Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2012 - The Cabana by Scott Sanders

A smile came over my face as soon as I entered Scott Sanders Cabana inspired room!  It reminded me of the kind of space I would design for a Palm Beach courtyard-style beach house – or even my current pool house in Greenwich (When the time comes to redecorate).  I love and appreciate color and so this room was right up my alley!  Upon entering the room, I was greeted with a Lilly-inspired Juicy Jute grasscloth wallpaper in “Split Pea” by Philip Jeffries, Ltd.  The fabrics and trims that he used were by Scalamandre (if anyone knows the patterns, comment below) with fun, colorful throw pillows made by the Michele Van Saun Studio. 

A fun twist on the upholstered sofa with the overstuffed pillows (love) were the metal spring table and chairs by Craft Fabricators.  They give that fun, unexpected poolside cabana feel.  Scott used wall to wall jute carpeting with a bright aqua custom hand spun mohair area rug on top.

I enjoyed the fun details like the the ice bucket and drinks (ready for hungry swimmers), the monogrammed beach towels and of course the bin of colorful flip-flops ready for weekend guests! Overall, a totally fun Dorothy Draper inspired room!  Photos Copyright Melissa Hawks

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2012 Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse Post #2: Charlotte Moss Goes "Behind the Hedge" - Blogfest

This is a follow up post on the Press Preview I had of the 2012 Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse last week as part of Blogfest.

I’ve  long been a fan of designer and collector extraordinaire, Charlotte Moss.  She has been involved with the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse for many years and her rooms are always a treat.  Perhaps it’s the implication of mossy green that almost seems naturally intrinsic to her name (no pun intended!) that made the crisp green and white sign over the doorway beckoning us in to the “Master Bedroom” seem so right.  

At first glance we see a fabulous piece of framed art from her namesake collection for Soicher Marin of what appears to be a a Downton Abbey-like manor house with perfectly manicured gardens and boxwood.  The art sits atop natural timber-like hallway wallpaper by Piet Hein Eek.  The woods and greens encountered at the door set the tone for the room Moss designed.  One can’t help but want to walk inside!

The sitting room almost feels like an indoor/outdoor space and features fabulous faux boxwood hedges from Lexington Gardens in NYC.  The walls are covered in a luxe green velvet from Arabel Fabrics.   One definitely gets the feeling they have gone “Behind the Hedge” to a magical spot to read and relax with a cup of tea.    The room has more over sized framed art from Soicher Marin and furniture from the Charlotte Moss Icons Collection for Century Furniture as well as antique pieces.  There is a delicate oriental rug from Sacco carpet and of course fabrics from the Charlotte Moss collection for Fabricut.   She has become the Martha Stewart of interior design, with eponymous fabric, furniture, art and carpeting collections.  

Her custom lampshades are from Diane Studios and if you like the elegant porcelain flower arrangement that she has perched on a wall bracket next to the sofa – it’s by Vladimir Kavensky.  I remember seeing his work at the NY Gift Show this year.  He has lovely pieces!  

I’m a fan of birdcages and we sell some beautiful ones at The Well Appointed House.  Charlotte and her team have made this room the perfect spot for an oversized bird cage and if you notice, they have filled the inside with moss and left the door ajar.  It almost seems like a miniture room one could shrink and enter after leaving this magical place.  They have left books to read for room guests and the overstuffed armchair and sofa are just cozy enough to be perfectly inviting!  Elegant Fortuny pillows from David Duncan Antiques grace the sofa.

The bathroom carried through the “Behind the Hedge” theme – which could almost be part of the Alice in Wonderland movie set with the green hedge and oversized wildlife artwork “Le Lion…” over the tub.  The garden theme continued with the Benjamin Moore paints she used – “Peaceful Garden” as the bathroom wall color and “Perfectly Pistachio” as the trim color.  How apropos! I enjoyed the beautifully embroidered (in a lovely lavender) Leontine bath linens folded and ready by the bath.  Nothing welcomes guests more than clean towels, a candle and nice bath soaps!  The bamboo side table is from John Rosselli.  I truly enjoyed touring this space!

Photos Copyright Melissa Hawks

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Kips Bay 40th Annual Decorator Showhouse 2012: Part 1 - Kitchen and Breakfast Room by Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams for St. Charles

I've tried to attend the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Decorator Show House every year that I've lived in the NYC area.  I have attended most years and I am never disappointed!  This year marked the 40th Annual Showhouse.  Bunny Williams served as the Chair of this year's Show House Committee.  Jeremiah Goodman (whose work I love and I own at my home) was an honoree at this year's President's Dinner and the Gala Co-Chairmen were Jamie Drake, Victoria Hagan, Aerin Lauder and Richard Mishaan (a stylish bunch!).   As part of Blogfest 2012 this week, I was invited to Kips Bay for a press preview.  

Since I know many of you can't make it to New York City to view the show house in person, I am sharing some of my favorite rooms of the house and the details that stood out.  This is the first in a series I will do this week!

Everyone loves a fabulous kitchen, and this one by Robert Schwartz and Karen Williams for St. Charles didn't disappoint!   They dubbed it "Too Hot to Handle" and with details like a "made in France" rotisserie with heavy brass detailing, I think they are right!   The centerpiece of the room is pictured below (Photos Copyright Melissa Hawks) - the beautiful row of orchids atop the sink area.  What could possibly make washing dishes any better than this?  What a view of New York City!

Custom cabinetry by St. Charles.  Countertops by New England Stone.

Flamberge (Rotisserie) by La Cornue

Island Cooktop and Cabinetry by La Cornue.  Faucets by Fantini USA.  Sinks by Native Trails.  This has to be every chefs dream!

Miele refrigerator. There was also a beverage center and wine fridge by True Manufacturing Company.  Hardware from The Brass Center.

Pictured here is Karen Williams, who I enjoyed chatting with!  

I loved the Andy Warhol inspiration here!

The kitchen was the perfect combination of city sleek with classic French culinary cooking tools - a professional working kitchen perfect for soirees with a view! 

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Blogfest 2012 and Style Spotting at ICFF - International Contemporary Furniture Fair 2012

I have just spent the past two days at Blogfest 2012 in New York City.  It is my second year attending the event, which is sponsored by Kravet, Lee Jofa and Brunschwig & Fils.  This year's magazine sponsors are Architectural Digest, Traditional Home, Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Veranda, and interiors.  It has been quite a line up.  Yesterday, I visited the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) at the Jacob Javit's Center and we were sponsored at the event by WilsonArt .  Before I update you on Blogfest in upcoming posts, here are some of my favorite products spotted at ICFF:

Dupenny signature wallpaper, hand-printed in the UK.  Their pillows are fun, too!

Boeme had some nice panel designs and wallhangings. I loved the bright colors in this Spanish Garden wallhanging!

Folditure definitely had the most innovative product, in my opinion.  They make a fully functional chair that you can literally fold up and hang in the closet.  This is a huge space saving option for people living in apartments and cities.  What a fantastic idea!  It may be the most unique thing I have seen in years!  I am not typically attracted to highly contemporary or "function over form" but in this case, I give a thumbs up.  This is what the chairs look like in a room:

There were really cute and colorful things at Iglooplay:

I enjoyed these colorful and functional table lamps at Jielde:

This item - a mannequin lamp wearing a traditional Kuwaiti gown by Al Hamad - was unusual (a few people said creepy, but I thought it was very cool)!  The mannequin has a speaker in its stomach and emits music!  If you shake hands with the hands, the light turns on!  It's perfect for a city lounge or nightspot!

I loved these bookcases and closets for kids from the Netherlands.  What fun! 

This bed was another favorite - talk about a space saver!  You push a button and it descends from the ceiling!  It's such a great space-saving idea!  It was made by FLOW and features an innovative Trak-Kit system.

Rollout Custom Wallpaper Design and Manufacturing Company can make just about anything you want into custom wallpaper.  Pretty cool!

Autoban had some fun balloon chairs with a modern twist...

Jason Wu has a new licensed collection of sinks and mirrors for Brizo, I spotted super cool wall clocks at Diamantini & Domeniconi, D-Torso had a fabulous cardboard horse (wow!) and there were many other interesting new products to see!  Tracy Kendall wallpaper had some amazing wall installations and I loved the game tables at RS Barcelona.  These were just a few favorites!  Enjoy!

More on Blogfest 2012 in my next post!

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Fabulous Teacher Gifts

It's that time of year and we're in the homestretch before the end of the school year.  Here are some quick ideas for fabulous teacher gifts.  If you'd like to order any of these, email us.  We don't even have all of these on our retail site, The Well Appointed House (some have links below), but refer to this post and we'll help you get orders in!  It's always nice to surprise a great teacher with something special at the end of the year after all of their hard work with your children!

We love these fun clipboards and school house inspired letterboxes! 

This personalized picture frame and letter box is perfect for an Algebra teacher!

Here's a cute letterbox and we can take any of the designs we have on our site and put #1 Teacher on it!

We love this Apple Teacher's Stamp as well! At $40, it makes a fun gift!

We also like this personalized melamine plate for your child's favorite teacher!  It's $26!

These are just a few ideas.  Enjoy, but get your orders in Monday.  School ends soon!

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Summer Handbags Under $1000

We've been perusing the fashion magazines and have selected some of our favorite designer handbags for Summer 2012!

We love the Jimmy Choo Capri Small Shopper.  It's got a glittering finish, zebra jacquard lining for some added zing, golden hardware and flat shoulder straps for comfort.  It's made in Italy and you can buy it through our friends at Neiman Marcus...

Jimmy Choo Capri Small Shopper

If you don't want to go the black route and you favor the classic Tiffany blue, check out this fabulous Tiffany Whitney Basket Satchel, that retails for $995. 

Whitney basket satchel

Since Duchess Catherine donned green on her North America tour, green has been big.   We've been big fans of Kelly Green for years.  This grassy green Mulberry carryall is named for a cosmopolitan district of London.  "The Baywater" (as it is called) has soft, pebbled leather with polished gold hardware.  It's got a fold over flap with a signature "Postman's Lock".  It's $1000 through BlueFly.

Mulberry grass green goatskin 'Bayswater' top handle bag

Bright colors are fun but for those of you out there who favor blacks and neutrals, we love this snake printed leather Longchamp bag for $930, through Neiman Marcus.

Longchamp Reptiligne Cuir Tote

If pink is your passion, try this signature Valentino design.  Made in Italy, it features a bow and has plenty of storage with two large compartments.  Pair it with your Lilly and Pucci shifts this summer!

Valentino Medium Nuage

Prada is always nice and we love this cobalt blue and canvas tote.  It retails at $1000.  It's very Hamptons!  

Prada rope canvas and cobalt leather convertible tote

Can't get to Rome this summer to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain and make a wish?  Instead, check out this fun bag from Moschino Cheap & Chic.  It retails for under $500 through Farfetch:

Moschino Cheap & Chic printed tote bag

Stay tuned for more summer pics!  

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