Chic Rustique:Part Deux

You may not be able to stay at Jacques Grange's Portuguese retreat but you can buy the furniture he owns! I got a lovely email today from John Himmel who produces the wonderful handwoven rope furniture that is not only popular with Jacques Grange but also interior designer Michael Smith. The Rope Collection was inspired by the French designers Adrien Andoux and Frida Minet who's rope furniture was woven from the fronds of palm trees in the South of France. John Himmel grows their palms in the Madoura Islands in Indonesia where is it hand braided into a flat rope and woven onto their hardwood frames. They are available through John Rosselli in New York and Florida; Holly Hunt in Chicago; David Sutherland in LA, Houston and Dallas; and Webster in Boston. Makes me want to get to work on buying and decorating a Caribbean retreat!

Art Moderne Style Three Seat Sofa

Art Moderne Style Sectional Pieces

A John Himmel chair in private home.

Art Moderne Style Loune Chair

Art Moderne Style Lounge Chair Ottoman

A John Himmel in a Michael Smith interior.

Art Moderne Style Bed

Art Modern Style Bed with Footboard

Chic Rustique

Speaking of Jacques Grange, maybe instead of stalking him in Paris, I will stalk him next August at his house in Portugal. Actually, it's not a house but four traditional thatched roof cabanas that line the dunes on a remote stretch of the coast. Grange says the "landscape, furnishings, carpets, and cushions exert an exotic, African pull." Some of these photos were taken in 2004 for a W magazine spread and attest to it's timeless design. He calls the straw house "chic rustique." I call is perfection.

Photos by Thomas Loof and Martin Morrell

My Favorite Things: Pre-Fall

It was hot today in New York. Like Africa hot. But for me it's too little too late. I'm over summer and have moved onto pre-fall. The new clothes are in the stores here and I've already been picking out what I want to buy for New York and my trip to Paris. There are so many great things to chose from but these are a few of my favorites! Starting with the photo of model Lisa Taylor that was taken by photographer Arthur Elgort for Vogue in 1976 that embodies that feeling of when the weather is still sunny but starts to turn a little chilly.

Before the weather gets cold enough for a real coat, I wear blazers over little tops with jeans and also over dresses. I love this grey flannel schoolboy jacket from J. Crew and especially the gold buttons that dress it up. There is also something about it that makes me want to sharpen pencils.

I am so not a skinny jeans kind of girl but since all the girls in Paris are wearing them, I thought I should try to find a slim pair. J. Crew calls the matchstick jeans "ultra flattering" and I have to agree. I tried them on and actually thought they looked pretty good. Probably not quite as good as they do on the model in the photo but then again, she's probably a foot taller than me. The best part is that they aren't so tight that they cut off your circulation. Well, at least not until you start eating macaroons!

I will also need some shoes to go with my new slim jeans and these Christian Louboutin patent ballerina flats might just be the ones. I originally saw them in grey but now I am loving them in taupe. Truth be told, I actually own this style in gold and they are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I've ever worn. And comfort will be key in Paris when I am trying to walk off all the macaroons!

This Davina bag by Derek Lam is my wish list favorite item. I swear I hear angels sing whenever I look at it. It's ridiculously beautiful and also ridiculously expensive. But it never hurts to dream. Le sigh.

I already received my advance copy of Jacques Grange Interiors and have been pouring over it! His style is unique to each project and the details are amazing! His own personal apartment in the Palais Royal was once owned by Collete and is of course the most unique. I debated trying to stalk him in Paris until I remembered that my French isn't that good if he calls the police so I think I'll stick with the book!

There are only so many French movies I can watch before I need a break and I can't wait until the second season of Gossip Girl is released on DVD August 18th! They have been filming in my neighborhood this summer and I hear that Ed Westwick was spotted at West Elm buying furniture after Chace moved out. Ed, if you need a decorator, call me!

After a few months in the sun, in addition to bi-monthly highlights and daily blow drying, my hair needs a little TLC so I've already switched back to Technician Color Care by Frederic Fekkai. It makes my hair super soft but not limp and the Color Protecting Glaze makes it shiny but never greasy. They really are fantastic products. Now if I could just get my colorist to stop making me so blonde, I'd be all set!

I am very loyal to my nail polish colors but Estee Lauder's new Black Amethyst polish might give them a run for their money. It actually looks darker in person than it does in this photo and will look great with grey and black clothing for fall. It's actually a limited edition color so I guess my regular polish will come back into rotation after it's gone. Or maybe I should stock up in case I really like it! Bon shopping!

Can you hear me now?

New York may be a technologically advanced city but in some areas like cell phone reception, it's very antiquated. Thus the reason that my Blackberry barely works in my apartment. It's a running joke among all my friends that in order to actually be able to hear them, I have to go into my "office" which is really the bathroom. I can go outside to make calls but that doesn't really work in the winter so I may have to break down and get a land line. Of course, not just any phone will do so if I do bite the bullet, I think I will get a vintage model. Not sure about a rotary dial like the one Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bailey used in her Hampton Designer Showhouse room but the color blue sure looks pretty.

Since orange is my favorite color, it will probably end up being orange like Nathan Turner's phone. A good place to find vintage phones is Oldphones.com.

Interior designer Lindsey Coral Harper used a red phone as an accent in her bathroom. Too bad it's not plugged in. How decadent would it be to talk on an old phone while taking a bubble bath?!

Of course, Yves Saint Laurent had not only a chic telephone but also a very chic telephone table. Too bad Mrs. John L. Strong went out of business. Their tablets were perfect for next to the phone.

If you have a retro home in Palm Springs like David Jimenez, then you need a groovy retro phone to go with it!

I just wouldn't go so far as to dye your poodle to match your vintage phone like Joan Collins in this photo by Slim Aarons! I don't even know how she could even find the phone in all that pink! Can you hear me now???

Hampton Designer Showhouse: Basement Bedroom by Elizabeth Bailey

Instead of continuing on to the second floor of the Hampton Designer Showhouse presented by Traditional Home, I've decided to take you down to the basement. Usually, basements are an after thought or never decorated at all but in a showhouse every available space is an opportunity for greatness. Such is the case with the basement bedroom designed by Elizabeth Bailey.

My friends and I really liked this room and recognized some of the artwork and fabric in it but didn't realize we knew the designer until we got home and read through the accompanying catalog. Only we know her as Lizzie Bailey! Lizzie used to work for interior designer Amanda Nisbet and now works for antique dealer Gerald Bland which is where I met her. She actually won a contest sponsored by Traditional Home to design this room and was kind enough to share with me the entire story of her beautiful room.

According to Lizzie, this all came about last year when Traditional Home was sponsoring the Ocean’s 3 Showhouse in Montauk. They paired each of the designers (Eric Cohler, Philip Gorrivan, and Amanda Nisbet) with a recent graduate who would be their "protege" and help with the project. Lizzie, who graduated from Parsons, was paired with Amanda and Eric and Philip worked with two recent grads from New York School of Interior Design. Lizzie said, "At the end of that project Ann Maine, the editor of Traditional Home, announced they were going to have the three of us compete for a feature in the magazine as well as a cash prize." That was in November and in February they had to present their ideas for an eco-friendly master bedroom. "At that point it didn’t have anything to do with the Hamptons showhouse," she went on to say. "We were given carte blanche in terms of design – it just had to be 300 square feet but we could use our imagination in terms of architectural details, etc."

"ABC Carpet and Home was to be our primary source for furnishings but we were allowed to supplement with other materials as long as they were "green" so I set about designing a room that would be first and foremost chic. Something people would see and be surprised to find out was sustainable. The first thing I knew was that I wanted color because I tend to stereotype green design with being very neutral in color - lots of beige linen and hemp. While that can be very good looking, I wanted to go in another direction. "

"In addition to color, I wanted to incorporate a sophisticated range of textures and finishes. I think contrast or interplay between rough and smooth, dull and shiny, soft and hard, is so important to a successful room."

"So with all this in mind, I started visiting ABC Carpet and Home almost everyday for a few months picking out antique pieces, organic bedding, upholstery from Cisco Brothers, and some recycled good. I had taken a course on sustainability at Parsons and was already interested in the subject so I was aware of some other sources too. I went online to Rubie Green and Mod Green Pod for fabrics, to the D&D showrooms Q Collection, Maharam, Edward Farrell, and Lewis Mittman who I knew had some lines I might be able to work in. from there, I started to put together a scheme really based on materials I found that stood out to me."

"The original design was quite different from what you see in the showhouse but the basic arrangement is the same. From the beginning, I wanted bed hangings to add warmth, a sense of privacy and seclusion within the room, as well as a little drama. The overall mix of new, sustainable pieces and antiques was always a key element." Luckily, Lizzie works for Gerald Bland and was able to pull many of the antique pieces from him.

" A month or so after I found out that I won the challenge, they told me that instead of building a set and just photographing it for the magazine, they were giving me an entire room in the Hampton Designer Showhouse where the entire room would actually be installed." Needless to say, Lizzie was beyond excited but had to get to work since this new development meant a lot of changes to the design. "Since it was originally created without any real space constraints, and a showhouse imposes its own set of limitations, I had to rework a lot of the elements. "

"The Farrow & Ball paint which makes the room and is one of my favorite elements, was plan B. I'd first specified a Venetian plaster-like wall treatment from American Clay that would have been costly to install and impractical given that we have to return the walls to the original condition after the showhouse is over. It's not very eco-friendly to put something up that you're going to have to remove almost immediately! So paint it was!" I have to say that the Farrow & Ball Eco Full Gloss paint in Skylight is really fabulous in person! I am using this product in another color for a media room in one of my projects and can't wait until it's finished! I loved that Lizzie painted out the doors and moldings in the same color too. I think it works well in the high gloss finish and helps make the room look larger.

"Since my room is on the lower level and has low ceilings, a glamorous antique chandelier from ABC Carpet and Home that I had selected was no longer an option. In other case, items that I had selected back in January, like a pair of stunning cream lacquered vintage Paul Frankl, dresser from Las Venus at ABC Carpet and Home, were no longer available so I had to come up with alternatives that worked within the existing scheme." I think everything worked out perfectly! The room is beautiful and romantic without being girly or off putting to men and was very serene and soothing in person! My friends and I loved it and I think it's even better that we loved it before we knew who designed it!

The Edward Farrell Sylvan Slipper Chair from their Pure Sustainable line is one of my favorite elements of the room. As is the cute blue vintage phone! What's even better is that I couldn't even tell that the wall to wall carpet was really made up of Flats & Cords carpet tiles from Flor! Of course, who could see past the divine antique Turkish rug from Doris Leslie Blau!

Much of the artwork was borrowed from Gerald Bland and Time Frame in New York and really add to the wonderful collected feel of the room.

I think Lizze Bailey obviously deserved to win the Traditional Home contest! I hope that other showhouses will give young designers a chance to participate through contests or sponsorships. It's clearly a great idea and just goes to show what you can do with a little basement bedroom!

Photos by Heather Clawson