.
So, are you ready to start entertaining?
(All images from Weddings by Tara Guerard
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Some Serious Curtains
See that photo above? A little grand, don't you think? And perhaps not the way we decorate today. But what amazes me is the skill and artistry that went into that bed's draperies. Those swags...stunning. The tassels and trim...terrific. Check out the printed lining of the bed curtain, the swags around the bottom of the bed, even the red table to the left that is upholstered in a red damask with a small tassel trim. Oh, and what about the bolsters on either end of the bed? All of the above took an amazing amount of skill and talent. Never mind the fact that you probably won't be decorating your bedroom with those swags and fringe trim. I understand that, and my home certainly doesn't have any of it either. But let's give credit where credit is due, and in this case it goes to Renzo Mongiardino. Only a deeply talented decorator could execute curtains like that, and I think most of us agree that Mongiardino was one of the best. In lesser hands, this room could have been ended up looking like Belle Watling's salon. Or perhaps that should be saloon.
What I find a little sad is that because the room above really isn't our aesthetic anymore, many designers never learn how to make Curtains- that's curtains with a capital "C". I'm not a designer, but I'm guilty of it as well. It's plain panels in my home. But just think of those wonderful creations by John Fowler. Now Fowler got curtains, but how many designers know how to design and fabricate curtains like his? I'm willing to bet not many.
This post certainly isn't an indictment of today's style of decorating nor today's designers. All I'm saying is that it's kind of a shame that curtain-making like what you see above is becoming a lost art. Perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to say no to the swag!
Blue taffeta and passementerie in the home of Princess Chavchavadze
At Waddesdon Manor, David Mlinaric used a Louis XVI engraving as inspiration for the silk taffeta draperies.
John Fowler was the genius behind these curtains in the drawing room at Cornbury Park. Look at the workmanship in the detail shot.
Keith Irvine...he knows curtains.
(Mongiardino photo from The Best in European Decoration
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A Most Stylish Burgoo
I got my first taste of fall last week while in Napa. I can't tell you how nice it was to wear a lightweight sweater at night! Of course, the hot, muggy weather was waiting for me upon my return to Atlanta. But fall truly is around the corner, and while my "back to school" wardrobe adds to the excitement, it's thoughts of fall and winter food that give me great pleasure. I can't wait to make the season's first pot of Barefoot Contessa's Boeuf Bourguignon, not to mention my mother's beef tenderloin. There are hams to be baked, cheese grits to souffle, and butternut squash to roast.
If I could equate this comfort food to a particular room, it just might look something like this: the tiny but totally charming Manhattan apartment of Kentucky native Charles Patteson. There may not be many ingredients to this room, but it's a recipe on how to create the well-edited room.
*In case you're wondering what's up with the title, burgoo is a Kentucky dish that's similar to Brunswick stew. It's a melange of ingredients, much like this apartment. Although, I doubt in the early days of burgoo making they used the word "melange."
(Images from The Table
Monday, September 13, 2010
Alberto Pinto Table Settings
You know how I have lamented on more than one occasion that very few books on table settings come close to my much loved Tiffany books? Well, enough of the doom and gloom, because I have found a book that I believe rivals those by John Loring. (Sacrilege, I know.) If, like me, you are transported by images of beautiful tables, then buy, borrow, or even steal Alberto Pinto's new book, Alberto Pinto: Table Settings
My favorite Pinto table settings are those in his super stylish and somewhat opulent Paris home. This is where he uses his enviable collection of antique china, linen (including a tablecloth embroidered with the Bonaparte monogram), and crystal. His stash seems limitless, so it's no wonder that he has an amazing china closet filled to the brim with plates, tureens, and tea services. But, if you prefer a more casual approach to decorating your table, then you will probably be inspired by his tables in more laid-back settings like Morocco or various seaside locales.
I really think that you'll be as wowed as I was while reading the book. While you're mulling over your decision to buy it or waiting on your copy to arrive, here are a few images to whet your appetite.
Dinner is served in Pinto's sepia toned dining room.
A collection of rock-crystal pieces hold court with Baccarat stemware.
Teatime in Paris includes an 18th century faux-bois tea service and a porcelain macaw.
A more casual setting, this time overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Back to Paris and Pinto's porcelain collection including famille rose china and 17th c. Compagnie des Indes porcelain magots. The moss covered orchids were designed by Bruno Roy whose floral work is featured prominently in the book.
(Photo credits: Photo #1 by Giorgio Baroni; #2 by Jean Pierre Peersman; #3, #4, and #5 by Jacques Pepion. All images courtesy of Alberto Pinto: Table Settings
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
On A Tangent
In the Boles family, my mother and I are known for beating a dead horse. Years after an event or situation, we're still talking and debating about it. (And usually, that's when my father picks up the newspaper and stays out of the conversation.) Sometimes, we're just not able to let something go. And over the last few weeks, the something- or rather, the someone- that I can't let go of is Michael Greer. I've written about him from time to time through the years, but lately I've been on a Michael Greer roll. His work was incredibly chic and elegant. There was a dramatic flourish to many of his rooms- and you know how drama never ceases to fascinate me. I wonder if Greer was the Miles Redd of his day? Take a look at Greer's Manhattan apartment. What do you think?
A view of his terrace at night. The awning with the wooden tassels is right up my alley.
His unbelievable bedroom. The walls were covered in beige silk and framed in black painted half-round molding that was supposed to mimic iron supports. The ceiling was also covered in fabric and trimmed with a Roman motif braid in order to look like a tent.
A desk vignette in Greer's bedroom.
The Salon with Louis XVI and Directoire antiques. Those triple arches led to the dining alcove.
Additional views of the Salon.
Trompe l'oeil paper lined the walls of the foyer. Greer employed trompe l'oeil effects often in his work.
The foyer stair. The carpet, designed by Greer, was pale gray.
The bathroom. That fabric on the walls? Trompe l'oeil painted against gray walls. I'm completely taken with that floor. Those faux iron supports look to be painted.
(Greer photo from Inside Design
