Subtle Harmonies

Enjoying the lighter, cleaner look of Stephen Sills, featured in the June, 2012 Elle Decor. Sills was requested by the client to "freshen up" the apartment, toning down the rather rich palette. Sills designed the living room's decorative wall treatments, a stencil repeated in various forms throughout.

The terra-cotta mirror frames and fireplace were painted and washed to add an instant softness. 

The striped wallpaper offers a nice contrast, framing the view into the living room.

Sills often renders the walls with interesting treatments. One of my favorites is the subtle vertical striations below. Doing this with wallpaper would just not work, unless the wallpaper was completely custom created, with each panel slightly different.

 

What wall treatments do you prefer these days?

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Second Act

Just the kind of eclectic home that I appreciate. The exterior reminds me of both an Italian and French villa, except that this home is in New Jersey.

Owners Andrea Filippone and William Welch actually combined the four run down barns on their 35 acre property to create their home and showroom for their company, Tendenze Design.

They have devoted more than 10 acres to an all-organic, pesticide-free landscape. In June, they will host "Earthly Delights," an event for rare-plants enthusiasts and garden-antiques dealers.

Below is the 800 square foot orangery, which was added onto a 1970's era reclaimed greenhouse. 

Love the bluestone-top table in the outdoor dining area below.

The courtyard's dramatic boxwood hedges are just one reason why the home is often rented for photo shoots.

One can dream once in a while...

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About Those Lacquered Walls

The Spa in the Royal Mansour in Marrakech

Lacquered walls continue to be an enduring design element. Their beauty is unquestionable; their creation is a dedication to perfect prep work. While describing the wall preparation yesterday for the The Art of Scribbling mural, Wall Drawing #1268:Scribbles: Staircase (AKAG), seen here, I described the numerous steps that were taken to make the walls as smooth as possible. Besides the sanding and layers of skim coat plaster, the walls still need to be primed and painted with many layers of paint to obtain the smooth sheen that you see in the following examples.

The light blue color is nice to see in the world of lacquered paint finishes- dark colors are seen more often.

Kudos to the patient team who painstakingly painted these perfect cabinets.

The walls above and below are actually Venetian plaster. Instead of numerous layers of paint, most often three or four layers of plaster are skillfully applied, followed by a protective wax layer and buffing.

The lacquered, taupe door has been accented with a gold leaf trim.

A lovely shade of gunmetal blue graces this lacquered door.

Lots of texture contrasts in a Jeffrey Bilhuber designed study.

I love the way the deep aubergine high gloss walls are accented by bookcases trimmed with gold leaf.

For more information, view here.
Do you have any lacquered walls in your home? 
Are they only for the few due to their incredible amount of labor?

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Once Again...

Judy Mulligan did it. Recently unveiled at the Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House, Judy's gorgeous Venetian plaster wall and ceiling, along with the peacock door, were among the highlights of the show.

 

Judy worked with Sara Story, the interior designer of the study and one of five interior designers on Elle Decor's 2011 A-list "Designers to Watch." I would say the shine she obtained with the soft blue plaster application was perfecto!

She also painted the dazzling geometric pattern on the upper wall and ceiling. The door to the study was first gilded and the peacock hand-painted, with the painting extending right on to the Venetian plaster wall.

I have been an admirer of Judy's work for a long time. I fell in love with her Venetian plaster and stenciled wall that she created for the Twin Maples Show House in October of 2008, working with designer Marshall Watson.

I still love it- the color, the pattern!

In 2009, she once again teamed up with Marshall Watson and executed this grandly stenciled and shellacked wall for the dining room of the Hampton Designer Showhouse.

Just beautiful, Judy!

For more information on the Elle Decor Modern Life Concept House, visit here.

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Elegance with patina

The first thing I noticed in this loft living room of Ochre owners, Harriet Maxwell Macdonald and Andrew Corrie, was the patinated mirror. Patina and silver leaf- immediate draws for me. 

The living space exemplifies my favorite design principles: the mix of old and new, classic and quirky. If possible, I prefer to feature the best of the space, like the tin ceiling and old wood floors, even if it means integrating the old floor boards with new and uniting them with a wash of paint. Then again, that wonderfully tufted, Chesterfield sofa is to die for. Great pop of color, wouldn't you say?  

Elle Decor

Elle Decor

On our last visit to New York City, we were headed to MarieBelle's Cacao Salon for our hot chocolate fix when we strolled by their lovely store. The store, a popular destination with designers and stylists, is filled with Ochre's signature lighting fixtures, furniture and accessories.

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Even their doors have a wonderful patina.

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Some of my favorite items include, of course, this Gesso and Verre Eglomise Mirror, created with traditional gesso and gilding with silver leaf,

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their chandeliers,

 

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table lamps, 

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and sconces.

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Ochre's Soho location is 462 Broome St., between Mercer and Greene. 

Care to share any other must-not-miss-on-your-next-visit-to-NYC stores? The NY International Gift Fair is in a month and I am open for suggestions!

Amazing Gold

This gold leaf console base, originally designed by Tony Duquette in the 1960's, is an amazing statement piece.

Baker Furniture's Biomorphic Console as seen in Elle Decor