Chanel and Billy Baldwin: A Cosmic Connection?

I'm big on signs. Not signs as in signage, but rather an indication that something is meant to be. You know, like there are no such things as coincidences. That kind of thing.

So late last week, I received an email telling me that Chanel has a new fragrance, Beige. Now, when some companies use the word beige to describe a product, you can be fairly certain that it's dull. Kind of dingy and like dishwater. But when Chanel uses Beige as the moniker for their new fragrance, well, it seems kind of chic. There's beige, and there's beige. You know what I mean?

Interestingly enough, the first thing to pop into my head- after the thought of "Wow, Chanel has a new fragrance", of course- was the image of Kitty Miller's London living room as decorated by Billy Baldwin. There's beige in that room, but there is nothing vanilla about it. That room sizzles in an elegant kind of way. I always said that if I were to go neutral in my home, I would use the Kitty Miller room as inspiration.



My favorite beige room ever, that of Kitty Miller.


And then, guess what arrived in the mail later that day? The review copy of Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator by Adam Lewis. I've been anxiously awaiting this book as has everyone else. I'm in the thick of it as we speak, and it's good. Really good. Lewis notes that this book completes his trilogy on what has to be the most talented group of friends ever: Van Day Truex, Albert Hadley, and Baldwin. I revere all three.



A new favorite book.


What's interesting is that I associate the word beige with Baldwin. Sure, Baldwin used some beige in his own apartment and in projects for others, but he also loved color. Really intense color. And he was quite good with it. It was Truex who was the master of beige. In fact, Lewis writes that Baldwin once said "Someday Van is going to beige himself to death."

Truex's beige living room; certainly not deathly looking to me.


So, what's the sign here? Does all of this portend that I'm supposed to go beige in my apartment? Maybe, but my high-gloss Farrow & Ball blue walls cost a fortune, and I'm not changing them anytime soon. Perhaps I should start wearing the new Chanel fragrance? (I don't know as I'm about to take the plunge with Gucci Guilty which I wrote about a few months back.) Or maybe this was all a big build-up to the arrival of the new Baldwin book which I'll review soon. Who knows? But one more thing: I'm going to hear Adam Lewis speak on Billy B. in a few weeks at the San Francisco Antiques Show. You see? It's a sign.

(Baldwin photo from Billy Baldwin Decorates; Truex photo from Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style by Adam Lewis.)

Jamee Gregory and New York Parties

Fall is a great time to curl up with a book on entertaining. After all, at some point in the next few months, you'll be entertaining whether it's for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Year's. I just got through reading a really great book that gives the reader a behind the scenes look at how some of Manhattan's tastemakers entertain. New York Parties: Private Views by Jamee Gregory profiles parties and dinners held at the homes of Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Jamie Drake, and others. Jamee is the perfect person to pen such a book. She knows a lot about entertaining, she's a popular guest at said parties and dinners (no surprise as she's incredibly nice and down to earth), and she knows how to write a great book. Her first book, New York Apartments, is a favorite of mine.




Jamee was kind enough to chat with me last week about her book and the subject of entertaining. When asked why write a book on entertaining, Jamee responded that she wanted to document all of the great parties that she was attending. Parties by their nature are ephemeral, so she wanted to be able to give them some sense of permanency. And when asked why New York, she replied that New York hosts and hostesses often pull out all of the stops. Thank goodness there are still people who have the time, energy, and desire (and, okay, the means) to entertain at home.




Food, of course, is one of the most important components to successful entertaining, but Jamee stressed in both the book and in our interview that it does not have to be elaborate. Case in point? Tory Burch hosted a luncheon for her staff in which she served Greek take-out. And Michael Kors ordered lobster rolls from a neighborhood restaurant for his outdoor summer party. That said, Jamee also feels that it helps to know something about food. Even if you're not cooking the meal, you'll have an easier job of planning the menu if you have some epicurean knowledge.




Now on to tablesettings. Again, Jamee says there is no one way to do it. Mix and match your china. Use high and low. Yes, there is a lot of amazing tableware in this book: Herend, antique Sevres, Christofle. But you'll also see a few things from CB2 and Pier 1. There is even a Hunt Breakfast featured in which, because it's outdoors, the napkins are paper and the glassware is plastic. That's the ultimate high and low, and it totally works.




I asked Jamee if she had a signature dish that she enjoyed serving. It's a dessert prepared by Glorious Foods, and, according to Jamee, it's gaspingly beautiful. Around the edge of a large silver platter are dark chocolate dipped strawberries that rest in pink spun sugar, and in the middle is a meringue nest with both peppermint and chocolate sorbets. A chocolate sauce is served on the side. I'm dying to see this for myself because it sounds pretty magnificent. Jamee made sure to say, though, that a dessert like this needs to be served where appropriate, i.e. the city. In the country, one would want to serve a dessert that is more, well, country. She suggested a strawberry rhubarb cobbler with frozen vanilla yogurt. For those of us who want to try our hands at the city version of the dessert, Jamee thought that meringue molds (which can be bought at bakeries and grocery stores) piled with strawberries, mint, whip cream, and sorbet (with Hershey's chocolate sauce on the side) would be a great substitution.




For those people who don't entertain often or who are just starting out, Jamee recommends serving something fun like Chicken Curry that can be prepared ahead of time and served in a pretty casserole. (Preparing dishes ahead of time is a true life-saver.) You could then serve all of the appropriate accompaniments- coconut, chutnies, etc.- in small dishes. Sounds good to me.





Finally, for a few of Jamee's no-no's. Don't experiment with a new dish the night of a party. (You'd be amazed at how many people do this. Rarely does it turn out well.) No scented candles on the dining table. Unscented votive candles on the table or buffet, though, cast a nice glow. And if you have a few guests who stay beyond the witching hour and who don't seem to want to leave, you should yawn to give guests the hint. If that doesn't work, plan B is to say, politely of course, that it's getting late and you have an early morning to face.

So, if you'll excuse me (yawn), I have an early morning to face.




(All photos courtesy of New York Parties: Private Views by Jamee Gregory; Eric Striffler photographer; Rizzoli, October 2010)

Gramercy is Pretty in Pink

I was in Gramercy today checking on my custom shower curtain with gray Art Deco monogram (you know how I love a monogram) and was thrilled to see the shop decked out in pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. As you can see in the photo at top, Gramercy's Pretty in Pink promotion (cue the Psychedelic Furs song, please) means that the shop will donate a percentage of all pink items sold during the month of October to the Doris Shaheen Breast Health Center at Piedmont Hospital. Also, for every $20 donated to the Center, Gramercy will give you a ticket that you can use to enter a drawing for monogrammed napkins, a complete bed set, PJs, or a throw. If that doesn't entice you to give to a great cause, maybe these photos of the shop will.




A little feminine, a little preppy, a little pink...a whole lotta look.



Linens and a lamp cast a rosy glow in this vignette.




Pajamas with the Pink Ribbon embroidered on a front pocket.





See that gray horse blanket? I've been pining for it for weeks now. That's one of the prizes in the giveaway mentioned above.





Think pink when buying this Madeline Weinrib rug, Pink Westley




Pink linen certainly looks a lot more stylish than my Vanity Fair napkins.




One can never have too much linen.

All photographs by Jennifer Boles for The Peak of Chic

And Speaking of Bedding...

I used to have a lot of luck winning contests and prizes. I've won money (not much, but a little), CDs, and books. I never won Publishers Clearing House, but Lord knows I tried awfully hard on that one when I was a child. I don't know how my luck is these days, but I'm testing it out with this contest that I just found out about: a $1500 shopping spree at Frette. You better believe that I entered. I just had to retire a set of sheets so I'm in the market for a new set. How luxurious would it be to win?? Very!

I've already spent my $1500, at least in my head I have. What do you think you'd get? (If you win, you better let me know! Click here to enter.)

It wouldn't pay for the whole thing, but I might apply it to this mink cushion. How decadent is that?




I'm also taken with this metal cushion that is woven with metallic thread.



Or this gorgeous silk and cotton swirl print quilt. So pretty.



Wait, I'm getting distracted. I need sheets! Maybe something like this hotel bed set with the black embroidery.



Or for something a little different, this Sfusato Border sheet. Not too much print, but just enough.

Behind the Velvet Walls

I still can't get Alberto Pinto: Table Settings out of my head. I've already told you how gorgeous the photos are and how enviable Pinto's collection of china, linens, and flatware is. But there is one image in particular that really caught my eye: that of Pinto's dining room. Is it because of the table? The Rose topiary? Yes, and yes. But what really makes this room so memorable to me are those green velvet covered walls. Pinto even covered the shell niches with the fabric! The way the light hits it, it almost looks radioactive.

One might argue that Pinto really gilded the lily with his use of velvet on walls and niches, and perhaps he did. There is a very fine line between fabulous and frightful when that much velvet is involved. And to some of us, copious amounts of green velvet bring to mind images of Scarlett O'Hara in her curtain dress...or Carol Burnett in her Bob Mackie curtain-rod version. But in this case, I think it's pretty terrific. Both the setting and the furnishings are right for this kind of luxury. Would it work in a late 1960s high rise in Buckhead? Probably not. But in an elegant Paris dwelling? Yes. In fact, here are some other examples of velvet clad rooms, all of which happen to be in France.



Both the walls and the crown molding were dressed in moss green velvet.



Dove gray velvet walls were made even more elegant with that embroidered valance.



The Paris living room of Raymond Guest as decorated by Emilio Terry. That bold rug gave an edge to an otherwise proper room.



Love the velvet walls, green velvet chair, and leopard print velvet sofa. Too much? Not in my book.



If velvet is too fancy for you, how about corduroy? Corduroy sofa, corduroy walls, and corduroy curtains. I suppose it's no surprise that this Paris apartment was owned by an American. Corduroy is, in a way, like the American version of velvet.

(Top image from Alberto Pinto: Table Settings by Alberto Pinto, Giorgio Baroni photographer; other images from The Finest Rooms in France)

Chinese...If You Please

I went to the Schumacher showroom at ADAC the other day with the express purpose of looking at the new print Nanjing in person. That's it above in a Schumacher vignette. Big. Bold. Blue. Oh, and it's, of course, Chinoiserie. What's not to love?



The linen fabric comes in Porcelain and Jade, both shown above, as well as Coral and Smoke. I'm usually not crazy about green, but this Jade is a little like a bottle green. Such great colors. And then a few days later, I found photos of this kitchen loaded with blue and white accents, including an exuberant Chinoiserie print fabric.



That blown-up print looks great on the rather plain Queen Anne chairs. It really perked things up. Obviously, it's not the same print as the Schumacher, but it has a similar look.



The same fabric was even used to line glass-front kitchen cabinets.

So think about how great a red kitchen would look with the Coral Nanjing lining fronts of cabinets or used for window shades. Or, what about Porcelain or Jade used somewhere- anywhere!- in a peacock colored room. There are so many possibilities. I just need to narrow it down to how and where I'll use it in my home.

(Images #1 and #2 from Schumacher; #3 and #4 from Southern Accents; the date? Ages ago.)

Mad About Maugham

I just finished reading Syrie Maugham, Pauline Metcalf's new book on one of the twentieth century's most innovative designers. It was high time that Syrie got a book of her own. Actually, Richard Fisher wrote a book on Syrie back in the late 1970s, but that one is both hard to find and quite expensive. I had to resort to photocopying the Fisher book at my neighborhood library. At least I own Metcalf's book.

Like so many of the Acanthus Press books that I've read, Syrie Maugham is very much a catalogue raisonne of the decorator's work through the decades. There were some Maugham rooms that I was familiar with, but many were new to me too. Of course, Maugham's famous Kings Road all-white drawing room is featured in the book (it's on the cover, too); after all, this was the room that got Maugham noticed by the press and the public on both sides of the Atlantic. But what many people don't realize is that Maugham also used color- vivid color- in much of her work, and this is a point that Metcalf drives home with such examples as the living room of Ina and William Wallace and even Maugham's later residence at Chesham Place. In addition to color, other Maugham hallmarks include tufted upholstery (Syrie never overlooked comfort), sleigh beds, mirrored screens, fringe, and fabulous window pelmets, all of which are seen throughout the book.

Another interesting point made by Metcalf is that at times, Maugham's work "overlapped" with that of Elsie de Wolfe, Frances Elkins (someone with whom Maugham occasionally collaborated), and even Dorothy Draper. Look at photos of all four designers' work and you'll see the influence that each one had on the other.

I know that there are those of us who are fascinated by the history of design and those who are only interested in photographs of gorgeous rooms. No matter which camp you're in, I think this book will be well received by both. After reading it, you'll realize that Syrie Maugham was not just a one trick pony. Although she'll be best remembered for that white room and pickled furniture, she did so much more than that. Thanks to Metcalf for showing us that.



The famous all-white party room at Maugham's Kings Road home c. 1932. Once this look ran its course, Maugham was smart enough to go in a different direction and decorate her home in a whole new way:



Vogue Regency in the Entrance Hall at Chesham Place, Maugham's address from 1937 to 1939. If I didn't know better, I might think that this space was decorated by Dorothy Draper.



Rose wallpaper struck a colorful note in the entrance hall at yet another Maugham home, this one at 24 Park Lane.



And one more example of rich color, this time in the living room of William Wallace and his wife, actress Ina Claire. This space dates to the early 1940s.



I find this Maugham decorated drawing room so charming, and I just had to include it because this home belonged to Lady Rose Leveson-Gower and her husband; she was the older sister to the late Queen Mum.



The Manhattan apartment of Grace and Harry Payne Bingham. If only I had traditional windows in my apartment, I would copy that pelmet in a heartbeat.


(All images courtesy of Syrie Maugham by Pauline C. Metcalf, Acanthus Press publishers.)