The first floor living room at Maison de Luxe designed by Jamie Drake
I just returned from LA where I was invited by Luxe Interiors + Design to attend the opening of the Maison de Luxe show house at the storied Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Luxe editor-in-chief Pamela Jaccarino tapped 26 of the country’s top interior designers to re-imagine the living spaces of this 46,000 square foot landmark and each room was completely captivating! It was truly one of the best lineups of design talent and one of the most stunning show houses I’ve ever seen. I took a ton of pictures…so many in fact that I’m going to split them up into three posts highlighting my favorite rooms and I’m so excited to share them with you. Let’s take a peek inside Maison de Luxe starting with the exquisite first floor living room designed by Jamie Drake!
First Floor Living Room – Jamie Drake
This is the spectacular entry to the room. The house itself was beautifully architected with intricate moldings, ceiling beams and many stunning details.
Jamie’s room is one of the crowning jewels of Maison de Luxe. Known for his bold use of color, Jamie created a vibrant space with stunning visual details.
Jamie’s room showcased a sick assemblage of artwork including the insane, oversized painting by Lana Gomez above the sofa and the Peter Gronquist scupltures in the window which feature taxidermied deer with 24K gold plated machine guns as antlers.
Card Room & Grand Hall – Michelle Nussbaumer
Dallas interior designer Michelle Nussbaumer designed the grand hall/card room which is front and center when you walk through the doors of Greystone so she pulled out all the stops to create a truly captivating space.
Michelle’s room featured furniture from her must-visit shop Celyon et Cie as well as fabrics from Duralee and her own collection. The textiles are what really makes this room standout. The wall covering is from Gracie Studio.
Mr. Doheny’s Bedroom & Massage Room – Martyn Lawrence Bullard
If you’re as much of a fan of Martyn Lawrence Bullard as I am you’ll know there’s only one phrase that seems appropriate to describe this space: “totally delicious!”
The star of Martyn’s bedroom for Maison de Luxe was most certainly the textiles which are from his recently launched collection for Schumacher. I love the way he mixed so many interesting patterns which all work well together thanks to a unified palette of neutral tones. I also loved the faux ivory “Jaipur” bed from Martyn’s furniture collection which is covered in a canopy made from his Schumacher fabrics.
One of the things I love so much about Martyn’s signature style is how he infuses a sense of global style into his rooms. Here, there are many exotic accents such as intricate inlaid mirror and chair and perfectly chosen desk and accessories which lend an eclectic feeling to this bedroom. This was definitely one of my favorite rooms in the showhouse.
I’m sure you know that Martyn stars in the hit Bravo series Million Dollar Decorators and at the opening gala for Maison de Luxe Martyn and the rest of the cast were being followed around by camera crews filming season two of the series which was quite fun to watch.
And of course no decadent master suite is complete without a personal massage room…draped in Hermes no less! (They don’t call Martyn a Million Dollar Decorator for nothing – ha!) Stay tuned for upcoming posts highlighting more of the Maison de Luxe showhouse including rooms by Nathan Turner, Woodson & Rummerfield, Kathryn Ireland, Phillip Gorrivan and more. And if you’re in LA be sure to check out the showhouse which is on view December 2nd-22nd. Admission is $35 and proceeds benefit the Friends of Greystone which manage the preservation of this historic mansion. For more details on the show house including the full list of participating designers and link to purchase tickets click here.
All photos by Nicole Gibbons for So Haute
On Monday evening I had the pleasure of attending Elle Decor’s second annual Women in Design event which celebrated five leading women in the design industry. The event featured a panel discussion moderated by editor-in-chief Margaret Russell with designers Holly Hunt, Michelle Nussbaumer, Kelly Wearstler and Charlotte Moss, who was honored with a special Vision Award. (Josie Natori was also one of Elle Décor’s five chosen women but she was unable to attend.) Charlotte Moss, whom I admire greatly, was the lively one of the bunch and kept the audience laughing. Holly Hunt was very graceful and poised and also extremely open and honest. She spoke frankly about how she became successful and the many mistakes she’s made. I truly appreciated her candor and I know the audience did too. I have to admit I wasn’t well informed about Michelle Nussbaumer and her work so it was great to have an opportunity to get an introduction to what she’s all about in her own words. I admire her creative abilities as well as her ability to run a successful business which requires her to travel all over the world and balance all of that with raising four children and having a fulfilled family life. The fashionable Kelly Wearstler didn’t disappoint on the style front, showing up in suede over-the-knee boots with leggings and a silk tunic topped with a black tuxedo jacket and plenty of chic accessories. I was surprised to observe that Kelly, whose designs are known for being bold, colorful, over-the-top and full of
energy, is actually quite soft spoken in person.
It was so inspiring to hear these women speak and see that they are more than just talented designers but also successful entrepreneurs and innovators in their field. I also liked the fact that each of the women possess a very distinct aesthetic and point of view on design which allowed each of them to bring a unique perspective to the panel. I enjoyed the discussion so much that I thought I’d share a some of the observations and insights from the panel that resonated with me the most. Here are some of my top takeaways from these phenomenal women that I thought you might find interesting.
On being an entrepreneur…
- Michelle Nussbaumer said being an entrepreneur in design extends way beyond simply having a good eye. You also have to understand the keys to running a successful business. She also stressed that women in design often struggle with with finding a good work life balance and having the ability to balance family life with with the responsibilities of running a business is extremely important.
- Holly Hunt said that in order to be a run a successful business you have to be able to take risks. The largest risks often reap the most reward.
On making mistakes…
- Michelle admitted that she once slipcovered a desk and it turned out awful. The client couldn’t even open the drawers! It was quite funny but also refreshing to hear that even the top interior designers in the world make mistakes. Each of the panelists shared similar stories but they all agreed that how you learn from your mistakes is what allows you to grow as a designer and a business woman.
On what makes a room timeless…
- Charlotte Moss spoke about the fact that it’s not a physical element that identifies a timeless room but rather an inviting atmosphere of comfort and livability.
- Holly’s point of view is that it’s all in the energy of the room and that timelessness is not about how the room looks but how it feels.
On staying organized…
- Charlotte writes everything down and keeps a separate notebook in every room of her house as well as in her handbag. I too write everything down and carry a notebook just about everywhere…It definitely helps me keep my thoughts organized.
- Holly said she never quite feels organized and that she’s sometimes overwhelmed by the mounds of papers on her desk. If you could see my desk right now you’ll see that I could use some help in this area too! It’s not pretty!
On presenting to clients…
- Both Michelle and Charlotte said they use inspiration boards as a starting point for their projects. They both stressed that their design process is much more organic and that they try to avoid what Charlotte described as “design plan fixation.” They prefer to use their inspiration boards to set the mood and feeling of the project and go from there.
On re-charging ones creative juices….
- Kelly Wearstler believes it’s important to constantly fuel your vision and be inspired by new things. She personally loves to travel to re-charge her creative juices and if you don’t have the opportunity to travel you can simply visit a museum or flip through some vintage design books. The important thing is that you’re always surrounding yourself with new sources of inspiration.
On the term decorator vs designer….
- Margaret Russell says her writers at Elle Decor use the terms decorator and designer interchangeably, mostly to avoid word repetition, and that they don’t place too much emphasis or importance on one term vs the other.
- Charlotte, providing a bit of comic relief to an otherwise serious discussion, replied “I don’t care what you call me as long as you pay my bills on time!” Gotta love Charlotte Moss!
On decorating their own homes…
- Someone asked the panelists whether it’s harder to design for themselves or their clients. For Kelly Wearstler it’s easier to design for herself because if she makes a mistake or buys a piece of furniture that ends up not working in her space she can just put it in storage…but with clients there’s less room and little tolerance for such mistakes.
- The rest of the panelists all agreed that it’s harder to design for themselves because there are simply too many choices and the choices and options can get overwhelming. I thought this would be a nice statement to close with because I talk to people all the time who are decorating and feel stuck because they are overwhelmed with choices which can seem quite daunting. My best bit of advice is to trust your gut and buy what you love…and if you can’t figure out a way to make it all work, hire a decorator!
