HABITUALLY CHIC DESIGN®

My Life in a Nutshell!

I told you I had some exciting news to share with you and up first on the list is my Blogoshere profile on 1stdibs! I must say it's weird to be on the other end of an interview but writer Marcia Sherrill was very sweet to work with. We started talking months ago so it's fun to see it finally in print. It was needless to say, the talk of the office today. Hope you enjoy it too!

Also, I owe a big thanks to Porter Hovey for my great headshot. She was a pro to work with and if you ever need a photographer, definitely give her a call!

When it rains, it pours...

It has been raining a lot in New York the last few days but it has also been raining good things in my life. I have so many fabulous things to share with all of you but I need a few more says until I can reveal them all. I've also been working myself to death but it's all going to be worth it soon! I also want to thank everyone who takes the times to read my blog everyday and to leave comments and send emails. If it takes me longer to reply right now, I hope you'll forgive me. I'm doing my best to juggle everything but sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day. But you know what they say, when it rains, it pours. Now all I need is for it to start raining men!

Giuseppe Panza: Memories of a Collector

I had been meaning to write a post about Italian art collector Giuseppe Panza and his book Memories of a Collector for a few months but kept putting it off. Then I saw the book on a desk in the BKH designed room at the Kips Bay Show House and decided that it was now or never.

Count Giuseppe Panza di Biumo has been a world class art collector for more than fifty years and spent much of his young years visiting artist's studios in downtown Manhattan before it was considered fashionable. His collection consists of the who's who of the modern art world including Mark Rothko, Robert Rauschenberg, and Franz Kline. He was undaunted in his hunt for great art and found Mark Rothko who he found "hard at work amid stacks of vibrant, unsold canvases." Can you imagine?! In his memoir, Panza also shares philosophical insights and personal reflections of a life spent discovering new artists and movements that any collector, no matter how big or small, would appreciate.

Panza more recently donated works by Winston Roeth to the Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo in Modena, Italy and they look quite beautiful in the opulant space. A testament that you shouldn't be afraid to mix modern or contemporary art into very classically designed spaces.

Winston Roeth at the Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Panza acts as his own curator at the magnificent Villa Menafoglio Litta Panza.

A room in the Villa Menefoglio Litta Panza with Paintings by Phil Sims.

Another work by Phil Sims.

A piece by Lawrence Weiner offers a "meditation on morality above a plush red Italian Renaissance banquette."

I love how the two chairs remind me of Giuseppe Panza and his wife of fifty years, Rosa, below.

"Art, in it's essence, is always about the search for beauty. They looked for beauty in the medieval period, and in the Renaissance, and the best artists still search for it today." -Giuseppe Panza

And you can find beauty in Giuseppe Panza's wonderful book Memories of a Collector. Ciao!

Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2008

I had the pleasure of visiting the 2008 Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House today and was blown away. This year's Show House was only the third time in 36 years that the "house" was shown in an apartment building and not a townhouse but I have to say I loved it. Most New Yorkers live in apartments and not townhouses so the designs are easily translated to city living but are also easily translatable to real homes. I attended with my colleague Kristen and we were inspired by many of the designers and took notes on ideas we want to incorporate into the homes of our clients. If you live in New York, you should definitely check it out for yourself but if you can't make it, you can see some of the great designs here. Enjoy!

The Show House encompasses six apartments on two different floors and the roof. First up are the rooms from Charlotte Moss entitled "Room Service" which include a casual wicker seating arrangement in the blue living room and also a little dressing room/office. The living room even includes the famous red leather bound issues of Vogue that belong to Ms. Moss.

In the entry hallway, were beautiful framed art and photography.

The Charlotte Moss designed dressing room/office included shoe boxes with Polaroids of their contents, vintage Louis Vuitton luggage and room to write.

The living room of apartment one is by Steven Miller Siegel Architects and was stunning. Much of the furniture was custom designed by the firm including the sofa, club chairs, dining table, easel, and floor lamp. Other pieces were by Leleu and Ruhlmann so you know this was an amazing space!

I couldn't find a source listed for the outdoor dining table and chairs but it perfectly fits the small terrace off the dining area.

Sara Bengur Interiors designed "The Orange Room" which includes a kitchen, dining area, and terrace that looks perfect for a young family.

One of my favorite designers included in the Show House is Sara Story who designed the foyer above entitled "A Graceful Approach" that includes a beautiful console and mirror by John Himmel at John Rosselli & Associates. The patterned wall covering is from Dedar.

Sara Story also designed one of my favorite rooms, the "Harem Den." Sara said she intended it as a "home sanctuary for a strong, independent and successful woman." As someone who doesn't like overly frilly or girly rooms, this space resonated with me. The lion belonged to her grandmother, who was a big-game hunter, and added a "don't mess with me" vibe that I loved.

Sara also says that “women are so much more than a closet full of shoes" and this is evident by the stocked bar in the Gio Ponti credenza, obviously intended to serve the woman and her friends who she saw hanging out in this room.

The walls in the room are grey Venetian plaster and the floors are stenciled in a Swedish style. I usually don't love Venetian plaster because it's very hard to get right but many of the rooms in the Show House incorporate it and are all done beautifully!

Jeff Lincoln Interiors designed the "Den/Study" with walls that lined with corrugated cardboard that has been painted a shiny brown, an interesting and original idea.

One of my least favorite rooms was designed by Ellen Ward Scarborough and Pariscope Design and is entitled "Jewel Box." I feel bad saying it but next to all the luxuriously and professionally designed rooms, it just looked a little cheap, especially since it wasn't designed as a child's room.

"Scarlett's Dress" was designed by Cetra Ruddy, a firm I have never heard of but whose design I really enjoyed. The room looked like a luxurious sitting room for a glamorous woman. The marble built-in desk/vanity and wallcoverings from Roger Arlington were stunning in person.

The bar accessories are Baccarat and the furniture is from MooreModern.com and Maison Gerard.

Another design firm I have never heard of is BKH (Burley, Katon, Halliday), a Sydney design firm with over 30 years of experience that is opening an office in New York this year. The walls and floors are all high gloss lavender but there is nothing girly about this room. The black accents give it a very sophisticated edge and the mirrored screens near the windows reflect the light wonderfully! I will definitely be looking out for more from this firm. I just wish their website wasn't so hard to navigate!

Interior designer Geoffrey Bradfield is a legend in New York and his "Art Dealer's Bachelor Pad" was of course, beautifully designed. I loved the burnt orange Venetian plastered walls that were so slick they looked like lacquer.

I also loved the wall of shelves that held magazine holders. When I design my own home someday, I'm going to have to remember this wall that would be perfect to hold many collected design magazines. The only thing I would have changed in this room was the art. Personally, I would have preferred paintings that were a little more abstract and perhaps not so jarring. Other than that, I love the space.

Another fun men's room was the "Tailored Urban Study" by William McIntosh Design.

I really love S. Russell Groves design style and his room entitled "Dream State" doesn't disappoint. I don't think my photo does justice to the therapist's office that "belonged to the patient and not the therapist who actually made housecalls" to the homeowner. The framed Rorschach test inkblots on the wall are a cheeky touch and actually look like chic art!

There were only a few bathrooms open at the Show House and the one designed by Webb White as part of their spa like bedroom suite was especially zen and gorgeous!

Webb White designed a beautiful bedroom that I wish I had a better photo of because the bed looked so inviting on a grey day in New York. The wall behind the bed from far away looked like patterned wallcovering but up close you can see that it's made from metal tops from cans. The installation was created by artist Clare Graham who the designers commissioned furniture from in the past. This room alone is worth visiting the Show House to see!

The terrace outside the White Webb room features the same floor covering from Patterson, Flynn, Martin as the bedroom and a beautiful fabric screen on the railing. The outdoor chairs and ottoman are from McGuire.

The hallway leading to the little boy's "Wing Room" by Truck Product for Nurseryworks is lined with wooden airplanes suspended from the ceiling and wrap all the way into the room below.

I love the modern and un-childlike furniture in the bedroom.

Larry Laslo Designs not only designed a huge living room but this pretty ikat lined bedroom and a bathroom.

I love the little vanity and stool but I can't find a source for it.

The shell mirror in the bathroom that Larry designed for Walker Zanger was very pretty, as was the mosaic wall in calacata marble.

One of my all time favorite interior designers is Philip Gorrivan and his "Quiet Time" bedroom and sitting area was beyond chic! My favorite feature is the stretch vinyl ceiling called Extenzo that looks like lacquer but costs far less. The ceilings in the apartments are 8 1/2 feet tall and obviously Gorrivan is a pro and knows that a reflective ceiling makes the space seem taller. It is a great trick that great designer in New York have to incorporate and it looks perfect here. The seams are barely visible as well.

I don't think this photo does the sitting are justice. It was perfect for the space and actually looked like you might sit there and read a book.

The view from the roof to a terrace below.

The area on the roof is known as the Manhattan Club and can be used for parties by the residents of the building. During the Show House, Vladimir Kagan has a huge installation of furniture and original drawings. Also, on Tuesday, May 13th from 6-8 p.m. Vladmir Kagan will be signing copies of his autobiography, The Complete Kagan: A Lifetime of Avante-Garde Design.

The view from the roof garden of the Kips Bay Decorator Show House is just as spectacular as the designs below and I hope that you make a special trip to visit it. All the proceeds benefit the 14,000 young members of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, a very worthwhile cause in New York. I would also like to thank all the wonderful designers and volunteers who made it all possible and who were kind enough to let me photograph it for you!

Habitually Chic Designer: David Lawrence

There was a considerable buzz in the office yesterday afternoon after an email arrived from a former employee announcing the new website for his interior design studio and it was justified. David Lawrence has a great eye and a very sophisticated design style. He credits his passion for classic and timeless lines to my current firm and it shows.

David Lawrence

For a minute I thought had come out of nowhere but then I recognized the apartment he helped rework for Domino magazine March 2006 cover girl Haylynn Cohen. I always loved that living room!

I really love how David tailors his designs to the space and the type of project. Sometimes what works in a city home isn't the same as what works in the country and it takes a good designer to adapt their style accordingly.

I hope you will check out David Lawrence's designs and website. I really enjoyed his "process" section where he outlines his approach, the specification & ordering phase and the installation process. I think every designer should spell out exactly what is involved when they hire an interior designer.