* v i s u a l * v a m p *

All About Chinoiserie Screens From Gaita Interiors

2009-07-08T22:45:00.006-05:00

Rarely do I find a blog with a post or two that I want to reprint. I recently found the blog Gaita Interiors, and it is very, very good.

Last year I posted about a Billy Baldwin inspiration by way of Mr. B's way of using a Chinese screen HERE.

Leona from From Gaita Interiors did a fabulous post on Chinoiserie screens that I want to share with you. I feel a terrific DIY project is about to happen!

The following is from Gaita Interiors:

"The folding Chinoiserie Screen has been a classic piece in interior design for centuries for several good reasons. First and foremost, they’re beautiful. They add an exotic Eastern flavor to any room. Lately I’ve noticed a trend among designers toward the use of this decorative staple, as part of an elegant yet unpretentious approach to the design of comfortable living spaces.

This beautiful room is by Alessandra Branca, via www.pointclickhome.com

The look is dramatic, and can serve as a focal point, setting the tone of the room. Serving as both furniture and art, a Chinoiserie screen works beautifully in a traditional or contemporary setting. The practical side of the folding screen is not to be overlooked. Interior designers and home owners have used them to define and divide spaces, and to hide an array of necessary evils, from an unfortunately placed powder room door, to a messy pile of toys, to an undesirable view. All while adding miles of style, pattern and color!

By Michael S. Smith

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From the June House Beautiful, by Meg Braff. This small set can serve as wall art, or be used on a table top.

lsdkjflskdjflskdjflskdjlskdjflskdj June House Beautiful above skdjflskdfj

English leather screens, via Decorati

lsfjlskdjflsdkjflskdjflskdjlskd English Leather Screens above lskdjfls

By Michael S. Smith

s;dl;sldkf;sldkf;sldkf;sldfk Smith Room with Fireplace above lskdjfhlj

The home chef is given the option of privacy in an open kitchen, using a pair of decorative screens.

sdjlskdjflskdjflskdjlskdjlskdjflskdjlskdjf Kitchen above sdljflsdkjfslkdfjlskd

Decorative screens separated and installed as wall art.

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A great use of a Chinoiserie screen set in a beautiful room by Kim Alexandriuk

A matching pair of Chinoiserie sreens in a sitting room at the Kip's Bay Show House, design by Charlotte Moss.

DO-IT YOURSELF CHINOISERIE SCREEN PROJECT:

If you don’t have it in your budget to spend between $1,500.oo (for a new folding screen set from China) and… well the sky’s the limit for antique screens (depending on the age, condition and rarity) then you can do this project and get the Chinoise look, and practical function of a Chinoiserie folding screen set:

I would start by buying this unfinished screen set from ReadyToCover. They’ll make any size , shape and number of panels you desire. There are several top styles. I’m choosing the plain square top, to better mimic the look of an authentic Chinese screen.

Ready for paint and wallpaper, standing screens from ReadytoCover.com

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Then choose a gorgeous Chinoiserie wallpaper. I recommend painting the back and frame in a color that closely matches the background color of the wallpaper. Your paint store should be able to match the color very closely. Once you’ve wallpapered the main panels, add a coat of satin polyurethane for finish and protection.

Here are some of my favorite Chinoiserie wallpapers that would work very well for this, along with a few fabrics I picked to go with them:

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Wallpaper: (right )Thibaut, Meridian-red
Red satin: Robert Allen, Kazvin-scarlett
Stripe: Beacon Hill, Trilogy Stripe- capri
Skin print: Robert Allen, Baby Cheetah- mustard
Multi jacguard: Beacon Hill, Grainnes Charm- blue terra
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ldklskdjlskdjflsdkjfldkfjgldkfjgdlfgjujp Black wallpaper with co-ordinates oufoiuoiudfjgdlfgjdpfugdpofugdoifugdoifugoilkdlskdjflskdjlskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjflskdjlkjlkk
Wallpaper (right): Thibaut, Fishing Village-black
Rust textured wallpaper: Thibaut, Venetian Plaster, pumpkin
Green velvet: Kravet 23157-323
Black Leopard: Kravet 29437-616
Black damask: Beacon Hill, Jinan-noir

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Wallpaper (right): Thibaut, Cantonese-brown
Gold chennille: Kravet, 22404-16
Stripe: Beacon Hill, Coulthard-oro
Orange geometric: Highland Court, 180936H-35
Skin pattern:Beacon Hill, Cheetah Skin-praline

For pricing and availability on the various wallpapers and fabrics, call Gaita Interiors at (914)834-8282

AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING! Here are some authentic hand painted Chinese screens that are out there, new and antique.

Antique Fujin Screen Set from antiquesbyzaar.com , $2500.00

These two exquisite screen sets (above and below) are from Antiques by Zaar, an excellent dealer in Chinese antique decorative arts and furnishings. Their huge warehouse is in Highpoint, N.C., but the web site is wonderful too.

Antique Chinese Screens circa 1890 for antiquesbyzaar, $4675.00

Newly made hand painted from chinesefurnitureonline $1800.00"

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Upgrading InThe Bedroom - The Big Girl Drapes!

2009-07-07T05:11:00.002-05:00

Alberto (the hubs) wants to know if I ever will be "done" with decorating our home, or rather will I ever be satisfied and just leave things alone. What do you think ?
You can click on images for larger unstyled snap shot style I'm in a hurry to show you this photos.

I am having my 60th birthday July 21. I tell you this so I can own it ha ha, and to let you know I have had a life long love affair with decorating each and every home I have ever inhabited. I have never had the luxury of a big budget. I am very resourceful and often make do and make it look fabulous too.

Working at Perch has afforded me the ability to get a couple of really nice things. Custom made drapes. Big Girl Drapes. No drop cloths drapes, no hand sewn pieces of fabric by me, no off-the- rack curtains masquerading as drapes, but really beautifully made drapes. The rooms that got the Big Girl Drapes are my office, our bedroom, and the guest bedroom for now.

My fabric of choice is Dupioni silk without a slub. The color is the same for both bedrooms, as is the size, to afford me the flexibility of using them as a pair in another room if I choose to do so sometime along the line. The color is called: Rain.
Jack Mayberry the head designer of Perch, and Eva Spencer our head seamstress advised me (and have been teaching me how to measure, order the fabric, and choose the finishes, etc. for our custom drapery clients).

I chose thermo suede lining, a heavy cotton lining encasing the thermo suede, and the finished silk top sewn with seven inch French pleats. There is a small puddle at the bottom. It's like getting luxury insulation for the house! Not a drop of air or light penetrates this beauty!

The rod is the return rod, meaning the ends return to the wall. Perch makes a hefty, made to measure return rod, with a custom hand painted finish that is gorgeous. A local artist who works in many mediums including metal, makes them. Even with an employee's benefits, this rod is a little pricey for me, and I wanted to have the flexibility of an adjustable rod, always keeping in mind how I move things around. I found the perfect rod at the perfect price from Country Curtains on line HERE.
Jack from Perch, painted the rings for me, in his signature color he always uses for Perch clients.

I also upgraded a couple of accessories in the bedroom. I love these metal antlers, which also look like a branch, placed on top of the old cabinet that houses the television. I like the simplicity of one unique object, as opposed to the fussy vignette I had before. The old wood lyre is a piece of found folk art.

The new metal antlers from Perch
I think it adds a "wow" factor to the old armoire

"Before" a sweet little vignette on the armoire that I found too fussy

I also painted the dark brown wood nightstands a pale turquoise (and added a cut-to-size piece of 1/4 inch thick mirror for the top). It's the same color I used to paint the accent wall in the kitchen. I like to carry at least one color from another room to the next. I also have been taking color cues from the painting over the bed. As always I combine antique, vintage, and contemporary things with touchstones of French furniture.

There's a different painting in a little nook by the door that combines the new and the old.

I also upgraded the lamps that are on the dressers. I use one lamp on each dresser. Two would be too much. I got these lamps on HSN (Home Shopping Network) HERE, from the Nate Berkus line there. They are mercury glass, and very good looking. They cost $129. each and came with the nice linen shade. I think they are great quality at any price.

Almost sold out at HSN! Go HERE to get yours now

While I'm at it I'm thinking of upgrading our bedspread. Right now it's all white with a deep 28 inch drop ruffle, and I love the look. This was another bargain basement make-do. I found two twin spreads on line at a pretty pedestrian site called Brylane Homes. I had my local seamstress sew them together to make a king size bedspread..
After a couple of washes, the cheap poly fill shifted and bunched up, so I slit a small but large enough opening in one end, and pulled all the stuffing out. Now the spread looks like it's made of vintage handkerchief fabric, and lays much better. The stitched trellis effect has grown on me, even though I prefer a plain and pattern free look.
All is well, except that there are a couple of ink blots (made by a black Sharpie) on the spread (hidden by toss pillows at the top), because my lovable school boy Alberto likes to do Sudoku in bed, and sometimes falls asleep with pen in hand. He promised me a new spread of my choice.

I like the deep drop ruffle ones from Horchow.

They are made of twill, a heavier fabric, and they look very nice. I like both colors, the white or the tan.

I also love these contemporary sets from Dwell Studio at Target.
This beige-y one is the most conservative one, and would pick up on the fabric covered wall behind the headboard, and play off the white accents throughout the room.

This shade of green is one of my favorite colors, and I use throughout the house as an accent color. If I got this spread, it would bring this color into our bedroom, thus fulfilling my philosophy of having a little color from another room travel into the next. Somehow this allows the eye to see the house as a total picture.

This turquoise blue bed covering would play back nicely to the colors in the painting over the bed.

So which do you like best? Remember I change out the bedding from summer to winter. I have a black and white contemporary duvet cover now that looks pretty good for winter.

The winter look of the bedroom with the black and white duvet
So much has changed!
The stripe rugs are gone replaced by mountain grass (a beautiful cousin of sea grass)
The nightstands have been painted
The pink lamps are now faux finished to look like alabaster

PS Stay tuned for photos of the Big Girl Drapes in guest bedroom and my office, and the kitchen where other small upgrades have happened.

Happy Fourth Of July Weekend!

2009-07-03T11:31:00.005-05:00

This looks like fun! We can stay late and watch the fireworks on the levee! Algiers Point is a very old neighborhood across the river from The French Quarter. It has the same vintage and pedigree of architecture and jazz as The French Quarter. If you're in New Orleans check this out. Yum! BBQ Oysters, Jazz, and Fireworks!


Marlon Jordan: Cooking-n-Jazz
Algiers Old Point Bar	Saturday, July 4th

in this issue

Marlon Jordan

The Old Point Bar in Algiers

Talk of the Nation

Twins Jazz: Review by Michael J. West

THE 2009 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL WELCOMES J. PIERRE

Marlon Jordan

"Marlon's trumpeting, chameleon-like, assumes the colors of the music he plays ..."

"Marlon, the daring and dashing trumpeter of the group, was the star of the show, peppering each tune with the brash and braying, Buddy Bolden trumpet sounds ..."

"Marlon starred in George Wein's brilliantly- conceived supergroup of "Young Lions," which included Roy Hargrove and Mark Whitfield..."

"Marlon, one of the world's top trumpeters ..."

"Marlon Jordan is a young Big Easy native who is quickly making a name for himself with his energized take on the classic Miles Davis Quintet sound. His style is less introspective than his hero's allowing his vitality to grab hold immediately..."

"Marlon Jordan Quartet gave a rousing concert at Berlin City Hall in gratitude to the German people for assisting Katrina victims in New Orleans..."

MarlonJordan.com

Summer Vibes In Colorado

Live Concert Online

Click to listen

NPR's JazzSet

with Dee Dee Bridgewater

WWNO 89.9 FM New Orleans

Click to Listen

Glenwood Springs Summer of Jazz 2008

Video and Photography by J.R. Thomason

	Please join us! Marlon Jordan: "Cooking-n-Jazz" Old Point Bar Saturday, July 4, 2009 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Just added: The Artwork of J. Pierre

The Old Point Bar in Algiers
	The Old Point Bar is very excited to have Marlon Jordan entertain our patrons on Saturday, July 4th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Join Marlon as he serves Hot Jazz as well as a sizzling dish of Shrimp Creole made in the tradition of his family through several generations. Located at 545 Patterson, The Old Point Bar is located in historic Algiers Point, New Orleans just minutes from the French Quarter by ferry. Call 504-364-0950 for details See you on the 4th of July! Barbecued Oysters Jordan's Grilled Fish
	www.oldpointbar.com

Talk of the Nation
	Marlon Jordan was one of the "Young Jazz Lions" who were signed, recorded and promoted on major record labels in the 1980s. He recorded three impressive LPs for Columbia from 1988 to 1992, For You Only, Learson's Return, and The Undaunted, and one for the Arabesque label entitled Marlon's Mode in 1997. His latest album, Marlon Jordan featuring Stephanie Jordan; You Don't Know What Love Is announced the return of an exceptional trumpeter . . . "Marlon's trumpeting, chameleon-like, assumes the colors of the music he plays ..." Jordan has toured with the JVC Jazz Festival, opening for Miles Davis. After the label pulled back, Marlon kept moving. He worked with "Jambalaying in Rio," a music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that celebrated the kinship between Rio and New Orleans. Then on August 29, 2005, Marlon was in New Orleans and it almost cost him his life. Later, he told his story to NPR's Talk of the Nation. Marlon looks to his music for a sense of normalcy after nearly losing his life to hurricane Katrina. Trapped on his roof for five days, a long-line helicopter rescue mission pulled Marlon and his girlfriend to safety. But not before he himself rescued two neighbors who were trapped in a burning house, fracturing both his ankles in the process. His current project, 3 Faces of Marlon Jordan allows him to transverse along an uncharted path; classical, jazz, and hip hop music all in a three CD compilation. Scheduled for a 2009 Fall release, the classical wing of the of the album will include recordings with the Czech Film Orchestra which boast of the best European musicians, including principle players from the Czech Philharmonic, The Czech National Theatre Orchestra, The Czech Radio Orchestra and others while the Hip Hop version will include cuts from Marlon's daughter Lori Jordan whose stage name is Honey Chyl. The Marlon Jordan Quartet brings Marlon's clean, boppish lines laced with power, and an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire jazz trumpet tradition . . . Permission to re-print is granted

Twins Jazz: Review by Michael J. West
	June 13, 2009 - The son of New Orleans jazz polymath Kidd, trumpeter Marlon Jordan works largely in mainstream post-bop - a glut of which has been heard by this second weekend of the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. But Jordan rescued it from ennui at Twins Jazz Friday night with some of the most distinctive stylings the fest has had so far. Armed with pianist Allyn Johnson, drummer Aaron Walker, and a bassist whose name even Jordan couldn't tell me (it was their first time playing together, he apologized), the trumpeter began inauspiciously enough with a program of jazz standards. But by the beginning of his second tune, Ellington and Juan Tizol's "Caravan," Jordan had well established his arsenal of high-pitched, triple-tongued squeals that weren't just for accent or surprise: he'd make long phrases and even full choruses out of them. But he'd also balance them out with aggressive low-reaching growls that called to mind Bubber Miley in the early Ellington orchestra. These sounds continued through a full set of classics from "What Is This Thing Called Love" to Coltrane's "Impressions" to a slam-dunk reading of "Cherokee," with Jordan also running sonically everywhere in between. Literally everywhere: his horn style was manic, busy, and intense; Jordan himself often looked like he was fighting the trumpet off him, jerking it in wide arcs in front of him and raising it to the ceiling for his high squeals. The quartet was an incredible asset, too. Johnson, brilliant and flashy as always, worked glorious block chords and runaway right-hand melodies, also pulling a neat new trick in having the left hand doubling the right about three octaves down on "What Is This Thing Called Love." Walker was a spectacular time keeper with great force on the rides and singular grasp of percussive color: he even played hand-drum on the snare during "Caravan." It's hard to know what to make of the bassist, though; his buzzy, clipped sound wasn't quite the finesse that one expects in jazz, but he more than made up for it with his ear for chords and his melodic sense on solos. The indisputable highlight was a slow, subtle take on Wayne Shorter's classic "Footprints," about two-thirds of the way through the set; for once Jordan kept great space in his solo phrases, and concentrated on thoughtful lyricism only occasionally punctuated by bursts of adrenaline. Johnson and Walker did their best work here, too, Johnson with a rolling, pacific piano line that Walker supported with atmospheric cymbal work, and the bassist supplied an impressive solo that was slow and plodding, but also surefooted and clever . . . Twins remains one of the best jazz clubs in DC, but their audiences aren't winning any awards.
	Marlon Jordan Photo Gallery

THE 2009 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL WELCOMES J. PIERRE
	JULY 3, 2009 - J. Pierre will be showcased at the 2009 Essence Music Festival Friday, July 3rd through Sunday, July 5th. He will be signing prints throughout the weekend at his booth in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center at the Essence Marketplace & Art Expo. J. Pierre is a New Orleans native who incorporates the spirit of the City of Jazz in each of his vibrant paintings. The expressive reflection of New Orleans culture in his work led to the opportunity to exhibit and sell his art in international and national galleries and museums. J. Pierre was commissioned to create the exclusive 2007 Essence Festival official poster and one of the 40 Fleur De Lis displayed in the New Orleans Central Business District. His paintings have been exhibited at the Jazz and Heritage Festival and the Mississippi River Festival and shipped worldwide through J. Pierre's Fine Art Gallery. His fans laud his unwavering dedication to the preservation of New Orleans' music and culture within fine art. J. Pierre will have his artwok on display during Marlon Jordan's July 4th performance at The Old Point Bar in Algiers. See You There!
	Click to view the Art of J. Pierre

Email Address:: vincent@sylvainsolutions.com

Website Address:: http://www.marlonjordan.com

Do You Still Picnic?

2009-07-02T12:00:00.015-05:00

Ah the Fourth of July! When we were kids my parents would pack a basket and a cooler and a few blankets, and we would head to the park for a picnic during the day, and staying into the night for fireworks.

I still carry those old time images in my head, kind of like the 1956 William Holden movie Picnic HERE

But who am I kidding here in hot New Orleans! I think the chances are better of us having a picnic in the living room.

But I love the idea of elegant hampers with real silverware and china. Beaux Monde Designs has a great posting on them HERE

Romantic images of elegant picnic parties in Central Park really did happen to me! I would pack up china and silverware, and even a candelabra for nights the opera or symphony played in the park.

I would love to shop Fortnum and Mason style for the provisions.

But most of all I love to make fried chicken . Paula Deen has a great recipe HERE. Her secret is to fry it once and then fry it again for extra crispy chicken.

My favorite chicken in New Orleans comes from a French Quarter dive called Fiorella's. My 90 year old friend Miss Anne and I used to meet there once a week for lunch. Popeye's is also great chicken if you don't want to cook, and the new grilled chicken form KFC is really good too. There's just something about picnics and chicken being the perfect thing to have.

When I was young thing dating about town, I loved to make a picnic for the first date, and head off to Central Park, or even Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

It was also great to meet friends in the park for a picnic for the many concerts in the city parks.

You don't have to sit on the grass to have a picnic. You can set a table. It should be in the open, and not on the patio, or in some uber outdoor "room" all the houses seem to have nowadays.

Being under the trees, with grass under your feet is picnic.

Okay maybe a porch picnic is still old fashion enough to qualify as a picnic.

And why not style up the old picnic table with cute cushions on the benches, and a cute table setting.

Nothing wrong with paper plates either. I love the stone used on top of the napkin to keep it from blowing away.

The picnic on the beach is another fun thing to do, though my beach going days are not what they used to be.

So do you still picnic? I hope so!!!

PS Please check out the Perch blog HERE to see this week's Tablescape Thursday. Jack made another delish lunch for us!

Would You Put Fake Grass In Your Yard Or Garden?

2009-06-30T13:28:00.016-05:00

My yard is a big hot mess. There's a beat up gravel driveway that leads to a patch of sandy crab grass.

This is not my ghetto grass yard, though the crab grass is just like mine

I'm ready for a change. Nothing will grow in the crab grass patch, except, uh crab grass. I have some beds on the sides with some stone gravel. The bedding plants are pretty good: Banana trees, Night Blooming Jasmine, bougainvillea, a palm tree, and a huge tree like lantana.
The current (August 2009) Veranda has a story called Botanical Hues Nuances From Nature. Memo to Veranda, please put more photos from the magazine on your web site.

There's a double spread centerfold (page 69) that is just perfect. Instead of the pool pavilion, we have a garage that is never used for cars, so I want to do a center piece of lawn surrounded by gravel paths in front of it.

I saw this HGTV show where the garden makeover was very Frenchy. There were gravel paths around a nice grass lawn in one section, and beautiful stone patios in another section. This is what I have been thinking of doing!

The part with the patch of grass was under some trees, and it was deemed too shady for a good lawn to grow.

So the landscape designer suggested fake grass! Like most of us I associate fake grass with Astro Turf in a stadium, or that bright green indoor outdoor carpet used lovingly by the great old guard suburban housewife, or by a mini golf course owner. Uh, like kind of tacky.

Moi use fake grass when my visions of lavender lined pathways in France or Italy fueled my homegrown garden desires?

And yet the HGTV finished product was so good looking and so charming. And the owner's dogs loved it. So I did some research, and apparently you can just hose off dog pee.

It's pricey though. About $2700. for a 600 square foot patch (which is about what I need).

My yard guy is going to give me a quote on digging up the crab grass, making the gravel edges, and planting a new lawn. He's got a driveway guy too, who is going to give me a price on doing a concrete (or cement - seeeement - as they say here in the South) driveway. I asked for the concrete to have a larger than usual ratio of small rocks mixed in, to sort mimic my dream gravel (or shell) driveway.

Happy Weekend! And Check Out A Web Site Reaching Out To Old Fans Of Domino

2009-06-26T17:25:00.012-05:00

See more fab photos of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward HERE

We're off to teach tango this weekend in Florida.

The above image came from the Architectural Design web site, which is getting to be pretty darn good!

Ever since Domino folded, Conde Nast has honored Domino subscriptions with the only home decor magazine they have left in their once mighty stable. It's AD, which at first seemed like a slap in the face to most Domino readers.

The current issue of AD is pretty good. They seem to be hipping it up a bit, with features like $100 and under, and a little less stiff in the editorials.

Great Design $100 and under HERE

So check it out.
If you go to the web site enter the readers non professional living room photo thingee. You send one photo of your living room to them, by June 30, and they'll post ones they like the best on July 7, for readers to vote on. Kind of reminds me of the Domino Decorating Contest.

Go HERE to enter

One of my favorite features on the AD web site is the section called Hollywood At Home. Their archive of photos is incredible, as you can see by the two I used (Paul and Joanne, and Judy Garland).

You can also get a tote bag if you subscribe. Though not as cute as the Domino tote, it's a start from AD to reach out to all the hip, color loving, Ruthie Sommers fans, the self decoraters on a real budget, the Domino girls and boys.

Two Hundred

2009-06-25T14:01:00.022-05:00

So many words are bandied about on the subject of why we blog.
Whether it's because we like the sound of our own voice, we're bored, we're inspired, we want to make friends, we want to make business connections, we like to do something fun and creative, well, we all have our reasons.
Among those reasons, are the readers of the blogs. Without them the sound of one hand clapping would be all the fun we would have.
Visual Vamp had a milestone of sorts today. A tiny one, but an important one to me. My followers list hit 200! Now I see other blogs that have 900, 1000, 5000, a zillion followers, and I think that's incredible. For me, a little guy just blogging for all of the above reasons, it means a great deal to me, and touches me, to have people identify themselves as regular readers.
I have clicked onto many of the links of the fab followers, and there is a great cross section of you.
I'm posting all of my fab followers so everyone can find you, and you can find each other, and to salute you all, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your intrepid reading.

Followers (200)

Forførende Farger
KjjK3E0wj_z972VgZ0iFolLLxejxAJiNDQ--
Kryssy Bloch
Katie Ambrose
twoclippedwings
x
jgurlvance
poetrycherie
Jon
JeanMarie
Sandy
SARAH Hill
Mitch Gips
chattersley
Jessica Hack
Tracy Barr
Meg Lonergan
glamoursmith
sharinna
patricia
Antonio Arch
FOR THE SAKE OF TIME
Shami
Swank Lighting
Julia @ Hooked on Houses
Cindy J.
Renee Finberg
Clint and Jenn
DolceDreams
Nancy
BLACK ROOSTER DECOR
Mary Kay
Heidi Lee
Angela Henrie
The Paris Apartment
Jan
Chari
Kathleen Ellis
ashleen
The Changing Look of Friends
Carey
laurie @ bargain hunting
KT
Julio
randomblink
Sara R F
TxBrendArt
Bonnie
Jennifer
niartist
Blushing hostess
Janet Baker
eve bennett
sarah.cohen
marysverandah
dime_diana
Cássio Fritas
Bellaliam Boutique
Kari
E
Dirty Dolly Design
tinkalicious
RecreationalArt
Libby Murphy
Dawn
design de interior e exterior
Kwana
Titiça Neder
beachbungalow8
Kadepp
Carla Fox
Monica
{galsintheknow.com}
The Old Oaken Bucket
Mo
Maria Killam
Awesome Sara
Linda/ "Mom..."
chris
Amy
Jan's Art
wav-e-walls
Gonçalo Beja da Costa
Tomarie
ann
Helen
sarahfburns
SERENDIPITY
angelo
Dumbwit Tellher ♥
Callie Grayson
Mrs. G
Meade Design Group
KJC82
Nancy @ La Chambre Rose
Jennifer Ramos
Snytjie
the crazy suburban mom
Nina
Lorna
foobella
Laurie
Jito
Ashley @ The Happy Little Home
melissa
camdesign
Allie in G'town
lbwDESIGN
Retromodgirl
Irina
L O L I T A
Lou Cinda
Betsy Head, Affordable Interior Design
KaReN EiLeeN
Live In Full Color
Gina Carrigan
Kerry Flanagan
Lola Lobato
Designthropology
Renae
Meg and Lucy
English Muse
Carla
GardenDesigner
VictoriaArt
berries01
Cynnamama A
bethenais
niknik94
jessicailee
Rachel Follett
Laura
SamiG
Miss Rav
Nina Vintage
http://tuinteriorista.blogspot.com
Beautiful-Woman
The Stylish House
BlondeandRed
MissBliss
Sabrina
Amanda
Francois Camille
jonas wunderman
Arlene Mcloughlin murals
EsseQuamVideri
janemartini
Kris
CELIO TINTORI FILHO
Whitney Gray
Ideezine
ai.love.life.
Fawn Hamilton
Robert Petril
DustyMills
Tricia - Avolli
Amy
azjanorama
Vim
Jen
Jonathan
R.C.
melow.dy
Amy
tülayca nurum

Jen

Donald Tennant

Dina Kucera

Cristin at Simplified Bee

Bella Dreams

Laura Casey Interiors

vogolo

AGlamourSoldier

Precidia Bordeaux

Sweet Marilyn

marcelo boetto

GrannySmithGreen

Simon

Princess Carroll Ayo

nancyblackett

Vanessa

Ruth Amada

Lille Diane

Alternate 4 CraigsList

Lindsey Conrad - Nabors

Claudel GFX

Jackie Friend

emily

LARRY LE

martacoimbra

LISA (DOMESTIC DIVA)

BETHANY. xox

رؤى البازركان

Terry

pamnjxn

Beth

Hey Little Rich Girl!

the paris apartment

Lauren

LandGirlontheHomeFront

CUE Magazine July 2009 - Baby Boon

2009-06-24T20:33:00.002-05:00

Here are the photos and text (lovingly retyped!) of the fabulous article about Caroline in the July 2009 issue of CUE. It is such a thrill to see the personal style of the guiding hand and heart of the interior design shop Perch in New Orleans recognized.
You can see the photos I took HERE. Make sure to click on them for a larger view to see all the details.

Text by Lee Cutrone
Photos by Eugenia Hall
Styled by Jack Mayberry, Valorie Hart, and Caroline Robert
Editor Kara Nelson

Caroline Robert finds inspiration and fulfillment in lots of things. She loves good food, music, and design as well as being around her dogs and loved ones. She enjoys traveling, the outdoors, estate sales, yoga, painting, and gardening.
Originally from Texas, Robert attended LSU and moved to New Orleans nine years ago. She married Andre Robert, a stockbroker, became a step mother to Andre’s children Remy, 18, and Raphe, 13, then opened Perch, a Magazine Street store, where she and staff members Jack Mayberry and Valorie Hart bring together a fresh blend of antique and new designs for the home. Life was good.

Nothing prepared her for the life-changing experience of having a baby. Now, she says, life is even better.
“I could never leave the house and be totally happy playing with him all day,” says Caroline, whose sweet, soft spoken voice is still tinged with her seventh generation Texas roots. “I talk to him all day, and he gives me this look like he’s saying, ‘I understand.’ He’s so expressive. I’m certain he’s a genius.”

Caroline jokes that since her son ELi was born in April, she’s made a divot in the sofa, one of her favorite places to sit and enjoy the latest addition to the family. But it’s not likely she’ll sit still forever. She’s already introduced Eli to her business, bringing him to work and rocking him to sleep in a cozy space, which she’s dubbed “the butter-churning room.” Though thoroughly renovated by the Roberts, the 1860’s cottage that houses Perch still retains plenty of 19th-century charm, and tourists frequently comment that the shop offers an interesting window into the grand past of New Orleans homes.

Built in 1906, the Robert’s Uptown home is a wonderful piece of history as well. Designed by the architectural firm of Debuys and Levy, it features a deep porch supported by colossal white columns, high ceilings with ornamental plaster work, leaded glass windows that glisten like cut crystal, and plenty of green space for a child to roam. Caroline has touched both the house and her store with a light and airy hand that incorporates her trademark elements: natural motifs like nests and branches, touches of robin’s eggs blue (“I call it Perch blue,”she says of the hue used on her store’s logo), distressed antiques, sleek modernist pieces, custom curtains, fanciful lighting and a mix of antique and contemporary art.

She’s found her métier. Only now she looks at it through a slightly different lens - that of a mom. And her timing is right on the mark.

“I always think about a person’s lifestyle when helping with their home,” says Caroline, referring to the durability of things like washable slipcovers. “I want to make sure that whatever we do works for the way a person lives. But it’s interesting --all the things that are going on with designers and the children’s market. Almost every company is coming out with a line of baby stuff. I guess, as a result. I’m a little more drawn to to the whimsical.”

The whimsical is, in fact, where she started when designing her own nursery. The large room was already wired for two chandeliers, and Caroline began looking for two that would spark wide-eyed interest in a child. She settled instead instead for a crown like architectural remnant from a Catholic confessional from Bush Antiques, and a modernist chrome fixture she calls the asteroid fixture -- two completely different looks that typify her love for mixing periods. Caroline also included a Belgian carousel horse, a praying mantis rocker and a zinc-covered sideboard (used as a changing table), all from Perch, as well as the rocking chair her mother-in-law used with every one of her nine children, a photograph of her grandfather as a baby in 1910 and antique toys found by her mother, who passed on her love of antiques to Caroline.

Other aspects of the room are designed to extend beyond babyhood. Pale blue-and-white linen curtains are simple enough for any age, the sunny sitting room now uses as a space for mother and child to spend time eventually will become a playroom.

“I think it is very important for every home to have an area that is devoted to quiet time for mom and dad to bond with their child,” Caroline says. “For us that space is the sun room, which is part of the nursery. It has windows that overlook the branches of an ever-changing Japanese magnolia and an old live oak. I love that our little boy will grow up in a room that feels like a tree house.”

Nature is a recurrent motif in Caroline’s life. A self-described nature girl, she loves the outdoors and is pleased with the new pool she and Andre recently integrated into the existing landscape, which includes traditional New Orleans greenery like gardenias, crape myrtles, roses, hydrangeas, and sago palms. “I love the fact that the pool sits in front of our rose garden,” she says. “Now the terrace and the pool are just extensions of our home. We spend time there every day.”

In fact, there are few spaces in the house where the family does not spend time on a regular basis. Though grand in scale and history, the home is filled with things that are casual, comfortable, and approachable. The same goes for her wardrobe. On a typical day, she reaches for jeans and flip-flops, mixed with chunky necklaces and rings and Chanel No. 22 perfume, the same fragrance her grandmother wore.

“I suppose my style is about taking something simple and classic and making it fresh and unique,” says the new mom, who now more than ever values the extra moments that an easy approach allows. “Having a child gives you a new, clearer perspective on life. Everything that might have seemed important before gets put into its place. If I have an extra two minutes to spare, I’d rather spend it it rocking him to sleep for a nap than worrying about how perfect my house is or if my makeup is just right.”

PS If you liked this story in CUE please check out my story published last October HERE.

Jonathan Adler Goes To The Dogs

2009-06-23T17:43:00.004-05:00

Cute dogs and cute shoes.

This is the concept for these portraits.

Kind of a cool idea. No worry about age, or being pretty or not - that is, no worry for the humans ha ha.

It helps if you have good legs and cute shoes. The dogs don't have have a thing to worry about.

For Immediate Release from the Jonathan Adler store in New York:

"We’re thrilled to introduce Charity de Meer’s “Pet Project” portrait photography.

The style: Art interpreted through the filter of Charity de Meer’s brilliant lenses. Your favorite shoes and your favorite pet photographed from the waist down.

The one-of-a-kindness: It doesn’t get more personal than a portrait of your faithful companion and you.

The availability: Featured photographs are available for purchase at Jonathan Adler New York City and Miami retail locations: http://www.jonathanadler.com/ for store information. For inquiries about commissioned portraits, please contact 877-287-1910. "

VV Here: I hate to be snarky, but I think you could do this type of cute photo yourself. Get a cute pair of shoes, grab the pooch, and get a friend to snap the photo.

Shop Keepers Homes 4 - Caroline Robert Owner of Perch New Orleans

2009-06-20T16:22:00.017-05:00

This edition of Shopkeepers Homes is my favorite, because it is the home of Caroline Robert the owner of Perch in New Orleans, the shop in which I lovingly work.

Her home is a grand old dame, a classic Uptown New Orleans beauty.
The house is filled with old and new things, very much in the way Caroline stocks the shop with beautiful wares. It is a family home, for the Roberts, with three children, and three dogs. It is home well lived in.

The hall table is antique, the painting vintage, the accessories of an ancient angel wing and a bowl of fresh picked apples is lovely.

To one side of the front door is the study. The house is well over 100 years old, and has some of the most beautiful original plaster work, which is offset by Caroline's signature color: Blue.

There ae a couple of grand old gilded mirrors around the house.

Off to one side in the study is this little antique settee under the striking portrait, flanked by the sumptuous blue silk drapes made in the workroom of Perch. And look at that plaster work! It looks like a wedding cake!

There's a handsome white ceramic dog too, unlike any I've ever seen.

Across the hall is the living room. Don't you love the ceiling! I spy a pair of vintage Murano lamps that Ed from Swank Lighting would die for!

Here's another view of the living room. The juxtaposition of the transitional sofa with the antique settee, and modern coffee table with a very cool vase holding yellow tulips, is so typical of the way Caroline designs interiors.

Nestled in a corner is a sophisticated contemporay chair, and in the background you can see a classic French antique table. And the bouquet of coral roses is just the perfect grace note. Do you notice the very pale antique Oriental carpet? As much as I love sea grass, it just wouldn't work in this room.

The original marble mantle looks great with a piece of modern art flanked by antique torcheres.

To one side of the mantle is an antique English campaign chest, and the dark wood tone is a great contrast to the lighter pieces in the room. The painting is done by the head designer and manager of Perch, Jack Mayberry.

I love the stack of books with the ancient Roman foot resting on them. And check out the detail of the frame of the painting, how Jack incorporates the frame making it an important element of the painting.

Now we're moving into the expansive dining room, a place the Roberts gather in regularly for huge dinner parties with friends and family. The breakfront looks original to the house, but it's really a more recent piece Caroline acquired from Tara Shaw. And note the uber dental molding!

The French antique chandelier spoils you - no reproduction can truly capture this kind of beauty!

Across the hall is a room for the man of the house, a classic billiards room, done in a dark and sexy palette reminiscent of an English gentleman's club.

Moving down the hall is the kitchen. Painted cabinets, soapstone counters, and brick floors are a nice departure from the cookie cutter SGG kitchen. I spy some nice oyster plates hanging on the wall.

The modern paper mache artichoke lamp looks great in the kitchen.

Old kitchen windows, overlooking the garden.

Across the kitchen is the breakfast room. More drop dead gorgeous drapes, a French wood turned chandelier, and a zinc clad dining table all add up to a welcoming spot. I love baby Eli's little cradle in this room!

Here's a better look at the precious cradle, and you can also see the fantastic brick floor that runs throughout the kitchen, breakfast room, and family room.

And here's a little peek of the family room: White slips on the sofa, great art work including a lamp by the artist Viorel.

Off the kitchen are doors leading to the garden. Of course there's a classic New Orleans courtyard with a beautiful fountain!

The patio is set up for lounging. I love this tropical print on the furniture.

And this super rustic table is the spot to be for alfresco dining.

There's a yard big enough for the dogs and kids.

And a guest house over the garage too.

And a lovely swimming pool that is well used by this family during the long months of hot weather in New Orleans.

We've seen most of the first floor. There are three floors of the house. I did not photograph the guest room (it was occupied) or the older kids rooms.
We're moving to the second floor. Don't you love the old leaded glass windows and this window seat on the stair landing! Caroline likes to read here.

The master bedroom has a magical and romantic bed. Simple elegant bed coverings with luxe monogrammed pillows are so pretty.

But the real star of the second floor is baby Eli's new nursery. The painting above the crib was done by Caroline for her new son.

The room is very large, and there's a queen size bed in there, ready for Eli to grow into. The canopy above was suggested to Caroline by Jack. It's an antique piece from an old church. I spy some very cute owl lamps. Doesn't baby Eli look darling on his big boy bed!

The linen drapes are from Perch, as are the zinc clad dresser (used as a changing table) and the zinc clad frame. The soft gray tones of the weathered zinc work so well with Caroline's signature palette of blue. And the grasshopper rocking toy is a fabulous folk art accent.

The vignette with white peonies is understated and so pretty.

There's a little round turret off the main room of the nursery, just large enough for mommy's chair to rock baby in. The lamp is Kartell. The Roman shades are made from the same linen as the draperies.

There's a great bookcase in the nursery, filled with more animals. The animal theme sort of evolved with a collection of things Caroline had: an antique carousel horse, a paper mache snail, butterfly prints, and one special yellow toy on the left side of the shelf which was a gift to Eli from Jack. It was Jack's baby toy! And I spy the baby Philippe Starck Lou Lou Ghost Chair!

There are many wonderful paintings in the house, and I love this portrait of Caroline. She had it done as wedding present for her husband Andre, telling him "what you see is what you get."

And here's Caroline! She arranged the luscious bouquet of peonies in the breakfast room.

And here's her mom Mrs. Elaine Smith, or Miss Lainie as we call her, with baby Eli in the living room.

Here's handsome Mike, Caroline's dad in the kitchen. Happy Fathers Day to Mike and all the dads out there!

And here I am with Caroline, my boss, my mentor, and my friend.
I was at her house taking snap shots while her home was being photographed for CUE Magazine coming out on the newsstands, Sunday June 21. I will be posting this editorial next week on the Perch blog, and I'm sure you'll see better pictures, and read a wonderful story too.

Doubling Down With A Thursday Tablescape: The Shop Girls Lunch

2009-06-18T15:24:00.008-05:00

This is a double posting. Many of you know I work in a great store in New Orleans, called Perch. It's an interior design shop that has home furnishings, art, lighting and accessories, a great mix of antique, vintage, and contemporary.

I write a blog for Perch, maintain their web site, take all the photos for the shop, do general shop girl things, and do a little design input too. I am also still teaching tango with Alberto, and working on my own house. I'm a little busy.
At Perch we work hard, and we love what we do. Even though Magazine Street is filled with great places to have lunch, we always have lunch in the store.

Jack, the manager and head designer is Italian, and he loves to cook for us. He goes to the market every morning to shop for fresh things to prepare. We have a small efficient kitchen in the store.

We like to set the table, and we often dine in the main show room, or at our big desk in the back. We often work at lunch, a sort of mini conference about current projects.

Today there are just two of for lunch, and there's a small Thomas Paul notebook on a square white china plate. The underplate is a colorful Melamine we sell in the store. Simple everyday flat ware, a wine glass we use for all beverages, a small turquoise tumbler, and a turquoise napkin complete each place setting. A small bouquet of bougainvillea was picked from the Perch garden, and a hob nail glass dish in turquoise is used as a vase.

On the menu today: Pasta with fresh Creole tomato and clam sauce and a yummy salad. Beverage: water. We eat like this everyday! The way I don't gain weight is by skipping dinner ha ha.

You can see wallpaper and fabric books on the nine foot long farm table. Jack always makes plenty, and this table can seat up to ten, so if you come by at lunch time, you can join us.

Thanks to Susan from the lovely blog Between Naps on the Porch for hosting Tablescape Thursdays HERE.
Tons of very talented bloggers participate, so please go there and first see the beautiful tablescape Susan did, and then go the links of the other bloggers.
I'm also adding Between Naps on the Porch to my blog list.

And forgive me for doubling down with this post. Not all of you know about the Perch blog HERE, and I want to steer you there so you can see some of the beautiful things we do. I have a couple of big Visual Vamp posts in the works, but sometimes it's hard to complete them.

Glass Houses - Would You Be Friends With Ruth Madoff?

2009-06-16T12:28:00.005-05:00

I'm working on a few decor pieces for you, but in the meantime I wanted to ask you something.
In some ways we all live in the proverbial glass house. None of us are without sin, faults, or problems, or skeletons in the family closet, or shady friends or even shady spouses.

Glass Houses by Alejandro Bahamon
Get this lovely book HERE

There is a compelling little story about Ruth Madoff in The New York Times HERE.
Because of her husband she is now a social outcast. Not even a country florist will take her business, and her hairdresser of ten years won't let her into his shop. Not to mention how friends and relatives are treating her.

Ruth Madoff

"The Loneliest Woman In New York"

Have you ever been on the "outs" because of something you yourself did, or something someone you love did? Or maybe because someone just doesn't like the look of your face, or the cut of your jib?
Would you talk to Ruth Madoff? Invite her to lunch? If you're a florist, do her flowers? If you're a hair dresser would you touch up her Soft Baby Blond color?
I would.

Happy Hot Weekend!

2009-06-12T00:48:00.002-05:00

It is so hot in New Orleans! Temperatures in the 90's, though the humidity is not quite as high as it is in August.

Going to try and take it easy, and sit on the porch this weekend.

All the plants are bursting with life! Just got to keep them watered, as no rain is in the forecast for at least a week.

We are so happy to be living on a street lined with majestic live oaks. Not only are they beautiful, they also keep us a bit cooler.

So you'll see us out in the yard doing a bit of gardening this weekend. Stop and have a cool drink with us.

Just look at the beautiful shape of this tree!

Cholo wants to play, and our yard is fenced in, and we welcome dogs who want to join him. So bring your pup by too for a romp and a refreshing bowl of cool water.

Don't you love these little tables made from artist palettes? Somehow with hanging a painting out on the porch, and having two of these cute little tables, steered our porch into a happenstance decor direction.

I bought this corny little sign when we first came to New Orleans as traveling tango teachers and tourists in 1999, never imagining I would use outside my own front door in New Orleans!

Ring the bell if you don't see us outside. We love company!

Shop Keepers Homes 3 - Gerrie and Tom Bremermann

2009-06-10T18:04:00.013-05:00

It can easily be said that Gerrie Bremerman is the creator and godmother of interior design in New Orleans as we know it today. By that I mean the mix that has become almost generic, the eclectic mix of the old and new and the high and the low.

Mrs. Bremermann is in her 80's and still working six days a week with her husband Tom in their shop on Magazine Street (at #3943).

The artist Amanda Talley recently went to dinner at the Bremermann's. She worked in Gerrie's shop for eight years, and is a very good friend. Amanda also just started a new blog, (The Big Easy Life) and her first post is about that evening. I've borrowed Amanda's images as my e-mails to Gerrie's staff at the shop have fallen on deaf ears.

The Bremermann entry hall - I love the whimsy of the plastic flag

I love the photos Amanda took, because they are casual. Where else could you get to see the inside of Gerrie Bremermann's closet?

Or get an idea of Mrs. B's fabulous sense of humor?

The Bremermann aesthetic has spawned dozens of shops on Magazine Street, and inspired many a design career. It would be safe to say that beautiful shops like Tara Shaw, Petricia Thompson, Kevin Stone, Julie Neill, Karla Katz, Perch, and many more owe a huge debt to the Bremermanns for paving the way.

The Bremermanns are life long collectors. Their home looks a full feast for the eys, but without the feeling of clutter or being overdone or over wrought. It looks inhabited, not staged.

Their present home is a combination of two apartments on a higher than street level floor. It has lovely views.

Gerrie's husband Tom works alongside her six days a week. They have been married for over 60 years and their relationship offers much insight on the subject of getting along and staying in love. The fact that Tom refers to Gerrie as the Queen sounds like a sure fire way to a long and happy marriage.

The Bremermann touch is lavishly and lovingly used. I love Tom's Eames Lounge Chair. I had one like it for years.

I also love the way Lucite is used alongside antiques. And the tiger print stool is the perfect little grace note.

The dining room is lovely. Amanda said there were pink monogrammed napkins the night she dined there.

The long sideboard looks mid 20th century.

The guest room is so sweet. The canopy twin beds are perfect. It's interesting to see so much fitted carpet used. Of course it being an apartment probably calls for its application.

The little sitting area in the guest room is precious.

I love the big girl drapes, especially the French pleat at the top.

Please go to Amanda's new blog and read more about this dinner party. There are some great photos of the Bremermann's art collection which has many contemporary pieces as well as more traditional ones. The Bremermann mix is flawless.

Love, love, LOVE the mini hand chairs!

Also check the Southern Accents web site, as they have published many great photos of Gerrie Bremermann's work, and also see Joni Webb's blog Cote de Texas and her opus on Mrs. B. as her number four pick of her top ten designers.

The Bremermann look that spawned a movment:
Turned wood chandeliers, trumeaus, slips, and mixing it all up

What I hope you will take away with you from this post, is a snap shot of a life well lived by two hard workers who love what they do, love each other, and love the city of New Orleans.

Antique bust at The Bremermanns,
draped with carnival beads from the all women Krewe of Muses

PS Happy Birthday to my sister Cher!

Sean Cummings: The House on Esplanade

2009-06-09T10:42:00.011-05:00

In New Orleans there are certain houses that have their own identity no matter who lives there.
If you talk about The House On Esplanade, people know it once belonged to a monumental party girl and hostess by name of Germaine Welles, who presided as queen over an unprecedented 22 Carnival balls. Her capacity for alcohol, celebration, and men is legendary (and she was the daughter of "Count" Arnaud Casenave, founder of Arnaud's restaurant in The French Quarter). It was also the mansion that was once star-producer Daniel Lanois’ Kingsway studio where Bob Dylan, Cowboy Mouth, Pearl Jam, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, and the Neville Brothers have recorded.
The actor Nicholas Cage purchased it in 2002 when he reigned as King of Bacchus during Carnival season. The latest owner is Sean Cummings, a visionary lover of New Orleans, who owns two hotels (The International House and Loft 523), and is very much involved with developing a 21st century New Orleans pre and post Katrina. He embodies New NOLA Style.
The House On Esplanade has a colorful history that is totally New Orleans.

The interior design inside the house reflects Sean's love of New Orleans, and the visual touchstones he uses in his very chic hotels

He had the help of Interior Designer, LM Pagano, a colorful character in her own right.

Pagano got her start as a jazz vocalist in her teens and by the age of 21, she was singing in all of the top L.A. clubs. With a background in art, she started designing shirts out of vintage fabrics (Bob Dylan was among her biggest clients). Then she delved into catering and became a personal chef to clients such as Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg. “After eight years I needed a break,” she confided. Through a mutual friend she heard that Nicholas Cage needed an assistant, and she landed the job on the spot.

Her road to becoming a designer was rather serendipitous. Cage dropped by Pagano’s house one afternoon and saw its décor and asked her to design his house in Bel Air. For the next eight years, Pagano worked for Cage exclusively as an in-house designer, then for the next six years as a free agent. She completed more than a dozen redesigns for Cage, six for family members, and did two of his yachts.

I tell you Pagano's story because the road to becoming an interior designer is not always paved with a cheesy ASID credential, if you know what I mean ha ha.

Since Sean bought the house from Cage, he also took on Pagano, who did the post Katrina refurbishing of his hotels for him. You will see recurring design choices from the hotels, translated into The House on Esplanade.

Sean is a modernist, and loves contemporary furnishings and art, and he also loves the old and crusty bits of New Orleans. When he does a project, both aesthetics coexist to excellent results.

The bathroom sleek fixtures he uses in the hotels...

Bathroom at Loft 523

...are also used in his home. Note the curved modern wicker chair in his guest bathroom, and the same style tub used in his hotel rooms.

Bathroom in Sean's home

This sexy little chair also resides in the lobby of Loft 523, his gem of a boutique hotel with only a dozen rooms.

Lobby of Loft 523

The master bath has some of the old original fixtures, beautifully juxtaposed with modern elements.

The master bedroom is as chic as one of his hotel suites.

Needles to say, Sean Cummings collects modern art.

And he collects iconic contemporary furniture that is very much art on to itself.

All of it looks so fabulous in this old house with splendid original plaster moldings and ceiling medallions.

The show stopper piece is in the entrance hall, which has the original terrazzo floors.

Aside from the luxurious appointments, one of the most dramatic elements designer Pagano introduced was a 17-foot-long Swarovski cascade crystal chandelier in the foyer weighing around 2200 pounds. “We had it made in Austria,” Pagano says. “We ordered it and they sent two gentlemen for four days to build it. It’s a modern nod to the grand chandeliers of New Orleans."

I spy a fabulous black chair done by Mooi Design. The frame is actually burned to get the black color, and they call it The Smoke Chair. Leave it to Sean to have a couple!

The Smoke Chair from Mooi Designs HERE retails for around $13,000.

Sean is a bachelor, so of course there's a posh billiards room.

There's a sexy red sitting room, so very New Orleans.
Pagano says, “Sean is an elegant, aesthetic guy, so even though we imported old with new, the house could not be cluttered of feel antique-laden even though there are many found and vintage pieces as well. We are two people who are extraordinarily concerned with celebrating and honoring what is innately New Orleans and its jumble of historic influences, the religiosity, the constancy of crumbling elegance, the continuing musical legacy, the decadence, and the rituals.”

The same decadent red ottoman also appears in the lobby of The International House.

Lobby at The International House

And Sean has been collecting the paintings of the artist Harouni for years. Harouni has his gallery on Royal Street, and you can get a silk screen of the same painting Sean owns HERE.
The signed print is 26" X 26" and sells for $800.

Here's another view of a parlor with those fabulous Mooi Smoke Chairs. And note the round piece for seating.

Pagano uses the same piece of furniture in a different upholstery in The Loa Bar in Sean's hotel The International House.

The Loa Bar in The International House Hotel

And speaking of bars, Sean has an intimate little bar in his home on Esplanade. It reminds me of Buenos Aires! On a personal note, Sean has been very good to us and the tango in New Orleans. We hosted a weekly class and dance for many years in the bar of his hotel Loft 523.

Fleur - A Born Idea Myself

2009-06-08T11:48:00.013-05:00

“I have an idea a minute,” Ms. Cowles once said. “I’m a born idea myself.”

from The New York Times:

By ENID NEMY Published: June 8, 2009

Fleur Cowles, who rose from modest beginnings in New York to become a well-heeled friend of the powerful and famous and the creator of one of the most extravagant and innovative magazines ever published, died on Friday at a nursing home in Sussex, England. She was 101, and her death was confirmed by her husband, Tom Montague Meyer. Ms. Cowles (pronounced coals) was a painter, a writer and a renowned hostess. But she took greatest pride in two things.

One was her short-lived magazine, Flair, published in the 1950s during her marriage to Gardner Cowles Jr., known as Mike, the publisher of Look magazine. The other was her talent for friendship. Her anecdotal memoir, “She Made Friends and Kept Them” (HarperCollins, 1996), was practically a Rolodex of many of the world’s most recognizable names: American presidents, foreign heads of state, Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth the Queen Mother (described as her “best friend”), Princess Grace, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Lady Bird Johnson, Pope John XXIII, Howard Hughes, Judy Garland, Joan Miró (who designed her dresses) and Cary Grant, the best man at her wedding to her fourth husband, Mr. Meyer (pronounced to rhyme with “clear”).

Although there were just 12 issues of Flair, published from February 1950 to January 1951, the magazine caused a sensation and is still admired for its coverage of fashion, décor, travel, art, literature and other enthusiasms of Ms. Cowles’s. It was part of the Cowles publishing empire, which included newspapers in the Midwest and, most notably, Look magazine, of which Ms. Cowles had been an influential editor.But Flair, incorporating cutouts, fold-outs, pop-ups, removable reproductions of artworks and a variety of paper stocks of different sizes and textures, was simply too expensive to produce, even though it sold for 50 cents a copy when Time and Life were selling for 20 cents.

When Flair ceased publication, Mr. Cowles, who had financed it, estimated that it had lost $2.5 million. Circulation, less than 100,000 for the first issue, eventually doubled, but advertising did not follow, and losses were running about 75 cents a copy.The preview issue, in September 1949, reflected Ms. Cowles’s passion for the arts and boasted a two-layer cover. The outside was embossed with a basket-weave pattern and punctuated with a hole, through which could be seen a picture of a man and woman embracing. The inside cover showed the couple as part of a wall layered with a collage of shredded posters.A spring issue featured the rose, a flower Ms. Cowles painted and extolled until her death. The issue was suffused with a rose fragrance, some four decades before scent strips became ubiquitous.

Housed within it, bound as a booklet, was a tribute to the rose by Katherine Anne Porter. The magazine itself had a rose named after it — Flair rose — and there is a Fleur Cowles rose as well.

Flair published stories and articles by W. H. Auden, Jean Cocteau, Simone de Beauvoir, Angus Wilson, Tennessee Williams, Ogden Nash and Clare Boothe Luce, among others. Salvador Dalí, Saul Steinberg, Lucian Freud, Rufino Tamayo and even Winston Churchill were among the contributing artists.

Mr. Cowles wrote in his own memoir, “Mike Looks Back,” that his wife had been determined to start a magazine that would appeal to an elite audience. He had created Look, one of America’s most popular magazines, but Ms. Cowles was ashamed of its “man’s barbershop” reputation.

The hubs

Even before their wedding, in 1946, he said, she insisted that he move the Cowles headquarters from Iowa to New York, and that he personally edit and change Look’s image.

“The Best of Flair,” a compilation of art, photographs and essays from the magazine, was published in 1996 by HarperCollins in an edition of 3,000 copies at $250 each.

Ms. Cowles variously gave her birthplace as Boston and Montclair, N.J., her parents as Matthew Fenton and Eleanor Pearl Fenton, and the year of her birth as anywhere from 1910 to 1917. Census records and reminiscences of friends and relatives indicate that she was born on Jan. 20, 1908, in New York City, the daughter of Morris and Lena Freidman, and that her name at birth was Florence. Her family moved to Bloomfield, N.J., when she was very young, and her sister, Millicent (who also later adopted the name Fenton), was born there. She attended high school in Bloomfield and later, according to her own biographical notes, the School of Fine and Applied Arts in New York, which no longer exists. Her father, who was in the novelty business, deserted the family while she was still in school.

Her career began, she said, at age 15, when she became an advertising copywriter for Gimbels department store. Several years later, while working in advertising in Boston, she married Bertram Klapper of Haverhill, Mass., who manufactured wooden heels. She also wrote a fashion and lifestyle column for The New York World-Telegram until 1934.

By this time she had divorced Mr. Klapper and married Atherton Pettingell, an advertising agency executive who was her boss. Some years later they formed their own advertising company, specializing in Seventh Avenue clients. They were divorced in the mid-1940s.

Soon afterward she volunteered to write speeches for the War Production Board in Washington, and when World War II ended, President Harry S. Truman appointed her as a consultant to the Famine Emergency Committee. She met Mike Cowles while he was in Washington with the Office of War Information, and they were married in December 1946. It was around this time that she changed her first name to Fleur. The following year she joined Look as an associate editor. She added food and fashion to the magazine, which brought in increased advertising, and was instrumental in a redesign.

The couple began traveling to Europe, South America and Asia, where they met and interviewed world leaders like Churchill, Eva Perón and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. After she worked on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s successful presidential campaign in 1952, the White House sent her on fact-finding missions abroad and named her a special envoy to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.She and Mr. Cowles divorced in 1955, and within months she married Mr. Meyer, whom she had met on a plane. The couple took up residence in chambers in Albany, one of London’s most prestigious addresses, where Byron, Disraeli and Gladstone once lived. They also bought and restored Great Surries, an Elizabethan farmhouse on 650 acres in Sussex with rooms named for frequent guests like Cary Grant and Leslie Caron and a barn made acoustically perfect for performances by artists like Yehudi Menuhin.

The Meyers also restored a 12th-century castle in Trujillo, Spain, which they used as a holiday residence until selling it several years ago.

In 1994 the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas, Austin, opened the Fleur Cowles Room, a replica of her study in London. In 2003 Pratt Institute devoted an exhibition in Manhattan to the lasting influence of Flair.

Ms. Cowles gave up editing after marrying Mr. Meyer, but she continued to write books, adding to a bibliography that included the biographies “Bloody Precedent” (1951), about Juan and Eva Perón, and “The Case of Salvador Dalí” (1959). She also illustrated a number of her books, including “People as Animals,” “The Flower Game” and “The Life and Times of the Rose.” Her paintings of jungle beasts, huge flowers, birds and objects of nature, often in dreamlike sequences, were exhibited in cities around the world. In 1994 the National Museum of Women’s Art in Washington mounted a show of her paintings, prints and porcelain and crystal designs.

Claire - A Tale Of Two Houses

2009-06-05T13:34:00.020-05:00

Claire. Native of New Orleans. Avid art collector. Lover of color. Friend. Wife of Josh. Mother of Margot.
This is the story of two homes that Claire has made for her aforementioned family, and her three dogs and two cats.

She lives in New Orleans, in a beautiful and typical 100++ year old Uptown townhouse.

But that's where typical stops, and incredible Claire starts.

The entry is wallpapered in silver vinyl. It reminds me of Andy Warhol's Factory.
The front hall leads up the stairs, carpeted in a wonderful animal print.
Claire has a summer project for the front hall: She is designing a floor to ceiling crystal chandelier with the feeling of water. She is making a pop art ceramic faucet where the crystals will flow from. Stay tuned!

The living room is painted a great shade of brown, and has many colorful pieces of furniture, and is jam packed with art. The carpet is an elegant sea grass custom cut and contoured to the shape of the room.

Sebastian the poodle is allowed on the furniture.

The furniture is off limits to the two Dobermans, Bridget and Henry, and to make sure they understand this, Claire puts mouse traps on the furniture. However, the dogs have several nice poufs as dog beds scattered through out the house.

The cats Stella and Chance go wherever they want to.

Adjoining the Living Room is the dining room, painted a great shade of yellow. Turquoise silk drapes give additional energy to the room. The Chinoiserie chairs are yellow too. Claire did the triptych of her daughter, and she made the sculptural sconces on each side of it

Next to the dining room is the office. There's grass cloth on the walls, zebra print on the floor, and a reindeer fur office chair, and of course more fabulous art work.

The family room is a cheerful room. The furniture and art reflect Claire's love of color.

Off the family room is a screened in back porch, that the family just loves. Note the old brick floor.

The brick floor extends outside to the patio around the pool. I love the huge chair and curved ottoman - it looks like Ying and Yang. And of course the tall yellow sculpture is to die for.

The bedrooms are upstairs. The master bedroom is pale and serene.

The daughter's room is a color-paloooza. She loves color as much as her mom does.

The guest room is Palm Beach traditional, but still colorful.

Even the upstairs laundry room has whimsy and color.
I took all these pictures as snap shots of the house "as is", just as the family lives with no photo styling or fluffing. I just love this house.

The family relocated to Houston for a short time after Hurricane Katrina.
But Claire missed her New Orleans, and they came back to their Uptown home.

Poem and nails from a house destroyed by Katrina on the book shelf in the office

You can see much of the art work and color in the Houston house, a mid century beauty, designed by Charles Tapley. All the rooms open to one another, with expansive ceilings, walls of windows, and hardwood floors.
It's for sale via Martha Turner Properties.
It's interesting to see some of the same art and furnishings in a modern house. I think each house looks spectacular, but I prefer the New Orleans house. Which do you like better?

Claire's House In Houston:

Vamp Digest

2009-06-02T17:00:00.000-05:00

Things are hectic.
I'm moving so fast I feel as if I'm moving back in time. Nearly fifteen years ago I "semi retired" from the world of business. I reinvented myself, and gave up my business, and stopped going to the office in a traditional 9 - 5 way.

My days remained busy, but in a different way. You all know it's different when you are not expected to show up at the same time in the same place everyday.

The business of teaching tango and producing tango events is hard work, but it's not 9 to 5 each and every day. We work super hard for intense bursts of time. And the traveling we do to teach keeps our "office" ever changing.

Now I'm back to where I was fifteen years ago, responsible for showing up in the same place at the same time. And I'm teaching tango too.

We just did a tango workshop in Florida this past weekend. We drove up the Emerald Coast. I am so glad when we can drive to our gigs. I'm not afraid to fly, but I don't really like it much.
The sad news about the Air France flight sent my prayers to them all. Many times while hovering over a turbulent Atlantic Ocean I prayed mighty hard for the safe return of each and everyone of us to our destination.

These beautiful Phillipe Stark Mademoiselle Chairs came into Perch today

I'm back at the shop today, getting things ready for a couple of photo shoots.

June is the traditional month for the start of wedding season, and the wedding images you see here are in this month's issue of Veranda, in an editorial about a very beautiful wedding in France. Pick up the issue, or check it out on line.
After years and years of producing weddings, I'm a sucker for pictures and locations such as these.

I have several Shop Keepers Homes stories working too.

One of the Shop Keepers Homes coming soon

And I'm working on something about a fabulous new book on Swedish style coming out by Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems.

Interior Design by Eleish Van Breems Antiques

There's a crew coming to New Orleans in August to shoot a book project I'm involved with.

Scouting for a photo shoot in August

And we have some Bed and Tango guests coming this summer too.

We stopped at the beach on the drive back to New Orleans.

After so many years of having the "free" schedule of someone semi retired, I really appreciated these moments on the beach.

June is also the start of Hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast.

Come Into The White

2009-05-27T11:21:00.011-05:00

As the unofficial start of summer kicked off last weekend, alot of people went out of town, and alot of people came into New Orleans as their getaway.
We stayed in town, and I gave the living room some summer touches.
No I didn't repaint it all white, but I did add some more white to the room.

First a good cleaning, and a change of drapes. Down came the green velvet. Then I moved the white sheer curtains from the bedroom into the living room. I often move things to different rooms, kind of "shopping" the house for a new look.

The room is flooded with light and feels so airy, so much like summer.
I also swapped out the gilded wheat sheaf base and glass coffee table for this white mid century cutie. I cannot just confine myself to one era ha ha, so I mix all the centuries together.
I also removed the black and white stripe rug and swapped it out for the cow hide which was in the guest bedroom. I love the hide rugs because they hide everything, i.e. dog hair and dirt. And I love seeing more of the floor for summer too.

The morning light is just fabulous. By mid morning it moves from the front of the house, so even though the room is light filled, it's not hot from the sun pouring in.

The art work in the living room is comprised of all portraits. It's my little portrait gallery.
I love to hang art low. It pleases my eye.

I purposely did not put side tables next to the antique French settee, though you know I have them! I had a smaller version of the coffee table, and decided to float both of them, one in front of the settee, and one in front of the sofa. I flipped the settee and sofa from their "winter" positions.

The Thomas Paul pillow with the Greco-Roman head, the portrait of Kenny, and even the little sculpted head in the tray of shells, all add to portrait gallery.

I also added a sweet little green chair, the Philippe Starck Mademmoiselle Chair. The pop of green and the clear Lucite legs add just the right amount of sparkle.

I mix a variety of prints, and the green chair has a tone on tone damask to add to the fun.

I often pick the ginger from the yard for the living room, and the fresh green of the leaves plays along with the green chair.

The Will Barnett portrait entitled "The Young Couple" has subtle shades of green too, and the bunch of giant green grapes make a nice still life.

Another corner has a metal etagere, with two of my favorite portraits, one of Cholo done by Patricia from PVE, and the other of my friend Trevor, who I snapped at Castle Howard when we visited a friend there together.

Cholo loves the new arrangement. He has so many places to choose to snuggle on, like this vintage chair recovered in a Duralee print.

The corner with the chaise is Alberto's hang out.

The tray on the coffee table holds shells, and other special little things like this box of calling cards Alberto had printed when he graduated from The University of Buenos Aires over 40 years ago!

Since we'll be spending most of our summer at home this year, I am so happy that the living room has been dressed in summer whites. It feels like we've gone someplace new and pretty for a holiday.
So take a look around your house, and see what you can move around to refresh a room for summer!

Blog Out Loud

2009-05-23T11:21:00.004-05:00

Megan from Beach Bungalow 8 sent this, and it looks very cool. So check it out!

When & Where:

Thursday, June 4th at Patio Culture on Abbott Kinney in Venice, CA.

Panel:

Jonathan (Happy Mundane), Audrey Woolen (Parcel Post) and Richele Silva (Richie Designs)

Our goal:

To get the word out in the next 2 weeks. We want to reach creative people - interior designers, gfx designers, photographers, shop owners, artists, you name it - and invite them to join us, chat with the panel of bloggers and learn more about blogging.

And if that's not enough of a carrot on the stick: there will be free libations.

All event details can be found at http://blogoutloudevent.com.

Gabo Says Adios To Colombia

2009-05-20T16:10:00.017-05:00

As design becomes uber global, one often feels that anything foreign can be gotten at home, imported instantly via web sites.
Designers and architects and merchants and realtors ply their talent and wares to us whilst we sit comfortably behind the computer screen.

I love to travel to see how other people live, and nothing will ever replace the thrill of seeing things in person.

I love South America, but have only been to a couple of large cities in Colombia and Argentina and Brazil.

I was looking at some saved images of a house in Colombia that was featured in Veranda HERE .

A beautiful 250 year old house near the sea, that has been decorated in a contemporary way.

South Americans are masters of this mixing of the very old with the very new.

I could see myself reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez whilst swaying in one of these hammocks.

A friend sent me Gabo's farewell letter HERE
It is well worth taking the time to read this and see this lovely presentation.
El maestro is ill and has announced his retirement from the public world HERE.
Adios muchacho.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his wife Mercedes

The Shop Keepers Home 2 - Patrick Dunne

2009-05-18T09:27:00.013-05:00

When I use the term shop keeper, it is not meant to be pejorative. In fact I have the utmost respect and admiration for the men and women who open and keep shop. It takes a fierce love for what they sell, and a dedication that is only matched by perhaps being the owner of a restaurant.
A beautiful shop is an inspiring work of art, a salon for kindred souls.
Patrick Dunne is a New Orleans art dealer and decorator who opened his beloved and famous shop Lucullus over twenty years ago. When I still lived in New York I heard his praises sung by Martha Stewart, Peri Wolfman, and Susan Holland (all mentors of mine). I never dreamed then I would live in the same city as this renowned shop.

The March/April issue of Southern Accents did a nice photo essay of Patrick's home in the Fauborg Maringy. He is a contributing editor for SA often writing wonderful pieces about other people, so it is such a treat to read his own words about his own home.

The house is attributed to the architect Henry Howard, having once been built for a prosperous free woman of color before the Civil War. A faubourg is a New Orleans district lying outside the original city limits (i.e. The French Quarter). It is a word used in combination with the names of various quarters of the city.

Patrick's house has the classic arrangement of a main house, with a wing once known as a slave quarter, with a kitchen below, and small guests rooms above. I don't know if his quarter is attached to the main house or not.
When we lived in the French Quarter we lived in a classic 1810 Creole house. Our apartment was in the main house. There was a separate building, the slave quarter, with small rooms below for servants, and rooms above called the garconniere, rooms for the sons of the house to use once they turned 13 or so to give privacy to the boy becoming a man, and his mother. A bachelor apartment if you will, but still on his mother's property. He would live there until he married and acquired a home of his own.
There was also one more unattached building at the back of our enclosed brick courtyard (complete with banana trees and a fountain), that was la cuisine, the kitchen. Often the kitchen was separate because of the danger of fires. If a fire broke out in the kitchen, the main house would not be damaged. In modern times, it had been converted into another charming apartment.

Patrick explains: "What makes domestic interiors so particular in New Orleans is that they are neither European nor really American but something in between, something we keep calling Creole, I suppose, because we can't think of anything else to call it."

When Patrick thinks of streamlining and perhaps doing a more subdued palette, daydreaming about alternatives to his fantastic Creole mix, some beloved object intrudes on his reverie, and he lets the wisps of conjecture slide off into the comforting reality of a house full of mementos, family things, and acquired and accidental stuff.

What can I do but be charmed and smitten by all that he has created and shares with us in the pages of SA. I myself have fallen under the spell of Creole, choosing saturated color and lots of stuff, acquired and accidental.

I often lay on my couch and day dream pale walls, and no nick-knacks, less art on the walls, less pattern, less old furniture, well just less.

Then the light falls just so, filtered through a tattered shutter, and the warm gaze of portrait painted of, or by a friend touches my heart. The deep color of the room makes corners vanish, so the eye just sinks into a kind of foreverness. My little clump of clutter of shells found on the beaches of the world, or a pile of books I always seem to pick up, makes me realize this is such a human way to live.

I so appreciate the light and the spare and the refined, but I choose to live like a color and object whore.

So pick up this issue of SA, and savor these pages in person. My humble scans don't do it justice, and of course SA can't put every gorgeous editorial on their excellent web site.

And when you get to New Orleans, which I am sure every man, woman, and child must do at least once in their lives, stop by Lucullus on Rue Chartres in the French Quarter, and visit with Patrick and his adorable shop dog Clovis. (I think Patricia at PVE might be insprired to paint Clovis sitting on his perfect little French chair).

And don't forget to visit this old shop girl on Magazine Street while you're strolling our magical city.

My New Orleans French Life

2009-05-15T09:05:00.001-05:00

I have been in New Orleans for nearly ten years, and I am still enchanted.
One of the first things that captivated me was the relationship of New Orleans with so many French things.
Of course French history runs deep here, and after 300 years you still see little pieces of France in everyday life.
I would love for Vicki Archer and Carla Coulson to come to New Orleans and do a book about us, perhaps another version of their fabulous book "My French Life".

The city was originally laid out on the French plan, a grid of streets that still exists in the French Quarter. At one point all the houses faced the Mississippi River. But after a few major fires, and a change in governments, the houses were built with the fronts facing the street.

So many buildings are Paris inspired. Like the Pontalba Apartments that are modeled after the Place de Voges, built by a woman in the 1800's, the Baroness Pontalba.

Across the street is the oldest coffee stand in The USA, Cafe Du Monde, famous for beignets and Cafe Au Lait.

New Orleans is one of the few cities in the USA to have a French Consul living and working here. This is the French Consul's home in The Garden District.

The French Consul and his family live here. It's a lovely old house, but the public rooms are in dire need of redecorating. I think an important site like this should have the best New Orleans has to offer. There are so many gorgeous French antiques here, and designers who would be proud to lend a hand.

I would love to organize an effort to do a show house at the residence of the French Consul, with all the furnishings donated by the people of New Orleans.

One of the only standing buildings left that was built by the original French regime, is The Ursuline Convent. It's front still faces the River.

The classic proportions of the architecture and French style gardens truly look Parisian.

Of course St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square is about as French as you can get.

The Cathedral is flanked on one side by The Cabildo and on the other side by The Presbytere on Jackson Square, which is a classic European arrangement.

The French Market has been in existence since the beginnings of New Orleans, and this little archway is very much like a mini-me Arc de Triomphe.

The Napoleon House is called so, because the owner had prepared it for Napoleon for the Emperor's planned escape from his exile and imprisonment. Sadly The Little Emperor never made it, but he is fondly remembered in New Orleans.

New Orleans has a tremendous gilded statue of Joan of Arc.

This is an old court building that could be a Hausmann style building in Paris.

And of course the fleur de lis is everywhere here.

We also have The Degas House, where the artist and his family lived.

One of my favorite restaurants is La Crepe Nanou, Uptown New Orleans, but so very Parisian.

There are many French restaurants and bakeries, and La Boulangerie is one of the best.

So how about it Vicki and Carla? I know you'll have a great time in New Orleans, and make a wonderful book about it!

They Are Queens

2009-05-10T14:50:00.005-05:00

We all have one, even if we are not one. A mother.

Some of our mothers are still living, and some of them are not.

Some of us are young mothers, or middle age mothers, or grandmothers. Some of us are step mothers.

Everyday is mothers day, but today it is designated as such so we can make a little extra fuss for our mothers.

So wishing all the mothers out there a very Happy Mothers Day.

These images are from this fabulous book "Crowns" by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry, forward by Maya Angelou.

A Single Working Woman's Manhattan Apartment

2009-05-07T00:00:00.002-05:00

Being known as an ex-pat New Yorker elicits comments on my decorating style such as "that's so New York." I often wonder what that means exactly. Apartment living might dictate style, whether it's an upper West Side pre war, a Park Avenue pre war, a Fifth Avenue building, a Village brownstone, an upper East Side mid century, a Murray Hill townhouse, or a downtown loft, and any and everything in between.

I guess the point I'm making is that there is no one New York style, yet there is a thread that defines its metropolitan ethos.

This month's issue of New York Spaces features designer Maureen Footer's interpretation of what is described as an uptown flat.

The title of the editorial is "The Twist - Bold yellows and greens refresh an uptown flat."

She mixes things to great effect such as a bold black and white Garret Chingery painting with an antique bust. Gorgeous hand painted Chinoiserie wallpaper decks out the foyer of this mid century Manhattan apartment, and the bedroom is a soft contrast to the bold color in the rest of the apartment.

The apartment was designed for a single working woman. It's a one bedroom on the Upper East Side. The combination of French, Venetian, and Asian inspired antiques, along with what Footer calls "Yellow as the absolute go-to color" results in a glamorous dazzling space with a lively twist that's so New York.