I Heart Hamish!

I have been stalking the newsstand for weeks trying to find the latest issue of Australian Vogue Living and was excited to finally find it Saturday. I was even more excited to open up and find a profile of Hamish Bowles' New York apartment! I think I might have actually squealed! It's just as spectacular as his Paris flat and is seriously making me consider painting my apartment pink. I actually know where Hamish lives and after seeing these photos, I am tempted to camp out in front of his building until he lets me see it in person. But I'm too afraid of being banned from Vogue forever though so I won't actually do it. What I like best is that although it's chock full of furniture and accessories, it doesn't actually look cluttered. It has a wonderfully collected look because it was all lovingly collected during Hamish's travels.

The entrance table by Karl Springer is topped with lots of pink books and Fez hats. I love how Hamish has propped up art against the mirror and tucked in postcards and photos into the frame.

Hamish visits Tangier, Morocco every summer which is the reason behind the bedazzled Fez hats from eBay.

The living mixes lots of colors with antiques with two plastic ghost chairs to prefection. The sofa is from Sister Parish Design and the Louis XV chair is upholstered in purple tweed. I don't remember if they have this shade purple but Holland & Sherry is my favorite place to find soft tweeds.

At first I thought this was the entry table restyled but turns out that Hamish owns two Karl Springer tables and two plaster cornucopia lamps. He's also hung a mirror above both and a drawing over both mirrors. This drawing happens to be Truman Capote by René Bouché and was the drawing from the original dust jacket of Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Everything in Hamish's apartment has a back story or a fabulous provenance.

This 1940's French bowl was found at the Paris flea market. Looks like a Jeremiah Goodman watercolor interior is framed behind it too.

I thought this view of the living room from Australian Vogue Living looked a little different from the photo of it from The World of Interiors below until I realized it must be another fireplace in the apartment since it's not flanked by bookcases.

But I am still wondering if the apartment was previously painted lavender or just looks like it in this older photo. Either way, I like both the pink and purple!

I feel like getting out my magnafying glass to check out Hamish's vast book collection! I already spot a few David Hicks books!

You can notice better in this photo that the shelves are metal which Hamish calls "a butch slightly ironic solution to my massive book collection." Hamish also collects vintage clothing which is kept in a warehouse in Queens. I can only imagine how fabulous that must be!

The guest bedroom houses more books and a Chippendale secretary that was given to Hamish from Eleanor Lambert. It's amazing how all the different patterns look perfectly at home together in this room too!

I had to include this photo of Hamish in the room so you can see that the wallcovering looks more pale aqua or robin's egg than it does in the previous photo.

The master bedroom combines a darker plum colored rice paper wallpaper with a bright green lamp and chair cushion. The fabric on it looks like the Tony Duquette malachite print.

Even Hamish's closet is full of color in the form of ribbon belts and ties. I really love this apartment and it definitely made the March/April 2010 issue of Australian Vogue Living worth the wait!

Parisian Perfection

I'm being a busy little bee working on my client projects getting quotes so I hope you'll forgive me for a short post. After seeing the photo of me in Paris yesterday, I thought it might be fitting to post an apartment in Paris. Hamish Bowles is an Englishman living in New York working for Vogue magazine as the European editor-at-large who also happens to have had a pretty Parisian apartment. Hamish is quite the collector and it's full of wonderful treasures with interesting provenances. He had intended on painting the walls until he started hanging his artwork and decided it would be too much. These photos and more appeared in the October 2009 issue of World of Interiors and if you can get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend picking it up. The apartment is a beauty who's time was unfortunately fleeting. Hamish decided not to renew the lease as "economic realities" began to set in for even those at venerable Vogue.

It's a little hard to tell from these photos but my favorite aspect of the apartment is the thread of blue that runs through every room and ties it all together.

The pink upholstered Louis XV syle chair was used in a Bruce Weber fashion shoot. I also love the cheeky mask on the bust in the background!

This room looks like the perfect place to drink tea and eat colorful macaroons on a gray day!

I would never have thought to add seating to the drawing gallery since it's really a hallway and pass through but the large window makes for a sunny sitting area.

It was fun trying to see what books were on the shelves and see all the great art. The photo of Jackie Kennedy hanging on the wall is by Slim Aarons while the headboard below is by Lisa Fine. You can see her home in the December issue of Lonny! It's a shame that Hamish no longer lives in this beautiful apartment but I'm sure he's already decorating another little pied-à-terre as we speak! C'est magnifique!

UPDATE: To see Hamish's New York apartment, head over to the NEO-Traditionalist. Looks like the pink Louis chair took a trip across the pond. Or maybe there were two of them!

Photos by François Halard

The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places

The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places by Hamish Bowles and Alexandra Kotur is another book that is going on my Christmas list, unless Knopf would like to send me a copy. Hint hint. I had a chance to look through it this week and it's chock full of socialites, celebrities, fashion designers, models and other beautiful people at glamorous parties and stylish places. There are a few chic weddings thrown in for good measure! The shots were taken by some of the most famous photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Francois Halard, Horst P. Horst, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Helmet Newton, Bruce Weber and many more! It's a fun look at how the other half lives and plays!










The World in Vogue

I have been reading Vogue since I was 12 and one of my favorite features have always been the photos of the chic socialites and It girls. I like to see how real women dress and put things together, albeit fabulously wealthy women, but inspiring nonetheless. I wish they had more of them in the magazine today but I think the The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places might fill the void! I can't wait to see this book but I am even more excited for all the uber chic parties that will thrown to celebrate it's release! I owe a big thank you to Summer if a Verb for alerting me to this exciting news! I can't wait for November!

Happy Summer!

You know there is something wacky going on with the weather when it's sunny and beautiful in England and cold and rainy in New York. Hamish Bowles has even provided photographic proof on his Vogue/Style.com blog, The Hamishphere. Seems he was visiting The Temple, a Palladian folly, that belongs to the British interior designer Veere Grenney and his partner David Oliver. If you remember, I met David, the founder of Paint and Paper Library, at his book debut party at Stark last year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that venerable Mr. Grenney will make the trip over when the next Paint and Paper Library collection debuts this fall which I assume will also have a launch party. It would be nice to meet him in person. Until then, cheers and happy summer!




Photos by David Oliver

Vogue Living Update

I thought you might be interested to read what will be included in the new Vogue Living: Houses, Garden, People book that was edited by Hamish Bowles and should hopefully be released at the end of this month.

"The archives of Vogue have yielded these thirty-six spectacular houses, gardens , and vacation retreats whose owners come from the worlds of fashion, music, art, and society. Included are Oscar de la Renta's Palladian coral-stone fantasy in the Dominican Republic; Marella Agnelli's exotic water garden in Marrakech; shoe king Christian Louboutin's Egyptian houseboat; Donna Karen's sleek New York penthouse; Julian Schnabel's bohemian-chic Spanish-style New York loft; the Provencal estate of Janet de Botton with it's glorious garden and maze, and a breakfast room lined with 18th-century faience; and Karl Lagerfeld's collection of astonishing residences. All of these and more are lavishly illustrated with photographs by Francois Halard, Bruce Weber, Tim walker, Sheila Metzner, and others."

Personally, I'm not only looking forward to the book's release but to the launch parties that will accompany it. The Vogue parties are some of the best ever but then again, would you expect anything less from Anna Wintour?