_{Photo: Simon Upton/New York Magazine}

A growing trend in Manhattan real estate is for developers to hire A-List interior designers to transform model residences in condo buildings in order to drum up buzz and help sway potential buyers by allowing them to envision what their future home could look like. Such is the case with Manhattan House – a landmark luxury condo development on the Upper East Side which features three beautiful model apartments decorated by Rita Konig, Celerie Kemble and James Huniford which are part of the building’s “Modern Collection” residences. The three sprawling apartments are equally fabulous but it’s Rita Konig’s space that really speaks to my sensibilities so will kick off this house tour trifecta with a look at her space…

The Modern Penthouse by Rita Konig

_{Photo: Simon Upton/New York Magazine}

Rita Konig is the incredibly stylish former domino magazine editor whose quirky and unfussy design style is always a hit with the youthful, domino-loving generation of design devotees. She was given the task of decorating this sunny, 1,151-square foot, one-bedroom 1.5 bath corner penthouse that also has an enviable wraparound terrace with sweeping views of the New York City skyline. The casual sophistication and breezy colors of the space struck me immediately…I could easily move in and feel right at home. The bedroom shown above has subtle ethnic influences with its Moroccan inspired headboard and vintage suzani that really capture’s the eye’s attention. The entry, also above, features a bright green wall color with a large Hugo Guinness floral painting above a modern parsons table.

_{Photo: Simon Upton/New York Magazine}

The living room has such a layered, lived in feel to it which to me evokes a sense of warmth and comfort. Another decorative feature I love are the stacks of books impeccably styled on floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and on the coffee table. An eclectic mix of understated furnishings, arranged for conversation, includes vintage and antique pieces from London and New York, textiles from India and lust-worthy artwork borrowed from the Sears Peyton Gallery. Many of objects seen here and throughout the apartment are Rita’s own, collected from her travels, and the library of books was assembled with help from Lorin Stein of the Paris Review. A few more photos of the living space are below. I also really love the window seat which provides an amazing amount of additional seating for entertaining.

Here in the dining room is a Philippe Hurel table and chairs which belong to Konig and above hangs with a timeless, oversized Noguchi  pendant.

I really love the bold black and white floral wallpaper from Studio Four seen here.

Perhaps the apartment’s most coveted feature is this lovely little terrace that wraps around the apartment, decorated with a quaint wooden bench and teracotta planters filled with greenery.

The Moderne9 by James Huniford

Interior designer James Huniford designed an urban oasis for his three-bedroom, three-bath 3,351-square-foot model apartment at Manhattan House which is an homage to famed architect Gordon Bunshaft who designed the building in 1950. The space feels incredible calming with a neutral color palette and modern, tailored furnishings that invoke a sense of refined simplicity.

Much of the furniture in the space was designed by Huniford. I really love the subtle contrasts of textures used here – from bark wall covering, patterned hardwoods and nickel hardware to upholstered pieces covered in linen, distressed leather, horse hair and alpaca. I also love the selection of modern, abstract art which was sourced through Creative Growth - a California based organization and gallery that champions the the work of artists living with disabilities. This airy, serene space is truly a picture of luxury and elegance.

The Modern Manhattan by Celerie Kemble

Glamorous, and a whimsical are two words that define the signature style of designer Celerie Kemble and it’s obvious the Manhattan House model apartment she designed has no shortage of either. The 1,861-square-foot, floor-through residence has three-bedrooms, three-baths.

The space is filled with vintage textiles and eclectic 1960s furniture like these uniquely shaped rattan chairs that were likely a find from Kemble’s hometown of Palm Beach where she shops often. The chairs are the piéce de résistance in this swanky space that features a dramatic black lacquered strié on the walls, floating mirrors and lucite bookcases flanking a wood burning fireplace. The glossy black walls contrast nicely with the color palette of smoky grays, cream  and soft blush pinks.

Even the childrens’ room gets a stylish touch with vibrant apple green accents and hand painted done by Alpha Workshops on the upper walls and ceiling. The fun bunk beds, designed by Kemble, fold up to reveal a chalkboard on the underside…fun an chic! When can I move in?!

_{All photos by Jason Schmidt unless otherwise noted.}

_{Make it Happen and Follow Your Dreams notebooks, $75. Be Happy notebook, $60}.

Along with a new year comes new dreams, new aspirations and resolutions to improve ourselves and our lives. I recently declared “Make it Happen” my personal mantra for 2011 so when I came across this chic notebook emblazoned with those very words, I wanted it immediately! I’m thinking of getting this as my personal goal journal for the year. What better place to chronicle my hopes and aspirations than in a luxe pink leather notebook from Smythson of Bond Street?! There are several other equally colorful and stylish notebooks available at Smythson with inspirational sayings like “Follow Your Dreams, “Be Happy” and “Seize the Day.” You can check them all out here!

2010 was quite a year in the world of interior design and shelter media. From the retirement of America’s preeminent interior designer and the rise of digital shelter publications to the magazine masthead changes that rocked the design community, these were the industry’s biggest stories that made headlines in 2010.

1. The Legendary Albert Hadley Retires

After 60 some years working as an interior designer, Albert Hadley, also known as “The Dean of American Decorating”, retired in the Fall leaving behind a lasting legacy in the design world.

2. Stephen Drucker Leaves House Beautiful to Helm Town & Country

In April, the shelter magazine world was shaken up when Stephen Drucker – then Editor-in-chief of House Beautiful – announced he would be departing HB to take over Town & Country. Meanwhile, Town & Country’s Pamela Fiori took on a more broad-based Editor at Large role to work on books and other special projects.

3. Newell Turner Appointed Editor-in-Chief of House Beautiful

When Stephen Drucker stepped down at House Beautiful, the magazine’s Style Director Newell Turner stepped up to take the top spot as Editor-in-Chief.

4. Dara Caponigro Appointed Editor-in-Chief of Veranda

Also in April, former Domino Style Director Dara Caponigro was named Editor-in-Chief of Veranda, succeeding Lisa Newsom. Since Caponigro took over Veranda has never looked better!

5. Paige Rense Retires After 40 Years at Architectural Digest

In June, Paige Rense Noland, who spent 40 years at Architectural Digest and was the magazine’s top editor since 1975, announced her retirement at age 81 leaving everyone speculating who would take over her position.

6. Margaret Russell Leaves Elle Decor, Becomes Editor-in-Chief of Architectural Digest

Two months after Paige Rense revealed she was retiring it was announced that Margaret Russell would become AD’s Editor-in-Chief. That was a shock to many since Margaret Russell wasElle Decor, having been at the magazine since 1989, plus the publication was thriving. Russell’s keen eye and fresh point of view was much needed at the once dull AD. Michael Boodro ended up replacing Russell as Editor-in-Chief of Elle Decor by the way. (He was formerly Executive Editor).

7. The Nate Berkus Show Hits The Air

This September, cutie pie decorator and frequent Oprah Winfrey Show contributor Nate Berkus launched his own syndicated daytime talk show, giving decor obsessed fans across the America a much needed daily dose of design. The show is currently averaging around 1.2 million viewers per episode.

8. The Wall Street Journal Hires Deborah Needleman

After more than a year of laying low and enjoying a life of “heavenly housewifery,” former Domino Editor-in-Chief Deborah Needleman went back to work after being appointed Editor-in-Chief of WSJ Magazine – the Wall Street Journal’s glossy lifestyle magazine – and was also assigned to oversee the paper’s weekend “Off Duty” section. She has since hired several ex Domino staffers to join her team and all eyes are on WSJ to see how Needleman’s influence will take shape.

9. The Oval Office Redesign by Michael S. Smith is Revealed to Mixed Reviews

Before President Obama was even inaugurated, it was announced that California interior designer Michael Smith had been tapped to re-design the private quarters and a few public spaces of the White House. Decor lovers across America looked forward to seeing the newly designed spaces and we caught our first glimpse in September when Smith’s re-design of the famed Oval Office was revealed. The result was dubbed “The Audacity of Taupe” by The New York Times.

10. Lonny Magazine Turns One

Lonny, the pioneer of online shelter magazines, celebrated its one year anniversary in October. Lonny has been a hit with readers as well as advertisers and even the print publications are looking at the online magazine with a slightly jealous side eye. With millions of page views per month, ad dollars rolling in and cash infusions by venture capitalists to help fund it’s growth, Lonny is a bonafide success story that’s leading the pack in a whole new era of digital publishing for shelter media.

11. A Lonny Competitor Emerges, Several Online Shelter Magazines Follow

In September, Rue Magazine emerged as the first real competitor to Lonny, generating a ton of buzz on the design blogs and huge fan fare outside of the blogosphere including well-attended launch parties in New York and San Francisco.  And so the trend of bloggers-turned-editors ensued as we also saw the launches of Australian based Adore Home Magazine and Ivy & Piper. Several other US based bloggers partnered up to announce the launches of High Gloss and Matchbook magazines both of which will debut online later this month. Even the print media wants in on the action as Traditional Home announced that it’s partnering with the founders of Lonny to create a younger, hipper online-only spinoff called Trad Home. 2011 will surely be an exciting year for digital shelter magazines!

12. Emily Henderson Wins HGTV’s Design Star, Gets New Show

In January, LA based prop stylist Emily Henderson started a blog. In her very first post she declared that 2010 would be her best year ever and resolved to make radical moves that would change her life forever. By August a pilot episode of her own TV show called Secrets of a Stylist had aired on HGTV and the network quickly picked up 26 more episodes of the show which will begin airing in the  Spring. Emily was the winner of HGTV’s Design Star where her quirky personality and serious style won over the show’s judges and viewers, earning her a prime time slot on HGTV. Not bad, huh? This year there will be a ton of bloggers trying out for the  next season of Design Star so I’ll definitely be tuning in!

13. Curbed National Launches, Operation Dollhouse Ensues

Now this might not necessarily be a huge news story in the design industry, but in September real estate website Curbed launched a national edition focused on home and interiors and to promote the launch the site executed a highly publiczied “Operation Dollhouse” campaign that was sheer genius! Curbed sent empty dollhouses to 6 top shelter media outlets which included House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, Dwell, Martha Stewart Living and Lonny. Their challenge was to decorate and photograph the house and let the readers of Curbed vote on the winner. Martha Stewart Living declined to participate and HGTV stepped up to fill the void. Operation Dollhouse was taken very seriously and each house was meticulously decorated. Of course all of the participating media outlets blogged about it as did a ton of other design bloggers who quickly spread the news of Curbed’s launch throughout the interwebs. A huge coup for Curbed and good quality decor merriment for the rest of us. Elle Decor was ultimately crowned the winner. In an interesting spin, Martha Stewart Living – who didn’t want in on the initial action – sent Curbed some holiday cheer just a few weeks ago when it submitted a sugarplum fairy inspired Christmas dollhouse covered in candy! Better late than never!

Designers are like the rock stars of the design world…brimming with talent, possessing an impressive body of work and droves of admiring fans. After following the industry’s top interior designers for the past few years, I decided to compile a list of the designers who made the most headlines in 2010. Scroll down to read about four breakout stars and one design legend who are my picks for the 5 most buzzed about designers of the year.

1. Albert Hadley

Deemed “The Dean of  American Decorating”, the legendary Albert Hadley closed the curtains of his eponymous firm in 2010 and retired after more than 60 years of practicing interior design. This brilliant designer is best known for creating refined yet comfortable interiors that are timeless and classic. His esteemed clients have included The Kennedys (whose White House residence he decorated with his partner “Sister” Parish), Brooke Astor, Al and Tipper Gore, Happy Rockefeller and Oscar and Anette de la Renta. For much of his distinguished career, Hadley worked alongside Sister Parish at their firm Parish-Hadley Associates. After Parish’s death, Hadley launched Albert Hadley, Inc in 1999. One of his final projects was featured in the May 2010 issue of Elle Decor and Lonny scored the ultimate coup of an exclusive shoot in Hadley’s Upper East Side apartment for its December issue. Hadley was also honored last Fall at several prestigious design industry events and without a doubt his career will continue to be celebrated and his legacy will be lasting.

2. Massuco Warner Miller

The San Francisco based design trio consisting of Julie Massucco, Melissa Warner and Carrie Miller made major waves in 2010. Their firm Massuco Warner Miller was named one of Traditional Home’s Top 20 Young Designers to Watch and one of House Beautiful’s Next Wave of designers to watch. Their colorful, whimsical projects were also featured in several top shelter publications including Traditional Home’s April issue and the cover of House Beautiful’s May issue, both of which became instant fodder for countless design bloggers who fell head over heels for this firm’s fresh, neotraditional style.

3. Carrier & Company

Husband and wife design team Jesse Carrier and Mara Miller had a big year, garnering numerous accolades including being handpicked by Margaret Russell as one of the 5 up and coming designers to watch on Elle Decor’s first ever A-List. Elle Decor also published two Carrier & Company projects this year: the modernist Connecticut house belonging to writer and editor Jay Fielden and the office and showroom spaces of fashion designer Jason Wu which was also published in W and WWD. Another highlight was having the Long Island country home they designed for Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour published in prestigious pages of the World of Interiors. All of the coverage has resulted in the phones ringing nonstop at this New York based design firm which is now bustling with high profile design projects from Palm Beach to the Hamptons and everywhere in between.

4. Grant K. Gibson

San Francisco based designer and blogger Grant K. Gibson had the best year of his career. Fresh off the heels of an amazing New York Times feature at the end of 2009, Gibson roared into 2010 snagging numerous mentions in publications like Elle Decor and House Beautiful as well as features in the newly launched Rue and Anthology magazines. He was also one of Elle Decors chosen 5 designers to watch and had the honor of designing an uber chic deGournay covered teen girl’s bedroom for Elle Decor’s first ever show house which was a hit among the design blogs. And his own blog continues to be a hit with thousands of fans who love following Gibson’s adventures in decorating.

5. Elizabeth Bauer

Early in the year, interior designer Elizabeth Bauer was named one of Traditional Home’s 20 Young Designers to Watch and after having her stylish apartment and eponymous West Village shop featured in the June/July issue of Lonny, photos of Bauer’s work quickly flooded the design blogosphere where her bold, colorful and wildly patterned designs were a huge hit, helping to further fuel her buzz. Add to that mentions in Vogue, Real Simple, Country Living and gazillions of design blogs and that sums up to a pretty amazing year for this young designer!

2010 was an amazing year for So Haute! From a site re-design and having my traffic increase dramatically to hosting exciting events, receiving some great press and producing my first video, last year brought many successes to celebrate! I couldn’t be more proud of what I accomplished and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities that came my way, the relationships I built both on and offline and of course for you…all of my readers who are always so amazing and supportive. So as we kick off the New Year, I thought it would be fitting to celebrate and recap some So Haute’s great highlights from last year! Without further ado, here are some of my favorite moments of 2010:

1. Meeting some of my blogging buddies in person!

One  of my favorite things about blogging is the relationships I’ve built with other bloggers and in 2010 I had several opportunities to meet some of my favorite blogging and twitter buddies in person! It’s been so much fun cultivating these relationships and I’m glad I had so many opportunities to take my online relationships offline for a change! Pictured above are is just a selection of the bloggers I had a chance to get to know in person this year.
_{Top Left:  Me with Marianne from Haven & Home, Vicente Wolf and Camila from Effortless Style; Top Right: Me & Erika from Blu Label Bungalow (photo via Blu Label Bungalow); Middle Left: Me with Michelle Weibe and Eric Miller from Studio M (Photo via Studio M) and my Twitter buddy Barbara Barna; Middlle Right: me with Eddie Ross; Bottom Left: Me with Jenny from Little Green Notebook and Kirsten from Simply Grove (Photo via @simplygrove); Bottom Right: Me with Karen from Hammocks & High Tea, Anishka from Ishka Designs and Michelle from Holley & Gill (Photo via NYDC on Facebook).}

2. Launching a newly redesigned So Haute

Last year I debuted a brand new look on the blog with a cleaner and easier to navigate layout. The response was overwhelming and I’m so glad everyone is enjoying the new site! (& There are still more exciting updates to come in 2011!)

3. Hosting an event with four of America’s top interior designers

In July I hosted a cocktail party and panel discussion called Right Now in Design with top designers Nate Berkus, Laura Kirar, Steven Gambrel and Jesse Carrier along with my friends Josh Greene and Pierre Frey. It was such an incredible event and truly a proud moment for So Haute!

4. Producing my first video So Haute TV

I produced my first video for So Haute which was a behind the scenes look at Right Now in Design which featured interviews with the designers who participated. I plan to do more fun videos for the blog in 2011!

5. Launching my “Ask Nicole” advice column

I added a new advice column to the blog towards the end of last year and it’s been great fun reading all of your questions and helping you solve your design dilemmas! Keep em coming! (If you need design advice or help solving a decorating dilemma, email me at nicole {at} sohautestyle.com and your question could be featured on So Haute!)

6. Guest Blogging!

I was thrilled when three of my favorite bloggers asked me to guest blog for them! In case you missed my posts on La Dolce Vita, Brooklyn Limestone and Sacramento Street, you can check them out here, here and here. It was so fun putting together blog posts for a new audience and I really appreciate my fellow bloggers giving me the opportunity! Thanks to Paloma, Stefanie and Caitlin! xo

7. Hosting Events for NYDC and Editor at Large

In September I hosted an event during the NYDC‘s What’s New What’s Next event and was able to meet some of my readers in person at the Bograd Kids showroom. As interactive as blogging is, it’s still a distant interaction so It was wonderful to get to actually meet some of my blog readers and supporters face to face! In October I hosted a social media workshop with the Editor at Large during Fall Market at the D&D where I also got to meet more readers and do some social media consulting. It was another welcome opportunity to meet some of my blog readers in person and I loved being able to share my blogging and social media knowledge and tips with others! I hope to participate in more events like these in 2011!

8. Garnering coverage in a few of my favorite print and online shelter publications

I was fortunate enough to receive some great press coverage for myself and So Haute in 2010! In August Apartment Therapy featured a tour of my home which ended up being one of AT’s most popular house tours of the year! HGTV.com included my expert tips on layering rugs in an online feature that hit the web in September. I was featured on Lonny’s October/November issue “Blogger Style” page which was truly an honor! In November I was included in a roundup of designer’s coat closets for House Beautiful and made the cover of Glo in a feature about the top 10 home decor experts to watch! Receiving recognition in such top media outlets was beyond thrilling! I still have to pinch myself!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!! Thanks for sticking along for the ride during such an exciting year in 2010 and I’m looking forward to another incredible year in 2011!