Archive for the ‘HOUSE TOURS’ Category

I went to visit my grandparents today… and I just had to take another picture…She’s endlessly inspirational, my grandma is. Look how she framed that tapestry that my great-grandmother made. Love. Love it all.

(In case you are new here, my grandmother is fabulous, her houses were decorated in the 70′s and have looked that way since… but I think they should and could be in any magazine today. Someone needs to start a column that finds untouched spaces like this!)

My husband referred me to these photos of the Swiss home of Giorgio Armani… I decided to post it, because while the furnishing are not particularly what I would do, the architecture and structure of this house amazed me…

The exterior of the house is covered with traditional scratch-work decoration called sgraffito.

Armani used his own design team for the project. This part of the house is a converted barn. 

The house was nicknamed the “Polar Bear House” by its previous owner and coincidentially, Armani was gifted that stuffed bear. The walls are called marmorino veneziano, which is a plaster treatment that mimics limestone.

The kitchen is different from anything Ive ever seen before. 

Japanese inspired staircase. Magnificent. 

The Master bedroom… There is something I love about that bed and the drapery in that window’s alcove. 

The Spa

Forget about every type of excess and concentrate on elegance achieved through simple lines. Beauty must be consistently linked to functionality, because wherever one is living, it should be a place where you feel totally at ease.” – Giorgi Armani

All photos via Architectural Digest. Photography  by Roger Davies. 

OH. EM. GEE. Seriously, jaw dropped when I saw Naomi’s apartment on Design Sponge yesterday. Ya see, Niomi commissioned a painting from me last year, back when I was 9 months pregnant- hers may have been the last piece I did before the baby was born!

Anyway, her place is finally all pulled together and magazine worthy and she emailed me to tell me about the house tour and that my work would be posted! How awesome of her.

Seriously my dear Niomi, you did an AMAZING job. Colorful, but just the perfect amount. DIY’ed but not crafty.Inexpensive, but not cheap. My congrats to you!

Here it is! The custom piece I made for Niomi last year:

( Just so you know: It took like 4-5 failed 9 month pregnant frenzied painting on the floor attempts to finally produce this piece!)

Niomi and her dad are a father-daughter team that design and renovate houses! Her apartment was done on the super-cheap, and the house tour, as well as her blog, are chock full of amazing ikea hacks, design scores and DIY ideas.

Check out the original post(there are a ton more photos!) on Design Sponge HERE, and Niomi’s blog HERE.

Remember when in a blog post about personal style a few weeks ago I said I had a friend that could make anything look cool? Well, I was talking about my childhood buddy designer Caroline Hedaya. As kids and even teens, Caroline had personal style in spades and so it was no surprise when, after graduating from FIT (at which we took many painting and drawing classes together), she started her own fashion line… Of course, all this time, I’ve been waiting around to see how she would decorate her own place (cause you know that’s all I care about). And when she and her husband started to furnish their two bedroom apartment, I went along for the ride…

Sooooo, now that its done  (or as done as an apartment can  be in the life of “a creative” – the morning of the photo shoot Caroline and I painted her bedroom lampshades purple.) I am so excited to share it with you.

Why? Well, aside from the fact that its beautiful, it’s a space that reflects its owner, through and through. And I like to see that, and I like to share that with you too.

In addition to having the space professionally photographed – thank you very much to Shirley Serure, who did a PHENOMENAL job, you can’t even tell that it was the gloomiest day ever- Caroline and I played dress up. I mean, can you really walk into a fashion designer’s place and not go through her closet and try on her clothes? No, no you can’t.  So, I ask your forgiveness in advance for marginally cheesy to extremely cheesy photos, but really, we were just having fun. And it was super fun.

In addition, I asked Caroline a few questions about what makes her tick, where her inspiration comes from, etc etc…

Ok… enough shpeil! Here are the photos and interview and you can click through the gallery to see even more shots! ENJOY!

Caroline is wearing pants from her Spring 2012 collection(it will be on her site soon), and I am wearing a vintage leather dress from my Mom. And I hope its not lost on you that we are matching the bench- is it? (Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

2. What was the first thing you bought? 

The first thing I bought was the Essey Grand Illusion table. I love it so much! There is something so glamorous and fun about it, which is basically the aesthetic I was going for in this apartment.

 The Pièce de résistance in the apartment, the floral settee. You know I googled, cut and pasted to get all the accents right on that one right? (Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

3. What is your favorite piece?

My favorite piece in the apt has to be the multi color settee, it ties the whole apartment together. Nicole was with me when I bought  it, everyone was like “It’s cool, but what are you going to  doing with it??” Again it didn’t make sense but I purchased it cause I just loved it, and now it’s a piece that I know I will have forever.

(I admit, I was totally skeptical. But I WAS the one who made her put it in the window!)

Caroline picked up the tufted orange chair in Williamsburg. The Chanel lamp is from the NYIGF. Melvin Sokolsky photos were a gift from Caroline’s grandmother.(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

4. What is your least favorite?

The piece I like the least in my apartment would probably be my side table. It’s just plain nickel with a mirrored top, but it serves it’s purpose.

 Fake tea anyone? Cheeseball factor is high here, I know… But fun? (Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

5. What mistakes, if any, did you make? 

I kinda regret painting my room white. I love it cause its crisp and clean, but sometimes I wish it was a color or wallpapered. I’ll probably end up painting it.

Setting the table for y’all. (Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

6. How do you see the relationship between fashion and design?

 To me fashion and design are both about expressing yourself. While I don’t think everyone who loves fashion loves design and visa versa, I do think if you are creative you can appreciate both.

Don’t you love how Caroline uses the same silverware in two different colors? Makes her already glam and girly place setting THAT much more special. Steal that idea, people. (Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

You can see the turquoise chandy in this pic. (Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

Guess where caroline got that long TV unit? IKEA! By customizing and using half glass panels and half lacquer, as well as covering both with one long piece of custom glass, she totally made it look like one expensive piece!

(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

 We aren’t tweedle-dee and twiddle-dum! We are wearing a classic Caroline Hedeya print! We both agree that the dress I am wearing (and now own- thank you!)  is one of our favorite CH pieces ever. I think we need to reissue it for Spring 2012? PS, Caroline cut those shoulders off herself. 

(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

A four poster, simple side tables and a custom bench. I SWEAR that luggage(a gift from her grandmother) was there when I walked in 2 days before the shoot! She was packing and I said, WE NEED to leave this out for the pictures!  Also, note the eggplant lamp shades! Still wet. 

(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

11. What is your favorite style secrets/ design tricks?

 I think my trick is I only buy what I love, and so I don’t have tons but what I do have I use to death and have for years.

(I can attest to that, Caroline keeps her wardrobe lean and mean. If she doesn’t love it, its not in there… where as we all know I hoard things… makes it harder to do anything, including getting dressed, because you have to wade through so much crap to find something good!)

Caroline’s mirrored  vanity. I LOVE that slipper chair. 

(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

I am very inspired by unique and creative people. I am also inspired by people who find something they love to do and run with it. It is one thing to say you want to do something and it is another to actually do it. So congratulations Nicole for making something that was just a hobby in the beginning in to a full time career.

A more masculine console grounds the space.

(Photos by Shirley Serure Photography for Sketch 42)

A sneak peak at A GORGEOUS Sketch42-reader and my new BFF Lisa’s kitchen… Seriously, she had me at “I love your blog and I have a black kitchen!” Yea… it’s that easy. (We met in an odd place and hit it off instantly! You guys know I will talk design to anyone who will listen… hence the blog!)

So I travelled to Brooklyn to photograph her gorgeous kitchen for the blog… Sad for me, the lighting was kinda off the day I went there to take photos and I really want to have a professional (my new blog photographer Shirley Serure, in fact!) shoot the room, cause I butchered it with my photos. I decided to post a few of the black and whites I took, because… well, they are hot… and I’m a sucker for instant gratification.

Glossy black and polished nickel. Yummo….

Double sinks in a window… Each sink with the size of a trough I kid you not!

OH MY MY…. in my holy crazy wild dreams:

Oh and on the inside:

(Organization by Sarah Terzi of Little Miss Organizer) 

Get ready people, I’m working HARD to find the best never before seen spaces for you guys!