Paper City Article

Design Tome

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:58:52 GMT

One of America%26rsquo;s top designers (no, this is not a reality show), Jeffrey Bilhuber, has designed homes for Anna Wintour, Peter Jennings, Iman and David Bowie, and a host of other celebs and moguls. He arrives in Houston Thursday, February 9, to discuss his newest book, The Way Home: Reflections on American Beauty (Rizzoli, $60). A compilation of high and low, extreme livability and utter chicness, this is Bilhuber%26rsquo;s third design book, and his work has appeared in every major magazine. Meet him and see a dazzling and informative show and talk Thursday, February 9, 6 to 8 pm, at Greenwood King%26rsquo;s The Lobby. PaperCity will have books for sale and for Bilhuber to sign. The Lobby, 3201 Kirby, rsvp to thelobby@greenwoodking.com, 713.524.0888.

Images:

A room by Jeffrey Bilhuber

Jeffrey Bilhuber. Photo by William Abranowicz.

A Sky-High Jean Scene

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:56:50 GMT

Yes, she%26rsquo;s a Harvard grad who helms Litex, the ceiling-fan and light-fixture empire based in Grand Prairie %26mdash; but she%26rsquo;s a woman of rather discerning style, too. She collects couture, she has shopped right off the runways at the Paris shows and her own James McInroe%26ndash;designed home has been in PaperCity. Now, Jean Liu turns the stylish tables: She has just joined a heady list of designers who have conjured model units at The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. (Her cohorts have been Ann Sutherland,
Jan Showers, Laura Hunt, Carleton Varney and Barry Williams.) For the 23-story tower, Liu invented a cosmopolitan place, filled with contemporary art, sophisticated accessories and plush, Deco-inspired furniture. As for the props? An elegant bar cart, a white cowhide rug and an Herm%26egrave;s throw tossed over an Eames lounger. It%26rsquo;s all so glamorous that it feels like another Jean would be right at home here: a certain %26rsquo;30s bombshell with the last name of Harlow. 2555 N. Pearl St., 214.855.2020; theresidencesdallas.com.

Image:%26nbsp; Harlow was here? The newest model unit at The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. Photo by James F. Wilson.

Maximal Martha

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:52:35 GMT

It%26rsquo;s enough to give the best hosts performance anxiety: Martha is back on press, and she%26rsquo;s throwing the book %26mdash; all 432 pages of it %26mdash; at party-giving perfectionism. (The exquisite pain!) It is 12 months of Stewart%26rsquo;s unmatched style in Martha%26rsquo;s Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations, $75 and out this minute from Clarkson Potter. You will swoon: There%26rsquo;s a lobster-tail picnic aboard a boat; a Japanese-themed lunch; and a Halloween dinner deep inside Martha%26rsquo;s horse stable. You%26rsquo;ll learn about rhubarb crumbles, tiny tuna burgers and the way Stewart likes her salad Ni%26ccedil;oise: %26ldquo;It is always best,%26rdquo; she writes, %26ldquo;made early in the summer, with the smallest and most tender string beans, young peas, freshly dug new potatoes, tiny eggs from the Bantam hens, and small, sweet cherry tomatoes.%26rdquo; Of course, there are peeks at her homes (we love the rare 1958 Edsel Roundup station wagon in front of her stone house in Maine), but what we most notice is how fetching Martha looks through it all. In one photograph, she dons a modern gold jacket, temptingly hoisting her cream-filled croquembouche high, an all-knowing look on her famous face. Martha knows best. Ask her how on Friday, November 18, when she signs the new tome at Williams-Sonoma in NorthPark Center, beginning at 1 pm. As for us, we%26rsquo;re going to ask for a ride in that Edsel.

Art Beneath Your Feet

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:43:55 GMT

Adorable girl about town and artist Elizabeth Moore Arnold has turned her considerable talent to designing rugs. Her first creation for Carol Piper Rugs continues a recent theme in her artwork: dying vines on a stark white wall. Arnold saw beauty where others might see loss. Rug patterns are frequently of a repeating design, but Arnold is drawing each of her carpets by hand, and they are available in hand-knotted Tibetan weaves at $120 per square foot and in hand-tufted weaves for $90 per square foot. To order at Carol Piper Rugs.

Trina's Whirl

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:55:49 GMT

Trina Turk has taken up residence in Highland Park Village in a groovy Southern California%26ndash;inspired boutique, bursting with her bombshell %26rsquo;60s and %26rsquo;70s aesthetic transferred to Riviera play clothes and home accessories. Just what (or who) are Trina%26rsquo;s modernist muses? Let%26rsquo;s take a look in the topsy-turvy mind of Ms. Turk.%26nbsp;

In your library, the five most inspirational design/fashion books, vintage or new? Slim Aarons: A Place in the Sun%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; Charles and Ray Eames: Designers of the Twentieth Century%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; Architecture of the Sun: Los Angeles Modernism 1900 %26ndash; 1970%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; California Design series by the Pasadena Art Museum%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; Maija Isola: Life, Art, Marimekko

What inspires your posh prints? Prep coquette, the Mediterranean, the Mexican Riviera, the globetrotting gypsetter.

Where did you travel this summer? Istanbul, Bodrum, Turkey.

Favorite hotels in the world? Parker Palm Springs. La Sirenuse in Positano.

What%26rsquo;s in your weekend-resort carry-on? Lots of vintage and Trina Turk jewelry, white shorts, printed TT dresses and swimsuits, one big straw hat, a few sunglasses options, flat and heeled metallic sandals.

Ping-Pong paddle, toolbox and scissors. Next tool for play? A blowtorch.

Favorite labels from the %26rsquo;60s and %26rsquo;70s? Donald Brooks, Pauline Trig%26egrave;re, Rudi Gernreich.

Car you covet? 1961 Studebaker Avanti designed by Raymond Loewy

Architect who would build the perfect house in Trina%26rsquo;s World? Ray Kappe or John Lautner.

Gaud%26iacute; or Mies? Mies.

Interior designers in Trina%26rsquo;s World?%26nbsp; David Hicks, Billy Haines, Paul L%26aacute;szl%26oacute;, Edward Wormley, Alexander Girard, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings.

Dorothy Draper or Jean-Michel Frank? Both.

Five best movies you have ever seen? Sunset Boulevard%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; Chinatown%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; The Graduate%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; Blade Runner%26nbsp; %26bull;%26nbsp; Pandora%26rsquo;s Box

Netflix or the cinema? Cinema.

iPad or laptop? Mac or PC? Mac laptop.

Are you coming to Dallas soon? Yes, I%26rsquo;ll be there in September for our grand opening party. See you then!

%26nbsp;

Images:

Trina Turk in the Anastasia Dress in Tigerleaf print. Photo by Jonathan Skow.

Resin Ball Ring with Palm Springs Block inscribed band.

Sun Seeker Dress in Sunset Lanterns CDC from Trina Turk%26rsquo;s Resort 2011 collection. Photo by Jonathan Skow.

Trina in an arch next to the Odeon in Ephesus (2nd century AD). Photo by Jonathan Skow.

Selfridges living room by David Hicks, 1969. Photo from David Hicks: Designer by Ashley Hicks (Scriptum Editions, 2003)

Malin House by John Lautner. Photo from The Architecture of John Lautner (Rizzoli, 1999); photo by Alan Weintraub.

Trina Turk for Alice Supply Co. Ping-Pong set in the Ogee print.

Trina in the Shade hat, Capri. Photo by Jonathan Skow

Mr. Turk dustpan, brush and scissors by Trina Turk in the U-Turn print, in collaboration with Alice Supply Co. Photo by Jonathan Skow.

Parker Palm Springs hotel.

Pauline Trig%26egrave;re, 1964. Vogue; photo by Henry Clarke.

%26nbsp;

Brigitte Bardot and Jacques Charrier in Saint-Tropez, 1959. Photo from Riviera Cocktail by Edward Quinn (teNeues, 2007).

French Kisses

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:58:28 GMT

Don%26rsquo;t miss designer Kathryn Ireland in person when she signs her newest decorating volume, Summers in France (Gibbs Smith, $35), on Tuesday, October 11, 11 am, in the Bunch %26amp; Shoemaker showroom (Suite 152) at The Houston Design Center. Ireland, the keynote speaker at HDC%26rsquo;s annual Fall Market event, comes in from L.A., where her firm is based. She has written three books and is a featured designer on Bravo%26rsquo;s Million Dollar Decorators. Her chic bohemian style smacks of the South of France and L.A., and the lush, 224-page Summers in France chronicles the 20 years she has spent transforming her home, La Castallene, in southern France. Reservations a must, through 713.864.2660 or thehoustondesigncenter.com.

A Happy Home

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:58:04 GMT

Annie Selke believes each of us deserves a home that makes us happy %26mdash; wildly, wonderfully happy. The creator of Pine Cone Hill (known for marvelously colorful and patterned bedding), Dash %26amp; Albert Rug Company and the recently debuted Annie Selke Home line of fashionable yet functional furniture, Selke has now penned the simple how-tos for creating a house that will make us happy as a clam for years. In Fresh American Spaces: Romantic-Nuanced-Happy-Cultured-Exuberant (Clarkson Potter, August 2011, $45), she explains there are essentially five American decorating styles: everyday exuberance, refined romantic, happy preppy, nuanced neutral and cultured eclectic. Want to know which one suits your style best? Swing into Kuhl-Linscomb Saturday, October 1, when the author will be there signing copies of her book. Should you walk away inspired to change up your look, KL is also offering customers 20 percent off any Pine Cone Hill product on the day of her in-store appearance.

Dining and Duquette

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 04:23:33 GMT

The ever-wonderful Hutton Wilkinson will be in Houston this month with a sneak peek at his new design tome Tony Duquette: Hutton Wilkinson Jewelry. Hear Hutton%26rsquo;s tales of Duquette drama and design, along with stunning photographs, brought to you by ASID. The luncheon and talk will take place Wednesday, August 31, at The Junior League %26mdash; $150 includes a private reception to meet Wilkinson (10:30 to 11:30 am); $100 covers the luncheon and talk (11:30 am to 1:30 pm). The event benefits ASID scholarships. Three books will be available for sale and to be signed: Tony Duquette: More is More, Tony Duquette (Abrams, $75) and pre-sales of Tony Duquette/Hutton Wilkinson Jewelry (Abrams, $50). Tickets and information 713.626.1470.

Thom Terrific

Thu, 26 May 2011 01:56:48 GMT

How does it feel to be back? That%26rsquo;s the first of many questions we were itching to ask retail guru Thom Faust, upon learning he just accepted the post of general manager at fashion-forward boutique Forty Five Ten. Faust, who was much loved during his Dallas tenure at Chanel and Neiman Marcus, couldn%26rsquo;t wait to answer: %26ldquo;I%26rsquo;m so glad to be home.%26rdquo; After time in New York and Los Angeles after Dallas, Faust is back, lured by the environment at Forty Five Ten: %26ldquo;It%26rsquo;s so incredibly special and unique,%26rdquo; says he. The long-time FFT friend, customer and admirer has, till now, watched from the sidelines, engaged by the store%26rsquo;s decade of stylish success. Now, it%26rsquo;s his turn to help things grow. %26ldquo;I%26rsquo;m still immersing myself in everything,%26rdquo; says Faust, who was mere days on the job when we chatted with him. One standout already, though? %26ldquo;I must say, having Victoria Beckham%26rsquo;s collection exclusively here is a pretty big coup.%26rdquo; And while Faust may be new to working at the inimitable 4510 McKinney Avenue address, his experience is anything but green. His steady trajectory through the luxury fashion world has exposed him to everything from being a buyer to overseeing store operations, marketing and e-commerce. In his own words, %26ldquo;I%26rsquo;m going to keep everything running smoothly, so that [owner] Brian [Bolke] can focus on the creative part.%26rdquo; But that%26rsquo;s not to say that Faust doesn%26rsquo;t have his own share of stylish endeavors underway. Aside from settling into his new retail home, Faust%26rsquo;s next big project involves moving into his recently purchased 1940s Charles Dilbeck house. We have no doubt that Faust will have plenty of sartorial inspiration from which to draw.

Image: Putting their new face forward: Forty Five Ten%26rsquo;s new general manager Thom Faust. Photo by Peter Garcia.

The Triumphant, Velvet-Wrapped Return of Mikyung Chun

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 06:49:50 GMT

The one-of-a-kind style-setter took a long holiday from the showroom scene. But she’s baaack — and she wants to show you something. (Something rather unforgettable.)

Image: A detail of Promemoria’s gargantuan two-door cabinet, called George. The knobs are Murano glass and bronze; the doors are thick and weighty, but perfectly balanced, and wrapped by hand in linen. Three Italian craftsmen spend one month making each door. The bronze keys boast Promemoria’s iconic frogs — for designer Romeo Sozzi, symbols of good luck.

Mikyung Chun — her white Stella McCartney coat a-swing, her stilettos a-flash from the hundreds of gold crystals that cover them — is begging us to touch under her seat. Well, the seat of a chair named Bilou Bilou, that is. “Feel underneath,” she coos. “It’s velvet on the bottom, too.” This important detail — that a velvet-covered chair is also fully upholstered in velvet where you will never see, unless you hit the floor in a champagne collapse — is just one of dozens that Chun will tell you about. She is terribly excited about the furniture she is purveying in her new showroom. The collection is called Promemoria, just uncrated from Lecco, Italy, where it was painstakingly, and we mean painstakingly, designed and hand-built.

Consider this: Just one door of a gigantic two-door cabinet takes three craftsmen one month to make. At first gaze, you’ll be fully aware of the gorgeous, organic shapes of Promemoria’s chairs, sofas, tables, bars and credenzas. Clearly, designer Romeo Sozzi, who founded the line in 1988 and descends from a long line of cabinetmakers, some of whom built carriages for nobles in the 19th century, divines his inspiration from the swoops and curves of nature. But look closely: Where there is stitching, it is couture-quality. Where there is joinery, it is flawless. As for the material whirl, think linen, wood, velvet and bronze. (Bronze plays a big part in Promemoria’s pieces, most unconventionally as ethereal chair arms.)

Image: Leather-wrapped Pia floor lamps

There are leather-wrapped floor lamps, too, even tableware, such as weighty glass cups or a glass bowl that weighs as much as a side table. It is Promemoria’s deceptive heft — light-handed designs melded with substantial construction — that thrills Chun, who closed her multi-vendor HaRoo %26amp; HaRoo showroom a handful of years ago to focus on private clients. Now it’s all about Promemoria.

She certainly has set a different stage from HaRoo’s billowing white curtains: She painted the walls of her new space, Mínolochi/Promemoria, at 1316 Slocum Street, deep gray and laid a dark hardwood floor meant to evoke a grand Italian villa — all the better to appreciate the future-classic modernity of the pieces. “This,” says Chun, “is furniture not just for this generation, but for two, three generations away.” Yes, that gigantic cabinet — hewn from Tuscan cypress and bronze and hand-wrapped in linen — costs nearly as much as an entry-level Bentley, but you’ll have it longer. And it will outlast you. Chun likens the hidden construction secrets of all of Sozzi’s furniture to wearing exceptionally fine underthings beneath one’s clothes. They make you feel better — and, as warranted, you can choose to show the others. Our Q%26amp;A with Romeo Sozzi at papercitymag.com. Mínolochi/Promemoria, 1316 Slocum St., 214.748.1800; minolochi.com, promemoria.com.

Image at top: The inimitable Mikyung Chun, photographed on April 15 in her new showroom at 1316 Slocum Street, perched on a bronze-armed Roka chair, by Romeo Sozzi for Promemoria.

Image below: Promemoria’s future classics, the Bilou Bilou chairs, designed in 2003, here fully wrapped in velvet. They sit at a bronze-trimmed Andalù table, 2008, with its inlaid top and legs.

This Fashionable Flick Fits the Bill

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:31:48 GMT

Long before we devoured style blogs such as The Sartorialist and Garance Dor%26eacute;, we turned to Bill Cunningham for his definitive take on what was %26agrave; la mode in Manhattan. Now the legendary New York Times photojournalist %26mdash; a man after our own social-chronicling hearts %26mdash; is the subject of the documentary Bill Cunningham New York. Director Richard Press and producer Phillip Gefter filmed the famously private Cunningham over the course of two years with discreet handheld cameras, chronicling the spry octogenarian%26rsquo;s almost religious devotion to his subjects (including Anna Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Iris Apfel and Annette de la Renta, all of whom were interviewed for the film). As Cunningham crisscrosses the city on his bicycle, camera at the ready, we%26rsquo;re taken along for the ride of a lifetime. But before you head to the cinema, we suggest dressing to the nines. Just ask yourself: Would Bill really take your photo in that? April 10 - 15 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston%26rsquo;s Brown Auditorium Theater. Information: Zeitgeist Films

Image: A scene from Bill Cunningham New York. Photo courtesy First Thought Films/Zeitgeist Films.

Forget You Not, We Shan’t

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:29:12 GMT

You know your career is headed in the right direction when one of your first jobs is to create a bouquet for Queen Beatrix of Holland. Such was the case for renowned New York%26ndash;based event designer Remco van Vliet, who is in town this month to kick off Florescence at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. (That arrangement? A lush compilation of maidenhair fern and white roses. The Queen actually called the young van Vliet the next day to thank him.) As event designer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, van Vliet is in charge of the Great Hall%26rsquo;s lavish weekly arrangements and all in-house museum events (such as the recent Persian New Year celebration at the Temple of Dendur for 500). Somehow he still has time to collaborate on events with his brother, Cas Trap, for their event design company, Van Vliet %26amp; Trap. Profit from the Dutch master%26rsquo;s know-how Tuesday, April 19, when he gives a floral demonstration (2:30 pm, $50). And on Wednesday, April 20, the Florescence lecture and luncheon features acclaimed architect and designer Bobby McAlpine, author of The Home Within Us (10:30 am, $125). The Florescence national flower show, one of the nation%26rsquo;s largest,%26nbsp; is co-produced by the MFAH, The Garden Club of Houston and the River Oaks Garden Club. This year themed %26ldquo;Passages,%26rdquo; the show unfurls Tuesday and Wednesday, April 19 and 20, at the MFAH%26rsquo;s Caroline Wiess Law Building, chaired by Cathy Frank and Marianna Brewster, with Barbara Bush serving as honorary chair. Tickets and reservations, Ashley Sneed, 713.639.7523, asneed@mfah.org; admission to general exhibition $7; information mfah.org/florescence.

Image: Remco van Vliet. Photo Kevin Sturman.

Meet Mary McDonald

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:38:42 GMT

Gorgeous and super-talented LA%26ndash;based interior designer Mary McDonald consistently makes House Beautiful%26rsquo;s list of Top 100 Designers. Meet her at The Houston Design Center on Old Katy Road, where she serves as keynote speaker for the Spring Market Tuesday, March 29, with an 11 am reception and luncheon at the Alkusari Stone showroom, suite 229. She%26rsquo;ll also sign copies of her new book, Mary McDonald Interiors: The Allure of Style (Rizzoli, $55). Attendance is gratis, but reservations are required. The Houston Design Center, 7026 Old Katy Road, RSVP at 713.864.4735, ext. 15, or online at thehoustondesigncenter.com.

This Bunny is Hopping

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:35:50 GMT

%26Uuml;ber-decorator Bunny Williams will be in town Thursday, March 24, 6:30 pm, at Greenwood King%26rsquo;s The Lobby (3201 Kirby Drive) to discuss and sign her fourth decorating tome, Bunny Williams%26rsquo; Scrapbook for Living (Stewart, Tabori %26amp; Chang). Williams owns home-furnishings collection BeeLine Home, the chic Treillage Ltd. design shops in New York (with her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli) and has decorated homes around the world. PaperCity%26rsquo;s Curate bookshop will be on hand with her book for sale. Attendance is free; RSVP to 713.524.0888; elainem@greenwoodking.com.

Design Buzz

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:10:46 GMT

Designer Alexa Hampton, scion of the late, great decorator Mark Hampton, is winging into town on Tuesday, February 8, to speak at the Bunch %26amp; Shoemaker showroom (#152) in The Houston Design Center on Old Katy Road.%26nbsp; Join her for a chat followed by lunch and a book signing of her latest tome, The Language of Interior Design (Clarkson Potter, $50), in which she takes us step by step through the elements critical to the design process. At The Houston Design Center, 7026 Old Katy Road; reservations 713.864.4735, ext. 15.

Fannie Flagg's Religious Experience

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 02:53:26 GMT

White wine served from an altar. Showfolk warbling hymns. Fannie Flagg playing her nose as if it were a Stradivarius. Translation? Just another Wednesday night at Ronnie Claire Edwards' house. Seems the inimitable Edwards %26mdash; transplanted Dallasite, and, yep, Corabeth Godsey of The Waltons %26mdash; wanted to throw funnywoman Flagg, who she's known for 45 years, a little soiree, seeing as Flagg was passing through Dallas on a book tour for her witty new novel, I Still Dream About You, about a "continually interrupted suicide attempt of a former Birmingham, Ala., beauty queen," says Publisher's Weekly, "now 60 and a realtor." But enough about literature: Last week's gathering of charlatans and hoodlums easily qualifies as the %26nbsp;party of the year. (And it's only January.) Edwards assembled local actor friends, design types, myriad chums and random ne'er-do-wells at her converted church of a home on Swiss Avenue. There, under the lofty ceilings of her 1910 Catholic sanctuary, she served up decadent cakes and sweets (all baked herself), a pianist pal from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (he supplied the tunes for the hymns %26mdash; and a Broadway showtune or two) and, of course Flagg, who had an absolute ball. She received fans from a Victorian settee, then jumped up to whistle a tune, then played her aforementioned nose as a wind instrument. (Let's just say that Kenny G has nothing to worry about.) Through it all, Mizz Edwards floated about the place, making sure everybody had a grand old time. And did they ever. The showfolk took turns belting out numbers at the piano, there was an off-key group rendition of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," and, at one particularly cinematic moment, a tall, mirrored candlestick was knocked off an altarpiece by one guest, crashing to the church floor and taking out quite a few crystal wine goblets with it. "Well, isn't this a real hair-pull!" Edwards said, slapping us on the knee. We can confidently report that the pianist %26mdash; and the show %26mdash; went on.%26nbsp;

Click on "launch slideshow," above, to have your own religious experience (and to see what Rob spied around Ronnie Claire Edwards' church-turned-house).

Carolyne Roehm in Houston

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:30:54 GMT

It is %26eacute;lan in triplicate as the super-elegant Carolyne Roehm %26mdash; ex-1980s power socialite, authoress and CEO of an entire online style empire %26mdash;%26nbsp;gives an illustrated talk and signs her new tome, A Passion For Interiors, at Greenwood King%26rsquo;s The Lobby Thursday, December 9, 6 to 8%26nbsp; pm. She%26rsquo;ll walk us through three oh-wow residences: her own Connecticut country house, her Manhattan duplex and a pal%26rsquo;s Aspen digs, %26agrave; la Sweden in the 18th century. (Flight to Connecticut not included.) Books for sale that evening at The Lobby, $60. Greenwood King%26rsquo;s The Lobby, 3201 Kirby Dr., reservations 713.524.0888; elainem@greenwoodking.com.

Going Home (Three Times) with Carolyne

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:07:08 GMT

It is %26eacute;lan in triplicate as the super-elegant Carolyne Roehm %26mdash; ex-1980s power socialite, authoress and CEO of an entire online style empire %26mdash;%26nbsp;walks us through three oh-wow residences: her own Connecticut country house, her Manhattan duplex and a pal%26rsquo;s Aspen digs, %26agrave; la Sweden in the 18th century. The 288-page survey, A Passion for Interiors, is $60 and newly released by Clarkson Potter. In fact, ask Carolyne all about it after she wings to Dallas to be the guest speaker at The Salvation Army Women%26rsquo;s Auxiliary Christmas Luncheon on Tuesday, December 7. Tickets and information for that are via 214.637.8122 (flight to Connecticut not included).

An Adler-ed State

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:02:15 GMT

Laurann Claridge chats up Jonathan Adler %26#8212; mad potter turned author, furniture designer, needlepoint pillow stitcher and candle maker %26#8212; about color and accessorizing, then plays a little game of word association.

LC: In Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Colors, you take us into your world of bright, color-hued rooms. Who are your color muses?
JA: I%26#8217;m in love with colors, and I have so many inspirations!%26nbsp;In the book, I give major shout-outs to%26nbsp;Gio Ponti%26#8217;s Hotel Parco dei Principi, which has the most gorgeous use of blue. And, of course, India is a fave when it comes to pink %26#8212; and really, where would we be without it?

LC: For those who play it safe with color and pattern, how do you coax them out of their shell to live fearlessly with both?
JA: Come into the light! %26nbsp;Do not be afraid. You can start with painting or wallpapering one wall of a room %26#8212; say, the wall behind your bed. Or start with a powder room or entry hall, a smaller space so as not to overwhelm. People who are afraid of color are afraid of life! Live a little.

LC: Let%26#8217;s do a little word association. What%26#8217;s the very first thing you think of when I say:%26nbsp;
Minimalism %26#8212; Dry
Beige %26#8212; Halston
The 1970s %26#8212; Studio 54
Tchotchkes %26#8212; Exclamation marks for the home

Image: Jonathan Adler

An Adler-ed State

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:50:16 GMT

On Friday, November 18, there will be a bona fide design star in our midst: Jonathan Adler %26#8212; mad potter turned author, furniture designer, needlepoint pillow stitcher and candle maker %26#8212; will swing into Houston for a meet and greet chez Kuhl-Linscomb. Start the queue at 6 pm, when K-L f%26#234;tes the irreverent talent, who will sign copies of his two new tomes, Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Colors and Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Accessorizing (Sterling Innovation, $17.95), as well as all things Adler in store. To tide you over, Laurann Claridge chatted up the devilish design mind and queried him on color and accessorizing, then played a little game of word association.

%26nbsp;

LC: In Jonathan Adler on Happy Chic Colors, you take us into your world of bright, color-hued rooms. Who are your color muses?
JA: I%26#8217;m in love with colors, and I have so many inspirations!%26nbsp;In the book, I give major shout-outs to%26nbsp;Gio Ponti%26#8217;s Hotel Parco dei Principi, which has the most gorgeous use of blue. And, of course, India is a fave when it comes to pink %26#8212; and really, where would we be without it?

LC: For those who play it safe with color and pattern, how do you coax them out of their shell to live fearlessly with both?
JA: Come into the light! %26nbsp;Do not be afraid. You can start with painting or wallpapering one wall of a room %26#8212; say, the wall behind your bed. Or start with a powder room or entry hall, a smaller space so as not to overwhelm. People who are afraid of color are afraid of life! Live a little.

LC: Let%26#8217;s do a little word association. What%26#8217;s the very first thing you think of when I say:%26nbsp;
Minimalism %26#8212; Dry
Beige %26#8212; Halston
The 1970s %26#8212; Studio 54
Tchotchkes %26#8212; Exclamation marks for the home

Image: Jonathan Adler%26nbsp;

Design Talk

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:58:59 GMT

Miles Redd is launching his fabric collection for Oscar de la Renta Home with Lee Jofa and will be in Houston Wednesday, November 17, for Decorative Center Houston%26#8217;s Fall Market keynote address at 11 am, moderated by PaperCity%26#8217;s Holly Moore and Laurann Claridge. Designer Marjorie Skouras from L.A. and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston%26#8217;s curator of modern and contemporary decorative arts and design, Cindi Strauss, along with Redd, will debate %26#8220;Fresh Design: Merging Art, Architecture and Design.%26#8221; To RSVP for the keynote address, e-mail klarson@decorativecenter.com or call the marketing office at 713.961.9292, ext. 1320.

Image: Miles Redd

Vicente Wolf Signs Tome

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:57:16 GMT

Vicente Wolf, the designer much lauded for crafting elegant and livable environs, will sign his newest book, Lifting the Curtain on Design (The Monacelli Press, $50), at the Houston Design Center Monday, November 8, at 6 pm at Alkusari Stone Showroom (Suite 229). Wolf %26#8212; who also photographed every frame in the book %26#8212; will speak about his methods and process, with before-and-after pics revealing the stages and tricky decisions behind every aspect of a project. At the Houston Design Center, 7026 Old Katy Road. Reservations 713.528.1703; events@theladaygroup.com.

Image: Vicente Wolf

"Elle Decor" Hearts Houston

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:48:21 GMT

Our own Rob Brinkley %26#8212; PaperCity%26#8217;s Dallas editor and a regular contributor to the super-chic Elle Decor %26#8212; roams Houston in the November issue of Elle Decor. Brinkley spins a tip-top travelogue of some of Houston%26#8217;s best shops and restaurants, and illuminates lore about the city, too %26#8212; everything from our burgeoning arts scene to our can%26#8217;t-miss architecture. What stores made the cut? Pick up Elle Decor%26#8217;s November issue (a New York foyer decorated by Miles Redd made the cover); Redd will be speaking at Decorative Center Houston on November 17.

Design Buzz: Jonathan Adler Hits Town

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:40:25 GMT

The erudite, witty Jonathan Adler bounces into Houston Thursday, November 18, to Kuhl-Linscomb, where he will sign his two new design tomes: Jonathan Adler%26#8217;s Happy Chic Colors and Jonathan Adler%26#8217;s Happy Chic Accessories during an evening cocktail. More in our November issue.

Design Buzz

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 05:35:07 GMT

Red-hot designer Miles Redd is coming to Houston for Decorative Center Houston%26#8217;s Fall Market panel discussion %26#8220;Innovations of Design,%26#8221; moderated by moi and PaperCity features editor Laurann Claridge. More designers will be announced in the November issue, or go to decorativecenter.com for details.%26nbsp;

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Image: Miles Redd.%26nbsp;

Behind the Seens: Well Groomed

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:09:03 GMT

Three locations? 100 degrees? No sweat, when you're surrounded by gorgeous things. Click on "launch slideshow," above, for a peek at what editor Rob Brinkley saw the day photographer Adam Fish shot the star of Pautz Landscapes...

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For the full story on model-turned-landscape-designer Jason Pautz, click here.

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Rediscovering Waylande Gregory

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:44:34 GMT

This is a compelling story of fashion entrepreneur Bryan Downey%26#8217;s great-great-uncle, artist Waylande Gregory %26#8212; whose treasure trove of work, through fate and circumstance, fell largely into Downey%26#8217;s fortunate hands. A savvy businessman who partnered with Mickey Rosmarin (owner of Tootsies) to launch Rayure shirts several years ago, Downey and Rosmarin have partnered again to replicate beautifully Gregory%26#8217;s fine ceramics, which were once hailed by The New York Times and Time magazine, and were featured in museum exhibitions from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to The Smithsonian.

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Waylande Gregory, it seems, was a famous sculptor who fell into obscurity after his death, and when Downey was growing up in the Midwest, his mother and grandmother would tell him tales about this prolific artist, who was born in 1905 in Baxter Springs, Kansas. He left that small town to become, at one point in his career, the best-paid sculptor in America, with 172 major national museum exhibitions in 11 countries to his credit.

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This brilliant artist eventually landed at The Art Institute of Chicago, where he met the man who would be his mentor: historian-sculptor Lorado Taft. They shared a studio, where Gregory learned to work in marble, bronze and ceramics. Through the years, his refined sensibility brought him great fame, as well as the admiration of such collectors as Henry Fonda, Dolores del Rio, Joan Bennett, Albert Einstein, Elsie de Wolfe and Charles Lindbergh. Gregory%26#8217;s sculpture and ceramics are in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution.

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Downey%26#8217;s mother safeguarded the family%26#8217;s few Gregory pieces and planned to pass them to her children one day. After several decades, Downey told her that he was finally ready to take possession of the pieces she%26#8217;d been saving for him. He became obsessed with Gregory%26#8217;s work and was astonished to discover that each piece, hand-decorated by the artist himself, fetched anywhere from $100 to $100,000 on eBay. When he googled the name, he located a couple of dealers selling Gregory%26#8217;s work, including Bianca Brown, who had a cache of thousands of his ceramic and metal works, from small bowls and dishes to life-size figurative sculptures.

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Meet octogenarian Brown, keeper of the flame and co-executor of the Gregory estate, inclusive of the work of Waylande Gregory. She befriended Gregory and his wife when she moved to Warren, New Jersey, and recalls: %26#8220;I first met Waylande as a neighbor. Then he gave an exhibition of his work and would give talks about it. I went with my painting class to his studio, where he would show us slides and movies of his work, describing how he worked.%26#8221;

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Gregory died in 1971, and his possessions fell into the hands of Brown %26#8212; including a collection of Gregory%26#8217;s work, believed to number more than 7,000 pieces. To try to raise the value of the pieces, as well as the profile of the late artist, Brown reached out to several venerable art auction houses.%26nbsp; %26#8220;I called several prominent auction houses to get an estimate on the work, and I was met with the same response: %26#8216;Gregory who?%26#8217;%26#8220; says Brown.%26nbsp; It was a sobering epitaph for a man who, during his career, received acclaim not only for his formative-movement pieces (including sensual, figurative sculptures) but also for his technical advances. Among his credits: rediscovering the ancient method of firing enormous sculptures (weighing up to a ton) in a huge kiln of his own creation, with each life-size (or larger) piece concealing a honeycomb-support structure inside to keep it from collapsing in on itself. His sophisticated advances with ceramic and glazes yielded unexpected benefits years later, as NASA commissioned him to develop ceramic heat shields for its space vehicles.

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All of which brings us back to Bryan Downey. During his googling, he happened upon Brown%26#8217;s Web site and her links to online auctions. Downey bought one of the original pieces she had for sale. Almost immediately afterwards, he made a pilgrimage to her home, then to the New Jersey warehouse (a repository for thousands of pieces that hadn%26#8217;t been touched for years) to cull through the archives in search of treasure and inspiration.

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Back in his home office in Houston, Downey and Rosmarin began a two-year mission to create a Waylande Gregory collection of reproductions and contemporary adaptations, with a percentage of the profits earmarked for Brown%26#8217;s charity Door of Hope, and an aim to re-establish Gregory%26#8217;s rightful legacy as one of the century%26#8217;s most important and prolific sculptors. Finally, the wait is over. This month debuts exquisite reproductions of Gregory%26#8217;s handmade and hand-detailed objects from an abstracted zebra bowl and lava vase to geometrically focused grid vide-poche, and fanciful boxes, shallow bowls and plates with hand-rendered circles, dots, trees and animals, now carried by some of the chicest shops stateside. Brian Bolke and Shelly Musselman have purchased every piece for their store Forty Five Ten. Information 214.559.4510.

Master of Metal

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 06:03:42 GMT

It all started with The Handmade House, divine developer Carol Isaak Barden%26#8217;s latest entry into the luxury oeuvre, under construction at 1916%26nbsp; Banks Street. Designer Richard Holley is working with her on this project, as is the award-winning, Seattle-based architect firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen. Here%26#8217;s the premise: Barden and Holley select artisans and craftsmen who bring to The Handmade House %26#8220;the impeccable craft of hand-finishing and almost-forgotten metal and woodworking techniques,%26#8221; Barden says. One of the most well-known is Charles Masterson, from generations of Masterson artists %26#8212; his mother is Mariquita Masterson, his sister is Libbie Masterson, and his father Stewart was an artist later in life, as were his grandparents and their parents. %26#8220;It%26#8217;s a big deal in our family to make art %26#8212; no one gets a pass,%26#8221; says Charles, who began his craft in 1978 with large-scale metal sculpture, custom metal furniture for Richard Holley and metal-wrought arches and staircases for clients such as Bill Neuhaus. After a 10-year hiatus, Masterson is back full steam with his metal artistry. For The Handmade House, he has fashioned a hand-rolled spiral sconce and a sconce shaped like folding boxes with channels of light %26#8212;%26nbsp;the prototypes shown here are in steel but will be completed in bronze. Charles Masterson, Masterson Artworks, 713.398.8613; cmasterson3@comcast.net.

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Images:

Above: Richard Holley and Charles Masterson. Photo by Jenny Antill.

Below: Spiral sconce by Charles Masterson for The Handmade House

Dead People We Wish We Would Have Known: Elsie de Wolfe

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:31:42 GMT

In a series we're entitling "Dead People We Wish We Would Have Known" we'll take a look at ... well, the title says it all, really. Our first: Elsie de Wolfe, (known to many as Lady Mendl); mother of interior decoration and a thoroughly modern Millie if ever one existed.

Why we want to be her bff:
Well, let's see: She was the first woman to dye her hair green (later tinting her locks a refreshing periwinkle). Elsie infamously made her entrance to a French duke's party dressed as a can-can dancer. She turned a cartwheel, leaving the stodgy bunch, comment dire ... nonplussed; however, Cole Porter sure got a kick out of it, immortalizing the event in his song%26nbsp; "Anything Goes." If she passes muster with maestro Cole, she's golden as far as we're concerned.

Beyond the fact that she was doing yoga decades before America had even heard of it, as a decorator she was a smashing success. She brought light, leopard-print chintz and French antiques to every dark corner of previously Victorian rooms. Remarkable, too, was her innovation in essentially creating the notion that one "interior decorator" could oversee the entire renovation of a home's interiors, rather than a slew of upholsters, architects, craftsmen and artisans.

Parisian fashionables of the '30s anointed her the best-dressed woman in the world. I mean, come on, does it get any better? Janet Flanner reported in The New Yorker that upon seeing the Parthenon in Athens, de Wolfe cried, "It's beige %26#8211;%26#8211; just my color!" Really... how can you not not want to know her!

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FOR PICTURES%26nbsp; CLICK LAUNCH SLIDESHOW ABOVE

Tricks of the Trade

Wed, 26 May 2010 05:33:54 GMT

They can punch up a room with a dash of paint and play fearlessly with scale and proportion. The best of designers can rearrange a room in a snap and breathe new life into a tired-looking boudoir. While we rely on their knowing eye to pull fabrics, measure curtains and estimate what it will take to recover Grandmother%26#8217;s Knole sofa, some of our favorite decorators really excel at wonderfully quirky, inventive touches that give a space character and charisma. We asked a few of this city%26#8217;s best design minds to share a few trucs of their trade.

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Lisa Pope-Westerman
Design director, hospitality and retail studios, Gensler
Run flooring material (carpet, tile, cork, anything you choose) up a wall. I just did that at restaurant Stella Sola. It blurs the planes and guides your eye to a focal point.

Wallpaper your closet! I%26#8217;ve done it all over my house. It%26#8217;s a noncommittal easy change I never tire of doing.

Mix and match expensive pieces with inexpensive items everywhere, just like you do with your clothes. For instance, I paired pricey tile from Waterworks in my children%26#8217;s bathroom with utilitarian Daltile.

Suspend and backlight something from the ceiling instead of hanging a chandelier.

Take a favorite image, mirror it again and again, and then have it printed onto [fire-rated] fabric. You can then wrap the fabric onto a wire frame and make a custom pendant.

Use your own snapshots to make wallpaper. I did this with Mexican toys recently. Places like A%26amp;E can print it up for you.%26nbsp;

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Photo credit: Jenny Antill

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Aaron Laine
Bath designer and owner, Fixtures %26amp; Fittings
I like to use doorknobs mounted on a wall or the middle of the back of a door to hang a robe. Doorknockers can double as clever towel rings, too. Either can add a bit of architectural interest, and you can find a broad selection of styles and finishes, from the simplest to the most ornate. It%26#8217;s also a great way to multipurpose one-of-a-kind antique hardware.

Shower baskets. Love them. Put them everywhere! It isn%26#8217;t a huge commitment, and you can mount them after the tile is installed and instantly customize your shower. Mount two, for yours and theirs.

Doing a bathroom on a budget but you%26#8217;ve fallen for a tile that%26#8217;s way over your budget? Use enough of the good stuff to cover a square foot or one-and-a-half feet for the back-of-the-shower niche (you know, that space where you stash your shampoo and conditioner), then surround it with less expensive tile. You%26#8217;ll see it every time you reach for the K%26#233;rastase. It really stands out as an accent.

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Photo credit: Jenny Antill

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Kathy Frietsch
General manager and buyer, Thompson + Hanson
Don%26#8217;t be afraid to repurpose anything! Look for texture and form. At Tiny Boxwood%26#8217;s, we repurposed old wooden shutters, disassembling them to use as facing for the bar. We even used the same wood to frame the chalkboards. You could never recreate that texture and patina on new wood, and it%26#8217;s the perfect contrast to the slick marble top, stainless steel and subway tile of the bar. I repurposed some large old wicker laundry baskets into consoles, too, replacing the wheels with ball feet and cutting marble tops to fit. I could have sold them a million times over. You could use old wood doors or shutters to make a box base and customize your own consoles, too. They would make perfect bedside tables.

Bring in the outdoors with garden stools, stone tables and benches. The long community table at Tiny Boxwood%26#8217;s is a florist%26#8217;s table. We had the old worn zinc top smoothed and the legs cut to dining-table height. The texture and weight of items like this provide a warm counterpoint to a modern interior. Look for pieces in stone and metal. Old grates can make the perfect cocktail table with a metal frame cut to size and a piece of glass to top it. Just one piece could give you the patina to pull together a room filled with lots of upholstery.

Paint it. Don%26#8217;t be afraid to lay a few coats of white lacquer over that old pedestal table, chair or cabinet. If you%26#8217;ve found (or inherited) the perfect size dining table for your light and airy kitchen, but you loathe its brown stain %26#8230; paint it white! There is lots of furniture at little local antique shops that%26#8217;s too dark but has great detail or size, and it%26#8217;s usually inexpensive. Just paint it.

Re-cover furniture with blankets, throws or even a tablecloth. Each provides great texture and pattern at a great price. I used some quilted canvas twin bedspreads in chocolate to recover a pair of modern chrome chairs. The texture and casual feel are the perfect counterpoint to its slick appeal. And it was half the price of most high-end fabrics.

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Photo credit: Julie Sofer

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Chandos Dodson
Principal designer, Chandos Interiors
I always incorporate some Deco pieces into my modern and contemporary house projects. They tend to tone down a room when it feels too stark. The patina of those pieces can add depth to a room.

I like to play with doors, painting them with a high-lacquer finish. It can warm up a modern look or add interest to a contemporary setting. It gives a room a subtle change, too, without blowing the budget.Try using texture such as mother-of-pearl wallpaper, a high-gloss lacquer paint or grasscloth to warm a cool contemporary interior. Texture is one of the most important elements of good design.

When designing a bathroom, tiling it floor to ceiling isn%26#8217;t only functional but can make the room feel larger. I prefer to use the same material on the floor and walls but change the pattern or direction in which it%26#8217;s laid.

Photo credit: Karen Sachar

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Aaron Rambo
Co-owner, Found for the Home
Make something out of nothing. Even the most mundane object can take on visual importance when you set it upon a custom acrylic base. In my house, I placed a vintage architectural fragment on an IKEA tabletop (sans its legs).

Anything can be artful. I%26#8217;ve framed vintage lawn sprinklers and even old numbers from gas-station pumps.

Never underestimate the power of fresh flowers and plants. Either immediately gives a flat room life.%26nbsp;

One of my favorite trucs: using painter%26#8217;s drop cloths (new, of course) to upholster a piece or line and use as curtains. I recently did the latter at both the shop and my home.

Pairs of floor lamps add instant architectural interest, as well as vertically break long expansive walls.%26nbsp;

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P. Joe Shaffer
Interior designer, P. Joe Shaffer Design
One of the oldest tricks in the business, and one of the simplest, most elegant and least expensive ways to visually clean up a room (or a whole house): Simplify the selection of lampshades. Frankly, I%26#8217;d prefer to simplify the lamp bases too, but that%26#8217;s a big wallop if you%26#8217;re working on a tight budget. Change out most of the shades to one style, while limiting the color and texture of those shades. If you change all the froufrou shades to the most elemental empire or drum shape, say, in off-white paper, natural linen or pongee (a soft, thinly woven silk), then the feel of the house just relaxes a bit and the eye can focus on the real collectibles, not the lamps, which should disappear into the room%26#8217;s framework. This allows you to note the lampshade once, and then the rest of the shades just repeat the basic rhythm you%26#8217;ve established.

Beware, the lampshade salesperson will try to up sell you the froufrou shades, but stick to your guns. When in doubt, go for simple, small shade. As for the choice between paper, linen or pongee, choose only one or two textures at most for consistency. Keep it simple. If it feels like a trend or remotely reads as %26#8216;cute,%26#8217; you must run like hell from it.

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Photo credit: Tria Giovan

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Lisa Epley McCord
Interior decorator
This trick was born out of necessity. I longed for a pair of mirrored chests to use beside my daughter%26#8217;s bed, but I didn%26#8217;t want to break the bank. I bought two Malm three-drawer chests from IKEA ($80 each) then took them to Bobbitt Glass on West Gray. They mirrored every surface and even added some of their fabulous (and inexpensive) stick-on acrylic drawer pulls. (I like the square ones best.) The total cost was way less than any ready-made mirrored chest I could find, and the look is lean, clean and dazzling.

Looking for a great way to cover a large wall? Call Honey%26#8217;s Home + Style in Waco (254.754.3311) and ask them to send you one of their Plan de Paris map sets ($70 each, composed of 25 pieces). It%26#8217;s new, so you need to %26#8220;age%26#8221; it. Buy some Mod Podge and a small bottle of DecoArt Americana acrylic paint in Bittersweet Chocolate at Michael%26#8217;s. Pour a quarter of the Mod Podge in a small bowl and add a teaspoon of paint, stir and then spread it with a sea sponge thinly across each piece, dabbing it on heavier in places so it doesn%26#8217;t look too perfect. When dry, frame with inexpensive 16 X 20 black lacquer frames (also from Michael%26#8217;s). Hang edge-to-edge across the wall. The result is an impressive display measuring roughly 108 x 88 inches.

An inexpensive solution for pulling together disparate upholstered furniture: Slipcover it all in white denim. I buy mine at Interior Fabrics on Fondren for $7 a yard. Have it cut into five-yard pieces, and before it%26#8217;s sewn, take it to Stanley Cleaners on West Alabama to have it laundered and pressed %26#8212; a must so it%26#8217;s preshrunk. Durable and not easily wrinkled when you have them made into slipcovers, they%26#8217;ll wear for years and can be easily bleached in your washing machine, too. It%26#8217;s a great trick to hip up a staid piece of furniture and make a whole room look more cohesive.

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Sylvia Dorsey
Owner, Longoria Collection
Most of the bedding lines we carry have coordinating fabric available by the yard. I order it to use for draperies because the width of the fabric is generally wider (120 inches versus the standard 56 inches), which means you have fewer seams and the fabric works out to be about half the price. But when it comes to saving money on bedskirts, actually, pre-made skirts are a lot more economical to use than costly custom ones.

There%26#8217;s nothing more important than great lighting. It can create a mood that%26#8217;s flattering and inviting. I use lots of candles. They impart a soft glow, and there%26#8217;s nothing more beautiful than a table filled with candles. Personally, I prefer to put candles in hurricanes %26#8212; not only for safety, but because the reflection on the glass magnifies their beauty.

Art budget blown? Find an inexpensive print or take your children%26#8217;s artwork and put it behind an important frame. Years ago, I was working with Farrah Fawcett, decorating her Los Angeles home, and I found a box of mementoes. Among them were a couple of dinner napkins that had a drawing of Farrah%26#8217;s eye and another of Ryan O%26#8217;Neal%26#8217;s lips. I framed them in a simple ribbon-and-reed gold-leaf frame. By the way, Andy Warhol whipped up those sketches over dinner one night with them both.

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For more details and images, click 'launch slideshow' above.

Gentlemen's Rooms

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:45:29 GMT

Photo credit: Paul Aaron, ESTO, from the book "American Masterworks: Houses of the 20th and 21st Centuries" by Kenneth Frampton and David Larkin (Rizzoli, 2008)

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We asked nine top-drawer men %26#8212;%26nbsp;architects, decorators, a bon vivant or two %26#8212; one question: What room continues to inspire? As they flipped through their stacks of worn magazines and decorating tomes amassed through the years, and rifled through memories of trips to enchanting places, this mental excavation prompted divine inspiration. Herewith, nine rather wildly divergent spaces: a Paris salon, a casino entrance hall in Brazil, a former Nabisco box factory, and even a pencil-encrusted stairwell. Let%26#8217;s hear it for the boys.%26nbsp;

Rick Rozas
Designer (Rick Rozas)
%26#8220;The first time I saw the photographs of the Paul Rudolph apartment [in New York City], I was reminded of my childhood bedroom! Everything was built-in: the long sofa %26#8212; my brother and I had wall-to-wall beds %26#8212; the wall of bookcases %26#8212; we had a wall of bookcases %26#8212; and a wall of shelving and display %26#8212; we had the very same thing, and with two desks. It wasn%26#8217;t until I was a lot older and saw the space again and realized how much had stayed with me, and I laughed at how much I thought it looked like my childhood bedroom %26#8212;%26nbsp;[only] ours was so traditional, down to the red-white-and-blue train, planes and cars wallpaper! But the Paul Rudolph space is timeless. Open, clean, pure. Everything having its place.%26#8221;%26nbsp;

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Photo credit:Dan Forer, from the book "The Power Look at Home: Decorating for Men" by Egon von F%26#252;rstenberg and Karen Fisher (William Morrow and Company, 1980)

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Sam Saladino
Decorator, Neiman Marcus associate
%26#8220;The Power Look at Home: Decorating for Men by Egon von F%26#252;rstenberg and Karen Fisher presents interiors designed by men for men. In chapters like %26#8220;The Individualist%26#8221; and %26#8220;Showmanship,%26#8221; EVF blends his wit and pedigree into a knockout tome worthy of his princely taste. Powerful art, Miesian geometry and a stroke of grand gesture combine like fire, dust and air %26#8212; mingled with water %26#8212; to make the man! In this room, classic architectural details painted white anchor the stark modernity of the furnishings %26#8212; the perfect backdrop for a glittering cocktail party unveiling the owner%26#8217;s newest art acquisition.%26#8221;

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Lance Raney

Partner, Droese Raney Architecture
%26#8220;I tore it out years ago and I am not quite sure what or where it is. I love its haunting simplicity and weightlessness%26nbsp; %26nbsp;%26#8212;%26nbsp;like the caverns in my mind.%26#8221; %26nbsp;%26nbsp;

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Photo credit: Jaime Ardiles-Arce for Architectural Digest %26#169; 1981, Cond%26#233; Nast Publications, from the book
"Michael Taylor: Interior Design" by Stephen M. Salny (W.W. Norton %26amp; Company, 2009)

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George Cameron Nash
Proprietor, George Cameron Nash showrooms
%26#8220;A residence the late Michael Taylor did for his client Charles Evans in New York City %26#8230; simple materials like travertine and glass, hardly any background finishes, and absent %26#8220;window dressing excess%26#8221; %26#8230; an enchanting and mysterious dwelling. Clean-lined banquette seating in no-color material contrasts several Louis XV fauteuil armchairs that are bleached as if petrified, and covered in no-color leather. Utilitarian tables are mere blocks of stone to hold and serve, and the high-polished black piano serves as an anchor. All can juxtapose art and sculpture. The art can be people and the piano %26#8212; sound. I%26#8217;m mesmerized by the sheer simplicity, strong architecture, and sublime approach to people existing in a space.%26#8221;

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Photo credit: Richard Barnes, from the book "Every Room Tells a Story," edited by Joseph Holtzman (D.A.P., 2001)

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William Baker
Partner,%26nbsp; Jones Baker Interiors + Architecture
%26#8220;An obsessive, pencil-encrusted, three-story residential stairway that was published in Nest magazine. I%26#8217;m inspired by how these everyday, almost worthless objects were collected and composed in a myriad of ways to create this great space that must be a joy to traverse each day.%26#8221;%26nbsp;

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Photo credit: Archives of Dorothy Draper, Inc., and Carleton Varney, from the book "In The Pink: Dorothy Draper,
America%26#8217;s Most Fabulous Decorator" by Carleton Varney (Pointed Leaf Press, 2006)

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George Sellers
Sculptor, designer, plaster artisan
%26#8220;Dorothy Draper%26#8217;s grand entrance hall to the casino at Pal%26#225;cio Quitandinha in Petr%26#243;polis, Brazil. The room is the perfect collision of the Baroque and the bereft!%26#8221;

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Photo credit: Marianne Haas, from the book "The Decorator" by Florence de Dampierre (Rizzoli, 1989)

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John Bobbitt
Decorator (Bobbitt %26amp; Company Interiors)
%26#8220;I%26#8217;ve been fascinated with this room designed by Jacques Grange for an art collector in Paris ever since I first saw it 20 years ago. It is classical and at the same time sensual, very French, but almost American in its modernity. The art is subtle, the detailing in the upholstery and drapery is couture, and it all seems to orbit around the R%26#233;gence-period desk, which is in itself a masterpiece of its kind.%26#8221;

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Photo credit: Eirik Johnson

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Frank Welch
Architect (Frank Welch %26amp; Associates, Inc.), photographer, author
%26#8220;Philip Johnson%26#8217;s Glass House is a single %26#8216;room%26#8217; enclosed in glass. It never fails to inspire me, especially since it was published in 1949 while I was at Texas A %26amp; M College.%26#8221;

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Photo credit: From the book "Dia:Beacon" by Lynne Cooke and Michael Govan (Dia Art Foundation, 2003) %26nbsp;

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David Droese

Partner, Droese Raney Architecture
%26#8220;It%26#8217;s at the Dia:Beacon museum in Beacon, New York, in the gallery that is dedicated to the Michael Heizer piece titled North, East, South, West, 1967/2002. The honesty and purity of the original structure %26#8212; which was once a Nabisco box-printing factory %26#8212; combined with all-natural light, is a fitting setting for Heizer%26#8217;s negative-form sculpture. It has so much meaning, yet it is so pure, and so simple %26#8212; which is why I find the space to be so poignant. On my last visit to Dia:Beacon, I had the chance to lie on the floor and look into the buried forms. The experience made my entire trip!%26#8221;%26nbsp;%26nbsp;%26nbsp;

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Photo credit: Carla De Benedetti, from the book "Living Well: The New York Times Book of Design and Decoration," edited by Carrie Donovan (Times Books, 1981)

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%26#8230; and one of our own
Rob Brinkley
Co-editor/home design editor, PaperCity

%26#8220;I think about this space all the time. It%26#8217;s in a palace in northern Italy. It is the chicest, most perfectly balanced blend of old and new, ever. Those Breuer chairs under that chandelier? That steel bookcase against that frescoed wall? This is my idea of high-and-low. It was decorated in 1977 by the architect Eleonore Peduzzi Riva, and it is exactly what I would do if I had a 16th-century villa %26#8212; which I don%26#8217;t. But still."

That Lush Lonny

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:34:20 GMT

Go online this month to see the stylish Houston high-rise apartment of PaperCity features editor Laurann Claridge, designed in her signature swirl of grays and creams %26#8212; luscious. It%26#8217;s been shot for the new online mag lonnymag.com, which was created by the talented editors of the shuttered Domino. At lonnymag.com, starting Saturday, April 10.

Letter from the Editor

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:56:26 GMT

One man%26#8217;s trash is not necessarily another man%26#8217;s treasure. Fortunately I live across from one of the world%26#8217;s most erudite and witty gentlemen, so when Sir J. Randall Powers awoke one fine spring morning and opened his kitchen shutters, only to espy 40 Hefty bags lining the walk of my new home, blocking his view of greenery, he did the only thing such a gentleman could do. He composed this little ditty and sent it to me.

To be hummed to the melodic tune of Noel Coward%26#8217;s %26#8220;Mrs. Worthington%26#8221;:

In regards to your trash, Mrs. Kastleman,
In this neighborhood this simply will not do.
One shall not draw conclusions,
Or deliver frightful delusions,
But give the word hoarder its due.
I know you are from a good type of family,
One that has been taught ... exactly what to do.
But, given the current barrage,
And the state of your gar-bage,
I must say, you are ruining my view.

And thus my day started, as I continued my move into an extremely charming neighborhood.

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Image by Fulton Davenport, pwlstudio.com

Inside the Head of Blair Gordon

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:26:54 GMT

Gordon, who moved to Houston a year ago to pursue an interior-design path, was reared in small-town Georgia, where he absorbed an aesthetic for Ralph Lauren%26#8217;s all-American lifestyle and a look that channels J. Crew%26#8217;s lacrosse-playing prepster vibe. When his modeling days were over, Gordon migrated to the other side of the camera to become VP of creative services of Ralph Lauren, where he was in charge of visual merchandising and store-window displays globally, before moving on to EVP creative director of J. Crew. Given his style and eye for great design, we sat him down to learn what lies behind this Houston newbie%26#8217;s baby blues.

My style. All-American minimalism with a twist. On any given day, you might find me in a pair of worn khakis, a crisp, white V-neck tee, Chuck Taylors, my %26#8217;62 vintage Oyster Perpetual Rolex, Ray-Bans, a vintage rodeo silver buckle and belt. The buckle would make the look all mine. I would rather be known as stylish than fashionable. %26nbsp;

Your interiors style? I design to transcend trend. I like a modern piece thrown into a traditional design. It could be called fabulously comfortable, livably modern, purposefully intended, casually elegant, world-traveled, uniquely grown-up, artful and intimate. My designs are not precious, but look lived in and people-ready. %26nbsp;

Paint colors I find myself going back to again and again: One can never tire of neutrals %26#8230; One day I was walking on the beach, reached down and grabbed a handful of sand and took a good look at it. On the ground it appears one color and in the hand, a thousand. I%26#8217;m constantly drawn to those same colors today; they act as a beautiful backdrop and aid in the transition from room to room. I love Farrow %26amp; Ball paint, particularly how the paint accepts, translates and reflects light to create the same illusion as a handful of sand or the highs and lows of a morning sky. All White matches the base color of the sand almost exactly, while the colors Lime White, Bone and Mouse%26#8217;s Back accent the base and give it texture and depth.

Secrets of a window dresser: Five style tips I%26#8217;ve gleaned from my years in fashion merchandising.
1. Have no fear. Don't be afraid to try something new. Its "just fashion" %26#8212; wear it with confidence.
2. Excellent accessorizing can make a $20 dress from Target look like you bought it at Tootsies.
3. Search for a sales associate or personal shopper you can connect with. They%26#8217;ll make your shopping experiences more successful and fun. Those relationships will help you edit and evolve your wardrobe.
4. Invite a fashionable friend into your closet to pull together outfits using your existing clothes.
5. Organize your closet frequently, arranging the contents like it%26#8217;s store merchandise. Edit seasonally and clean and tailor your clothes %26#8212; you%26#8217;ll be more stylish for it.

You%26#8217;ve had the opportunity to shop all over the globe, whether it was for Ralph Lauren%26#8217;s stores, J. Crew or your interior-design clients. What are the best markets to source one-of-a-kind finds?
Milan flea market
Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen, France
The Fall Pier Show, NYC
Rose Bowl Flea Market, Pasadena, CA
Brimfield, Massachusetts
Round Top
World%26#8217;s Largest Indoor Flea Market, Miami, FL
Ciney Expo, Belgium

People I find endlessly inspiring %26#8230;
Ralph Lauren. He consistently inspires me to live life as a fantasy.
Musician Johnny Cash. Cash's soulful songs evoke emotion and self-reflection.
Architect John Lautner. I love his spaceship-like residential homes. One might feel like they are looking out of a UFO hovering over Los Angeles. They are bold, exciting and suited to their sites.
Production set designer Ken Adam. He did the set designs for the early Bond films.%26nbsp;His bedroom vignettes make mine feel ho-hum and boring.
Furniture designer Vladimir Kagan. I especially love his unicorn chair. I could see Judy Jetson sitting in it, yet it%26#8217;s classic at the same time. His furniture has a sculptural quality that gives it organic flow.
Furniture designer Jacques Adnet. His leather-covered metal accessories and furniture are modern, even today. I could add something of Adnet%26#8217;s to every room I do. He was commissioned to design items for Herm%26#232;s in the %26#8217;40s, too.

My favorite shopping haunts anywhere:
Wyeth, NYC:%26nbsp;A unique selection of mid-century furniture, lighting, and odds and ends. An eye-popping shopping experience.
Melet Merchantile, NYC: An ultra-exclusive vintage clothing shop in SoHo. The showroom is meticulously categorized by lifestyle and period. While most items are for sale, they provide a leasing program to fashion designers for inspiration in their own collections and to stylists for photo shoots.
Accentdecor.com: An extensive collection of vases and inspirational images for do-it-yourself flower arrangements.
CB2.com: CB2 has lots of classic items to choose from, especially when you%26#8217;re on a budget.
Heathceramics.com: I love their handmade field tiles %26#8212; tons of beautiful, rich colors.
Urban Archaeology, NYC: Historic architectural elements, both antique and reproductions.

Houston shops I can%26#8217;t get enough of:
Installations
Found
Hien Lam Upholstery
Decorative Center Houston
Brown, for unique lighting and accessories
Carol Piper Rugs Kuhl-Linscomb %26#8212; they have it all.
Events
310 Rosemont %26#8212; This small boutique is where I buy my clothes.
Thompson + Hanson
Chateau Domingue
W. Gardner Ltd. %26#8212;%26nbsp;antiques

What eludes you? Not much, save for a pair of John Dickinson table lamps. They are just so funny looking and fabulous at the same time. And a 1959 Ferrari 250 LWB California Spyder. If I owned it, I would dress up and drive it around, pretending I%26#8217;m starring in a Merchant Ivory film.

What are you working on now? Designing the perfect beach tote and shoulder bag. Years ago, while vacationing in St. Barths, I purchased a bag at a small airport boutique. I have enjoyed it so much that I%26#8217;ve decided to modify it to my personal specifications. It will be the first in a series of "the most perfect beach day accessories.%26#8221; Up next: an umbrella, chair, blanket and towel.

Dream house? The Pin Wheel House by Peter Blake. It represents the perfect blend of function and style, functioning as a place to enjoy the open potato and corn fields and the beach beyond the dunes. I would have loved to summer in that house before the Hamptons became "The Hamptons."

Luxury Redefined

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:00:43 GMT

On Saturday, October 3, the second season of decorator Bill Stubbs%26#8217; riveting program Moment of Luxury will begin airing on our local PBS affiliate, Channel 8, at 2:30 pm. Born not only to design but to inspire others via his role as a front-of-the-camera mentor/tour guide, Stubbs travels the world, from Bunny Williams%26#8217; Connecticut retreat to the enclaves of Sotheby%26#8217;s, to introduce us to everyone from high-brow antiques experts to wild eccentrics, such as a woman who collects nothing but pink plastic objects and displays them with verve in her tiny New York apartment. In other words, he exposes us to luxury at every price point. When they were both guests on Great Day Houston, the Architectural Digest%26#8211;honored designer made the acquaintance of Jim McIngvale, aka Houston%26#8217;s Mattress Mack %26#8212; a man who clearly knows a lot about selling furniture. A collaboration on air and off was forged when Mac signed on as a national sponsor for Stubbs%26#8217; show and Stubbs signed on to fashion Gallery Furniture%26#8217;s new Post Oak store. When the tragic fire hit Gallery Furniture%26#8217;s original I-45 North location last spring, Stubbs rallied around McIngvale and helped him conjure a luxurious idea. Recalling the fifth floor at Ralph Lauren%26#8217;s Madison Avenue flagship outfitted with dream rooms most of us long to move into, Stubbs suggested they carve out a 5,000-square-foot Inspirational Idea Home section within Mcingvale%26#8217;s flagship. Starting with a simple sheetrock shell, Stubbs%26#8217; vignettes take you virtually to a Hill Country Ranch, a River Oaks home and a posh Houston high-rise loft via a multi-sensory experience involving fragrance, lighting, music and texture. In fact, you just might find the Stubbs effect throughout the entire store. %26#8220;I%26#8217;ve been on buying trips with Mack to High Point and pointed out different pieces we could try that would work with the mix there,%26#8221; says Stubbs. Not surprisingly, his selections have been flying out the door, bringing good design to shoppers at every price point. 6006 I-45 North and 2411 Post Oak Blvd., 713.694.5570; galleryfurniture.com.

Alice's Wonder Man

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:21:31 GMT

Jimmie Henslee wears many chapeaux, all of them urbane. Stylist, collector, illustrator, decorator %26#8212; the Dallas man is a bundle of artistic gifts. So when we dreamt of a little magic for our December cover and the jewelry feature that goes with it, we turned to the talented Mr. Henslee. %26#8220;Give us Alice in Wonderland,%26#8221; we said, %26#8220;but done your way.%26#8221; A whirl of India inks and watercolors later, we had our Alice %26#8212; only the looking-glass is Chippendale, the dress is Balenciaga and the queen has nothing to do with hearts. (But she is a reigning monarch. You%26#8217;ll see.) A scholar in costume history and an aficionado of fashion photography, Henslee tapped into his %26#8220;love of all things exotic%26#8221; for our Alice, giving her a Chinese-wallpapered pagoda to pop into, a chandelier%26#8217;d tree under which to take tea and a mantel to pose in front of that is %26#8220;a pastiche, if you will, of Georgian and Regency styles.%26#8221; And what of Alice%26#8217;s Balenciaga confection? The great Cristobal, says Henslee, %26#8220;is one of my favorite artists, who just happened to be a couturier.%26#8221; We concur. If you%26#8217;re dreaming of your own wonderland, here%26#8217;s news: Henslee can illustrate your own environs %26#8212; a room, a moment, your entire house %26#8212; and present you with a one-of-a-kind book of gorgeously charming drawings. Move over, Alice. Contact Jimmie at 214.729.7069; jimmiehenslee@yahoo.com.

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Click "launch slideshow," above, to see the making of "Alice"...