Archive for the ‘INTERIOR DESIGN’ Category

I realized I haven’t shown you any jaw dropping interiors this week, and so here you go. This is SPECTACULAR. Proof that all you need is the right art (and gorgeous architecture) to make a room explode with awesomeness. Once again, Im a maximalist with minimalist dreams.

Have a great Saturday everyone! Blog makeover results coming soon, thanks for all your help!

Photo via La Dolce Vita

Holy crap, I think my brain just popped. Someone that I follow on Instagram just went here, to the Amangiri in Canyon Point, Utah It’s situated in the  Navajo Desert against the natural rock formations of the Four Corners (the region where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet).

I’ve been looking at these photos for days and emailing them to my husband randomly throughout the day. I guess it’s fitting that I’m posting desert photos considering it’s the evening of Passover tonight… you know, when our forefathers spent  40 years in the desert, wandering! Only, Im guessing it was not *quite* this comfortable.

This is a fantasy land… It’s so good, I can’t believe its real.  I’ve officially just added this place to my bucket list. Some version of Arizona has always been on my bucket list, along with a cross country road trip. We drove the up the California coast last spring and it was unforgettably awesome. The majesty of America is something I think I’ve somehow overlooked. I’ve traveled way more outside the US than I have inside of it, and man, looking at these photos, that seems like a shame.

The Amangiri is part of the Aman group, and the name means Peaceful Mountain. It’s nestled in a valley and it has sweeping views of the canyons and plateaus. The architecture was done by Rick Joy, Wendell Burnett & Marwan Al-Sayed, the interiors were done by Caterina Spies-Reece of CSR Design  / Amanresorts. The hotel, made of bold concrete blocks, and slightly informed by traditional Native American design. I think the architecture is so triumphantly minimal, so respectful and reverent to  the landscape, it’s breathtaking in every way.

I went a little photo happy on this post, I just couldn’t limit myself in choosing these photos! See more after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Not me, duh. My little sis, better known around these parts as the commenter called Marielle!

And of course, she asked me to help her and her fiancé with their first apartment. Yesterday we had our first brainstorming session… First she was all like: I only like black and white. Then she was like, I really LOVE blue. Then it eventually evolved into… I like whatever you say! Just tell me what to do!

Perfect.

Ha, just kidding. But I do need to ask a lot of questions before I impart my aesthetic on a couple’s living space. It’s no small thing! So we started browsing online and pulling things from various sources.

Here are the issues in the space:

It’s a rental, its got one of those weird apartment things where there is no exact place to put the couch if you want to have a TV(only one usable wall in the LR) and it has a HUGE TERRACE that runs the length of the apartment. So that’s pretty freaking amazing. I’ve never had an apartment with outdoor space and I totally wish I did.

This is stage one of the mood board. It’s not finished. We don’t really have our color scheme down yet… Stage one is when you gather things you like, and slap them all together and see how that works out for you.

STAGE 1:

The sofa has to float in the middle of a room and there isn’t much room to get behind it. On the far end of the sofa will be the door to the terrace. So when we found this couch at Room Service (it’s actually the same couch as in the bachelor pad, but this one is curved) we thought it was perfect. We need to choose a color though, cause that gray is not doing it for us.

The coffee tables by Oly are a great solution to manhattan living. They can be repositioned, pulled apart, used alone etc.

The headboard by Dragon 88 makes me weak at the knees.  Also on the board : Tom Dixon chairs and screw table, Bungalow 5 wood parsons table, Arterior’s bar, Crate & Barrel dining table, Oly side table.

Everything else in the apartment is going to be a mix of bold lines and varying wood tones. We just haven’t hit our POP moment yet. It’ll come to me. A color, an idea, something. Mint walls and floral accents? Who knows!?! I think the palest of pale mints would be amazing in the bedroom with that headboard against it…

It’s a work in progress, and I’ll take you all along for the ride. Oh yea, and we need this done in 2 months. Let’s get cracking!

In the meantime, I need your sources for great outdoor furniture!

 

 

Confession: The bachelor pad was the first place I ever did with white walls. Ever. I used to think white walls looked lazy… but now I kinda dig it… I chose white for the bachelor pad, not because I couldn’t paint in there, but because I wanted that fresh bright white look. We used Benjamin Moore “White” my go-to when you don’t know what white to choose. Its very, very white without a blueish or greenish undertone, but it’s not as harsh as Super White. For the black doors we did Black in high gloss. I’ve found that if you use ANY other color other than good-old black, the doors look grayish and somehow commercial, in a bad way. Its gotta be real black. Ideally, I’d recover every wall in my house with white lacquer, just like this library/art room that Aman Carson did for Kips Bay a few years back. It totally stuck out in my mind as one of the silkiest white interiors I’ve ever seen.

I’m liking both varieties of the white wall: used with pops of color, or with strong textural neutrals. Both good. The only thing is, with white walls, you just need to make sure that your furniture and art are really strong enough to hold the room together. Oh yea, and the color on your walls when you move in is NOT white. Its band-aid rental beige and you need to change it. That’s all. Enjoy the photos!

Aman Carson, Kips Bay Showhouse

Pinterest

Jonas Ingerstedt’s home.

Architectural Digest

Architectural Digest

Modern Jane Design

Tumblr

scanned from elle decor italia 6.11, photographed by birgitta wolfgang drejer] Via Aubrey Road

Elle Decor

Fritz Hansen

scanned from elle decor italia 6.11, photographed by birgitta wolfgang drejer] Via Aubrey Road

White walls- boring or bold?

Have a great day!

I had the privilege of visiting Flair this week for a private preview of their exhibition of the work by artist JENNA SNYDER-PHILLIPS… You’ve seen her work in issues of Lonny, and rooms by Ryan Korban. Made with sumi ink, charcoal and oils it has a sexy, primal vibe to it,  much like everything at Flair…. a palace of chrome, brass, smoked glass, lucite, burl wood. They’ve mastered the mixing of historically important furniture and regularly  revive vintage pieces with fashion tweeds and antique menswear fabrics.  Their vignettes are well timed and styled perfectly, and the way they approach scale is artful and intriguing. They will play a pair of massive pedestals with tiny chrome reading lamps. And while you may or may not like the mixed metals, 70′s sexiness revival, Flair pretty much pioneered that movement.

The only problem I have with the store is that it is ridiculously hard to photograph! It’s not the most naturally well lit place in the world and every single surface reflects…. so bear with me on the photos.

Some of my favorite shots are below:

Jenna’s work will be on display for the remainder of the month as well as available online HERE. Additionally, 2 limited edition signed prints were issued for the occasion, available HERE.

FLAIR

88 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
Between Wooster St. & Greene St.

212-274-1750