Author Archives: Cristopher

Elsa Schiaparelli at 22 Rue de Berri

Posted February 16, 2015. Filed in Boho Chic, Elsa Schiaparelli, French Eclecticism, Jansen, Jean-Michel Frank, Maison Jansen

In 1937 Elsa Schiaparelli moved into 22, rue de Berri in Paris’ 8th arrondissement, the third residence she would collaborate on decorating with Jean-Michel Frank, the father of the modern interior, as well as with the formidable firm Jansen. Less moderne and spare than her previous homes at rue Barbet-de-Jouy and the boulevard Saint-Germain (See […]

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In Search of Lost Time

Posted February 12, 2015. Filed in Chateaux, French Eclecticism, Jacques Grange, Le Goût Rothschild, Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent

Yesterday I was in the mood to leave winter behind for somewhere exotic and my journey took to me to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s Russian folly, a reproduction of a dacha, on the their property at Château Gabriel on the coast of Deauville in Normandy, France. (See Russian Reverie). After pouring over articles […]

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Russian Reverie

Posted February 11, 2015. Filed in Follies & Pavilions, Jacques Grange, Orientalism, Pierre Bergé, Russian Style, Yves Saint Laurent

With all the news of record snowfall and plummeting temperatures across the Eastern board an exotic getaway sounds very enticing. And what could be more exotic than the late Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s Russian folly at Château Gabriel overlooking the coast of Deauville in France? Granted, the weather on the coast of Normandy this […]

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My Favoriet Rooms

Posted February 10, 2015. Filed in Juan Montoya, Moderne, My Favorite Rooms

I have always dreamed of having an apartment in Paris that captures the curiosity of a collector and artist … a cabinet d’amateur!  It wouldn’t have to be large, but the perfect dwelling would possess the spirit of my favorite era, the 1920’s. It needn’t be grand at all, either. Character and atmosphere are all […]

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Classic + Modern Mix

Posted February 9, 2015. Filed in American Chic, Arthur Smith, Coastal Chic, David Hicks, Haynes Roberts, Jacques Grange, James Huniford, Jean-Louis Deniot, Jed Johnson, Markham Roberts, Michele Bönan, Stephen Sills, Steven Gambrel, Steven Volpe, Vicente Wolf

One of my favorite approaches to decorating a room is mixing classic and modern design elements. Modern paintings, or perhaps a gleaming Claude Lalanne chair, in a predominantly traditional room adds verve and prevents the room from becoming staid. Conversely, a predominantly contemporary, or even modern, space is heightened by an occasional classic flourish – […]

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Spotlight on Benjamin Vandiver

Posted February 4, 2015. Filed in American Chic

There has been a lot of noise lately surrounding the rising star that is Benjamin Vandiver of Nashville, Tennessee. A self-taught designer who originates from Kentucky, he traded playing the piano as a career for interior decoration when he was asked by singer-songwriter Jessie Baylin to transform the mid-century modern Nashville home she shares with […]

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Atelier Florence Lopez, Then and Now

Posted February 2, 2015. Filed in Florence Lopez, Modernism, Uncategorized

  While writing a recent post titled Collected Cool I discovered the stylistic beginnings of antiques dealer and interior designer Florence Lopez in the September, 1995, issue of The World of Interiors. Featured was her new apartment in an artist’s studio in the Saint-Germain-des Prés, Paris. Bold and gutsy, yet a tad romantic, this studio […]

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Henri Samuel for Susan and John Gutfreund, Paris

Posted January 29, 2015. Filed in French Style, Henri Samuel, Hubert de Givenchy, Susan Gutfreund, Uncategorized

The salon featured above is quite possibly one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen, for many reasons. Unquestionably French by design, it succeeds in balancing fine 18th-century boiserie, antiques and objets d’arts with comfortable, if not humble, statements including loose linen slip covered furniture, a tone-on-tone checkerboard patterned carpet, the contemporary curve […]

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COLLECTED COOL

Posted January 26, 2015. Filed in Collected Cool, Florence Lopez, Frédéric Méchiche, James Huniford, Lorenzo Castillo, Mark Cunningham, Paul Fortune, Thomas O'Brien, Urban Alchemy, Vicente Wolf

Somewhere between 19th-century-style eclecticism and pared-down Modernism lies a highly personal style that I am very much drawn to, what I call Collected Cool. For those of us who want to embrace Modernism but feel left out in the cold where it comes to spare and stream-lined spaces this look summons the tradition of 19th-century […]

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A Winter’s Respite

Posted January 20, 2015. Filed in Amanda Lindroth, Andrew Raquet, Angelo Donghia, British Colonial Style, Bunny Mellon, Bunny Williams, Caribbean Style, Christian Liagre, Colefax & Fowler, Genevieve Faure, Grant White, India Hicks, John Stefanidis, Miles Redd, Nancy Lancaster, Nicholas Haslam, Oliver Mesel, Palladian-Style, Plantation Style, Tom Scheerer, Tropical Style

Following the embracing warmth and good cheer of the holiday season January can sometimes seem anticlimactic – a tad boring, if not completely gray, cold and depressing. Fresh from a winter’s week-long respite in Jamaica I feel rejuvenated, energized and positively upbeat. There is nothing like the tonic of the Caribbean’s blue skies and crystal […]

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Valentino’s Homes & Interiors in Vogue

Posted January 8, 2015. Filed in Mediterranean Style, Orientalism, Romantic Classical Style, Uncategorized, Valentino

  In anticipation of the publication of Valentino: An Emperor’s Table this past November Vogue dipped into their archives to curate and on-line review of the style-setter’s sumptuous homes and interiors over the years, reaching back to Valentino’s rise to fame in the 1970’s. Design hounds, like myself, are likely familiar with every home and […]

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Past Meets Present

Posted January 5, 2015. Filed in Belgian-Dutch Style, Elemental Design, Organic Modern, Vincent Van Duysen

There is something about the holiday season that fills me up. And every year I look forward to it … to the merriment and good will; to the holiday treats and yuletide libations; to the mantels and banisters dressed with boughs of greenery; to the twinkling lights; to the spirit of Christmas and all it […]

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