A reader recently emailed me to ask if I could identify the wallpaper in this Miles Redd designed room which I posted here on the blog several times in the past…it’s one of my favorites! You may already be familiar with its maker but if not, this isn’t just any wallpaper… it’s de Gournay, an exquisite hand painted wallcovering which at a cost of around $650 and up per panel, is truly a luxury. The brand specializes in reproductions of historic prints particularly 18th century Chinoiserie and 19th century French designs. Here are a few other example of genuine de Gournay goodness:

Since a fine hand painted wall covering like de Gournay may be out of reach for many, here are some similar papers that can help you achieve the look for less:

1. Vanuatu Twilight. $198/roll available at Anthropologie.com.

2. The India Paper by Cole & Son. Approx $196/roll available to the trade through Lee Jofa.

3. “Newman” from Thibaut’s Gatehouse collection. Approx $104/roll available to the trade through Thibaut showrooms.

4. Large Rose & Vine by The Wallpaper Company. $44.98/bolt at Home Depot.

5. Pattern #SW2AH189 from York Wallcovering. $29.99/roll. Available through Sherwin-Williams.

_{Top photo by Paul Costello}

_{A fabulous bedroom vignette by Alan Tanskly. (I LOVED the John Robshaw bedding!)}

A couple of weeks ago I attended the opening night party for Housing Works’ annual Design on a Dime fundraiser. Housing Works is a wonderful charity and chain of thrift shops in New York City that benefits homeless and low-income people living with HIV & AIDS. Each year the organization hosts a shopping fundraiser and enlists some of the top names in design to create fabulous room vignettes with donated, brand new luxury home furnishings as well as vintage and antique pieces which are sold at 50-80% off retail with all proceeds going to Housing Works. This year’s roster of participating designers included James Huniford (who chaired the event), Charlotte Moss, Ernest de la Torre, Steven Sclaroff, Steven Gambrel, Laura Kirar, Miles Redd, Nathan Thomas, Jarrett Yoshida, Laura Bohn, Todd Romano and more! I was so excited that I was able to meet many of the designers at the event and had the opportunity talk with them about their room vignettes and exciting projects they had coming up. I had a special post planned featuring interviews and insider information from the designers (especially some fun stuff from Miles Redd) but I recorded all of the interviews on my blackberry which was recently stolen so unfortunately I lost everything:( Instead I’ll simply leave you with pictures of some of my favorite room vignettes of the night along with a few of my own anecdotes.

One of my favorite vignettes was this one from Miles Redd who is the ultimate maximalist.

His room definitely illustrates the idea that sometimes “more is more”!

I loved his chic bar table!

This is a vignette by Steven Gambrel whose style has such a modern yet classic American sensibility. This room looked as if it belonged in a chic Hamptons beach house.

Todd Romano designed this vignette. I loved that ticking stripe settee and the juxtaposition of the comic book pop art over the antique bureau.

I fell in love with the wallpaper in this room by designer Brett Beldock. I have to admit that before this event I wasn’t familiar with Beldock or her company Brett Design but now I’m a fan! She has a line of fabulous wall coverings which includes this butterfly scenic pattern which is one of her latest designs.

It sort of reminds me of de Gournay or Gracie and is a modern take on a very traditional Chinoiserie motif. The wallpaper is vinyl and self-adhesive which makes both installation and maintenance super easy. You can see this and more of Beldock’s wall coverings here.

The bold blue walls in this room by Daniel Pafford really jumped out at me. If you recall, Pafford was named one of Domino magazine’s 10 young designers to watch back before the magazine folded. I’d say Pafford has definitely come into his own since then!

Another designer I was unfamiliar with before the event was Oskar Torres who designed the bedroom vignette above. I fell in love with that chandelier above the bed and contemplated buying it but when I went back to get it someone had already snapped it up! Although I didn’t end up buying anything at this year’s Design on a Dime, I didn’t exactly leave empty handed. I met lots of great people and left the event feeling incredibly inspired by all of the ideas and creativity on display! Can’t wait to go back again next year! For more info on Housing Works and how you can support its programs, visit their website here.

_{Christopher Spitzmiller}

I’ve been eying a number of gourd lamps like the ones above for my living room. I love this style of lamp not just for the beauty of its shape but for the symbolism that the gourd represents. The gourd is most commonly recognized as a symbol of longevity and good fortune, stemming from ancient eastern traditions where the gourd was once used as a drinking vessel. These bottle gourds were carved from a gourd fruit which is thick-skinned, oddly shaped and similar in nature to a squash or a pumpkin.

The fruits were often dried and then hallowed out into a vessel used to store and drink water or rice wine. In Taoist and Budhist traditions, it was believed that the gourd was filled with the nectar of longevity and health which was consumed by the Gods. In Feng Shui, it is believed that the gourd, when placed in one’s home, will bring longevity and good luck into the lives of its inhabitants. It’s no wonder why we’ve seen gourd shaped lamps used in interiors for so long! Here are some of the gourd lamps that I’m obsessed with right now:

_{Ridged Single Gourd Lamp}

If money were no object I’d buy a pair of Chritopher Spitzmiller’s beautifully handcrafted lamps which range in price from $650-$2250 per lamp. I’d take any of the above!

_{Robert Abbey Double Gourd Lamp}

_{My all-time favorite room by Miles Redd}

_{Schuyler Samperton}

_{Tobi Fairley}

Lately I’ve been loving the look of simple four poster canopied beds. Perhaps it was this photo from an old issue of Domino that first ignited my canopy love…

This steel campaign style canopy bed was featured in one of my favorite rooms designed by Miles Redd. Before settling on a custom upholstered headboard for my own bedroom, I considered getting a bed just like this one but at the time I felt my room was too small to pull it off.

Here’s a similar bed in a room designed by Carrier and Company. Even with the simplicity of the thin wrought iron frame the bed still has a feeling of grandeur.

I also like this one in a stylish bedroom by Kim Alexandriuk.

This canopy bed in a room by Peter Dunham feels very strong and architectural. I used to think that a canopy bed in a small space was too grand of a gesture but since seeing this photo I’ve changed my point of view.

In this room, also by Peter Dunham, the addition of light airy draperies to the canopy lends a romantic feeling to the room.

Dunham often incorporates this look into his bedroom designs and the above photo is yet another example. I LOVE this bedroom….so pretty!

Cairo Canopy Bed. $999 for a queen. More options here.

This is another version of the Cairo Canopy Bed but with a bell top. A queen with finials is $1299. More info here.

If you want to add the romance to your canopy bed a great DIY option is to purchase inexpensive drapery panels and simply attach them to your canopy. Your drapes should be  long enough to just touch the floor. The Vivan drapes above are from Ikea and cost just $14.99 for a pair! You can fasten these to your canopy with simple drapery rings that have clips attached.

Tab top draperies are another great option as they don’t require any hardware to attach them to the canopy. The ones above from Pottery Barn are just $6.99 per panel!

I recently became acquainted with the gorgeous work of Santa Monica based interior designer Kim Alexandriuk and as soon as I saw her portfolio I thought to myself that her style reminded me of Michael S. Smith who also happens to be one of my favorite decorators. I knew there was a reason that I became an instant fan…After reading her bio I learned that she spent six years of her career working for Smith! The similarities between Alexandriuk’s work and Smith’s are uncanny. Both have a very polished look, grounded in traditionalism with lots of ethnic influences woven throughout and a few modern elements thrown in for good measure. Designers often borrow ideas and source inspiration from one another and its inevitable that after working for a well established designer for a number of years, the younger protégé’s work will be heavily influenced by that of her former mentor. I wouldn’t doubt it if Alexandriuk utilizes the same resources and craftsmen that she discovered while working for Smith. In the photo above from Alexandriuk’s portfolio, a chinoiserie screen is used as a backdrop for a chic seating arrangement. Below is photo of another beautiful room designed by Alexandriuk in which she incorporates this same design element.

This is an idea that Smith uses quite often in his designs. Below is a room in Smith’s Bel Air home as featured in the March 2007 issue of Elle Decor.

The room is also featured on the cover of Smith’s newest book, Houses, which I just purchased. (The book, by the way is amazing!)

Here’s another room designed by Smith where he incorporates a chinoiserie screen as a backdrop for a well dressed bed. Smith is such a master at mixing various ethnic elements and this room is no exception. The artful mix of the suzani bedspread, threadbare oriental rug and the chinoiserie screen is perfection.

Here is the living room in Smith’s home. Notice the many layers of patten here in the rug, the sofa upholstery, the throw pillows, etc. There are also many ethnic influences here, especially in the textiles.

The photo below is of an Alexandriuk designed living room which has a very similar look and feel to Smith’s room above. The most striking commonality is the masterful layering of pattern.

After spending time comparing the work of  Michael S. Smith and Kim Alexandriuk I thought it might be fun to compare the work of a few more of my favorite designers and their protégés to see how the styles of the younger designers were influenced by their well established counterparts…

Miles Redd & Nick Olsen

Designer Miles Redd is known for making bold statements in design. He has a passion for color, loves to combine disparate textural elements, embraces maximalism and isn’t afraid of the hi-low mix. The photo below is a perfect example of an artfully cluttered yet polished looking Redd designed room.

I’ve long admired Celerie Kemble and her youthful, modern approach to traditional design. Rather than adopting a “signature style,” Kemble feels its more important to let her clients taste and personality guide her design approach. Creating spaces that are a true reflection of its owner is the premise behind Kemble’s new book, To Your Taste, which is due to hit shelves on November 4. I can’t wait!

This photo is one of my favorites from Sara Gilbane. She too loves to frame her beds with curtains but rather than using a full canopy like Kemble, she seems to prefer a smaller valance with curtains cascading just at the head of the bed.

Here’s another Gilbane designed bedroom which also features a curtained valance framing the top of the bed. I love Gilbane’s choice of ethnic inspired fabrics here and in the photo above. Her generous use of ethnic prints and patterns could be one detail that sets Gilbane apart from Kemble, who’s seems to use such prints a bit more sparingly.

Markham Roberts and Ashley Whittaker
Just like Michael Bargo, up-and-coming interior designer Ashley Whittaker was also included on the Domino 10 list in 2007. Whittaker got her training working under renowned designer Markham Roberts and its obvious that he influenced her design style significantly. Robert is a traditionalist at heart. His rooms are classic, well tailored and filled with doses of fresh color. Whittaker shares a similar design sensibility.

This living room was designed by Roberts for the home of a young family in Connecticut.

And here is a living room designed by Whittaker for clients on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Similarly, Whittaker also chose wicker furniture to dress up a sunroom in this Southampton home.

Whittaker and Roberts both seem to have an affinity for blue and white in the bedroom. Here is a bedroom that Roberts designed for his Washington summer home. The curtain framed bed looks so romantic and inviting. I’m really starting to love this look.

Here’s another blue and white bedroom by Roberts.

This bedroom was designed by Roberts. It has a very similar look and feel to the Roberts designed bedroom above. Again, I’m really loving the canopied bed with curtains.

A design element that I’ve seen repeated in various Markham Roberts’ projects is the use of large blue and white porcelain jars placed on the floor under console tables or in an empty corner.

Whittaker often uses the same design trick. Here, she placed two large ginger jars underneath a stylish Asian console table.

Thomas O’Brien and Michael Bargo

You may remember Michael Bargo from being on the “Domino 10″ list of decorators to watch in 2007. This former assistant to Thomas O’Brien started his own decorating firm at the age of 24 and his work is definitely reflective of his former mentor’s style in many ways. Take his apartment below which was featured in the April ’07 issue of Domino.

This is O’Brien’s bedroom as featured in Elle Décor. Although O’Brien’s apartment has a separate bedroom, he chose to put his bed in the living room, while the bedroom became a dressing room and study. O’Brien’s living/sleeping room has a light, airy quality with its bright white walls and notice the, simple bed frame. Perhaps Bargo looked to O’Brien for inspiration before beginning the design of his own place?

This is Bargo’s office area. Controlled clutter is the theme here.

In O’Brien’s study, clutter is organized in a stylish vintage secretary. A plush chocolate brown sofa provides seating.