Real Property Lust: Revival
14/12/2011 § Leave a Comment
Built in 1925, this farmhouse in Österlen, Sweden sat quietly rotting until it was bought in 2000 by its current owner. Initial plans called for a serious overhaul, but as the new owner took stock of the little house, she realized all it needed was a good scrubbing and some fresh air. I love how it turned out, especially the surfaces of the walls and floors — gorgeous. I also love the old Range Rover, and if you added a horse or two, I’d be apt to lose my head.
If you’d like to read more about this darling house, hop over to Skona Hem.
Real Property Lust: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…
26/10/2011 § Leave a Comment
There were plenty of things to love about this Spanish-style California ranch home belonging to supermodel Tatjana Patitz: the endless light, the double high living room ceiling (Patitz actually knocked out a floor to make way for it), dark wood and white walls, gleaming concrete floors, the horse stables that are on the two acres of land that surround the house, the ocean views, the jumble of mismatched furnishings…
What sealed the deal was the bedroom.
This is a place to disappear for hours. For days.
In. Love.
All images via House to Home.
Real Property Lust: Parisian Dream
26/09/2011 § 3 Comments
Come away with me to Le Marais?
We could be artists, you and I? Or intellectuals?
We can sit on our chevron floors and discuss Sartre. Or Duras.
You know how I love Duras, Cherie…
You can sit in your chair and roll your eyes at Le Monde,
while I laze on the bed like a Siamese cat…
…or perhaps draw.
I shall read to you in bed…
and you will cook for me…
…while I fill your glass with wine, and your lips with my kisses.
There will be no time…
Only Paris.
All images via Designsponge.
Real Property Lust: Massachusetts Beach House
08/09/2011 § 1 Comment
This is damned close to perfect…
Love the use of paint-by-numbers kits here.
A deft balancing of glam Hollywood Regency with beach shack antique chic (a la Nantucket by way of the tropics), and a liberal use of the colors white and turquoise? I’m going to need whoever decorated this beach house in Massachusetts to remove themselves from my brain immediately…and of course from the house itself because I’ll be moving in. Decided!
This picture is like a dream.
The colors, the map, the radio, the frame, the lamp.
Every time I look at it, something new appeals to me.
Driftwood mirror, driftwood on the table…
…driftwood lamp!
A little high on the kitsch, but we can fix that in no time…
All images via BHG.
About Last Night: Gentleman/Budoir at Overbey & Dunn
25/08/2011 § Leave a Comment
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the opening for the newest installation at Overbey & Dunn in the West Village. Why do I love Overbey & Dunn so much? Mainly because the owners — Tom Dunn and Molly Kavanagh — have embraced a concept (that I adore!) of constant recreation and evolution for their darling interior design boutique. This may actually be a bit of an understatement, actually, as every 8 to 10 weeks, the shop undergoes a complete transformation all the way down to the light fixtures and the paint on the walls. It then reopens with a new “theme,” stocked to the gills with gorgeous antique finds for the home, all of which are for sale.
Last night was the official launch of the latest installation, called “Gentleman/Budoir,” which was curated by designer Russell Piccione. Far and away my favorite installation thus far, it is refined masculinity personified: deep, rich colors; lush patterns and textures; bar carts in brass and glass; crystal decanters; leather bound books; taxidermy (isn’t that massive caribou a beauty?); classic games; smoking accessories; and the like.
With the party-goers crammed into the small space, it was difficult to get pictures, so I plan to return in the near future and do a full rundown with the lovely Mr. Dunn. Be on the lookout for that over the next few weeks.
In the meantime, do drop by Overbey & Dunn to view “Gentleman/Budoir.” Just don’t you dare buy anything that I already have my eye on…
Overbey & Dunn
19 Christopher Street
West Village
212.242.3003
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Park Avenue Armory: 2011 Winter Antiques Show {also, Inspired: Liz O’Brien}
26/01/2011 § Leave a Comment
Park Avenue Armory
I am hunting for interior decor inspiration! I have pledged to entirely redo my apartment and last weekend, my inspiration quest took me to the 2011 Winter Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory on the Upper East Side. This year, the show is in its 57th year and has 75 exhibitors offering items that hail from antiquity through the 1960s. Not a flea market with picked-over bins of well-loved bric-a-brac (my, that was quite a few hyphens), the show is a treasure trove of museum quality pieces for only the deepest of pockets.
Aside from the antiques, I was interested in seeing the stately Armory itself. Not very far from where I used to live on the Upper East Side, I have always wondered what the building might look like on the inside. Completed in 1881, the Armory is notable for both the construction and size of its soaring hall and its collection of 19th century interiors — but unfortunately the show took up the majority of the hall and the interiors were not on display. Also unfortunate (but understandable) was the “no photography” policy, but luckily most of the exhibitors can be found online.
I had an excellent time viewing the antique arms and armor exhibited by UK dealer Peter Finer — question: does anyone know why most daggers are left handed? — and the New England and marine antiques of Hyannis Port dealer Hyland Granby Antiques. There were oil paintings and ornate silver tea sets and eyes from an ancient Egyptian relief and a petrified walrus skull, complete with huge ivory tusks. I watched darling older ladies try on magnificent jewels as they murmured all of the fabulous places they could wear them. All interesting and wonderful to look at, but I was not finding the inspiration to feather my own nest.
Until I spied a perfect pair of table lamps…
Image via Liz O’Brien
Gleaming silver in a happy, modern-looking boutique, I knew I had finally found something to love. These silver palm trees were created in the 1930s – art deco? perhaps Hollywood regency? – and they are fabulous! I had Liz O’Brien to thank for my decor epiphany. Her gallery, on the Upper East Side, focuses on design from the 1940s through the 1970s, as evidenced by all of the beautiful pieces she had available – but the lamps stole my heart! Don’t they look like something Greta Garbo would have? Can’t you just see her disappearing into the darkness as she turns them off in the dusky evening light? I’m not confident I will be able to exactly replicate them, but I am definitely feeling more inspired! If you are able to stop by Liz O’Brien’s exhibit at the Winter Antiques Show, or her gallery on the Upper East Side, you definitely must! Especially if you are as in love with these darling lamps as I!
Liz O’Brien
306 East 61st Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues
New York, NY 10065
If you are too far away from New York, she also has a virtual shop on 1stdibs. Find it here.
