2014

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A Rosy Long Island Escape

Posted by sew4tejhtr6ier Sabtu, 11 Januari 2014 0 komentar

Lately, I have been a little obsessed with Pinterest and Instagram, as I've been stuck in bed battling a nasty viral infection... I picked it up over Christmas while visiting family in Texas, and here I am two weeks and a Z-Pak later still miserable and in the midst of a relapse. Ugh. So while digging through some old Pins, I stumbled upon Elizabeth and Kevin Mead's sunny Long Island, N.Y. home, featured in the April 2009 issue of Country Living. The exuberant application of cheery pink combined with a generous helping of Palm Beach Chic perked me up instantly!

Homeowner Elizabeth Mead found this drapery fabric at a Carleton V sample sale. Elizabeth loved the fabric so much, she used what was left over to cover the living room armchair and throw pillows. The walls were painted Benjamin Moore's Marshmallow Bunny; the sofa is from Ralph Lauren.

"Play it safe when it comes to investment pieces such as a sofa or club chairs by choosing classic shapes and solid fabrics. You'll find you can live with them longer," advises Elizabeth. Then add quirky character with smaller pieces and a few patterned accents, like draperies and pillows.

"Pink can be quite sophisticated if you tone it down with brown or beige," the owner says. Hence the earthy tone of her dining room, in which pink recedes to an accent color. The raffia on the wall, by Hinson, vertically extends the texture and tone of the sea grass on the floor. The pine table and bench belonged to the owners's mother, as did the settee, in a Scalamandré floral that matches the draperies. The unsigned portrait of a lady was found at Tepper Galleries, an auction house in New York City.

Sunlight pours into the compact kitchen thanks to two small windows that Elizabeth Mead leaves bare. A blue quadrille wallpaper balances the white woodwork and marble counters. Wooden stools are gathered around an industrial kitchen table from the Williams-Sonoma outlet store. A black granite tile floor "keeps the room from becoming too sweet," says Elizabeth.

For artwork, Elizabeth favors the offbeat, like a sketch for a theater costume that came complete with fabric swatches.

In addition to mining eBay for inexpensive artwork, Elizabeth hunts for bargain books on fashion, design, and photography at thrift stores and online at amazon.com and alibris.com. "Books are a very important accessory for a home — they make it feel lived in," she says.

Upstairs, daughter Alexandra's bedroom feels rather grown up thanks to a pink ticking wallpaper by Ralph Lauren Home. The floral-print fabric, from Duralee, "was $3.50 a yard at their outlet on Long Island," says Elizabeth. "I upholstered the Ballard Designs headboard myself!"

Doesn't this rosy home have you longing for spring? Captions above via Country Living. I hope you are all keeping warm and staying well!

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A Posh Park Avenue Duplex, by Ashley Whittaker

Posted by sew4tejhtr6ier Selasa, 07 Januari 2014 0 komentar

Last week, I featured a beautiful, Palm Beach Chic Florida town house, decorated by one of my favorite designers, Ashley Whittaker... I am completely obsessed with her entire portfolio! And I'm absolutely in love with this elegant Park Avenue duplex, featured in the May 2013 issue of New York Spaces. Ashley was commissioned to help architect Tom Felton breathe new life into the 4,000-square-foot home, which was in need of a complete gut-renovation.

The Park Avenue duplex was built in 1927 by James E.R. Carpenter - one of the most respected architects of prewar luxury apartments on New York's Upper East Side. Ashley and Felton made every effort to respect and authentically reproduce Carpenter's original vision, painstakingly restoring everything from the wood-burning fireplaces to the circular entry's gracefully curved staircase. Original plaster moldings were recreated, the white-oak floors were refinished, and outdated systems were brought up to code.

With the interior’s classical lines and dramatic proportions as a starting point, Ashley used her artist's eye for color, pattern, and detail to bring every room squarely into the 21st century. “The bright, bold colors and playful patterns are a nod to the fact that a young family lives here,” she said. “Every home needs some blue-and-white ceramics and tiger stripes somewhere.”

Captions below via New York Spaces...

Architect Tom Felton rebuilt a modifed version of the circular entry hall’s sweeping staircase, a distinctive feature of the circa-1927 J.E.R. Carpenter interior. The Charles Edwards pagoda-shaped lantern plays off the hand-painted Chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper from Gracie Studio. Sconces, Chameleon Antiques. Stair runner, Stark.

An inlaid Greek key floor border, paneled wainscoting, and rebuilt arched doorways bring architectural elegance to a hallway designed for large-scale entertaining. Starburst mirror, John Rosselli & Associates. Custom faux-marble-top console, F.P. Victoria & Son. Ceramic garden stools, William Wayne. Soane lamps.

A Peter Beard photograph (on the wall behind the green sofa) inspired the library’s rich palette of cognac, deep brown, gold, and green. The custom-colored David Hicks-pattern rug, printed-linen window shades, zebra stool, and patterned loveseat remain anchored in the calm environment created by the brown-lacquered cabinetry.

Ashley found the lion in a Millbrook, New York, antiques shop. “It was hard to give him up,” she admited. “But he was perfect for the room.”

“Every interior needs tiger stripes somewhere,” said Ashley. Here, the pattern appears in the Stark velvet that covers the living-room ottomans. The slipper chairs are upholstered in an aqua Lee Jofa ikat. Loveseat pillow fabric, Manuel Canovas. Amethyst hurricanes, Treillage. Blue-and-white ginger jar lamp, Vaughan Designs.

Two shades of blue combine in the Holland & Sherry silk curtains that frame the living-room windows. More blues appear in the Groves Brothers pillow fabric, on the custom chaise; the blue-and-white ceramics in the pedimented cabinet (designed by architect Tom Felton and made in New York); the Besselink & Jones sconce shades; and on the strié-patterned walls. Merida Meridian carpet.

Paneled walls and vintage-style cabinetry give the new kitchen a period look

A Holland & Sherry print with matte vinyl finish covers the kitchen banquette, situated near the new casement window. Photograph on wall, Ellen Morton.

In the butler’s pantry, statuary marble tops blue-lacquered cabinets lined with strié-patterned linen.

Decorative floors and lacquered walls as glossy as candy apples create a dramatic backdrop in the dining room. Art, Melinda Hackett. The Jerry Pair table seats 10; the John Rosselli chairs are covered in leather and Quadrille silk in Meloire.

Burnished-gold tortoiseshell wallpaper from Schumacher adds a note of glamour at the library’s new built-in, mahogany-and-glass bar.

The master-bedroom walls are upholstered in Bennison’s Kasumi pattern. The curtain and bed hanging fabric are also Bennison.

Yellow grasscloth brightens the walls of a boy’s room. Curtain and bed fabric, Quadrille. Bedding, Leontine Linens.

Floral Carolina Irving fabric from John Rosselli lines the walls of a jewelbox-like powder room. Black-lacquer vanity by architect Tom Felton.

Isn't this posh Park Avenue pad a complete dream? I could move right in! Unfortunately I missed my opportunity... This primo address recently sold. Let's take a sneak peek at the MLS pics! I always love comparing realtor's pictures with those featured in shelter magazines, don't you?

This is seriously my all-time favorite entryway ever... It is positively stunning.

So if you could live either in this elegant Park Avenue duplex or the Palm Beach Chic Florida town house Ashley decorated, which one would you choose? Which is more your style?

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Ashley Whittaker Energizes a Florida Town House

Posted by sew4tejhtr6ier Jumat, 03 Januari 2014 0 komentar

Designer Ashley Whittaker grew up in the coastal town of Gulf Stream, Florida, where pink houses and Lilly Pulitzer fabrics are de rigueur. She cultivated an obsession with punchy, playful hues - evident in this British Colonial town house she decorated for family friends in her own hometown, and featured in the January issue of Southern Living. After spending 20 years building her design firm in Manhattan, Ashley was thrilled to revisit the sunny prints and patterns of her formative years. She also incorporated her eight decorating resolutions for the new year!

"We wanted the home to feel bright and colorful like Florida but not like a vacation home," said Ashley.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 1: PULL OUT A BOLD ACCENT COLOR

Ashley incorporated a splashy pink in three places in the living room - the footstool, the contrasting pillow welt, and the slipper chair trim.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 2: EMBRACE AN ECLECTIC MIX

The foyer features a multicultural mash-up, mixing old with new, and color with color.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 3: SWAP DATED AND DINGY FOR CLASSIC AND CLEAN

The dreary kitchen received a makeover with a few cosmetic fixes. The Brady Bunch-era cabinets were painted with Benjamin Moore's Mountain Peak White and received nickel hardware. Dated surfaces were replaced with marble countertops and icy blue subway tiles.

BONUS DESIGN TIP: This bamboo console, tucked next to the kitchen, serves as a bar.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 4: GIVE YOUR DINING ROOM A SPLASH OF BOLD COLOR
The lettuce green lacquered walls are kicked up a notch with bright coral upholstered chairs.

BONUS DESIGN TIP: High sheens of the rich mahogany sideboard and table add contrast and polish to the sweet/tart color scheme of the dining room.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 5: LAYER NEUTRALS FOR A COMFY RETREAT

In the family room, Ashley started with a base of natural texture by using grass cloth on the walls. The Belgian linen-covered sofa, soft ticking-stripe upholstered club chairs, and pale diamond-patterned rug create a neutral backdrop for the hints of bold coral red from the accent lamps and crane print.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 6: UP THE COZY FACTOR WITH WALLPAPER

The dense pattern of this large-scale, blue-and-green flowering-tree motif wallpaper - Malabar Coast in Seafoam by Brunschwig & Fils - makes the large master bedroom feel snug. The crisp white headboard, lamps, and bedding give the eye a place to rest.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 7: MAKE A BIG STATEMENT IN A SMALL SPACE

Ashley advises to think of powder rooms like jewel boxes. She clad the walls of this one with an intricate yet large-scale, coral-patterned wallcovering - Sea Scroll Kelp by Raoul Textiles. "It's such a small space, so you can really get away with a lot of pattern," she said.

DECORATING RESOLUTION NO. 8: INDULGE A UTILITARIAN ROOM WITH WHIMSY

Just because it's a workspace, that doesn't mean the laundry room has to be plain and boring. "You spend a lot of time in there, so why not make it pretty and fun?" said Ashley, who livened up this one with a pagoda-style lantern and a tropical-print wallpaper - Bamboo & Birds by Bob Collins and Sons - which is a classic Florida touch.

Want to see more? Click here to read this feature in the latest issue of Southern Living, and for Ashley's sources. You can also check out her amazing portfolio here, and follow her via Instagram here. And stay tuned as I will take you next inside a stunning Park Avenue duplex she designed!