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We have been working on schemes for a new client and I am just loving this project. The client is a young woman who is sophisticated and not afraid of taking risks. More than anything she loves discovering new ways to express her personal style.

The following two schemes are for the living room. We discussed keeping her existing sofa and adding deep cranberry and red tones to the room.

For the master bedroom she expressed her desire to go for a more neutral palette than what she currently has. The room has existing mill-work that can not be refinished with paint so we have been researching different ways of recovering the surfaces of these units. One thought is to cover the existing cabinetry with a grass-cloth. Another option would be the parchment wallpaper directly below.  What I love about both of these schemes is that they are subdued yet playful.

The guest bedroom is where the client is willing to really go all out with color. She knows that she doesn't have to spend everyday in this room and therefore isn't worried about being overwhelmed by the colors or patterns. Regardless, I wouldn't tire of the below schemes and the first and last one are my personal favorites.

Nathan Turner

8546 Melrose 

Los Angeles, CA 90069

We are so excited to announce that our fabrics are now available at Nathan Turner in LA.  Nathan moved his shop from Almont Yard a few months ago to this new larger space on Melrose.  The shop is a treasure trove of chic cool finds from around the globe.  Everything from Indian Throws to Moroccan Tables to vintage French club chairs.  Nathan also sells his collection for Elite Leather in the shop along with Martyn Lawrence Bullard's beautiful new line of wood flooring. We are obviously thrilled to be in there and can't wait for everyone to check it out!  We hope you'll stop by soon.

Carolina George Fabric Display.  Logo Coming Soon! 

Pretty Vignette in Nathan's Shop

As many of you know we have been working on a line of fabrics. They have been in the works for about a year now and should be available in our new showroom in the next month.  So I thought it was a good time to share pictures of my first project using Carolina George fabrics.

I have never met a canopy bed I didn't like.  I try and get just about every client to do one and most never want to.  I don't understand why, to me it is the the coziest prettiest way to sleep.  My parents have a fairly contemporary one and since the day it was installed I have made sure they know I want it when they tire of it.  Since they seemed in no hurry to pass it on to me I decided I had to make my own.  I was not in a position to have a custom one made so I had to be a little creative. First step was finding good four poster bed, there are lots out there.  I settled on the Antonia Bed from Pottery Barn because I liked that it had a headboard that was removable and came in a muslin ready to reupholster.  I knew I wanted to use one of our new fabrics, after a lot of back and fourth I went with one we call the Harem. I then lined it in a purple Holland and Sherry linen.  I have never been a purple person, in fact I have always disliked the color but I found this fabric and I completely fell in love with its richness.  Even though its purple it still has a somewhat masculine quality to it.  Once you pick your two fabrics you can take them to any dry cleaner and have rings sewn on (also available at pottery barn) and the two fabrics sewn together.   An even less expensive way to do this is to buy the ready made curtain panels, West Elm and Restoration Hardware make really good ones.  These you can just slide right on to the poles and don't even need ring.  

I just got the headboard back from my upholster and I am in love with it! I am still missing one panel as some of the rings were back ordered, but you get the idea.  See below for pictures!

My husband and I just moved into a new apartment in LA which meant it was time to redecorate.  In addition to adding some of our Carolina George pieces I knew I wanted a new coffee table.  We had a great old wood one with a metal base from John Derian, which I loved but was growing tired of.  You know the one, Restoration Hardware and just about everyone else now makes a version.  I quickly discovered that I was going to have a very hard time making up my mind as to what I wanted.  My budget wasn't very big, I wanted to find something I loved, I was undecided on style and I was impatient and wanted something fast. Clearly it wasn't going to be easy.

 I looked high and low and then last spring I decided to stop in and preview an auction.  I wasn't really even looking for a table, I was more interested in the Tony Duquette jewelry I heard they had.  I was on my way out when two lucite tables caught my eye.  I liked them, but neither was in great shape and I didn't think I wanted nickel or chrome details.  They were also a bit bulkier than I liked.  While I was looking at them a man came up and asked if I like the tables I told him i did, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. He introduced himself as Charles Hollis Jones and said he had made the tables. I started asking him a million questions about what he could make for me how much would it cost etc.  I got the impression I was maybe supposed to know who he was, he didn't seem all that interested in dealing with me, but I convinced him to give me his email.  I immediately went home and looked him up.  Well, it turns out he was one of the first people to work with lucite and has done commissions for everyone from Tennessee Williams to Frank Sinatra.

 I knew I had found the answer to my coffee table.  It was a little more than I wanted to spend, but its an investment right? The Tennessee Williams bit sold my husband, he was not initially as enthusiastic about switching out the old manly wood table for something lucite. I emailed Charles to set up a meeting to discuss the table, he agreed to meet me the following Friday at a coffee shop in West Hollywood.  I arrived with my ideas and a few sketches to find the coffee shop closed due to Good Friday.  Instead he suggested we sit on the hood of his Jag while he drew pictures and I looked at metal samples until we decided on something, amused at the whole thing I handed over my deposit and went home.  

A few days before the table was to be delivered I called Charles to set up the delivery and he told me his van with my table and his dog no less had been stolen, I wasn't going to get my table before I left for NYC for six weeks.  I chose to believe and laugh at this absurd story and went to NY.  I finally returned last Thursday and had it delivered the day I got back.  It was absolutely worth the wait and I just LOVE IT! It lightens up my whole living and gives me more space for books because its two tiered. I can't wait to work with Charles again and am already discussing some side tables for a client. Here are a few pictures of my table!

Table with our Carolina George Slipper Chairs

Here is Charles (on the left) installing the table

Pardon me for harboring one of the seven deadly sins, but I have a serious case of apartment-envy.  I am in the midst of searching for a new place to call home, and after seeing Claude Wasserstein's apartment in Vogue, I am just desperate to find a glass box surrounded by wide, grassy terraces high above Central Park within my price range.  Too bad that is not going to happen.  No bother, because I can sit and look at Claude's home all day - and I don't have to pay a penny toward her monthly maintenance!

Francois Halard photographed the apartment to accompany an interview with Ms. Wasserstein, where she comes off as delightfully down-to-Earth, happily raising her gaggle of children.  She did comment that she wanted a space that felt relaxed and fun for the sake of the kids - something she no doubt accomplished through sumptuous texture, shots of saturated color, and hundreds of square feet of artificial grass.  She had a bit of help from friends Daniel Romualdez, Jeffrey Bilhuber, and Jacques Grange (!), whose combined efforts led to a truly unique and impeccably furnished space.

Take a look at the pics below.  They truly are a feast for the eyes!

I'm going to go ahead and say it - perhaps one of my favorite rooms of all time.  I might opt for a less Hicks-ian wall treatment, but other than that, I am in love.  Amazing color story.  Comfortable layout.  Those yellow chairs with the curled arm.  The gold palm trees.  That red lacquered table.  The big comfy Romualdez sofa.  That gold and blue silk on those bergeres - someone tell me where to find it because I want to upholster my life in it.

Do you have an archway of roses on your roof?  Claude does.  Is this amazing, or what?  It looks like a secret garden... and then you realize that it's in the middle of New York.  Truly a feat of creative gardening.

Gorgeous little tables.  I'll take two.

I'd probably not be daring enough to marry a yellow wall with a black table - but look how fantastic this is!  I love the Alexandre Loge console.  Its shape is outstanding!

I had to do a double-take when I saw this photo.  I mean, we've all seen a fabulous Manhattan terrace here or there - but this takes the prize, hands down.  Artificial grass underfoot, a border of box hedges, and a real tree - all with the skyline in the background!  I just want to roll around on this terrace and look up at the sky.  Absolutely sublime!

All photographs by Francois Halard for Vogue. 

Georgia and I are always working on new ideas for patterns and prints for the fabric line. These inspirations come from a wide range of places-travel, illustration, historical pattern books, texture, and our daily surroundings.  The below pattern is something that I have been doodling in some form or another for as long as I can remember. Whenever I was bored in school, I would fill the pages of my composition books with various markings and sketches. I never imagined that one day these designs would come in handy.

All of the prints shown in this post are still in the design and development phase. In addition to working the tweaks of a pattern out, this is also when we begin to play around with color. It is amazing how different a print can look when the colors are changed. A great example of this is below.

The above motif is something that I freehand sketch last week. I am really loving a cool mint green and was surprised to see how well it paired with orange. We will have to see the strike-off before unleashing this daring color combination on the world!

The below design is another doodle. You can see my shaky hand here where the hatch marks of the lines are crossing! Sometimes I like seeing these things and other times I feel it looks unfinished. Again, we won't know until the strike-offs arrive.

The circle pattern below is taken from a manipulated photograph of some old book binding paper.  It is similar to something one would find under a microscope, but still graphic and interesting.

Below are some strike-offs that recently arrived from the printer....