Bringing Nature Home

Most of us just can't get enough of flowers, books on flowers, and photographs, drawings, and paintings of flowers. Oh, and maybe even floral fabrics and floral china too. If this describes you, then you should consider picking up a copy of Bringing Nature Home: Floral Arrangements Inspired by Nature, photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo's new book dedicated to the beauty of flowers.

Ngo, whose photographs often grace magazines like House Beautiful and Architectural Digest, has a background in landscape design, something that probably explains her affection for flowers. Having partnered with Nicolette Owen, co-founder of the Little Flower School in Brooklyn, Ngo has authored a book that is a compilation of beautiful photographs of floral arrangements in situ as well as of flowers in their natural habitats. The book is divided into the four seasons, so all kinds of flowers make appearances in the book: carnations; peonies; dahlias; fritillaries. But what's really striking about this book is that it's mostly full-page photos, something that allows the reader to really soak in the details of each image. The photos are so captivating that I had a difficult time choosing a few images to feature here!























All images from Bringing Nature Home: Floral Arrangements Inspired by Nature by Ngoc Minh Ngo; Rizzoli publishers; 2012. Images used with express permission of the publisher.

The Peak of Chic Entertains

I've been working on a project, and it's one with which I've been having a lot of fun. Today, I am debuting my new blog, The Peak of Chic Entertains. My love of entertaining prompted me to start my new blog, one which will focus on good food, flowers, table linen, china, and cocktails. I'll give you peeks into my entertaining closet as well as those of friends. I'll even play around and create tablesettings just for fun. After all, it will give me something to do on those Saturday nights that I'm home alone!

I plan to post updates on the new blog around twice a week for the time being. But you can still find me here at The Peak of Chic where I'll continue to write about design, history, and stylish living (almost) every weekday.

Look forward to talking entertaining with you on the new blog!

The Company Store Twitter Chat

Please join me this evening for a Twitter chat that I'll be hosting with The Company Store. We'll discuss bedroom decorating ideas as well as "must-haves" for every bedroom. The chat starts at 8pm EDT. Make sure to follow #TCSchat to join in the conversation.

Hope to see you tonight on Twitter!

Easter Egg Traditions

When I was a small child, I was always delighted at what the Easter Bunny brought me on Easter morning. My favorite treat was the cheap plastic chicken that laid plastic eggs when you pressed down on its legs. Remember those?

After I discovered that my parents were in fact the Easter Bunny, Easter morning didn't lack for excitement thanks to the more grown-up Easter eggs that my sister and I started to receive. For a period of a few years, my parents always gave us Limoges egg boxes from Tiffany & Co. (Although one year, the egg was by Halcyon Days, not Tiffany. You can see some of the eggs, above.) It was really a nice tradition that I believe ended, unfortunately, when I went off to college.

Never was the tradition of giving jeweled or porcelain eggs on Easter day more spectacular than when Tsar Alexander III commissioned Peter Carl Fabergé to create masterpiece eggs for his wife, Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. The first Fabergé egg that Alexander presented to the Tsarina was enameled, and hidden within the egg was a golden yolk that contained a golden hen that in turn held a tiny diamond royal crown and a ruby egg. Now that was an egg. Alexander III's son, Tsar Nicholas II, continued the tradition of commissioning Fabergé eggs for the Easter holiday until the Russian Revolution cut short both his reign and his life.

While Fabergé eggs may be out of reach for most of us, there are all kinds of wonderful eggs that one can collect or give as gifts to others. There are versions in papier-mâché, porcelain, silver, and even malachite. But truth be told, I still have a soft spot in my heart for plain old dyed Easter eggs. That was the one craft project that I could do as a child with semi-successful results!





Marjorie Merriweather Post owned this fabulous Fabergé egg, now displayed at Hillwood Estate Museum.




Porcelain eggs from Atelier Le Tallec.




I have always loved (and always wanted) a Schlumberger egg charm. This one is lapis.





Silversmith Stuart Devlin is known for his highly collectible egg boxes. This one which contains a surprise hummingbird dates to 1976 and is available through Styles Silver.




Bill Blass owned this Stuart Devlin egg that was made in 1969.




How sweet are these vintage German papier-mâché eggs that can hold candy? At $6.50 each, you should buy a dozen. Available through D. Blümchen & Company.

The Novelty Shop Around the Corner

While researching a post, I stumbled upon the D. Blümchen & Company website, and it's got to be one of the most enchanting online shops around. D. Blümchen & Co. sells all kinds of decorative novelties, and while much of the stock is intended for use on holiday decorations, they could be used in any number of craft projects or for simple ornamentation. They carry Dresden trim which are traditional German die-cut foil paper decorations. I was excited to find these as the last time I saw Dresden trim was during my trip to Vienna five years ago. They also carry vintage floral sprays (see above and below) that are made of little fruits, vegetables, flowers, and leaves attached to wire picks. I'm not so sure what I would do with them, but I'm fascinated by them.

The stock is a mix of new, vintage, and old stock. While some pieces are made in the US, others were crafted in Germany, Russia, and Japan. It's really a very charming site and I urge you to visit it. Even if you're not a crafty person (and I'm definitely not), I think you'll find it most interesting.





Japanese Maple Leaf Spray




Dresden trim Birch Leaves




Dresden trim Fancy Starbursts




Czech Blown Glass Raspberry beads




Mixed Fruits and Chestnuts Spray



Vintage Red Woodland Mushrooms




Flying Swallow Cut-Out



Seashell and Fish Scrap Relief Picture

Border Prints are Back

I received my April issue of House Beautiful yesterday. It's a really terrific issue, but then again, I'm a little biased! One article that especially caught my eye was the Fabrics column that featured border prints. Just last month, I attended a Travers event at Ainsworth-Noah where Erin Finn, Travers' Design Director, also mentioned that border prints are making a comeback.

Border prints can be found in an array of styles ranging from traditional florals to ethnic prints and even geometrics. (Take a look above at that jazzy pink octagonal print from Designers Guild. It certainly makes a statement.) But the real beauty of border print fabric is that it's like two prints for the price of one. Use the border along the leading edge of curtain panels and you can forgo any additional trim. Border prints work well on pillows, too.

Magnificent Baths by Massimo Listri

Review copies of upcoming Spring book releases are starting to arrive, and one that has caught my attention is Magnificent Baths: Private Indulgences from Baroque to Minimalist by Massimo Listri. (Rizzoli, 2012.) I've long been a fan of Listri's gorgeous interior photography, so it was a nice treat for me to see a book devoted solely to his photographs of baths. These aren't ordinary bathrooms, mind you, but ones that are, as the title says, magnificent. The kind of baths about which many of us can only dream.

While the book is comprised of a mix of traditional and contemporary baths, it's the old and old-looking baths that appeal to me most. Hyper contemporary bathrooms don't do a thing for me, but if you like them, you'll find those as well in this book. The book's text is minimal, but that doesn't detract from the book as it's really about the photos, and beautiful ones at that.

Take a look below at some of the baths that caught my eye. If you're a fan of Listri or if you simply love to look at photos of stunning baths, then you should consider adding this book to your library.




Photographer Massimo Listri's bath in Florence, Italy.




Sammezzano Castle, Regello, Italy.




Caserta Palace, Naples, Italy.





Château du Champ-de-Bataille, Normandy, France.




Castello di Scerpena, Manciano, Italy.




Royal Suite Bath at Florence's Four Seasons Hotel, designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon.




A bath in the London home of designer Anouska Hempel.




Casa Parodi-Amirfeiz, Genoa.


All photos from Magnificent Baths: Private Indulgences from Baroque to Minimalist by Massimo Listri; Massimo Listri, photographer; Rizzoli publishers, 2012. Photos used with express permission from the publisher.

The Flowers of Tiffany & Co.

Years ago, Tiffany & Co. used to have the loveliest floral print china. Tulip lovers and wildflower fans alike could find a pattern that struck their fancies. That must be a thing of the past because a recent search on their website yielded only one such pattern.

I admit that if I were allowed to have only one china pattern, it would not be floral. I would have to choose a Chinoiserie pattern. However, I do find floral patterns to be very charming. Can't you see using floral print dinner plates for a Spring or Summer dinner party or ladies lunch? What about serving dessert on a set of flowery dessert plates? A berry dessert would look lovely against the backdrop of delicate flowers.

I realize that to some, floral china looks old-fashioned. And in a way, it does, but that's the charm of it. I searched the internet high and low for photos of discontinued Tiffany & Co. floral china, and if you ask me, I don't think any of the patterns look old nor stodgy.




I've always loved Sybil Connolly's Mrs. Delany's Flowers for Tiffany & Co. The black background is a nice twist.






Tiffany Tulips




Fleurettes, Tiffany Private Stock





Wildflowers





Famille Noir





Tiffany Garden



Image at top: Tiffany's Biedermeier earthenware; photo from Tiffany Taste; the other two tabletop photos from New Tiffany Table Settings.

Big Style in a Small Space

Whenever a home of Richard Lambertson and John Truex is published in a magazine, the blogosphere goes wild and an inevitable flurry of blog posts ensues. It's no surprise, of course, as Lambertson and Truex always create very chic homes for themselves. I believe that had blogging been around in 1988, we might very well have been aflutter over this apartment of Richard Lambertson, published in the November 1988 issue of House & Garden. Lambertson, who at the time was the Creative Director at Geoffrey Beene, lived in a 350 square foot apartment. Because of the apartment's small size, furniture had to be multi-functional. A 19th century fainting sofa doubled as a guest bed, while a console table with a leaf became a dining table when needed. But I have to say that it was the leopard print carpet that caught my eye. I think it's the carpet that really made the space.

As you can imagine, most of the article's photos were detail shots as there weren't many potential room shots. Still, the article gives us a look at the well-edited and chic style of the budding handbag designer extraordinaire. And by the way, thanks to my friend Aida, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Lambertson here in Atlanta, and he is as nice as he is chic!



In the living space, a sofa did double duty as a guest bed. An antique alligator suitcase resting on a tea tray served as a coffee table.



A Louis XVI chair in front of a portrait purchased at a flea market.




Lambertson used an Hermès scarf as a pillow cover which he had quilted.




French Directoire chairs against a wall.




A twig table held bibelots.


All images from House & Garden, November 1988, Michael Mundy photographer.