Monthly Archives: January 2014

THE POWER OF BLACK

Posted January 29, 2014. Filed in Black & White Rooms

Suddenly I am noticing black painted walls with increased frequency. Is it me – my own predilection toward black – or is black back? Though I haven’t (yet) painted a room of my own in black it feels comparable to when you purchase a particular vehicle and suddenly notice them everywhere. It didn’t really hit […]

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SWIMMING IN LUXURY

Posted January 21, 2014. Filed in Art Deco, Classical Moderne, Moderne, Thierry Despont

“Swimming in Luxury” was the title of an article written by Françoise Labro for Maison & Jardin in 1995 – a separate and complete article associated with my previous post, Passion, Discipline and Savoir-Fair, chronicling the collaboration between client and architect of a bespoke residential project in the western part of the United States. This […]

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Passion-Discipline-Savoir-Faire

Posted January 20, 2014. Filed in Art Deco, Classical Moderne, Moderne, Thierry Despont

“Passion, discipline and savoir-faire”: these are the three guiding principles of master architect and designer Thierry Despont. Tucked away in the shelves of my studio’s books cabinet I rediscovered a spread  that has long been on my mind since I first discovered it in 1995 in Maison & Jardin, that wonderful publication that met an […]

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Savoir-Sills

Posted January 17, 2014. Filed in Stephen Sills, Understated Luxury

Granted, it’s probably very unlikely we can “know” someone – “Savoir Sills” – from an interview. But when it comes to decorator Stephen Sills (he deplores the term “designer”, stating “it’s such a made-up thing from the 70’s when decorators were looked down upon, so everybody became a ‘designer’. A great decorator should be every […]

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Chalet de Ferrières

Posted January 15, 2014. Filed in Baron and Baroness de Rothschild, Chalets, François Catroux

Chalet de Ferrières has been written and blogged about enough, this is true. All the same, I wanted a record of the several known photos published of the chalet in one concise place. My blog is as much a library of images that I reference for own projects and interests as it is a medium to […]

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SWISH CHALET

Posted January 12, 2014. Filed in Chalets, Nicholas Haslam

“Swish Chalet”: that was the headline for an article written by Ros Byam Shaw for The World of Interiors featuring a chalet in Klosters, Switzerland, designed by the jet-set’s favorite go-to decorator, Nicky Haslam.  At a loss for a title more aptly suited, witty, or clever, this play on words stuck. Colefax & Fowler’s “Ebury” […]

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NATURALLY MINIMAL

Posted January 11, 2014. Filed in Axel Vervoordt, Chalets, Elemental Design

The chalet pictured above appears as though it could have been perched on this Alpine slope for two-or-three-hundred years, preserved with great care and affection by its succession of stewards. But in fact it was only recently constructed by antiquarian and interior designer Axel Vervoordt and his wife, May. Sited with an enviable view high […]

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CHALET BALTHUS

Posted January 10, 2014. Filed in Balthus, Chalets

Borrowing from the title of an article written by Jean Leymarie for House & Garden in December of 1987, the final home of the late artist Balthus and his artist wife, Setsuko, “Chalet Balthus” is correctly known as the Grand Chalet de Rossinière, in Switzerland. The largest known all-wooden structure of its kind in Europe, […]

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FRESCA ALPINA

Posted January 9, 2014. Filed in Alain Demachy, Armani, Axel Vervoordt, Chalets, Federica Palacios, Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, Nicholas Haslam, Studio Peregalli, Valentino

With one of the coldest winters on record I assume many of you would love nothing more than to escape to a warmer clime, perhaps St Barts or Mauritius. I, however, have my sights set on the Alps, with its fresh, crisp air and distinctive and inviting all-wood constructed chalets and their rustically elegant and […]

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To The Manor Born

Posted January 5, 2014. Filed in English Country Houses, Victorian

With the much anticipated return of season 4 of Downton Abbey I couldn’t resist posting some near-vintage photos of Highclere Castle situated in Hampsire, England, the real seat of the Earl of Carnavon and the ficticious seat of the Earl of Grantham, the Viscount Downton. If those towering spires look vaguely familiar then you are correct: […]

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