We're Back, Ya'll!

Betchya didn't even know we were gone! Oliver and I spent the last week in Texas, tooling around Austin and Dallas, and reuniting with old friends, meeting new ones and spending some quality time in what we found to be perfect weather. I have tons to share, but it may take a few days to sort out, since we got back late last night, and we have a busy few days ahead. I uploaded our photos when we got home and couldn't resist posting this picture I snapped through the window of our sweet Nissan Versa rental car (it was surprisingly clean) while driving on I-35 (I wasn't actually driving; Oliver was. Safety first!). Oliver has always loved the Texas sky and I thought this one was a beaut. Stay tuned for more pictures and some great shopping finds!

Inside John Derian's Home

As a (not-so) closeted voyeur, I'm always creepily peering into people's homes when I get the chance. I am shameless. I look into places with windows at eye level, my own neighbors' apartments, when they open their doors as I walk by, and I love actually being invited into the homes of friends, family and clients. How someone lives is a reflection of some part of their personality and I find it all fascinating. I should be arrested. Kind of. Sometimes a person's home is exactly how I imagine it will be, based on what I know about them. Other times, I am floored by wrong my imagination was. In New York, it's particularly crazy to see how people live because there are so many outrageously rich people who live like complete and utter slobs! And, often, you'd never know it by looking at how they put themselves together. I can't tell you how many apartments or brownstones I've walked into, with very successful owners, expecting luxury for days, only to be met with dirty litter boxes, chipped paint, stained carpets, ripped furniture, faulty blinds – squalor, I tell you! 

So, I love when magazines and newspapers (and blogs!) take us inside beautiful homes, showing gorgeously styled rooms on full-page spreads. And the backstories bring the photos to life. I recently posted about John Derian's collaboration with Target, so I was excited to find Shelterpop's story on his 18th century Provincetown, MA country home, with lovely photos taken by Julia Cumes. See for yourself!

Check out the unexpected use of a wood table in the bathroom at left, and the portrait where a mirror normally goes on the right. Clever! 

Derian kept much of the home's 1930s and 1940s wallpaper, despite their varying states of disrepair. It's a fun effect, making it appear that the owner has uncovered a treasure buried under layers of history (and previous owners' design decisions). 

Derian's home is a calm, paired-down and fairly clutter-free reflection of his shop, which is stuffed to the gills with all kinds of curiosities. It actually has the essence of a house museum: an old home preserved and restored, filled with original period furniture and accessories that serves to show us what life was like in ye olden times (the furniture is always very small!). Derian has managed to keep his home's aesthetics grounded in the 18th century, while subtly (but painstakingly) adapting it to meet current standards and comforts of plumbing and electricity. You would never know how much work he's done – not an easy feat!


For comparison, some images of Derian's shop, courtesy of Apartment Therapy:

Turn This Outfit Into A Room

Like many designers, I loved Domino Magazine and was so sad to see it fold. One of my favorite features was "Turn This Outfit Into a Room," whereby a stylish fashion image would be translated into a residential interior. Phenomenal idea! I'd never felt compelled to do that myself (it's a lot of work!), until I came across the above image in Lucky Magazine (Domino's sister mag focusing on fashion). The subtle color combination and luxe mix of textures screamed luxe living room to me. So, I thought I'd try my hand at making this outfit into a room. Click to enlarge.


Clockwise from top left: 
Window coverings: Network casement textile from Donghia
Chandelier: Shell Bell Basket from Shades of Light
Mirror: Antiqued Peacock from Wisteria
Table lamp: Modern Spindle from Shades of Light
Side table: Olive Ash Burl Moroccan Table from Global Views
Rug: Zigzag from West Elm
Side chair: Pierre from Oly Studio
Etagere: Obed from Donghia
Ottoman: Grinch Poof from Global Views
Sofa: Oscar by Matthew Hinson, available at Remodelista

Car Candy

Feast your eyes on this idea, from decorator Carolyn Espley-Miller (wife of Dennis), as seen in last month's House Beautiful. I can't TELL you how much I love this: slipcovering car interiors? With some fabulous textile? Ingenious! Car upholstery, even in the fanciest of fancy cars, is pretty ho-hum, so taking matters into your own hands is such a phenomenal approach.

I'm not a huge car person. I've never paid much attention to car design, in part, at least, because I have rarely needed one on a daily basis; I grew up in a city, learned to drive at 18, barely drove until I was 23, have lived for the last 5.5 years without a car. When I did have a car, I parked it on the street, where it got dinged up, broken into, scratched, etc. My car was old (1987 Honda!) so the bruising and attery from the street didn't bother me like it would have if the car had been new. I did spend one year commuting an hour each way to a job in Northern California when I was 25, and I have to admit, for the first time in my life, I had new car envy. My car was FINE. But when I did dream about new cars, I wasn't thinking of snappy, zippy cars; I was thinking of very practical four-door sedans. See? Not a car person.

Maybe I've never been excited about different car designs because I feel so many of them look the same, especially on the inside. Oliver and I are doing a lot of driving this week in a rented car (which always feel a little dirty to me, but I try not to think too much about it...and let's not even get into the bed bug issue), so car interiors are on the brain. This idea is going into the "future projects" file.

Things I Just Don't Get: Harem Pants

Trends from Spring 2009
I do my best to keep this blog on a fairly positive note. Sure, I have moments of snarkiness, but generally, I feel I make my criticism constructive and do my best to couch any unnecessary meanness in light, fluffy jokery. I also think it's unwise to make big, concrete statements about things one should never do, buy, wear, combine, display, etc. I am the kind of person who sometimes has to warm up to brand new trends when they're on the fringe. In the beginning, I am usually not a supporter of something in part, because I am unfamiliar with it, or I'm not sure how I would work it into my home, wardrobe, daily life, etc. I often wind up growing to appreciate things I never thought I would, when given some time and context.

However, sometimes I come across things I do not and will never understand, and I really want to rant about them. But, in the name of remaining upbeat, I try to refrain. I've come across a few blogs lately devoted entirely to ranting about a given subject, and the writers manage to make them amusing and hilarious, not totally a-hole-y. So, I've decided to give it a shot. On occasion, I will tackle a well-vetted (i.e. something I've not understood for a long period of time and therefore feel I never will, so I won't eat my words later) design subject with criticism that may not be particularly constructive, but it will be fun (for me, at least). I am calling it "Things I Just Don't Get." My first victim is the bizarro HAREM PANTS.

According to Wikipedia, Harem Pants are long pants are a cross between a skirt and a pair of skinny jeans, as the legs, from the knees down, are fitted, while the crotch area is loose and baggy, as if it were cut to be a skirt. FINE. Somehow, they manage to look far less ridiculous when worn in the traditional manner, on Indian women:

A far, far cry from this, don't you think?

There have been plenty of trends that I don't follow, but harem pants irk me like none other. I think it's because they flatter no one (not even the walking hangers on the runways!), so I'm baffled as to why anyone would wear them in public, and not get paid to do so. And it's not just that they don't flatter (I mean, those babydoll dresses and shirts don't really flatter everyone either, but I don't hate them), it's that they go beyond not flattering. They change the wearer's shape, make them look dowdy or poopy-filled. Ok, I'm getting mean. But come on! 

Oh! The options: convertibles!! Pants...or a cat-suit!

I just don't understand the harem pant craze. I didn't get it back in the 1980s, and I don't get it now. As you know, M.C. Hammer had a fairly successful run while wearing them, but where did that get him? Bankruptcy.

Ok, not because of the pants, but still, they are part of his story. When they came out a while back, I was sure it was a passing trend that the runway people dreamed up, and assumed it would never fly on the street. But, suddenly, they're everywhere! And not just in uber-trendy neighborhoods. I saw a chick wearing them in my neck of the woods, which is not exactly a hotbed of downtown chic (yet, although it's on it's way).

The pants really run the gamut in pricing, from Jean Paul Gautier's, sold at Bergdorf Goodman ($435), to those sold at The Gap and J.C. Penny for a fraction of the cost ($10.80)

From left: Jean Paul Gautier, The Gap, J.C. Penny

You can try and dress 'em up in a fancy-ass fabric (in this case, silk), but, I'm telling you, it doesn't help. 

Is it just me, or do these look like they were hewn from garbage bags?

J.Crew has sold out of their sequined version, complete with drawstring waist. Huh? And the company's Creative Director, Jenna Lyons, seemingly can't get enough of them–she's been seen wearing them all over town and in the media! The kicker: those bad boys cost a whopping $650!

I'm going to end on a high note: faded denim drawstring harem pants. I really don't have a comment:

If there's something you just don't get and you'd like me to rant about, by all means, send me an email describing it. If I agree with you, I'll create a post for it. 

"That's absolutely right, except when it's absolutely wrong..."

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about (and leafing through the images of) stylist Peter Frank's Hudson, NY home in Elle Decor's September issue (Quirky & Deliberate, by Rima Suqi). I thought his insights about how it came together were fascinating, and his approach to design worth sharing. A set designer and stylist for the likes of Martha Stewart, Ralph Lauren, Pottery Barn, Garnet Hill, Architectural Digest, Frank is no stranger to buying for the home. But for his own, rather than shop the catalogs for which he styles, he tends to buy quirky, one-of-a-kind pieces, resulting in a collected home.

It is much easier to go to a store and select a select a set of furniture and accessories that are meant to coordinate than spend hours visiting different shops, finding ones off the beaten path or unlikely sources, looking for that one perfect piece to go in that one certain place. If you take that approach, chances are you have a lot of empty but soon-to-be fabulous spots in your house. In my opinion, the emptiness is well worth it, once you find that "wow" piece that no one else has and will probably stay with you, in some capacity, forever.

On a much smaller scale, Oliver and I have tried to implement that philosophy in our own home. We know people who move into a new place and within a week, they are ready to receive guests in a fully furnished, functioning abode. Not at all the case with us! The small-space thing definitely contributes, but we are generally slow to find places for our things. Living small has made us ruthless editors of our belongings. At this point, if something isn't extremely important to us, it will shortly find it's way to the Goodwill bag. But if it is important, then we will agonize over how to best display/use/enjoy it. We will move it up, down and all around until we are satisfied. The limited space also places tremendous limits on what we can put in a given space, but we were the same way when we lived in larger apartments back in ye olden days. Of course, sometimes, the time and the budgetary constraints become too much to deal with and we just go to West Elm or CB2 and get something off the shelf and ready for delivery, then we wish we'd done that months before! As a result of our very slow progress, it took a year and a half for me to feel that our apartment was guest-ready. Not to worry, we had guests over despite the non-readiness factor!

Needless to say, I took great joy in reading about how Frank came to fill his home over time. First of all, he lived in the house for about six months with a folding table, a couple of chairs and a mattress on the floor in order to "get to know" all the rooms at different times of day, to see how light and seasons changed them, which eventually influenced his color choices and the layout. I love that idea, if you have the luxury of time to execute it. Frank is clearly a master at mixing styles and textures: inky blue papered walls, am 18th century Korean screen and a Poul Kjaerholm cane chair; a Danish modern table paired with a Neoclassical mirror; Knoll chairs juxtaposed by Shaker cabinets; a Swedish clock atop Turkish carpets.


What I found most intriguing in the article was Frank's honesty about how his interiors come together. When asked what his secret to mixing eras, styles, sizes and shapes is, he responded that it's all trial and error. "You have to mix things and be honest–if it doesn't work, change it." Then he admitted to making lots of mistakes, (!!!) which, he says, his cluttered attic can attest to.

I can't tell you how comforting it is to hear admission of mistakes from someone who's been in the biz for twenty years. Thankfully, I haven't made any huge, detrimental or costly mistakes yet, but there have been small, fixable ones. Big or small, mistakes never feel good and you always think you're the only one out there making them. Not true! It takes a long time to gain confidence in this business. A lot of money, sentimental pieces, opinions and relationships are at stake when designing someone's home. There are plenty of opportunities for error, and every designer has nightmares about screwing up and getting fired. In the end, whatever we were worried about usually works out, resulting in a job well done and a satisfied client. But, it's always nice to know you're not alone in your private fears.

I also appreciated Frank's dismissal of rules and guidelines–style tenets that people seem to adhere to ('never do this,' 'always do that'), which are always changing, anyway and none of it makes much sense. As Frank said, "A very good decorator told me that all four legs of a piece of furniture must always sit within an area rug. That's absolutely right, except when it's absolutely wrong. I have both situations in my house, and both are correct." Fantastic.

All images courtesy Elle Decor

Inside the Oval Office

Images of the newly revamped Oval Office, decorated by Michael S. Smith were recently released and the response was tepid, at best. As Penelope Green of the NY Times put it in her article, "The Audacity of Taupe," the general consensus was something like "a collective yawn: too brown, too dowdy, too ho hum." While I like some of the choices Obama made, I generally agree, although I can't say I am surprised at the overall beige-y-ness of the whole affair. I don't think I was alone in my curiosity to see how this administration would handle the tradition of redecorating the White House, considering the state of the economy. When you're out of a job and just barely getting by, the last thing you want to hear about is the President frivolously redecorating his office. For many people, an ostentatious redecorating scheme would have been a slap in the face. I thought, under the circumstances, Obama would make some fairly understated choices for his new office design, and I believe he did.

This is probably a good place for me to note that none of my opinions on Oval Office interiors are driven by the politicians occupying them. I am commenting strictly on design, not politics. I do not think taste runs along party lines. My agreement or disagreement with an administration's policies has no affect on my judgement of their choices in interior decor.

Back to business. It is pretty easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize the end result of design projects when we know very little, if nothing, of parameters: what had to be considered, who was involved, who had to be pleased, and, often most importantly, what the budget was. Having said that, let's get to some criticism!

The White House is allots $100,000 for redecorating but it is said that the Obamas opted not to use taxpayer funds or donations from the White House Historical Association, a private non-profit, reportedly choosing, instead, to foot the bill with their own money. Given the contentious election, the shaky economy and the mixed feelings about Obama and the job he's done since taking office, he's under quite a microscope, as are most world leaders. There seems to be a mass of criticism at his decision to redecorate in the first place, but every single president since Taft has redecorated to some extent. Each new administration typically selects new drapery, furniture, art (often  from the White House's collection) and commissions a new oval rug.

Taft's Oval Office, circo 1909

While it may seem wasteful to some, as an interior designer, I am a proponent of putting a lot of thought into making a space beautiful and functional, especially one in which countless hours will likely be spent. Obviously, the Oval Office is an extremely important room, as the President's office, but also as a venue for press conferences, meetings with White House staff, heads of state, dignitaries, and more. With so much use (and for so many different purposes), the Oval Office should be very comfortable and should reflect the taste and personality of the person spending between four and eight years working in it.

I've already mentioned that I'm generally not much for beige interiors, as I often feel they're a cop out, used so as to not offend anyone, resulting in fairly boring spaces. In the case of the Oval Office, some feel the neutral colors and understated furnishings allow the bones of the room and the historical elements shine. I tend to disagree. Nothing makes things shine like highlighting various elements with bright colors or layering textures and patterns.

Obama's walls are now enlivened with a striped wallpaper, which I think adds interest and warmth and contrasts well with the architectural elements (wainscoting, crown moulding, niches). While I love the shape of the new, slimmed-down sofas, and the texture of the velvet is fantastic, I find they get lost a bit in the solid mass of beige rug. George W. Bush had a killer rug. The white walls, however, left something to be desired.

Designed by Laura Bush, W's rug was fresh and bold with radiating stripes. I loved the seal, placed off-center, so it wasn't covered by a coffee table or boxed in. It was smaller than other Oval Office area rugs, allowing the exquisite white pine and walnut floor pattern to shine. A similar floor was originally installed by Reagan, but was replaced by George W. Bush in 2005. Prior to Reagan, the floor was linoleum! What in the world was linoleum doing on the floor of the Oval Office!?! I think the rug and floor patterns complement each other well.

The stunning wood floor

In keeping with tradition, Obama commissioned his own rug, placing the seal off-center as well, but on a solid background with a border of inspirational quotes. I prefer the furniture and accessories in the Obama Oval Office (the mica coffee table, the blue lamps, which play off his Presidential seal). They are at once fresher, bolder and warmer but the room still doesn't feel complete to me. I'm nonplussed by the drapes, which were a holdover from the Bush Oval Office. I appreciate a floral against a stripe, but in this case, the damask isn't a bold enough contrast.

The drapes in Bush's office (left) versus Obama's
I also think a crisper, more graphic valance silhouette would would play off the stripes better. Something similar to those seen in FDR's 1934 Oval Office:


Truman and Eisenhower had similar offices, and they certainly didn't shy away from color, did they? I love the grey-blue drapes and rug with the pink chairs, although the tone-on-tone presidential seal gets a little lost.

This image shows a recreation of the original 1956 office

Since JFK's tenure, most presidents have used the same desk, called the Resolute desk after the HMS Resolute, an Arctic discovery vessel from which the desk was created using salvaged timbers. Obama has kept this desk.


The pared down drapes and overall simplicity of Johnson's 1966 office give the room a slightly feminine feel.


There is nothing subtle – or feminine – about the Nixon oval office in the early 1970s. He really committed to yellow and blue. Ford kept much of the decor when he moved in.


Carter and Reagan also infused some femininity, what with all that peachiness in their offices in 1977 and 1982, respectively. I prefer the graphic quality of Reagan's sunburst rug over Carter's floral version.


George H.W. Bush's 1992 office is a good example of a revival interior taken too far. The drapes are way more ornate and floufy than the Neoclassical style adhered to. The white walls are so bland, but I do like the colors of the drapes and the rug.


Clinton's 1996 office evokes elements of Nixon's but those Scalamendre-candy-can sofas really push the limits paired with the marigold drapes, blue rug, shrimpy coffee table.

Do you have a favorite?

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Two years ago today, Oliver and I were married. We actually started dating six and a half years before we got married, so I struggle a bit with our "new" anniversary date. It's weird how the clock re-sets when you tie the knot. When I think of our relationship in terms of years, I think about it from the beginning in 2002, not so much the "official" beginning, in 2008.

Regardless, today marks the second anniversary of our wedding. It was the wedding we both imagined. We had so much fun, once we got past the scary parts involving sharing our personal thoughts about one another with 123 of our closest friends and family members, and our first dance, which was completely nerve-wracking (but we pulled it off).

Unfortunately, Oliver had to go out of town, so we are not together today. We will celebrate when we're both in the same zip code again, but I thought I would dedicate this post to him. Oliver is a kind and loving person. He is my most trusted confidant, my strong and level-headed support system, my source of encouragement and inspiration, and my very best friend. Plus, I find him to be quite dashing. While we are always talking and laughing, and we never seem to tire of each other's company, he is a quiet, introverted person, and I know sometimes he would just like to retreat to a peaceful place that's all his own. Of course, we don't have space for that just yet. Someday, my sweet! So, today I'm sharing elements of Oliver's imagined "man-cave," in which he'll paint, write, brood, ponder, read (hopefully with a monocle!), fix antique watches, take things apart, then put them back together, smoke pipes (he loves pipes! He'll have to write about pipe design someday), cultivate bonsai, cacti, and/or succulents, and display collections of ancient ephemera, dried bugs, out-of-print books, rare gems, skeletons or some-such wacky bibs and bobs. You knew Oliver was a 19th century intellectual, trapped in the body of a spry and bouncy modern-day 33-year old, didn't you? Well, he is.

So, without further ado, the elements of Oliver's future man sanctuary, or "mantuary"(these names are ridiculous):

The basics: a large work surface where he can sit for writing and painting, a luxurious tufted sofa, antique rug, plenty of lighting, a bar cart, velvet drapes, an antique library card catalogue for paint and brush storage....

Clockwise from left: Chandelier by Lindsey Adelman, Paradise Blue sofa from Horchow, Gilt Sunburst Mirror from Avid-Home, Velvet Drapes from Restoration Hardware, Italian teacart from Newel, Green table lamp from 1st Dibs, Skull Chair from Baller House, Classic Pharmacy Lamp from Rejuvenation, similar drafting tables available at Restoration Hardware

The extras: You might remember that Oliver has a penchant for fine luggage. He also likes itty-bitty plants, tiny rare books, scale-models of ... anything, letterpresses, Moleskine journals, penny farthings on which to zip around town, bow ties and the like...

Clockwise from left: Succulents from Succulents Galore, pocket watch, Moleskine notebooks, antique globe from Pitt, a collection of bowties, sailboat model from Quirao, Globe-Trotter luggage, Penny Farthing bicycle, circa 1895, pipes from smokingpipes.com

Who knows, maybe he'll even grow a handlebar mustache?

Handmade mustache by Whisker Works

Of course, it's in Oliver's best interest to admit me to the man-tank on occasion, as no think-session would be fruitful without delicious refreshments from his lovely wife:

Happy Anniversary, Oliver. I love (and miss) you.