Sorry I’ve been MIA all week. Work has been crazy busy and I’ve also been spending lots of time trying to organize my life and my home. Thursday I took a much needed day off from work and being the adventuress that I am, I decided to rent myself a minivan and drive up to Brimfield, Massachusetts to attend the Brimfield Antique Show. I had such a great time there. There were so many dealers and so much to see…the experience was beyond overwhelming. By the time I finished walking around for six hours or so I was completely exhausted. And if you’re wondering, I definitely didn’t leave empty handed. I scored some pretty vases and a pair of upholstered X-based stools that I plan to have reupholstered very soon. Once they’re finished I’ll definitely be posting some before & afters;-) This morning I am heading to Indianapolis to attend a wedding (Congrats Kuleni & Sean!) so I probably won’t be back to regular posting until next week. For now, I’ll just leave you with a bit of eye candy to feed your design fix…a few light and airy spaces by Tom Scheerer…Simply beautiful!
Here are a few fabulous interiors with bright pops of pink and yellow that provide lots of chic and cheerful inspiration. Hope looking at these brightens up your Saturday! Happy Weekend!
Photo by Roger Davies for Elle Decor
Photo via apartmenttherapy.com
Photo via redmondaldrich.com
Photo by Simon Upton for Elle Decor
Photo by Paul Costello for Domino
Photo via djimenez.com
Photo via jonathanadler.com
Photo by Julia Lynn for Angie Hranowsky
Photo by William Waldron for Jamie Drake
Photo by Wesley Rose for Elle Decor
Photo by Ditte Isager for Domino
When I was at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show a couple of months ago I came across these gorgeous leather sling chairs that really stood out to me. Kind of sexy, right? After a bit of research I learned that these beautiful chairs were designed by William Katavolos in 1952 as part of the “New Furniture” collection for Laverne. Often referred to as the “T chair” because of it’s T shaped frame and leather sling seat, these chairs are truly a twentieth century design classic. In fact, they’re housed in the permanent collections of the MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre.
Above are a few photos I took of Katavolos’ T chairs at the AD home show. The top left photo is of the lounge chair style and the top right and bottom photos are of the side chair. The side chairs look especially great around that dining table. I spotted these chairs twice recently on Desire to Inspire (one of my favorite blogs!) in the portfolios of two prominent interior designers.
The three photos above are from the portfolio of New York based designer Tori Golub. They do a great job of illustrating the versatility of the Sling Chair as Golub uses it in an office, a living room and around a dining table.
This photo is from the portfolio of Chicago based design firm Gregga Jordan Smieszny. Here, the side chair is used in a bedroom. I think a leather chair in one’s home is such a chic addition. Besides its durability, leather is a symbol of luxury and always adds a bit of glamour to a room. Plus a leather chair will wear beautifully and I don’t think there’s anything more stylish than a perfectly worn in leather chair.
The T chairs have been produced by New York based Gratz Industries since they were first designed by Katavolos 56 years ago. Starting next week they will be available exclusively through Karkula, a showroom filled with high end, modern home furnishings located in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. The side chair (style TG 10) will range in price from $1925-$2150 (depending on the choice of frame) and the lounge chair (style TG 15) will range from $2625-$2750. They’re available in black, chocolate brown, burgundy and natural leather.
I also just learned that next week at Karkula, William Katavolos, who currently lives and works in New York and Florida, will be presenting a new collection of furniture named “Terania”. Named after his wife, his Terania line consists of dining tables, sideboards and side tables based on a simple stainless steel angled leg. If you’re in New York during the ICFF, you can stop by the Karkula showroom to check out the collection yourself. Here are the details:
Dates: May 17th-20th.
Hours: 11-7pm.
Location: Karkula – 48 Walker Street, New York, NY 10013
For more information on Karkula, visit their website here.
I really love the design firm Roman and Williams. I first learned of the architect/interior designer pair fairly recently after their buzz worthy renovation of the Royalton hotel lobby was revealed last Fall. Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch are the designers behind the company which is named after their respective grandfathers. The professional and romantic partners met during their days as Hollywood production designers when they worked together designing sets for movies such as Duplex, Practical Magic and Zoolander. After growing tired of seeing all of their hard work destroyed after each production wrapped, they decided to start a company of their own and in 1999 Roman and Williams was founded. While working on Duplex in 2003, they drew the attention of Ben Stiller, the movie’s star, who loved their work so much he commissioned them to design his own Hollywood Hills home. After that, a barrage of celebrity clients came calling and Robin and Stephen quit their production design jobs to focus full time on Roman and Williams. Soon after, they moved from Los Angeles to New York and lived happily ever after…or at least that’s their story in a nutshell! The designers definitely have a strong point of view and a pretty identifiable aesthetic. I would describe their style as modern with a little bit of vintage charm, intriguingly dark, a little bit industrial, extremely tactile, earthy, kind of masculine, slightly gothic and very dramatic. Currently, they’re working on several exciting new projects including the New York outpost of Andre Balazs’ Standard Hotel, the Ace Hotel in New York, the spa and Gym at the 40 Mercer condos (also owned by Balazs) and the 211 Elizabeth condos, their first ground-up building which looks like it’s going to be absolutely incredible. I’m really looking to seeing more from these two. If you ever visit their website you’ll notice that there are no photos up so I decided to put together a little Roman and Williams portfolio of sorts so everyone can see a collection of their work all in one place. Hope you enjoy!
Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch’s Home
Photos via New York Magazine, Frette.com, and 1stdibs.com.
The Roman and Williams Office
Photos via 1stdibs.com
The Royalton Hotel Lobby and Braserie 44
Photos via Royalton.com
Renderings of the 40 Mercer Spa and Gym
Photos via 40mercersoho.com
The Home of Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor
Photos by Grey Crawford for Elle Decor
Kate Hudson’s LA Home
Photo via W Magazine
Renderings of the 211 Elizabeth Condos
Photos via 211Elizabeth.com
Every weekend I look forward to reading Page Six Magazine which is a special insert that comes with the Saturday edition of The New York Post. There’s a section in the magazine called Six Life which covers food, health, and best of all home! They always provide a glimpse into the homes of stylish New Yorkers and this week they profiled mother-daughter design duo Robyn and Sara Karp of Robyn Karp Interiors. Sara, who is 26, joined her mom’s interior design firm three years ago after working briefly for Robert Alpert Associates and Victoria Hagan Interiors. Robyn lives in a classic six on the Upper West Side while Sara lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side. They’re both obsessed with art and their personal style blends together old and new although Robyn is the one with the more modern taste while her daughter’s taste is a bit more traditional. I thought their story was so cute and it sounds like the pair has such a great relationship. They’ve been reading magazines like Architectural Digest and House & Garden together since Sara was 4, love traveling to Paris together to visit the flea markets and they play tennis together every Sunday. Sounds perfect although Robyn mentioned in the piece that she’s had to fire her daughter twice which I thought was hilarious. I really enjoyed reading this article so I thought I’d share a bit of the story with all of you who may not have access to the New York Post. Below are a few photos of Robyn and Sara’s apartments which were included in the article, starting with Robyn’s…
Robyn’s apartment is very feminine and sophisticated. I love the rich brown sofas combined with the mirrored tables in her living room. And I love the giant photo of Marilyn Monroe. The middle photo shows various vignettes in her home. On the right are a collection of glass vases on top of a mirrored table…all were found at flea markets or auctions. The next two photos are of the master bedroom. The gray lacquered bedside tables that you see were inherited from Robyn’s grandmother. I also adore that purple tufted chair with the ikat accent pillow. The bottom photo shows her home’s entry. The painting’s sheer size adds a lot of drama here. The article didn’t show many photos of Sara’s place but here are the two that were included…
I browsed through their portfolio online and found better photos of Sara’s living room and Robyn’s entry. It looks like the side chair in the shot of Sara’s living room below is different than the one pictured in Page Six.
Here are a few more rooms I saw in their portfolio that really stood out to me. The child’s bedroom is especially cute. Hope you enjoy! If you want to see more, visit the Robyn Karp Interiors website here.
