I was honored to design a window at Bloomingdale’s to celebrate the launch of Scalamandré’s new tabletop collection with Lenox. I chose to celebrate Lenox’s Toile Tale, a pattern that was adapted from Scalamandré’s Pillement Toile. It features a whimsical Chinoiserie landscape. The timing of the window coincided with the Chinese Lunar New Year, and besides, John and I have always admired Chinoiserie. The appeal of Chinoiserie lies in the history of how it came about. It’s a romantic European take on the Orient, which melds different styles of Asian influences – Moorish, Chinese, Japanese and Indian. This mixture creates a rich, fanciful look that has many different facets. English and European Chinoiserie rooms like that at Brighton Pavilion provide me with endless inspiration and ideas.
I started the design with the idea of a strong patterned wall to build the vignette around. Scalamandré’s silk Paradiso covers the upper walls and striped silk Sunset is at the bottom, encased in fretwork molding. My Pagoda Coffee Table in red lacquer from Bunny Williams Home sits centered, encircled by many special elements my friends loaned for the vignette, including 18th century Italian palm trees and early 18th century dragon sculptures from Newel, an antique pagoda cabinet from Gracie, early 19th century palace vases from Niall Smith, 1940’s mirrored pedestals from Full House Antiques and a gong from Marvin Alexander. On the floor, on top of a sisal from Stark sit velvet poufs sewn by Rebecca Omweg, and jewel-toned Vietnamese silk lanterns cap off the space in a magical way.
Many thanks to the wonderful Celebrity Moving for their installation. And, of course, Steven Stolman, Louis Renzo and Janice Langrall of Scalamandre. And, Harry Medina, Laurent Kurtz and the wonderful staff of Bloomingdale’s.
Top photo courtesy of Scalamandre / Lenox / Bloomingdale’s
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After the flurry of the holidays, I find the first weeks of the New Year to be a great time to tidy up. The key to keeping your home organized is to have special containers for all the things we accumulate in our lives – tall cups for pencils on a desk or by the phone, glass jars with lids for cotton balls and Q-tips on a bathroom vanity, and flat baskets near the sofa for magazines or the day’s newspaper, for example. I designed BeeLine’s Low Country Coffee Table with this in mind. The four water hyacinth baskets that come with this table, and sit on the table’s lower shelf, are perfect for storing TV remotes and children’s or dog toys. This way, these things can be in reach but out of sight.
The Low Country Coffee Table is currently in stock and ready to ship in the original aged green painted finish or a new off-white painted finish.
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I love to decorate for the Holidays. John and I always put a huge tree in our barn in Connecticut. We add tiny white lights and tons of ornaments that we’ve collected over the years. This year I want to add these brightly colored felted partridge birds to the tree. I love how they’ll look flying around the tree! Treillage is already decked for the holidays. The shop on Lexington has become a true winter wonderland, complete with quilled snowflakes and festively wrapped Treillage boxes. I love the unexpected holiday color palette of blues of all shades and white. . . and, of course, so does John – it’s his favorite color combination!
And, just in time, Treillage’s website has a new look. Visit Treillage online to purchase chic holiday items to decorate your home – ornaments, garlands, votives, decorative wire lace trees and jeweled trees. We’ve added new products available to purchase online, including great gift ideas, jewelry and BeeLine Home’s lamps. Felted composition notebooks would make a great present for a teacher or co-worker, and these embossed felt and leather totes are just right for lugging around exercise clothing, books or an extra pair of shoes – a perfect gift for the girl on the go!
Be sure to check back each week. We’ve added a section called Treillage’s Favorite Thing, that highlights a new product each week. And, coming soon, Treillage will offer an online gift registry. You can sign up today for early access.
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The first piece of furniture I bought was a round white and gold 1950s mirror with a carved draped ribbon and swags around the perimeter of the frame, and a pair of metal candle arms on each side. I still have it in the bedroom of my apartment. Obviously, mirrors hold a special place in my heart. To me, they are both beautiful and practical. You never have to worry about how many mirrors you have in a room. They always give a wonderful reflection of light and can function in place of a window. My constant search for interesting mirrors, as well as the ability to share some of the mirrors from my personal collection is a few of the reasons I love to design mirrors for BeeLine.
When I saw BeeLine’s Shadowbox Mirror in Mark D. Sikes’s chic home in the new issue of Lonny, I was reminded of how much I really love that mirror. The original sits in the Dining Room of my Guest House in Connecticut. What I love about it is that it feels rather English Regency, but then you look at the profile, and you realize it’s much more contemporary. It looks fabulous above a chest as Mark has placed it, or in a pair flanking a sofa, as we have often shown in the BeeLine showrooms.
To make a narrow room appear wider, place a large mirror, like the NeoClassical Mirror, on one of the two longer walls.
The original of the Acanthus Mirror has hung in my office for many years, as well as served as the focal point above the mantel in my room for the 2009 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. One trick I did there was to hang the Acanthus Mirror so it was tilted to reflect the room, not the ceiling.
I loved the glamorous, feminine curves of the Ziegfeld Mirror so much, I put one of the first mirrors we made into my bathroom.
Large scale mirrors, like the Rope Wheel Mirror and Reverse Regency Mirror, immediately catch the eye and add stature and excitement to a room.
The Ohm Mirror, either in lacquered red or gray, provides the perfect pop of color to a room.
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I always like to have my initial meeting with new clients in my office. My office reflects my ethos, and I like clients to see and understand it. Over the years, I have filled my loft space with things I have collected and love – a large, worn leather-topped conference table, a Swedish console with the perfect patina, Corinthian columns that I found years ago in Maine, and newer items like BeeLine’s Work Horse Desk that I have used as my personal desk since I designed it in 2008, and BeeLine’s Mini Skirt Drinks Table which is the ideal, fun little table next to chairs in my gallery.
In her new book Habitually Chic: Creativity at Work, Heather Clawson has captured my office so well, as well as the offices of many interesting fashion designers, editors, jewelry designers, and architects. It’s fabulous. Heather will be signing books on Sunday, October 28 from 3:00-5:00pm at Archivia Books, 993 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10021. And if you miss her at Archivia, pop into Treillage, where we’ll be carrying it.
All Images from Habitually Chic: Creativity at Work by Heather Clawson, published by powerHouse Books
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It always seems that come fall, my calendar fills up. And, this year is no exception. In October I have speaking engagements in New York City, Connecticut, and Boston. There’s a lot to talk about! In Litchfield, I will toast the centennial of the Litchfield Garden Club with a presentation entitled “Gardening Inside and Out,” and in both New York and Boston, I will highlight BeeLine’s new introductions and discuss the keys to my design philosophy. RSVPs are required for all events. I hope that you’ll join me!
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I’m thrilled to be hosting a trunk show at Treillage for ASHA, one of my favorite jewelry lines! Join us to try on, shop and adore ASHA’s newest collection of sparkling gems. I hope to see you there… 1015 Lexington Avenue on Thursday, September 27th between 2PM and 6PM.
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