PARIS - You may not know David Jimenez, but it's certain you'll know his work, for he has played a major part in developing the very specific aesthetics of Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware and Williams Sonoma.
MONTREAL - We first came across the Old Montreal (Vieux-Montréal) apartment of Lauren MacLean (@livingbylo) on the Apartment Therapy Instagram page and immediately fell in love with its impossible chicness. MacLean, who has "always been very passionate about interior design and beautiful spaces" works in the corporate world by day, using decorating as a creative outlet. "I believe your surroundings can really influence your state of mind so I try to create spaces that are not only visually attractive, but also carry a peaceful energy, paying attention to all the senses" she says. Her Montreal home, which has all the charm of a Paris apartment with its crown moulding and boiserie, a stone fireplace and herringbone floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and floods of light, also has a surprise back terrace filled with white trelliage and a myriad plants...
If only every unsightly television could be encased behind the two-way glass of a giant gilded mirror above the fireplace mantle as in the suites of The Ritz. If not, then the next best thing would be to hide a television in plain sight.
After happening upon the stunning powder room featured in this week's Weekend Links @graciestudio on Instagram earlier this week, had decided to find out more about this beautiful renovation and discovered that it belonged to Adam and Amber Ford, a husband and wife team living in Knoxville, Tennessee. The pair have been living in and designing their first home, a 1940's Tudor, since May 2016 and document everything on their blog, The Happy Tudor. Scroll through for a glimpse of this fresh and elegant guest bath that features stunning handpainted Gracie wallpaper, glossy subway tile, boiserie, unlacquered brass fixtures and golden accents throughout...
CHICAGO - Even though have been curbing social media use as much as possible as per this year's New Year's Resolutions, it is still a part of my work, and happily there are still some lovely and inspiring things to be found from time to time. Such was the utterly stunning home of Chicago-based artist, designer and tastemaker Josh Young.
The historic luxury hotel, located at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, opened in 1909 in a building that dates back to 1758. The Crillon is one of two identical stone palaces on the Place de la Concorde and has been listed since 1900 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. Today it is a grand space with 78 guest rooms and 46 suites, along with three restaurants, a bar, outdoor terrace, gym and health club.
THERE IS SOMETHING utterly charming about John Derian's eclectic Manhattan apartment. It is one of those fascinating spaces where one could get lost for hours in another world—a world where French armchairs and Italian armoires co-exist, where a Swedish wall and Transylvanian linens intermingle comfortably side by side. There is a 19th-century canopy bed, open shelves filled with 18th-21st-century dishware, scatterings of area rugs and a well-worn chesterfield, oil paintings and other artwork, moody grey walls and plenty of wood, all bathed in a smokey, dusky light...
EVERY YEAR around this time, when the holidays are over (the memories of fairy lights and sequins fading) we're back at work and it's a brand new year, we become hopelessly drawn to winter white.
WE FIRST featured this Paris apartment in the Place des Vosges three years ago, in September 2015. Decorated by French-American designer Marianne Tiegen, this space was featured in its entirety despite not all the rooms being exactly our taste.
We live in a world so addicted to speed and noise, I realize every day that everything we do is in such a hurry. At work I observe clients always in a hurry. On the streets (with the exception of the Rive Gauche side of Paris where time seems to stand still) there is a rythme frenetique, as the locals say.
Special events & party planner Françoise Dumas' Paris apartment has that time-worn, lived-in feel that's difficult to replicate, both cosy and comfortable and sophisticated at once. The kind that cooly mixes Jacques Grange-designed sofas with 1930's ceramics from the collection of Karl Lagerfeld.