TypeCase for iPad

I finally got the iPad 2 a few months ago, and for whatever reason, I thought it would change my life. Well, it has and it hasn't. Not that I'm saying it's not terrific, because it is. I think my big issue is that I'm so used to using my laptop that, well, old habits die hard. It's the typing that I find difficult on the iPad. Obviously, I wouldn't type a thesis on the iPad, but I do use it for emails and short documents.

Funny enough, I ran into my friend Aida Flamm at the Barnes & Noble earlier this summer, and she had the coolest iPad case. It was red lizard embossed leather, and the best part of it was that it held a wireless Bluetooth keyboard. A full-sized keyboard, I might add. As it turns out, she and a few partners own the company that makes the iPad cases! The case is called TypeCase and the company is CaseGoods. They come in red lizard leather, black or brown croc leather, black calf hair leather, and black or tan plain leather. And evidently it's the only iPad case on the market with a full-sized keyboard.

I was so interested in the case that Aida was kind enough to give me one. I've been using it for a while, and I have to say that I'm using my iPad more often than I used to. The keyboard makes life easy, while the case itself looks nice and professional should you use your iPad for presentations. There is even a kickstand at the back that allows you to prop up your iPad as well.

I took a few photos to show you what it looks like when in use and closed. (By the way, it works on both iPad and iPad 2.) I really like it and thought I would share this with you...just in case you're not absolutely loving the iPad as I used to!

For more information or to purchase a TypeCase, go to www.casegoodsproducts.com.

Françoise de la Renta on Entertaining

In the January 1982 issue of House & Garden, the late Françoise de la Renta wrote a very charming article on entertaining. In it, she mentioned that she loved to host teas, though she also wrote that if she hosted dinner parties, she usually did so two nights in a row. That way, flowers and wine did not go to waste and leftovers could be incorporated into the second dinner's menu. And, she felt that crowded tables of 12 helped to spark conversation. Very practical and sage advice indeed.

But practicality aside, de la Renta really nailed it, so to speak, when she wrote about the essence of entertaining. "Abundance- abundance of fruit, wine, bread, intelligent conversation, laughter- is the essence of a wonderful party." And "My dining room is my theater. I've invited with great care and I seat my actors the way I think they will enjoy themselves the most." With sentiments like that, it's no wonder that de la Renta was considered to be one of New York's most thoughtful and elegant hostesses.





At de la Renta's Manhattan apartment, a Russian tea inspired by those of composer and author Nicolas Nabokov's childhood. Treats included black, gray, sweet and sour, and golden brioche breads.



A blue and white place setting at de la Renta's dining table.




Outdoor dining at the de la Rentas' Santo Domingo house. The terracotta plates, glasses, and pitchers are perfect for the outdoors.




A smaller table at Santo Domingo set for an intimate dinner.


All images from House & Garden, January 1982.

The Legendary Duarte Pinto Coelho

I'm sure that many of you have heard of the late Portuguese interior designer Duarte Pinto Coelho. I'll be honest- I never had until I bought the June issue of Spanish AD. And I'm sorry, too, that this article was the first that I've read about Coelho because by the looks of these photos, I have really missed out on a lot!

Coelho died last year, and the contents of both his Madrid and Trujillo homes were auctioned off earlier this summer at Christie's. The photos featured here were taken at Coelho's Madrid home. I wish that I could tell you more about the article, but unfortunately I don't speak a lick of Spanish. But really, you don't need text to accompany these gorgeous photos. The home's beauty speaks for itself.



































All photos from Spanish AD, June 2011, Manolo Yllera photographer.

Thanks for the Inspiration, Fabrizio Rollo

I can't seem to get this photo out of mind as I find it so striking-and that goes for both the fashionably clad subjects and the decor around them. I found this photo on the blog of Brazilian based Fabrizio Rollo, the man seated in the middle. Fabrizio is currently the director of House Beautiful Brasil, though in the past he has held editorial positions at Casa Vogue and Vogue Brasil. Not only is he a natty dresser (Google his name to see what I mean; Fabrizio has a stellar wardrobe!), but he also has an eye for interior design. Even if you can't read Portuguese, it's worth visiting his blog as the images are really beautiful. The photographs transcend the language barrier...just like the one above.

What especially caught my eye was that beautiful tapestry. If it looks familiar, that's because it once graced the dining room of Yves Saint Laurent's Rue de Babylone home. The c. 1720 Gobelins tapestry, titled The King Borne by Two Moors, was purchased by Fabrizio's friend at the YSL auction at Christie's. And now it hangs in his friend's Paris apartment where the photo at top was taken. I think it's worth noting that the tapestry depicts the Dutch colony of Brazil, the (now) country that Fabrizio calls home.

I have to admit that I've never been a big fan of tapestries. That's sacrilege, I know. Still, you don't see them very often in American interiors as they're perhaps too grand for our more casual homes. Also, I've always thought the colors were a bit drab, though I realize the more monotone nature of many tapestries is due to fading and possible limitations in the number of colors used. But then I saw the Gobelins tapestry above and it completely changed my mind. The colors in this one are so vibrant, and they are made even more so thanks to the red sofa beneath it. Even the tapestry's subject, so exotic for the time, is something I find to be charming.

Perhaps someday you just might find a tapestry in my home. Will it be as grand as the YSL one? Maybe not. But in the meantime, I'll just have to live vicariously through Fabrizio.



The Gobelins tapestry as it appeared in Yves Saint Laurent's dining room.





Designer Jacques Grange has rotated this 1930s looking tapestry throughout his Paris home.




The Paris apartment of Madame Cuttoli, c. 1937. Cuttoli revitalized the Aubusson workshops during the 1930s by inviting artists like Lurcat, Matisse, Derain, and Dufy to design tapestries. In this photo, the two floor to ceiling tapestries that flank the fireplace were by Lurcat.




Here, a Beauvais tapestry, "Le Voyage du Prince".




Alidad furnished this Parisian living room with an Aubusson Louis XV tapestry.




Image at top courtesy of Fabrizio Rollo; #2 from The Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Berge Collection: The Sale of the Century; #3 from The French Touch: Decoration and Design in the Most Beautiful Homes of France; #4 from Jacques Grange: Interiors; #5 from The Decorative Thirties; #6 from Les Reussites De La Decoration Francaise: 1950-1960; #7 courtesy of Alidad.

Cane and T-Abel

How could that photo above not capture one's attention, what with the Lichtenstein and the shocking red walls and bed. There's a lot going there ("there" being the New York bedroom of designer Arthur Smith, c. 1982), but what really made me sit up and take notice were the Bielecky Brothers side tables. This photo served as a (cruel) reminder that I have yet to get the Bielecky Brothers side table that I so covet. In fact, one of their cane wrapped tables would look perfect in my study with its Albert Hadley for Hinson "Trixie" wallpaper, its gray sisal carpet, and my black lacquered Parsons console. I like to think of the room as looking very Van Day Truex meets Albert Hadley with a dash of Jennifer Boles thrown in. At least, that's what I think.

According to Adam Lewis' Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator, we have Billy Baldwin and Van Day Truex to thank for the Bielecky Brothers' iconic cane wrapped chair, a design that was inspired by a Jean-Michel Frank piece. The two men commissioned Bielecky Brothers to make the chairs for use in various Tiffany & Co. salons, although I would venture to say that most of us probably associate the cane wrapped pieces with Baldwin's glossy chocolate brown studio apartment. Since that first chair, the line has evolved into cane wrapped tables, bookcases, and chests. One could say that these are investment pieces as they don't come cheap. But what's important to note is that they wear like iron. Atlanta designer Stan Topol has Bielecky Brothers' chairs and tables that are 30+ years old and they look good as new. You would think that he bought them yesterday!

I'm hoping that my table will look that good thirty years from now. I just need to get my hands on one first.



Van Day Truex used Bielecky Brothers chairs in his last apartment.




Mrs. Harding Lawrence (Mary Wells Lawrence) incorporated the chairs into this table setting for the book The New Tiffany Table Settings.




Angelo Donghia was an ardent fan of the line. Here, in his New York town house, he used two different styles of the Bielecky cane table.




I could have shown the Bielecky Brothers pieces in Billy Baldwin's Manhattan apartment, but I've featured those photos so many times before that I wanted to show something different. Here, in the games room of the S.I. Newhouse Jr. townhouse, Baldwin used both the chairs and the game table.




In this New York Social Diary photo of Adam Lewis' beautiful New York apartment, you can see that he too has the classic Bielecky Brothers' chairs. Fitting for the author of books on Van Day Truex and Billy Baldwin! Seeing that I admire all three men greatly (that is including Lewis), it's fitting that I want a cane wrapped piece too.




Stan Topol has Bielecky Brothers galore in his Atlanta office that recently appeared in the May issue of House Beautiful.

Top photo from House & Garden, January 1982; photo #2 from Van Day Truex: The Man Who Defined Twentieth-Century Taste and Style by Adam Lewis; #3 from The New Tiffany Table Settings; #4 from New York Interior Design, 1935-1985, Vol. 2: Masters of Modernism by Judith Gura; #5 from Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator; #6 from New York Social Diary, Jeff Hirsch photographer; #7 from House Beautiful, May 2011, Thomas Loof photographer.

Everything Happens at Cocktails!

Steven Stolman is a man after my own heart. It's not solely because of his immense charm, although I am a sucker for that kind of thing. And yes, he is the walking embodiment of preppy chic, something which I find to be pretty darn cool. But what has really made me his biggest fan is the fact that Steven is the king of the hors d'oeuvre.

There's no pretense to his style of entertaining, nor is there any attempt at being fancy and showy. Rather, Steven embraces that down to earth, old-fashioned way of entertaining that is to me really quite chic. We're talking hors d'oeuvres and appetizers such as deviled eggs, Lil' Smokies, and dips made from, shall we say, humble ingredients. Seriously, have you ever met anybody who doesn't like a good cocktail frank?

Steven and I got on an email roll recently sharing hors d'oeuvres recipes and entertaining tips. (I've decided that I have a long way to go before I can rattle dip recipes off the top of my head like Steven does.) While we were planning this post, Steven was named President of Scalamandre. He's perfect for this position. Scalamandre has such a glorious heritage, something which a person like Steven gets and respects. I'm really excited to see what's in store for the venerable fabric house.

But getting back to cocktail franks- Steven emailed to me his thoughts on entertaining. He did such a nice job with the text that I simply copied and pasted it below. And the title of this post? That too is courtesy of Steven. Because you know, if you serve really tasty food and plenty of booze, everything really can happen at cocktails!

Steven wrote:
Having miraculously reached middle age, I have resigned myself to certain absolutes. No matter how hard I work, God does not want me to have granite countertops or stainless steel appliances. Indeed, by the time I could afford them, Formica and Harvest Gold will have become chic again. So, for the foreseeable future, it's gonna be a white kitchen for me. And I don't mean modern, museum quality white. I mean 1970s "only seen by the help" white. In my Palm Beach apartment, I have the same stove that Samantha Stevens of "Bewitched" slaved over- sadly without the magical results. It's the kind of kitchen that caused Diana Vreeland to shriek "My god, I'm SNOWBLIND!" White on white on white- with the added allure of fluorescent lighting.

The result of having a rather retro culinary laboratory has caused me to be enamored by retro foods. I have a huge collection of 1950s-70s charity cookbooks- the kind with plastic spiral bindings and cutesy names like "Nothin' Says Lovin" or "Just Desserts" as published by the Garden Club of Sewickley and the like. And then there are my treasures- an original "I Hate to Cook Book" by Peg Bracken (genius) and the enigmatic "Some Favorite Southern Recipes of the Duchess of Windsor" (useless except for the recipe for popovers that you know she never made- or ate for that matter.) My own repertoire has aped these classics- resulting in the reputation for being a pretty good homestyle cook. Thankfully, I come from a family that has always loved to entertain- from my grandparents' command performance Friday night dinners to my mom's impeccable dinner parties to my own gatherings in Palm Beach and now, after a 15 year hiatus, New York.

When the good folks at Scalamandre asked me to join the company as president, I immediately knew that I would have to ramp up my entertaining activities. The house of Scalamandre is the epitome of gracious living, and welcoming friends and business associates into one's home is the ultimate expression of that ethic. Once again, my surroundings would dictate my entertaining style. While spacious, I live in a studio apartment in what feels like the biggest apartment building on Earth. Built in the early 1960s by the legendary Rudin family, it's a behemoth of white brick, now totally enveloped in scaffolding as part of a multi-year exterior facade overhaul. Needless to say, I love it. But entertaining in a studio has its limitations. The last thing I want to do is go to bed amid the lingering odors of Cassoulet Toulousiene, one of my standbys. So for the duration, it's cocktails at my place followed by a restaurant dinner in the neighborhood. I have a fantastic, enormous 1970s sectional sofa plucked from a thrift shop, a stunning glass topped Fontana Arte coffee table on loan from by buddies at Van den Akker Antiques and another thrift shop find- a classic Mies van der Rohe "Brno" chair. It's kinda like the set of a television talk show, but it seems to be working. This format demands stationary hors d'oeuvre- so my gameplan involves bowls of nuts, olives and pepperoni, a big hunk of cheese with a knife stabbed into it Excalibur-style and one terrific retro cocktail spread- either with crackers or celery sticks. This array always looks fresh and not picked at, packs a lot of punch into a small space and seems to keep people coming back for more. It's also mercifully free of hummus.

JANE'S CHEESE

1 bunch of scallions
1 pkg. real bacon bits (essential- nothing else works)
1 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
Generous dash of Worcestershire Sauce
A few grinds of black pepper

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, chop scallions and bacon until they resemble wet, green sand. Add cheese and pulse a few more times. Turn out into a bowl and mix in mayonnaise and the rest of the ingredients. Chill before serving- and whatever you do, do not tell people what's in it. Most will guess "chicken salad." I have no clue why. This spread has 2 lives- serve it cold with crackers or spread it on toast rounds and broil until puffed and lightly browned.

MATER'S MESS (courtesy Polly Fawcett, Boston's extraordinary interior designer)

1 small onion
2 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup green pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 pkg. shredded cheddar cheese
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine onion, olives and eggs. Pulse until lightly combined. Add cheese and continue to pulse, being very careful not to over-process. Turn out into a bowl and blend in cream cheese. Serve with Triscuits to be authentically North Shore Boston or with celery sticks or spread on cucumber slices if you're avoiding carbs. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ADD ANY OTHER INGREDIENTS OR VARY FROM THE METHOD (trust me, I've tried.)

A recent batch of Mater's Mess as prepared by Steven.




Backwards Deviled Eggs and Australian Cheddar served Excalibur style.





"Typical cocktail party spread at my Palm Beach apartment.
Tea sandwiches, Swedish meatballs or Lil' Smokies steamed in beer and a great old 1950s cocktail spread that has to included cheese, bacon, olives, hard boiled eggs... sometimes all of the above!"




A Christmas Day Paella dinner at Steven's Palm Beach apartment.





His Palm Beach apartment at the ready for guests.




Just a few of Steven's favorite cookbooks.







All photos courtesy of Steven Stolman.

Blue and White with Oscar de la Renta

As much as I love blue and white (and I do, I promise), I feel as though there is blue and white...and then there is blue and white! What I mean, I suppose, is that there is classic blue and white, proper blue and white, and tailored blue and white. But what's really rare is blue and white with some sizzle. Forget about this kind of blue and white being cool; rather, it's positively on fire. The look incorporates bold blues and even bolder prints, and everything is thrown together with complete insouciance. Then again, is the look really achieved in such a carefree manner? That I don't know. But, what I do know is that Oscar de la Renta has given us some of the hottest blue and white rooms ever. Unfortunately, I can only find a scant three photos to prove my point. But, based on what I have found, I'd say that he really has a way with blue and white.




A 1969 photo of Francoise and Oscar de la Renta's Manhattan apartment.



A Porthault clad table in de la Renta's dining room c. 1971. Horst, photographer.

Image at top: A c. 1980s photo of de la Renta at his Casa de Campo home.