“There is no place more delightful than one’s own fireplace.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
There are few things better than snuggling up next to a roaring fire on a cold winters day. If you have been on the east cost this week, I am sure you can agree! Until the weather becomes more agreeable, stay warm and enjoy! xx Kris
“This is a book about dreams coming true; the curiosities in the rooms I have decorated; and the people, artists, and places that have inspired me. When all is said and done and I am long forgotten, maybe someone will find this book in a dusty library—if such a thing still exists—and glimpse a bit of the pleasure my life has given me. I want them to have the sensation of dancing across an MGM soundstage, silhouetted in a klieg light, because that was my intention with this book, a very personal blend of work and fantasy.” —Miles Redd
As a thank you for helping update a few things in her home, my Aunt/Godmother & one of the chicest woman I know, gave me my very own signed version of Miles Redd’s new Book, The Big Book of Chic. Needless to say… I am obsessed! True to-miles-redd-form, the book is not what one might expect from a traditional design book. Save a brief introduction from Redd, the book contains no writing, hints or tips from the designer. Instead it reads more like a mood board in book form, allowing full-page photographs to narrate its story. The book showcases some of Redd’s most famous interiors interspersed with the inspiration images that fuel Redd’s creativity. Paintings by Sargent & Cassatt, Richard Avedon Fashion Photographs, a photo of Peggy Guggenheim and so on… Each Chapter marked with a quote that speaks to Redd’s sensibilities. It is true that no one has mastered the use of bold, beautiful and rich color like Miles Redd and this book is no exception. Each time I flip through its pages I find myself a little more inspired and a little more tuned in to Redd’s intentions and overall message. If you love design, color & glamour this books will not disappoint. Below is just a little taste of what’s inside to wet your appetites …. Enjoy!
“It would turn out to be an arduous and at times a painful process, but one that has provided me years of pleasure and satisfaction. I suppose a lot like childbirth – and to that point, houses in a way, are living things that need love and attention to flourish and shine.” – Miles Redd, The Big Book of Chic
“He had that curious love of green, which in individuals is always the sign of a subtle artistic temperament.” –Oscar Wilde, Irish Playwright, Novelist, Poet, Short Story Writer and Freemason
Miles Redd
Since today is St Patricks day and the streets are filled with the gaudy use of green; I thought it would be nice to show you the many chic ways in which this favorite color of mine can be used. Hopefully, the pictures below will leave you all green with envy! Enjoy!
Oliver Goldsmith Orbison 1964 Sunglasses
A Rare Late 18th c. English Green Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Steven Gambrel’s House
Celerie Kembel
Steven Gambrel
Peter Som Hand Painted Stripe Dress
Green Painted Bench Nantucket House Antiques
Mary McDonald
DAVID WEBB Gold and Enamel Ring
Angelina Jolie in Verscace Gown at 2011 Golden Globes
Pair Awaji Pottery Buttress Handle Vases C 1920 at Thomas K Libbey
Love in the Afternoon – Laura Stone Eckhart
“Dresses for breakfasts, and dinners, and balls;
Dresses to sit in, and stand in, and walk in;
Dresses to dance in, and flirt in, and talk in;
Dresses in which to do nothing at all;
Dresses for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.”
~William Allen Butler, “Nothing to Wear”
Closet of Vivre founder Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti
One of the pitfalls of living New York City is there never seems to be enough closet space. Especially, if you have a love affair with fashion that rivals my own! With every new season, the task of changing out my wardrobe leaves me pining for a closet where everything I own is accessible and enticing. Until my wardrobe wishes come true, I sadly must live with the extreme case of closet envy I get when I see photographs of designer dressing rooms like the ones pictured below… Enjoy!
Heather Kerner Harpers Bazaar
Steven Gambrel
Aerin Lauder
Jeffry Weisman Elle Decor
Pier Guerici New York Magazine
Kelly Wearstler (her own closet) – Canadian House and Home
Kelly Wearstler – Canadian House and Home
Kelly Wearstler – Canadian House and Home
Victoria Hagan Dressing Room Architectural Digest December 2010
Miles Redd
Mariah Carey’s Closet Designed by Mario Buatta – Architectural Digest May 2007
Nanette Lepore’s Dressing Room Elle Decor
Laura Vinroot Poole – Domino Magazine
“People’s lives are expressed in little details….The soap in the bathroom, the flowers in the garden, the books on the bedside table are all strong symbols of a life in progress. You look at these details and a world unfolds – here are their books, the paintings they cherish, the music that soothes their souls.” – Charlotte Moss, A Passion for Details
Kelly Wearstler
Putting together a vignette is like creating a beautiful still life. The display of collections or placement of decorative objects may look simple and effortless but it requires a well-trained eye and is truly an art form. When done correctly, a vignette can have a major visual and emotional impact on a room. It fills in the blanks. Pulls a room together. Gives it polish and a personal touch. Transforms a house into a home. Changing a tabletop vignette is a simple and inexpensive way to alter the look of a room. Hopefully, these images will help to inspire you… Enjoy!
Apartment of Delfina Delettrez
Vincent Wolf
Richard Hallberg Veranda
Richard Hallberg Veranda
Phoebe Howard
Phoebe Howard
Apartment of Julie de Libran
Charlotte Moss
Steven Gambrel
Alberto Pinto Architectural Digest
Carrier & Co Room for 2011 Hearst Designer Visions
Kemble Interiors 2011 Kips Bay Showhouse via Heather Clawson
Lizzie Bailey Lonny Mag Feb:Mar 2010
Kemble Interiors 2011 Kips Bay Showhouse via Heather Clawson
Miles Redd
Miles Redd
Celerie Kemble via Lonny Magazine Oct:Nov 2011
“The reinvention of daily life means marching off the edge of our maps.” – Bob Black
Thomas O’brien
For thousands of years maps have helped people define, explain and navigate their way through the world and using them to decorate one’s home is hardly a novel idea. In fact, the tradition can be dated all the way back to the Ancient Romans who created mosaic tiles that displayed elaborate city plans and maps of their region. However, It wasn’t until a few hundred years later during the 17th Century that the Dutch put decorating with maps on the map…. During this “Golden Age” of the Netherlands, the wealthy dutch merchants commissioned large wall maps not only for planning their trading exploits, but as decorative symbols of their wealth and power. The impact of these maps was so great that many 17th Century Dutch painters such as Hals, Vermeer, Ter Borch, De Hooch and Steen began to depict these maps in the interior decoration of their paintings as a form symbolism and allegory.
Map makers during this time were referred to as world describers and I believe that is exactly why what they created still has so much appeal today. Maps are the perfect combination of science and art. They merge the observations, imagination and exaggerations of a people, revealing only fragments of history. Each one has its own unique voice and story that we can connect with on a personal level giving them an enduring beauty. They remind us of where we have been or where we want to go….Enjoy!
Bella Vici Interiors House Beautiful
1734 Parchment-Paper Map of Paris – Steven Shailer Elle Decor
Pair of Vintage Long Island Maps in the East Hampton Home of Robert Stilin
Pheobe Howard
Living Room of John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross Elle Decor July 2010
Miles Redd
Steven Gambrel
Jeffrey Bilhuber
Celerie Kemble Bathroom Lonny Mag Oct/Nov 2010
Dransfield and Ross
Matthew Patrick Smyth Elle Decor October 2006 Engravings of Paris Circa 1730
Archival Pigment Print Map of Rome on 1st Dibs
Plan De Paris, Wall Map, Commissioned by Turgot, from 1739
Hand Colored Sectional Map of Paris from 1760
Set of 6 Copper Engraved Maps of the United States from 1879-1872
1765 Benjamin Donn Wall Map of Devonshire and Exeter, England 76″ x 73″
The entrance to a house is like the preface to a book; it should give you a sense of what you are entering, but not tell the whole story. – Libby Cameron
Michael Berman
Rob Southern
Windsor Smith
Todd Romano
Elizabeth Dinkel
Tory Burch Apartment Foyer designed by Daniel Romualdez
Steven Gambrel
Miles Redd
Kelly Wearstler
Cathy Kincaid
Victoria Hagan
Phoebe Howard
Noel Jeffrey
Kelly Wearstler
Here are how some of my favorite designers have set their tables….
Designer: Eddie Ross for “A Date with a Plate”
Photograph featured in October 2009 Issue of Elle Decor, Setting the Table
Table Designed by Textile Designer John Robshaw for 2009 Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Spring Gala benefit
Interior Designer Miles Redd Table Setting for House Beautiful PB plate Contest
Table Setting by Decorator Tony Duquette Photo Courtsey of Martha Stewart Website
Interior Designer Pheobe Howard Table Setting for House Beautiful PB Table Setting Challenge
Tablescape by Donna karan, House Beautiful April 2010
Kristen Laird Design 