Hope you all have a great holiday weekend no matter where you are going or how you get the...
Labels:
vintage car
Slim Aarons' Wonderful Life
I'm sure most everyone has seen the Slim Aarons photo of CZ Guest pictured above but how many of you know the story about the man behind the camera. I posted this photo about a month ago along with a recent photo from H&G that reminded me of the Slim Aarons photo and wondered if the photographer has meant it to look like an Aaron's photo or if it was just a coincidence.Well, shortly after I ran that post, I got a comment from none other than Slim Aarons' daughter, Mary Aarons! How amazing! She mentioned that magazines like to refer it it as "paying homage". Aren't they nice? I asked Mary...
Labels:
photography,
slim aarons
Habitually Chic Hotel: JK Place
I have travel on the brain this week. I think it's because I wish I was going somewhere exotic for Labor Day weekend instead of Pennsylvania, which is where I am actually going. I was also originally going to tell you about another hotel in Florence but it's small and actually very reasonably priced and I don't want it too be all booked up before I make a reservation so I'll tell you about that one some other time. Right now, I am going to sing the interior design praises of the JK Place Hotel in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, in the heart of Florence that is a quiet refuge in the middle of a tourist...
To the Manor Born
I've wanted to travel to Kenya ever since I first saw the movie Out of Africa so I've been saving magazine articles and tear sheets for a very long time. Most relate to safaris and fabulous 5 star accommodations since staying in a tent is not my idea of a vacation but a very special hotel in Nairobi has been catching my eye lately.Giraffe Manor was built in 1932 by a Scottish lord and was modeled on a Scottish hunting lodge. In 1974, the grandson of a Scots Earl, Jock Leslie Melville and his American wife Betty bought the Manor as their home and soon after moved two highly endangered Rothschild...
J'adore J.Crew!
I was in love with the J.Crew catalog last month because it was shot in my old neighborhood of Beacon Hill in Boston but this time they are Paris. Now I'm really impressed! Tres chic J.Cr...
Charlotte Moss Townhouse - Part III
So, I failed to mention earlier what I was doing with the rest of my Friday. Well, this morning I was touring the Charlotte Moss Townhouse with none other than Charlotte Moss herself and her wonderful assistant Cathy! Go ahead. Take a moment to hate me. I know you want to. I would hate me too. But let me tell you how it happened anyway.I got home last Saturday after a day of shopping in the city to find an email from, I almost fell off my chair, Charlotte Moss. I had to look at it a few times to make sure no one was playing a trick on me but apparently, Ms. Moss had learned about the wonderful...
Labels:
charlotte moss,
interior design,
interview,
new york,
shopping
Orange You Glad It's Friday?!
Oh, here I go again with two of my favorite things, the color orange and vintage cars, all wrapped into one adorable package. Tina Turner is sitting in one the cutest little cars ever made, a Fiat 500 Jolly. I LOVE these cars and when I'm rich enough to afford a villa in the South of France like Tina, I'm gonna buy one too!Until then, I'm going to enjoy my glorious day off today and pretend I'm a lady who lunches while getting my hair done. Happy Frid...
Labels:
vintage car
Highland Fling
It's a grey day in New York today and everything I thought about posting seemed too cheerful after Andree Putman and Chateau Les Merles so I thought I would post a photographic essay of a modernist castle on the moors of Scotland instead. Created by one of the world's leading architects, Moshe Safdie, the brawny yet graceful stone and glass towers of Corrour Lodge marry the past to the present. The photographs by Martyn Thompson are so breathtaking that I am going to let them do all the talking. If you want more information, it can be found in the February 2006 issue of House & Garden....
Absolutely Beautiful Hotel: Chateau Les Merles
Recently, Anna over at Absolutely Beautiful Things profiled the most gorgeous hotel in France, Chateau Les Merles, that I am absolutely drooling over. I'm sure all of you saw her post but the hotel's website has so many more beautiful photos online that I just had to share some of them. I hope Anna doesn't mind. I also thought it would a perfect follow up to Andree Putman. As you have probably realized by now, I'm a total sucker for period details mixed with modern furnishings and Chateau Les Merles with the help of Dutch designer Joris van Grinsven more than delivers. It is now completely...
Labels:
france,
hotel,
interior design
Life with Andrée
I'm not a huge fan of black and white or neutral interiors but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them when I see them done well. Such is the case of the Paris townhouse designed by the uber-fabulous French interior designer Andrée Putman. She's so chic she frankly scares me a little bit! I picture her scowling and yelling in raspy French to her workmen while a Gitanes dangles precariously from her lips. But, I love the way she mixes the modern furnishings, including furniture from her six easy pieces line for Ralph Pucci, with the 19th century interior full of period moldings and hardware....
Labels:
andree putnam,
interior design,
paris
To My Shagreen
I happened to be looking around blogland today and stumbled upon Studio Annetta's lovely blog to find that she had just profiled one of my favorite design firms, Augousti. Owners Ria and Yiouri are pictured above. You have probably seen their shagreen and snakeskin bags around, as many stores carry them but their furniture is exclusive to Barney's and it is amazing! It just so happens that I was at Barney's recently and had photographed their shagreen desk and matching chair. It was not only beautiful but was so well crafted and thought out. The little doors on each side open to reveal storage...
Give Me Libertine or Give Me Death!
I thought about calling this post Johnson Hartig's All Grown Up and I'll explain why in a minute. As many of you probably know by know, Libertine designers Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig pictured above are profiled in the September 2007 issue of Domino. But what few of you probably remember is that Johnson Hartig was also profiled in the September 2002 issue of House Beautiful below! I know this because I have the tear sheets to prove it! I thought it would be fun to look back and see how his style has changed in the past five years. I think it definitely looks like he grew up and refined...
Labels:
domino,
interior design,
libertine,
target
