Black Steel

I normally wouldn't disclose any medical conditions on my blog, but I'm thinking I may have a hormone imbalance. Actually, I'm only kidding, but I have noticed a surge of testosterone in my design chemical makeup. It started with the aluminum blind thing and has now morphed itself into a current obsession with black and metal, two things typically associated with a masculine aesthetic. The estrogen seems to have taken a back seat.

So the black thing stems from a flashback that I had recently about a black galley kitchen that I saw back in the 1980s. It was in a suite at The Carlyle and it made a great impression on me, despite the fact that I was a preteen. I remember thinking "One day...". I have a dated kitchen that I'm thinking of tarting up (or perhaps I should say butching up) in black and more black- this despite the fact that Van Day Truex admonished anyone who dared decorate a kitchen in anything other than white. Black lacquer, black tile, black marble. It's all so aggressive. It's represents a strong point of view. It's confident. We need a shot of confidence, don't you think?

The fascination with metal came about when I was looking at Geoffrey Beene's Manhattan apartment. I really find all of that steel interesting. I can't say that I would encourage anyone to replicate this look exactly. But, if used with a light hand (a metal table, steel bookshelves, or even a steel clad wall), the cool metal could add a little swagger to a room.

And of course all of this talk about cocky design is timely as Oliver Stone's follow-up to Wall Street, Wall Street- Money Never Sleeps, is due to be released soon. Remember Charlie Sheen's slick kitchen replete with the de rigueur pasta maker? So very 1980s. In fact, does anyone remember if his kitchen was black??

It all comes full circle, doesn't it?

(Image at top: The bedroom of designer Michael Schaible c. 1985)

Black:


Melvin Dwork created this "winter" bedroom by using lacquered black/green walls. (OK, so not 100% black, but you get the idea.) Actually, I think very little about this room seems dated, despite the fact it was decorated over 20 years ago.


I'm still obsessing over this black kitchen from Lee Bailey's City Food cookbook. I know that you can't see the details, but I think this shot is evocative of that edgy drama so prevalent in interiors from 30 years ago.


Look past that shadow in the crease and you'll see a pretty fantastic room decorated by Joe D'Urso, a designer whose work just might make a modernist of me yet.

Metal:



Geoffrey Beene's Manhattan apartment was one big steel trap. I chose to show the one image that doesn't seem quite so dated. I love that industrial steel stair rail.


In small doses, metal doesn't seem quite so scary, especially if it's a drinks table like this one in this Jay Spectre designed home. Note too the steel cabinetry that houses a bar, audio equipment, and a TV. This brings up another point- remember when technology was sexy? When it played an aesthetically important role in a room? It just doesn't seem the same today.


In the same Spectre designed house. The dining room is thoroughly traditional except for that sleek dining table and steel and marble sideboard.


Aluminum panels decorate one wall in this home by Ron Wilson. There's something oddly intriguing about this room.

(Top photo: New York Interior Design, 1935-1985, Vol. 2: Masters of Modernism. Dwork photo: Manhattan Style; Beene photo courtesy of Celebrity Homes II: Architectural Digest presents the private worlds of thirty international personalities. D'Urso photo from The New York Times Book of Interior Design and Decoration. Spectre photos from Architectural Digest, September 1977, Jaime Ardiles-Arce photographer. Wilson photo from Architectural Digest, October 1977, Russell MacMasters photographer.)

From The Archives Of...Peacock Alley

Imagine if your family's business was linen. Neat, huh? I say this because my family's business is really large machinery, something which tends to befuddle me. (I still don't understand how any of it works.) But linens? I totally get that. So say if a family member started a company like, oh, Peacock Alley, well, I would probably want to continue the family tradition too.

Peacock Alley was started in good old Dallas, TX back in 1973 by former stockbroker Mary Ella Gabler (that's her, above). Gabler was prescient in her prediction that people would start spending more quality time in the bedroom. As such, Gabler saw the linen business as an opportunity to introduce high quality, fashionable bed linens to people who may not have thought much about bed linens before. Starting with patchwork pillows (remember, this was the 1970s) and evolving into a full line of bed and bath linen, Gabler developed Peacock Alley into a successful business that still thrives today. In fact, Gabler's sons run the family business today and are positioning the company to remain viable well into the 21st century.

I remember growing up with Peacock Alley linens; they just always seemed to be somewhere around our house. My mother bought a set of sheets at either Lord & Taylor or Neimans back in the late 1970s, and she still talks about how they wore like iron. If you look back at the Peacock Alley archives, you'll see the different bedding trends: prints, neutrals, minimalism, and prints once again. But the thing about Peacock Alley's prints (and their color selections too) is that it's all rather subtle. I believe that people prefer sedate bedding (meaning no loud prints), and these linens fit that bill. You can buy a few pieces, and more than likely it will go with what you already have on your bed. Just take a look at their Spring 2010 collection. Can't you see some of these linens working with what's in your linen closet?


From the Spring 2010 collection, the Lotus Ensemble collection


Fortuna Ensemble, Spring 2010


Eden Collection, Spring 2010


It all started with patchwork pillows.


Another look from the 1970s. I think this Lily of the Valley print is actually quite sweet.


A minimal look from 1998.

All images courtesy of Peacock Alley

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

...Actually, make that a few days late. Last week, Christie's held one of its Interiors auctions featuring property from one of the few still-intact Billy Haines interiors. The California home had been decorated by Haines between 1960 and 1965, and except for the occasional reupholstering job, the home pretty much remained as it was almost fifty years ago. And even more interesting is that the home was never photographed for publication.

The furniture and accessories are quintessential Haines. You have low slung chairs and sofas, comfortable upholstered pieces, custom mounted lamps, and Chinoiserie everywhere. There are lots that are evocative of 1960s era design- quilted upholstery and faux bamboo to name two- as well a few gems that still look fresh today, namely that unusual red crewelwork (see below). Anyway, take a look for yourselves. My one hope is that someone thoroughly photographed the home before it was dismantled.






A Billy Haines designed crewelwork sofa, c. 1960; realized price $8,125


A pair of Haines' "Seniah" club chairs upholstered in a red floral print, c. 1960; realized price $1,250


C. 1960s Haines designed dressing table and mirror with Chinese porcelain inset; went for $1,625


Pair of faux bamboo quilted headboards and armchair and ottoman, c. 1960; $4,000.


Pair of Billy Haines' bedside cabinets, 1960; $5,250


Patinated metal, marble, and hardstone inlay table; Haines, 1960; $8,750


A Haines designed zodiac rug; $3,000 realized price.


Tang dynasty Chinese straw glazed pottery soldier mounted on a Haines designed lamp base; $1,063.

Tory Burch Spring 2010

So we all oohed and aahed over Tory Burch's apartment when it appeared in Vogue, and we flipped for her breakfast room that was featured recently in Elle. If you're like me and have been waiting for more glimpses into the fabulous apartment of Tory, then today's your today.

Why, you ask? Well, Tory's Spring 2010 collection debuts today. And it was shot by famed photographer Tina Barney...in Tory's apartment...and Polly Mellen is featured in it too. See, I told you this is good stuff.

I'm including a few images here, but to see the full spread, visit the Tory Burch website. Also be sure to watch the behind the scenes video of the shoot (see below) which includes Tory and Tina's conversation about the role that interiors play in both women's work.

(All images courtesy of Tory Burch; Tina Barney photographer)

Hope to See You Next Week

Just a reminder: I'm looking forward to seeing many of you next Wednesday night at Tory Burch, Phipps Plaza. It should be a fun night of cocktails and clothes. See you then!

Reel Style at Home

I've got to be honest- I don't really get the home theater thing. As a child, I knew of nobody who had one in their home, no matter how large the house. Family rooms or TV rooms, yes; home theaters, no. Even if I had the space, I still don't think that I would have one. Personally, I can think of better uses of space...like a gift wrapping room à la Candy Spelling. (Just kidding.)

The space issue aside, when have you seen one that actually has style and panache? Most look like miniature versions of your local AMC theater. I get that comfort is key (which obviously explains the overstuffed recliners that are often seen), but why the dull, boring fabrics? And the color schemes tend to be pretty vanilla too.

I think this is why I'm so taken with this Elsie Sloane Farley designed "moving picture room", located in a New York home circa 1929. This is pretty snazzy, isn't it? The walls were covered in a Chinese wallpaper, and the trim was painted powder blue. Those luminous curtains were made of blue glazed cotton. Note too the fireplace (so cozy), the classic star ceiling fixture, and the long window seat with various shaped pillows. And because this was obviously the home theater of a swell, Farley added a Chinoiserie tilt top table in the back corner.

Now I'm sure that back in 1929, a home theater was quite novel- something which might explain the luxe surroundings. I can just imagine the home's owner entertaining guests for exclusive moving picture nights, and I think it's also safe to assume that the guests dressed for these get-togethers too. I admit that the chairs don't look particularly comfortable, but keep in mind that in the late 1920s, movies didn't run as long as they do today. And, people had a bit more decorum back then. Seriously, how many females of that era do you think sat with their feet propped up on the seat in front of them or worse yet had their legs splayed open?

So if someone twisted my arm and insisted that I have a home theater, I would probably do as Elsie Sloan Farley did. In my one concession to comfort, though, I truly might buy some Barcaloungers and have them upholstered in a Scalamandre Chinoiserie print fabric. I borrow this idea from society doyenne Oatsie Charles and her designer John Peixinho. In my book, anyone who can make a Barcalounger look stylish deserves an Oscar!

You're Gonna Think I'm Crazy...

Do you know what has been catching my eye lately? Aluminum blinds. Seriously. There is something about them that just seems right for right now. I'm not talking about white or black aluminum blinds, nor do I mean vertical ones either. It's both silvery polished and brushed aluminum blinds that have been on my mind.

So why the interest? These are tough- not tender- window treatments. We've seen a lot of sweet and tame design lately; maybe it's time for something edgy, a bit raw, and a little provocative. Now, I do realize that these blinds can conjure up images of that dated Miami Vice look. In fact, as I was typing this, I thought of the movie poster for American Gigolo, above. Some remember both the movie and the poster for a very handsome Richard Gere, while fashion mavens think of the Armani suits. For me, it's the shadow of those blinds reaching out across Gere. Leave it to me to think of the window treatments when referencing a movie about steamy...well, you know.

So if one were to indulge in something like this, in what type of room would one put them? Obviously, contemporary goes without saying. A room representative of the school of Billy Baldwin and Albert Hadley would be another great venue. Even a Miles Redd maximalist interior- couldn't you see these blinds in a room or two of his? And speaking of Miles, I think Nick Olsen could completely rock the aluminum. Whether he wants to is another matter.


Look how the light bounces off of the blinds in the late Stanley Barrows' apartment. The surroundings are pretty traditional, and yet these blinds totally worked.


Again, the blinds serve as yet another reflective surface in this "nighttime" dining room.


In another dining room, this one in the home of the designer Ruben de Saavedra.


And though I'm NOT advocating a return of vertical blinds, I did have to include this photo of the home of one of my favorite eccentric designers, the late Valerian Rybar. I've never seen steel blinds that were so polished and glossy.

(Barrows photo from Manhattan Style; dining room photo from The Collectors (The Worlds of Architectural digest); de Saavedra and Rybar photos from Designers' Own Homes: Architectural Digest)

Those Lost Horizon Doors

Remember when I posted about Lost Horizon, that 1930's film with those fabulous doors like this one, above? Right after I posted the article, my friend Ron van Empel, lighting designer extraordinaire, emailed me to say that he too saw Lost Horizon around the time that I did and was equally as fascinated with the doors. An amazing coincidence, really, since Ron lives in Leiden, Netherlands and doesn't have Turner Classics.

We started to discuss whether the "Lost Horizon design" would work on the interior of his front door. His entryway was really fabulous as it was, what with the Thibaut Chinoiserie wallpaper and the Farrow & Ball Parma Blue doors. And then there was that fabulous pediment- very Van Nest Polglase- above the door. Really great stuff:


An obviously not so average "before" shot...

The first thing Ron did was to come up with a sketch drawn to scale in order to see how the Lost Horizon design might look on his doors. Now keep this in mind if you embark on a DIY project yourself. Sketches are very important, because you don't want to be in the middle of the project to find out that the whole thing is not going to work. Trust me; I'm speaking from experience.



One thing that was a bit confounding to Ron was how to deal with those central doorknobs. As you can see from the sketch, he made sure that the bottom Xs intersected directly over the knobs. He also included the bottom panel like that in the Lost Horizon door.

At first, I assumed that Ron was going to upholster the door, but he had a much better idea. He decided to keep the doors as is and apply the design directly to the painted surface. And instead of using cording as was used in the movie, he chose to do a nailhead trim. Or something that looked like nailhead trim:



How clever is this? Ron bought wood pearl trim that mimicked the look of nailhead trim, and he simply silver-leafed it. (He used a gray base coat on it first.) Far more economical than the real stuff and much easier to apply. And, if Ron tires of the look, he can simply pop the trim from the door.

So how did it turn out? Take a look for yourself....







I'd say that Ron's experiment was a smashing success! If only he lived a little closer to Atlanta, then perhaps I too could have a Lost Horizon door.

(All images courtesy of Ron van Empel with the exception of the Lost Horizon still.)

Jim Thompson Silk Is Not Helping My Fabric Addiction

Seeing that I seem to troll the internet for fabric on almost a daily basis, I thought I'd end the week with some photos of Jim Thompson Silk and No. 9 Thompson's new Spring collections. There were so many fabrics that caught my eye...like that Velvet Illusion, below, which would lend an El Morocco vibe to one's room. Tiger Hills might be a great substitution for the Braquenié print that slayed me last week (the one on Jayne Wrightsman's canapé and fauteuils). And for sheer drama I included the fabulous Ayuthya, at top, because it looks pretty spectacular. So on that note, I'm off to walk my condo and find something-anything- that needs a little refreshing with some new fabric.



Velvet Illusion- a velvet spin on Jim Thompson's classic Illusion print.


Taj Mahal


Jaipur


Hopi



Kosa Pan

And from No. 9 Thompson:


Tiger Hills


Arya Vine


Jatni


Santosh