Mariu de Andreis in Paris

Over the weekend I was home chez my parents' house and as you may know, the Metro North train rides can be pretty boring. While I don't feel embarrassed to read the Twilight books on the train, a change is nice, so I picked up the latest Elle Decor UK version and loved it! There were many modern/industrial spreads which didn't super appeal to me but they were nice to look at nonetheless. One of the articles was really beautiful in particular was of Mariu de Andreis's apartment in Paris.

Mariu's father was Italian fashion photographer, Paolo Roversi, so photography is super important to her. How much do you want floor to ceiling windows with mouldings like that?

Am dying over the arrangement of the pictures over the mantle, as well as the mantle itself. I love the green blues brought into the color palette too. The fur ads softness to some of the hard modern elements in the room.

I love that table, even though it's so light, it has such a presence.

Like I said above, she has been very influenced by the idea of photographs and has created a small mural of Polaroids in the shape of a heart over her bed. She loves Polaroids because they are SO spontaneous and in the moment. What a cute idea.

Isn't the floor in this apartment incredible? They seem to have lots of books (applaud that) crammed into the shelves. I like this so much that I'm not even upset by the fact that she has leaning art on the shelf.

Close up on the art.

In an Italian household, she said that the kitchen/dining is the most important place in the house. I love this picture of her taking an espresso or a tea with her daughters. So cute (even though it's staged).

Here is Mariu. She has her own children's clothing line, Zef, which "epitomises the classic French bohemian look, born through Mariu’s eloquent natural feel for ethnic patterns with retro twists." Basically anyone who is anyone and is 6 years old in France, should be wearing Zef.

Not loving the stripped down industrial computer stand but I do love the lamp...and did I mention the floor?

Oh look, it's my least favorite piece of furniture of all time. HINT: The coffee table. It's okay though, the floor lamps and the bookcase make up for its short comings.

She has ANOTHER fireplace in this apartment? Jealous!

Now, I know it must seem weird that I would like something like this as I am a self proclaimed traditionalist but I love the eclectic look of it. It's glamorous without being pretentious and I don't even hate the mid century modern pieces! The architectural qualities of this apartment give it a good base, though. I'll certainly be getting Elle Decor UK more often.


Alicia B.

Easter Color: Purple

Easter is coming up in about a week and I'm so excited. It's just yet another sign that Spring is (finally) on its way! When I think of Easter, I think of pastel purples, yellows, greens, and pinks. Today I wanted to focus on purple though. It's a color that some people I know have an aversion to. They might say it's too obviously girly or cliche feminine but sometimes it can be happy, relaxing, and romantic. It can range from a deep rich purple, to a light lilac. You can create a room full of purple, or just a bright punch of it will do, as well.

From Living Etc, this moody pewter room has just a bit of purple in the throw pillows but it sure makes the difference.

Light lilac walls (California Paints Faded Lilac) and a sweet chair upholstered in a soft purple make this room light and relaxing. I'd love to read on that with the fur draped over me. Let's make that happen, shall we? By Kim Gilhool of Pimlico.

One of my loves, Hal Williamson. These purples are more subtle and very romantic.

Drake Design, always bold with color saturates the entire room with with a fruity purple.

And speaking of color mongers (nothing wrong with that), this room by Diamond Baratta is PRETTY MUCH all lilacs, grapes, and......um.....purples!

Lots of times, purple is used in a traditional setting. Here it is in a more contemporary look as a sort of greyish purple. Isn't it neat how it makes the WHITE stand out? By Betsy Brown.

This comfortable looking sitting room is by (my idol) Amanda Nisbet. My favorite part is the throw pillow--I adore that fabric!

I don't have much purple in my own apartment but I do think it's pretty and can be very sweet. Do any of you have purple in your life? I can't wait until Spring officially comes and the flowers start to bloom in the country.


Alicia B.

Architectural Digest Home Design Show Rundown.

As I mentioned last Friday, I headed over to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show on the west side. I love going and seeing the new trends and the huge kitchen stoves that I could never afford. Once you get past the boring overly smooth reconstituted go-green wood furniture and literally come on to people SIMPLY because they have their own 1st Dibs shop (I'm shameless for a good antique), it was pretty good. Some of it I was literally bored out of my mind--yes I know, you made that in Vermont and it's low VOC but IT'S UGLY AND BORING. Now that I've gotten that out of my system, here are some of my favorite things that I saw!

This is from the Bob Williams & Mitchell Gold display. I really liked this mirror but otherwise it was your basic sofa and lamp display. They are really great for a low cost sofa and coffee tables though.

The only saving grace to this horrid beige round chair (The Jeanie Round Chair) with karate-chopped pillows (shudder), is the mini stuffed animal bulldog. So cute!

I love these antique up and down lights. They were all a little bit different--I couldn't decide which was my fave. This was part of the 1st Dibs area and the shop was Country Gear Ltd.

Vol 1 Antiques was one of my favorites in the 1st Dibs Pavilion. I love these glass display domes.

I loved this birdcage sconce with little crystal flowers on it. I know, terrible picture--here it is on 1st Dibs. So cute!

How can you not be taken in by a GIANT skull on a distressed wood painted pedestal? I just don't know, but I could barely look away.

As a jar lover, I was obsessed with these antique mercury glass jars. Yes, I just called myself a jar lover. What.

Look how many!! From Linda and Howard Stein's spot in the 1st Dibs Pavilion. They have a shop in Bridgehampton.

This is one of those very high finished wood pieces I mentioned above. I have no idea what kind of baby would like that. By Laren Algren Woodworking.

I am a traditionalist for sure but I loved this display by FurtherDesign. The glass pieces they had were beautiful.

If you read my blog, then you know how I love colored glass jars and lamps. Don't you love that mini one off to the left? I think it knows how cute it is.

Drippy glass large sconce. Crazy but kinda cool and organic looking.

Cocobolo Design had some cool light fixtures, too. This large pendant had a gold mottled sort of interior finish but the fun part was that they had sculpted a spoon into the interior to block your eye from seeing the light bulb.

Also Cocobolo, this hanging pendant looks like a giant pea pod...or an eye.

I believe this was Cocobolo too. Pretty neutral colored wall sculpture.

I super loved this installation by Libby Ware Studio. They are small spheres and boxes made of ceramic. Check out the website HERE for more.

These glass lights were hand blown and so pretty! They were modern, came in clusters or as a table lamp (above) but I loved the organic quality to them.

Glass ball chandelier.

Suzanne Lovell's room was inspired by Henry James's Portrait of a Lady, so I was instantly taken by the scene. I love Henry James and this room was elegant and soft with pops of color. This shot is of the ceiling; a canopy of delicate grey silks.

The bed was simple but I love the lights on the nightstand and the pattern on the quilt was very interesting. I liked the pops of red on the bed and head board.

Before I started to pass out from exhaustion from this show, I saw a panel about kitchens! My fave speaker was William Diamond of Diamond Baratta Design. They use bright fun colors and their interiors are amazing. I was very intrigued about their obsession with painting the floors, too. Sounds like fun.

Did any of you go? Did you enjoy? Did I hear someone say they were bored? It's a lot to get through and there are lots of (somewhat pushy and annoying) people. I also, by accident, signed up for a subscription to the NY Times by a fellow ginger! What!? I got a free coffee mug, okay?


Alicia B.

Dan Marty, a pleasant surprise.

I was flipping through my Western Interiors saying silently in my head "love it, hate it, love it" but then I got to the Dan Marty spread and I started screaming, "LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!" Dan Marty is a designer/showroom owner originally from Northern California. His style reflects his sophisticated and worldly upbringing as he went on trips to Europe at least twice a year growing up (psht, is that all?) with his family. He uses lots of eclectic antiques, yet his style is very original and surprising. This spread was of his apartment in Villa D'este in Los Angeles, an Italian Renaissance building built in the 1920's.

Here is the living room filled with eclectic style antiques and Chinoiserie accents.

The other half of the living room. I'm such a sucker for color but this room is mostly neutrals and I can't look away. There are so many subtle things going on here--the chunky sisal carpet, the three paintings stacked on each other, the blue and white urn on the brick hearth just to name a few.

Even though I can't stand the abrasive red color of those chairs, I still love this room. The framed antique maps mixed in with the drawings and the light yellow lantern over the gorgeous wood dining table.

This bamboo chest with the ebony lamp and pleated shade are like a work of art. J'adore.

Woah, Union Jack motif! I love the way he uses reds and blues...and antlers.

And at last the bedroom, I love the striped rug and my fave thing that you can't see is that he monogrammed the initials, DMD, on that blanket--it's genius. I love the inset arched moments on the back wall as well.

A lot of times, when you put lots antiques together it can either look too casual slash beachy, or too stuffy and museum-like. I think that Dan Marty conjures up just the right balance. He describes it as what "started out with a British Colonial feel, but I also mix in a French Indochine look." Take a look at his website too, it's amazing with so many things to look at: Dan Marty Design.


Alicia B.

Diane Von Furstenberg is my idol

My sisters have taken to mailing me little clippings of interiors, fashion, and other inspiring articles slash pictures. My most recent mailing was from my younger sister (thanks D!), of one of our favorite designers, Diane Von Furstenberg. It was an interview from the Wall Street Journal (boy, my sisters are into some serious stuff), called DVF: Mother of Reinvention about how she started in the fashion industry, her life, and her future goals (to pass the Design Piracy Prohibition Act). Born in Belgium, then moved to New York with her hottie new husband, Prince Egon Von Furstenberg who just happened to be the heir of the Fiat car fortune (they divorced 3 years later). Though she fell into amazing financial circumstances, she was determined to have a career. She said, "I think you have to want to be a success. It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of perseverance." I've always liked her but now I'm in love slash awe.

This amazing dress is from her new collection. Love that hat.

Also from her new collection, how pretty is that dress? What a fun look.

This is just a rando pic of her in one of her beautiful dresses.

Mostly known for her signature wrap dress, she is constantly inventing and reinventing styles and coming up with new things. I admire her in so many ways. I love the fact that she wasn't one of those girls dreamed of becoming a fashion designer when they grew up because I certainly never wanted to be an interior designer until about 2 years ago.

DVF with her son, Alexander in 1970. So cute!

My favorite part of the article makes me want to totally throw out my old dreams of becoming a trophy wife on Park Ave. and instead be independent and successful. Did this get too girl-powery? Too bad. She says, "A man once told me, and his grandmother told him, you can lose everything in life, you can lose your health, your wealth, you can lose your partner, your child, you can lose your job. What you never lose is your character." Wise words Diane, wise words.

Alicia B.