One Ottoman, Three Ways

Hi There . . .

So we all know One Kings Lane, right?   Do we know Taylor Burke Home?  Julianne Taylor is the Founder and Creative Director.  I make it a point to stop, see what's up and say hi at most of the markets I frequent.  Always genuine and always bringing something unique to the table!  As a matter of fact, we are placing an order next week of an amazing chandelier which I am sure will be the focal point of a space we are installing.

Designing around one piece of furniture

So what does One Kings Lane have to do with this ?  In their Style Guide they just posted a Style Challenge. Three top design bloggers chose a single piece from the Taylor Burke Home Collection and incorporated it into am amazing space.  What I particularly love are the three completely different visions - goes to show how different three designers can be, and how versatile.   As well as the one key piece, each designer filtered in a little Addison Weeks, Lacefield Design Mitchell Black and Times Two Design, all vendors I love to shop.  They showed the big reveal just the other day, thought I'd give you a look.  Images snagged from each designer's own blog. 

First off meet Kristin Cadwallader of Bliss at Home.   I love her space.  With my current black and white obsession, this space is right up my alley.  There are so many things I love about this space. The chandelier first off.  Love.  Beautiful job styling and just the right about of pop color gold.   

Take a look.

photos by Cassandra Monroe

Now meet Kristin Jackson of The Hunted Interior.  Kristen has one of my favorite blogs.  Beautifully laid out and inspiring.  Kristin hails from Atlanta, and believes it's not how much you spent, it's how you layer.  I totally agree.  

Take a peek at her space.

And last but by no means, the least, Ms. Lisa Mende - Charlotte girl.  Love her.  Known for her modern vibe spin, Taste Maker at many High Point markets, blogger, designer, and overall social media buzzer.  She ain't scared and this rooms that.

Take a look !

photos by Dustin Peck

So, did you spot the key piece,  the London Tufted Ottoman.  Feels different in each space, agreed?!

And to give a nod to Addison Weeks, Lacefield Design, Mitchell Black and Times Two Design (whose pieces I spotted right away) take a look at few of my other favorite items available (all through Lucy and Co, of course).

. . . . and a few of my favorite offerings by Taylor Burke (yeah that's the chandelier I'm using !)

Check out Julianne's book

The book includes a plethora of amazing women and businesses (also TSC contributors) including Taylor Burke Home & Julianne Taylor, Meg Braff, Jill Sorensen, Emporium Home & Ashley Childers, Dana Gibson Design, Emily McCarthy, Chairish & Anna Brockway, Katie Kime, Ro Sham Beaux, Ann Yancy, Lacefield, Beth Lacefield, Times Two Design, Lauren Renfrow, Shine by S.H.O., Susan Hornbeak-Ortiz, Lindsay Cowles Designs, Waiting on Martha, Mandy Kellogg Rye, Victoria Larson, Jamie Dietrich Designs, Mitchell Black, Lynai Jones, Design Campus, Lori Dennis and Kelli Ellis , Rivers Spencer Collection, Rivers Spencer, Repurpose Recolor, Cari Cucksey, Leland Gal, Maggie Mielczarek, Dunes & Duchess, Stacy Kunstel, Cotton + Quill, Mary Catherine Folmer, Sherrill Canet Interiors, Jill Rosenwald Designs, Society Social, Roxy Te Owens, Addison Weeks, Kat Mulford & Lee Lesley, Barbara Cosgrove Lamps, Vancollier, Beth Collier, Tritter Feefer, ML Littlefield, Lucy Smith Designs, The Antiques Diva, Toma Clark Haines, and Mirth Studio, Sally Bennett

Happy Sunday !

My Current Obsession . .

Happy Sunday!

I have a current obsession.  Allow me to elaborate.  Yesterday I played with all the things I love, one is pondering new ideas.  I hate repeating things.  There are too many ways to be inspired and directions to go and being original is the goal.  But first of all,  I was up early just to get on the One Kings Lane site to snag a piece or two from Iris Apfel private collection that went on sale at 8 am.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to have something from a design icon.  Within minutes everything was spoken for.  I was surprised the site didn't crash.  But I hung in there and the piece I wanted, which was "on hold" suddenly became available (you have 9 mins to purchase).  I grabbed it.  A marble covered mask.  I know, a little odd.  I love it, not that I plan to wear it, (but you never know) I plan to frame it in some sort of amazing way (and Veronica - I will be seeing you!)  I also scored a cool, metal bracelet-like belt and her book "Rare Bird of Fashion."  

I love her.  She is a Rare Bird and a no-bull shit - 93 year old that doesn't worry what anyone thinks. She's a true original in everything she is, sees and does.  Get the book, her life is amazing.

So back to the obsession thing.  It's the look of marble and other semi-precious stones, hence the marble covered mask.  I say "look" because it's not just the real thing I love, it's the natural (and exaggerated, human tweaked)  patterns.   I want it in art, in wall paper, in jewelry, on counters, on furniture. This obsession of mine started originally with Kelly Wearstler (another icon I obsess over).   Her use of this material in it's true sense, on floors, on walls, on furniture is stunning.   Her layering is amazing,  her color tones I could get lost in.  Take a look at a few of amazing spaces and you'll see what I mean.

I love following her on instagram and somewhere along the way her images with their amazing color combinations, and patterns inspired me and became something I wanted to incorporate in the way of fabrics, papers and most importantly, art.  There was something rich and luxe about the movement of the patterns.

 Addison Weeks also started appearing in my travels.  I first got a look at her jewelry at Slate Interiors and have loved ever since.

Addison Weeks

My obsession only continued when I was introduced to Calico wall paper one trip to New York.   This was the first I had seen of this type of paper and after talking with the creators , Rachel and Nicholas and learning a little bit about the process, I became even more obsessed.

So much so, I used one of their papers on an install of my own . . .

Then Zoffany came along with their Quartz line of papers. Oh man.  Had to use.

We just recently back these built in cabinets with one of their papers then I went further in the space and added those touch of gold and metals to bring it all to life.

The new project I am working on will incorporate another pattern in the same Quartz book I love !  Stay tuned for that.  My new clients Leslie and Jef Pearce have just finished building their dream house.  Ultra modern and sleek.  I was thrilled to jump in (thank you Jill Pleune) to help pull together the look to go with the architectural design that Jef created himself.

Their master should be as luxe as Miss Leslie herself.

When it comes to art, marble paper was used way back when as a mat to frame a piece.  You remember, those tacky green marble mats surrounding a painting, print or photo.  Well get rid of those.  What I am interest in is the over piece resembling the look of anything marbleized on a large scale.

Give me any one of these vintage marble papers in the form of a large painted piece.

Keith, my artist husband, loves working in mixed media.  He has created encaustic pieces (using pigments mixed with hot wax that are burned in as an inlay) and has recently started working in ink.  The look is exactly what I am talking about.  This piece was one of his first encaustic pieces where he played with the movement of the wax, acrylic and metallic.  I love this one and had it framed in my office in the most gorgeous mint lucite frame (thank you V)

I am sure my love for this look will continue.  As like marble - it stands the test of time.

Stay tuned, Mekenzie shot the show at Hart Witzen Friday night, which will give you a better idea of encaustic and show off some of Keith's work!

Mark Your Calendars !

IRIS APFEL CLEARS HER WAREHOUSES AKA BEST SHOPPING DAY OF THE YEAR

On the eve of her 93rd birthday, Iris Apfel, who admits she just discovered how to access the Internet, decides to sell a lifetime worth of treasures on One Kings Lane

BY SARAH BRAY for ElleDecor

photo by Ryan Dixon

One look at Iris Apfel and you can tell she's been places. Beyond the stories time can tell, it's apparent by her standout sense of personal style that she has lived an exotic life brimming with colorful adventure. An avid traveler, the 92-and-a-half-year-old has spent her lifetime seeking out aesthetic inspiration in the most remote places while feeding her shopping addiction every stop along the way. Apfel—who predominantly has worked as an interior and textile designer only to be cast in the unlikley role of fashion icon, if you put it in perspective, relatively recently—has accumulated so much stuff that the storage facilities she leases in Queens are full to capacity.

"I just want to get my stuff out," the self-proclaimed "geriatric starlet" says with a laugh in an exclusive interview with ELLEDECOR.com. "I want it to all go so I can just make it easy on everybody!"

Enter OneKingsLane.com. After years of conversations with Apfel, the expert team of buyers at the innovative decor e-tailer convinced her to let a few things go... well, 800 things to be precise. On April 5, in an event that can only be described as epic by both fashion and interior design standards, you can click "Buy" on eclectic treasures that the aesthete personally eyed-out (think finds she picked up at Paris flea markets in the '40s,  souks in Marrakech in the 60s, the square in Santa Fe in the '70s) 

ED: When One Kings Lane cleared your warehouses, did you come across stuff you forgot you even owned?

IA: Absolutely! There were a lot of things I had forgotten. You can’t remember everything! Some things I had never even unpacked!

ED: What piece of furniture would you never part with?

IA: A number of things! There are a few things I'm letting go of that were very difficult. However, I’m taking a number of pieces down to my house in Palm Beach—I can’t fit anything else into my Park Avenue place.

ED: Does your husband enjoy hunting for unique objects as much as you do?

IA: We’ve been married 66 years—it’s a long time! At the beginning, when we were first married, he wanted everything new. He would act like a spoiled brat when I passed an antique shop. He would say, "I don’t want to go in! I don’t want anyone else’s old troubles!" But, once we got established he started to love it.

ED: If your friends were shopping the sale, what would you advise them to look out for?

IA: Well, it depends what the friend wanted and what they needed. There are a number of things that are very unusual and ridiculously priced I could sell them on!

ED: You have your hands in so many different projects, do you just like staying busy?

IA: Some days I’m frantic! Like today, I was supposed to give the people from MAC Cosmetics a quote but then my phone went dead… so I stole my husband's, called them back with no luck and now they're calling me back and I’m in the middle of a movie shoot!

ED: It sounds like you need an assistant! Did you ever think you'd be busier than ever in your nineties?

IA: I never wanted to stop working, but I never dreamt of being a geriatric starlet! Sometimes I grumble, but I thank god every night that I am 92-and-a-half and I am asked to do so many things. Getting shot for magazine covers and all kinds of stuff! It’s very exciting. I have been on the cover of every European publication you can think of, all these blogs and television shows too. It’s coo coo!

ED: Do you still follow interior designers or do you just blaze your own path?

IA: I haven’t been interested in an interior designer in a long, long time. Everything looks the same—if I could tell you the truth! I can’t say that I don't see new pretty things here and there, but mostly it’s all boring as far as I am concerned. You can’t tell who lives in any of these apartments. There like divine hotel suites.

ED: Too modern or too stark?

They're just all the same. It’s like a formula and I don’t like that. 

ED: You've worked in both fashion and interior design. What are you most passionate about?

IA: Fashion and interior design are one in the same.

ED: You would say you definitely don’t follow trends?

IA: Things are either good or they’re not. They either suit you or they don’t. Some years all the colors and cuts are wonderful, other years they’re ridiculous. I never buy what someone says is “in” or a “must-have.” I buy what makes me happy.

ED: What exactly does it take to be chic?

IA: It’s a big discussion… To sum it up, unfortunately, most people are not chic. You have to know who you are and you have to be comfortable with it. You just have to do it.

ED: How can people tap into their inner uniqueness?

IA: Self-exploration is very painful, but unless you do that you will never know who you are and who you want to be. People want all the results without doing any work. You don’t find out who you are unless you work at it. 

She's fabulous !