Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2012: Thom Filicia

Thom Filicia wins my award for the best design of a small space at the 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Show House.  I'm not even sure it can technically be considered a room since it barely has any walls.  It's more like a foyer between the entry, dining room, living room, and hall back to the library.  But if anyone could pull this off, it's the man who put a "living room where the crack den used to be" on my favorite episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.   

The exact shade of green used to lacquer the walls and ceiling in this space is Cat's Eye #2036-10 by Benjamin Moore.  It definitely helped reflect the light and make the space look larger. It also coordinates beautifully with the dining room designed by Todd Romano that you can see in the above photo. Neither designer was on site when I toured so I'm not sure if they were in cahoots but I know many other designers I spoke with said it was just a wonderful coincidence that they used green in their rooms. 

This is the largest area of wall space which Thom hung a work of art by Shelly Reed, entitled “Garland with Bird” from Sears Peyton Gallery above his Vanguard Eagle Console from his collection available at Safavieh. The rug is also available from Safavieh. 

When you can use your own collection of furniture and accessories, it definitely helps off set the cost of designing a room in a show house and is also great marketing. 

I loved the juxtaposition of Thom's Abstract Lines artwork and sketches by Albert Hadley that Bunny Williams lent him on the far wall .

He manged to pack a lot into this small space in including a little Jamesville Bench. 

A close up look at the beautiful  Manlius Teal drapery fabric that frames each of the doorways.  Of course, Thom designed it for Kravet. The cuff and leading edge fabric is Sheath Tea Stain also from Kravet. I'd be happy to take these off his hands when the house is over since they would perfectly match my apartment. 

The chairs are Otisco Chairs by Thom Filicia for Vanguard. 

The name of the room is "Green with Aviary: A Tribute to Albert Hadley" and I very much think he would approve of it. 

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

DIFFA Dining by Design 2012: Jonathan Adler for Kravet

DIFFA's Dining by Design is always one of my favorite events and this year the tables are even more spectacular than usual.  It was very exciting to see Jonathan Adler's design for the Kravet table which features his new fabric collection.  It won't be released until the fall so you're getting an exclusive sneak peek.  I especially love the vase motif fabric and the vase cut outs in the table "walls" which are really the chair backs.  I hope you have time to pop over to Pier 94 for the public viewing to take a look at all the creative tables.  Bon Weekend! 

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Chic Ship Interiors

A few readers commented that they were impressed by the decor of our room on the Marina.  They weren't expecting it to look so nice.  If you thought that was impressive, wait until you see the public areas and restaurants.  Oceania Cruises bills themself as mid-luxury but after to speaking with the designers, it was clear that no expensive was spared on the interior design.  It was most intersting to find out how many rules and regulations they had to follow for the materials and fabrics used through out the ship.  The biggest threat on board is a fire so many precautions are taking to both prevent and contain one.  If it was something that could be thrown overboard, it could be wood.  If not, it had to meet certain standards for flame retardency.  The designers were given the instructions from the shipyard in Italy who knew what could be used and where.  It was really quite fascinating and made you realize how much work went into Marina. It is also surprising that they chose to use regular fabric from Kravet and Lee Jofa in many areas and not commercial grade fabric.  Talk about luxury!

The Grand Staircase welcomes you on board and had glass medallions by Lalique.

Art filled the ship including these glass pieces.

Mary Hart also greets you in the lobby since she is the godmother of the Marina.

We didn't shop but could have at Chopard and Ralph Lauren among other boutiques.

The Library was one of our favorite spaces.  It looked perfect for hiding out in wet weather.  You could borrow any of the book for the duration of the cruise too.

Cushions upholstered in Kravet fabric #27968 - 12.

Chairs upholstered in Kravet fabric #29568 - 5.

Chic sofa in the piano bar upholstered in Barbara Barry fabric for Kravet.

Joan Miro artwork lined the entrance to the Casino.

The Casino looked a bit like a chic spaceship in Silver and purple.

The Casino bar also glowed. 

I loved the tufted banquettes.

I wish I had taken a better photo of this antique ship that was over 130 years old.  Dakota Jackson had a special glass enclosure made for it in Germany and it was so heavy, it had to be bolted into the floor.

The center of the dance floor in Horizons.

Horizons is where we danced the night away! Surprised they didn't use commercial grade fabric on these chairs but instead they are from Kravet #23956 - 3.

The Grand Dining Room harkened back to cruises of yesterday.

The chairs in the Grand Dining Room were upholstered in Kravet fabric #24154 - 4.

Toscano was the Italian restaurant where we ate the first night as we were pulling out of Miami.  Since the ship was built in Italy, there were also many Italians on board and at Toscano that night.

Excuse the bad BlackBerry photo but I had to get a picture of the Versace china and Chritofle flatware.

We didn't eat at the steakhouse on board but were able to tour the space.

Jacques Pepin had his own French restaurant on board the Marina. 

I am mad that I didn't bring my camera to dinner that night to shoot Jacques cooking for us in the kitchen! I did have my BlackBerry to record eveything I was served that night.  It looked just as good as it tasted! 

I loved the Pain de Jacques!

I also loved the Jacques logo of the J and an umbrella top or parapluie in French.

The goat cheese salad at Jacques.

I didn't have the pumpkin soup but couldn't resist taking a photo of it.  Stefan and I were wondering where the Marina finds green pumpkins in February! After watching Downton Abbey, it would be fun to see what goes on behind the scenes and on the staff floors.  Maybe we can do that on the next cruise!

The Dover sole at Jacques.

Mousse au chocolate at Jacques.

We didn't eat at Privée but it looks like a great space for a private dinner or meeting.

Red Ginger was the Asian restaurant on board Marina.

I have to say that the food in every restaurant was amazing but Red Ginger was a hit with everyone on board.   They had the most delicious selection of teas to compliment the Asian flavors of the dishes.

As with any cruise, Stefan and I ate a lot but we were also active and walked a lot in Nassau so we luckily didn't gain any weight.  There is also a gym on board to work off all the delicious calories if you're worried!  As I mentioned before, I never thought I would take a cruise and I'm so glad my first experience was a delightful experience.  So much so, that I'm already thinking about where I can go next!

 

Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic