Blue Monday

I had an amazing time in Paris but it was much too short so I am already planning another trip this fall. I can't wait to spend more time exploring new parts of my favorite city.  The highlight of this trip was finding the twice a year brocante around the rue de Bretagna in the Marais.  I have lots of pictures to post soon but until then, I'm posting a few photos from the old apartment of Jacques Dehornois who I imagine also spent many a day shopping the brocantes and puces of Paris. I don't know much about it except that it was photographed by Francois Halard and featured years ago in House & Garden.  Speaking of Francois Halard, he has a wonderful feature in the latest Apartmento magazine which I was alerted to by Wayne Pate who was also in Paris this weekend.  Definitely pick it up. 

Chic Revisted

I was thinking about reposting Aerin Lauder's beautiful holiday decorated East Hampton home from the old House & Garden when I discovered new photos on Vogue.com.  It's also been seen in Elle Decor but with any family house it has evolved and changed over the years.  It looks like the living room has been repainted from a burnt orange to a deep blue charcoal grey.  The sofa seems to have been moved from against the wall to the middle of the room. Slipcovers may have been changed and artwork moved around but it's still just as chic.  Just like Ms. Lauder herself.

New view of the living room.

Living room as it appeared in Elle Decor.

Photos by Claiborne Swanson Frank

Chic Design Reality Show Scoop

I really don't like design shows on television. If I see one more messy house or piece of painted plywood furniture, I'm going to go postal! That's why I was excited to hear that some of our favorite designing divas are currently shooting a pilot for what they are touting as a "chic design reality show." Former Domino editor Sara Ruffin Costello and former House & Garden editor Kim Gieske, who also do design work, will pull back the curtain on the design world of New York which will include appearances by their equally chic friends including Celerie Kemble, Cynthia Frank and Lucy Sykes. No word yet if their designer friend Miles Redd has agreed to be join the reality show realm but I am definitely keeping my fingers crossed! I bet he'd be fun to watch! I do know that they will be shooting at Sara's show stopping townhouse in the West Village, seen here, and at ICFF so if you see some chic design people being filmed, make sure you say hello!

Photos by Paul Costello and The New York Times

Slow Love

I had the pleasure of attending the book party last night for Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put On My Pajamas & Found Happiness by Dominique Browning and I suggest that you immediately buy this sweet read. For those of you who don't know, Ms. Browning was editor in chief of House & Garden magazine and in November 2007 she had four days to pack up her office when the publisher decided to close the beloved shelter magazine. As the title suggests, she had to come to terms with this sudden change to her life among others and I think this is something to which many of us can relate! I started reading the Prologue and was immediately hooked. I have a feeling that I'm going to make Slow Love a very quick read this weekend! Also make sure you check out Dominique's new blog Slow Life Love too! Happy Reading!

The Picture Taker's Paradise

I love going through my old magazines. Sometimes you discover something you missed the first time around. Other times you realize that you've met the person whose home you're looking at. While I've never met photographer Carter Smith, I do admire his photographs every month in Allure magazine and while looking through the January 2007 issue of House & Garden, I came across his townhouse (do you still miss H&G as much as I do?!). In the credits, I also noticed the article was produced by Kim Gieske, who I actually have met since the feature was published, and also Joe Zee, who is now the Creative Director at Elle magazine, and who you might have seen on The City. I also met Joe Zee once at a Marc Jacobs fashion show after party where I gushed to him about how much I loved Vitals, which he was the editor of at the time. (I miss that magazine too!) But I digress, even though Carter Smith has completely restored his townhouse, it still has that beautifully worn look that you would want in a building that is over 180 years old!

The English feeling living room is my favorite room in the townhouse. Can't you just imagine curling up with one of the books from the shelves?! A lot of the house is made of of salvaged pieces including the door that came from Olde Good Things. If you've never checked them out, I highly recommend it! You never know what you will find!

The unfinished looking chair from John Derian fits in perfectly. As I mentioned in The Inside Source piece, I think there is a shift towards anything that looks old, even if it's not a real antique.

This is the chicest kitchen pantry I've ever seen and that copper bench from Stephanie Odegard is to die for!

Carter, at the bottom of the stairs, had help from architect Jim Joseph of Hottenroth + Joseph. If you look closely at their website, you'll notice that they also did work for David Netto and Deborah Needleman!

I knew Carter Smith was a photographer, but I didn't realize that he was also a filmmaker until I reread the article. I look forward to checking out his films now!

As you can probably guess, photographers circle the globe for work so the house is also filled with treasures from his travels.

I can't even imagine having a kitchen this big in New York!

The elephant and owl are also from John Derian. I wish I lived closer so I could make weekly visits to his chic shop!

Carter Smith grew up in Maine and the kitchen has a great Maine farmhouse kind of feel to it.

A model ship looks perfectly at home in the bathroom.

Not only was the kitchen ginormous but so is the bathroom!

Most all the other rooms have brick walls but the bedroom is papered in Lily wallpaper by Cole & Son.

And to top it all off, there's a fabulous roof terrace. It's funny how I admire Carter Smith's home as much as his photography, but usually when one is creative and has a great eye, it transcends all mediums. And in no case is that more true than here!

Photos by Martyn Thompson

Cordelia Times Deux

When I first saw Cordelia de Castellane in her Paris apartment in the April 2009 issue of Elle Decor, I thought she looked familiar. She was featured in her old apartment in the March 2007 issue of House & Garden magazine. I remembered her because I posted some of the photos from that feature shortly after I started my blog in 2007! I have to say that I love her new apartment with it's "Louis XV Revival architecture." It looks a little more grown up than her last one but I guess a lot of has happened since 2007. She's gotten married again and her children's wear company, C de C, has expanded to include stores in Paris and other countries!

The other apartment seen in House & Garden had less architectural details but a few of the furnishings and accessories made their way to the new one including the vases on the mantle. They can now been seen on the bookshelves in the new apartment (below). The mirror by Elisabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti above the fireplace also made the move but unfortunately, I don't see it in any of the photos in Elle Decor.

Those windows in the new apartment are to die for and make me want to move to Paris tomorrow! The little pink table that is visible on the right of the photo was also seen in the old living room (below).

The living room table look like they also might be reconfigured in the new apartment but only three of them. The colorful Andy Warhol Marilyn silkscreens also made their way into into her the television room (below).

Continuing the theme of black walls from a few days ago, the television room is painted in Down Pipe by Farrow & Ball. The bright blue stools and table are from Ikea and add more color and fun to the room.

Since business is booming, I assume Cordelia has a real office now instead of desk under the stairs which was the case in her old apartment.

Looks like she kept her ghost chairs from her old dining table that was seen in House & Garden too.

I think the plum little bench might have also been a holdover from the old space. It's just barely visible in one of the photos from House & Garden.

It's a grown up apartment but it's full of fun like the Takashi Murakami flower pillows which brings it down to earth. Kind of funny since she has such a fancy lineage that includes counts, an ex-husband who is a Lanvin, a decorator mother whose best friend who was Karl Lagerfeld's right had man at Chanel for 15 years, and a cousin, Victoire de Castellane, who is the jewelry designer for Christian Dior. And I'm sure I'm leaving some out! I love seeing how a person's style changes as they move or grow older and Cordelia de Castellane was no exception. And it looks like we might get another chance soon. Cordelia and her husband are moving to a larger apartment across the Seine. Can't wait to see what they do next!

Photos by Roger Davies for Elle Decor and Pascal Chevallier for House & Garden