_{Me & Windsor Smith!}

Very recently I spent 11 days in LA, doing a little work, having a bit of fun and meeting some pretty amazing people including my design idol Windsor Smith whom I’m pictured with above. Right before I headed to the airport to jet back to New York I was able to spend some time with Windsor for a long chat about her design work and career as well as her newest venture, Room in a Box. I was also lucky enough to get a grand tour of her AMAZING home that we all saw and loved in House Beautiful. I almost had to pinch myself! I’ve spent a ton of time in LA since I was a young girl and this was truly one of the best trips I’ve had. During my days off from working I totally immersed myself in LA’s design scene and packed my schedule with a slew of meetings and visits to some of LA’s best design shops…all of which I can’t wait to share with you! Here are a few highlights from my trip…

_{My room at the Chamberlain West Hollywood}

I stayed at my favorite hotel which is the Chamberlain West Hollywood and since I hadn’t stayed there in about a year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the rooms and bathrooms had been re-decorated.

_{The desk area in my room at the Chamberlain West Hollywood}

The rooms still have that mid century modern vibe going on but they’re a bit more tailored with more pops of color than before.

_{Beautiful bathroom floors at the Chamberlain West Hollywood}

I was totally inspired by the pattern of the tiles as well as the veining of the marble on the bathroom floors.

_{The wallpaper in interior designer Kristen Panitch’s Santa Monica office}

I also had an opportunity to visit the home and office of Kristen Panitch, who is another one of my favorite designers. Above is a sneak peek at the wallpaper in her office. Can you say STUNNING?! Kristen was such a delight and I really enjoyed getting to know her. I also got a little peek inside her home which you’ll soon see in one of your favorite shelter magazines! I’ll be sharing a few more peeks of her gorgeous office as well as a recap of our conversation in an upcoming post so stay tuned!

_{Amber Lewis of Amber Interiors}

During my trip I also had the pleasure of meeting a couple of my favorite bloggers whom I’ve long admired. Above is interior designer Amber Lewis who you may know from her witty and popular blog Amber Interiors. This woman is beautiful,  funny and totally talented. She can DIY like nobody’s business and not only does she have an amazing home, she also happens to have the most adorable family ever. Another blogger that I was totally psyched to meet was Michal Spitzer from the blog Style Curator. She and I have been Twitter buddies for like ever so I was beyond excited to meet her in person!

_{Peter Dunham’s Hollywood at Home}

In between all of my meetings I checked out a few must-see design shop and art galleries including Hollywood at Home ( one of my favorites!), Hillary Thomas’ newly opened Chic Shop, Nickey Kehoe and M+B gallery to name a few.

_{The short rib sandwich at Joan’s on Third}

And what’s a great trip without great food so of course I indulged in a few amazing meals at some of my favorite places to eat in LA! Above is a to-die-for short rib sandwich from Joan’s on Third which I’ve blogged about before. I ate two of these buttery slices of heaven while in town.

_{Il Sole. Photo via Eater LA}

I also had an amazing dinner at the newly remodeled il Sole in West Hollywood. (Get the fettuccine with prawns in a light spicy tomato sauce if you go!)

_{Eveleigh. Photo via Eveleigh}

Another place I checked out for dinner is a relatively new restaurant that’s been getting a ton of buzz called Eveleigh which has a great atmosphere, amazing drinks and pretty good food. I think I must have hit up all of LA’s trendiest and most buzzworthy places because in addition to the above I ate lots of fish tacos, about a half dozen cookies from Milk, exactly three cupcakes from Sprinkles, one Umami Burger (which I found slightly disappointing) and more sugary sweet lemonades from Lemonade than I can count. And after about six days of straight gluttony I bought into another trendy ‘to do’ and went on a juice cleanse! (As If I couldn’t buy anymore into the hype lol!)

_{Juices from the Pressed Juicery}

I paid a visit to the Pressed Juicery in Brentwood and got 2 days worth of cleansing and detoxifying juices which I consumed at the tail end of my trip and I have to say the juices exceeded my expectations. They were a little on the expensive side but really yummy and refreshing. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on food and I felt so much better after just 2 days of a mostly liquid diet. (I cheated a little and had salads for dinner!) I would highly recommend checking out the Pressed Juicery or a similar cleanse available in your area.

_{LA’s Nuart Landmark Theatre}

Finally, I made it my mission to go see the documentary Bill Cunningham New York while in LA (ironic) since I wasn’t able to see it during the film’s limited run in New York. The film gave a poignant look at the life and career of the iconic New York Times photographer and I was so inspired by Bill’s intense passion for staying true to himself and doing what he loves. Go see it if you can! Also – be sure to check back over the next few weeks as I’ll be posting more in depth stories about my design adventures in LA including profiles on some of the incredible people I met and places I saw! Stay tuned!

_{All watermarked photos above were taken by Nicole Gibbons for So Haute}

_{Photo: Mooncici’s Etsy Shop}

I recently returned from a week long trip to Los Angeles and I’m already wishing I was back there! I LOVE LA! I was in town for work and then extended my trip into a long weekend and had such an awesome time. I’ve been to LA many times over the years and never gave the city any serious thought but lately the sunshine, palm trees and laid back California lifestyle have begun to seduce me and I find myself daydreaming about living there. Here’s a recap of my week long trip. The post is quite long so while you’re reading, I’ll be away plotting out my master plan to get to LA permanently:)

I usually stay at The Chamberlain whenever I’m in town but this time I decided to try the SLS Beverly Hills which is a relatively new hotel designed by Philipe Starck. The hotel is situated on La Cienega and San Vicente right near the Beverly Center mall and easily accessibly to West Hollywood, the Sunset strip and the La Cienega design district. The hotel’s interiors are bold, sleek and modern and rumor has it Philipe Stark was given a $100million budget to design the property. Above is the guest lobby which leads into Tres, one of the hotel’s restaurants. There is a separate lobby for visitors dining at The Bazaar, which is a popular restaurant also located within the SLS. One of the only drawbacks of the SLS (and this is totally subjective) is that it turns into a bit of a scene at night with all the people coming in and out of The Bazaar and you feel as though you’re walking past a nightclub when you arrive to the hotel at night. Thank goodness for the separate lobbies! Another feature of note is the hotel’s gift shop curated by Moss, the unique furnishings and accessories gallery based in Soho.

The guest rooms were minimal and chic although not necessarily practical. My room looked exactly like the the one above. It was actually quite dark and there were smoky gray mirrors on just about every wall surface including in the bathroom. It definitely looked cool but made simple tasks like putting on makeup a challenge! Still, the space was intimate and cozy and the bed comfortable enough to allow for a good night’s sleep. And the service at the hotel was outstanding!

Perhaps the best feature of the SLS Beverlyl Hills is its rooftop pool area. On the left is a shallow 18 inch wading pool with cold, refreshing water and on the right is a slightly heated swimming pool.

Cabanas, lounge chairs, huge canopied daybeds and colorful Louis style armchairs by sixinch surround the pool creating a very stylish lounge like atmosphere designed for relaxation. As soon as I finished with all of my work obligations, I spent much of my free time here enjoying the sun! One not of caution is that on the weekends, the pool area gets a bit scene-y with loud music and a younger crowd…fun for people watching but not for relaxing. Overall though, I definitely enjoyed my stay at the SLS.

On the Saturday of my trip I met up with designer Kishani Perera for lunch at the trendy LA eatery Joan’s on Third. Kishani filled me in on her upcoming feature in the June issue of House Beautiful on stands next month! (Congrats Kishani!) She also just joined twitter and you can follow here. As much time as I’ve spent in LA, I’d actually never been Joan’s before! If you’re not familiar, Joan’s is a gourmet marketplace and restaurant often seen in paparazzi pictures because of all of its celebrity fans who eat there regularly.

At lunch I ordered this sandwich filled with short rib, melted Monterey Jack cheese, arugula and sweet caramelized onions on buttery grilled country bread. The sandwich was featured on the cover of Bon Appétit’s February 2010 issue and I swear it tastes as good as it looks in this photo! I loved it so much I went back 2 days later for another one!

Another restaurant I was dying to check out was Blue Plate Oysterette in Santa Monica. It’s a sister restaurant to Blue Plate, also in Santa Monica, but this spin-off specializes in seafood fare. I had heard lots of buzz not just about the food but also about the restaurant’s interiors which were designed by Tim Clarke. The food was delicious. I enjoyed a classic lobster roll with sweet potato chips and my boyfriend (who joined me in LA for the weekend) had fish tacos…both equally amazing. We at outside on cute blue wooden picnic tables while looking out at the beach which is located directly across the street.

Here’s a shot of the restaurant’s open kitchen. I would highly recommend checking out Blue Plate Oysterette if you’re ever in the area and you can find more info on their website here. Thanks for reading my ridiculously long recap of my trip LA! xoxo

Sorry I’ve been MIA! Work and life have been crazy! I spent 5 days in LA last week for work so I thought I’d give you a little recap of all of the design related stories from my trip…good and bad. Let’s start with one of my favorite hotels, The Chamberlain West Hollywood.

Let me start by saying that I had really high expectations for Maison 140. When I arrived I was expecting valet service and bellhops to take my car and help me with my luggage. But when I pulled up front and no one came to greet my car I was confused. Then I realized the hotel had a self-park lot. At first I thought to myself, “Free parking! Great! Totally makes up for having to schlep my bags inside all by myself.” But nope, $24 per night to self park. Sort of annoying but I rationalized it against the fact that I was saving money in valet tips.

The Chamberlain Hotel’s Exterior

I’m heading to LA tomorrow for work and am psyched to be staying at another one of my favorite hotels…The Chamberlain in West Hollywood. You must know that I’m admittedly a bit of a hotel snob. I love to stay in hotels with gorgeous interiors, a great restaurant and, if it’s in a warm weather locale, it has to have an amazing pool. I also really appreciate a quiet, low-key ambiance. I hate to stay in a hotel that’s so hip and cool you feel like you’re in a nightclub. Fortunately, The Chamberlain encompasses everything I could ever want in a hotel. Aside from its stylish decor, it’s tucked away on an quiet, inconspicuous residential block and the vibe is so tranquil you’d never know you were right around the corner from some of LA’s busiest streets. It’s the perfect place for the busy business traveler, the paparazzi shy celeb seeking a quiet refuge, or the stylish vacationer looking for chic and relaxing retreat.

Top, the hotel’s reception area. Below, a sitting area in the lobby.

The Chamberlain’s interiors were designed by David McCauley, a Kelly Wearstler protégé. The fact that McCauley is KWID alum is not surprising as The Chamberlain’s decor is very Wearstler-esque with it’s Hollywood Regency meets Asia feel. McCauley worked with Wearstler on the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica among other projects, and interestingly, The Chamberlain and The Viceroy are both owned by Wearstler’s husband, hotelier Brad Korzen. Many of the interiors in Korzen’s other Kor Hotel Group properties were done by Wearstler including Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, The Avalon in Beverly Hills, the Viceroy in Palm Springs and the Tides South Beach among others.

A guest room

The Chamberlain’s 112 rooms feature a very serene blue and gray color scheme. Another feature I love is that every room has a fireplace…not that you ever need one in LA but it’s such a luxury and makes the rooms feel extra cozy. The only drawback is that the views from the rooms aren’t that great. I’ve stayed there several times and each time my room had a horrible view. But in the hotel’s defense, it is only a four story hotel so I doubt any of the rooms have truly spectacular views. Since we’re on the subject of views let’s discuss the hotel’s pool.

The uber chic rooftop pool

The INCREDIBLE 360 degree view from the hotel’s rooftop pool more than makes up for the bad views from the rooms. From the pool area you can see Beverly Hills, Downtown LA as well as the Hollywood Hills. The pool is on the small side but it’s oh-so-stylish, surrounded by chic cabanas and lounge chairs as well as a large lounging cabana off to the side which you can’t see in the photo. Even if you’re not up for a swim it’s the perfect place to lounge and have lunch in the daytime or chill out with a bottle of wine and some friends in the evening. I’m kind of bummed because the weather won’t be quite warm enough for laying out during my visit:-(

The Bistro

The Chamberlain’s intimate restaurant bistro is equally as chic as the rest of the hotel and has amazing food as well. I love the green tufted leather banquettes. The restaurant also has an outdoor patio that’s surrounded by palm trees. I love dining al fresco…especially in beautiful, sunny places. I’m so looking forward to getting out of cold New York and can’t wait to check in to The Chamberlain!

***UPDATE***

So after reading this blog entry my mom called me immediately to tell me that  in the early 70′s she used to LIVE in the building that is now the Chamberlain! At the time it was just a rental apartment building. How ironic?! She lived there for 2 years in her early 20′s and just after she moved they turned it in to a hotel called Le Dufe, then it was the Summerfield Suites and now it’s the Chamberlain. She also said that when she lived there she and her then boyfriend once found a dead man on the rooftop sitting in a lounge chair by the jacuzzi. They called the police and afterward learned that the man had suffered a heart attack and had been dead for several hours. Creepy. Anyway…just thought I’d share!